Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 16, 2014

We’ve been dying to tell you all for a while that we had raised a new venture capital fund and of course given SEC filing requirements the story was somewhat already scooped by the always-in-the-know Dan Primack a few weeks ago. If you want to understand how the VC industry is changing there is a great primer in the link.

Venture Capital 396

Venture Capital Funding Technical Review Startup 396

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2010

One of the questions I’m most often asked is, “what’s it like being a VC?&# I’ve been a VC for nearly 3 years now. I always start my answer to this question with, “you’d have to be a pretty big baby to complain about being a VC.&# And the VC job has plenty of admin and minutiae.

Venture Capital 312

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Entrepreneur 312

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 8, 2019

Angel investors and venture capitalists don’t make equity investments in nonprofit good causes. In the US, a nonprofit is technically any company who qualifies as tax exempt through IRS Section 501(c). What options do they have available to them, since they can’t sell a share of the company (no equity investment)?

Equity 94

Equity Startup Technical Review Organization 94

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

Struggling entrepreneurs are often so happy to get a funding offer that they neglect the recommended reverse due diligence on the investors. Taking on equity investors to fund your company is much like getting married – it is a long-term relationship that has to work at all levels. It’s no fun for either side.

Technical Review 103

Technical Review Innocal Offshore Entrepreneur 103

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 16, 2010

Lots of discussion these days about the changes in the VC industry. The VC industry grew dramatically as a result of the Internet bubble - Before the Internet bubble the people who invested in VC funds (called LPs or Limited Partners) put about $50 billion into the industry and by 2001 this had grown precipitously to around $250 billion.

Venture Capital 311

Venture Capital Startup Seed Funding Rustic Canyon 311

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 11, 2022

Angel investors and venture capitalists don’t make equity investments in nonprofit good causes. In the US, a nonprofit is technically any company who qualifies as tax exempt through IRS Section 501(c). What options do they have available to them, since they can’t sell a share of the company (no equity investment)?

Funding 130

Funding Equity Technical Review Organization 130

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 8, 2019

Responding to Elizabeth Warren’s call to regulate and break up some of the nation’s largest technology companies, the venture capitalists that invest in technology companies are advising the presidential hopeful to move slowly and not break anything. This too shall pass.” — Balaji S. ”

Technical Review 144

Technical Review Startup Chief Technology Officer Social Media 144

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 27, 2016

Struggling entrepreneurs are often so happy to get a funding offer that they neglect the recommended reverse due diligence on the investors. Taking on equity investors to fund your company is much like getting married – it is a long-term relationship that has to work at all levels. It’s no fun for either side.

Technical Review 63

Technical Review Innocal Offshore Entrepreneur 63

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 12, 2011

Chris Dixon is one of my favorite people in tech and writes one of the few blogs I read religiously. If you don’t read it and you care about tech & entrepreneurship, you should. He and I once took different sides of an debate about whether “VC signaling&# in early-stage deals is a serious problem or not.

Technical Review 281

Technical Review Venture Capital Startup Artificial Inteligence 281

TechCrunch LA

FEBRUARY 20, 2019

Capitalism is fundamentally about timing, since market competition is about finding opportunities before others. When should a VC invest? Between TechCrunch today and my former roles in venture capital, I’ve had the opportunity to practice timing a lot. Mithril Capital, management fees, and VC strategic drift.

Venture Capital 202

Venture Capital Startup Technical Review Invest 202

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2010

Our guest this week on #TWiVC was Dana Settle , partner at Greycroft Partners , a venture capital firm with offices in New York and Los Angeles. It’s always fun debating companies with Dana because she’s always so knowledgeable on deals – particularly those in the digital media, ad-tech and eCommerce spaces. Founded in 2007.

Venture Capital 240

Venture Capital Startup Platform Technical Review 240

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

If you track the venture capital industry it would be hard to miss the conversation going on this week over AngelList “Syndicates.” My favorite new VC blogger, Hunter Walk, weighed in with some thoughtful comments about how Syndicates might actually pit, “ angel vs. angel.” Bowery Capital).

Venture Capital 356

Venture Capital Invest Course Technical Review 356

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 13, 2013

In the US, a non-profit is technically any company who qualifies as tax exempt through IRS Section 501(c). What options do they have available to them, since they can’t sell a share of the company (no equity investment)? There is no discussion of equity, or return on investment. Individual and institutional donations.

Equity 83

Equity Technical Review Organization Startup 83

TechCrunch LA

JANUARY 29, 2020

Kleiner Perkins , one of the most storied franchises in venture capital, has already invested much of the $600 million it raised last year and is now going back out to the market to raise its 19th fund, according to multiple sources. Speaking onstage at the Upfront Summit, an event at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.

IBM 164

IBM IBM Venture Capital Invest 164

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 23, 2010

They’re not in search of price fixing or collusion, they’re in search of diligence information about the company. Have you looked at competition? How well financed is the competition? Convertible or equity? This also happens with VCs. I asked every VC not to call Salesforce. At what valuation?

Pricing 292

Pricing Entrepreneur Technical Review Venture Capital 292

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 4, 2014

I think as a tech industry we have bred a culture that places more emphasis on product excellence than managing human behavior. But I would posit that in order to sustainably build great products in an intensely competitive industry with skills shortages – people management is one of the most critical soft skills organizations need.

Startup 340

Startup Technical Review Course Press 340

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

But the biggest thing to know is this: Companies who are scaling quickly in revenue and with a high gross margin often should invest as much capital in growth as they can manage responsibly because when you find a product / market fit and your company is growing at a very fast scale you want to capture market share before competition sets in.

