This site uses cookies to improve your experience. To help us insure we adhere to various privacy regulations, please select your country/region of residence. If you do not select a country, we will assume you are from the United States. Select your Cookie Settings or view our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Cookie Settings
Cookies and similar technologies are used on this website for proper function of the website, for tracking performance analytics and for marketing purposes. We and some of our third-party providers may use cookie data for various purposes. Please review the cookie settings below and choose your preference.
Used for the proper function of the website
Used for monitoring website traffic and interactions
Cookie Settings
Cookies and similar technologies are used on this website for proper function of the website, for tracking performance analytics and for marketing purposes. We and some of our third-party providers may use cookie data for various purposes. Please review the cookie settings below and choose your preference.
Strictly Necessary: Used for the proper function of the website
Performance/Analytics: Used for monitoring website traffic and interactions
Most innovators don’t have a technical background, so it’s hard to evaluate the truth of the situation. And unless they have a tech background, they can’t look under the hood themselves. The answer is to engage a trusted outside source for a TechnicalReview – a deep-dive assessment that provides a C-suite perspective.
This is the mysterious and dreaded duediligence process, which can kill the whole deal. Some entrepreneurs do very little to prepare for duediligence, assuming all the talking has already been done, and the business plan and results to-date tell the right story. My best advice is to stick to the middle ground.
If your startup is great enough to get a term sheet from angel investors or a venture capitalist, the next step for the investor is to complete the dreaded duediligence process. Some startups do nothing to prepare for the duediligence process, assuming the people and business plan documents will speak for themselves.
If your startup is great enough to get a term sheet from angel investors or a venture capitalist, the next step for the investor is to complete the dreaded duediligence process. Some startups do nothing to prepare for the duediligence process, assuming the people and business plan documents will speak for themselves.
If your startup is great enough to get a term sheet from angel investors or a venture capitalist, the next step for the investor is to complete the dreaded duediligence process. Some startups do nothing to prepare for the duediligence process, assuming the people and business plan documents will speak for themselves.
This is the mysterious and dreaded duediligence process, which can kill the whole deal. Some entrepreneurs do very little to prepare for duediligence, assuming all the talking has already been done, and the business plan and results to-date tell the right story. My best advice is to stick to the middle ground.
The XPRIZE Foundation , the group which has been organizing prize-based competitions to help advance critical areas of technology to benefit mankind, announced on Thursday that it has 32 teams from 22 countries who are competing for its $7M Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE. READ MORE>>.
If your startup is great enough to get a term sheet from angel investors or a venture capitalist, the next step for the investor is to complete the dreaded duediligence process. Some startups do nothing to prepare for the duediligence process, assuming the people and business plan documents will speak for themselves.
This is the mysterious and dreaded duediligence process, which can kill the whole deal. Some entrepreneurs do very little to prepare for duediligence, assuming all the talking has already been done, and the business plan and results to-date tell the right story. My best advice is to stick to the middle ground.
We thought today for our interview, that we'd get an update on the angel investment environment here in Southern California from Scott Sangster , the incoming President of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Tech Coast Angels , the biggest angel investment group in Southern California. Those are fundamentals that don't change.
There’s an article making the rounds in tech circles titled “ Growth Hacking is Bull ” written by Muhammad Saleem. they’ll flock to your channel with marketing budgets and tech prowess. I’d like to make the case that the article is wrong. I’d strongly encourage you to read it. Success begets success.
We spent time out in the marketplace talking with customers, looking at their solutions, comparing ourselves with our competition and then squirreling ourselves away in our offices designing our next set of features. some came from our customer service, some were to improve performance / scalability from tech ops, some were bug fixes, etc.)
New entrepreneurs, especially technical ones, are excited by early adopters, and tend to focus on their feedback, which will always suggest more product features and options. It’s important to define your growth strategy, document it, communicate it to your team, and align metrics and employee rewards to target goals.
Patents held by startups generally have a limited ability to reduce competition. One is obvious, without protection, such IP might prove to be of little worth, as other companies can mimic the technology without recourse. Most US high-tech companies begin the utility patent process by filing a provisional patent application.
Fortunately I was mostly a technology consultant, which meant that I coded computers, designed databases and planned system integration projects. One of our core tasks was “market analysis,&# which consistent of: market sizing, market forecasts, competitive analysis and then instructing customers on which direction to take.
In fact, many of these people can adjust the company presentations on the fly as you roll out new product features or can reposition versus the competition as they get feedback from customer losses. I would work through my sales deals pipelines by doing pipeline reviews. I sometimes find it funny since 73.6%
In my role as a mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs, I find that most have the technical challenges well understood, but many are a bit short on some basic street smarts , or basic business realities. It starts with documenting and communicating a real purpose and mission in terms everyone can get excited about. Neither is good.
Other times the partner wants to test whether there is support before sinking in tons of duediligence time. Sometimes I find myself really interested in the technical details of a companies product and after a few questions on the topic I look around and find my partners disinterested in this line of questions.
“Attached is a copy of my full business plan for your review.” The first page of the business plan better be an executive summary which gives the investor a taste of the financials, as well as opportunity, competition, and key executives. “I I don’t have a business plan, but the technology is disruptive.” Marty Zwilling.
“Attached is a copy of my full business plan for your review.” The first page of the business plan better be an executive summary which gives the investor a taste of the financials, as well as opportunity, competition, and key executives. “I I don’t have a business plan, but the technology is disruptive.”
