Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 14, 2020

Investors want to hear a quantified problem, a simple solution description, opportunity size, competition, traction, team qualifications, how much money you need, and what equity you are willing to give. Personalize your presentation, if possible, for every investor.

Entrepreneur 127

Entrepreneur Sample Ideas Customer 127

TechCrunch LA

DECEMBER 8, 2020

With those two funding rounds all equity-based, to buy up property itself and provide $10,000 cash advances to all sellers, Sundae previously also raised a debt fund from high net worth individuals, and it has a “very large” debt facility from Goldman Sachs that it also non-dilutive, Stech said.

Sales 282

Sales Demand San Diego Funding 282

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 27, 2012

As a member of the local Angel group selection committee, I’ve seen a lot of startup presentations to investors, and I’ve never seen one that was too short - maybe short on content, but not short on pages! Every startup needs both a business plan and an investor presentation, completed before you formally approach any investors.

Slides 99

Slides Competition Sample Sales 99

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 10, 2014

Professionals maintain that there is plenty of money and equity for qualified startups, and funding marginal startups via any source will only make more people unhappy. But safely seeking equity investments from the crowd via the Jobs Act of 2012 is problematic and has still not been defined.

Funding 101

Funding Equity Entrepreneur Invest 101

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 17, 2013

Professionals maintain that there is plenty of money for equity in qualified startups, and funding marginal startups via any source will only make more people unhappy. But safely seeking equity investments from the crowd via the Jobs Act of 2012 is problematic and has still not been defined.

Funding 106

Funding Equity Entrepreneur Sample 106

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 8, 2019

. “If big companies like Google, Facebook and Amazon are prevented from acquiring startups, that actually reduces competition,” Sirinivasan writes. If big companies like Google, Facebook, and Amazon are prevented from acquiring startups, that actually reduces competition. — Balaji S. ”

Technical Review 144

Technical Review Startup Chief Technology Officer Social Media 144

Berkonomics

JANUARY 26, 2017

The most striking example was the one hundred–million–dollar purchase of one of my companies by a New York private equity investor using only five million of its cash. Just think of the second tool, terms, you can use creatively to bridge that gap, whether driven by seller’s ego or competitive necessity. It’s an easy rule to remember.

Pricing 120

Pricing Sales Tool Equity 120

Berkonomics

AUGUST 27, 2015

In the case of technology and Internet-related companies, competitive advantage will have only a relatively short lifespan and that therefore the window of opportunity is not infinite. The Flipper’s executives usually have significant equity holdings, either actually owned or reflected in stock options.

Entrepreneur 120

Entrepreneur Equity Competition Pricing 120

InfoChachkie

AUGUST 11, 2014

According to lead researcher Professor Sarah Townsend, " When youre putting together an important presentation or working on a high-stakes project. Competitive Rivalry - Constructive internal competition that does not derail a startup from achieving its strategic goals will enhance your teams overall performance.

Startup 257

Startup Santa Barbara Competition Journal 257

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 10, 2011

As a member of the local Angel group selection committee, I’ve seen a lot of startup presentations to investors, and I’ve never seen one that was too short - maybe short on content, but not short on pages! Every startup needs both a business plan and an investor presentation, completed before you formally approach any investors.

Slides 93

Slides Competition Sample Sales 93

Tech.Co

JULY 18, 2016

For examples, our sponsor, Microsoft Accelerator , will have team members on the floor to take stock of all the budding startups and genius ideas that this showcase will no doubt present. Startup of the Year competition, which will be held in San Jose, CA during the Innovate! More startups to come**. Startup Showcase in Chicago.

Los Angeles 70

Los Angeles Angel Startup Newsletter 70

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 13, 2016

This is also the place to first mention patents and any other differentiators that put you ahead of competition. Every new offering has competition and alternatives, so it’s not credible to claim no competitors. Name the three top ones, and present your sustainable advantage as well as barriers to entry for new startups.

Invest 108

Invest Startup Slides Equity 108

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 31, 2012

My list of excuses includes: product, pricing, competition and lack of sales support. Sales people aren’t always motivated only by cash – especially in early-stage business you need to focus on equity because cash won’t be plentiful. This includes presentations, ROI calculators, competitive analyses and so forth.

