Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

When Fred Wilson funded Twitter I guarantee you it wasn’t obvious that it was a billion dollar idea. When the early teams: angels, lowercase capital & first round capital funded Uber they had no idea it would be one of the most revolutionary ideas of our time. We look at stage, geography and of course sector.

Funding 362

Funding Technical Review Ideas Startup 362

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. I will summarize her recommendations here, as well as adding my own insights: Pick a problem to solve rather than an idea.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Ideas Study Social Media 120

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 21, 2021

When someone introduces me to an “idea person,” I automatically jump to the down-side conclusion that this person doesn’t do follow-up. Of course there are people who are great at getting things done, but haven’t had an original idea in their life. So which is the most important, the idea or the follow-up?

Activity 133

Activity Startup Ideas Technical Review 133

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 25, 2021

Partially due to the pandemic, but also due to longer, healthier lives and changes in job tenure, Boomers are now expected to stay in the labor force longer, and according to projections , could actually dominate the labor market by 2024. In terms of job creation, innovation, and productivity, entrepreneurs drive growth.

Technical Review 126

Technical Review Technical Support Entrepreneur Startup 126

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 16, 2013

When someone introduces me to an “idea person,” I automatically jump to the down-side conclusion that this person doesn’t do follow-up. Of course there are people who are great at getting things done, but haven’t had an original idea in their life. So which is the most important, the idea or the follow-up?

Ideas 110

Ideas Entrepreneur Startup Technical Review 110

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 17, 2022

During my many years of mentoring professionals and entrepreneurs in business, I more often see people focusing on how to get their ideas heard , than how to promote themselves. I’m convinced that great results are better than great ideas, and a great perception of you as a person is better than both ideas and results.

Tips 121

Tips Social Media Mentor Technical Review 121

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2022

I still have to tell some entrepreneurs that even with the best idea, they have to move to Silicon Valley to find the investors they need, or they need to move to the U.S. On the other hand, if you are into solar technologies, there is probably an advantage to being in Arizona or a similar location.

Technical Review 123

Technical Review Oracle Software Review Ideas 123

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 19, 2018

It seems inherent in the mind of most first-time entrepreneurs that it was their idea, and they must do all the work themselves to make it happen. Here is my list of barriers to effective delegation, with tips on improving: Thinking only you can implement your dream idea. You need to divide and conquer.

Technical Review 96

Technical Review Ideas Startup Entrepreneur 96

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 26, 2013

His ideas to date hadn’t totally resonated and of course ideas matter, too. His message was that he realized he needed to move his girlfriend’s stuff into a storage facility due to apartment flooding. He had ideas. Within a few weeks he was an EIR in our offices in LA working on the idea. I felt bad.

UCSD 340

UCSD Startup Ideas Course 340

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 27, 2012

. “In order to create a successful new company, you have to find an idea that. (1) How many ideas like that are left? ” He gives a nice little 6-minute video interview on Bloomberg reinforcing these ideas. We once thought Microsoft was a monopoly on the Internet due to IE. Of course not. Laughable now.

Technical Review 299

Technical Review Venture Capital Yammer Google 299

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. I hear tons of ideas for early-stage apps.

Snapchat 214

Snapchat Invest Technical Review Dollar Shave Club 214

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 12, 2021

They can iterate and evolve their business idea with a low burn rate and minimal dependencies. Although the major crowd funding sites today, including Kickstarter and Indiegogo , don’t technically require a business plan, they do demand essentially the same information in a project format. You need money, and plan to do crowdfunding.

Technical Review 126

Technical Review Writing Entrepreneur Slides 126

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 24, 2020

Of course, it could be your level of experience, or the quality of your team, but the difference is often more related to the lifecycle stage of the market you are trying to enter. This is normally the domain of technologists and idea people, often using the term “disruptive innovation.” Of course, getting money doesn’t assure success.

