Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 3, 2023

One of the reasons that now is the time to be an entrepreneur is the explosion of startup assistance organizations, usually called incubators or accelerators. A few are still trying to make a profitable business out of nurturing startups, but it’s a challenge to make money when your customer startups don’t have many resources to give.

Organization 92

Organization Incubator Startup Resource 92

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 9, 2018

You race back to the office to tell everybody how well it went and you wait for the follow-up call to have a partners’ meeting or talk about term sheets or at least dip into due diligence. This is a very common scenario when entrepreneurs pitch VCs and frankly is a very common scenario when VCs try to raise money from LPs. everything.

Software Review 381

Software Review Startup Email Conference 381

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 20, 2013

” It is one of the easiest pieces of advice to give as it is almost always valuable if entrepreneurs follow it as a guideline. But think about it … What made Instagram, Instagram with a B? As I’m fond of saying “ The Scarecest Resource at a Startup is Management Bandwidth ” so choose wisely.

Course 368

Course Resource Social Media Design 368

socalTECH

MARCH 4, 2010

We thought we'd get the background on the new effort directly from Jason Nazar , CEO and founder of Docstoc, to learn more about the new service. For those who haven't heard yet, tell us about DocStore and what it is all about? Most people are really glad to have this premium resources, and it's risk free.

Technical Review 171

Technical Review Rustic Canyon Screening Startup 171

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 4, 2016

Nowhere is this more apparent than working in a startup where you are definitionally under-resourced and trying to make big accomplishments in compressed periods of time. Modern-society is also littered with over-networkers and over-introducers and professional conference attendees. That’s why focus is critical.

Innocal 255

Innocal Conference Help Study 255

Tech.Co

MAY 25, 2018

If you’re an early-stage entrepreneur, technology has served you well. Fortunately, the Startup of the Year program aims to make it easier for founders to connect with resources. Having the pitches and showcase as part of the conference is a nice feature for the startups, so the whole thing isn’t just about the pitch.

Startup 140

Startup Technical Review Competition Software Review 140

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 15, 2010

I recently wrote a piece about how Entrepreneurs Should be Respected, Not Loved. You’re thinking about hiring an employee but you sit on the fence too long. Your’e thinking about investing in a company. But you’re concerned about market acceptance or market size. It is the anthesis of JFDI.

Startup 299

Startup Entrepreneur Resource Venture Capital 299

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 7, 2009

Business Etiquette Tips for dealing with VCs and Corporates at Conferences. With the LeWeb conference about to start in Paris I thought the timing of this post would be appropriate. Right after Techcrunch50 Michael Arrington wrote this great post on how to interact at business events and conferences.

Startup 322

Startup Conference Email Venture Capital 322

Tech Zulu Event

JULY 21, 2015

Pocket Sun didn’t want to be the only girl in the room at startup conferences. So she started a conference for girls. Hundreds of founders, speakers, mentors, and students flocked to the University of Southern California on March 28 th , 2015 to be inspired by female entrepreneurs. She didn’t stop there. It was crazy!

Entrepreneur 40

Entrepreneur Southern California Conference Startup 40

socalTECH

JANUARY 2, 2020

Every year, at the end of the year, we share some reflections on the past year from our readers, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, sponsors, and others in the local technology community. Socaltech has partnered with Sutton Capital Partners with their Recurring Revenue Conference for several yars. Two lessons learnedand relearned!

Capital 100

Capital SoCal Southern California SaaS 100

socalTECH

DECEMBER 30, 2019

Every year, at the end of the year, we share some reflections on the past year from our readers, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, sponsors, and others in the local technology community. While 2018 was all about better understanding the SoCal opportunity, 2019 was about honing our focus and defining our core programs.

SoCal 140

SoCal Southern California Startup Venture Capital 140

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 21, 2019

If we build it, they will come ” may have worked as a movie theme for Kevin Costner, but as an investor, I tell entrepreneurs a great solution is not enough. Successful businesses require innovative people, who have built an abundance of innovation capital, to win support and resources for their ideas.

