Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

I find it amusing when a journalist writes an article about a prominent startup (either privately held or preparing for an IPO) and decries that, “They’re not even profitable!” Exec Summary: Most companies (98+%) in the world (even tech startups) should be very profit focused. What makes up revenue?

Startup 418

Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 418

SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 1, 2010

I had a recent email dialog with the founder of a company looking for a CTO for their startup. Was it a Startup Founder Developer Gap ? Did they really need a Startup CTO or Developer or both? And do I fit as a Part-Time CTO , Technology Advisor , CTO Founder , Acting CTO ? Was it a case of needing Homework?

CTO Hire 241

CTO Hire CTO Coach Equity Develop 241

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 5, 2010

I’ve been meaning to write this post since September of last year when Brad Feld first wrote about the The Founders Visa Movement. I commented briefly on his blog and made a mental note to write a blog post. I filled up with 20 people pretty quickly and realized this schedule was masochistic. Felipe grew up in Brazil.

Technical Review 282

Technical Review Startup High Tech Software Review 282

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 17, 2013

The main thrust of the post is that with YouTube taking a 45% of revenue and talent taking 70% of the remaining revenue, YouTube Networks didn’t have sustainable businesses unless they invested heavily in technology as a tool to increase margin and provide defensibility. That is the definition of Disruptive Technology.

Company 339

Company Companies Technical Review Content 339

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2011

2 preamble issues having read the comments on TC today: 1: I know that the prices of startup companies is much great in Silicon Valley than in smaller towns / less tech focused areas in the US and the US prices higher than many foreign markets. This article originally appeared on TechCrunch. I acknowledged this in the article.

Startup 336

Startup Pricing Technical Review Marketing 336

SoCal Tech Calendar

JUNE 7, 2019

Due to the overwhelming demand to pitch at our last event in Orange County, we're throwing an exclusive PitchFest speed dating event where you will be pitching to over 20 investors one-on-one! Thursday, June 13, 2019 -- Orange County FundingPost VC and Angel Investor PitchFest + Pitch Workshop. We're doing it again!

Orange County 100

Orange County Venture Capital Angel Tech Coast Angels 100

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 14, 2015

“Scope creep” (or feature creep) is an insidious disease that kills more new business solutions than any other, especially high-tech ones, and yet most founders (who may be the cause) never even see it happening. Founders who constantly give in to changes will get more until the startup breaks. Draw the line between need versus want.

Technical Review 104

Technical Review Product Software Review High Tech 104

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 25, 2016

Many startup businesses – tech or otherwise – fail. Trying outrageous new things or even trying mundane things but in new ways but with extreme quality & innovation is what fuels the tech startup industry. But today I want to give you advice on how to decrease your odds of failure in a startup.

Startup 150

Startup Marketing Study SEO 150

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 6, 2011

“Scope creep” (or feature creep) is an insidious disease that kills more good startups than any other, especially high-tech ones, and yet most founders (who may be the cause) never even see it happening. Founders who constantly give in to changes will get more until the startup breaks. Draw the line between need versus want.

Technical Review 96

Technical Review Startup Software Review High Tech 96

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 14, 2012

“Scope creep” (or feature creep) is an insidious disease that kills more good startups than any other, especially high-tech ones, and yet most founders (who may be the cause) never even see it happening. Founders who constantly give in to changes will get more until the startup breaks. Draw the line between need versus want.

Technical Review 75

Technical Review Startup Software Review High Tech 75

InfoChachkie

MARCH 18, 2013

In order to extract value beyond your Angel investors' cash, you must first assess three important parameters: (i) the relative strength of their personal brand, (ii) their ability to add operational value, and (iii) the amount of care and feeding they will demand from you. Painfully Diligent Investors.

Angel 217

Angel Technical Review RSS Entrepreneur 217

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 7, 2014

As a startup mentor and investor, I am approached regularly by aspiring entrepreneurs who assert that business plans are a waste of time. They cite sources like the BusinessWeek story, “ Real Entrepreneurs Don’t Write Business Plans ” and this Forbes article. You’ve built a successful startup before, and plan to use the same investors.

Technical Review 109

Technical Review Writing Entrepreneur Slides 109

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 12, 2014

If you’re a technology startup you need to excel at product, of course. The starting point of product IS marketing, which is what a lot of young entrepreneurs that never studied business don’t realize. The start of marketing is figuring out a market need and a way to solve that need better than anybody else.

