Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2023

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.

Invest 98

Invest Sites Technical Review Social Media 98

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 8, 2018

In fact, I often have to tell aspiring entrepreneurs that their inventions have zero value, at least not until they are put in the context of a business plan, with qualified people committed to executing the plan. Early-stage ideas fall in the same category. You need a viable business model and customers. Don’t get me wrong.

Technical Review 86

Technical Review Patents Ideas Journal 86

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 9, 2013

Some entrepreneurs forget that talking is not communicating. Then, hopefully, come customers, distribution channels, and going public or merging with an attractive buy-out candidate. From an entrepreneur perspective, here are the understanding barrier categories: Unclear frame of reference. Technical semantics and jargon.

Entrepreneur 101

Entrepreneur Technical Review Guide Mentor 101

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 21, 2020

Many new entrepreneurs are so excited by their latest idea that they can’t resist contacting every investor they know, assuming the investor will be equally excited and want to contribute immediately. Attached is a copy of my full business plan for your review.” I don’t have a business plan, but the technology is disruptive.”

Technical Review 124

Technical Review Statistics Startup Social Media 124

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 3, 2013

Entrepreneurs seeking funding should emulate Addie''s efficient and focused pursuit of perfection. When securing funding, entrepreneurs must balance the desire for perfection with the urgent need to ensure the process is efficient. Better than Amazon''s customer experience for any brand" and "LinkedIn on Steroids.". One-liners.

Product 208

Product Yammer Technical Review Google 208

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 18, 2014

In fact, I often have to tell aspiring entrepreneurs that their inventions have zero value, at least not until they are put in the context of a business plan, with qualified people committed to executing the plan. Early-stage ideas fall in the same category. You need a viable business model and customers. Don’t get me wrong.

Ideas 106

Ideas Technical Review Patents Entrepreneur 106

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 7, 2020

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 126

Startup Sites Technical Review Social Media 126

Tech Zulu Event

FEBRUARY 8, 2012

Building a strong tech industry to rival that of Silicon Valley is definitely no easy feat, but the overall feeling within Cal Tech’s Baxter Hall at last week’s event certainly bodes well for the year. They also gave a quick tour of the dashboard that clients would be using to customize their now mobile ready sites.

Technical Review 94

Technical Review Idealab Startup Mobile 94

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 20, 2016

In fact, I often have to tell aspiring entrepreneurs that their inventions have zero value, at least not until they are put in the context of a business plan, with qualified people committed to executing the plan. Early-stage ideas fall in the same category. You need a viable business model and customers. Don’t get me wrong.

Technical Review 60

Technical Review Patents Ideas Journal 60

SoCal Delicious

SEPTEMBER 19, 2012

Ten Tech Entrepreneurs Who Are Putting LA on the Map. ” Residents of Northern California (everyone north of Bakersfield) don’t understand how we do it, constantly touting Palo Alto’s tech scene. Miller was even honored as an Ernst & Young “Entrepreneur of the Year” for 2011.

Technical Review 75

Technical Review Entrepreneur Riot Games Southern California 75

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

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 8, 2015

Many new entrepreneurs are so excited by their latest idea that they can’t resist contacting every investor they know, assuming the investor will be equally excited and want to contribute immediately. Attached is a copy of my full business plan for your review.” I don’t have a business plan, but the technology is disruptive.”

Technical Review 109

Technical Review Entrepreneur Startup Statistics 109

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 12, 2014

Some entrepreneurs forget that talking is not communicating. Then, hopefully, come customers, distribution channels, and going public or merging with an attractive buy-out candidate. From an entrepreneur perspective, here are the barrier to understanding categories: Unclear frame of reference. Stereotyping and biases.

Technical Review 104

Technical Review Guide Entrepreneur Mentor 104

Tech Zulu Event

DECEMBER 13, 2013

Today, we support four categories: house cleaning, dry cleaning – pickup and delivery, wash and fold – pickup and delivery, and dog walking. The nuts and bolts of our tech company is that CMS in the middle, the connection engine. When I went full-time, I did not have the full-time support on the tech side I wanted.

Technical Review 87

Technical Review Mobile Startup Los Angeles 87

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 12, 2010

I see way too many startup founders who don’t have experience in selling and probably don’t feel that comfortable going to customers and asking for orders. This is probably because many founders are product or technology people. I only found out through customer meetings.

Sales 346

Sales Startup Technical Review Customer 346

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. Team Rise, and their app to help teens manage their budgets and time. Musical Gears – BUSavvy.

