Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

As is often said if you don’t get at least a few fellow VCs (and entrepreneurs) scratching their heads you may not be funding ideas with enough upside. This was certainly the case when I invested in a small YouTube video production company called Maker Studios that recently sold to Disney for just shy of $1 billion.

Funding 362

Funding Technical Review Ideas Startup 362

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 14, 2013

On a regular basis, I am approached by entrepreneurs who assert that business plans are a waste of time. They cite sources like a recent BusinessWeek story, “ Real Entrepreneurs Don’t Write Business Plans ” and this NY Times article. A business plan may be a small investment to get a shot at that opportunity.

Entrepreneur 100

Entrepreneur Technical Review Writing Slides 100

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 11, 2011

The idea actually came to him from the Yellow Pages business. He was a life-long entrepreneur and the first business he created out of college (actually, he founded it while he was at Caltech) was a company that manufactured high quality audio speakers. So the Yellow Page business was always “pay for placement.&#.

Competition 350

Competition Idealab Product CitySearch 350

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 12, 2021

As a startup mentor and investor, I am approached regularly by aspiring entrepreneurs who assert that business plans take too much time, are inaccurate, and rarely add value. The size of the document should be based on your style, but 10-20 pages or slides are usually more than adequate to outline even a complex business.

Technical Review 126

Technical Review Writing Entrepreneur Slides 126

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2012

Many entrepreneurs still dream of “going public,” making billions of dollars, and playing with the big boys. Sure, there are examples of founders who have survived and prospered, such as Bill Gates and Larry Page, but these guys are the exception, not the rule. Consider the recent example of Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg.

Entrepreneur 95

Entrepreneur Startup Report Summary 95

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 27, 2020

As an aspiring entrepreneur, one of the most important things you need is a memorable “ elevator pitch ,” to communicate your startup value proposition and leave a great first impression on friends, investors, employees, and future customers. Customers still buy from people, and investors invest in you and your team, more than the solution.

Sample 127

Sample Summary Startup Slides 127

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 10, 2011

In my ongoing quest to get you good transcripts of the wonderful interviews we’ve done in the past, I present you with one amazing interview here with Tom McInerney – a friend, co-investor, former entrepreneur turned angel investor and “wizard of Oz&# behind the scenes at the uber hot startup Klout.

Angel 302

Angel Startup Ideas .Net 302

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 5, 2011

Many entrepreneurs still dream of “going public,” making billions of dollars, and playing with the big boys. Sure, there are examples of founders who have survived and prospered, such as Bill Gates and Larry Page, but these guys are the exception, not the rule. Increasing government regulations. Loss of control. Marty Zwilling.

Startup 94

Startup Entrepreneur Report Summary 94

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? More strategic.

Marketing 389

Marketing Press Blogging Startup 389

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 23, 2013

The new hot topic for entrepreneurs the last couple of years is crowd funding, which is anticipated to at least supplement, if not replace, the slow and mysterious process of current Angel and venture capital investors. Example sites include StartSomeGood and the Facebook Cause page. There is no concept of ROI other than product.

Funding 99

Funding Satisfaction Sites Outsource Development 99

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 29, 2011

Amazon in turn led to the formation of an earlier stage of venture capital now led by what I call “micro VCs&# who typically invest $250-500k in companies rather than the $5-7 million that VCs used to invest. Some have moved into later stage investments in an effort to “put logos on their websites.&# Funny, that.

Venture Capital 296

Venture Capital Capital Software Startup 296

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 11, 2013

Many entrepreneurs are too focused on their dream to take notice of health warning signs, which leads them to ignore business health signs as well. Real job performance is more a function of productivity than hours worked anyway. Lead by example, of course, and encourage employees regularly to pursue a healthy lifestyle.

Startup 93

Startup Tips Entrepreneur Metrics 93

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2012

The new hot topic for entrepreneurs these days is crowd funding, which is anticipated to at least supplement, if not replace, the slow and mysterious process of current Angel and venture capital investors. This new model will allow large numbers of “regular” people to invest small amounts each online to fund early startups.

Funding 96

Funding Satisfaction Sites Outsource Development 96

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 24, 2017

I’m sure that every one of us who has been out in the business world for a few years can look back with perfect hindsight and name a few college courses that we should have taken. But on the business side, here is my list of useful courses that we wish existed, but as far as I know, still aren’t generally available: Basic Office Politics.

Training 57

Training Course Email Social Network 57

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 29, 2010

With the an estimated 150K new websites and 7M new pages added to the Internet every day, the biggest challenge for every entrepreneur is to get found, and get some credibility for a new startup. The biggest roadblock is that startup founders already have too much to do building a product, mapping strategy, courting investors, etc.

Blogging 93

Blogging Invest Startup Writing 93

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 14, 2010

Bockerstette, Main Street Venture Fund As I outlined last week, trophy angel investors are always looking for trophy entrepreneurs. In many areas, not enough entrepreneurs meet the criteria, so it’s still a buyer’s market. There is no product idea good enough to overcome bad partners. Proposition. Participation.

Funding 106

Funding Startup Entrepreneur Activity 106

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 14, 2015

Many entrepreneurs pitching err on the side of too much information. I try to remind people that raising money is about building rapport and you can’t build rapport wading through 60 pages of charts or showing 45 product features. Since of course software isn’t dead. You do it eyeball-to-eyeball in discussion.

Startup 150

Startup Venture Capital Course Marketing 150

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2009

There was no viral social networking products back then like Twitter where people could easily discover your content. We started building the product 18 months ago so we are in better shape than 99% of start-ups. Dare I steer off the course from the tried-and-true PowerPoint ritual? Page 1: Market Size. $3 I was wrong.