Marketing 379

Marketing Startup SEM SEO 379

InfoChachkie

MAY 16, 2011

As an entrepreneur and startup investor, I have helped create companies which achieved two IPOs which collectively raised over $100 million, as well as two acquisitions which totaled $385 million. Fallacy: AdVentures tend to evolve once you begin speaking with pesky customers and demanding partners. “Learn from the mistakes of others.

Startup 242

Startup Outsource Development Outsource Sales 242

Tech Zulu Event

OCTOBER 11, 2013

TechZulu catches up with the founder of Assignmint, Jeff Koyen, as he talks about Assignmint, freelance, and LA startups. There are no surprises on how and when you are going to get paid and everything leading up to that point. We have a lot of writers signing up from all over the place. Where did Assignmint come from?

Journal 90

Journal Startup Writing Media 90

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2019

Based on my experience and data from the field, over seventy-five percent of new startups fail, even with venture backing. Thus, I’m more impressed with entrepreneurs who ask me to review their implementation plan, rather than listen again to their idea. The number is much higher for those who choose to go it alone, without help.

Ideas 94

Ideas Slides Technical Review Patents 94

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 29, 2010

Mike Stern (wasn’t sure which one so leave a comment if it’s you): Q: “is it possible to sell your startup without venture investment if the company has big traction and a large user base?&# But most importantly I lectured founders that you can’t avoid the admin of setting up your ESOP. Do it early.

Venture Capital 282

Venture Capital Capital Startup Pricing 282

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 16, 2010

Bill Gates once famously said that people tend to overestimate the impact of technology in the 1-year timeframe and underestimate its impact in the 10-year timeframe. I tend not to go into heat when I hear the latest buzz on the tech blogs about the latest gadgets. So I signed up for the online version of Weight Watchers.

Technical Review 278

Technical Review Software Review Startup SoCal 278

socalTECH

MARCH 12, 2013

What is it about the content delivery network market which has enabled Santa Monica-based EdgeCast to go from startup to over $100M in revenues in only a few, short years? We caught up with James Segil , the firm's President, to hear the story behind that big growth at the company. We've grown really fast.

CTO Hire 248

CTO Hire Content Networking Web 248

InfoChachkie

JUNE 4, 2012

Value is created through diligent hard work. Once you prove that a substantial number of people are willing to pay more for your solution than it costs you to provide it, you can then consider licensing your underlying technology. Public relations at a startup is a sales process. Secure Your Intellectual Property Too Early.

Entrepreneur 272

Entrepreneur Outsource Ideas Technical Review 272

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 1, 2010

This insidious disease kills more good startups than any other, especially high-tech ones, and yet most founders (who may be the cause) never even see it happening. The solution is to do the right job up front on requirements, document and approve specifications, and have the toughest person you know do the project management.

Technical Review 51

Technical Review Software Review High Tech Writing 51

socalTECH

JUNE 8, 2011

We actually built that about a year and a half ago, and are bringing that back due to overwhelming demand. Jimmy Hendricks: We actually started two and a half years ago. So, we took that contest and crowdsourcing platform, and started ArtisticHub. It ended up becoming our breakout product.

Platform 263

Platform Training Software Review Advertising 263

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 8, 2010

I finally got around to writing it having read Fred Wilson’s post about what a CEO does. Matt Blumberg, who runs one of Fred’s portfolio companies, Return Path, follows up with an additional three : Don’t be a bottleneck (make sure you aren’t holding up people’s work). Selling the company.

Venture Capital 319

Venture Capital Startup Sales Customer 319

socalTECH

OCTOBER 30, 2008

We're always interested in how technology is influencing the business of Hollywood, and recently ran across Los Angeles-based Scripped. to the business of script writing, and is looking to combine a free online tool for writing scripts with matching those scripts with content producers. That is the way to attract writers.

Content 138

Content Writing Software Review Hollywood 138

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 18, 2010

The concept comes from a Stephen Covey book called “ First Things First ,&# which is a worthwhile book ( Wikipedia overview here ) but if you haven’t read his seminal book “ 7 Habits of Highly Effective People &# you should start with that. Tags: Startup Advice. I couldn’t. How about you?