Product 93

Product Ideas Resource Capital 93

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

Based on my experience as a business advisor, most businesses don’t think about the need for change until a crisis occurs. In addition, it is important to stay actively involved in external activities relevant to your business, including industry conferences and panels. Regularly update and publish your vision and goals.

Customer 126

Customer Custom Activity Study 126

SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 10, 2009

He has a really interesting background as a product manager and now an entrepreneur. Tell me a bit about your background. And what do you think about the controversy about stealth vs. not for startups? So I obsess about ways to iterate and make it better. Tell me a bit about the Founder's Institute.

Product 150

Product Entrepreneur Social Media Google 150

socalTECH

DECEMBER 26, 2019

Every year, at the end of the year, we share some reflections on the past year from our readers, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, sponsors, and others in the local technology community. First, within our portfolio I am really excited about Wheels (Crosscut led the seed round at the end of 2018). in 2005 for $680M. READ MORE>>.

Southern California 100

Southern California News Platform Class 100

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 3, 2016

In the VC insider baseball world a discussion has gone on about “VC platforms” over the past 5 or so years. The new war for platforms has mostly been waged by Andreessen Horowitz who have raised astounding amounts of capital and therefore had the fees to put into providing more services for entrepreneurs.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Platform Startup Resource 150

InfoChachkie

JUNE 27, 2011

I recently answered the question “ What are good ways to raise your children to be entrepreneurs? ” I believe that you cannot teach someone to be an entrepreneur, but that you can teach entrepreneurs. Every entrepreneur is faced with making something out of nothing. Note: This is part I of a five part series.

Entrepreneur 270

Entrepreneur Startup Venture Capital Resource 270

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2018

Your entire process should be about “testing” whether your prospect has Interest Authority to make a decision Budget Is willing to continue spending actual time with you and analyzing you. Today I want to talk about the process and how to allocate your time. Remember, I was an entrepreneur for 10 years before a VC).

Venture Capital 332

Venture Capital Funding Startup Sales 332

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 31, 2023

For example, it has long been widely accepted that one of the primary causes for entrepreneur failure in new startups is that many give up too soon. It takes effort and homework to find productive relationship channels, such as industry conferences, connections to experts, and key customer relationships.

Startup 121

Startup Satisfaction Technical Review Ideas 121

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 20, 2018

Every entrepreneur wants to hear “yes” during the fund-raising process but I would argue that being too risk averse and not pushing hard enough and be willing to hear a “no” is what holds back many people from “yes.” Possibly offend and entrepreneur leading to reputation risk amongst other entrepreneurs.

Funding 189

Funding Software Review Entrepreneur Venture Capital 189

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 2, 2020

That’s why I caution my aspiring entrepreneur clients against proclaiming to investors that they are a great “idea” person. in Physics who talks passionately about starting a business producing nuclear powered batteries. The bridge from thinking and talking, to doing, is a long and difficult one for many to get over.

Ideas 126

Ideas Writing Examples Outsource 126

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 8, 2014

It’s that time of year where we think about new beginnings. Smart founders use this extra resource to their advantage. Great networking skills, which are critical when you want to be about to reference entrepreneurs & concepts and bounce your ideas off of other people in the industry. Just ask Rob Bailey.

Help 365

Help Invest Venture Capital Technical Review 365

Tech Zulu Event

DECEMBER 12, 2011

After three years of being in Silicon Valley, the Teens in Tech Conference is expanding, and coming to Los Angeles! Join them on Saturday, December 17th, at Microsoft’s Los Angeles office for a conference all about youth, entrepreneurship, media, entertainment, startups, and more.

Los Angeles 80

Los Angeles Conference Entertainment Resource 80

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 27, 2011

The following are some lessons I learned about early-stage startup marketing. Where Stealth is Good – There’s a lot of discussions on the web about whether startups should be stealthy before they launch or not. It means avoiding drinking too much at cocktail parties with other tech people and bragging about your plans.

Marketing 380

Marketing Startup Press Technical Advisors 380

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 9, 2013

I spoke this past week at the LeWeb conference in London, which was a superbly well run event with a very quality production team. I believe that market conditions drive innovation as much as great entrepreneurs do. Empowering the under-employed – I spoke about this briefly already. Market meet reality.

