Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 22, 2020

They don’t realize that according to statistics from Startup.co , almost 60 percent are funded with personal savings and credit, and another 25 percent get their money from friends and family. That leaves only about fifteen percent that actually get their funding from investors, through crowdfunding, banks, angels, and venture capitalists.

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Funding Tips Startup Statistics 173

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 7, 2023

Entrepreneurs looking for investor funding often fail to realize that all money comes with strings. For example, if you have watched the Shark Tank TV series, you probably noticed that the Sharks always ask the entrepreneurs for their intended “use of funds.” Funding for founder salaries at this stage is a red flag.

Tips 91

Tips Funding Startup Invest 91

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 26, 2013

Understanding “The Funding Angle” I sit at enough board meetings to hear conflicting advice given to entrepreneurs about how to handle PR and announcements at startups. Is Funding a Worthy Announcement? There are reasons you may delay funding announcement but rarely reasons not to announce.

Startup 355

Startup Funding News Press 355

TechCrunch LA

FEBRUARY 2, 2021

The Los Angeles-based commerce and content platform StackCommerce has been acquired by the Integrated Media Company, a holding company set up by the massive private equity fund, TPG, to acquire new media businesses. As a part of Integrated Media, StackCommerce will join properties like Fandom and Goal.com.

Media 134

Media Commerce Company Companies 134

socalTECH

APRIL 30, 2013

The startup says it added more than 200 new publishers and 100 new buyer channels for the six months ended March 31, 2013, and that its customers now include more than 500 of the world''s premium publishers, including eBay UK, Time, ABC News, the Wall Street Journal, Tribune Company, Virgin Media, People, Universal and many others.

Customer 220

Customer Custom Clearstone Journal 220

socalTECH

APRIL 10, 2019

Los Angeles-based drone imagery and UAV pilot network operator DroneBase has received a strategic funding round from thermal imaging camera maker FLIR Systems , the two said this morning, with FLIR becoming the exclusive provider of thermal imaging cameras for the DroneBase pilot network. Size of the investment was not announced.

Funding 127

Funding Networking Los Angeles Media 127

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 17, 2020

So why do I see some many funding requests for products along these lines? I hear this term every day, wrongly applied to new social media site, or a new productivity tool. Professional investors know all of these too well, and are sometimes hesitant to fund any innovation that is deemed to be too disruptive.

Customer 167

Customer Custom Startup Outsource Development 167

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 16, 2019

Today’s customers are overloaded and overwhelmed by too much information, so making a decision is a challenge. You may think this is only important to your marketing and sales people, but in reality it doesn’t matter how great your product or technology might be, you won’t succeed if you don’t understand your target customer decision process.

Customer 107

Customer Custom Sales Social Media 107

socalTECH

DECEMBER 3, 2010

Los Angeles-based Encompass Digital Media said today that it is in a definitive agreement to acquire the global content distribution business of Ascent Media Corporation. The deal is being funded by capital from Macquarie Capital and Tennenbaum Capital Partners. Wasserstein & Co. is the majority owner of Encompass.

Media 178

Media Content Los Angeles Networking 178

TechCrunch LA

SEPTEMBER 18, 2019

AOL co-founder and former chief executive officer Steve Case’s venture capital fund, Revolution , deploys capital to companies “outside of the hotbeds.” Today, Washington, DC-based Revolution is announcing its latest fund. Revolution began nearly 15 years ago as Steve Case’s balance sheet fund, in essence.

Venture Capital 211

Venture Capital Funding Seed Funding Activity 211

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 11, 2020

Struggling entrepreneurs are often so happy to get a funding offer that they neglect the recommended reverse due diligence on the investors. Taking on equity investors to fund your company is much like getting married – it is a long-term relationship that has to work at all levels.

Technical Review 124

Technical Review Funding Innocal Offshore 124

socalTECH

JUNE 27, 2016

Vemba, which is based in Toronto but has offices in Los Angeles, said it raised $5M in a Series A funding, which was led by Upfront Ventures and Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments (BDMI), along with the Enterprise Fund at the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The Upfront investment was led by Mark Suster.

Bertelsmann 113

Bertelsmann Funding Los Angeles Content 113

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 14, 2021

They are looking for startups that have a sustainable advantage over direct and indirect competitor offerings, as well as obvious value to customers living without your product today. Non-specific terms, like better usability and low cost don’t incite customers to action these days. Investors check connections.

