Both Sides of the Table

MAY 10, 2012

I recently spoke at the Blue Glass conference on the topic of marketing. I’ll write up some thoughts in a blog post format soon. Hopefully I will teach myself Keynote soon and give up PPT. I’ll try to pick up on some of these themes over the coming month or two.

Conference

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 27, 2011

I made every textbook mistake at my first startup, which is why I believe I was much more effective at my second one. The following are some lessons I learned about early-stage startup marketing. I worked with an entrepreneur who was to appear at a startup networking event where he was to talk about his company’s plans.

Marketing

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 16, 2010

A few days before the meeting the CEO asked me to change the meeting to 11:45 because “he was going to be wrapping up a meeting in Pasadena at 11am&# and it would take 45 minutes to get to Century City where my offices are. &# No problem,&# I replied. And that’s why he stood me up! At 11:15am (e.g I was furious.

Startup

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 13, 2011

It’s very common for startup companies to have COO’s. 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. I think usually a COO title at a startup is an ego thing. CEO’s run things.

Startup

SoCal CTO

JANUARY 2, 2013

I've had several Startup CTO Consulting sessions recently where it became apparent that the Founder needed help with the business and product as much or more than the technology. Then we discussed how they could go about finding this startup business advisor. Do you have any suggestions for how to find a good mentor?

CTO Coach

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 22, 2013

I recently wrote a post about how to manage relationships when you’re at a startup or are busy executive. I had images in my brain of all of the stresses I had placed on my wife in the heyday of my startups. A spouse’s hints for surviving an incredibly busy start-up person. Help encourage him not to.

Tips

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 27, 2012

Recently I wrote a post arguing to make the definition of a Startup more inclusive than that to which Silicon Valley, fueled by Venture Capital return profiles, would sometimes like to attach to the word. Most of what I think about startup communities came from mentorship by Brad Feld through hours of private discussion and debate.

Startup

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 7, 2014

I recently returned from a 5-day visit to Ireland, my first time back in 10 years and the start of what I hope will be a more regular travel schedule there. Paddy got the idea to invite a bunch of founders together in an anti-conference that just focused on building founder relationships and sharing war stories.

Conference

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 4, 2013

In my opinion no amount of clever marketing or chest beating at conferences can create a market if you don’t have an amazing product to begin with. Shallow and superficial and racing from segment to segment in search of some take up has never been a strong strategic plan for me. LEAN STARTUP MOVEMENT.

Startup

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 23, 2011

In a startup this is a mistake. In this instance I typically recommend that startups NOT hire a big, well-known PR firm. All too often I’ve seen senior PR people from big firms come in and pitch for new business to startups while having 22 year-olds who do all the work once it’s won. There is one carve out.

Startup

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 13, 2014

A few days before the meeting the CEO asked me to change the meeting to 11:45 because “he was going to be wrapping up a meeting in Pasadena at 11am” and it would take 45 minutes to get to Century City where my offices are. “No problem,” I replied. ” So I didn’t go to the conference. I was furious.

Conference

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 29, 2014

I often describe “chutzpah” as being able to skate right up to the line of acceptability without crossing over it. Years ago I started using the term “politely persistent” to remind people that you still need to be likable even if you have gumption. Be polite, but never accept a simple ‘no.’

Venture Capital

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. Many of them have their iPhones and laptops ready to command their attention the moment that you start sucking.

Slides

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 19, 2013

The era of VCs investing in successful consumer Internet startups such as eBay led to a belief system that seemed to permeate many enterprise software startups that hiring sales or implementation people was a bad thing. If you’re an early-stage enterprise startup services revenue is exactly what you need. We like software.

Startup

socalTECH

JUNE 19, 2013

It''s all Silicon Beach, all the time, for all of the rest of the week--starting today--as Silicon Beach Fest , the combination conference, networking session, party started by Kevin Winston, kicks off at noon. silicon beach fest siliconbeach conference event week startup technology entertainment content'

Santa Monica

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 18, 2012

Mark is a Partner at GRP Partners and authors one of the most widely read startup blogs, BothSidesOfTheTable. Start – It’s The Only Way You Will Know. Mark reinforced this message by telling the students, “I didn’t start young enough. I started at 31. The reality is, most startups do not work.

Entrepreneur

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 14, 2010

Yesterday I wrote a post about top-down versus bottom-up thinking. So they create a task list of all the marketing activities an organization can do: press releases, web site updates, customer case studies, blog posts, daily Tweets, Facebook fan page, attending conferences, etc. Tags: Start-up Advice.

