Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 18, 2014

Sometimes those motives are positive (they really want the chance to work with you, they think you have unique skills) and sometimes they are less positive (their first-tier of “go to” referrals passed on the deal, they don’t want to write another check themselves, etc.). I seek out great entrepreneurs. End of story.

Venture Capital 337

Venture Capital Invest Ideas Entrepreneur 337

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 22, 2014

So I thought I’d write about out with what I would look for in a VC knowing what I know now and why. Of course it is super helpful if a VC can drop you in to important people for business development, recruiting, PR, sales and eventually M&A. The best way – of course – is to reference check.

Venture Capital 364

Venture Capital Coach Writing SaaS 364

InfoChachkie

FEBRUARY 14, 2011

Peer Group – Meet with other emerging entrepreneurs who will help you objectively evaluate your experiences and provide relevant feedback regarding your successes and failures. Journal or Blog – Writing about your experiences will force you to be contemplative and thoughtful. The choice is yours. _. John is a CPA and holds an M.B.A.

Startup 206

Startup Journal Writing Blogging 206

InfoChachkie

JULY 14, 2009

Hint: He was an entrepreneur. A Writer Is Someone Who Writes. A writer is someone who writes, not someone who goes about telling their friends that they are “a writer”. The same is true of entrepreneurs. These would-be entrepreneurs are best classified as Wantrepreneurs, as discussed in Entrepreneurial Enterviewing.

Entrepreneur 153

Entrepreneur Ideas Writing Startup 153

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 21, 2014

You join teams that got good write-ups on TechCrunch, have great VCs, have star CEO’s, whatever. When you’re hiring most reference checkers focus on the person’s former bosses. Just literally this week I had breakfast with a guy giving a reference who said, “He’s brilliant. You REALLY know.

CTO Hire 320

CTO Hire Startup CTO Coach Venture Capital 320

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 28, 2018

Some entrepreneurs start polling venture capitalists for that multi-million dollar investment before they even have a business plan. Every entrepreneur needs help and support along the way, from developing the initial idea, to selling off the successful business (exit strategy).

Funding 94

Funding Startup Organization Incubator 94

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 19, 2017

One of the hardest decisions entrepreneurs make when they start a company and raise outside capital is figuring out what an acceptable “burn rate” is. Usually when an investor is asking you your burn rate he or she is referring to net burn — what cash are you consuming. Each investor would need to write $1–1.5

Startup 212

Startup Venture Capital .Net Capital 212

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 8, 2010

Much of my traffic is through referring websites and/or social media. I was an entrepreneur. Don’t just write a carbon copy of what somebody else is doing. OK, well, actually the first thing I did is come up with a list of 50 posts that I wanted to write. Every time I write a post I send it out on Twitter.

Blogging 286

Blogging Startup Writing Summary 286

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 6, 2010

I wonder if more college students ought to take a journalism course for a semester or do an internship at their school newspaper in investigative reporting. doing a reference call on a prospective employee. THE REFERENCE CALL: Reference calls are hard. If asked a clarifying question like, “what do you mean?&#

Startup 311

Startup Invest Course Research 311

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 27, 2016

Some entrepreneurs start polling venture capitalists for that multi-million dollar investment before they even have a business plan. Every entrepreneur needs help and support along the way, from developing the initial idea, to selling off the successful business (exit strategy).

Organization 93

Organization Startup Incubator Ideas 93

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 7, 2018

A critical stage for most first-time entrepreneurs is getting their idea developed into at least a prototype to validate their technology. Another alternative is to find an inexpensive class on grant writing. The best entrepreneurs I know don’t let initial funding constraints discourage them from starting.

Funding 90

Funding Technical Review Startup Research 90

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 21, 2010

I recently read a post over on VentureHacks titled, “ Top Ten Reasons Entrepreneurs Hate Lawyers &# written by Scott Walker (who blogs on legal issues for entrepreneurs ). I write about some of the lessons in my post on Startup Mistakes. Shame about not getting it in legal writing that you owned the original IP.

