Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 18, 2012

All true entrepreneurs operate off a set of tenets that are built into their psyche, or drilled into them from training and mentors. In a book a while back by Jeanne Liedtka and Tim Ogilvie from the Columbia Business School, “ Designing for Growth ,” the authors encourage managers to think more like designers.

Startup 94

Startup Design Entrepreneur Ideas 94

socalTECH

MAY 17, 2019

For today's interview, we sat down and spoke with David Loo , the founder and CEO of Perspectium (www.perspectium.com), a startup which is developing service management applications designed to help connect different, enterprise service management software products together.

SaaS 113

SaaS Startup Customer Custom 113

InfoChachkie

DECEMBER 2, 2009

As noted in Pour and Stir Part I , the key to the successful execution of this strategy is managing the following equation: The cost to acquire a customer < lifetime value of a customer. Decreasing Your Customer Acquisition Costs. This is equivalent to being handed a free customer for every ten customers you acquire.

Customer 164

Customer Custom Advertising SEM 164

Tech.Co

MAY 31, 2023

Launching and growing a startup is one of the biggest missions an entrepreneur can undertake. Business tools — from customer relationship management ( CRM ) platforms to accounting software — help to save startups time and money by automating key processes and maximizing efficiency. From its 4.3-inch

Tool 128

Tool Startup Software Review Technical Review 128

InfoChachkie

JULY 26, 2010

Entrepreneurs can emulate de la Guerra’s strategy and make their adVenture appear far larger than reality and thus increasing its influence and market reach while discouraging competitive threats by creating an industry alliance. This last category proved to be especially lucrative. True differentiator to each member’s products.

Entrepreneur 168

Entrepreneur Santa Barbara Startup Conference 168

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 9, 2016

If you aren’t willing to take some risk as an entrepreneur, then don’t expect any gain. Here is my perspective on the highest risk elements, from my years of working with investors and watching startups come and go: All the co-founders are first-time entrepreneurs. New drugs usually fall in this category, due to side-effect testing.

Startup 104

Startup Entrepreneur Sites Technical Review 104

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 13, 2018

As a VC and former entrepreneur let me offer you some advice. The mistake entrepreneurs make is either writing a lengthy email (everybody has too much email so it will get skimmed / not digested) or not having a deck which means the VC can’t quickly determine his or her fit as a potential investor. The key is WHAT you send.

Venture Capital 261

Venture Capital Slides Email Startup 261

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 22, 2018

If you aren’t willing to take some risk as an entrepreneur, then don’t expect any gain. Here is my perspective on the highest risk elements, from my years of working with investors and watching startups come and go: All the co-founders are first-time entrepreneurs. New drugs usually fall in this category, due to side-effect testing.

Sites 81

Sites Technical Review Social Media Entrepreneur 81

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 7, 2013

And I had been telling my partners for a couple of years that I thought Ethan was one of the more talented entrepreneurs I had come across in San Francisco. We generally have a policy to only fund entrepreneurs once the first version of a product has shipped or it near to shipping. We like to be able to see the concept.

CTO Coach 359

CTO Coach Google CTO Hire Yammer 359

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 28, 2018

My friend Michael Broukhim, founder & co-CEO of FabFitFun and I recently had a catch-up meeting for 3-miles on the Santa Monica “Bird Trail” No company has ever elicited so many questions by friends, colleagues, entrepreneurs, fellow VCs and journalists as has Bird, the company that pioneered the electronic scooter as a service market.

Santa Monica 256

Santa Monica Funding Startup Course 256

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 4, 2013

Because entrepreneurs often went to lawyers at their earliest stages to get their company registration done. Entrepreneurial lawyers like Don Lee , Dave Young or Ted Wang are good at sussing out which entrepreneurs are high potential. I asked for intro’s from entrepreneur friends. I spent time on college campuses.

Startup 361

Startup Venture Capital Pricing Technical Review 361

socalTECH

AUGUST 7, 2009

Helping entrepreneurs succeed. An on-line community for entrepreneurs. Custom Insurance Programs for Technology Companies. Cox Communications - Orange County was recently ranked 2nd amongst Employers Group's, "California's Best Places to Work - 2008" in the Large Companies category. Silicon Valley Bank (www.svb.com).

SoCalTech 100

SoCalTech Orange County Southern California IP 100

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 24, 2017

Most of the guidance you see for entrepreneurs is aimed at those who are selling a product (Apple, Tesla, Xiaomi), or selling a service (Uber, Airbnb, Snapchat). The “product” value is difficult to quantify, the costs are nebulous, and entrepreneurs have to clone themselves to scale the business.

