TechCrunch LA

FEBRUARY 11, 2021

Since the beginning of the year, three companies have been acquired by special purpose acquisition vehicles and are on a path to go public, while a third has raised tens of millions from some of the biggest names in private equity investing for its own path to commercial viability.

Company 363

Company Companies Acquisition Equity 363

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 31, 2020

I was chairman of a company that, for twelve years never took a dollar of outside investment. The effort to write a grant request is not trivial. Email readers, continue here…] Grant writing takes skill and immense amounts of time. First, an example of grant-based financing . Other sources of grants.

Equity 156

Equity Writing Education Research 156

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 14, 2010

And we all know that Ron Conway is considered the savviest of angel investors and yet by definition not all of his investments succeed. I like to invest where I have a personally strong connection with the entrepreneur and/or a strong intuition on the market from prior experience. Who ultimately invested in FourSquare?

Invest 288

Invest Angel Web 2.0 SEO 288

TechCrunch LA

APRIL 23, 2020

The proposal sets out four big initiatives, including zero-emissions vehicle manufacturing, assembly and adoption; zero-emissions infrastructure investments; commitments to public transit investments; workforce development; and job training. Image Credits: Monty Rakusen / Getty Images.

Southern California 261

Southern California Los Angeles Rosemead Incubator 261

socalTECH

MARCH 28, 2019

We spoke with Meredith Finn a new Partner at March Capital--who headed up that the Rise of the Female Entrepreneur sessions this year--to hear more about her perspectives on investments, what the Rise of the Female Entrepeneur was all about, March's interests in artificial intelligence and more. What's your role at March Capital?

Capital 162

Capital Entrepreneur Invest Artificial Inteligence 162

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2010

I’d rather be Roger Ehrenberg with a thesis around data-centric companies and base my investment decisions on the skills I’ve developed in my career. To some extent Keith Rabois agreed with me about domain knowledge and argued that most of his investments are in the consumer Internet space as a result.

Invest 284

Invest Angel Venture Capital Startup 284

SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 1, 2010

Was it a Startup Founder Developer Gap ? Did they really need a Startup CTO or Developer or both? Did they have a Weak Development Team ? He needed some kind of CTO and as well Developers. These “startups” are almost always mostly-non-technical founders offering 1-2% premoney for a “lead developer” position.

CTO Hire 241

CTO Hire CTO Coach Equity Develop 241

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 24, 2011

This is a post I’ve been dying to write for 18 months. I invested in LA-based Gogii , one of the fastest growing, most exciting mobile social networking companies you’ve never heard of and maker of a product called textPlus. I only recently invested and I only got here through persistence. But I never gave up.

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Gogii Invest Blogging Startup 310

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 24, 2014

I spent my first year developing proprietary deal flow and learning the business and then the Sept 2008 / Lehman Bros collapse / financial meltdown happened. As a result I didn’t write my first venture capital check until March 2009 – exactly 5 years ago. I have done 6 VC investments – all within the past 20 months.

Venture Capital 387

Venture Capital Downey Writing Press 387

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 31, 2021

Tech companies have spent the past decade or more developing innovations that can be applied to old-world industries like agriculture, construction, energy, education, manufacturing and transportation and logistics. ” Climate resiliency . Given the steady drumbeat of climate disasters that hit the U.S. Fables of the reconstruction.

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Startup Technical Review Invest Research 229

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 5, 2023

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). Growth and exit stage.

Startup 122

Startup Funding Organization Incubator 122

Tech.Co

DECEMBER 29, 2023

To top it all off, the AI startup recently partnered up with Getty Images, one of the largest repositories of paid stock imagery, to develop a new generative AI model ‘Runway’ geared towards the film and advertising industries. Vibrant Planet raised $15 million this year from major backers like Microsoft, and Citi Ventures in October.

Startup 210

Startup Generative AI Newsletter Tool 210

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 30, 2010

I’m very pleased today to announce that I invested, on behalf of GRP Partners, in Burstly alongside Rincon Venture Partners , an early stage VC in Southern California whith whom we love to work (and were our co-investors on RingRevenue ). Naturally I’m excited about this investment or I wouldn’t have done it.

