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%). Today we’re in a world where 10 accelerators are bombarding you with emails to meet their 10-15 companies. It’s time for change.” Co-founder discontent.

Venture Capital 374

Venture Capital Invest Press Startup 374

Berkonomics

OCTOBER 8, 2015

You might even allow yourself to admit that you almost lost it all several times during this long run, and that only you knew how close you came to the abyss. Email readers, continue here…] First there comes a sense of relief, knowing that you no longer need to worry over daily cash or threats to your net worth.

Entrepreneur 120

Entrepreneur Writing .Net Sales 120

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.

Marketing 114

Marketing Invest Social Media SEM 114

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.

Venture Capital 295

Venture Capital Startup Class Invest 295

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.

Startup 120

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. So, my advice is simple.

Entrepreneur 226

Entrepreneur Class Resource Email 226

Berkonomics

MAY 9, 2024

If your vision is for a product or service that fills a need in a mature industry, you may be flying against the prevailing winds as a market shrinks over time, taking your business with it. If the market is ten times that size, there is probably room for competitors to fight for dominance and still succeed if you are not number one.

Custom 156

Custom Develop Development 156

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. Most importantly, the reward is measured by how much added value the total process creates over time. Two: Co-management.

Startup 240

Startup Equity Statistics Entrepreneur 240

Berkonomics

APRIL 20, 2023

Here I am a professional investor in early-stage companies, and I attempt to find those with the greatest chance of success and growth in value over time. We have years of real data to call upon: data that impacts both investors and entrepreneurs. Angel investors hold their average investment for 4.5 Data does not lie.

Statistics 156

Statistics Startup Study Invest 156

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?

Pricing 156

Pricing Invest Equity Entrepreneur 156

Berkonomics

SEPTEMBER 27, 2018

I have saved this next story until now because it is one of my favorites, and certainly illustrates the point about timing being a combination of luck and skill as well as anything I could devise from fiction. The company of eight was engaged in web design, which, early in the growth of middle-sized business on the web, was hot at the time.

Sales 120

Sales Web Design Web Design 120

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

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. This was a tough decision at that time. I was for the first time dependent upon the work of others.

.Net 156

.Net Los Angeles Content Entrepreneur 156

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.

Coach 156

Coach Organization Resource Equity 156

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.

Venture Capital 294

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Email Equity 294

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?

Coach 156

Coach Artificial Inteligence Entrepreneur Resource 156

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.

Invest 321

Invest Startup Email Competition 321

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.

Entrepreneur 279

Entrepreneur Technical Review Case Study Class 279

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.]

Resource 180

Resource Invest Summary Startup 180

Berkonomics

JUNE 22, 2023

If your vision is for a product or service that fills a need in a mature industry, you may be flying against the prevailing winds as a market shrinks over time, taking your business with it. If the market is ten times that size, there is probably room for competitors to fight for dominance and still succeed if you are not number one.

Patents 286

Patents Pricing Ideas Marketing 286

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

Invest Study Email Activity 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.)

Entrepreneur 156

Entrepreneur Course Resource Email 156

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

Berkonomics

MAY 13, 2021

important point of that book, which was written to prompt discussion between entrepreneurs, professional managers, and their boards of directors about issues that could unite them or strain the relationships between them. These are : time, money, relationships, context and process. Time as a corporate asset.

Resource 156

Resource Coach Activity Invest 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.

Summary 156

Summary Metrics Class Email 156

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.

Company 156

Company Companies Invest Entrepreneur 156

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.

Platform 94

Platform Equity Invest Technical Advisors 94

Berkonomics

AUGUST 27, 2015

He has written numerous books and articles for entrepreneurs and investors, and was the publisher and editor-in-chief of Venture Magazine. Mr. Lipped addresses the issue of exits, and whether entrepreneurs should take the long view or cash out quickly when the opportunity arises. By Arthur Lipper.

Entrepreneur 120

Entrepreneur Equity Competition Pricing 120

Berkonomics

APRIL 7, 2022

Years ago, I led a deal and invested in a company that looked like it had lots of promise to disrupt the women’s clothing industry with special algorithms and an online store. An entrepreneur makes a claim that stretches comfort. How I didn’t follow my own advice. But something had bothered me from the very start – unsalable inventory.

Design 156

Design Blogging Course Email 156

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.&#. Long hours.

Entrepreneur 384

Entrepreneur Startup Venture Capital Ideas 384

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. If you have no intention of giving up ownership or even control over time, state that early and plan accordingly. Investors will not be happy and will usually react.

Equity 156

Equity Course Sales Invest 156

Berkonomics

AUGUST 13, 2020

In fact, many angel investors or venture capitalists look for and respect the lessons learned by entrepreneurs that have survived a failed business. The key question is: Why did an entrepreneur fail? A successful entrepreneur who has seen the movie before is even more valued. What about next time?

Startup 156

Startup Entrepreneur Venture Capital Course 156

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 9, 2018

This is a very common scenario when entrepreneurs pitch VCs and frankly is a very common scenario when VCs try to raise money from LPs. It’s predictable, there is no reason to get mad about it and with a well-designed play book you can overcome this much of the time. I know you emailed me and I emailed you back.

Software Review 381

Software Review Startup Email Conference 381

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.

Metrics 102

Metrics Demand Paramount Content 102

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 11, 2021

Incremental profits from companies that later sell for three to five times their original value at the time of their investment may be considered great successes for founders but relative failures for VCs, who must hit for the fences with every early-stage investment. Why it’s so personal to me….

Venture Capital 156

Venture Capital Social Media Invest Marketing 156

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2018

Or if you’re a VC raising from LPs you have to list all of your deals, your investment value, your carrying value, your multiples, your IRRs, TVPIs, DPIs, etc along with net cashflows plus your previous LPAs. These collective sets of documents form the basis of what somebody looking at investing would call “financial due diligence.”

Funding 336

Funding Venture Capital Startup Email 336

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.

Entrepreneur 156

Entrepreneur Training Invest Email 156