Social Media 56

Social Media Pricing Technical Review Demand 56

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 4, 2013

Because entrepreneurs often went to lawyers at their earliest stages to get their company registration done. Entrepreneurial lawyers like Don Lee , Dave Young or Ted Wang are good at sussing out which entrepreneurs are high potential. I asked for intro’s from entrepreneur friends. I spent time on college campuses.

Venture Capital 347

Venture Capital Startup Pricing Invest 347

socalTECH

JULY 24, 2009

Helping entrepreneurs succeed. Custom Insurance Programs for Technology Companies. An on-line community for entrepreneurs. Cox Communications - Orange County was recently ranked 2nd amongst Employers Group's, "California's Best Places to Work - 2008" in the Large Companies category. Silicon Valley Bank (www.svb.com).

SoCalTech 100

SoCalTech Orange County Southern California Westlake Village 100

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 23, 2011

I took the opportunity this past week to publish summary notes of some of the VCs and entrepreneurs I had interviewed on This Week in VC. One of my goals in doing the show was not only to educate entrepreneurs but also to put a human face on many of the VCs in our industry as VCs can be hard to get to know. (5:00 5:00 – 5:55).

Capital 265

Capital Venture Capital Veoh Startup 265

Tech Zulu Event

MAY 2, 2011

At the Technovation Challenge LA Pitch Night hosted by Iridescent , we saw six teams of high school girls from various Los Angeles City Schools pitch a number of mobile app ideas to a panel of venture capitalists and entrepreneurs.

Technical Review 82

Technical Review Entrepreneur Software Review USC 82

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 8, 2014

If you aren’t willing to take some risk as an entrepreneur, then don’t expect any gain. Here is my perspective on the highest risk elements, from my years of working with investors and watching startups come and go: All the co-founders are first-time entrepreneurs. New drugs usually fall in this category, due to side-effect testing.

Entrepreneur 101

Entrepreneur Sites Technical Review Social Media 101

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 31, 2012

Many writers have outlined the critical success factors for product companies, like sell every unit at a profit, patent the design, and continuous product improvement. Obviously we can find many critical success factors, like finding and retaining high-value customers, which apply to companies that are product centric or services centric.

Satisfaction 91

Satisfaction Patents Outsource Development Services 91

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 8, 2013

One of the big advantages of being an entrepreneur and starting your company from scratch is that you get to set the culture, which is much easier than changing the culture of an existing business. Mission statements tend to be narrow, business oriented statements such as “Be the leader in customer satisfaction.” Train all the time.

Startup 101

Startup Training Study Customer 101

InfoChachkie

FEBRUARY 24, 2011

Value Prop Twitter Style : SocialStay is: "An easy to set up & manage mobile platform designed for the hospitality industry. Without their buy in, we don’t get the opportunity to interact with end customers. Yeah, I have made plenty of mistakes in this category in the past. It drives revenue & engages guests."

Startup 233

Startup Design Mobile Social Network 233

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 24, 2011

Silicon Valley (and Alley) has been super excited about the new category of “group text messaging&# and for valid reasons. You fish where your customers are. I know this category has gotten a lot of press. He also was an executive talent at Activision having designed & managed two products (Mechwarrior 2 and ?Interstate

Gogii 310

Gogii Invest Blogging Startup 310

socalTECH

JANUARY 5, 2011

The firm is now run by Derrick Oien , who an experience entrepreneur, who was the founder of Intercasting Corporation, and a member of the management team which sold MP3.com The Infocast and the Sony Dash are more like a digital photo frame in terms of look and industrial design. Derrick Oien: Chumby invented a category.

Startup 159

Startup Google San Diego Content 159

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 20, 2010

Many writers have outlined the critical success factors for product companies, like sell every unit at a profit, patent the design, and continuous product improvement. Obviously we can find many critical success factors, like finding and retaining high-value customers, which apply to companies that are product centric or services centric.

Product 91

Product Services Satisfaction Patents 91

SoCal Delicious

MAY 6, 2012

where entrepreneurs share their stories. 63 Los Angeles Entrepreneurs To Be Proud Of By mario on May 2, 2012 in Features , grid. Free Corporations For First-Time Entrepreneurs. Right now they’re setting up 500 free corporations for first time entrepreneurs. Here are 62 63 Los Angeles entrepreneurs we can be proud of.

