SoCal Tech Calendar

SEPTEMBER 30, 2009

Tuesday, October 6, 2009 -- SBIR/STTR Phase I Grant Proposal Course. This one-day, 8-hour intensive course provides an overview of the SBIR and STTR funding process and helps individuals prepare to write a comprehensive grant proposal. See [link] (more).

Course 100

Course Writing Funding Help 100

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 31, 2020

June 2019 (left) and November 2020 (right) I’ve been reluctant to write this blog post because historically I don’t like talking about weight. But I’ve been promising to publish how I lost 65 pounds in the past 18 months without any fad diets or gimmicks to try and be helpful to others. Then should write down your “target goal.”

Startup 526

Startup Course Writing Help 526

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 29, 2014

It’s not hard to find people willing to write the narrative that “venture capital is not an asset class” or “venture capital has performed terribly.” This year an associate from Upfront Ventures – Glenn Poppe – helped me pull together more information about how our industry is changing.

Venture Capital 362

Venture Capital Capital Startup Writing 362

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 26, 2022

We believe this consistency in leadership and intuition for where the markets were going in the heady days of 2019–2021 helped us to stay sane in a world that momentarily seemed to have lost its mind and since we have new capital to deploy in the years ahead perhaps I can offer some insights into where we think value will be derived.

Startup 408

Startup Venture Capital Writing Invest 408

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 25, 2013

Yet some simple techniques can help massively improve your ability to get people to take action on your important emails. On my most important ones I spend as much time figuring out what to cut out as I do putting into the writing of it. Write to one person at a time. And they will appreciate it, too. It’s called ToutApp.

Email 415

Email Writing Software Review Startup 415

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 9, 2021

Here are my thoughts on the right focus at a college or university: Take entrepreneurship courses, but major in a more specific discipline. Practical business courses are better than an advanced degree or MBA. Don’t forget business writing and communication. It’s important to go well beyond the passionate idea stage.

Entrepreneur 149

Entrepreneur Tips Writing Coach 149

Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 24, 2022

So the lion recruited a cockroach who had extensive experience as a supervisor and who was famous for writing excellent reports. He also needed a secretary to help him write and type his reports. The Ant of course “Because she showed lack of motivation and had a negative attitude.”. Guess who the lion fired first?

Course 156

Course Writing Report Startup 156

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 2, 2021

It’s March 1st as I write this*. I hope that if you see yourself in any of thee archetypes below you can see a plan for staying the course and having a successful 2021. Nothing makes me happier than helping others with something that I personally have struggled with. How you eat less and eat better is, of course, the hard part.

Startup 347

Startup Writing Course Coach 347

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 31, 2021

If you don’t have the time to write things down, or your writing skills leave something to be desired, don’t be afraid to get some help. No executive I know writes all his own contracts, but every smart one owns every one that is written for him, and understands every element.

Sample 137

Sample Writing Mentor Content 137

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 5, 2023

Every entrepreneur needs help and support along the way, from developing the initial idea, to selling off the successful business (exit strategy). It’s helpful to think of startups as proceeding through several stages, which I have defined a long time ago from a funding perspective. Don’t waste your resources on the wrong ones.

Startup 122

Startup Funding Organization Incubator 122

TechCrunch LA

JULY 2, 2020

As Mucker Capital co-founder Hsu writes, “There are far more great companies than there are venture dollars here in LA. The need to reduce people in warehouses has propelled demand for robotics/automation for companies like inVia Robotics and the need for remote monitoring has helped LA-based DroneBase.

Los Angeles 277

Los Angeles Venture Capital Capital Invest 277

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

It should help some entrepreneurs to better access early-stage capital and should allow some angel investors better access to deal flow. Social proof can be helpful. AngelList Syndicate leads don’t take any fees on the investment, which should help with returns. They will have to help get the next round done.

