Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 13, 2011

It’s very common for startup companies to have COO’s. So I know I’m getting myself into a bit of trouble by writing this. But … Startups don’t need – shouldn’t have – COOs. I have this conversation with every startup that comes to see me and has a CEO & a COO.

Startup 325

Startup Technical Review Sales Report 325

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 20, 2013

It’s a shame because the ability to nail these presentations at key conferences can be once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to influence journalists, business partners, potential employees, customers and VCs. So I thought I’d write a piece on how not to suck when you give a presentation. Stories have starts, middles and ends.

Slides 399

Slides Startup Conference Writing 399

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 23, 2011

One of the most frequent questions entrepreneurs ask about when they raise a little bit of money or are getting close to launching their first product is whether they should hire a PR firm. In a startup this is a mistake. In this instance I typically recommend that startups NOT hire a big, well-known PR firm.

Startup 349

Startup Writing Press Blogging 349

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 9, 2018

Your product demo crushed. 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. If three of us go to the first meeting there’s no reason to have a follow up meeting 6 weeks later!)

Software Review 381

Software Review Startup Email Conference 381

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2012

Tracy DiNunzio isn’t your typical Silicon Valley startup founder. She did her first tech startup after the age of 30. And she didn’t start her company in Northern California. She leveraged herself and even sold many of her possessions to get started. She started her business from a personal need.

Startup 363

Startup Entrepreneur SEO Venture Capital 363

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 25, 2014

This blog started from a series of conversations I found myself having over and over again with founders and eventually decided I should just start writing them.It Kobe is famous for waking up crazy early every morning and practicing for longer and harder than nearly anybody else in the NBA. Think about Kobe Bryant.

Competition 394

Competition Startup Writing Marketing 394

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2014

Yesterday I wrote a post about The Silent Benefits of PR in which I pointed out that most young companies I encounter don’t fully grasp the benefits of PR because they are less measurable than product milestones or customer acquisition analyses (like CAC/LTV). When to start PR? ” Many CEOs act like VPs of product or CFOs.

Press 319

Press Startup Writing Training 319

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 24, 2015

As the number of sites on the Internet floats around one billion, the challenge with every new startup is to be found and stand out. Blogging is one of the best ways to do this and build a brand, even before you have a product or service. A great solution is necessary, but not sufficient, to build a great startup. Start today.

Blogging 110

Blogging Startup Search Engine Optimization Social Media 110

socalTECH

MARCH 28, 2019

Earlier this month, the annual Montgomery Summit conference was held in Santa Monica, including a special portion of the conference dedicated to the Rise of the Female Entrepreneur. I did a lot of M&A deals in those spaces, and had some earlier, startup stage experience. How did you end up joining March Capital?

Capital 162

Capital Entrepreneur Invest Artificial Inteligence 162

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 23, 2010

Often when startups who have raised venture capital need another round of financing they will turn to their existing investors to give them money before raising from outsiders. It starts as a debt instrument (e.g. They might put the kibosh on company travel and not attend some key meetings or conferences. And it adds up.

Startup 290

Startup Funding Venture Capital Pricing 290

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 11, 2010

I travelled for a couple of days for work and decided to get some sleep on those days rather than staying up into the wee hours as I often do when I travel. He ends up spending personal time trying to get through email. It’s not just the spammers or marketers trying to sell you products or services. This is my life, too.

Email 265

Email Startup Writing Blogging 265

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 20, 2013

The reason for this is that the executives who founded the company have so much tacit knowledge of how to position their product relative to the competition that they can easily win campaigns when they’re involved. Teams usually start with terminology that is very insular and less relevant to customers. So what’s next?

Sales 336

Sales Startup Competition Customer 336

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 17, 2016

The critical success factors for a product business are well known, starting with selling every unit with a gross margin of 50 percent or more, building a patent and other intellectual property, and continuous product improvement. Start with a service you know and love. Capture your “secret sauce.”

Services 61

Services Startup Training Writing 61

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 18, 2010

As a startup entrepreneur you’ll have many demands for your time. Especially if you start to have a degree of success or build a high public profile. Everyone will want you to speak at conferences. “Thank you for writing to me – it’s nice to hear from you (or meet you) via email.

Startup 305

Startup Venture Capital Writing Conference 305

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. It starts seemingly innocent enough.

Innocal 255

Innocal Conference Help Study 255

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 21, 2020

if you listen you’ll pick up much more than my quick notes below). We talked about what startup CEOs should do in these situations and how to think about these renegotiations. A seed deal hasn’t already been “priced up” to a range where a new investor might be concerned about the valuation relative to performance.

Venture Capital 263

Venture Capital Marketing Startup Writing 263

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 26, 2011

That doesn’t work in a startup. There’s a certain cadence that you can feel when you spend time hanging any well-run startup company. The startup entrepreneur knows that they’re going to be wrong often. Only half of this adage is accurate for startups. 3 months is a lifetime in a startup. Hiring at a Startup.

Startup 335

Startup Technical Review Framework Entrepreneur 335

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 12, 2017

We’re expected to be at conferences, events, sales meetings and be publicly visible. I have written about this before and often recommend to executives that they do less, but complete more by avoiding the shiny objects and distractions stop us from living up to our true potential. Lots of people start, very few finish.

Activity 297

Activity Blogging Email Startup 297

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 13, 2009

This is part of my ongoing series “Start-up Lessons”. I’m not going to cover in this post the obvious post-show marketing tasks such as following up on all those business cards you grabbed, communicating with all those people who registered at your site and leveraging your new found fame to score venture capital.

