Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 25, 2023

The last thing a new entrepreneur wants to think about for a new startup is how it will end. These events may take three to five years at a minimum. Most entrepreneurs like the startup role, but not the big-company role. Yet one of the first things a potential equity investor asks about is your exit strategy.

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Technical Review Equity Invest Startup 105

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 8, 2023

As I work with aspiring entrepreneurs and business professionals, I often hear about stress and disappointment from a great idea or innovation that failed for reasons that you don’t understand. Start with a real problem, rather than a technology or solution looking for a problem.

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Technical Review Ideas Study Social Media 120

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 12, 2014

The last thing a new entrepreneur wants to think about for a new startup is how it will end. These events may take three to five years at a minimum. Most entrepreneurs like the startup role, but not the big-company role. entrepreneur exit IPO lifestyle m&a startup' Investors hesitate to invest under these conditions.

Entrepreneur 115

Entrepreneur Startup Technical Review Equity 115

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 25, 2020

The last thing a new entrepreneur wants to think about for a new startup is how it will end. These events may take three to five years at a minimum. Most entrepreneurs like the startup role, but not the big-company role. Yet one of the first things a potential equity investor asks about is your exit strategy.

Startup 150

Startup Technical Review Equity Statistics 150

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 31, 2021

The sweeping infrastructure package put forward today by President Joe Biden comes with a price tag of roughly $2 trillion (and hefty tax hikes) but gives startups and the broader tech industry about $1 trillion worth of reasons to support it. ” Climate resiliency . Given the steady drumbeat of climate disasters that hit the U.S.

Startup 229

Startup Technical Review Invest Research 229

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 4, 2022

According to my experience and this Motley Fool article from a few years ago, the challenge is very real, with around half of all new businesses no longer existing after five years. My first advice for new entrepreneurs is to pick a domain that doesn’t have the sky-high up-front development costs, like online web sites and smart phone apps.

Tips 104

Tips Startup Technical Review Equity 104

socalTECH

JUNE 4, 2018

We know one thing, which is that entrepreneurs come out of a world where there is disruption. The other thing that's exciting about this fund, as we look for health startups to invest in, is that there are a number of business models today in healthcare which weren't commercially vaiable five years ago. Jay Goss: Great question.

Startup 113

Startup Technical Review Software Review Artificial Inteligence 113

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 27, 2015

If you are like most entrepreneurs I know, there just aren’t enough hours in a day to get all your own work done, as well as run the many one-hour meetings each team member seems to demand for decisions and mentoring. Five-minute meetings cannot be five minutes of anyone talking.

Product 99

Product Mentor Startup Technical Review 99

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 6, 2019

According to a well-researched Motly Fool report, the challenge is very real, since around half of all businesses fail in the first five years. My first advice for new entrepreneurs is to pick a domain, such as online web sites and smart phone apps, that doesn’t have the sky-high up-front development costs. Are you ready to start?

Startup 128

Startup Technical Review Equity Incubator 128

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 30, 2011

The part of the movement that resonates the most with me (in my words) is that entrepreneurs should keep their capital expenditures really low while they’re experimenting with their product and determining whether there is a large market for what they do. This benefits you, the entrepreneur. It takes options off of the table.

Development Team Review 374

Development Team Review Technical Review Startup Resource 374

socalTECH

JANUARY 28, 2019

Those airport drone incursions shut down Gatwick over the course of three days, which caused major delays at Heathrow and Newark. However, there is already the technology out therefrom San Luis Obispo-based Whitefox Defense (www.whitefoxdefense.com)  to both detect, and neutralize those drones. Explain how your technology works?

Startup 187

Startup Technical Review Technology Competition 187

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 23, 2012

The easy answer of splitting it equally among all co-founders, since there is minimal value at that point, is usually the worst possible answer, and often results in a later startup failure due to an obvious inequity. Expertise can be marketing, technical, financial, or sales. Building a product doesn’t get it distributed and sold.