Mobile 282

Mobile Invest Company Companies 282

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 30, 2018

I thought I’d write a post about how to talk about valuation at a startup and give you some sense of what might be on the mind of the person considering funding you. If you’re talking with a typical Seed/A/B round firm they often have ownership targets in the company in which they invest. What expectations do you have about valuation?

Venture Capital 324

Venture Capital Pricing Startup Invest 324

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 30, 2019

In addition, the discipline of producing it, like writing a business plan, will help you immensely in understanding the key elements that drive you and your business. I often hear the excuse that writing a book takes precious time away from building and running your business, which you cannot afford.

Writing 19

Writing Technical Review Entrepreneur Advertising 19

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). Growth and exit stage.

Resource 171

Resource Startup Organization Incubator 171

TechCrunch LA

AUGUST 3, 2018

If a dispute cannot be self-resolved, parties then graduate to a dispute resolution marketplace of third party vendors,” Wan writes. Hoping to beat back the tide of bad contracts, bad code and bad actors, Sagewise , a new Los Angeles-based startup has raised $1.25 Thus, we are dispute process agnostic.”

Software Review 159

Software Review Outsource Development Services Technical Review 159

Berkonomics

MAY 8, 2014

I am chairman of a company that, as I write this, is twelve years old and has not yet taken a dollar of outside investment. Grant writing takes skill and immense amounts of time. First, here’s a link to my recent TEDx talk, “Smiling at success; laughing at failure.”

Company 166

Company Companies Writing Education 166

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 17, 2019

At Upfront, our partners have been fortunate enough to be part of 18 companies that have reached north of $1 billion and the average tenure of an investment that exits at this scale is more than 10 years. We not only have our Series A funds that can write $500k?—?$15 15 million first checks but we also have three growth funds.

Venture Capital 223

Venture Capital IP Startup Google 223

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 26, 2022

Most business advisors I know will say that writing a business plan is the first step to starting your own business, but I believe that a better first step is to do a self-analysis of your real drivers, strengths, and assumptions before committing to this lifestyle. You can’t really succeed in life if you are not happy.

Social Media 105

Social Media Writing Ideas Resource 105

TechCrunch LA

FEBRUARY 20, 2019

When should a VC invest? Start writing down predictions about people, companies, and markets. It’s the only way forward in capitalism, and it’s worth every investment you can make. The whole point of delegating investment decisions to a GP is to empower them to organize their firm to win deals and get stuff done.

Venture Capital 202

Venture Capital Startup Technical Review Invest 202

socalTECH

MARCH 16, 2017

We are going to write checks of between $100,000 and $500,000, and we are going to invest in what we are calling first institutional capital. We help companies do the same kind of thing, except with corporate development. Where are you planning making investments? We have a very entrepreneurial LP base.

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Invest Funding Capital Startup 145

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 6, 2019

That’s a reason why some are quick to portend “a new bubble” but this post sets out to show that would be a misunderstanding of the market and in fact by historic levels this may be amongst the best times to invest in seed and early-stage funds. More on that later. But there are clear pro’s and con’s.

Venture Capital 292

Venture Capital Capital Startup Funding 292

Berkonomics

MARCH 5, 2020

Professional investors will probe these five risk areas and make the decision to invest based upon comfort with each. This risk can be mitigated by finding a customer willing to purchase as soon as a proven model is completed, and willing to state this in writing. And fifth: Competitive risk. .

Outsource Development 156

Outsource Development Ideas Resource Patents 156

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 17, 2019

I know it may feel this way since I’m writing this tongue in cheek. It was a sufficient barrier and we developed social graces. The person writing things he or she is doing me a favor. They had to physically write a letter, address it, put a stamp on it (pay) and then put it in the mailbox. I’m not an elitist a **e.

