Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 10, 2013

I made many classic first-time mistakes which serves both as my warning signal of which teams to avoid funding (if I perceive they will make critical mistakes often led by hubris) and also as my source for coaching others. Startups are filled with enormously talented people – often product people & engineers.

Startup 412

Startup Press Course Entrepreneur 412

socalTECH

AUGUST 1, 2019

Irvine-based Ingram Micro , a distributor of technology products and provider of cloud and other related services, has launched a new competition aimed at startups, thec ompany said this morning. Ingram Micro said the competition is also being support by Microsoft's Microsoft for Startups group. READ MORE>>.

Competition 145

Competition Startup Equity Software Development 145

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 11, 2011

At the time when you did a search on Lycos, Alta Vista or similar for a category such as Cars you ended up getting 9 spam results and 1 proper website to meet your needs. He came up to Bill after the event and said, “clever idea, we should do that with you.&# The idea actually came to him from the Yellow Pages business.

Competition 350

Competition Idealab Product CitySearch 350

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 3, 2014

Most technology startups seem to be funded by product people or business people. My first startup was no different. This is why I tell startups that most seasoned sales execs aren’t right for startups. Here’s what I learned in running my first startup. Startups are the art of the possible.

Sales 382

Sales Help Startup Pricing 382

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 4, 2013

Figure out the appropriate time to step on the gas with more funds. Shallow and superficial and racing from segment to segment in search of some take up has never been a strong strategic plan for me. I have written this up before if you’re interested – I call it Deflationary Economics. LEAN STARTUP MOVEMENT.

Startup 401

Startup Customer Custom Technical Review 401

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2011

2 preamble issues having read the comments on TC today: 1: I know that the prices of startup companies is much great in Silicon Valley than in smaller towns / less tech focused areas in the US and the US prices higher than many foreign markets. I said both in the article but felt compelled to provide a statement up front for the skimmers.

Startup 336

Startup Pricing Technical Review Marketing 336

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 15, 2014

Of course this can be done and of course I am a big proponent of the rise of startup centers across the country as the Internet has moved from the “infrastructure phase” to the “application phase” dominated by the three C’s: content, communications and commerce. ” But I think this misses the point.

Company 369

Company Companies Startup Snapchat 369

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 27, 2011

But should you actually write one if you’re a startup, an industry figure (lawyer, banker) or VC? People often ask me why I started blogging. It really started simply enough. GRP Partners last fund is the single best performing VC fund in the US (prequin data) for its vintage year). Absofuckinglutely.

Blogging 373

Blogging Startup Writing Venture Capital 373

TechEmpower

AUGUST 7, 2023

What does it mean to be a CTO for a startup? Should a startup CTO spend their time programming? Increasing competitive advantage? Here’s a graphic from Socal CTO that illustrates the roles as they change over time: In its earliest days, a startup’s top need is often to produce a product. What does the role demand?

CTO Hire 260

CTO Hire Develop Development Fractional VPE 260

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 29, 2014

It had an influence on the people who fund our industry in a negative way as many asset managers who fund our industry read this flawed report. I hope to publish that deck and a full write up in the next 10 days in partnership with Dan Primack at Fortune (if my write up doesn’t suck, I guess ;-)). Startup Lessons'

Venture Capital 362

Venture Capital Capital Writing Startup 362

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2018

The most important advice I could give you before you set out in fund raising mode is to understand that fund-raising a sales & marketing process and needs to be managed. In my post “ Measure twice, cut once ” I’ve outlined how to plan before you start raising. You can short-hand this as “engagement.”

Venture Capital 332

Venture Capital Funding Startup Sales 332

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 23, 2017

When you run a startup you’re always on borrowed time. It’s why so few can really start a business from scratch. Fund raising is hard for everybody. Fund raising is like a funnel where you need a bunch of potential leads in the top end and only a few will reach the bottom.

Funding 238

Funding Venture Capital Startup Course 238

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 11, 2011

What could you learn from looking at your competitors or other tech startups in a different way? Or you think their startup is a passing fad and yours is the real deal? I was at a dinner about a year ago with a few VCs and startup founders. The topic of FourSquare came up. I hear views like this all the time.

