Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 4, 2012

This is the dreaded “due diligence” process. In my view, understanding due diligence can only improve information flow, and leads to a better long-term partnership with your investor. Technical due diligence typically starts with a full one or two day review with the engineering and product marketing staff.

Technical Review 94

Technical Review Startup Writing Competition 94

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 22, 2010

This is the dreaded “due diligence” process. In my view, understanding due diligence can only improve information flow, and leads to a better long-term partnership with your investor. Technical due diligence typically starts with a full one or two day review with the engineering and product marketing staff.

Technical Review 90

Technical Review Writing Competition Tips 90

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 20, 2020

For starters Uber itself has had to lay off 27% of its workforce due to the pandemic and has been severely impacted financially from the crisis with no immediate respite in sight. Even more likely is eventual technology disruption where drones deliver foods and make it hard for existing car delivery services to compete.

SaaS 242

SaaS Custom Customer Technical Review 242

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 31, 2021

The sweeping infrastructure package put forward today by President Joe Biden comes with a price tag of roughly $2 trillion (and hefty tax hikes) but gives startups and the broader tech industry about $1 trillion worth of reasons to support it. What excites me about this space is that there’s so much low-hanging fruit.

Startup 229

Startup Technical Review Invest Research 229

TechCrunch LA

MAY 20, 2021

Construction tech startups are poised to shake up a $1.3-trillion-dollar As more people spent time at home last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the startup saw its contract revenue spike by 5x, Wu says. Eano, she said, offers competitive and transparent pricing so that homeowners aren’t surprised as a remodeling project goes on.

Technical Review 185

Technical Review Startup Venture Capital Software Review 185

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 11, 2014

There’s an article making the rounds in tech circles titled “ Growth Hacking is Bull ” written by Muhammad Saleem. I actually really enjoyed many of the points Muhammad made about marketing in general and I found myself nodding through the entirety of the article except for it’s core premise. Doesn’t.

Technical Review 384

Technical Review SEM SEO Marketing 384

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 18, 2019

The Truth About the Scooter Economy?—?An Pause to think about how remarkable that truly is. They also were exclusive to Bird so they gave the company a competitive advantage. Turns Out There Are Competitive Moats There were some tech meme’s out there last year that scooter companies had no moats.

Santa Monica 250

Santa Monica Venice Competition Software Review 250

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 19, 2019

How many times have investors heard startups start their pitch by touting that their technology is “disruptive?” What entrepreneurs forget or don’t realize is that most customers are wary of all technology, educating the market on new technology is expensive, takes a long time, and people buy problem solutions rather than technology.

Technical Review 87

Technical Review Technology Startup Social Media 87

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 14, 2011

The venture capitalists we look at to fund our deals are certainly tightening down, there's no question about that. Investors are very focused on diligence, on business models that make sense, and those companies that have a definite competitive advantage and defensibility to what they're doing.

Tech Coast Angels 231

Tech Coast Angels Technical Review Angel Southern California 231

socalTECH

MAY 21, 2013

One of the largest concentrations of technical talent in Los Angeles is in Glendale, at YP -- staffed with a surprising number of Los Angeles startup vets. We were quite surprised to learn about the extent of your operations here. Our whole product and technology team is about 500 people. How big is YP? Louis and Atlanta.

Technical Review 223

Technical Review Glendale Advertising Google 223

Tech.Co

FEBRUARY 16, 2024

Unlike a lot of grants on this list, the competition is open to all US small businesses, as long as they have fewer than 99 employees, have been operating for at least six months, and have a FedEx business account that's been open before September 1, 2023. It's competitive though – last year 18,000 applicants competed for only 12 slots.

Technical Review 193

Technical Review Software Review Startup Competition 193

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 13, 2023

Some analysis and due diligence along the following lines should be performed on every idea, as a reality check, before committing your efforts and other people’s money to building a business: Look for places where competitors are few. A successful startup is more about the right people and the right execution than the right idea.

