Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 16, 2009

This post is part of my series “ Startup Lessons &#. Elephants, Deer and Rabbits – Some thoughts on start-up segmentation. I know that this advice won’t apply to every possible startup – but I think it applies to many. So when I started my first company I naturally went for elephants.

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Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2020

Every startup and every new business needs a unique selling proposition (USP) to get people’s attention these days, and make it stand out in the information overload we all see. I’m looking for the “hook” right up front, or I lose interest quickly, just like every customer and investor these days.

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Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 18, 2023

There has long been a big debate about the best approach to starting a new business. Some argue the only way to start is to drop everything and jump in with both feet, while others recommend an overlapped approach to the lifestyle, including not quitting your day job until you have revenue and a proven business model.

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Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 2, 2017

During the discussions with the CEO about hiring North American managers, he made it clear that he wanted us to find a first-class office facility from which to start the search process, and proceeded to name cities that attracted him. So, can a startup exist for a reasonably long time as a virtual company?

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Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 24, 2021

As an advisor to many startups today, I still see that most of you entrepreneurs see yourselves as the sole driver of your new solution, and the key driver of your new business. As your business grows from a startup to a sustainable business, you too have to grow from an entrepreneur to a business leader.

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Berkonomics

DECEMBER 28, 2023

During the discussions with the CEO about hiring North American managers, he made it clear that he wanted us to find a first-class office facility from which to start the search process, and proceeded to name cities that attracted him. Most businesses, especially start-ups, benefit from the establishment of a virtual environment.

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Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2021

Three Rules of Fundraising “Sales” One of the common mistakes I see startups as well as VCs make is spending too much time on top of funnel prospecting. than it is to start narrowing down and doing the work to close the deal, or risking hearing a no. it’s not just startups who do it. But here’s the thing?—?it’s Why Buy Me?

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socalTECH

JANUARY 22, 2019

Kevin O'Connor: I've been doing venture since my first deal in 1995, and have been investing on and off since I moved to Santa Barbara in 2001, under the name O'Connor Ventures, and did that full time until 2009, when I started Graphiq, and switched back into doing another company. Kevin O'Connor: Definitely. It's that simple.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 20, 2021

Creating a startup, or managing any business, is all about problem solving. The Power of Self-Discipline ” that I believe will help entrepreneurs move up a notch in this category: Take the time to define the problem clearly. Challenge the definition from all angles. Beware of any problem for which there is only one definition.

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Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2023

According to most definitions, an entrepreneur is one who envisions a new and different business, meaning one that is not a copy of an existing business model. Many entrepreneurs have a passion and an idea, or even invent a new product, but are never able to execute to the point of creating a startup. Startup and development stage.

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Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 3, 2014

Most technology startups seem to be funded by product people or business people. My first startup was no different. They are the lifeblood of many companies yet they are different than the traditional technology startup DNA so the ways that you hire, motivate, compensate and assess performance of these individuals will be different.

Sales 382

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SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 27, 2011

I was asked by a reader how much equity he should give out to early employees and to service providers in a very early stage startup. Founders vs. Early Employees To help with this discussion, let me start with a definition of "early employee." the better the startup will be. Risk Premium on Equity Compensation?

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Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

Nearly every successful tech startup I’ve observed over the past 20 years has gone through a similar growth pattern: Innovate, systematize then scale operations. Innovate In the early years of a startup there is a lot of kinetic energy of enthusiastic innovators looking to launch a product that changes how an industry works.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 30, 2022

Perhaps sparked by the recent pandemic, I’m seeing a new era of the entrepreneur, with startups springing up all around. Problems will occur in every startup, simply because you are stepping into uncharted territory. Don’t let it make your startup dysfunctional in resolving future challenges.

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Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 10, 2014

In a VC business when you raise additional capital you need to “level up” and act the round you are. I’d say 20% of startups I see level-up early after their A round. These are important leveling-up activities but the CEO is often still up at 10pm f **g around with QuickBooks entries.

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Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 4, 2012

I recently wrote about the 12 tips to building successful startup communities. I lived in London from 1997-2005 and for 6 of those years ran my startup based out of London. At this time I can tell you that the Brits definitely didn’t have a culture of failure. I remember this lesson well. What brings you to LA?

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SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 9, 2009

I just had an all-too common conversation with the founder of a startup who had spent more than a year working with a software development company who had produced a mess. The mess really comes from a developer who was willing to get started on a product that was not fully thought out. SEO for Startups )? Who are the customers?

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Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 17, 2021

It wasn’t so many years ago that starting a new e-commerce business on the Internet was a complex custom development project, usually costing a million dollars or more. Almost anyone can start a company today on a shoestring budget, following these cost-cutting recommendations: Establish a solid legal structure for your business.

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Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 11, 2021

Almost every early-stage startup who has approached investors for funding has heard the innocuous sounding rejection “I love your idea, but come back when you have more traction.” First of all, a definition. Often enterprise customers, or even consumers, test a new channel by signing up for a few small transactions or trial products.

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socalTECH

APRIL 24, 2020

Carey tells us a bit about what OC4 is doing, how it invests and works with companies, and also gives startups some advice about how to approach moving forward in light of the pandemic. Our target is, depending on where they are, to invest between $250K to $750K in a company, which is definitely a pre-seed round. What is OC4?