In a long, convoluted way, the value proposition we bring to the client gives them many different options for lawyers they can choose from, not just based on price, but also based on their profile, experience levels, and client reviews. That''s how we ended up developing this technology, to take that initial step out of the process.
“Attached is a copy of my full business plan for your review.” The first page of the business plan better be an executive summary which gives the investor a taste of the financials, as well as opportunity, competition, and key executives. “I I don’t have a business plan, but the technology is disruptive.”
“Attached is a copy of my full business plan for your review.” The first page of the business plan better be an executive summary which gives the investor a taste of the financials, as well as opportunity, competition, and key executives. “I I don’t have a business plan, but the technology is disruptive.”
Language Weaver is backed by Palisades Ventures, the Tech Coast Angels, and The Athenaeum Fund. The problem them was, we've got ten documents, how do we get through those. It's gone from document acquisition, to document exploitation. It's gone from document acquisition, to document exploitation.
After struggling to create your business plan for months, every entrepreneur likes to think that their document is inspirational and will reach someone who is smart enough to see the brilliance of the idea, intuitive enough to recognize their business acumen, and enthusiastic enough to offer the money required to make it happen.
The short answer is that plans are living documents and should be constantly evolving. Whether due to technological, regulatory, or competitor driven factors, key market dynamics you envisioned when you came up with your idea, did your research and developed your business plan, no longer apply. 1) Your market has changed.
After struggling to create your business plan for months, every entrepreneur likes to think that their document is inspirational and will reach someone who is smart enough to see the brilliance of the idea, intuitive enough to recognize their business acumen, and enthusiastic enough to offer the money required to make it happen.
Whether it’s something as extensive as filing patents, more simple trademark registrations, and or putting appropriate documentation in place, don’t ignore this and don’t rely on boilerplate online templates. And relying on NDAs is not the answer.
Therese Tucker: My background is technology. It's unusual to have a CEO from the technology side, they're usually from sales. How much competition is there in this space with people like Oracle, SAP, etc? Plus, it makes their auditors and compliance people much happier. What's the story behind Blackline, and how did it start?
The free app gives drivers the opportunity to document the scene and contest the ticket. Fixed is not without competition, LA-based Cited launched last year and charges 20% of the cost of the ticket. Fixed claims that 50% of tickets are dismissed when challenged. If you lose you pay $1.95 convenience fee.
Yet 2013 is still projected by The Fiscal Times as a difficult IPO opportunity for startups, due to choppy markets, continuing fiscal uncertainty, and the Facebook fiasco. Don’t try to talk your way to a deal before you have the documentation. For the full year 2012, venture-backed initial public offerings raised $21.5
As a long-time advisor to entrepreneurs and business owners, I rarely find someone who doesn’t proclaim that the business world is changing rapidly, with new technology, new customer expectations, and new cultures. It takes a well-rounded and motivated team to run a competitive business today. Once gone, customers won’t be back.
“Attached is a copy of my full business plan for your review.” The first page of the business plan better be an executive summary which gives the investor a taste of the financials, as well as opportunity, competition, and key executives. “I I don’t have a business plan, but the technology is disruptive.”
Another VC called the co-founder & tech head – Parker Harris. It’s easier when you have traction and a competitive process for your funding is likely. There are some partners that after the first meeting ask for belt-and-braces document exchange. What competitive products did they consider?
Regularly follow reviews and influencers in your industry. Of course, you may not have the time or desire to read through every document in your space, but it’s not so hard to find and follow some key influencer blogs on social media.
If the market is new and competition is minimal, then the time and costs of educating potential customers probably exceeds your survival time and budget. Every business takes time to scale and penetrate a market due to organizational growth, hiring, training, brand building and customer adoption.
This is the dreaded “duediligence” process. In my view, understanding duediligence can only improve information flow, and leads to a better long-term partnership with your investor. In my view, understanding duediligence can only improve information flow, and leads to a better long-term partnership with your investor.
We moved into the legal process and final duediligence in January and February of 2000. Don’t over shop – If the deal you’re involved with involves raising venture capital or selling your company you naturally want some competition. You know that every turn of the legal documents can add weeks. It was December 1999.
This is the dreaded “duediligence” process. In my view, understanding duediligence can only improve information flow, and leads to a better long-term partnership with your investor. In my view, understanding duediligence can only improve information flow, and leads to a better long-term partnership with your investor.
Well … I have had many late nights and I really didn’t contemplate writing many blog postings this month because I spent November in this interesting venture capital / fund raising dance involving lots of late night sessions reviewing legal documents, rewriting business plans and preparing for pitches. Page 3: Competition.
And as I’ve written about before – building a personal brand is extremely important in today’s competitive job market. I was building a document management company and he was building a document signature company. Without inventing the browser he has single-handedly created a personal VC brand on a shoestring.
So, definition: when I talk about a business plan I’m not talking about a 40-page Word document outlining your market approach. What about your competition – how much do they charge? Usually in a tech / software startup 70-80% of your costs will be people. Each quarter you should review your model.
Yet, despite his exceptional courtroom theatrics, you would be foolhardy to hire good old Johnnie to review your software cross-licensing agreement. Such a lawyer will not go out of their way to screw you, but when crafting the investor documents and in future investor-related issues, your lawyer’s allegiance must be to your company.
We organize all of the trending information in your field so you don't have to. Join 5,000+ users and stay up to date on the latest articles your peers are reading.
You know about us, now we want to get to know you!
Let's personalize your content
Let's get even more personalized
We recognize your account from another site in our network, please click 'Send Email' below to continue with verifying your account and setting a password.
Let's personalize your content