Slides 374

Slides Email Entrepreneur Startup 374

InfoChachkie

MAY 5, 2011

Give up Branding. It may be necessary to apply a portion of the Pilot Fee toward the ultimate license / purchase price, in order to obtain an up-front fee. In one instance, we were paid $50,000 and the Pilot was never implemented due to the fact that the BDC was acquired after the Pilot Agreement was finalized.

Outsource Development 244

Outsource Development Entrepreneur Resource Press 244

InfoChachkie

JUNE 25, 2009

Johnnie Cochran was an effective, albeit smarmy, defense lawyer who would say or do anything to defend his clients (anyone up for a glass of OJ?). Yet, despite his exceptional courtroom theatrics, you would be foolhardy to hire good old Johnnie to review your software cross-licensing agreement. free weekly Infochachkie articles!

Technical Advisors 124

Technical Advisors Technical Review IP Patents 124

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 17, 2011

So I thought I’d write a post about how I drive my personal creativity. (A This applies equally to VCs, startups & big company executives. The key is channeling what you learn when you drive onto paper for retention purposes so you have to write it down soon afterward. So no whinging about what a long post this is!

Writing 356

Writing Startup Ideas Summary 356

TechEmpower

FEBRUARY 10, 2016

We’ve heard this from startup founders, product managers, development team leads, CTOs, and others who see their product gaining traction, but simultaneously see performance falling off a cliff. Often this situation is characterized as a “good problem to have” until you’re the technical person who needs to solve the problem—and quickly.

Web 200

Web Technical Advisors Framework Technical Review 200

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 5, 2011

I’m inspired by the enthusiasm of the young, emerging startup ecosystem that is here. Seattle should be the envy of any non Silicon Valley tech community in the country. As I gear up to give a keynote at the annual Seattle 2.0 As I gear up to give a keynote at the annual Seattle 2.0 I will start recruiting soon.

Venture Capital 317

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Press 317

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 5, 2010

It was an online community like CompuServe and eventually started offering people dial-up access to the Internet for a monthly fee. Brands didn’t advertise their web pages they advertised “AOL Keywords.&# You couldn’t pick up a magazine in the 96-99 timeframe without seeing AOL Keywords advertised everywhere.

Social Network 318

Social Network Networking Web 2.0 Startup 318

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 28, 2011

Lately the topic of leadership & teams has been coming up a lot in my daily life. You do a startup and decide you want somebody to step in and run the company so you can focus on technical excellence. The toughest or coolest kids in class often like somebody who is willing to stand up to them – but not cross them.

CTO Hire 363

CTO Hire Technical Review Startup Demand 363

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 13, 2011

Every entrepreneur is flooded with information from all directions, but despite their best efforts to absorb it, they likely miss the information really needed to start a business. They write and tweet every day, with the single guiding credibility and personality that the new social culture demands.

Entrepreneur 92

Entrepreneur Technical Review Blogging Java 92

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 30, 2010

My original thinking from Oct ’09 was, while I didn’t (and still don’t) have a crystal ball I worried that: consumers were over-stretched with debt (and make up 77% of the economy), unemployment would continue to rise, which in turn would drive the stock market south and cut the rate of M&A activity and VC investment even further.

Entrepreneur 298

Entrepreneur Venture Capital Technical Review Startup 298

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 23, 2012

One of the first tough decisions that startup founders have to make is how to allocate or split the equity among co-founders. The easy answer of splitting it equally among all co-founders, since there is minimal value at that point, is usually the worst possible answer, and often results in a later startup failure due to an obvious inequity.

Startup 101

Startup Entrepreneur Equity CTO Hire 101

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 8, 2010

One of the first tough decisions that startup founders have to make is how to allocate or split the equity among co-founders. The easy answer of splitting it equally among all co-founders, since there is minimal value at that point, is usually the worst possible answer, and often results in a later startup failure due to an obvious inequity.

Equity 91

Equity Startup CTO Hire CTO Coach 91

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 9, 2010

I believe that this is a major new area of growth & innovation for the Internet as Cloud Services start to form deeper & richer layers. You can think of even your PC as a stack in which the hardware manufacturers handled physical layers, Microsoft handled the OS layer and application companies built higher up in the stack.

Startup 343

Startup Technical Review S3 Services 343