Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 24, 2016

So the first question I usually get is what percent of the company or equity is that person worth? Just because it was your idea doesn’t mean you “deserve” 90% of the equity. The value in a startup is all about tangible results, so I see no equity value in the idea alone. Experience and connections in your business area.

Equity 62

Equity Startup Patents CTO Hire 62

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 21, 2021

Many entrepreneurs never get past their first-stage focus on their innovative product, to scaling the business globally, organizing a structure to handle thousands of employees, and concentrating their focus “on the business” rather than working “in the business.” Switch your focus from product development to sales.

Startup 151

Startup Course Sales Entrepreneur 151

socalTECH

JUNE 19, 2013

Culver City-based Card Scanning Solutions (CSSN), said today that it has raised a round of equity funding, from Insight Venture Partners, Red Oak Growth Partners, and Egis Capital Partners. The company said the funding will go towards product development efforts. Size of the funding round was not announced by the company. READ MORE>>.

Culver City 147

Culver City Funding Equity Venture Capital 147

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 11, 2023

It usually takes more than you can collect just to build and deliver the product. The biggest surge in expectations occurred way back in 2015, when the SEC “ democratized ” everyday citizens (non-accredited investors) to participate in equity crowdfunding. Making something awesome will cost more than you expect.

Startup 100

Startup Equity Entrepreneur Demand 100

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 6, 2023

That might start with the CEO giving the investor pitch to the whole organization, and distributing the current business plan document to everyone. Make sure all business processes are documented and integrated. Here investors are looking for feature problems or quality issues on the current product. Status of the solution.

Technical Review 118

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Invest 118

socalTECH

MARCH 7, 2012

Culver City-based Eccentex , a developer of a software-as-a-service, enterprise business process management product, has raised $7.5M in an equity funding. The funding came from VTB Capital. Eccentex, which is led by Glen E.

Culver City 145

Culver City Equity Platform Services 145

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 26, 2020

It usually takes more than you can collect just to build and deliver the product. The biggest surge in expectations occurred back in 2015, when the SEC “ democratized ” everyday citizens (non-accredited investors) to participate in equity crowdfunding. Making something awesome will cost more than you expect.

Startup 151

Startup Equity Funding Demand 151

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 24, 2021

That might start with the CEO giving the investor pitch to the whole organization, and distributing the current business plan document to everyone. Make sure all business processes are documented and integrated. Here investors are looking for feature problems or quality issues on the current product. Status of the solution.

Technical Review 151

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Invest 151

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2022

You need to have a technical genius on the team to get your startup product off the ground. Being the leader doesn’t mean more equity, nor does it mean the leader will necessarily be CEO. The rest can come from early hires (with stock options to assure commitment), equity investors, or even strategic partners.

Technical Advisors 123

Technical Advisors Startup Outsource Development High Tech 123

SoCal Tech Calendar

MAY 4, 2012

At the inception of a company the entrepreneur typically focuses on product development, RandD, customer relationships and sales and marketing.Often, accounting and taxation are overlooked. In addition, we'll discuss tax filing requirements, document retention and tax pitfalls to avoid for startups. See [link] (more)

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OCTANE Startup Equity Sales 100

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 13, 2013

Investors my tell you that, but what they can look at your product on paper and tell what it does and they will understand if it can be built. Leverage Existing Platforms or Third Party Products - you want to test your social network, grab Drupal and whip something together, or even just use a hosted service.

Technical Review 338

Technical Review CTO Hire CTO Coach Software Review 338

SoCal CTO

JANUARY 5, 2011

Some really great stuff in 2010 that aims to help startups around product, technology, business models, etc.

Startup 378

Startup Venture Capital Blogging CTO Coach 378

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

What used to be an “A” round in 2011 is now routinely called a Seed round and this has been so engrained that founders would rather take less money than to have to put the words “A round” in their legal documents. We can’t wait for customers to use the product for 12–18 months and do customer interviews or look at purchase cohorts.