Startup 313

Startup Press Writing News 313

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 22, 2010

This is part of my startup advice series. It’s still important advice for startup founders and something that I’m passionate about. Tools like Identified.com haven’t existed for me to do this in an automated way as they are starting to emerge. Yes, if you were a startup CEO I would probably cut you some slack.

Startup 392

Startup Geni Google IBM 392

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 13, 2014

Let me start with the news that I’m excited to share with you. Competitive (Athlete: skier & rowed at Princeton, hates losing at everything she does). Startup CEO experience (Founded P.S. XO along with my good friend Soleil Moon Frye. She rolls up her sleeves and helps get tasks done rather than just directing people.

Venture Capital 408

Venture Capital Startup Outsource Development CitySearch 408

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 6, 2018

Fund raising. But it’s critical for your business, for you as a leader and people who excel at fund raising have an extreme advantage over those who do not. As a VC I also have to fund raise every three years and these posts 100% apply to VCs raising money, too. It definitely has a “d” in it, as in it’s really not fun, raising.

Funding 236

Funding Venture Capital Startup Entrepreneur 236

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2019

Do you need a board when you first start you company? If you haven’t raised any money or if you raised a small round from angels or friends & family I would suggest you avoid setting up a formal board unless the people who would join your board are deeply experienced at sitting on startup boards.

Startup 236

Startup Venture Capital Tips Capital 236

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 28, 2011

I will argue that when the dust settles, although we will have fewer firms, each type well end up more focused on traditional stage segments that cater to the core competencies of that firm. I will argue that LPs who invest in VC funds will also need to adjust a bit as well. When I built my first company starting in 1999 it cost $2.5

Venture Capital 334

Venture Capital Software Capital Startup 334

TechCrunch LA

APRIL 26, 2022

Many grocery delivery startups begin small, in one city, building up locations to cater to a certain neighborhood. Food Rocket has taken an unconventional route, striking a funding deal with Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. On-demand grocery startup Food Rocket launches in the Bay Area, goes up against delivery giants. “We

Funding 246

Funding Demand Los Angeles Competition 246

Tech.Co

DECEMBER 29, 2023

2023 hasn't been an easy year to be a startup. In fact, according to Crunchbase more than 212 startups closed their shutters in the third fiscal quarter alone – the highest number recorded in the firm's history. Yet, while many early-stage startups crumbled under the pressure, diamonds also emerged.

Startup 194

Startup Generative AI Newsletter Tool 194

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 11, 2021

As an angel investor to startups, I’m still surprised to find entrepreneurs who expect investors to give them money, and assume no strings attached. Angel and venture capital money always comes with ownership and management implications, starting with the obvious ones outlined in the term sheet for the deal.

Funding 173

Funding Startup Entrepreneur Report 173

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2020

leadership, mentorship, competitiveness, communications, relationship-building?—?and I’ve become fond of saying “if I had a dollar for every person who told me just how much they loooooved Kara Nortman, I’d have a 10x fund.” Kara said “no” because she wanted to start her own company, which she did and I backed.

Venture Capital 361

Venture Capital Startup Invest CitySearch 361

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 18, 2022

Don’t bash the competition. Every investor knows how vulnerable a new startup is to competitors, so investors always ask about your sustainable competitive advantage in the marketplace. That says you are competitive today, have a real barrier to entry, and the potential to remain ahead of the competition for a long time.

Competition 133

Competition Patents Resource Invest 133

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 16, 2013

I work with a lot of startups. I start to notice when bad behavior creeps into the system as a whole. I remember just a decade ago in 2003 when we all laughed at how dumb people in the 90′s were talking about the race to “capture as many eyeballs as possible” before your competition. I have said so for years.

Venture Capital 412

Venture Capital Startup Funding Snapchat 412

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 14, 2021

This raises a big red flag with potential investors, who conclude that no competitors means no market, or you haven’t looked, and the new startup is likely not investable. First to market, for example, is not normally a sustainable advantage for startups. Startup team with experience and connections is this domain.

