Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 29, 2014

One of the hardest things for most entrepreneurs to know is how hard to push in situations where people tell you “no.” ” But then again most entrepreneurs fail. I often describe “chutzpah” as being able to skate right up to the line of acceptability without crossing over it.

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Venture Capital Email Startup Conference 389

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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Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 22, 2013

I recently wrote a post about how to manage relationships when you’re at a startup or are busy executive. I had images in my brain of all of the stresses I had placed on my wife in the heyday of my startups. A spouse’s hints for surviving an incredibly busy start-up person. Help encourage him not to.

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Tips Startup Email Blogging 418

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 27, 2011

But should you actually write one if you’re a startup, an industry figure (lawyer, banker) or VC? People often ask me why I started blogging. It really started simply enough. Or “I’m a new entrepreneur, why would I offer advice on how to run a startup?&#. By definition, you read blogs.

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Blogging Startup Writing Venture Capital 373

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 25, 2013

She was leaving IAC to start a company. Somehow she was always on a flight up to Seattle or San Francisco. She was everything I was looking for in an entrepreneur to back. Didn’t I make myself clear about celebrities & startups ? Soleil returns emails at 1.30am. Kara called me on a Tuesday. Kara as CEO.

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InfoChachkie

JUNE 3, 2013

You can watch/listen to how John and Kyle turned their email newsletter into an international bestseller in the following 9-minute excerpt from John''s recent talk at UC Santa Barbara. Upon graduation from Wharton, John and Kyle launched a startup based upon a simple, pedestrian product: a computer mouse shaped like the head of a golf driver.

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Newsletter Startup Entrepreneur Writing 233

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. Startups Need Execution, Not Administration. Five reasons many MBAs struggle at startups are as follows: 1.

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Entrepreneur Technical Review Case Study Class 279

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. That’s fine.

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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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InfoChachkie

MAY 12, 2014

I recently received an email from a former student in which he described how he was able to secure a lunch meeting with a high-profile entrepreneur who is operating multiple ventures in parallel. I wasn''t surprised by Benedikt''s email, as I was aware of his confidence and politely aggressive personality. Meeting Adam Cheyer.

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Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 16, 2011

For starting relationships today that won’t pay off for a year. It’s the entrepreneur’s equivalent of “ 10,000 hours.&#. It is a piece of actionable advice that if you put into practice starting next week will start paying dividends in the near future. You send them update emails.

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Startup Writing Press Venture Capital 410

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 16, 2013

I’m very excited to be finally be able to announce that this week we’ve added Sam Rosen to our ranks at GRP Partners in the role of entrepreneurs-in-residence – EIR. It’s the first EIR that we’ve had in the years that I’ve been with the firm and I hope will be the start of our investment in this program.

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Both Sides of the Table

JULY 9, 2012

Dave is terrible with email. He’s so bad that his email auto-responder tells you he likely won’t email you back. And so are most startup CEOs for that matter. Many through history became entrepreneurs precisely because they were unemployable. He picks up the phone when he wants to discuss a deal with you.

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Startup Venture Capital Email Writing 309

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 17, 2011

I recently wrote a post about why I didn’t think early-stage startups should have COOs. In bringing up the issue I wasn’t “hating on COOs&# – I’m just challenging you to think about whether your CEO + COO structure really provides the right amount of clarity in your organization. What will it do?

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socalTECH

AUGUST 7, 2014

Los Angeles has been in the midst of a technology boom over the last few years, with many of high profile startups growing in the area. We spoke with Bryce Maddock , founder of TaskUs, about the company and how it has been providing the manpower behind a lot of LA''s technology startups. So, what is TaskUs?

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Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2020

As a mentor to entrepreneurs, I tend to see many of the same obstacles appearing in every new startup, and since I don’t want to appear to be a downer , I’m not sure how to properly warn people ahead of time to be on the alert for these challenges. Funding is depleted before customer sales ramp up. Don’t hide in your office.

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Startup Entrepreneur Examples Customer 131

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 12, 2013

Investors love it when entrepreneurs draw little or no money from their startups. That amount is almost always higher, much higher, than the amount budgeted for the entrepreneur. Starting up' Berkus.com. that is a messy way to demonstrate that you are taking less than market wages from your company. Berkus.com.

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Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 8, 2011

Launchpad LA today announces it will accept applications for its third class of Los Angeles-based tech startups. We have significant VC commitments (listed below) – every entering company will get $50,000 in funding, mentorship from top VCs and successful entrepreneurs plus free office space. Can the community support them?

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Venture Capital Funding Startup GRP Partners 287

InfoChachkie

FEBRUARY 11, 2013

In many instances, investors simply do not have the patience to wait for an entrepreneur to sufficiently clean up their deal once a significant issue is identified during the due diligence process. Geographic Dispersion – Significant physical separation of the startup's Tribe. Frictionless Fundraising. Share and Enjoy.

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Technical Review Entrepreneur IP RSS 264

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 28, 2010

I grew up in the US but lived in England for so long I can never remember from which country my slang comes. But then I started to see it happening internally. So we (and by we I mean “they&# ) at Accenture decided to come up with our own bull shit. Plus, everyone on Twitter egged me on and then some.

