Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 31, 2010

Francisco Dao came up with the idea of letting 10 companies that weren’t selected for Twiistup to do a presentation the night before to a group of people and let the audience pick one company to win the final slot at Twiistup. I’ll put up the video when they post it on their website. Stories have starts, middles and ends.

Startup 362

Startup Twiistup Slides Screening 362

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 asked for intro’s from entrepreneur friends. start-ups are overvalued.

Startup 361

Startup Venture Capital Pricing Technical Review 361

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 asked for intro’s from entrepreneur friends. start-ups are overvalued.

Venture Capital 347

Venture Capital Startup Pricing Invest 347

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 6, 2010

But in my experience as an entrepreneur and now spending my time amongst investors I can generalize that almost all VC investments in early stage technology & Internet investments come down to just four key factors. This post was prompted by an email exchange I had with a young entrepreneur. I was interested in learning more.

Startup 360

Startup Venture Capital Invest Slides 360

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 8, 2010

Most technology startups seem to be founded by three types of people: product managers, engineers or biz dev types (MBAs and the like). Very few of them are started, in my experience, by sales people and very few early stage companies really understand sales. Here’s mine: Let me start with a few biases. LOVING Balsamiq!

Startup 350

Startup Sales Framework Organization 350

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 5, 2014

Last week a company we enthusiastically backed, uBeam , led by a very special entrepreneur, 25-year-old Meredith Perry , announced a $10 million round of financing. uBeam’s tech does work and I have safely seen it demo’d in the real life many times. Entrepreneurs. ” **. . ” **.

Technical Review 417

Technical Review Startup Software Review Course 417

SoCal Tech Calendar

SEPTEMBER 16, 2010

Wednesday, September 22, 2010 -- Startup Demo. Please join us for an evening of fun mingling with other startups, VCs, entrepreneurs, and technology enthusiasts, as we host our first Startup Demo event in Los Angeles. Social Media Week. See [link] (more).

Startup 100

Startup Social Media Los Angeles Media 100

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 7, 2011

.&# It was my investment philosophy that observing teams’ performance over time was far more insightful than reacting to how good of a product demo they do, how good they present Powerpoint slides or how great tech blogs say they are. I felt the exact same way when I was an entrepreneur. Lines vs. Dots is all about people.

Entrepreneur 330

Entrepreneur Marketing Venture Capital Hulu 330

SoCal Tech Calendar

FEBRUARY 24, 2012

Thursday, March 1, 2012 -- Schmoozd Startup Demo and Mixer. Schmoozd is back and is ready to rock the Los Angeles tech scene by showcasing a handful of killer startups at the vLounge, on Thursday, MARCH 1, 2012. Please join us for an evening of fun mingling with other startups, VCs, entrepreneurs and others.

Startup 113

Startup Los Angeles Entrepreneur Angel 113

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 4, 2011

It’s a very important concept for me because in a startup you are constantly under pressure and have way too many distractions. Commitment & urgency are key drivers of success in startup businesses. I was recently talking with a startup company who wanted me to try their product. You already know it from your personal lives.

Metrics 346

Metrics Startup SEO Customer 346

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 7, 2013

The good news for entrepreneurs is that there have never been more office space options for early stage companies. If you use the mentor-driven model that we pioneered at TechStars, you get entrepreneurs who are deeply connected with the broader entrepreneurial landscape. Many Sizes, Many Fits.

Incubator 238

Incubator Startup News Entrepreneur 238

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 26, 2020

500 Startups is scrapping its cohort model for accelerating companies and moving to a rolling admissions process, the accelerator said during its latest demo day. “Demo is changing the way it runs its accelerator to be rolling recruitment,” said Aaron Blumenthal , a 500 Startups venture partner.

Startup 177

Startup Los Angeles Invest Platform 177

SoCal Tech Calendar

MAY 4, 2012

Thursday, May 10, 2012 -- LA Demo Day (featuring 20 new LA startups). Come see the next crop of great LA tech companies demo their startups to the LA community of entrepreneurs, investors and techies as well as a number of esteemed guests. See [link].