Venture Capital 471

Venture Capital Writing Invest Pricing 471

SoCal CTO

APRIL 28, 2014

Other Topics Covered I also covered topics that are covered more thoroughly in the following posts: Document Your MVP for a Developer. Read Document Your MVP for a Developer for all of the detail that you really need to provide. As a founder, you do need to be telling the developers what the business and product goals are.

Develop 280

Develop Development CTO Coach CTO Hire 280

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 4, 2014

The first question I usually get is what percent of the company or equity is that person worth? Just because it was your idea doesn’t mean you “deserve” 90 percent of the equity. The value in a startup is all about tangible results, so there is no equity value in the idea alone. Experience and connections in your business area.

Equity 104

Equity Patents Startup CTO Hire 104

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 9, 2020

You need to have a technical genius on the team to get your startup product off the ground. Being the leader doesn’t mean more equity, nor does it mean the leader will necessarily be CEO. The rest can come from early hires (with stock options to assure commitment), equity investors, or even strategic partners.

Technical Advisors 123

Technical Advisors Outsource Development Startup High Tech 123

socalTECH

MARCH 31, 2014

There are lots of products that might look for any mention of a product name or company name, and yes, we do that--but more importantly, we are also analyzing situations that arise. I was hired to head up strategy, marketing development, and product management. A good example of this, we can keep track of a supply chain.

Orange County 245

Orange County Startup News IBM 245

SoCal CTO

APRIL 8, 2010

Death By Competitive Analysis - Steve Blank , March 1, 2010 Trading emails with a startup CEO building an iPhone app, I asked him why potential customers would buy his product. How do the sample Series Seed financing documents differ from typical Series A financing documents? In response he sent me a competitive analysis.

Startup 150

Startup Software Review Competition SoCal 150

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 14, 2016

The real solution is better productivity and less procrastination, to put you back in control of your business. Being a good role model is productive, but trying to control others is fruitless. One of the top productivity killers is disorganization and wasting time finding key data. Rest makes you more productive.

Tips 100

Tips Activity Startup Product 100

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 17, 2015

That might start with the CEO giving the investor pitch to the whole organization, and distributing the current business plan document to everyone. Make sure all business processes are documented and integrated. Here investors are looking for feature problems or quality issues on the current product. Status of the solution.

Technical Review 108

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Entrepreneur 108

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2015

You need to have a technical genius on the team to get your startup product off the ground. Being the leader doesn’t mean more equity, nor does it mean the leader will necessarily be CEO. The rest can come from early hires (with stock options to assure commitment), equity investors, or even strategic partners.

Technical Advisors 105

Technical Advisors Outsource Development Startup High Tech 105

Berkonomics

JANUARY 16, 2014

Addition of new services or product lines. Example: salary, equity, joint venture, etc… Can the business afford it? It is highly recommended that legal document are created and/or reviewed by a business transaction attorney. [Email readers, continue here.] Access to new markets. Open doors to new distribution channels.

Technical Review 204

Technical Review Startup Examples Metrics 204

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 22, 2009

Everyone in the outside world is talking about how great you are but internally you know that your sales aren’t ramping, your product isn’t shipping on time, you have doubts about the quality of your code, you’re not convinced you’re doing a good job on marketing – whatever. You’re stressed.

Startup 327

Startup Sales Class CIO 327

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 16, 2015

It usually takes more than you can collect just to build and deliver the product. The latest surge in expectations is just now occurring, as the SEC has finally “ democratized ” everyday citizens (non-accredited investors) to participate in equity crowdfunding. Making something awesome will cost more than you expect.

Startup 53

Startup Equity Entrepreneur Demand 53

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 4, 2012

After you have successfully attracted angels or venture capital with your business case, your million dollar product idea, and you have a signed term sheet, there is still one more hurdle to overcome before investors write the check. Product or service readiness. Investors are evaluating your process as well as your product.