Marketing 174

Marketing Startup Artificial Inteligence Technical Review 174

SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 1, 2010

And I tried to evaluate the idea and figure out: What did the founder really need here? And do I fit as a Part-Time CTO , Technology Advisor , CTO Founder , Acting CTO ? For me to do either of these, I certainly need to really believe in the idea and it has to be something that won’t consume all of my time. Go to user groups.

CTO Hire 241

CTO Hire CTO Coach Equity Develop 241

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 15, 2010

When someone introduces me to an “idea person,” I automatically jump to the down-side conclusion that this person doesn’t do follow-up. Of course there are people who are great at getting things done, but haven’t had an original idea in their life. So which is the most important, the idea or the follow-up?

Ideas 95

Ideas Entrepreneur Startup Technical Review 95

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 8, 2014

Industry reviews. So the “VC associate” is largely a launching pad job for exceedingly bright and hard-working young tech professionals. a really wide angle view of the tech industry since you see so many concepts / so many pitches and REAL data points on how startups perform financially. Deal screening.

Help 365

Help Invest Venture Capital Technical Review 365

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 7, 2019

Partially due to the economy, but also due to longer, healthier lives and changes in job tenure, Boomers are now expected to stay in the labor force longer, and according to a USNews article, will likely dominate the labor market by 2024. In terms of job creation, innovation, and productivity, entrepreneurs drive growth.

Startup 119

Startup Technical Review Technical Support Entrepreneur 119

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 4, 2014

I think as a tech industry we have bred a culture that places more emphasis on product excellence than managing human behavior. Of course it makes no sense to have great people management and a crappy product. When they started their company of course they had to pick one to be CEO and the other to have a different title.

Startup 340

Startup Technical Review Course Press 340

InfoChachkie

AUGUST 24, 2010

Startups consistently identify more ideas and opportunities than they have the time or resources to pursue, such as potential partnerships, new products, entering emerging markets, etc. Idea Cronyism. This is analogous to a startup CEO selecting which ideas will be considered by a larger group for implementation.

Ideas 187

Ideas Resource Technical Review Startup 187

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 12, 2014

If you’re a technology startup you need to excel at product, of course. While many tech startups do this intuitively (say, SnapChat thinking it would be much better if our photos out partying disappeared) it still happens. Of course reciprocity matters so they would all leap into action. But it wasn’t to be.

Marketing 379

Marketing Startup SEM SEO 379

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 29, 2022

This most often happens due to impatience, which is not typically an entrepreneurial virtue. It also happens due to overreaction to some market surprise, a last-minute input, or a squeeze on cash. Many good ideas never get off the ground, simply because the product or service is never “finished.”

Marketing 120

Marketing Technical Review Entrepreneur Startup 120

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 6, 2013

They can read reviews, see pictures and even talk to the family before confirming. I then clicked on reviews, looked at pictures and read the owners descriptions of what they were looking for. I told her the story of Aaron, the company, the reviews, etc. He and his wife hatched the idea for DogVacay and decided to go for it.

Venture Capital 344

Venture Capital Technical Review Software Review San Diego 344

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 16, 2013

And it’s the latest in a series of investments we’ve made in building out our practice as the LA technology market continues to grow robustly and attract entrepreneurs and investors. Of course – some people can be remote. He of coursed required me to lobby on his behalf as well. ” He had two ideas.

Startup 372

Startup Course Ideas Invest 372

TechCrunch LA

FEBRUARY 27, 2019

Andrew Erskine has developed his legal career along with the rise of the tech startup scene in Los Angeles. And it was just something that founders never really thought to raise and then of course you’re dealing with the huge issue at the most critical point in the company’s history. So, things like that will happen. “A

Technical Review 141

Technical Review Startup Los Angeles Santa Monica 141

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 30, 2011

Nobody really knows whether or not the idea is yet going to be big, so I believe in not over capitalizing too early. If you’re creating truly innovative products, you often have no idea whether the proverbial dog will eat the dog food. We technology leaders also make this mistake. Rinse & repeat. You have a hunch.