Startup 383

Startup Company Companies .Net 383

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 15, 2015

Angel investors and venture capitalists don’t make equity investments in non-profits. In the US, a non-profit is technically any company who qualifies as tax exempt through IRS Section 501(c). What options do they have available to them, since they can’t sell a share of the company (no equity investment)?

Startup 100

Startup Angel Equity Technical Review 100

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

Angel investors and venture capitalists don’t make equity investments in nonprofit good causes. In the US, a nonprofit is technically any company who qualifies as tax exempt through IRS Section 501(c). What options do they have available to them, since they can’t sell a share of the company (no equity investment)?

Angel 52

Angel Funding Equity Technical Review 52

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 15, 2012

In the US, a non-profit is technically any company who qualifies as tax exempt through IRS Section 501(c). What options do they have available to them, since they can’t sell a share of the company (no equity investment)? There is no discussion of equity, or return on investment. Individual and institutional donations.

Technical Review 87

Technical Review Organization Equity Startup 87

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 11, 2016

A business needs technical, marketing, financial and many other skills. These are required to show that you have a defensible competitive advantage or at least a barrier to entry. Remember that angel investors are buying equity in your business, so they are not impressed with a customer presentation.

Angel 65

Angel Startup Technical Review Social Media 65

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 3, 2011

In the US, a non-profit is technically any company who qualifies as tax exempt through IRS Section 501(c). What options do they have available to them, since they can’t sell a share of the company (no equity investment)? There is no discussion of equity, or return on investment. Individual and institutional donations.

Funding 95

Funding Technical Review Organization Equity 95

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2011

I spoke about how Amazon Web Services deserves far more credit for the last 5 years of innovation than it gets credit for and how I believe they spawned the micro-VC category. I said that I felt that Micro-VCs were the most important change in our industry. It is great for entrepreneurs and great for VCs. I believe that.

Pricing 309

Pricing Marketing Startup Venture Capital 309

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 20, 2016

There is a common belief in the angel and venture capital community that you put your money on the best team, rather than the best idea. Even if your product is a technological marvel, I look for balanced strength on the team in finance, marketing and operations. Solo entrepreneurs rarely find an investor.

Startup 60

Startup Entrepreneur Software Review Technical Review 60

socalTECH

MARCH 20, 2015

What our technology does, is it offers up an exit ad unit, so if a user hasn''t booked on a publisher they have look at, that ad unit will show relevant ads. We want to give publishers the ability to use this technology, to help them monetize their traffic. Ross Weber: We''re not here to replace ad platforms like Google Adsense.

Advertising 100

Advertising Startup Software Review Platform 100

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 6, 2010

In the US, a non-profit is technically any company who qualifies as tax exempt through IRS Section 501(c). What options do they have available to them, since they can’t sell a share of the company (no equity investment)? There is no discussion of equity, or return on investment. Individual and institutional donations.

Angel 57

Angel Technical Review Startup Organization 57

Tech Zulu Event

NOVEMBER 7, 2013

The women in the program commit $5,000 and invest as a group of woman in a social venture in exchange for equity. The selection process is entirely based on Pipeline Fellowship members, by reviewing the application and choosing 8-10 applicants to speak at our Pitch Summit. People have to get in the game.

Mentor 84

Mentor Invest Entrepreneur Startup 84

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 1, 2010

I continue to collect great content that is the intersection of startups, products, online and technology. The United States is now a debtor nation to China and that the bill is about to come due. These are probably the two sites where I've posted the most reviews. One out of ten of Americans are out of work. By doing the job.

Technical Review 175

Technical Review Startup Product Technology 175

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 5, 2011

Seattle should be the envy of any non Silicon Valley tech community in the country. It really wouldn’t take much to turn a great technology ecosystem into a truly electric one. He listed all of the product releases that were up coming, the customers that were in the pipeline and where he saw his competition moving.

Venture Capital 317

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Press 317

Tech Zulu Event

NOVEMBER 12, 2013

I think from the perspective of real credibility, what we need is venture capital in the private equity marketplace. It is happening to a certain extent as some of the Silicon Valley firms are a lot more active down here than they used to be, you got guys down here checking out companies and doing their diligence.

Los Angeles 84

Los Angeles Media Invest Startup 84

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 2, 2013

In fact, quite the opposite usually happens, due to complexity and work to switch. That’s probably the soft way of saying, we don’t have a patent or any “secret sauce” for a competitive advantage. Investors expect the founder and other principals to have “skin in the game,” over and above “sweat equity.” Me, myself, and I.”

Entrepreneur 111

Entrepreneur Startup Social Network IBM 111

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 24, 2012

Another variation on this theme is the person who creates a “solution” from technology, and then makes up a “problem” that it will solve. In fact, quite the opposite usually happens, due to complexity and work to switch. That’s probably the soft way of saying, we don’t have a patent or any “secret sauce” for a competitive advantage.

Startup 95

Startup Social Network IBM IBM 95

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 24, 2011

In fact, quite the opposite usually happens, due to complexity and work to switch. That’s probably the soft way of saying, we don’t have a patent or any “secret sauce” for a competitive advantage. Investors expect the founder and other principals to have “skin in the game,” over and above “sweat equity.” Me, myself, and I.”

Startup 98

Startup Social Network IBM IBM 98

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 24, 2010

Another variation on this theme is the person who creates a “solution” from technology, and then makes up a “problem” that it will solve. In fact, quite the opposite usually happens, due to complexity and work to switch. That’s probably the soft way of saying, we don’t have a patent or any “secret sauce” for a competitive advantage.

Startup 52

Startup Social Network IBM IBM 52