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Startup Framework Slides Coach 378

Berkonomics

AUGUST 17, 2023

Preparing for the game… If you have been following our recent insights, you’ll be up to speed knowing that professional investors negotiate tough terms, from provisions of control over asset acquisition, eventual sale of the company, future investments, forced co-sale when others attempt to sell their shares and more.

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Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 1, 2011

This is a theme that comes up in one the most influential business books for me of the past decade, The Black Swan by Nassim Taleb where he talks about the role that luck plays in business success. If you’re a tech startup person I know you know what I mean. That was back when VCs weren’t so quick to respond to emails.

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Startup Blogging Venture Capital Writing 391

InfoChachkie

JUNE 4, 2012

As an entrepreneur, I helped create companies which achieved two IPOs and two trade sales totaling $385 million. Fallacy: Startup ventures tend to evolve, especially after you begin speaking with pesky customers and demanding partners. Public relations at a startup is a sales process. “Learn from the mistakes of others.

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Entrepreneur Outsource Ideas Technical Review 272

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 25, 2013

Many first-time entrepreneurs have grown up digital natives so have a really good intuitive feel for technology & design but don’t yet have the business basics down. . This shows itself when people try to do an elevator pitch, send concise, actionable emails or have a quick phone call with you to ask for help. .

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Startup Writing Help Email 364

Berkonomics

MARCH 24, 2016

Dave’s note: This week we welcome guest author, David Friedman, to tell us about his favorite startup CEO, and his take after interviewing her – asking for her list of attributes for startup success. . I met Kirsten Mangers several years ago after she successfully sold her startup, Webvisible. By David Friedman.

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Startup Ideas Incubator Mentor 120

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 13, 2014

A couple of years ago an entrepreneur had requested a meeting with me to present his business. And that’s why he stood me up! I wrote him the following email. It still happens but always weigh up whom you’re meeting with and understand whether that person is likely to be largely impacted by your changes.

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Conference Startup Century City Email 369

InfoChachkie

NOVEMBER 12, 2013

He shared a number of witty entrepreneurial insights, including: "Startups are like high school. Note: I am an investor in Brian''s current startup via Rincon Venture Partners.). But the more I started to think about it, I said, well, why the hell not? I mean, that''s what entrepreneurs do every day.

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Startup Yahoo Santa Barbara Slides 223

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.

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Venture Capital Invest Press Startup 374

InfoChachkie

JUNE 11, 2012

For many entrepreneurs, college has little appeal. Academia’s arbitrary, bureaucratic structure, combined with its predominant focus on theoretical issues, causes many entrepreneurs to depart college early. Entrepreneurs are misfits. Others, such as Walt Disney and Richard Branson never even enroll.

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Tips Startup Education Entrepreneur 279

Tech.Co

DECEMBER 29, 2023

2023 hasn't been an easy year to be a startup. While the market isn't short of spritely, innovative entrepreneurs, harsh economic headwinds combined with a pullback in investor spending have made it harder than ever for budding businesses to break through. Verifying Looking for regular tech news straight to your inbox?

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Startup Generative AI Newsletter Tool 194

Berkonomics

JULY 3, 2024

There is nothing quite as thrilling in business as igniting a startup and watching it blossom. Especially when starting a company with personal savings or money from relatives and friends, early signs of success are intoxicating. Dave Berkus The post Startup intoxication! Do you ignore the warnings of experts?

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Both Sides of the Table

MAY 9, 2012

I had a very enjoyable day in Cincinnati meeting many local entrepreneurs, angels and accelerators. But I found resonance in meeting the local investors and startups. In the age of Skype, email, cheap telephony and collaboration tools it’s all too easy to sit in your office and connect with people remotely. It’s Wedneday.

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Press Course Startup Email 364

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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Entrepreneur Google Invest RSS 253

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2014

We are often asked how companies get funded, why VCs make the decisions we make and what we’re looking for in entrepreneurs. On August 23rd, 2013 I had an email intro from my good friend and trusted source Jeff Berman who only sends me stuff when it is somebody he respects (ie a strong filter vs. those who send casual intros).

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Funding Technical Review Startup Screening 373

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 6, 2018

People argue over whether an entrepreneur with a sense of fairness, a desire for collegiality, a want to share the profits can succeed in the long run within a business world full of lions and tigers that eat timid entrepreneurs for lunch. Stories of the selfish entrepreneur. Does a “good heart” diminish the chances of success?

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Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 13, 2011

Here’s my advice: A got an email from a young, super bright entrepreneur today. He responded by emailing the COO and asking him to lunch. I get emails all the time from people asking me on a first date and saying, “how about if I buy you dinner.” They had never met. Here’s the deal. Not so much.

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Venture Capital Startup Email Networking 397

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 18, 2012

It’s what life was like as an entrepreneur. But for some strange reason they make you file your progress on fund raising, which is the widely picked up by the press. And why I woke up at 4.50am. But this is nothing like the stress of being an entrepreneur. What’s it really like being an entrepreneur?

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