Technical Review 94

Technical Review Startup Writing Competition 94

Tech Zulu Event

MARCH 16, 2015

And when it comes to timing, wait until you’ve come up with a working prototype and developed your product before you seek external funding. This can be a great way to test your product and get customer feedback. If your product is capital-intensive this can be a good financing option. Start with your fundraising end in mind.

Startup 40

Startup Venture Capital Equity Funding 40

Tech Zulu Event

MARCH 7, 2013

CapLinked also netted in new customers such as Thomson Reuters, Sun Capital, and Equity Partners, NextView Ventures and crowd-funding service AI Verified which will take advantage of its iPad compatibility, bulk uploading, and reporting tools. According to Eric M.

Mobile 91

Mobile Report Pricing Tool 91

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 18, 2018

You need to have a technical genius on the team to get your startup product off the ground. Being the leader doesn’t mean more equity, nor does it mean the leader will necessarily be CEO. The rest can come from early hires (with stock options to assure commitment), equity investors, or even strategic partners.

Technical Advisors 57

Technical Advisors Startup Outsource Development High Tech 57

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 27, 2012

The approach I recommend is to build the investor presentation first, by iterating on the bullets with your team, and then fleshing out the points into a full-blown text-based business plan document. Solution product & technology. Make sure to communicate the relevance of your product / services to market needs.

Slides 99

Slides Competition Sample Sales 99

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 8, 2017

Since this document is outward facing, it is important to keep the terminology and tone consistent with that of your customer set, investors, and business partners. Providing your product or service free to customers may sound attractive in marketing materials, but you need revenue sources to survive. The details can be added later.

Startup 65

Startup Writing Patents Competition 65

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 29, 2016

On the positive side, friends and family probably won’t be as demanding on your financial projections as a professional investor, and they likely will be satisfied with an initial offer of a convertible note (loan with option to convert to equity later), so you don’t have to give away the store before you get started.

Funding 60

Funding Startup Ideas Slides 60

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 11, 2014

You need to have a technical genius on the team to get your startup product off the ground. Being the leader doesn’t mean more equity, nor does it mean the leader will necessarily be CEO. The rest can come from early hires (with stock options to assure commitment), equity investors, or even strategic partners.

Technical Advisors 98

Technical Advisors Startup Outsource Development High Tech 98

Tech Zulu Event

SEPTEMBER 12, 2014

Protect yourself by clearly outlining confidentiality, termination provisions, and IP ownership in employee contracts and hiring documentation. Equity is likely to be a key piece of the puzzle, but don’t forget to structure in incentives based on hitting key milestones, and deferred compensation arrangements.

Tips 90

Tips Startup Venture Capital Outsource Development 90

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 28, 2017

This shortcut to avoid hard discussions and signed documents leads to more dysfunctional businesses and broken relationships than you could imagine. Retain maximum equity by requesting minimal funding. Focus on products and customers, and trust your accountant. Maintain required control by not delegating decisions.

Entrepreneur 72

Entrepreneur Competition Custom Customer 72

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 22, 2010

After you have successfully attracted angels or venture capital with your business case, your million dollar product idea, and you have a signed term sheet, there is still one more hurdle to overcome before investors write the check. Product or service readiness. Investors are evaluating your process as well as your product.

Technical Review 90

Technical Review Writing Competition Tips 90

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 29, 2014

Often I find that experienced investors scan ahead to the management page of a business plan, even before they read the product description. They should have a track record of originating and closing equity deals, and should have a long list of potential financing sources that are willing to take their call.

Startup 99

Startup Report Equity Resource 99

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 11, 2010

Research this market by doing market sizing, looking at existing products, talking to customers and deciding how you will make money. I believe passionately that if you don’t do a financial model you shouldn’t spend any time or money building a product. From there build the MVP (minimum viable product).

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Startup Entrepreneur Custom Customer 308