Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 12, 2010

I recently wrote a post about avoiding the “ Deferred Life Plan &# and some related thoughts about personal productivity that came from Tim Ferriss’s book, The Four Hour Workweek. I would love to say that I’m the productivity guru. Tim Ferriss gave this extra emphasis in his book.

Product 280

Product Startup Email Technical Review 280

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2011

That great productivity drain that we somehow all buy into. So I ask you – if you’re being reactive to somebody else’s emails are you really being as productive in your company as you could be? You’re writing a freaking blog post! I never get grumpy that people write. ” Brilliant!

Email 314

Email Product Startup Writing 314

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 Mobile Writing 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

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 11, 2023

As a business advisor and advocate for entrepreneurs, I find myself almost always talking and writing about change. Productive networking traffic does not happen by default. It takes effort to get out there, do your homework on the best traffic lanes, and follow-up on potentially valuable relationships to make them productive.

Startup 106

Startup Writing Entrepreneur Screening 106

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 25, 2013

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. Many people write email without a “call to action” or reason they’re writing the email. Write to one person at a time. This is critical and was the reason I sat down to write this post.

Email 415

Email Writing Software Review Startup 415

Tech Zulu Event

NOVEMBER 16, 2013

Turn on your phone and look at the productivity folder. Something to write your notes, another to set reminders, and one that does both. You’ll be more productive within three weeks time. We discuss productivity, emails, communication, and the dynamics of the team. We’ve been there. We’ve all been there.

Product 99

Product Ideas Email Organization 99

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 9, 2014

Of course passion isn’t enough. It is in her blood to see this journey through and try to launch her product or service to the world. Does your investor eat, sleep, breath your industry or product? So of course I want (need) to make money for my investors (LPs). But the two can of course go hand-in-hand.

Venture Capital 373

Venture Capital Startup Course Entrepreneur 373

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 12, 2014

If you’re a technology startup you need to excel at product, of course. The starting point of product IS marketing, which is what a lot of young entrepreneurs that never studied business don’t realize. Of course reciprocity matters so they would all leap into action. But it wasn’t to be.

Marketing 379

Marketing Startup SEM SEO 379

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 9, 2017

Simply, it’s offering a specific product or service to a specific group of people. Of course not. Where else are consumers going to find your product, if no one else is offering it or if other companies offer it, but haven’t found the right niche audience? Think about your product or service. What Is niche marketing?

Marketing 266

Marketing Resource Advertising Social Media 266

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. We see a huge growth in food production and preservation (Apeel Sciences, for example) and food distribution (such as ChowNow). ” Mark Suster, managing partner, Upfront Ventures.

Los Angeles 277

Los Angeles Venture Capital Capital Invest 277

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2014

Yesterday I wrote a post about The Silent Benefits of PR in which I pointed out that most young companies I encounter don’t fully grasp the benefits of PR because they are less measurable than product milestones or customer acquisition analyses (like CAC/LTV). It super charges a business that is closer to product delivery.

Press 319

Press Startup Writing Training 319

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 21, 2013

The biggest excuse most startup founders mention is too much to do building a product, mapping strategy, investors, etc. I know that finding time is hard, and good writing is simply not what most people do. Of course, ultimately you want employees who can blog for you and your company as well. Cultivate early customers.

Blogging 104

Blogging Product Startup Writing 104

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 12, 2021

In fact, they are probably in such a hurry to give you money that they don’t want you to waste time writing anything down and passing it along to new investors. Of course, building a plan is not an alternative to getting out there and doing something. Writing it down promotes both understanding and commitment.

Technical Review 126

Technical Review Writing Entrepreneur Slides 126

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). 5 years ago. Sourcing high-quality leads : 9/10. The monkey on my back.

Venture Capital 387

Venture Capital Downey Writing Press 387

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2016

I answered in the same way I always do so I thought I’d just write it publicly. “I I spend hours thinking about the products, competitors, market opportunities, recruiting and financing of these businesses. Of course I also have to the concept. I fall in love.” I fall in love with both the founders and the concept.

Invest 254

Invest Writing Pricing Metrics 254

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 13, 2013

What I love about writing is that you inadvertently say what many others are thinking and just knowing that somebody else is thinking something similar can be reassuring. Example: Fred Wilson writing his end of 2012 post wrote. “I’ve wanted to write a year end post for days. But of course life isn’t like this.

Writing 313

Writing Venture Capital Blogging Startup 313

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 16, 2020

As a business advisor and advocate for entrepreneurs, I find myself almost always talking and writing about change. Productive networking traffic does not happen by default. It takes effort to get out there, do your homework on the best traffic lanes, and follow-up on potentially valuable relationships to make them productive.

Startup 153

Startup Writing Entrepreneur Screening 153

SoCal Tech Calendar

MARCH 22, 2019

At our next event, the panel of Investors will focus on Early-Stage Venture Investing: How to meet investors, pitch them, and what it really takes to get them to write you a check! Exhibitor passes include: - 3 tickets - Table top to display product / service - 4-minute speaking slot at the end of the normal 60- second pitches.