Competition 166

Competition Funding Startup Patents 166

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2023

The cost of entry has never been lower, with new tools to create your own website , and free social media to get your message out everywhere. By far, the majority of new businesses I know are self-funding (bootstrapped) from your own savings and prior assets. Test your plan to get feedback from real customers.

Social Media 98

Social Media Metrics Media Tool 98

socalTECH

JANUARY 22, 2010

Aliso Viejo-based Evolver , the online avatar software site developed by Darwin Dimensions, said Thursday that it has launched a new web site that allows end users to create avatars for social media sites like Facebook and MySpace. Tags: evolver darwin dimensions avatar animation social media animate. READ MORE>>.

Social Media 189

Social Media Sites Media Tool 189

TechCrunch LA

JANUARY 26, 2022

In numerous interviews throughout the past two years, Weiss and other executives have emphasized the company’s focus on its direct-to-consumer online shipping model and obsession with iterating the customer experience based on feedback. billion valuation from Lone Pine Capital, Sequoia, Forerunner Ventures and others.

CTO Hire 197

CTO Hire Layoffs Commerce Email 197

socalTECH

AUGUST 6, 2012

Santa Monica-based Demand Media (www.demandmedia.com) has seen its share of ups and downs as one of the highest visibility technology and media companies to come out of Southern California's technology ecosystem in recent years. What is Demand Media doing nowadays? Are those kinds of content deals with brands a big focus?

Demand 240

Demand Media eHow Content 240

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 19, 2011

He is very hands-on and helpful – especially for any company looking into customer acquisition. o Their strong skill was online media buying and optimization – they rarely would do CPA deals – mostly buying CPM. Passion: Have to be able to motivate people, customers, team, yourself. He wanted to see all the data himself.

Acquisition 304

Acquisition Startup Customer Custom 304

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 13, 2022

You may feel good when that first burst of customers arrives, but don’t assume that “ word of mouth ” and those early adopters will grow your business to match your dreams of success. In these days of global competition via multiple channels, you need continuous marketing to find more customers. They won’t find you.

Technical Review 142

Technical Review Social Media Conference Customer 142

InfoChachkie

JULY 16, 2012

As noted in YouTubers Come Of Age – Google Scores A Solid Return On Its Video Development Fund , many YouTube personalities are sensitive to the nature of the ads associated with their content. I know Coull intimately, as it recently purchased RevUpNet , an online media agency which I Co-Founded with Ben Kiblinger in 2007.

Customer 226

Customer Custom Entrepreneur Advertising 226

socalTECH

JANUARY 16, 2020

Los Angeles-based March Capital Partners is the lead investor in a big, $32M funding round for ActionIQ , a startup which provides personalization software to enterprise customers. As part of the funding, March Capital's Meredith Finn, a Partner at the firm, will join ActionIQ's board. READ MORE>>.

Capital 100

Capital Invest Software Los Angeles 100

socalTECH

JANUARY 18, 2011

This morning, Pasadena-based Perfect Market (www.perfectmarket.com) announced a new, $9M round of funding for the firm's technology, which is used to help publishers monetize their content. Congrats on funding. It's some of the kinds of things Demand Media does, except, for the newsroom. That's what we are finding.

Marketing 232

Marketing Funding Content Writing 232

socalTECH

OCTOBER 23, 2012

However, the recent surge in startup activity has attracted a lot more capital into the area, including a significant amount of capital from LA's latest fund: Karlin Ventures (www.karlinvc.com). TX Zhuo: Karlin Ventures is an early stage venture fund based in LA. We're a very new fund, but are aggressive and like to hustle.

Funding 253

Funding Startup Invest Commerce 253

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 5, 2023

They don’t realize that according to statistics from Startup.co , almost 60 percent are funded with personal savings and credit, and another 25 percent get their money from friends and family. That leaves only about fifteen percent that actually get their funding from investors, through crowdfunding, banks, angels, and venture capitalists.

Statistics 98

Statistics Entrepreneur Funding Social Media 98

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2022

In the past 5 years some of the best investors in the country could simply anoint winners by giving them large amounts of capital at high prices and then the media hype machine would create awareness, talent would race to join the next perceived $10bn winner and if the music never stops then everybody is happy. Except the music stopped.