Marketing 361

Marketing Course Pricing Networking 361

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 17, 2016

One of the reasons that now is the time to be an entrepreneur is the explosion of startup assistance organizations, usually called incubators or accelerators. A few are still trying to make a profitable business out of nurturing startups, but it’s a challenge to make money when your customer startups don’t have many resources to give.

Incubator 106

Incubator Startup Help Resource 106

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2018

One of the reasons that now is the time to be an entrepreneur is the explosion of startup assistance organizations, usually called incubators or accelerators. A few are still trying to make a profitable business out of nurturing startups, but it’s a challenge to make money when your customer startups don’t have many resources to give.

Incubator 87

Incubator Startup Resource Seed Funding 87

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 27, 2012

Today I’d like to talk about what startup communities outside of Silicon Valley look like, how they emerge and what makes them take hold. Most of what I think about startup communities came from mentorship by Brad Feld through hours of private discussion and debate. LA has the annual Monty Conference. Think again.

Startup 378

Startup Venture Capital Press San Diego 378

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2018

If you haven’t yet heard about Female Founder Office Hours it is an initiative you should be aware of whether you’re male, female or any other gender identify. Please help share this widely so that more women become aware of this important resource that is being run nationally. LA Female Office Hours.

Venture Capital 256

Venture Capital Examples Screening Help 256

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 27, 2012

My friend and fellow SoCal venture capitalist Peter Lee wrote a post about the different roles within a VC and spent much time on the role of an associate. Then there is the EIR (entrepreneur in residence) who is usually at a VC for a temporary period of time and other individuals such as venture partners or operating partners.

Venture Capital 308

Venture Capital Sales Entrepreneur Startup 308

Tech Zulu Event

SEPTEMBER 23, 2013

Big crowd of entrepreneurs, professors, students, and established professionals. I wanted to connect LA’s incredible entrepreneurs with the larger business community and with the resources of USC.”. The conference itself was focused on innovation, technology, and startups. The conference was filled with a several panels.

USC 98

USC Cornerstone OnDemand Southern California Netflix 98

SoCal CTO

JUNE 9, 2010

He’d been working at a well-funded startup for about a year and had come to terms with the fact that the startup was really a pretty dumb idea. Draw Your Ideas - A VC : Venture Capital and Technology , May 16, 2010 I saw Jack Dorsey give this talk at The 99% Conference last month. Why Entrepreneurs Hate Lawyers. Tesla is not.

Startup 248

Startup Venture Capital Conference Social Media 248

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2020

As a business advisor, I listen to many of you entrepreneurs talking about achieving your dreams, but too few of you have structured that dream, and can express it in a set of specific goals, with a timeline for getting there. Building a business is not a solo operation. Register what you learn each day, and update the plan.

Writing 139

Writing Startup Summary Activity 139

Tech.Co

NOVEMBER 28, 2017

Here, for the first time, I’ve collected a round-up of the most interesting incubators and accelerators from areas of the country you’re less likely to have heard about in tech circles. While it could include a film school once completed, little has been released about it. The Land O’Lakes Dairy Accelerator.

Incubator 70

Incubator Santa Clarita Technical Advisors FAQ 70

socalTECH

JULY 24, 2018

We sat down with Matt Petersen , President and CEO of the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI), to learn more about the new initiative and how it hopes to help startups with innovative solutions to climate change. The Governor has a conference in September, and was seeking to highlight exciting startups in the fight against climate change.

Competition 100

Competition Incubator Startup Ideas 100

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 24, 2015

In this age of relationships, you, the entrepreneur, are a very important element of your new brand, and it’s never too early to start marketing the value of your expertise, insights and ideas. Every entrepreneur should count on at least a couple of adjustments or pivots before they get it right.

Blogging 110

Blogging Startup Search Engine Optimization Social Media 110

Tech.Co

NOVEMBER 9, 2017

It is here where innovators, artists, entrepreneurs and more have moved from all around the world to join it's welcoming startup community. On a macro level, one of my main responsibilities is elevating the idea of being an entrepreneur and the importance of entrepreneurs to our economy. Can you tell us more about GFMEDC?

Screening 70

Screening Mobile Entrepreneur Startup 70