Venture Capital 356

Venture Capital Invest Course Technical Review 356

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. Of course you now book when you want and even choose your restaurant based on availability at the time / day you want and you can book on your mobile phone at 2am or 8pm. .” After hours there was the answering machine.

Development Team Review 324

Development Team Review Course Writing Mobile 324

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 30, 2018

I thought I’d write a post about how to talk about valuation at a startup and give you some sense of what might be on the mind of the person considering funding you. Of course, unlike cars there is no direct comparison across each startup so these are just some general guidelines to try and even the information field.

Venture Capital 324

Venture Capital Pricing Startup Invest 324

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 7, 2013

When I first started writing this blog several years ago I had less followers than you have right now. But the realist in me knew I couldn’t write daily nor could I convince you to think to check out my blog with regularity. And of course the other place I inform myself is on Twitter. I should know. People looooove lists.

Writing 326

Writing Buzzfeed Social Media Blogging 326

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 24, 2014

As a result I didn’t write my first venture capital check until March 2009 – exactly 5 years ago. I divided success into the phases of venture capital and 18 months into writing my first check here was my view (details on each in the link above). “I think the best VCs help drive exits alongside their entrepreneurs.

Venture Capital 387

Venture Capital Downey Writing Press 387

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 5, 2021

John Bradberry, in his classic book “ 6 Secrets To Startup Success ” explores many of these attributes, especially passion, and defines some useful principles to help enthusiastic entrepreneurs squeeze the most out of their passion, while not being trapped by it. These principles will help keep you from falling into the passion trap.

Entrepreneur 145

Entrepreneur Ideas Course .Net 145

InfoChachkie

JUNE 16, 2016

To my surprise, when I told the Dean that I was learning nothing from the Core courses, he simply asked me what I wanted to take. I have included UCSB’s catalog course numbers in the event a student is interested in learning more about a particular class. This list is intended to cover non-obvious courses relevant to entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneur 100

Entrepreneur Class Course Writing 100

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2014

But of course it’s hard to advise people that they should do PR without a guide to how to do it on the cheap or how to do it at all. You help them on stories, act as a source, develop real relationships, read their stories and eventually when you have news they’re more willing to have a conversation. When to start PR?

Press 319

Press Startup Writing Training 319

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 17, 2019

We not only have our Series A funds that can write $500k?—?$15 If you invest early and then pull back in the next 3 rounds your multiples on cash invested are much higher than if you keep writing checks. Of course the media doesn’t do nuance well so this is an emotional topic. VCs have different views and strategies on this.

Venture Capital 223

Venture Capital IP Startup Google 223

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 12, 2020

Every entrepreneur needs help and support along the way, from developing the initial idea, to selling off the successful business (exit strategy). It’s helpful to think of startups as proceeding through several stages, which I have defined a long time ago from a funding perspective. Don’t waste your resources on the wrong ones.

Resource 171

Resource Startup Organization Incubator 171

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 4, 2016

It’s human nature to try and be helpful to others. In many instances this help is genuine, well-meaning and productive. Most of us like to help create connections between people for whom an introduction, we believe, would be mutually beneficial. I find over-introducers are often motivated by their own self currency.

Innocal 255

Innocal Conference Help Study 255

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 24, 2010

Here is a short list of the areas where you should be able to find help, whether you are a student or an independent entrepreneur: Finding an idea. Every university has educational courses and can provide assistance on creating your initial plan. < Business plan creation.

Help 94

Help Startup Mentor Incubator 94

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 14, 2023

For example, the handmade-item platform Etsy sponsors free entrepreneurship courses for underemployed and unemployed people, including assistance in setting up a store on Etsy, thus adding more artists and artisan sellers to their platform. Write it down, make it specific, expressive, yet succinct and jargon-free.

Framework 95

Framework Custom Customer Tips 95

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 9, 2013

This is hardly ideal and some simple changes could help management avoid both issues. Every time I think to write a post about this I figure the most recent board meeting I’ve attended will think it’s about them so I don’t bother. And of course you must also get your board administration done.