Venture Capital 416

Venture Capital Marketing Technical Review Seed Funding 416

TechCrunch LA

NOVEMBER 8, 2022

Movio’s user base is currently in the lower hundreds of thousands, with paying customers nearing 1,000. It has so far raised around $9 million in funding from investors including IDG, Sequoia Capital China and, most recently, Baidu Ventures. How China’s synthetic media startup Surreal nabs funding in 3 months.

Generative AI 182

Generative AI Marketing Artificial Inteligence Template 182

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 16, 2023

Contrary to popular opinion, viral marketing has not eliminated the need for old-fashioned lead generation to bring customers to a startup. Scott, published a classic book that I still recommend, ” The New Rules of Lead Generation ,” highlighting the changes wrought by the internet and social media. Social-media advertising.

Marketing 114

Marketing Invest Social Media SEM 114

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2018

The cost of rolling out a business has never been lower – it only takes a few hundred dollars to incorporate a Limited Liability Corp (LLC) online, create your own website, use social media to get attention, and you are in business. Validate your solution with a prototype and real customers. This is the time for pivots as required.

Funding 73

Funding Social Media Slides Platform 73

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 31, 2022

Too many customers have long felt distanced from many successful brands, seeing them as closed and mysterious environments, focused only on profits and killing competitors. They may not have noticed the wave of “open businesses,” spawned by the Internet and social media. Shared leadership (member and customer led).

Organization 126

Organization Social Media Examples Customer 126

socalTECH

AUGUST 13, 2020

Los Angeles-based Omaze , which operates an online fundraising platform for charities, has raised $30M in a Series B funding round. The funding was led by FirstMark Capital, and also included Causeway Media Partners, BDMI, Tusk Ventures, Inherent Group, Gaingels, Penni Thow's Copper and Guy Oseary.

.Net 113

.Net Los Angeles Platform Media 113

socalTECH

AUGUST 9, 2017

Los Angeles-based Funraise , the developer of a software platform which helps nonprofits manage their fundraising efforts, has raised $3M in a seed funding round. The funding was lead by Toba Capital, the investment firm founded by Quest Software founder Vinny Smith. READ MORE>>.

Software 100

Software Seed Funding Social Media Platform 100

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 12, 2021

If customers don’t know you exist, you can’t solve their problem, they won’t buy. Getting customer attention often takes more innovation today than solving the tough technical problems. If you can’t state clearly why your startup is the only choice, then it’s time to regroup before spending your hard-fought funding.

Technical Advisors 154

Technical Advisors Tips Marketing Case Study 154

socalTECH

JANUARY 22, 2010

Beverly Hills-based Hydra Media , the cost-per-action (CPA) advertising network, has new funding in hand and legal issues behind it, and is now looking upmarket, the firm told socalTECH in an interview Thursday. Tags: hydra media advertising network. READ MORE>>.

Beverly Hills 165

Beverly Hills Funding Advertising SoCalTech 165

SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 17, 2009

A day might include a discussion with a finance partner, an investor, a customer or a fusion partner. It’s something I speak about quite a bit (see Social Media to Build Reputation and Reach Prospects and Social Media for Service Professionals ). I'd rather invest time investing in social media to drive traffic to our site.

Acquisition 170

Acquisition Customer Custom Ideas 170

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 23, 2017

Last week, Fika Ventures , LA's newest venture fund, announced its formation, led by tech investment veterans Tx Zhuo and Eva Ho. We sat down with Tx Zhuo to chat about the new fund, what investments it hopes to make, and what kind of entrepreneurs the fund is looking to invest in. Tell us a bit about the new fund?

Cornerstone OnDemand 100

Cornerstone OnDemand Funding Dollar Shave Club Los Angeles 100

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 6, 2016

Contrary to popular opinion, viral marketing has not eliminated the need for old-fashioned lead generation to bring customers to a startup. Scott, published a book a while back that I like, ” The New Rules of Lead Generation ,” highlighting the changes wrought by the internet and social media. Social-media advertising.

Customer 60

Customer Custom Marketing Social Media 60

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 7, 2023

If you ask them for a reason, most will insist that they couldn’t get funding, or they ran out of money too early. With the success of Facebook and Twitter, I still see new social media startups almost every day, with most destined to fail. Actually, great new customer solutions lead to great platforms, not the other way around.

Entrepreneur 125

Entrepreneur Netflix Social Media Startup 125