socalTECH

DECEMBER 2, 2014

SendGrid , the developer of email delivery platform used heavily by app developers, has raised $20M more in a Series C, venture funding round, the company said this morning. The company--which has significant operations in Orange County--said the Bain Capital Ventures, along with Bessemer Venture Partners and Foundry Group.

Orange County 173

Orange County Email Venture Capital Platform 173

socalTECH

OCTOBER 14, 2013

San Diego-based Embarke has raised $1.25M in a funding round, which the company''s founder said came from a number of venture capitalists and angel investors. embarke venture capital funding seed email marketing optimization' The company is led by Al Bsharah. READ MORE>>.

Email 174

Email Anthem San Diego Venture Capital 174

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 29, 2010

We received so much positive feedback from our This Week in Venture Capital show walking through valuation calculations & term sheets that we decided to do a Q&A show this week to address topics that entrepreneurs want to learn about. In fact, far better if you haven’t raised venture capital.

Venture Capital 282

Venture Capital Capital Startup Pricing 282

Berkonomics

MAY 23, 2024

You do not pay professional investors who are serving on behalf of an investment company or VC and paid by that company. Email readers, continue here…] For lifestyle companies or later stage companies, board members should be paid on a per-meeting basis in cash. VC board members sometimes request this, other times do not.

Venture Capital 156

Venture Capital Pricing Equity Invest 156

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 8, 2011

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. Of these 19 have received funding (10 have received significant amounts of VC funding) and 5 have been acquired (2 for more than $30 million).

Venture Capital 287

Venture Capital Funding Startup GRP Partners 287

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 15, 2012

One the most frequent questions asked of me by entrepreneurs is, "How can I become a Venture Capitalist?" The inquiry is common because being a VC is (to an entrepreneur, at least) a sexy job. I define a "VC" as, "a professional investor who deploys third-party funds into relatively early-stage companies."

Venture Capital 242

Venture Capital Technical Review Invest RSS 242

socalTECH

APRIL 24, 2013

Silverpop , an Atlanta-based email marketing automation provider which also has operations in Irvine, said today that it has raised $25M in a venture debt funding. The funding came from Escalate Capital Partners and Silicon Valley Bank. Silverpop is venture bcaked by D.E. READ MORE>>.

Email 168

Email Marketing Draper Venture Capital 168

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 21, 2018

I was recently with an entrepreneur and talking with him about his fund raising process. Note: If you enjoy my posts please subscribe to my newsletter by adding your email below. She had emailed with a partner at a big VC fund and he had passed the request to a junior associate. The same thing happens to VCs.

Funding 217

Funding Newsletter Venture Capital Email 217

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 14, 2018

I Know Everybody Told You to Send Your Fund-Raising Decks as a Link. Here’s Why You Should Just Send the Deck I know you have your document sending tool to send your fund-raising deck to VCs and track who read your deck, which pages they read and how much time they spend on each page. A deck is a deck. Just send it.

Funding 239

Funding Venture Capital IP Email 239

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 21, 2010

I just cover the companies that were funded that week. Also, some of the deals I write about I have actually seen as part of their fund raising process. The idea is that in a world in which companies need to deal with customer support requests from Twitter, Facebook, email, phone, IM, etc. Others I have not. Enter Xobni.

Venture Capital 265

Venture Capital Capital Email Blogging 265

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2011

I’ve taken to saying, “Email is our personal to-do list that anybody adds to – whether they know us or not.” about their marathon 4-hour sessions to get to zero inbox or somebody else claiming email bankruptcy ( definition if you don’t know it already ). I have taken to limiting my outbound email.

Email 314

Email Product Startup Writing 314

Berkonomics

OCTOBER 5, 2023

Time and fixed overhead: [Email readers, continue here…] That relationship between fixed overhead and production time is as critical as any other factor in the success of a young company. Growth before the VC arrived was not a problem. All investors, including the VC firm, lost everything.