Ideas 106

Ideas Technical Review Patents Startup 106

socalTECH

MAY 21, 2013

One of the largest concentrations of technical talent in Los Angeles is in Glendale, at YP (www.yp.com) -- staffed with a surprising number of Los Angeles startup vets. We were quite surprised to learn about the extent of your operations here. Our whole product and technology team is about 500 people. How big is YP.com?

Technical Review 211

Technical Review Glendale Advertising Google 211

Tech.Co

SEPTEMBER 25, 2015

From apps to hardware, to KickStarter successes and international startups, we’re inching closer to finding out who will take home the title of Startup of the Year competition at our annual Celebrate Conference in October. Among the dozens of participants that applied for the online competitions, only a few progressed into the semifinals.

Competition 122

Competition Mobile Startup Technical Review 122

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 4, 2013

I recommend you read Fred Wilson’s recent blog post about the need for a well articulated business strategy before pushing a particular business model. Put simply – you need enough users in a segment who care about what you’re doing to dictate investing further in the product or in sales & marketing resources.

Startup 401

Startup Custom Customer Technical Review 401

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 24, 2018

Usually after a Monday partner meeting you get a pretty strong: Yes, term sheet coming No, sorry we’re passing Maybe, we need to do more due diligence / analysis / work I always counsel founders that “good news comes early” so if you haven’t heard by Tuesday at noon chances are it wasn’t likely a clean “yes.” Good luck with your raise!

Venture Capital 314

Venture Capital Technical Review Invest Slides 314

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 12, 2022

I’ve learned over the years that you need to start with specific goals, a focused strategy , and a motivated and prepared team in order to penetrate competitive defenses. They assume their innovation will overwhelm any competition, anywhere. Capitalize on territory the competition has not penetrated.

Marketing 125

Marketing Technical Review Startup Resource 125

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 23, 2010

We all know about AngelGate by now. Here’s what you need to know… As a funny coincidence I happend to have written about the topic of collusion 3 weeks prior to the fateful dinner. They’re not in search of price fixing or collusion, they’re in search of diligence information about the company.

Pricing 292

Pricing Entrepreneur Technical Review Venture Capital 292

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 is not a new model, and it makes no sense,” says Narasin.

Technical Review 144

Technical Review Startup Chief Technology Officer Social Media 144

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 28, 2018

less than 18 months from when the company was created so I thought it was probably a good time to weigh in on the questions I get asked most frequently and why we’re so excited about Bird. How could Bird really be worth the reported $2 billion valuation that I read about in this press? The company has done zero paid marketing.

Santa Monica 256

Santa Monica Funding Startup Course 256

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 30, 2014

As I’ve written about recently, at Upfront Ventures we started talking a couple of years ago about wanting to fund stuff with more meaning. What about if elderly people never had to ask a relative or healthcare worker to change the batteries on their hearing aids? The practical uses for uBeam technology is limitless.

Technical Review 418

Technical Review Software Review CTO Hire IP 418

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 6, 2021

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. Maintaining business momentum requires constant analysis and vigilance for market and technology changes, as well an internal focus on optimization.

Technical Review 160

Technical Review Technical Advisors Startup Mentor 160

socalTECH

DECEMBER 20, 2017

It means competition is more fierce because formidable new competitors can arrive overnight. What every PM needs to know about user segments Avoid the myth of the average user… Your product must meet the needs of some group of users, or else… This may seem obvious, but in practice it’s why many promising products fail. Read more… ??

Technical Review 100

Technical Review Metrics Ideas Product 100

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 17, 2014

I could have listened to her for hours as many of her lessons were ones I hadn’t heard before such as how she used online gaming when she was younger as a way of both teaching herself tech as well as learning to lead remote teams. Nanea Reeves has a storied career in senior leadership roles at technology companies.

Technical Review 315

Technical Review Blogging RSS Organization 315

Tech.Co

MAY 31, 2023

But while competition remains fierce, the advancement and accessibility of smart solutions are making it easy than ever for startups to find their feet. Best Communication Tools for Startups Communication tools refer to any type of technology that helps businesses stay connected. Here are a couple of our favorites.