Startup 310

Startup Venture Capital Press Journal 310

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2014

I started in 2007 with a thesis that my primary investment decision would be about the team (70%) and only afterward about the market opportunity (30%). I was telling him that it was much easier when I started because there were fewer deals, life was less public and somehow the world seemed to be spinning more slowly. Web Summit.

Venture Capital 374

Venture Capital Invest Press Startup 374

Tech Zulu Event

APRIL 10, 2012

This weekend UCLA has put together 48hr Startup and TechZulu will be there to bring you all the final startup presentations live. UCLA 48hr Startup brings together people with technical, design or business background to share ideas, form teams, build products and launch startups. 7:30pm – Pitches Start.

UCLA 87

UCLA Startup Ideas Mentor 87

TechCrunch LA

OCTOBER 16, 2019

Scaling a nonprofit, startup style. With a focus on female venture capitalists and founders, All Raise hosts an annual conference, several in-person and virtual fundraising workshops and networking sessions and, recently, the group began creating curated peer groups for investors. “We I think the movement is just gathering momentum.

Venture Capital 184

Venture Capital Ideas Los Angeles Tool 184

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 2, 2018

The critical success factors for a product business are well known, starting with selling every unit with a gross margin of 50 percent or more, building a patent and other intellectual property, and continuous product improvement. Start with a service you know and love. Capture your “secret sauce.”

Services 72

Services Startup Training Writing 72

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2009

On December 2nd, 2006 I wrote the blog post published later in this post when I was CEO of startup Koral about my experiences in pitching VCs. I had seen many cycles and decided that since I was going to do it all over again I should write about it. I decided to write about my experience and to be blunt. And covered we did.

Venture Capital 274

Venture Capital Blogging Startup Slides 274

Tech.Co

JANUARY 29, 2018

Whether you’re an athlete or early-stage startup founder, getting your big break is a dream for any rookie. One of the best places for startups to expand their playbook is to participate in CES 2018 Eureka Park. But getting noticed by the right people is the just the beginning when it comes to launching your business.

Startup 87

Startup Mentor Artificial Inteligence Research 87

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 4, 2013

Should I trust my instincts for founders and products or should I be more focused on the market size or business plan? Before I tell you the reasons I’m concerned about investment banking intros, I should start by saying I think bankers are enormously helpful for entrepreneurs in raising money. start-ups are overvalued.

Venture Capital 347

Venture Capital Startup Pricing Invest 347

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 14, 2013

Creating awareness for your brand and products is one of the lifebloods of technology startups yet in a world where so many companies are being created it becomes difficult to rise above the noise. Ever notice how some companies tend to be in the press all the time and your big new product launch struggled for inches?

Marketing 389

Marketing Press Blogging Startup 389

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 30, 2019

What every entrepreneur needs more than anything else, after they have built an innovative new product or service, is visibility, credibility, and trust by customers, potential employees, and future business partners. Yet, most good business people I know agree, but don’t know where to start.

Writing 19

Writing Technical Review Entrepreneur Advertising 19

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2018

If you truly believe that you, your company and your products are exceptional and your company will be valuable then you’re actually doing them a FAVOR by helping them invest in your startup. Like any sale you first need to plan your “prospects” and qualify whether or not they’d be a good fit for your product?—?an

Venture Capital 332

Venture Capital Funding Startup Sales 332

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 27, 2014

The critical success factors for a product business are well known, starting with selling every unit with a gross margin of 50 percent or more, building a patent and other intellectual property, and continuous product improvement. Start with a service you know and love. Capture your “secret sauce.”

Services 105

Services Startup Training Writing 105

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 15, 2010

It starts in a crowded room at a conference or networking event. We set up Formation Media to bring that experience to the Internet. My partner was in product management at Demand Media. Sam stood up to ask a question. All 10 startups that are part of Launchpad LA got the chance to stand up for 2 minutes.

Startup 315

Startup Content Conference Media 315

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 3, 2013

She entered you reservation by writing in a time slot in a paper calendar and you were in. Today they announced the mobile version of their product – I’d be grateful if you would download it and give it a spin. and then took the lid off of the product by announcing the company – I wrote about that here.

Development Team Review 324

Development Team Review Course Mobile Writing 324

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2023

Of course, starting and running your own business comes with financial and personal risks, so I always recommend that you do your homework first, and follow some tried and proven strategies to improve your odds of success. It’s much easier to pivot before full production and much money has been spent.

Social Media 98

Social Media Metrics Media Tool 98

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 4, 2013

Should I trust my instincts for founders and products or should I be more focused on the market size or business plan? I think my mentality to banker pitches was best summed up in this article about Y Combinator in which Paul Graham apparently made the following quotes. start-ups are overvalued. What stage? What price?

Startup 361

Startup Venture Capital Pricing Technical Review 361

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 22, 2015

Five-and-a-half years ago I first met Chamillionaire at a tech conference in LA. We started hanging out a bit and discussing technology and entrepreneurship. After seeing Chamillionaire interact with several entrepreneurs both at events and as an investor I started introducing him to startups in an advisory capacity.

Conference 150

Conference Slides Social Media Summary 150

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 10, 2010

Let me start by saying I’m a huge business book cynic. But Net had told me that he picked up some valuable lessons from the book, so I thought, “WTF? They can travel the world, take classes in interesting subjects, spend time with loved ones or start new hobbies. You’re on the DS (deferred startup) plan.

Startup 295

Startup Email Technical Review Course 295

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 19, 2015

Yesterday I wrote about the need to “ do fewer things, more often ” in which I described that frenzied world we live in and why the shiny objects and distractions stop us from living up to our true potential. But lack of completion starts to erode confidence in one’s capabilities. Start, sure.

Startup 150

Startup Framework Sales Venture Capital 150