Development Team Review 374

Development Team Review Technical Review Startup Resource 374

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 12, 2021

Technology environment savvy. Of course, many are still fighting it as well, due to privacy concerns. If you’re looking for that ‘million dollar idea’ to build a plan around, here is your chance. Siri is a step in this direction, but still has very limited learning and context sensing abilities.

Web 152

Web Entrepreneur Software Review Google 152

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 9, 2019

I still have to tell some entrepreneurs that even with the best idea, they have to move to Silicon Valley to find the investors they need, or they need to move to the U.S. On the other hand, if you are into solar technologies, there is probably an advantage to being in Arizona or a similar location.

Startup 97

Startup Technical Review Oracle Software Review 97

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 3, 2021

Yet most startups I know experience the same shock of disappointment when they first open up their website to offer their “million dollar idea” product, and nobody comes. Publish a regular blog, contribute to relevant social networks, and highlight several videos, podcasts, or eBooks of you and your technology. People buy from people.

Web 117

Web Search Engine Optimization eBook Advertising 117

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. Specifically, I often point to the NSF or the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program for high-tech startups. The approval process is long and bureaucratic.

Funding 90

Funding Technical Review Startup Research 90

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 3, 2015

In our industry we always talk about funding big ideas or funding things with more meaning. And of course we believe huge returns come with big platform initiatives like Grove. Their vision is to create technology and products for a world where food is grown in and around where people live. We loved the idea.

Technical Review 150

Technical Review Software Review Startup Ideas 150

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

AngelList 101 : As you know, AngelList is a platform where angels can invest in semi-screened tech deals. Therefore of course they need to be more selection when writing checks and can’t spread their bets across 75 deals. Of course the same goes with traditional VCs. Of course the same goes with traditional VCs.

Venture Capital 356

Venture Capital Invest Course Technical Review 356

TechCrunch LA

OCTOBER 22, 2018

[Update: TechCrunch has confirmed Lime’s plans for the store, and that the deal to build it came through Lime’s investor Fifth Wall Ventures that arranges partnerships between tech companies and real estate developers. ” That could counter the idea that scooters just get in the way and are an urban eye sore.

Santa Monica 221

Santa Monica Startup Technical Review Education 221

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 2, 2020

While these are quite reasonable, I find that the real superstars in the entrepreneurial world today, such as Bill Gates and Elon Musk, started with even bigger aspirations, including moving computer technology into every home, and establishing a human outpost on another planet. Need to prove to the world that your idea is real.

Entrepreneur 124

Entrepreneur Satisfaction Startup Technical Review 124

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 19, 2009

Good entrepreneurs can admit when their course of action was wrong and learn from it. The technology team disagrees on direction and wants resolutions. There’s a guy in Los Angeles that I met at several tech networking events. So we discussed his ideas several times. They move the ball forward every day.

Entrepreneur 414

Entrepreneur Technical Review Slides CTO Coach 414

socalTECH

APRIL 13, 2021

Those are faculty members who have a commercialization idea and want help with that. Those companies tend to be around for longer than one year, because of course our faculty are not working on those things full time, they're continuing to teach classes. Unlike what I'm used to, we don't negotiate term sheets.

Marina Del Rey 150

Marina Del Rey Startup USC Incubator 150

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 17, 2016

The show has become my best curator of which books to read (including my favorite of last year, The Accidental Superpower ) and my go to for understanding geopolitics of: Russia, Iran, Pakistan, China, India and of course the US. But they also take on issues in science, technology and management.

Coach 150

Coach Technical Review Framework Google 150

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 15, 2014

This was in part due to a tremendously busy 30-day period for me (in which my overall writing has been down) and in part the inevitability of knowing that weighing in just tees me up to take abuse on one anonymous app called Secret. Of course I know it’s not “private” but I’m dealing with people I know.

Technical Review 329

Technical Review Blogging Examples Startup 329