Startup 319

Startup Sales Course Competition 319

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2015

Include your sustainable competitive advantage. Patents or other intellectual property are a real competitive advantage for a startup, but first to market and working harder are not sustainable. Focus on a specific market segment to match your solution. Major milestones along the way should also be outlined.

Summary 101

Summary Patents Technical Review Competition 101

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 10, 2015

Investors want to hear a quantified problem, a simple solution description, opportunity size, competition, traction, team qualifications, how much money you need, and what equity you are willing to give. Personalize your presentation, if possible, for every investor.

Entrepreneur 106

Entrepreneur Sample Ideas Customer 106

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 11, 2016

These are required to show that you have a defensible competitive advantage or at least a barrier to entry. Prepare an executive summary and investor presentation. Angel investors expect to review a short executive summary before booking time to hear an investor presentation or taking the time to analyze a full business plan.

Angel 65

Angel Startup Technical Review Social Media 65

Tech Zulu Event

NOVEMBER 26, 2012

Your entry is clearly in a larger market with the potential for an equity event far beyond any of the other competitors and then a much smaller market concept wins. Your concept clearly is more developed than any of the competition. The color scheme of your pitch deck obviously will not insure you win a pitch competition.

Startup 63

Startup Competition Social Media Education 63

InfoChachkie

AUGUST 8, 2011

Amarillo’s advice is consistent with my comments in the Startup Competition ; get to know your competitors on a personal basis, while appearing as innocuous as possible. Be vigilant and keep your eyes on your competition, especially when they are dealt their hands. The same is true with poker. Seven Card Entrepreneurial Stud.

Startup 207

Startup Entrepreneur Competition Guide 207

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2011

Over half of the survivors remaining are eliminated during live presentations, and another 6.5% The corporate entity lends itself best to the concept of “sharing” equity required by investors, and unincorporated entities don’t get funding. Build an investor presentation and summary. are eliminated during due diligence.

Invest 99

Invest Angel Technical Review Summary 99

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 24, 2018

You company is the product and you’re selling an equity ownership in your company but much more broadly you’re selling trust & confidence that you’re going to build something enormously valuable and that you’re going to be enjoyable to work hand-in-hand with over the coming decade of each other’s lives.

Venture Capital 314

Venture Capital Technical Review Invest Slides 314

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 21, 2016

Even non-profits need money to scale, but their pitch should be to philanthropists, not equity investors. Smart entrepreneurs highlight their own positives in competitive positioning, rather than competitor negatives. Equity investors are buying a chunk of your company at today’s value, not what you think it may be worth in five years.

Funding 98

Funding Startup Innocal Entrepreneur 98

Tech Zulu Event

MARCH 16, 2015

There’s plenty of capital out there, but there’s also a lot of competition for startup funding. Expect to be diluted by 20-25% with each equity round. They’re typically issued at a 10-20% discount to equity depending on the timeframe; higher range is for longer timeframes. His best advice: take capital where you can get it.

Startup 40

Startup Venture Capital Equity Funding 40

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 11, 2016

Investors want to hear a quantified problem, a simple solution description, opportunity size, competition, traction, team qualifications, how much money you need, and what equity you are willing to give. Personalize your presentation, if possible, for every investor.

Startup 57

Startup Entrepreneur Sample Ideas 57

socalTECH

MARCH 31, 2014

Whether that''s for competitive analysis or market analysis, our product is basically able to monitor--on a very large scale--things that are important to your particular company. To give you an overview, there are something like 6,000 equities in the U.S. We''re looking for lighting bolts in time which are important.

Orange County 245

Orange County Startup News IBM 245

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 16, 2015

Many successful crowdfunding campaigns, just like many startups funded by angels and VCs, fail miserably due to normal business challenges, including inventory buildup, marketing, competition, and customer support. Thus crowdfunding is clearly not the panacea for funding and success that many entrepreneurs envision.