Competition 166

Competition Funding Startup Patents 166

TechCrunch LA

SEPTEMBER 18, 2019

AOL co-founder and former chief executive officer Steve Case’s venture capital fund, Revolution , deploys capital to companies “outside of the hotbeds.” When we started doing this, it was heretical,” Revolution co-founder Tige Savage tells TechCrunch. Today, Washington, DC-based Revolution is announcing its latest fund.

Venture Capital 211

Venture Capital Funding Seed Funding Activity 211

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 30, 2011

I’m a very big proponent of the “lean startup movement&# as espoused by Steve Blank & Eric Ries. In the late 90′s I saw a dangerous trend creeping into the startup world, which was that companies were suddenly raising huge amounts of money too early in their existence. This post originally appeared on TechCrunch.

Development Team Review 374

Development Team Review Technical Review Startup Resource 374

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 20, 2014

It is the bane of every startups existence because it takes up so much time, it is so competitive to sign people and it feels like unproductive time because it’s not moving the ball forward on product, engineering, sales, marketing, biz dev, fund raising. Set up calls for VCs to welcome her to the team.

Press 341

Press Startup Email Sales 341

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 22, 2010

Due to competitive markets we ended up with a pretty good term sheet until we needed to raise money in April 2001 and then we got completely screwed. Brad Feld hadn’t written his seminal “ term sheet series &# and The Funded hadn’t yet been created. Back then VentureHacks didn’t exist.

Venture Capital 405

Venture Capital Pricing Startup Funding 405

TechCrunch LA

MAY 29, 2019

Los Angeles-based PlayVS (pronounced “play versus”) wants to become the dominant platform for amateur esports, starting at the high school level. I grew up on the west side of Detroit and started working at the cell phone store of a family friend when I was 13. Delane P. : And then two additional franchises.

Startup 204

Startup Coach Competition Los Angeles 204

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 25, 2019

Here are some observations I have from this exposure: If a company moves from strength-to-strength with predictable outcomes, easy financings, low staff turn-over, limited competitive threats then the composition of the board probably doesn’t matter as much. This is part of a series on a Board of Directors at a Startup.

Startup 269

Startup Venture Capital Layoffs Resource 269

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 20, 2014

According to a recent Forbes article , UC Santa Barbara''s Technology Management Program offers students a superior startup education over the University of Pennsylvania (home of Wharton), as well Harvard, Northwestern and even its acclaimed southern neighbor, the University of Southern California. Techpreneurs. Share and Enjoy.

Santa Barbara 258

Santa Barbara Technical Review Startup Venture Capital 258

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

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 12, 2014

These tensions seep out in some angels or seed funds publicly or semi-privately deriding later-stage VCs for their “bad” behavior. Prorata investments rights given investors the right to invest in your future fund-raising rounds and maintain their ownership % in your company as your company grows and raises more capital.

Guide 336

Guide Venture Capital Startup Writing 336

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 1, 2014

It’s the company that evokes fear into more startups and venture capitalists looking to fund eCommerce businesses than any other potential competitor. Every pitch I’ve ever seen has led to the, “Would Amazon eventually do this? And could we then compete?” ” type questions. 10x the experience. .”

Technical Review 380

Technical Review Software Review CTO Hire Startup 380

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 3, 2013

Let me start by saying that Clayton is one of the most influential people on my thoughts about markets that led to both the concept behind my first startup and my main theses in investing. Startup Grind was a truly awesome conference and Derek the consumate host. We spoke about the disruption of VC through crowd funding.

Venture Capital 403

Venture Capital Education Offshore Outsource Development 403

TechCrunch LA

AUGUST 11, 2021

The link-in-bio business is heating up as more mobile website builders compete for a coveted slice of real estate on a creator’s TikTok, Instagram or Twitter. Linktree has been around since 2016 and has more funding than its up-and-coming competitors. Now, Snipfeed enters the ring with its own $5.5 Image Credits: Snipfeed.

Platform 286

Platform Commerce Tips Tool 286