Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

If you’re funding the same stuff as everybody else and if you started your activities when the clues were obvious you’re much less likely to drive enormous returns. When Fred Wilson funded Twitter I guarantee you it wasn’t obvious that it was a billion dollar idea. Venture Capital is a tricky industry. Far from it.

Funding 362

Funding Technical Review Ideas Startup 362

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 15, 2013

Some entrepreneurs start polling venture capitalists for that multi-million dollar investment before they even have a business plan. Every entrepreneur needs help and support along the way, from developing the initial idea, to selling off the successful business (exit strategy). Funding or rollout stage.

Entrepreneur 102

Entrepreneur Funding Incubator Startup 102

TechCrunch LA

DECEMBER 8, 2020

Microsoft’s venture fund M12, also a new investor, participated in the round alongside Acrew Capital, Khosla Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Munich Re Ventures, and Israeli entrepreneur Shlomo Kramer, who co-founded security firms Check Point and Imperva. The round was led by Qumra Capital, a new investor.

Startup 288

Startup Demand Los Angeles Custom 288

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 8, 2014

” It’s the most common refrain I hear from investors and even entrepreneurs these days. Let me start with the obvious baseline that most people probably know instinctively: Los Angeles is the 3rd largest technology startup ecosystem in the US. He built & IPOd Demand Media. acquired Overture for $1.63

Entrepreneur 376

Entrepreneur Snapchat Startup Google 376

TechCrunch LA

APRIL 23, 2020

There’s also a relatively modest request (of only $4 billion) for funding devoted to pilot projects, startup companies, and public clean technology investment initiatives (like LACI). The funding would include $20 billion for utility upgrades. There’s $25 billion in money set aside for public transit and $12.5

Southern California 261

Southern California Los Angeles Rosemead Incubator 261

socalTECH

APRIL 12, 2011

Derek Norton is head of Los Angeles-based Watertower Group (www.watertowergroup.com), a firm which helps companies raise funding, one of the rare companies which has a track record and good reputation helping companies with fundraising, and also runs its own investment fund. Derek Norton: Technology is a commodity.

Riot Games 199

Riot Games Technology Los Angeles Entrepreneur 199

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 7, 2012

Too many entrepreneurs develop a new product without regard to market demand, then build an entire strategy based on creating a need, rather than acting on an existing market need. These don’t get funded. New technology really doesn’t have any value, until it is integrated into a market-driven solution.

Technology 91

Technology Funding Competition Entrepreneur 91

socalTECH

AUGUST 6, 2020

Los Angeles-based HONK Technologies , which develops a roadside assistance and towing app, and is led by tech entrepreneur Corey Brundage, says it has saw a 54 percent increase in the number of roadside assistance calls in the first six months of 2020. Brundage had previously founded such companies as SendLove.to and Fonality.

Artificial Inteligence 113

Artificial Inteligence Report Demand Los Angeles 113

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 28, 2018

Some entrepreneurs start polling venture capitalists for that multi-million dollar investment before they even have a business plan. Every entrepreneur needs help and support along the way, from developing the initial idea, to selling off the successful business (exit strategy). Funding or rollout stage.

Funding 94

Funding Startup Organization Incubator 94

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 2, 2022

Serious entrepreneurs know that, but too many “wannabes” still fall for that elusive get-rich-quick scheme with no risk. As an active angel investor, I still hear entrepreneurs asserting large opportunities with minimal risk and no competition. First you need to assess the risks and value of investor funding and carrying debt.

Entrepreneur 153

Entrepreneur Marketing Custom Customer 153

Tech.Co

DECEMBER 29, 2023

While the market isn't short of spritely, innovative entrepreneurs, harsh economic headwinds combined with a pullback in investor spending have made it harder than ever for budding businesses to break through. Source: runwayml.com In June, Runway raised $141 million in funding, nudging its market valuation to an envy-inducing $1.5

Startup 210

Startup Generative AI Newsletter Tool 210

TechCrunch LA

JUNE 10, 2020

In response to VCs’ sudden rush to invest in more Black founders , Black venture capitalists and entrepreneurs have penned a bunch of advice on the best way to tap into talent. Mujhid had to communicate that the “community they’ve built may formally cease without emergency funding.” Among the strategies?