Startup 53

Startup Equity Entrepreneur Demand 53

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 11, 2010

there may be major competitive changes in the market that makes your next funding round hard (e.g. Let’s assume that the $2 million buys 25% of your company, which is the norm in an equity financing. They can fund a deal if necessary and valid at the time you present an acquisition target to them. Should you take it?

Startup 319

Startup Venture Capital Capital Competition 319

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 4, 2012

All private equity groups go about due diligence in their own way, but there are a few key areas of focus that entrepreneurs should always expect: Team strength and health. Sustainable competitive advantage. The kiss of death is for investors to find unanticipated competition you neglected to mention. No validated pain, no deal.

Technical Review 94

Technical Review Startup Writing Competition 94

Tech Zulu Event

MARCH 1, 2012

Niche apps can usually demand a higher price point because there isn’t much competition out there. Truthfully, getting involved in the app market is more about creating a solution that solves problems which people want fixed, in a way that people aren’t presently solving them. Having competition isn’t a bad thing.

Marketing 97

Marketing Startup Software Review Competition 97

socalTECH

DECEMBER 7, 2016

We worked on Beatshare at Chapman, where there was a business plan competition, which we won. From there, we went on to a national competition, California Dreamin, which had over 200 entrants from multiple universities, with undergrad, graduate, and postgraduates from all around the country for three days, and we got second place.

Tech Coast Angels 100

Tech Coast Angels CTO Coach Startup Pasadena Angels 100

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 24, 2012

The corporate entity lends itself best to the concept of “sharing” equity required by investors, and unincorporated entities don’t get funding. Having a defensible competitive advantage or “barrier to entry” is another critical step to funding, and another common stumbling block during all phases of the funding process.

Angel 104

Angel Screening Summary Startup 104

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 22, 2010

All private equity groups go about due diligence in their own way, but there are a few key areas of focus that entrepreneurs should always expect: Team strength and health. Sustainable competitive advantage. The kiss of death is for investors to find unanticipated competition you neglected to mention. No validated pain, no deal.

Technical Review 90

Technical Review Writing Competition Tips 90

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 10, 2010

Michael is a very accomplished corporate executive in his own right having run Sega Gameworks and helped IPO EuroDisney as well as having been on the founding team of DreamWorks SKG (where he helped them raise their first $900 million in equity). Shame they didn’t like his suggested name for the company: DreamWorks SKG-MM.

Venture Capital 242

Venture Capital Mission Ventures Capital Help 242

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 23, 2010

Over half of the survivors remaining are eliminated during live presentations, and another 6.5% The corporate entity lends itself best to the concept of “sharing” equity required by investors, and unincorporated entities don’t get funding. Build an investor presentation and summary. are eliminated during due diligence.

Angel 89

Angel Funding Technical Review Startup 89

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2013

You may know how much to pay in cash or equity for your new VP Engineering. In Rob’s spare time he always seems to be going to a boxing class or some other competitive, physical activity. Presenting at Meetings without Going Down a Rathole (this was written for VC pitches but many lessons apply). Always seek input.

Tips 365

Tips Email Venture Capital CTO Coach 365

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 14, 2012

You are either bought for stock or for equity. The first being a competitive acquisition offer from a fierce competitor. And so this situation of having VCs and acquirers present is a common one. Not as an enticement to get a buyer to pay up after the deal. Think about it. Let’s say you target LinkedIn to buy you.

Venture Capital 316

Venture Capital Pricing Social Network Acquisition 316

socalTECH

MAY 21, 2013

We also know we''re not a startup, and don''t have equity to offer. On the other side, we had incredible high ranking search results when we were baked off against the competition. We''ve been very aggressive on the technology front. But, we go out of our way to create a tech-friendly culture and environment. READ MORE>>.

Technical Review 223

Technical Review Glendale Advertising Google 223

socalTECH

MAY 21, 2013

We also know we''re not a startup, and don''t have equity to offer. ON the other side, we had incredible high ranking search results when we were baked off against the competition. We''ve been very aggressive on the technology front. But, we go out of our way to create a tech-friendly culture and environment. READ MORE>>.

Technical Review 211

Technical Review Glendale Advertising Google 211