Email 250

Email Writing Conference Mobile 250

TechCrunch LA

FEBRUARY 6, 2022

This writeup from industry analyst Karl Guttag showcases how Magic Leap has turned away from several of the key technologies it raised billions of dollars to develop with its latest hardware which he nevertheless believes will “blow away” the HoloLens 2 in image quality. “ Crypto investment starts 2022 with a roar.

Marketing 246

Marketing Newsletter Technical Review News 246

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 8, 2019

Responding to Elizabeth Warren’s call to regulate and break up some of the nation’s largest technology companies, the venture capitalists that invest in technology companies are advising the presidential hopeful to move slowly and not break anything. — Balaji S. . ” . ”

Technical Review 144

Technical Review Startup Chief Technology Officer Social Media 144

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 23, 2020

Every school recognizes the power of “hands-on” work to help you develop your own ideas into a business. Universities have the links you need to patent attorneys, prototyping companies, investment groups, as well as a wealth of peer talent to round out your team and share the work. Write a business plan and pitch deck for learning.

Entrepreneur 157

Entrepreneur Mentor Class Resource 157

TechCrunch LA

APRIL 23, 2018

i am deeply invested in the drama surrounding lil miquela and now you all have to be too. It’s less well-known that the company is backed by some of the biggest names in venture capital investment — firms like Sequoia Capital. Around this time McFedries also began investing in companies, according to AngelList.

Social Media 254

Social Media Los Angeles Media Geni 254

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 23, 2015

My goal in the interview overall was to capture more of the personal side of Fred since so much of his investment thesis and portfolio work already comes out in his blog. We talk a lot about his schooling, his early jobs as a developer and then as a VC and we talk about his decision to spend winters in Los Angeles.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Startup Writing Blogging 150

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 9, 2014

I only say that because after years as a VC I can always tell when my peer group invested in something because “it seemed like it would make money” versus when they invested out of passion. I have placed a much bigger emphasis on falling in love as a criterion for my making an investment. Does she live your journey?

Venture Capital 373

Venture Capital Startup Course Entrepreneur 373

TechCrunch LA

JULY 19, 2022

Ghost is not alone in developing technology focused on inventory. The investment was led by Union Square Ventures and included participation from Eniac Ventures, Human Capital and Flexport. The investment was led by Union Square Ventures and included participation from Eniac Ventures, Human Capital and Flexport.

Product 191

Product Funding Technical Review Equity 191

Xconomy

MAY 31, 2016

Microsoft plans to invest more in early stage startup companies through a new corporate venture fund, headed by former Qualcomm executives. And at the other end is where you’ll typically see our larger investments and acquisitions,” Kashyap writes. That forms one end of the company’s spectrum of startup activities.

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Funding Artificial Inteligence Cloud Computing Writing 62

TechCrunch LA

OCTOBER 16, 2019

The idea is to put women with check-writing abilities, typically partners and general partners, together in groups with newer VCs, typically with an associate or principal title, paired together. “We have to force this familiarity, connectivity among women in venture so that people are helping each other.”.

Venture Capital 184

Venture Capital Ideas Los Angeles Tool 184

socalTECH

APRIL 8, 2014

Among those funds is TYLT Lab (www.tyltlab.com), which recently announced a new, $20M early stage investment fund specifically focused on companies here. We spoke with Rami Rostami and Gerard Casale , who are behind TYLT Labs, and who told us a bit about their new fund, its investment criteria, and where it sees the promise here.

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Seed Funding Santa Monica Funding Startup 220

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 23, 2014

Limited Partners or LPs (the people who invest into VC funds) have taken notice as 2014 is by all accounts the busiest year for LPs since the Great Recession began. Just 3 years ago there was talk of institutional investors “not being able to write small enough checks.” Why is this? and hasn’t abated.

Venture Capital 398

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Seed Funding 398

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 29, 2010

So finding time is hard, and good writing is simply not what most people do. Too many entrepreneurs spend big money on development, only to find out that the solution isn’t quite right. There’s also the opportunity to do some consulting with interested customers to provide needed revenue while the product is still under development.

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Blogging Invest Startup Writing 93