Rustic Canyon 113

Rustic Canyon Startup Entrepreneur Product 113

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 22, 2011

One of the most common questions that entrepreneurs who meet me for the first time like to ask is, “Do you miss being an entrepreneur? If you’ve taken the roller coaster ride that is a startup – you know what I’m talking about. On Being an Entrepreneur. This post originally appeared on TechCrunch. Long hours.

Entrepreneur 176

Entrepreneur Startup Venture Capital Ideas 176

SoCal CTO

MAY 22, 2012

I recently posted about the Increase in Early-Stage Startup Activity in Los Angeles. In that post, I mentioned how one of the signals is the big increase in number of startup events and the number of attendees at those events. Of course, given the size of this list and having kids, I really can't attend a lot of these.

Los Angeles 198

Los Angeles Southern California Angel Enterprise Forum 198

socalTECH

OCTOBER 15, 2014

The Disney Accelerator , the startup accelerator sponsored by Walt Disney and being run by TechStars, had its demo day Tuesday, showing off the nine companies to emerge out of the accelerator. Disney offered up up to $120K in investment capital, access to entrepreneurs and executives at Disney, and other resources to its startups.

Class 185

Class Startup Seed Funding Entertainment 185

socalTECH

AUGUST 14, 2012

It's a warm summer night in Westwood and 35 entrepreneurs are mingling with a collection of the new SoCal silicon-set. StartEngine , the startup accelerator, which launched earlier this year with ten hopeful businesses, is now in the middle of its third and largest class to date. They need a lot of practice. Marks advised.

Mentor 178

Mentor Entrepreneur Technology SoCalTech 178

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2014

I started in 2007 with a thesis that my primary investment decision would be about the team (70%) and only afterward about the market opportunity (30%). I was telling him that it was much easier when I started because there were fewer deals, life was less public and somehow the world seemed to be spinning more slowly. Web Summit.

Venture Capital 374

Venture Capital Invest Press Startup 374

socalTECH

JANUARY 16, 2013

MuckerLab , the Los Angeles startup accelerator headed by Erik Rannala, is presenting its newest startup class today in a Demo Day. MuckerLab's prior class included such hot Los Angeles startups as SurfAir, Retention Science, Wallaby, and InstaCanvas. READ MORE>>.

Class 159

Class Startup Incubator Los Angeles 159

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 3, 2010

Rarer still is the startup CEO who can make the transition effectively on their own. Unwillingness to devolve power is the bane of many management teams at startup companies. I see the problem directly at many startups I know. The problem is that we started with an SLA that was too favorable to us. This seldom works.

Sales 296

Sales Pricing Startup Customer 296

socalTECH

MARCH 21, 2012

If you're looking get your startup off the ground in Los Angeles, it always helps to have help from folks with connections to the venture and angel community. It's not a lot more, juts a little more, but it's because the Los Angeles is more difficult to sustain a startup than in Cincinnati or other places.

Startup 254

Startup Los Angeles Entrepreneur Media 254

InfoChachkie

JULY 4, 2011

Right from the start, Sam must endure the most painful of all forms of sales rejection, the personal attack. Sam happily agrees, as he knows he will not have to continue selling, once the demo is completed. However, typical of an Optimistically Pessimistic entrepreneur, Sam never loses hope, and does gives up. Sam-I-Am.”.

Sales 219

Sales Entrepreneur Startup Product 219

SoCal Tech Calendar

SEPTEMBER 1, 2017

Thursday, September 7, 2017 -- Startup UCLA Summer Accelerator Demo Day. After 10 weeks of intense preparation, Startup UCLA's Summer Accelerator teams will be showcasing their startups to Los Angeles and the surrounding community. Don't miss your chance to see UCLA entrepreneurs pitch their latest innovations.