Startup 318

Startup IP Southern California Entrepreneur 318

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 7, 2011

The title was “The Jerk,” which is a reference to both the Steve Martin film but more precisely to Robert Scoble’s interpretation of Steve Jobs having just read his biography. Of course I can’t write every press release for the company nor would I want to. I get presentations from aspiring entrepreneurs.

Press 337

Press Venture Capital Doc Summary 337

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 19, 2011

Yet a critical mistake I see many entrepreneurs make is that they hand over too much control to their third-parties. Often recruiters want to handle the final negotiations on package and/or do the reference calls. I’m also reluctant to hand over reference calling. Unfortunately that’s how reference checking works.

Venture Capital 319

Venture Capital Pricing Startup Outsource 319

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 31, 2012

So what’s an entrepreneur to do to get his new business noticed these days? Most entrepreneurs I know are too busy creating a compelling product to give proper focus to the four phases of building a people and media platform that are equally critical for long-term success: Platform creation prior to launch.

Startup 104

Startup Social Media Platform Blogging 104

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 16, 2012

Some entrepreneurs start polling venture capitalists for that multi-million dollar investment before they even have a business plan. Every entrepreneur needs help and support along the way, from developing the initial idea, to selling off the successful business (exit strategy).

Resource 94

Resource Startup Organization Incubator 94

Tech Zulu Event

NOVEMBER 5, 2012

MIIGLE is a LA-based social network for entrepreneurs and innovators that recently launched its Beta version. So Luc , you call yourself a ‘Netrepreneur’ and social entrepreneur. What does that refer to exactly? Making these connections with the right audience is key to an entrepreneur’s success. Anyone can do it.

Startup 101

Startup Ideas Platform Entrepreneur 101

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 1, 2010

But I use this all of the time as a metaphor when talking with entrepreneurs in person and I’ve found it to be a useful way of explaining to entrepreneurs what is going in in the VC’s life. I have no idea why, but that’s always how it always felt to me when I was an entrepreneur raising money.

Venture Capital 275

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Capital Ideas 275

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 13, 2011

Some entrepreneurs start polling venture capitalists for that multi-million dollar investment before they even have a business plan. Every entrepreneur needs help and support along the way, from developing the initial idea, to selling off the successful business (exit strategy).

Startup 92

Startup Organization Incubator Ideas 92

InfoChachkie

APRIL 3, 2012

They profess to be entrepreneurs, but are they actually Wantrepreneurs? A Wantrepreneur is a well-intentioned person who wants to be an entrepreneur, but does not have the skills, personality and or risk profile to be successful. They smile, they laugh on cue and they have a rehearsed response for every conventional interview question.

Entrepreneur 219

Entrepreneur Startup Equity Journal 219

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2009

I had seen many cycles and decided that since I was going to do it all over again I should write about it. It included one firm who I asked not to call Salesforce.com as a reference (they were our largest pilot customer) and in their kindness they called Marc Benioff (the CEO) and asked his opinion. That changed very quickly.

Venture Capital 274

Venture Capital Blogging Startup Slides 274

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 14, 2009

In most cases if you can’t get a prototype done you’re probably not an entrepreneur. I know you’re not a tech guy and haven’t done anything other than an HTML course you once took, but if you’re inspirational and a leader you’ll find somebody to moonlight for free to get your prototype built.

Angel 291

Angel Funding Venture Capital Startup 291

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. Your mortgage and grocery bill depend on it. You will (MUST) love what you are doing.

Startup 92

Startup Capital Blogging Ideas 92

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 3, 2013

Today’s higher education is responding by making more courses online and available to people outside of physical boundaries. In many ways I think general purpose writing & thinking skills are as valuable as math skills. We talked about how business school historically hasn’t positioned entrepreneurs well for success.