Los Angeles 100

Los Angeles Venture Capital Angel Conference 100

SoCal Tech Calendar

MARCH 20, 2019

At our next event, the panel of Investors will focus on Early-Stage Venture Investing: How to meet investors, pitch them, and what it really takes to get them to write you a check! Exhibitor passes include: - 3 tickets - Table top to display product / service - 4-minute speaking slot at the end of the normal 60- second pitches.

San Diego 100

San Diego Venture Capital Conference Angel 100

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 11, 2022

After years mentoring young aspiring entrepreneurs , I am now convinced that getting along and becoming more productive with other people is a skill that any professional can learn, or accomplish via a dedicated strategy. Don’t let any hidden agendas or ulterior motives, such as political strategy, throw you off course.

Startup 114

Startup Examples Satisfaction Mentor 114

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 17, 2019

I had just left Salesforce.com where I was VP, Products, after they had acquired my second startup. As I was trying to figure out the role I wanted to play in the VC world I decided I wanted to focus on businesses that were building deeply technical products to solve problems for business users.

Venture Capital 223

Venture Capital IP Startup Google 223

Berkonomics

MARCH 14, 2019

Of course, we are speaking of increased valuation of your company when we speak of “wealth.” First: Product risk. . Is the product or service possible to produce at all, let alone economically enough to compete in the marketplace? So, let’s examine them and mitigate them. Make you wealthy someday. The carrot and the stick.

Outsource Development 120

Outsource Development Ideas Resource Patents 120

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 Customer Custom Tips 95

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 21, 2020

Food production and distribution, group collaboration, remote training or education, sensor technology (tracking people movement, temperatures, etc), certain biotech deals. There are large sums of money to be invested and if investors can get comfortable with “downside protections” they’ll still write checks.

Venture Capital 263

Venture Capital Marketing Startup Writing 263

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 15, 2022

Some entrepreneurs love to talk and produce videos, but hate to write anything down. Of course, previous successes provide more direct evidence of a network of the right people. Others send investors email and business plans in all uppercase or no punctuation. Effective communication requires real listening, as well as talking.

Entrepreneur 111

Entrepreneur Social Media Patents Mentor 111

SoCal Tech Calendar

MARCH 21, 2019

At our next event, the panel of Investors will focus on Early-Stage Venture Investing: How to meet investors, pitch them, and what it really takes to get them to write you a check! Exhibitor passes include: - 3 tickets - Table top to display product / service - 4-minute speaking slot at the end of the normal 60- second pitches.

Orange County 100

Orange County Venture Capital Conference Tech Coast Angels 100

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2013

Of course not. It’s a hard topic to write about because it’s almost an accepted norm that total transparency is good. They told you, “Yeah, man, I’ll gladly write the first $250,000. How can you show “traction” on a product that just launched? Of course you need to be open.

Startup 417

Startup Course Venture Capital Writing 417

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2014

Seed investors are aplenty and of course they need downstream money to fuel their early-stage bets. Of course these are great places to network with other investors, meet great entrepreneurs and keep your connections strong with senior execs at larger companies like Yahoo!, Of course I would like to be in every great deal ever done.

Venture Capital 374

Venture Capital Invest Press Startup 374

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 5, 2014

There is a battle between entrepreneurs who try to change the world and solve a meaningful problem and those who write take-down pieces with no apparent personal benefit other than attention. Of course the naysayers are out again. When we ship product. I, of course, am betting on the former and am not 1% swayed by the doubters.

Technical Review 417

Technical Review Startup Software Review Course 417

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 4, 2016

I find the over-introducers especially corrosive around first-time founders who often struggle with the balance of their time between tasks like building product versus tasks like speaking at conferences or meeting with potential business development partners. In many instances this help is genuine, well-meaning and productive.

Innocal 255

Innocal Conference Help Study 255

SoCal CTO

APRIL 2, 2013

They look at the following high level definition of Lean: and they interpret that as write up an executive summary with your ideas and hand it to developers to build. Correct your course quickly. What's going to go wrong? Don't be fooled by a Common Misunderstanding in Agile Software Development.

CTO Coach 219

CTO Coach Metrics Framework Software Development 219

Berkonomics

JUNE 9, 2016

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, who had been once so productive and relaxed, hated this new plethora of paperwork and meetings which used up most of her time.

Report 120

Report Writing Startup Course 120

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 26, 2013

I will add to this as I write more in the coming weeks on the topic. You may have gotten some articles that covered your product launch or may have gotten into industry rags but this might be your first time on TechCrunch, AllThingsD, PandoDaily, GigaOm, Business Insider or the equivalent. Should I Bundle it With More Juicy News?

Startup 355

Startup Funding News Press 355

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 8, 2023

Leading edge technology software and manufacturing require constant course corrections and iterative restarts. It’s hard to write a detailed specification on an evolving new service, process, or product that embodies your core competency. But customers are not looking yet another homogeneous product or service, so be careful.

Software Review 114

Software Review Technical Review Outsource Development Outsource 114

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2023

Of course, starting and running your own business comes with financial and personal risks, so I always recommend that you do your homework first, and follow some tried and proven strategies to improve your odds of success. It’s much easier to pivot before full production and much money has been spent.

Social Media 98

Social Media Metrics Media Tool 98

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