Technical Review 82

Technical Review Entrepreneur Software Review USC 82

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 21, 2016

Others, like Guy Kawasaki , have irreverently called some of these “entrepreneur lies,” but I prefer to think of them as innocent enhancements or omissions that can kill your deal. Lead with your intent to offer the solution free to customers. Of course, customers love free, but investors hate it.

Funding 98

Funding Startup Innocal Entrepreneur 98

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 5, 2018

Many new entrepreneurs are so excited by their latest idea that they can’t resist contacting every investor they know, assuming the investor will be equally excited and want to contribute immediately. Attached is a copy of my full business plan for your review.” I don’t have a business plan, but the technology is disruptive.”

Funding 62

Funding Technical Review Entrepreneur Startup 62

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 tapped my friends at big tech companies (Salesforce, Google, Oracle). I attended events.

Startup 361

Startup Venture Capital Pricing Technical Review 361

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2017

Some entrepreneurs forget that talking is not communicating. Then, hopefully, come customers, distribution channels, and going public or merging with an attractive buy-out candidate. From an entrepreneur perspective, here are the barrier to understanding categories: Unclear frame of reference. Stereotyping and biases.

Mentor 61

Mentor Technical Review Entrepreneur Guide 61

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 27, 2010

The service--currently only available on iPhone and Android--allows users to find reviews and information about consumer electronics products. Mickie Rosen: Tecca is the easiest and most helpful independent service for mainstream consumers to learn, shop, and make the most of their personal technology.

Incubator 239

Incubator Startup Web Technical Review 239

socalTECH

AUGUST 8, 2018

Dave Fink: Postie is a building a technology platform with a mission of making direct mail marketing behave as easily and dynamically as your favorite, programmatic channels. However, there just hasn't been the underlying technology to make it possible to pull all of that together. What is Postie? We think that's really important.

CTO Hire 100

CTO Hire Artificial Inteligence Technical Review Marketing 100

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 13, 2011

My initial desire to blog came from something that’s always been my approach to investing – I’m a nerd and I love to play with the technology and part of my approach has really been to understand things both at a user level and at a reasonably deep tentacle level. Brad on blogging. How did you start blogging? “My was starting.

Venture Capital 288

Venture Capital Startup Technical Review Software Review 288

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

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

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 tapped my friends at big tech companies (Salesforce, Google, Oracle). I attended events.

Venture Capital 347

Venture Capital Startup Pricing Invest 347

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. Exec Summary: Most companies (98+%) in the world (even tech startups) should be very profit focused.

Startup 418

Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 418

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

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

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

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 2, 2011

Here’s the thing: entrepreneurs who aren’t at all of our private meetings really didn’t know what do think about the situation. It sure wasn’t when I was a first-time entrepreneur. To entrepreneurs thinking about raising money now or in the future – I think there was a lot of signal. Same thing.

Email 287

Email Blogging Venture Capital Writing 287

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 18, 2015

I rarely talk to any startup entrepreneur or VC who doesn’t feel it and somehow long for simpler times despite the benefits we all enjoy from increased enthusiasm for our sector. For entrepreneurs there’s too much money sloshing around. Have a shorter to-do list with more things that are in the “done” category.

Software Review 150

Software Review Startup Venture Capital Invest 150

InfoChachkie

APRIL 9, 2012

These entrepreneurs do not risk everything, work outrageous hours and put themselves under extreme pressure because they want to. If it were a decision to be an entrepreneur, then most right-minded individuals would decide to turn back when they encountered the first inevitable startup crises. Entrepreneurs want to matter.

Startup 243

Startup Ideas Entrepreneur Statistics 243

socalTECH

JANUARY 7, 2016

The idea is to have a partnership between Cedars-Sinai and Techstars, where we select ten healthcare startup companies focused on innovative technology and care delivery in healthcare. Those might be in categories that may not exist today. Applications are due by the end of the day Friday, January 8th.

Mentor 100

Mentor Startup Coach Ideas 100

socalTECH

JANUARY 7, 2016

The idea is to have a partnership between Cedars Sinai and Techstars, where we select ten healthcare startup companies focused on innovative technology and care delivery in healthcare. Those might be in categories that may not exist today. Applications are due by the end of the day Friday, January 8th.

Mentor 100

Mentor Startup Coach Ideas 100

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 23, 2009

It's in the automated translation category of the industry. Help us understand your technology--is this focused on the automated language translation technology, or on the process of localizing a web site? We've essentially provided a customer a single interface, where they can create and analyze their international presence.

Startup 133

Startup Technical Review Social Network Content 133