Startup 101

Startup Entrepreneur Equity CTO Hire 101

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 16, 2017

Entrepreneurs who require funding for their startup have long counted on self-accredited high net worth individuals (“angels”) to fill their needs, after friends and family, and before they qualify for institutional investments (“VCs”). Of course, both are impressive and both already exceed VC investments annually.

Startup 76

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Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 5, 2015

Entrepreneurs who require funding for their startup have long counted on self-accredited high net worth individuals (“angels”) to fill their needs, after friends and family, and before they qualify for institutional investments (“VCs”). If you subscribe to truths one to five, startup investing can be lucrative.

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Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 21, 2016

Others, like Guy Kawasaki , have irreverently called some of these “entrepreneur lies,” but I prefer to think of them as innocent enhancements or omissions that can kill your deal. Of course, customers love free, but investors hate it. Terms “paradigm shift” or “disruptive technology” used more than once.

Funding 98

Funding Startup Innocal Entrepreneur 98

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 9, 2014

Entrepreneurs who require funding for their startup have long counted on self-accredited high net worth individuals (“angels”) to fill their needs, after friends and family, and before they qualify for institutional investments (“VCs”). If you subscribe to truths one to five, startup investing can be lucrative.

Invest 111

Invest Angel Funding Startup 111

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 12, 2018

Founder, Founder, Founder At Upfront we talk regularly about how 70% of our investment decision in Seed and A rounds is the quality of the entrepreneur and 30% is the quality of the idea. Jamie Siminoff is not only one of the single best true entrepreneurs in Los Angeles, he’s amongst the best we’ve worked with in the country.

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Startup Pricing Product Marketing 247

Tech Zulu Event

MARCH 4, 2014

It’s almost been a work week since Techzulu and Gadget Review’s REACH | The Connected Future and we’re still reeling with excitement. And of course, we’d like to thank our amazing panels of speakers for pouring their knowledge into the mental chalices of our present and virtual attendees. Cleantech, a Misnomer.

UCLA 99

UCLA Technical Review Software Review Incubator 99

socalTECH

OCTOBER 2, 2012

Southern California's technology community--despite all of the recent excitement around Silicon Beach--continues to be underserved in terms of capital, with a lack of venture capital funds (with money), and other private technology investors. The second reason is that we are a hybrid fund with a unique strategy.

Acquisition 168

Acquisition Software Review Technical Review Equity 168

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 24, 2011

We are now harnessing the ‘social’ aspect of the system where businesses and consumers begin to contribute to the data by adding or updating products listings as well as rate and review products.”. With that said, what books, blogs or other resources do you recommend for emerging entrepreneurs?

Blogging 219

Blogging Entrepreneur Software Review Course 219

socalTECH

MARCH 4, 2010

We launched Docstore about four or five months ago with a number of premium partners, including LegalZoom, CareerPress, LegalAcreements.com, and others, and now we are opening up the marketplace so that virtually anyone can sell high quality, professional content. In San Francisco, it's technology people looking to find business people.

Technical Review 171

Technical Review Rustic Canyon Screening Startup 171

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 6, 2011

We are now harnessing the ‘social’ aspect of the system where businesses and consumers begin to contribute to the data by adding or updating products listings as well as rate and review products.”. With that said, what books, blogs or other resources do you recommend for emerging entrepreneurs?

Entrepreneur 232

Entrepreneur Competition Software Review Course 232

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 6, 2014

I would start by asking the candidate, “How did you decide on these five people” as part of your review process. By the way, I also strongly advise that entrepreneurs reference VCs. CFOs often know the other CFOs and same for heads of sales, marketing, tech, etc. You expected no less. Having an accomplice.

Startup 302

Startup Technical Review Entrepreneur Report 302

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 23, 2017

As an advisor to startups, and a mentor to many aspiring entrepreneurs, I’m still surprised at the number who are determined to go it alone. They don’t realize that these only increase their workload, due to training and management, rather than offloading real work. That’s a win-win for both partners. No “one night stands” need apply.