UCLA 100

UCLA Startup Los Angeles Entrepreneur 100

SoCal Tech Calendar

JANUARY 24, 2013

Wednesday, January 30, 2013 -- StartEngine is pleased to present our latest class of startups at our Demo Day on Wednesday, January 30th at CrossCampus in Santa Monica. tech entrepreneurs. This is your chance to hear their stories and support a new batch of L.A. See [link] (more)

Santa Monica 124

Santa Monica Commerce Class Mentor 124

SoCal Tech Calendar

MARCH 20, 2017

Thursday, March 23, 2017 -- TCVN VR Demo Night - Eat + Talk + Demo. At the TCVN VR Demo Night, VR/AR industry professionals will be on a panel to share current thoughts and challenges. Also, innovative companies will showcase and demo the latest in VR/AR technology. See [link] (more)

TCVN 100

TCVN UCI Entertainment Entrepreneur 100

Tech Zulu Event

MAY 9, 2014

As our first time covering a 500 Startups demo day , we could only imagine the stratospheric levels of stress our Batch 8 founders must have gone through to get on stage and present their progress from their last four months of startup bootcamp. In true 500 Startups fashion, Demo Day had an almost cathartic feel.

Startup 111

Startup Mobile Commerce Education 111

Berkonomics

APRIL 24, 2014

Often I see executive summaries from entrepreneurs who have never managed any form of business, or even managed employees in their past life, and who don’t know the first thing about business formation and managing for growth. I used to tell them to find a partner with knowledge in business creation and management.

Coach 250

Coach Seed Funding Summary Incubator 250

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 8, 2009

Many entrepreneurs make the mistake of thinking that funding is something you do in “funding season,&# some mythical 2-month period when you’re ready with a great Powerpoint deck and you hit up all of the VC’s at the same time so that you can quickly raise money and get back to the job of building a business.

Venture Capital 309

Venture Capital Guide Startup Technical Review 309

SoCal Tech Calendar

FEBRUARY 9, 2011

Tuesday, February 15, 2011 -- Demo Day III - The Launchpad for Cleantech. Demo Days are informal events that give entrepreneurs a chance to showcase their green technology and fundraising needs to green industry stakeholders.

Rustic Canyon 100

Rustic Canyon Pasadena Angels SoCal Southern California 100

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 9, 2009

Last week I had two very contrasting presentations from entrepreneurs that gave me the idea for this post. Pitch 1: I had an awesome young entrepreneur come in this week to talk about his seed stage business. Needless to say I was positively predisposed to this individual before the meeting started. A Tale of Two Pitches.

Venture Capital 288

Venture Capital Startup Advertising Yahoo 288

TechCrunch LA

MAY 12, 2020

This morning, Snap joined a host of startup accelerators shifting its demo day online amid the COVID-19 quarantine. With its third class of startups, Yellow, Snap’s in-house startup accelerator that launched in 2018, brought investors and founders together in private slack channels after a live-streamed presentation.

Invest 237

Invest Startup Artificial Inteligence Class 237

socalTECH

JUNE 2, 2010

launched earlier this year at DEMO. Alon Goren: What we did, actually, was when we launched at DEMO we got up on stage, and you're not allowed to show a PowerPoint--you have to demo your product. What were you doing before you started the site? What is the idea behind Invested.in? Thanks, and good luck!

Sites 237

Sites Startup Invest SoCalTech 237

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 13, 2009

This is part of my ongoing series “Start-up Lessons”. I’m not going to cover in this post the obvious post-show marketing tasks such as following up on all those business cards you grabbed, communicating with all those people who registered at your site and leveraging your new found fame to score venture capital.

Startup 310

Startup Venture Capital Press Journal 310

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 16, 2010

We had a training session from somebody who put up the four-quadrant graph you see above. This is really important as extroverts like to have the answers presented to them up front. For extroverted people I recommend that entrepreneurs have an “executive summary&# slide up front that cuts to the chase.

Slides 358

Slides Venture Capital Startup Summary 358

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 11, 2020

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.

Resource 159

Resource Startup Incubator Seed Funding 159

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 7, 2014

I recently returned from a 5-day visit to Ireland, my first time back in 10 years and the start of what I hope will be a more regular travel schedule there. Suddenly it was a hot ticket and many people started lobbying to get on the next year’s agenda. I thought by now he would have given up on me as a flake. It will not.

Conference 392

Conference Startup Web Truecar 392

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 13, 2011

Huge thank you to Steve De Long for the write up. How did you start blogging? “My In 2004 / 2005 I was starting to get intrigued with user-generated content. was starting. And I would rather, even before the executive summary, have something to play with (a demo)…” It falls in the category of show don’t tell.

Venture Capital 288

Venture Capital Startup Technical Review Software Review 288