Startup

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 31, 2010

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. I’ll put up the video when they post it on their website. Stories have starts, middles and ends.

Startup

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 16, 2011

For starting relationships today that won’t pay off for a year. It is a piece of actionable advice that if you put into practice starting next week will start paying dividends in the near future. If you want to read more about hiring at a startup check out: 1. Preferably at startup HQs. Wake up early.

Startup

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 13, 2011

It’s the time of year when many new startups are struggling to rise above all the noise and be heard. With all these companies vying for attention & others just here to soak up the vibe I thought I’d write a much broader piece on how startups can make the most of their attendance at conferences & events.

Conference

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 29, 2010

It’s a great topic, his post is well written and given that he’s going through it right now in his startup it’s worth reading his point of view on the topic. Startups often make this mistake. Like everything, I screwed this up in my first startup. I was too much Accenture, not enough Startup.

Startup

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 21, 2013

Are you the 19-year old founder of a startup? Fourteen looks to be the new nineteen, as yet another company founded by a 14-year old launched in LA yesterday at the Techweek conference. cyborg industries techweek angeles startup high school' You''re over the hill. The company is based in Florida. READ MORE>>.

Startup

InfoChachkie

APRIL 24, 2012

Article first published as Why A Prominent Start-up Executive Wants You to Get Fired and Fail on Technorati. 5000 conference. attendees was the importance of focus, especially during a startup’s early days. As Kim’s talk makes clear, startups should embrace failure, focus and previously fired employees.

Startup

socalTECH

JULY 18, 2014

Five startups have been named winners at the Siemer Summit , the tech confab which has been being held in Santa Monica for the past couple of days by local investment banking company and investor Siemer Ventures, highlighting some of the top startups in the region. TrueCar''s Scott Painter was also honored as part of the awards.

Truecar

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 25, 2010

Start by defining the problem you’re solving – I see way too many early-stage entrepreneurs who start their companies with a product definition rather than a market problem. They read the press releases of competitors or see them at a trade show and race to keep up with their feature sets. Obvious, I know.

Product

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 9, 2013

My partner Steven Dietz is an expert on cars (and auto startups having funded DealerTrack , TrueCar , Digital Airstrike , Uparts and others) and I called him and he said, “Decline everything. I have written about this before in my post on Conference Hos. These are people at every conference. ” Anyway. Back stage.

Conference

InfoChachkie

JUNE 24, 2013

The CEO of Expertcity (creator of GoToMyPC and GoToMeeting, acquired by Citrix) was born in Germany and grew up in South Africa. Although his English was impeccable, he was occasionally tripped up by colloquialisms. Startups must economically counteract the pervasive drone of large incumbents'' messaging.

Marketing

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. .” Who else does Clayton pray for? Stay Out of Jail.

Venture Capital

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

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. The rest you should see for yourself.

Competition

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 4, 2013

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. And I’m seeing this even at some really well run startups. How good they were at follow up.

Venture Capital

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 3, 2011

I would love to see Tara follow up with blog posts on: why she believes this is the case & what we can do about it. We need to start encouraging it in our youth. AWS helped lower the cost of starting a company by 90%. When I started my first company at 31 year’s old I had to raise at least $5 million.

Entrepreneur

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

socalTECH

JUNE 10, 2013

Silicon Beach--the self-appointed name that has been used to describe many parts of Southern California''s tech community, but which has seemed to have centered itself over Santa Monica and surrounding towns--has no shortage of events and conferences. Last year''s event attracted more than 2,000 attendees. READ MORE>>.

Conference

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 8, 2021

These days I see a surge of new startups as businesses seem to be recovering from the pandemic. If you are not starting one yourself, the next best thing is joining one as a partner, or as an early employee. He and I believe that these next few months are the perfect time, especially with the pandemic, for starting a new career.

Tips

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 25, 2013

Many first-time entrepreneurs have grown up digital natives so have a really good intuitive feel for technology & design but don’t yet have the business basics down. . You can start informally with banter - If I’m calling somebody I know a bit I usually try to start with a little friendly banter. Phone calls.

Startup

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014

The frantic pace of technology cycles, the amount of tech news, the blogs, the conferences, the demo days, the announcements, the fundings, the IPOs. For years I saw myself as the new guy in VC but then you wake up one day and realize that 50% of your peers have been doing it for less time than you and time has moved on. And so forth.

Startup