Equity 220

Equity Technical Review Venture Capital Blogging 220

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 25, 2014

Ventura-based The Trade Desk , the real time, demand-side advertising platform developer led by Jeff Green, has raised $20M in a Series B funding, the company said today. According to The Trade Desk, Alex Kayyal of Hermes will join the company''s board as part of the funding. READ MORE>>.

Ventura 190

Ventura Advertising Demand Platform 190

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 23, 2013

There is so much written these days about how to attract investors that most entrepreneurs “assume” they need funding, and don’t even consider a plan for “bootstrapping,” or self-financing their startup. In fact, most of the rich entrepreneurs you know actively turned away early equity proposals. Need to spread the risk.

Startup 100

Startup Entrepreneur Technical Review Equity 100

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 30, 2015

Serious entrepreneurs know that, but too many “wannabes” still fall for that elusive get-rich-quick scheme with no risk. As an active Angel investor, I still hear entrepreneurs asserting large opportunities with minimal risk and no competition. First you need to assess the risks and value of investor funding and carrying debt.

Entrepreneur 103

Entrepreneur Startup Marketing Custom 103

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2018

Now is the time to be an entrepreneur and create a business from your passion. On the other hand, everyone is doing it, so that means more competition, and the market and technology are changing faster than ever before. In the early Internet days, it would cost a million dollars to get this far.

Funding 73

Funding Social Media Slides Platform 73

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

TechCrunch LA

AUGUST 12, 2022

providing freshly packaged salads, heat-and-eat prepared meals and vegan overnight oats, raised $7 million in funding as it goes after the $34 billion fresh prepared foods market. Positive Food’s vertical integration technology is mainly done in-house, including production and a cold-chain logistics network. Positive Food Co.,

Invest 175

Invest Los Angeles Startup Funding 175

socalTECH

APRIL 25, 2013

In the arms race of search technology, only the big guys -- Google, Microsoft -- seem to be able to keep up with all of the innovations in the space. We caught up with CEO Dev Bhatia --a serial entrepreneur who''s been involved with such companies at Hotsocket, Screaming Media (IPO), and Yoyodyne (acquired by Yahoo)--to learn more about.

Technology 216

Technology Google Commerce Southern California 216

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 12, 2020

Some entrepreneurs start polling venture capitalists for that multi-million dollar investment before they even have a business plan. Every entrepreneur needs help and support along the way, from developing the initial idea, to selling off the successful business (exit strategy). Funding or rollout stage.

Resource 171

Resource Startup Organization Incubator 171

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

socalTECH

JULY 7, 2015

Los Angeles-based WhipClip , the mobile television clip sharing app developer led by serial entrepreneur Richard Rosenblatt, said today that it has raised $40M in a Series C funding round. The funding was led by Eminence Capital, and also included Institutional Venture Partners and Raine Ventures. READ MORE>>.

Demand 100

Demand Mobile Los Angeles Capital 100

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2013

Every early-stage startup should explore this new funding alternative. VCs are finding that they don’t need the “large” funds of $100M to $500M to support a portfolio, if they focus on early-stage startups. Technology costs are plummeting, meaning you can do more with less. entrepreneur startup super-Angels David S.

Angel 92

Angel Entrepreneur Venture Capital Startup 92

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 3, 2023

Most technical entrepreneurs I know demand the discipline of a product specification or plan, and then assume that their great product will drive a great business. Is it any wonder why so few entrepreneurs ever find the professional investors they seek? Technology, architecture, and feature descriptions.

Product 112

Product Summary Activity Entrepreneur 112

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 18, 2014

Most technical entrepreneurs I know demand the discipline of a product specification or plan, and then assume that their great product will drive a great business. Is it any wonder why so few entrepreneurs ever find the professional investors they seek? Technology, architecture, and feature descriptions. Marty Zwilling.