Tool 128

Tool Startup Software Review Technical Review 128

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 11, 2011

I often hear the qualms of business-smart but non-technical entrepreneurs, wondering if they really have a chance in this high-technology marketplace. I tell them that if their idea or solution is technology intensive, they clearly need technology strength on the team. Sometimes brain teasers are a good start.

Technical Review 94

Technical Review Entrepreneur Outsource Development Outsource 94

socalTECH

OCTOBER 11, 2010

Last week, the University of Southern California 's Viterbi School of Engineering announced that it had established a new, business plan competition, the Maseeh Entrepreneurship Prize Competition ([link] specifically aimed at students in the engineering school. Why a business plan competition, and why in engineering school?

Competition 154

Competition Southern California Mentor USC 154

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 1, 2014

We always had the added advantage that I have never met a single person in my life who ever said anything positive about their storage provider or experience. He told me that his girlfriend (at the time) had lost a lot of stuff and they were thinking about storage solutions and the experience was terrible. 10x the experience. .”

Technical Review 380

Technical Review Software Review CTO Hire Startup 380

Tech.Co

MAY 25, 2018

If you’re an early-stage entrepreneur, technology has served you well. In 2006, a passion to help startups grew into Tech Cocktail , a company whose mission was to showcased burgeoning companies in bars around the country. The Foundation was created in 1997 by tech pioneers, Jean and Steve Case.

Startup 140

Startup Technical Review Competition Software Review 140

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 5, 2014

You can have the best technology, but if customers don’t know you exist, or they don’t know how your technology solves a real problem for them, your startup will fail. Yet I see many technology entrepreneurs that focus on the basics of marketing too little and too late. Marketing is everything these days. Marty Zwilling.

Technical Review 103

Technical Review Tips Marketing Entrepreneur 103

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

Many questioned whether it could survive under the fail whale, inevitable competition from Facebook, founder fighting, fights with 3rd-party developers let alone become a revolutionary business that could make money. Internally at Upfront Ventures we talk about “high consensus” vs. controversial deals with “high conviction.”

Funding 362

Funding Technical Review Ideas Startup 362

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 17, 2013

What I’m talking about here is a level of discipline and skill necessary to collect and analyze the relevant business data, known as metrics. As the end of the year approaches, it’s a good time for every startup to assess the metrics, technology, and platforms they’re using to manage the business. Customer loyalty and retention.

Metrics 100

Metrics Technical Review Sales Custom 100

Tech.Co

MARCH 8, 2018

Fortunately, for those headed to SXSW, Startup Night SXSW 2018 , presented by the Kauffman Foundation and TechCo, will be filled with investors from a multitude of industries who are looking to discover and fund startups building the latest solutions and tech innovations. Blackwell, iTech Program Executive & OCT Innovation Liaison, NASA.

Technical Review 70

Technical Review Startup Software Review Entrepreneur 70

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 4, 2023

The world of marketing is changing faster than technology these days. These days it is often more about being unique than being valuable. The broad-brush push-marketing is no longer competitive. You need to give them something to talk about and incentives to be brand ambassadors. Marty Zwilling.

Marketing 107

Marketing Technical Review Startup Innocal 107

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2020

leadership, mentorship, competitiveness, communications, relationship-building?—?and I called an (ex) LP to tell him about her and my goals for her. Leadership is about recognizing your next generation of talent and helping lift them up. Or, maybe it’s just about getting out of the way and watching what they can achieve.

Venture Capital 361

Venture Capital Startup Invest CitySearch 361

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 31, 2012

I often hear the qualms of business-smart but non-technical entrepreneurs, wondering if they really have a chance in this high-technology marketplace. I tell them that if their idea or solution is technology intensive, they clearly need technology strength on the team. Sometimes brain teasers are a good start.

Technical Review 92

Technical Review Technology Startup Outsource Development 92

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 11, 2022

Nobody cared about our valuations any more. If they didn’t care about him they certainly didn’t care about me or Jason Lemkin or Jason Calacanis or any of us. Almost no financings, many VCs and tech startups cratered for the second time in less than a decade following the dot com bursting. Until we weren’t.

Venture Capital 466

Venture Capital Startup Marketing Pricing 466