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. I wanted to understand how he had arrived at his previous investment decisions. I wanted to know what made him tick.

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. The first step toward a business with any idea is to write it down, and build a business plan around it. Support organizations are investment banks, similar to the preceding stage.

Organization 93

Organization Startup Incubator Ideas 93

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

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 19, 2017

That is, how much should your company be willing to lose in cash every month as you make investments in staff and equipment that funds technology, sales, marketing and management. Usually when an investor is asking you your burn rate he or she is referring to net burn — what cash are you consuming. million for 18 months.

Startup 212

Startup Venture Capital .Net Capital 212

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 20, 2013

The other worthwhile exercise is to write down what your competitors uses as its USPs – even ones that you don’t think are really valuable to customers. And of course you also need your outbound marketing campaigns to emphasize your USPs so that prospects are already asking about them before the sales reps even start their meeting.

Sales 336

Sales Startup Competition Customer 336

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 15, 2013

Some entrepreneurs start polling venture capitalists for that multi-million dollar investment before they even have a business plan. The first step toward a business with any idea is to write it down, and build a business plan around it. Support organizations are investment banks, similar to the preceding stage.

Entrepreneur 102

Entrepreneur Funding Incubator Startup 102

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 19, 2011

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. I know that no recruiter will agree with me on this point, but I’ll tell you that I’m certain there’s a positive bias in reference calls. It happens.

Venture Capital 319

Venture Capital Pricing Startup Outsource 319

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. The first step toward a business with any idea is to write it down, and build a business plan around it. Support organizations are investment banks, similar to the preceding stage.

Resource 94

Resource Startup Organization Incubator 94

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. The first step toward a business with any idea is to write it down, and build a business plan around it. Support organizations are investment banks, similar to the preceding stage.

Startup 92

Startup Organization Incubator Ideas 92

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 21, 2010

If you don’t follow the image reference above or the tag line, “ You don’t need double talk; you need Bob Loblaw “ (try saying it out loud) , and if you care! 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

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

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. They know that the money they invest may be lost. How much do they like to invest?

Angel 291

Angel Funding Venture Capital Startup 291

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 1, 2010

Of course I knew that they sat on other boards that kept them busy but somehow it seemed like I had all of their attention to myself during the fund raising process – especially the ones who seemed to like me and spend time with me. There is a lot of congestion in the circling pattern. As you know, circling patterns suck.

Venture Capital 275

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Capital Ideas 275

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2011

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. An inflated sense of financial well-being can result in sloppy budgeting and accounting as you write checks here and there without pause. Starting small gives you flexibility.

Startup 92

Startup Capital Blogging Ideas 92

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 3, 2013

Let me start by saying that Clayton is one of the most influential people on my thoughts about markets that led to both the concept behind my first startup and my main theses in investing. Today’s higher education is responding by making more courses online and available to people outside of physical boundaries. Freemium.

Venture Capital 403

Venture Capital Education Offshore Outsource Development 403

InfoChachkie

JUNE 25, 2009

If you are charged for every nanosecond you spend with your lawyer, consider finding one who is willing to “invest” more aggressively in your success. The reference may be well-intentioned, but the lawyer’s allegiance may be divided between the investor and you. It is surprising how often entrepreneurs forget this simple fact.

Technical Advisors 124

Technical Advisors Technical Review IP Patents 124

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 13, 2012

A while back I received a frantic phone call from the CEO of a company in which I invested. I felt it was a hit job on us and didn’t refer to anybody else in the industry. We of course felt it was a misunderstanding of our product but I knew the story would stand anyhow. But both stories are still accurate. He published.

Press 336

Press Blogging Journal News 336

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 3, 2011

there was no frame of reference for the value. Sure, of course I am. My key take away – frame of reference in pricing is important. Gregg is an ex Investment Banker and Wharton MBA. Any takers in a trade for helping do some write-ups against whatever you want? Gregg says at $9.99 Sign me up.&# Awesome.

Startup 303

Startup Venture Capital Pricing Writing 303

InfoChachkie

DECEMBER 2, 2009

Affiliates invest the up-front marketing expenses required to attract customers. 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. As described more fully in Thrill The Messenger.

Customer 164

Customer Custom Advertising SEM 164

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. Some will cite my investment two years ago in social-media advertising company Ad.ly So with DataSift I’m doubling down.

Platform 307

Platform News Startup Invest 307

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 10, 2011

The best proof of a soft circle is whether an angel will email someone else (refer another investor) and start off that email with “I’m investing in…”. The team, of course, is just as important as the product or idea. As an angel, do you reserve money for follow-on investments? How investors’ risk differ (0:22:45).

Angel 302

Angel Startup Ideas .Net 302

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 1, 2010

Today’s post is about my investment thesis. My investment philosophy is to back the best possible entrepreneurs I can. But when I’m looking to invest the dollars that my Limited Partners have entrusted my firm with I’m going with my view. He invested $8 million in a company in the computer networking space.

Entrepreneur 321

Entrepreneur GRP Partners Venture Capital Invest 321

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 11, 2023

I refer back to the classic book, “ A Crowdfunder’s Strategy Guide ,” by Jamey Stegmaier, one of the biggest thought leaders on crowdfunding, and who has also run several successful Kickstarter projects, that together have raised many millions of dollars. billion globally by 2030, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. Startup revenues come later.

Startup 100

Startup Equity Entrepreneur Demand 100

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 26, 2020

I refer back to the classic book, “ A Crowdfunder’s Strategy Guide ,” by Jamey Stegmaier, one of the biggest thought leaders on crowdfunding, and who has also run several successful Kickstarter projects, that together have raised many millions of dollars. Startups need to build a large passionate group of fans before the campaign.

Startup 151

Startup Equity Funding Demand 151

SoCal CTO

AUGUST 3, 2010

Graphs - Chris Dixon , July 22, 2010 It has become customary to use “ graph &# to refer to the underlying data structures at social networks like Facebook. Computer scientists call the study of graphs “ network theory ,&# but on the web the word “network&# is used to refer to the websites themselves). Not so bad.

Startup 217

Startup Venture Capital Blogging Software Review 217