Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 7, 2013

I’m super excited to announce that GRP Partners led the investment in Ethan Anderson’s new company MyTime (link has LA-based merchants but will give you a good feel for the product). In the same year they won Business Insider’s Startup competition. So I asked Ethan to build his product first and then we would fund.

CTO Coach 359

CTO Coach Google CTO Hire Yammer 359

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 29, 2011

Amazon in turn led to the formation of an earlier stage of venture capital now led by what I call “micro VCs&# who typically invest $250-500k in companies rather than the $5-7 million that VCs used to invest. Some have moved into later stage investments in an effort to “put logos on their websites.&# Funny, that.

Venture Capital 296

Venture Capital Capital Software Startup 296

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 7, 2018

You can use this just internally for you and the people on your team helping you in the raise or if you have existing investors or advisors you can open it up to share with them. If you’re building an education startup and you don’t see any logos of education companies on the firm’s website you are likely targeting the wrong firm.

Funding 215

Funding Startup Venture Capital News 215

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 25, 2012

You have probably heard plenty of times that being an entrepreneur is a risky business, and investors talk all the time about reducing the risk. Here is my own priority list of key risk drivers that every entrepreneur and every investor should evaluate and minimize in starting a business: Team experience and depth risk.

Entrepreneur 108

Entrepreneur Examples Social Network Marketing 108

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 9, 2016

If you aren’t willing to take some risk as an entrepreneur, then don’t expect any gain. Yet everyone has limits, and every investor implicitly has similar limits on what makes a startup investable, or one to avoid at all costs. A strong team has one or more executives who have run a startup before in the current business domain.

Startup 104

Startup Entrepreneur Sites Technical Review 104

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 5, 2011

I’m an entrepreneur at heart so I’m always inspired when I hear stories about innovation. I’m here to build long-term, stable relationships that I hope will pay off over a decade, not a week. It’s why my investment philosophy is called, “ the entrepreneur thesis.&#. Of course I have.

Venture Capital 317

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Press 317

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 22, 2018

If you aren’t willing to take some risk as an entrepreneur, then don’t expect any gain. Yet everyone has limits, and every investor implicitly has similar limits on what makes a startup investable, or one to avoid at all costs. A strong team has one or more executives who have run a startup before in the current business domain.

Sites 81

Sites Technical Review Social Media Entrepreneur 81

Tech.Co

MAY 31, 2023

Launching and growing a startup is one of the biggest missions an entrepreneur can undertake. But while competition remains fierce, the advancement and accessibility of smart solutions are making it easy than ever for startups to find their feet. Read our guide to the best VoIP desk phones to check out its competition.

Tool 128

Tool Startup Software Review Technical Review 128

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 27, 2019

A theme I often hear from the entrepreneurs and startups I advise is that once they see that first surge of traction from customers, they can relax and enjoy life for a change. In today’s world of growing competition and customer evolution , holding your own, and growing to the next level is a constant challenge that can never be ignored.

Ideas 77

Ideas Custom Customer Competition 77

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 27, 2016

That’s why today I’m so excited to finally be able to tell you about Density , a company I led a $4 million financing (2) along with Jason Calacanis (We’re teaming up on the board together! We’re essentially a data platform and envision others building applications to take advantage of this information. Why Density?

Marketing 150

Marketing Course Startup Organization 150

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 19, 2015

Yet I can’t remember the last time any entrepreneur asked me to assess personal potential, despite the fact that most investors will admit they invest in the person more than the product. These people are the ultimate chess players in the game of startups, always looking to be two or three moves ahead of the competition.

Startup 106

Startup Incubator Entrepreneur Metrics 106

socalTECH

AUGUST 27, 2014

We had worked at another organization together in online marketing, and learned every aspect of the business, from closing new deals, on-boarding new clients, to building media plans. Brett Rossman: We have got a great team, of very smart, very passionate people, who are very good at what they do.

Startup 239

Startup El Segundo Marketing Media 239

SoCal CTO

APRIL 8, 2010

Death By Competitive Analysis - Steve Blank , March 1, 2010 Trading emails with a startup CEO building an iPhone app, I asked him why potential customers would buy his product. In response he sent me a competitive analysis. It looked like every competitive analysis I had done for 20 years, (ok maybe better.)

Startup 150

Startup Software Review Competition SoCal 150

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 8, 2014

If you aren’t willing to take some risk as an entrepreneur, then don’t expect any gain. Yet everyone has limits, and every investor implicitly has similar limits on what makes a startup investable, or one to avoid at all costs. A strong team has one or more executives who have run a startup before in the current business domain.

Entrepreneur 101

Entrepreneur Sites Technical Review Social Media 101

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 28, 2018

My friend Michael Broukhim, founder & co-CEO of FabFitFun and I recently had a catch-up meeting for 3-miles on the Santa Monica “Bird Trail” No company has ever elicited so many questions by friends, colleagues, entrepreneurs, fellow VCs and journalists as has Bird, the company that pioneered the electronic scooter as a service market.

Santa Monica 256

Santa Monica Funding Startup Course 256

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 21, 2016

Others, like Guy Kawasaki , have irreverently called some of these “entrepreneur lies,” but I prefer to think of them as innocent enhancements or omissions that can kill your deal. They expect to hear about founders and team member’s prior experience in building a startup, and knowledge in the relevant solution domain.

Funding 98

Funding Startup Innocal Entrepreneur 98

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 18, 2015

I rarely talk to any startup entrepreneur or VC who doesn’t feel it and somehow long for simpler times despite the benefits we all enjoy from increased enthusiasm for our sector. For entrepreneurs there’s too much money sloshing around. Have a shorter to-do list with more things that are in the “done” category.