Los Angeles 78

Los Angeles Entrepreneur Angel Fractional CTO 78

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 29, 2013

Entrepreneurs often get the advice from their lawyers and friends to always get a Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDA or CDA) signed before disclosing anything about their new venture. You won’t last long as an entrepreneur in this category, since a startup is all about taking risks. Who is right? Trade secrets. Period covered.

Ideas 92

Ideas Demand Patents Entrepreneur 92

SoCal Tech Calendar

JUNE 14, 2016

In the corporate world, events are more than just an event�they are opportunity to connect with your customers and turn potential customers into buyers. We also wanted access to development resources, and we have our product team here, the engineers and designers, all based in Santa Monica. How do you make those events happen?

Sales 100

Sales Santa Monica Startup Orange County 100

socalTECH

JANUARY 25, 2012

How do you leverage your years of experience manufacturing and designing furniture for stores like Ikea and Crate & Barrel into the online world, and harness the interest of consumers to purchase their furniture online? As a designer of those products, I've seen in home furnishings over the last twenty years lots of cycles.

Sales 178

Sales Startup Sites Design 178

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 4, 2012

One of the big advantages of being an entrepreneur and starting your company from scratch is that you get to set the culture, which is much easier than changing the culture of an existing business. Mission statements tend to be narrow, business oriented statements such as “Be the leader in customer satisfaction.” Train all the time.

Training 109

Training Startup Study Customer 109

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

” I mention journalists here because they perpetuate the myth that focusing on profits is ALWAYS the right answer and then I hear many entrepreneurs (and certainly many “normals”) repeating the same mantra. I have had this discussion with many a first-time entrepreneur. If you don’t, somebody else WILL!”

Startup 418

Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 418

SoCal Delicious

SEPTEMBER 19, 2012

Ten Tech Entrepreneurs Who Are Putting LA on the Map. Tech startup accelerators dot the landscape, feeding investments into the waiting arms of the nation’s most intelligent and driven entrepreneurs. Miller was even honored as an Ernst & Young “Entrepreneur of the Year” for 2011. Follow PandoDaily: Search.

Technical Review 75

Technical Review Entrepreneur Riot Games Southern California 75

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 21, 2012

Entrepreneurs often get the advice from their lawyers and friends to always get a Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDA or CDA) signed before disclosing anything about their new venture. You won’t last long as an entrepreneur in this category, since a startup is all about taking risks. Who is right? Trade secrets. Period covered.

Startup 97

Startup Patents Sample Ideas 97

Tech Zulu Event

SEPTEMBER 18, 2012

Using his connections, he was able to raise funding from his family and other investors to co-found Appboy , a customer relationship management platform for mobile app developers and marketers. In other words, when did you get “bitten” by the entrepreneur bug? I’m a creative thinker, and tech has allowed me to do this. About Appboy.

Startup 82

Startup Mobile Platform Ideas 82

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 21, 2010

I recently read a post over on VentureHacks titled, “ Top Ten Reasons Entrepreneurs Hate Lawyers &# written by Scott Walker (who blogs on legal issues for entrepreneurs ). I know he’s smart but you wouldn’t hire a Javascript developer to do your database design – would you? the link is here.

Startup 318

Startup IP Southern California Entrepreneur 318

socalTECH

APRIL 15, 2019

Because of those two key things, plus being a really sleek, fashion-forward design, we can reach a much larger demographic. We were really passionate about this, and decided to go all-in, and create the next category of transportation company. You have to have a customer-focused business, focused on delighting your customers.

San Diego 113

San Diego Startup Study Los Angeles 113

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2011

This was an audience of mostly first-time entrepreneurs. I spoke about how Amazon Web Services deserves far more credit for the last 5 years of innovation than it gets credit for and how I believe they spawned the micro-VC category. It is great for entrepreneurs and great for VCs. What a bubble means for each entrepreneur.

Pricing 309

Pricing Marketing Startup Venture Capital 309

SoCal CTO

JUNE 9, 2010

Kathy Sierra at Business of Software 2009 - Business of Software Blog , May 4, 2010 "In the old days, getting customers was easy. Putting customers first. Legendary customer support. Why Entrepreneurs Hate Lawyers. They’re deep into Customer Development ,” he said. You could just outspend. The Holy Grail of.

Startup 248

Startup Venture Capital Conference Social Media 248