Writing 337

Writing Venture Capital Help SaaS 337

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 24, 2019

Of course there is usually an inverse relationship between how senior the person is, how much time they have available and on the other side how much time they’ll spend helping you and getting involved in details. Of course great VCs play this role and many founders rely on VCs for input to hard decisions.

Startup 187

Startup Writing Venture Capital Oracle 187

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 21, 2020

There are large sums of money to be invested and if investors can get comfortable with “downside protections” they’ll still write checks. Of course I believe the market has slowed down massively. But when a fund writes checks into a portfolio company it typically “reserves” money to invest in future rounds.

Venture Capital 263

Venture Capital Marketing Startup Writing 263

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 6, 2021

Of course, this kind of leadership has a big risk, since you have no one to blame if you get it wrong. It can help you be right when, without expert help, you might fail. This may mean attending industry conferences, taking college courses, or reading some key books. Solidify and demonstrate your personal values.

Entrepreneur 132

Entrepreneur Course Satisfaction SpaceX 132

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 21, 2018

Of course you have to be careful with this. Of course if they did some initial work and were leaning in to make an investment then we’d spend time helping them. There is a delicate balance between confident and arrogant and of course the former is what you want. This is part of a series I’ve been writing on fund raising.

Funding 217

Funding Newsletter Venture Capital Email 217

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 21, 2020

For example, the handmade-item platform Etsy sponsors free entrepreneurship courses for underemployed and unemployed people, including assistance in setting up a store on Etsy, thus adding more artists and artisan sellers to their platform. Write it down, make it specific, expressive, yet succinct and jargon-free.

Tips 174

Tips Framework Custom Customer 174

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 16, 2017

Every tech or major news journal in the country is preparing to write their Snap, Inc (creators of Snapchat, Spectacles, etc) stories and many of them seem to want a “How does it feel to have missed this investment story.” Of course that was a wrong narrative for both companies. Mostly kidding.

Snapchat 214

Snapchat Invest Technical Review Dollar Shave Club 214

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. To be clear – I’m not saying huge successes make a VC less likely to be helpful to you – I’m just saying it’s not a guaranteed predictor. I’m not afraid to help make difficult decisions.

Venture Capital 364

Venture Capital Coach Writing SaaS 364

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 22, 2019

We were of course there to work with incarcerated men on developing entrepreneurial skills on behalf of Defy Ventures. The mission for the company is to to help people communicate clearly and memorably using visual information. Yes, I always imagined announcing the company that way. you can sign up if you want to try the service.

Startup 191

Startup Social Media Slides Design 191

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 26, 2022

For example, instead of quick slide presentations, teams at Amazon write six-page memos to lay out ideas in narratives to be read in silence at the start of a meeting. Of course, to make this a culture, you have to overtly reward successes, and avoid negative penalties. Provide regular feedback on execution and results.

Coach 145

Coach Slides Social Network Metrics 145

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 9, 2014

Of course passion isn’t enough. So of course I want (need) to make money for my investors (LPs). But the two can of course go hand-in-hand. I write this because I know how difficult it can be to find a potential investor and to decide with whom you’d like to try to work. I’m a VC. Startup Advice'

Venture Capital 373

Venture Capital Startup Course Entrepreneur 373

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 11, 2022

Identifying your goal will help you avoid getting pulled into any drama and stay focused on constructive tactics. Don’t let any hidden agendas or ulterior motives, such as political strategy, throw you off course. Write down your key goals and refer to this list before any interaction with your colleague.

Startup 114

Startup Examples Satisfaction Mentor 114

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 28, 2018

Here are my thoughts on the right focus at a college or university: Take entrepreneurship courses, but major in a more specific discipline. Practical business courses are better than an advanced degree or MBA. Don’t forget business writing and communication. It’s important to go well beyond the passionate idea stage.

Startup 97

Startup Writing Coach Incubator 97