Venture Capital 296

Venture Capital Product Marketing Resource 296

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 8, 2009

This is part of my ongoing series “Pitching a VC&# – the outline is here. You’ve pitched several angels and VC’s. Your friends and advisers tell you that this means you need revenue because in this economy VC’s will only fund businesses with revenue. Unfortunately your advisers are wrong.

Venture Capital 309

Venture Capital Guide Startup Technical Review 309

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 16, 2012

And of course I’ve sat on the other side of the table: As a VC. I now observes the fund raising process as a profession. This is not just the perspective of a VC although I can’t say I have zero VC bias. This is not just the perspective of a VC although I can’t say I have zero VC bias.

Develop 366

Develop Development Funding Venture Capital 366

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2018

the most counter-intuitive fund-raising advice you’ll ever get I’m about to offer you some fund-raising advice that flies directly in the face of what most conventional wisdom will tell you. Let me start out with my premise: “Data rooms are where fund-raising processes go to die.” I have to back up and give you more context.

Funding 336

Funding Venture Capital Startup Email 336

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2014

I was having dinner with a friend last night and we were chatting about venture capital and a bit about what I’ve learned. Today we’re in a world where 10 accelerators are bombarding you with emails to meet their 10-15 companies. If an accelerator is writing you they’re also writing 25 other VCs.

Venture Capital 374

Venture Capital Invest Press Startup 374

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). Why do VCs send generic outbound emails like this?

Venture Capital 294

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Email Equity 294

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 23, 2017

Fund raising is hard for everybody. The perverse nature of raising capital is that “no’s” almost always precede “yeses” because it’s very easy for a VC to tell you that you’re not a good fit without doing any real work to evaluate your company so you hear “no” far before others start doing more work.

Funding 238

Funding Venture Capital Startup Course 238

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 14, 2010

I was recently speaking with some founders about their fund raising process. They had received a term sheet from a VC and were wondering whether to work with this firm. I often tell people that raising venture capital is more difficult than getting married. Not so in venture capital. After Sept 11th?

Venture Capital 298

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Capital Help 298

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 14, 2010

I know that the tone of the title and post will seem a bit aggressive for a post from a venture capitalist on fund raising. If you want to raise venture capital more easily the advice could be quite practical and counter-intuitive. Dealing with an artificially high price can make fund raising hard. Not so VC.

Venture Capital 289

Venture Capital Capital Startup Pricing 289

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 28, 2010

This was the first episode where Jason wasn’t on the show, which gave me the chance to have another VC on the show to discuss deals. Rustic Canyon is an LA-based, but geography-agnostic VC that is currently investing from a $200 million fund. VC Financings: 1. I keep meaning to get him drunk to spill the stories.

Venture Capital 270

Venture Capital Capital Rustic Canyon Mobile 270

InfoChachkie

MAY 22, 2012

The steps outlined below represent an ideal approach to raising capital from sophisticated investors. You might be at Step 2 with one VC and Step 3 with another. VCs collude all the time, it is only fair that entrepreneurs compare notes every now and again as well.”. Even the most jaded VC cannot resist authentic flattery.

Venture Capital 236

Venture Capital Capital Research Custom 236

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 22, 2021

Los Angeles-based NXCR, a new, subscription car startup led by automotive startup veteran Scott Painter, has raised $30M in a seed funding, based on an internal employee email obtained by socaltech. According to the email from Painter, the funding is the company's first external equity financing.

Seed Funding 113

Seed Funding Truecar Funding Southern California 113

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 8, 2012

Nearly every entrepreneur has heard the refrain, "Get back to me when you have some traction,” while seeking funding. However, when uttered by most Venture Capitalists (VCs) it conveys a desire to obtain validation of your venture's value proposition from dispassionate, objective third parties. Share and Enjoy.

Venture Capital 265

Venture Capital RSS Custom Customer 265

TechCrunch LA

JANUARY 26, 2020

“Kobe was loved in Los Angeles,” wrote Mark Suster , managing partner of the Los Angeles-based venture capital firm Upfront Ventures , in a private message to TechCrunch. billion investment vehicle that was launched in partnership with the private equity fund, Permira, according to a report in USA Today.