Venture Capital 274

Venture Capital Blogging Startup Slides 274

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2013

Many entrepreneurs still dream of “going public,” making billions of dollars, and playing with the big boys. Sure, there are examples of Founders who have survived and prospered, such as Bill Gates and Larry Page, but these guys are the exception, not the rule. business entrepreneur exit founder IPO startup' Loss of control.

Startup 89

Startup Entrepreneur Report Summary 89

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 7, 2014

As a startup mentor and investor, I am approached regularly by aspiring entrepreneurs who assert that business plans are a waste of time. They cite sources like the BusinessWeek story, “ Real Entrepreneurs Don’t Write Business Plans ” and this Forbes article. A business plan may be a small investment to get a shot at that opportunity.

Technical Review 109

Technical Review Writing Entrepreneur Slides 109

SoCal CTO

AUGUST 3, 2010

Welcome to the Lost Decade (for Entrepreneurs, IPO’s and VC’s) - Steve Blank , July 15, 2010 If you take funding from a venture capital firm or angel investor and want to build a large, enduring company (rather than sell it to the highest bidder), this isn’t the decade to do it. These are the top linked domains from Facebook pages.

Startup 217

Startup Venture Capital Blogging Software Review 217

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 17, 2013

Entrepreneurs have no trouble focusing on how to build a product, and the good ones know how to find and nurture those first critical customers. Of course, everyone is happy when the numbers keep going up, but the data needs to be mined constantly for deeper meanings and trends. Operating productivity.

Metrics 100

Metrics Technical Review Sales Custom 100

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 10, 2012

What websites one visits, what pictures they look at, whose FB page they checking out – are not fair game in a world where you care about trust. You can turn it off, but they defaulted it to an on setting to drive more adoption of the product. Of course not. But many implicit actions are NOT fair play.

Blogging 328

Blogging Content Press Startup 328

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 21, 2011

When I first got into VC I decided I better have some investment themes. My macro theme was “great entrepreneurs&# who mapped to my belief system about the kind of entrepreneurs I wanted to work with. They recommend up-sells and cross-sells of products. “People still want calls …&#. Or can they?

Mobile 329

Mobile Advertising Media Marketing 329

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 29, 2009

If you look at what you go through, starting high school, and maybe even middle or grade school, you go through your educational life managing courses, relationships with your teachers, and relationships with your parents. It's started with managing courses and grades, on to a whole array of other services.

Education 124

Education Startup Course Tool 124

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 10, 2011

Today I’m announcing that GRP Partners is doubling down on the Twitter ecosystem by investing in DataSift , a company who provides a real-time data platform and tools to third-party developers and corporations. And better yet, the company has a product that will turn the stream into a lake. What does that mean?

Platform 307

Platform News Startup Invest 307

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 4, 2011

I was recently talking with a startup company who wanted me to try their product. I’m a big believer in product stability & performance before adding too many features. You’ll have no idea when you’re off course. If you have multiple versions of your product, how many are web vs. mobile? In 6 months? In 3 months?

Metrics 346

Metrics Startup SEO Custom 346

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 23, 2012

Looking ahead at the next decade I am excited by what I believe will be viewed as one of the best and most rational investment periods for venture capital due to seven discrete factors: 1. The movie, “The Social Network” might have had more of an impact on creating future entrepreneurs than any other event of the past 5 years.

Venture Capital 347

Venture Capital Capital Technical Review Startup 347

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 8, 2009

But in the end we selected David Lin , a superstar who did 4 years at the technology investment banking firm Montgomery & Co and 4 years as Director of Strategy at the comparison shopping site PriceGrabber where he dealt with many operational issues. I tell people regularly that I only invest in companies where the DNA is software.

Startup 337

Startup Venture Capital Study Course 337

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 21, 2010

So it’s really hard to draw too many conclusions about whether the investment really makes sense because often you learn stuff in the fund raising about the future strategy of the company that might make you much more excited than somebody on the outside might be. entrepreneur Wil Schroter (I am an angel investor in Affordit).

Venture Capital 265

Venture Capital Capital Email Blogging 265

Tech Zulu Event

JUNE 16, 2014

We recently sat down with Luc Berlin, co-founder of Miigle, a SoCal startup that has an aggressive global mission to bring entrepreneurs together from around the world. You can be an entrepreneur and at the same time you can be a mentor or an investor to someone else’s project. You can create your startup page in two clicks.

SoCal 104

SoCal Southern California Startup Platform 104

Tech Zulu Event

MAY 9, 2014

After the event, we caught up, Parker Thompson , Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) charged with leading Batch 8. Updates could be as exciting as closing investment deals, or harrowing as the news of losing a co-founder. To learn more about all the companies, be sure to visit 500 Startups’ official demo day page.

Startup 111

Startup Mobile Commerce Education 111

socalTECH

OCTOBER 15, 2008

We spoke with Ross about the investment, as well as about his experience as VC and his outlook on the market. For those not familiar with what you're doing now at Velocity Interactive, and tell us a little bit about this investment? Our investments is their first institutional round. Thanks for the interview.

Advertising 100

Advertising Media Startup Woodland Hills 100

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2011

The caveat is that these young entrepreneurs have to drop out of college to do it. Instead of following a proscribed course which may lead nowhere, entrepreneurial leaders such a Thiel are sparking a change in the way we think about success. Fancy websites are expensive, but blogs and Facebook pages are free.

Startup 92

Startup Capital Blogging Ideas 92

Xconomy

AUGUST 12, 2016

Xconomy spoke with Jacks and CEO and longtime tech entrepreneur Bill Haney about the venture, a cancer immunotherapy startup that is relying on funding from family offices—among them the Disney family—rather than venture firms.

Google 40

Google Technical Review News Research 40