Berkonomics

AUGUST 3, 2023

Bootstrapping: This term describes your ability to start a business with little investment and grow it using internally generated funds. Friends, family and fools: [Email readers, continue here…] This term, although pejorative, describes the typical mix of early investors in a small, young growing business.

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Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 16, 2023

Indeed, while the rules and technologies for lead generation have changed, Forrester and other experts still see it as the most effective way for businesses with limited budgets to maximize their return on marketing investment (ROI). Email marketing. One of these experts, David T. Cold calling.

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Berkonomics

JANUARY 20, 2022

Dave’s note: This is a reprint of a 2015 insight that seems to have struck a chord with investors and entrepreneurs. None of this advice has changed… Let me tell you a few short hair–raising stories of entrepreneurs who have raised money and regretted it later. The problem, of course, comes if the business fails.

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Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 21, 2019

I cannot tell you how many times I have seen executive summaries of business plans in which the entrepreneur seeks $5,000,000 to build the business. The investors want a motivated entrepreneur, and it is certainly more difficult to motivate a twenty percent owner than a sixty percent owner. Four reasons you should reconsider.

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Startup Invest Summary Resource 120

Berkonomics

APRIL 12, 2018

Small companies most often scrape by with borrowed or invested funds, doing everything possible to grow and prosper with limited resources. To most entrepreneurs, this often leads to an event whose resolution by a governmental agency or even a court seems unfair and illogical.

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InfoChachkie

FEBRUARY 25, 2013

Someone on Quora recently asked me to answer the following question: Why Do Digital Entrepreneurs Hate MBAs? Tech entrepreneurs' consternation with MBAs does not rise to the level of loathing. As noted in Startup Advice From College Dropouts , successful entrepreneurs are often poor students. Look For MBA Outliers.

Entrepreneur 279

Entrepreneur Technical Review Case Study Class 279

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 12, 2010

I recently got an email from a friend who had been approached by a well known VC. He sent me an email asking whether the approach was real and whether he should take it seriously. Here is the email he received (reprinted without names with his permission). “Hi [entrepreneur], I hope all is well.

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Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 24, 2012

I cannot tell you how many times I have seen executive summaries of business plans in which the entrepreneur seeks $5,000,000 to build the business. The investors want a motivated entrepreneur, and it is certainly more difficult to motivate a twenty percent owner than a sixty percent owner. Email readers, continue here.]

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Berkonomics

MAY 11, 2023

The quest for a great management team is not a fluke, but rather a result of backward looks at the failure rate from past investments by those same angel investors and venture capitalists. None of this is to say that an inexperienced entrepreneur cannot lead a great new business. And it’s a tough test at that.

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Berkonomics

MARCH 25, 2012

For those of us who’ve invested in early stage companies, especially technology startups, we have confronted a universal problem. There are many ways to project the value of a company for purposes of pricing an investment, but all rely upon the revenue and profit projections of the entrepreneur as a starting point.

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Berkonomics

APRIL 20, 2023

We have years of real data to call upon: data that impacts both investors and entrepreneurs. Fortune Magazine and Harvard studies Attempting to get to the number of real failures for all startups, not just those with angel group investments, Fortune Magazine published an article claiming that 90% of these startups do fail.

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Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 23, 2023

Those of us in the business of calculating (guessing) this mythical peak in value often make the same mistake as our entrepreneurs. Companies sometime run out of cash in the midst of their increasing success, and often find that sources of loans or investment are not freely flowing at the moment of need. What about those unicorns?

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Berkonomics

JANUARY 7, 2021

Think of startups and early stage businesses whose entrepreneurs you know. One: The entrepreneur. First, there is the entrepreneur , the visionary, and force behind the venture from start to finish. It starts with sharing the opportunity and upside. Two: Co-management. Dividing equity among those that fill the management gap.

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Startup Equity Statistics Entrepreneur 240

TechCrunch LA

JANUARY 26, 2020

The Los Angeles startup community is joining the rest of the world in mourning the death of NBA superstar, entrepreneur and investor Kobe Bryant who was killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, Calif., Bryant launched his venture career with partner and serial entrepreneur Jeff Stibel back in 2013, according to Crunchbase.

Venture Capital 359

Venture Capital Los Angeles Legalzoom Calabasas 359

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 21, 2018

If you are one of the thousands of entrepreneurs who need equity funding to get your startup going (no loans to repay), you are probably overwhelmed at the prospect of finding, contacting and pitching to the huge number of qualified angels and investment groups around the country. Register Internet and social media startup names.

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Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 2, 2023

I guarantee that there comes a time when growing businesses outgrow the original span of control of the entrepreneur. It is a critical period and is a test of the entrepreneur’s desire and ability to delegate. Email readers, continue here…] My story of “that rock” in one paragraph. Comfort, or risk-it-all?

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.Net Los Angeles Content Entrepreneur 156

Berkonomics

MAY 25, 2023

First, if your vision is limited and you will be happy with a successful local dry-cleaning enterprise or small restaurant around the corner, you are not the target for this epic effort to help entrepreneurs build great businesses that do change the world. Please take what you can from these weekly posts. Many will apply directly to you.)

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Berkonomics

MARCH 16, 2023

As an early-stage investor, the first test for me is whether “my” entrepreneur is flexible in both the plan and execution of their vision (since from experience almost everything about a business plan changes over time), and whether that person, no matter what age or experience, is coachable. Why should we ask this question?

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Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 27, 2020

Investors love to see entrepreneurs who have used their own money to ignite their businesses. But often, entrepreneurs turn to others for initial capital. And now that “crowd sourcing” has been enabled using the Internet – seeking many investors at a small amount per investment. The legality issues. Missed filing requirements.