Venture Capital 359

Venture Capital Los Angeles Legalzoom Calabasas 359

Berkonomics

AUGUST 3, 2023

Bootstrapping: This term describes your ability to start a business with little investment and grow it using internally generated funds. But few businesses grow into the sweet spot of $20 million to $30 million in worth to an ultimate buyer without the injection of outside capital. There is a lot to say about retaining control.

Venture Capital 295

Venture Capital Startup Class Invest 295

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. Phantom fund investors. Delete the message.

Technical Review 148

Technical Review Tips Funding Startup 148

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 25, 2018

Irvine-based Cirrus Insight , a developer of software used to help sales people with managing their email inbox and calendar, has received what it says is a "significant" growth equity investment. The funding came from private equity investor Clovis Point Capital. Size of the funding was not announced. READ MORE>>.

Funding 113

Funding Email Equity Sales 113

socalTECH

APRIL 1, 2011

Santa Monica-based GotCast , the online casting and talent site run by Alec Shankman, told its supporters this morning that it has raised a new round of venture capital funding. In an email, Shankman said that the firm closed a round of additional venture capital funding through NCT Ventures.

Funding 185

Funding Santa Monica Venture Capital Email 185

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 9, 2014

We all know that funding markets have changed for startups. The trends are well understood: more angels, more seed funds, more crowdsourcing and so forth. So I recommend a high-level “state of the company” email a couple of times a year but a message that you assume might get shown to others. You betcha.

Venture Capital 352

Venture Capital Seed Funding Email Blogging 352

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 19, 2020

So far, Grill has racked up responses from a lot of the roughly 400 investors he’s sent an email to for the initial list he’s putting together. As a corporate venture arm, the firm has to manage the portfolio of investments that are already on its balance sheet.

Venture Capital 135

Venture Capital Capital Technical Review Los Angeles 135

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 25, 2009

This is part of my blog series “ Pitching a VC.&#. I’ve sat through a lot of VC pitches and having been CEO of an enterprise software firm for many years I’ve also sat through many customer meetings with sales teams. The following are some tips for the debate style VC meeting. Tips in a debate led VC Meeting.

Venture Capital 275

Venture Capital Sales Slides Startup 275

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 24, 2013

But I continue to learn that there are a host of other factors, maybe not even related to you or your business, that could keep you from getting the funding that you need. Obviously, a key factor is always the state of the economy and the mood of the venture capital community. Whites and Asians lead the race.

Venture Capital 95

Venture Capital Capital Startup Funding 95

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 28, 2010

One of things I’ve loved the most about doing now 11 weeks of This Week in VC is a chance to have an hour-long recorded conversation with investors. And in my interviews with many VCs I feel that people can watch these and get to know the VC’s as human beings a bit better. So how did Mike get into VC?

Venture Capital 230

Venture Capital Blogging Startup Fandango 230

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 10, 2016

My partner Greg Bettinelli (worth following on Twitter) was recently named by The LA Business Journal as the “ Top deal maker in Los Angeles in Venture Capital.” But over time I found that with broader responsibilities (fund raising, recruiting, biz dev, etc.) ” Numero uno. I was nowhere to be found.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Journal Invest Santa Monica 150

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 1, 2009

In my previous post, The VC Ice Age is Thawing (for now) I wrote about the reasons why the VC market came to a screeching halt in September 2008 and remained largely shut until at least April 2009. There are now signs the VC market has gathered pace meaning it’s a great time to be fund raising.

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Venture Capital Marketing Startup Social Network 255

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 18, 2016

We try to look at the sources of capital, the valuations, exits and trends. We use this try to draw some context that informs our funding decisions. Of course we fund companies in good markets and bad. Up next I’ll publish all of the LP (people who invest in VCs) data we gathered and what we believe this signifies.

Funding 150

Funding Venture Capital Marketing Writing 150