Help 66

Help Startup Course Technical Review 66

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 12, 2018

According to a recent Motly Fool report, the challenge is very real, since around half of all businesses fail in the first five years. My first advice for new entrepreneurs is to pick a domain, such as online web sites and smart phone apps, that doesn’t have the sky-high up-front development costs. Set expectations accordingly.

Startup 53

Startup Technical Review Equity Incubator 53

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 27, 2016

The last thing a new entrepreneur wants to think about for a new startup is how it will end. These events may take three to five years at a minimum. Most entrepreneurs like the startup role, but not the big-company role. Yet one of the first things a potential equity investor asks about is your exit strategy.

Equity 55

Equity Startup Technical Review Statistics 55

InfoChachkie

AUGUST 10, 2010

Given that the average lifespan from startup to exit is five to seven years, the first half of a startup’s life is lived without explicit patent protection. One is obvious, without protection, such IP might prove to be of little worth, as other companies can mimic the technology without recourse. Three years is a lifetime at a startup.

IP 256

IP Patents Company Companies 256

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 31, 2014

Of course, having no reputation is usually better than a bad one, but don’t wait for someone else to establish a good one for you. Survey results also suggest there is now an 80 percent chance of a company losing at least 20 percent of its value in any given five-year period due to reputational issues. Marty Zwilling.

Blogging 99

Blogging Content Google Sites 99

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. Supporting detail should be included in an appendix, where the reviewer may read it if desired.

Funding 106

Funding Startup Entrepreneur Activity 106

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 22, 2011

About a month ago I was meeting with a seasoned entrepreneur. After 10 minutes I felt like we were old buddies because we had both been through the trenches of startup tech land and had had similar experiences. Today’s post courtesy of the Dave McClure school of vocabulary. And trust me, the world is FILLED with naysayers.

Startup 418

Startup Yahoo Ideas Technical Review 418

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 15, 2011

I review these tenets with my entrepreneurial students at UC Santa Barbara at the beginning of each quarter to reinforce many of the key topics we will cover in the following weeks. “I’d As discussed in Hiring Entrepreneurs, the impact of each new hire during your startup’s early days is tremendous.

Tips 279

Tips Startup Framework Customer 279

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 8, 2010

The easy answer of splitting it equally among all co-founders, since there is minimal value at that point, is usually the worst possible answer, and often results in a later startup failure due to an obvious inequity. Expertise can be marketing, technical, financial, or sales. Building a product doesn’t get it distributed and sold.

Equity 91

Equity Startup CTO Hire CTO Coach 91

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 31, 2011

Messenger : Ian Siegel , Co-Founder |CEO ZipRecruiter , Former Executive Product and Technology roles at: MyLife, CitySearch, Stamps.com, Rent.com and Pictage. 9) In Competing From The Fringe , I caution entrepreneurs to not alert their competitors when they are making mistakes. free weekly Infochachkie articles!

MyLife 160

MyLife CitySearch Web Technical Review 160

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 31, 2011

Messenger : Ian Siegel , Co-Founder |CEO ZipRecruiter , Former Executive Product and Technology roles at: MyLife, CitySearch, Stamps.com, Rent.com and Pictage. 9) In Competing From The Fringe , I caution entrepreneurs to not alert their competitors when they are making mistakes. free weekly Infochachkie articles!

MyLife 157

MyLife CitySearch Web Technical Review 157

Tech Zulu Event

DECEMBER 8, 2011

I’m an event planner turned lawyer turned entrepreneur. I was a litigator for five years. A blog with our reviews of the scene, locations, etc. As a an entrepreneur what has been one of the more difficult hurdles for you to arise over? Useable of course, but it doesn’t have to be perfect.”

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Startup Technical Review Blogging Demand 75

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 1, 2010

I continue to collect great content that is the intersection of startups, products, online and technology. The United States is now a debtor nation to China and that the bill is about to come due. Five Reasons You Haven’t Launched - Software By Rob , November 10, 2010 Photo by stevendepolo. But I don’t think so.

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Technical Review Startup Product Technology 175