Invest 124

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Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 29, 2020

For example, you may think that disruptive smartphones were an overnight sensation, but in reality, it took huge investments by several different companies starting in 1992, including IBM, Apple, and Google, before the market really took off in 2007. Innovation doesn’t even require technology.

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Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 31, 2012

Her post is short & well written so definitely worth a read if you’re a startup person and want to hear some sensible views on sales. Erin’s main points: “As a former tech sales executive, I agree with many of [Mark's] lessons — when applied to later-stage, post-traction point startups.

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Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 17, 2022

In fact, I would broaden the definition of partner from co-founder to “business partner.” Look impartially from all angles and do the follow-up on all relevant previous roles. Very few entrepreneurs have the range of skills and experience to be the solution creator as well as business creator, or operational as well as sales leader.

Software Review 154

Software Review CTO Hire Outsource Development Startup 154

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 20, 2011

One of the readers asked my opinion around sharing your startup concept: My first question has always been - how do you protect your idea while shopping around for feedback, partners, developers, etc.? Especially if the idea could be whipped-up by a few 24-year olds in a few weeks? Lots of thoughts here.

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Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 25, 2013

She was leaving IAC to start a company. Somehow she was always on a flight up to Seattle or San Francisco. Didn’t I make myself clear about celebrities & startups ? Turns out she’s done this startup thing before. In the most perfect sense of the definition. Kara called me on a Tuesday. Kara as CEO.

Startup 398

Startup Design Downey Activity 398

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 20, 2011

One of the readers asked my opinion around sharing your startup concept: My first question has always been - how do you protect your idea while shopping around for feedback, partners, developers, etc.? Especially if the idea could be whipped-up by a few 24-year olds in a few weeks? Lots of thoughts here.

Startup 198

Startup IP Ideas Patents 198

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 9, 2021

They keep asking people like me whether the time is right, and the truth is that there’s never an ideal time to start your own business. It’s like starting a personal relationship, if you wait for exactly the right time, you’ll never do it. This is a necessary, but not sufficient reason to start a business now.

Startup 168

Startup Ideas Satisfaction Entrepreneur 168

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 2, 2021

In a startup, any decision is better than no decision. Since I’m not a life coach, I can’t comment on the broader implications, but in my role as advisor to many startups, I do often find myself recommending a focus on many of his key points, which I will paraphrase here: Think in terms of action. Expand your definition of the problem.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 3, 2023

One of the reasons that now is the time to be an entrepreneur is the explosion of startup assistance organizations, usually called incubators or accelerators. Most of these are non-profits, set up by a university to commercialize new technologies, or a municipality to foster business development for the local economy.

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Organization Incubator Startup Resource 92

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 13, 2013

One of my favorite events last year was attending Startup Grind where I got to interview Clayton Christensen, author of The Innovator’s Dilemma. ” We talked about my influences as a younger person and what got me started in technology and entrepreneurship. And of course we talked about many of my views of building startups.

Startup 337

Startup Entrepreneur Ideas Venture Capital 337

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 15, 2020

They are devastated when their business growth never starts or stalls, and they have no idea how to get it moving again. As an advisor to many startups, I often spend hours with business owners helping them anticipate every possible obstacle to the adoption of their solution, and developing a rollout plan to include antidotes.

Case Study 174

Case Study Startup Custom Customer 174

SoCal CTO

MAY 21, 2012

" I realized that I've never captured topics that I've covered (I'm always willing to look at other topics), nor have I put up my speaker bio. So, here goes: Dr. Tony Karrer Over the past 15 years, Tony has been a part-time CTO for more than 30 startups. Tony has a Ph.D. He is a frequent speaker at trade and industry events.

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CTO Hire Startup Metrics eHarmony 175

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 21, 2010

If you’re a startup and you don’t have a close relationship with a few law firms you’re really missing one of the most important relationships that any entrepreneur can have. Many people start companies arse backwards. I write about some of the lessons in my post on Startup Mistakes.

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Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 6, 2021

I see entrepreneurs every day who are trying to change the world with a new idea, and startups that are trying to survive their hyper-growth phase by changing processes to meet demand. Phil Buckley, in his book “ Change With Confidence ,” provides practical answers to fifty of the biggest questions that keep change leaders up at night.

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Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 27, 2021

Shots on Goal Being great as a startup technology investor of course requires a lot of things to come together: You need to have strong insights into where technology markets are heading and where value in the future will be created and sustained You need be perfect with your market timing. I’ve definitely been wrong on market value.

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Funding Startup Writing Invest 294

socalTECH

AUGUST 6, 2019

Ian Chen is the co-founder and CEO of Discotech , a startup that offers up bottle service booking, discounted tickets and more to clubs and nightspots. What has been the hardest part of a startup? When we started the app about six years ago, that was the idea an vision. How has it been as a startup founder?

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Startup Equity Customer Custom 113

TechCrunch LA

MAY 13, 2020

It’s the origin story for Taika , a new startup that’s aiming to bring natural stimulants to the masses through its juiced up coffee-beverages. I’ve experimented with them myself and experimented with them on my partner and started this larger beta program.” ” Image Credits: Taika (opens in a new window).

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