Venture Capital 403

Venture Capital Education Offshore Outsource Development 403

InfoChachkie

JUNE 25, 2009

It is surprising how often entrepreneurs forget this simple fact. The reference may be well-intentioned, but the lawyer’s allegiance may be divided between the investor and you. If taking part-time evening courses is not possible, seek out an online curriculum. In Search of an Oxymoron – The Ideal Lawyer. Money Is Time.

Technical Advisors 124

Technical Advisors Technical Review IP Patents 124

InfoChachkie

DECEMBER 2, 2009

As Marketing Guru Guy Gabriel of Idea Engineering points out in Max Brand , viral marketing has made many an entrepreneur terminally ill. For instance, if you sell a software security solution, you might write an article that describes ten ways consumers can protect themselves online, highlighting your solution as one potential tool.

Customer 164

Customer Custom Advertising SEM 164

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 3, 2011

If you have or are thinking about a business in the video space you’ll enjoy hearing from Gregg but even more broadly this is a great conversation for entrepreneurs, investors or industry analysts. there was no frame of reference for the value. Sure, of course I am. Here’s the link. Why do a freemium model?

Startup 303

Startup Venture Capital Pricing Writing 303

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 31, 2015

I believe many entrepreneurs have ADD. Of course you should go on your own journey of discovery. Executive function refers to a number of mental processes that are required to regulate, control, and manage daily life tasks. I have checked Twitter at least 10 times during the writing of this post so far and Facebook 3 times.

Startup 150

Startup Writing Class Orange County 150

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 13, 2011

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. Write them in advance and request meetings. In the email write something that will remind them who you are.

Conference 289

Conference Startup Technical Review Writing 289

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 20, 2013

Brad Feld seems to write books faster than I can read and write about them. He teamed up with his wife, Amy Batchelor , to write about about the impact that entrepreneurship has on relationships and what to do about it. It’s an enjoyable read and one I’ll bet you refer back to rather than read once and file away.

Entrepreneur 370

Entrepreneur Startup Writing Social Network 370

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 1, 2010

I call it the entrepreneur thesis. I’m not talk about the age old debate amongst investors whether you back entrepreneurs, markets or products (or as people like to hedge – product / market fit). It’s entrepreneurs I back. It’s what I call the “entrepreneur thesis.” So what is the “entrepreneur thesis?”

Entrepreneur 321

Entrepreneur GRP Partners Venture Capital Invest 321

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. 0:28:00) & (0:31:27).

Angel 302

Angel Startup Ideas .Net 302

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 10, 2011

And of course in my 700 are people like Bill Gates and Barack Obama, neither of whom follows me just yet Asymmetric works both ways. is already providing these kinds of insights to the celebrities that use its system including Serena Williams, Paris Hilton, Linkin Park and, of course, Kim Kardashian (with her 8.2 That’s normal.

Platform 307

Platform News Startup Invest 307

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 11, 2023

As an advisor to many entrepreneurs, I still hear frequently the irrational exuberance that crowdfunding is the quick alternative for startups that are passed over by overly demanding angels or venture capital investors. Of course, if the campaign does not meet or exceed the funding objective, you get nothing.

Startup 100

Startup Equity Entrepreneur Demand 100

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 26, 2020

As an advisor to many entrepreneurs, I still hear frequently the irrational exuberance that crowdfunding is the quick alternative for startups that are passed over by overly demanding angels or venture capital investors. Of course, if the campaign does not meet or exceed the funding objective, you get nothing.

Startup 151

Startup Equity Funding Demand 151

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. So I asked her this: “What do I do with my 1,000th post?”.

Startup 217

Startup Venture Capital Blogging Software Review 217

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 17, 2017

In more than a decade of writing about the Internet and tech-enabled businesses I’ve learned that mobs don’t do nuance well. The crypto in cryptocurrency is of course referring to cryptography on the ability to encrypt your transactions so they can’t be modified after they have been written to the blockchain.

Course 280

Course Startup Framework Marketing 280