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Company Companies Invest Entrepreneur 156

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 10, 2019

There are other social networks in the list of 200 “major sites” recognized by Wikipedia that entrepreneurs use for networking, depending on where you are in the world, like Orkut, Viadeo, and Sina Weibo, but talking to friends on Facebook probably won’t help you. Volunteer to help out with entrepreneur activities at your local university.

Networking 90

Networking Entrepreneur Social Network Activity 90

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 31, 2023

Every entrepreneur knows that good demand generation marketing is the key to growth these days, but very few have the discipline or know-how to measure return in a world of a thousand tools and techniques. Nurturing stage email performance. Return on investment for demand generation. Don’t just use these in isolation.

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Metrics Demand Paramount Content 102

InfoChachkie

FEBRUARY 11, 2013

Because of the rapid pace with which Venture Capitalists review investment opportunities, they must employ pattern matching techniques which include identifying common fundraising deal breakers. Surprisingly, most venture investments do not break down over valuation. A version of this article previously appeared on Forbes.

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Technical Review Entrepreneur IP RSS 264

socalTECH

MAY 2, 2013

Despite a growing technology industry here in Southern California, local investors and entrepreneurs tell us there''s still a shortage of local, venture capital. Explain what kinds of investments TenOneTen makes or hopes to make? David Waxman: We''ve been making investments since the beginning of the year.

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Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 3, 2022

Of course, you will find yourself in opposition to your investors and some of most of your board members if you do this after taking outside investment. I was able to negotiate a “put” of my shares back to the company at 5x my investment. Investors will not be happy and will usually react. A personal experience that relates.

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Berkonomics

AUGUST 5, 2021

Investment documents usually call for quarterly reporting by the company to the investors. Less than a quarter of companies receiving early-stage investment voluntarily fulfill this promise. Usually, one or more of the investors is placed on the board as a requirement of the investment documentation.

Invest 156

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Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 7, 2021

Some aspiring entrepreneurs are so desperate for funding, or naïve, that they ignore the obvious signs of scams and rip-offs on the Internet, praying for a windfall. No real investor or venture capital firm asks for money from the company they are intending to invest in. Loan offer in lieu of investment. Phantom fund investors.

Technical Review 148

Technical Review Tips Funding Startup 148

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 31, 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? I thought I’d talk a bit about the differences I’ve experienced between being an entrepreneur & a VC – you know, from “both sides of the table.&#. On Being an Entrepreneur.

Entrepreneur 384

Entrepreneur Startup Venture Capital Ideas 384

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 19, 2009

This is part of my new series on what makes an entrepreneur successful. I originally posted it on VentureHacks , one of my favorite websites for entrepreneurs. I started the series talking about what I consider the most important attribute of an entrepreneur : Tenacity. Many entrepreneurs struggle with their setbacks.

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Entrepreneur Startup Slides Seed Funding 288

socalTECH

DECEMBER 16, 2019

For our interview today, we have Noramay Cadena , a Partner at MILA Capital , who spoke to us earlier this year about the venture capital investment firm and what it looks for in entrepreneurs. Noramay Cadena: We're investing at the intersection of tech, manufacturing, supply chain, and logistics. What is MiLA Capital?

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Capital Invest Venture Capital Entrepreneur 100

Berkonomics

MARCH 1, 2012

Starting and running a small or growing business can be a challenge to the most confident and optimistic entrepreneur. Most any entrepreneur with a clean credit record can obtain a bank card with a $50,000 limit, if s/he is willing to give a personal guarantee and has enough assets to back the promise it contains.

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Entrepreneur Startup Email Ideas 176

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 17, 2012

However, certain questions can be tricky for an entrepreneur to answer. Below are five common questions an entrepreneur will encounter when seeking venture funding. Handled appropriately, these questions provide investors a window into an entrepreneurs’ soul, which minimizes the chances of a future misalignment.

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Berkonomics

JANUARY 25, 2024

Entrepreneurs will have a relative willing to devote time, a school friend with business experience, professionals who charge for the service, investors with a reason to promote your success and more. Some charge by the hour, making themself available much as an attorney, keeping track of hours spent on phone calls and emails with you.

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Coach Organization Resource Equity 156

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 27, 2020

Investors have to look behind the plan and at the entrepreneur and his or her team, knowing that, over time, most of us have come to the conclusion that it is the execution of the ever-changing plan, not the plan itself that makes a company a success. Anyone can build a good – or great – plan. And credit Savant Tyson for the insight.

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Summary Metrics Class Email 156

InfoChachkie

JULY 21, 2016

The reality television show Shark Tank makes for entertaining content but many of its underlying messages are potentially detrimental to tech entrepreneurs. Thus, emerging entrepreneurs should parse fact from fantasy by watching the show with an experienced business pro. According to David S. Shark Tank Distortions.

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Entrepreneur Technical Review Entertainment Ideas 100

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 30, 2021

Several times in my investing life, as the final board member making the arrangements to dispose of remaining assets, I have literally been the one to turn out the lights, carry out the documents, books and records to my car, and become the only remaining contact between the failed business and the investors, bankruptcy court, or creditors.

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InfoChachkie

MAY 6, 2013

This is due to a fundamental disconnect between the increased activity of high-volume seed investors (that fill out lots of Seed rounds) and the relatively small number of Series A investors, who only make 1 or 2 investments, per partner, per year.". There is a similar Darwinian aspect to venture capital investing.

Entrepreneur 246

Entrepreneur Venture Capital Technical Review Capital 246

Berkonomics

JUNE 22, 2023

Email readers, continue here…] Have you created high barriers to entry? From a professional investor’s perspective, the team should be able to be flexible, coachable and experienced enough to get a business through breakeven and beyond the next level of outside investment, greatly reducing execution risk.

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