Product 101

Product Entrepreneur Summary Activity 101

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 17, 2012

Every engineer who has invented some new technology, or is adept at creating solutions, believes that is the hard part, and it should be a short step to take that solution to market as an entrepreneur. Clearly, engineers should think twice before assuming they have an advantage over the rest of us toward being an entrepreneur.

Entrepreneur 104

Entrepreneur Oracle Custom Customer 104

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 20, 2014

Want to be an entrepreneur? According to a recent Forbes article , UC Santa Barbara''s Technology Management Program offers students a superior startup education over the University of Pennsylvania (home of Wharton), as well Harvard, Northwestern and even its acclaimed southern neighbor, the University of Southern California.

Santa Barbara 258

Santa Barbara Technical Review Startup Venture Capital 258

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 28, 2018

He or she wants to know how long the money you will raise will last and whether this is long enough to warrant taking a risk on funding you. VCs tend not to want to fund founders who raise too much money in a given round also because they know that sometimes having too many resources will lead to founders burning through cash too quickly.

Venture Capital 247

Venture Capital Capital Funding Demand 247

socalTECH

APRIL 19, 2018

funding round, so we though we'd catch up with one of its co-founders, Brett Crosby , to learn more about the new funding and the company's growth. We also announced we have now funded over $900M in loans, which if you remember, only eight months ago we had announced we had $300M in loan volume. That's our bigest news.

Funding 113

Funding Platform News Capital 113

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 9, 2017

New entrepreneurs are always looking for a shortcut in getting their venture story and plan across to investors, and closing on the funding they need. As an active angel investor, I look for this level of alignment and understanding in every funding presentation I hear. Investors will demand clear channel definitions.

Funding 57

Funding Startup Activity Custom 57

TechCrunch LA

DECEMBER 11, 2018

Pitching app developers with a new way to convert app browsers into actual customers, AppOnboard has raised $15 million in a new round of funding, the company said. Company co-founder Jonathan Zweig has already had one hit as a Los Angeles-based entrepreneur. “Google has been a great partner for us,” Zweig says.

Google 213

Google Los Angeles Southern California Platform 213

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 1, 2009

It is also a result of pent-up demand. Consumer spending is 70% of the economy and will continue to be stretched – We can look all we want at tech innovation, VC funding cycles and hot M&A deals, but ultimately growth and therefore investment must be underpinned by revenue. then the world will be fine for fund raising.

Venture Capital 269

Venture Capital Startup Funding Technical Review 269

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 30, 2015

Aspiring entrepreneurs often ask me what to do first when starting a business. In fact, ideas are a commodity and by themselves won’t generate any funding interest, outside the context of a leader who can execute. Instead, entrepreneurs need to focus first on execution disciplines and timing.

Entrepreneur 59

Entrepreneur Startup Technical Review Ideas 59

socalTECH

JANUARY 31, 2013

Although maybe not all of the startups at the event might go on to get funding, an entire group of potential startup founders in the audience realize that they, too, have a shot at starting something and getting a chance to take it to the next level. Standing room only crowd at StartEngine). It's unclear.

Startup 256

Startup Commerce Santa Monica Mentor 256

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

There is so much written these days about how to attract investors that most entrepreneurs “assume” they need funding, and don’t even consider a plan for “bootstrapping,” or self-financing their startup. In fact, most of the rich entrepreneurs you know actively turned away early equity proposals. Need to spread the risk.

Entrepreneur 102

Entrepreneur Technical Review Startup Equity 102

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 1, 2013

The magazine turned its attention this month towards the Los Angeles innovation and technology economy in a section guest edited by StartEngine co-founder Howard Marks , including a reception held Wednesday evening at the Viceroy in Santa Monica. Big disclaimer: the author and editor was one of the honorees at the event). READ MORE>>.

Ventura 182

Ventura Santa Monica Idealab High Tech 182

socalTECH

DECEMBER 27, 2018

Editor's note: All this week, and into the start of next year, we'll be featuring reflections on 2018 from notable investors, entrepreneurs, and others from Southern California's technology community. Over the last four years, I watched numerous entrepreneurs raise equity. What was the biggest news for your company in 2018?

Southern California 133

Southern California SoCal Culver City Venture Capital 133