Software Review 150

Software Review Startup Venture Capital Invest 150

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

” I mention journalists here because they perpetuate the myth that focusing on profits is ALWAYS the right answer and then I hear many entrepreneurs (and certainly many “normals”) repeating the same mantra. Have easy access to capital by investors who are committed to building businesses at Interent scale.

Startup 418

Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 418

Tech Zulu Event

NOVEMBER 12, 2013

Peter is an entrepreneur and founded and exited four digital media companies, he is going to be building with us and bringing a capability of advising and consulting digital media from startups to big brands on their digital media strategies. More interest and money invested in LA. Are there any other problems LA needs to fix?

Los Angeles 84

Los Angeles Media Invest Startup 84

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 17, 2014

Most entrepreneurs struggle with financial projections, not wanting to commit to numbers they can’t deliver, and having no clue what investors might consider reasonable. Equally important, you need to make these projections first as goals for your own use, to convince the team as well as investors that you have a business which is achievable.

Equity 99

Equity Venture Capital Invest Pricing 99

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 16, 2016

Whether you are talking to peers, competitors or investors, you as an active entrepreneur will be judged on your familiarity with today’s startup and funding jargon. In that context, I offer you my latest collection of popular investor-to-entrepreneur terms and concepts. Frothy is good for entrepreneurs. Seed-round investment.

Startup 57

Startup Software Review Equity Invest 57

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 28, 2013

Most entrepreneurs struggle with financial projections, not wanting to commit to numbers they can’t deliver, and having no clue what investors might consider reasonable. In reality, you need to make these projections first as goals for your own use, to convince the team as well as investors that you have a business which is achievable.

Startup 97

Startup Equity Entrepreneur Venture Capital 97

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 28, 2013

You have probably heard plenty of times that being an entrepreneur is a risky business, and investors talk all the time about reducing the risk. Here is my own priority list of key risk drivers that every entrepreneur and every investor should evaluate and minimize in starting a business: Team experience and depth risk.

Startup 104

Startup Examples Entrepreneur Social Network 104

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 18, 2016

As an entrepreneur looking for professional investors, one of the quickest ways to lose credibility and get rejected is to start with a ridiculously high pre-money valuation. I see it happen often in my angel investment group, and you can see it happen almost every week on the Shark Tank TV show. Team strength and experience is value.

Startup 71

Startup Patents Invest Blogging 71

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 25, 2016

In our industry we applaud the efforts for entrepreneurs to have tried and we know that today’s failure can bring the experience for tomorrow’s success. It turns out that to build a successful company you ultimately need this strange thing called “revenue” that people don’t just hand you: You need to earn it.

Startup 150

Startup Marketing Study SEO 150

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 14, 2012

“it’s smart to use an impending investment valuation to drive a higher acquisition valuation” I would like to amend her statement slightly to read, “it’s smart to use an impending investment valuation to drive an higher acquisition.” Christin goes on. You are not Instagram. Let me explain.

Venture Capital 316

Venture Capital Pricing Social Network Acquisition 316

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 11, 2011

New entrepreneurs often seem to confuse viability with fundability. Other entrepreneurs skip just some of the elements in Ten Keys to an Investment-Grade Business Plan. Investors know that entrepreneurs who start a business without a written plan almost always fail. Inexperienced team. None of these get funded.

Startup 97

Startup IBM IBM Entrepreneur 97

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 21, 2010

I recently read a post over on VentureHacks titled, “ Top Ten Reasons Entrepreneurs Hate Lawyers &# written by Scott Walker (who blogs on legal issues for entrepreneurs ). They’ll only do this if they believe you’re a high potential team and are likely to raise money at some point. the link is here.

Startup 318

Startup IP Southern California Entrepreneur 318

SoCal CTO

JUNE 9, 2010

Why Entrepreneurs Hate Lawyers. Facebook is about to try to dominate display ads the way Google dominates text ads - Chris Dixon , May 15, 2010 It is customary to divide online advertising into two categories: direct response and brand advertising. Dan McKinley and Wil Stuckey from the Etsy Curation team here. The Curation Team.

Startup 248

Startup Venture Capital Conference Social Media 248

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2010

You have probably heard plenty of times that being an entrepreneur is a risky business, and investors talk all the time about reducing the risk. Here is my own priority list of key risk sources that every entrepreneur and every investor should evaluate and minimize in starting a business: Team experience and depth risk.

Startup 89

Startup Examples Entrepreneur Social Network 89

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 3, 2009

LA not only produced the obvious – MySpace – but also created the whole category of sponsored search (Overture), AdSense (Applied Semantics), Local Search (City Search), comparison shopping (PriceGrabber, Shopzilla) and lead generation (LowerMyBills). Much of this was highlighted at Twiistup. photo credit to Brian Solis].

Twiistup 228

Twiistup SoCal Southern California Yammer 228

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 12, 2010

That’s because a company’s value is a composite of all of the quantitative and qualitative factors that comprise a company: revenues, expenses, risks, growth prospects, quality of the management team, competitive advantages, strength of the intellectual property, and so forth. Detail isn’t important; tracking your progress is.

.Net 89

.Net Metrics Competition Template 89

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 15, 2010

Pretty much anything that goes into a business plan falls into one of these four categories: Opportunity : Every successful business exploits an opportunity. A lot of first-time entrepreneurs think that a brilliant solution is the most important ingredient in building a successful business, but it's only one of many important elements.

Startup 91

Startup Oracle Entrepreneur Ideas 91

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 23, 2010

New entrepreneurs often seem to confuse viability with fundability. Other entrepreneurs skip just some of the elements in Ten Keys to an Investment Grade Business Plan. Investors know that entrepreneurs who start a business without a written plan almost always fail. Inexperienced team. None of these get funded.

Startup 49

Startup Venture Capital IBM IBM 49