SoCal CTO

JANUARY 5, 2011

Some really great stuff in 2010 that aims to help startups around product, technology, business models, etc. 500 Hats , February 1, 2010 When to Use Facebook Connect – Twitter Oauth – Google Friend Connect for Authentication? 500 Hats , February 1, 2010 When to Use Facebook Connect – Twitter Oauth – Google Friend Connect for Authentication?

Startup 378

Startup Venture Capital Blogging CTO Coach 378

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 21, 2010

If you’re a startup and you don’t have a close relationship with a few law firms you’re really missing one of the most important relationships that any entrepreneur can have. Many people start companies arse backwards. I write about some of the lessons in my post on Startup Mistakes.

Startup 318

Startup IP Southern California Entrepreneur 318

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 29, 2013

A well-intentioned colleague introduced me to a stranger via email, without first confirming with me that the intro was welcomed. The Art Of The Email Matchmaking. Ideally, you will abide by all of the steps outlined herein to ensure that your email introductions are effective and meaningful. It just happened again.

Email 256

Email RSS Social Media .Net 256

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.

Tips 418

Tips Startup Email Blogging 418

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 12, 2010

We started with our financial statements. So I changed things up and became much happier with my results. 1. Set two strategic topics per board meeting and start with them – I bet most of you feel that you have pretty talented people around the table but you get stuck talking about the minutiae of your business.

Startup 331

Startup Slides Guide Writing 331

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 29, 2014

I often describe “chutzpah” as being able to skate right up to the line of acceptability without crossing over it. Years ago I started using the term “politely persistent” to remind people that you still need to be likable even if you have gumption. It’s your job to persist. Nothing beats a warm intro.

Venture Capital 389

Venture Capital Email Startup Conference 389

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. Didn’t I make myself clear about celebrities & startups ? Soleil returns emails at 1.30am. She helps write press releases. Turns out she’s done this startup thing before. Kara as CEO.

Startup 398

Startup Design Downey Activity 398

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 31, 2012

I got an email recently from my friend & fellow VC, Jeff Bussgang from Flybridge Capital Partners in Boston. Her post is short & well written so definitely worth a read if you’re a startup person and want to hear some sensible views on sales. And that leads me to today’s post.

Startup 319

Startup Sales Course Competition 319

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 14, 2009

This post covers the first out of 10 that I’ll write about. It’s the person who never gives up – who never accepts “no&# for an answer. If you’re already running a startup you know all this. But some founders have that extra quality that makes them never give up. Next on the checklist.

Entrepreneur 338

Entrepreneur Startup Venture Capital Google 338

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 16, 2011

For starting relationships today that won’t pay off for a year. 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. If you want to read more about hiring at a startup check out: 1. Recruiting.

Startup 410

Startup Writing Press Venture Capital 410

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 8, 2010

Don’t blog about what you think would be “cool.&# I don’t think that most startup blogs should be about how to build a startup. The new stuff: How do I get started? The advantage of the hosted version is that it’s easier to get started. Slice it up enough to do many posts.

Blogging 286

Blogging Startup Writing Summary 286

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.

Newsletter 233

Newsletter Startup Entrepreneur Writing 233

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 7, 2013

When I first started writing this blog several years ago I had less followers than you have right now. But the realist in me knew I couldn’t write daily nor could I convince you to think to check out my blog with regularity. .” It’s like a Pachinko machine (yes, I had one in my house growing up).

Writing 326

Writing Buzzfeed Social Media Blogging 326

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 20, 2011

But … … was thinking about a very common BSAK error that I see committed – the “flaming email.” When I had a startup I had a method for avoiding these BSAK errors. I would write the email and be as scathing as I wanted to be. I would write the email and be as scathing as I wanted to be.

Writing 292

Writing Email Startup Ideas 292

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 10, 2010

Let me start by saying I’m a huge business book cynic. But Net had told me that he picked up some valuable lessons from the book, so I thought, “WTF? They can travel the world, take classes in interesting subjects, spend time with loved ones or start new hobbies. You’re on the DS (deferred startup) plan.

Startup 295

Startup Email Technical Review Course 295

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.

Startup 391

Startup Blogging Venture Capital Writing 391

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 18, 2010

As a startup entrepreneur you’ll have many demands for your time. Especially if you start to have a degree of success or build a high public profile. “Thank you for writing to me – it’s nice to hear from you (or meet you) via email. Everyone will want you to speak at conferences.

Startup 305

Startup Venture Capital Writing Conference 305

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 16, 2010

A few days before the meeting the CEO asked me to change the meeting to 11:45 because “he was going to be wrapping up a meeting in Pasadena at 11am&# and it would take 45 minutes to get to Century City where my offices are. &# No problem,&# I replied. And that’s why he stood me up! I would have done the same.

Startup 346

Startup Conference Century City Email 346

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 19, 2011

I recently sat down with Matt Coffin , the founder of LowerMyBills, which sold for $400 million but was very nearly a bankruptcy only a few years early, and talked “startups.&#. Matt is one of the most transparent, focused & honest startup guys you’ll meet. Or read the quick, informative summary below the image!

Acquisition 304

Acquisition Startup Customer Custom 304

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 9, 2012

I told him only 2 weeks ago when we were in London together that I wanted to write a blog post that has been in my head for 2 years. 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. He doesn’t email you.

Startup 309

Startup Venture Capital Email Writing 309

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 17, 2011

So I thought I’d write a post about how I drive my personal creativity. (A This applies equally to VCs, startups & big company executives. The key is channeling what you learn when you drive onto paper for retention purposes so you have to write it down soon afterward. So no whinging about what a long post this is!

Writing 356

Writing Startup Ideas Summary 356

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 31, 2010

Francisco Dao came up with the idea of letting 10 companies that weren’t selected for Twiistup to do a presentation the night before to a group of people and let the audience pick one company to win the final slot at Twiistup. So I thought I’d write a piece on how to not suck when you give a presentation.

Startup 362

Startup Twiistup Slides Screening 362

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. .

Startup 364

Startup Writing Help Email 364

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 17, 2020

Even in this age of videos and text messages, the quickest way to kill your startup dream with investors, business partners, or even customers, is embarrassingly poor writing. You have to be able to communicate effectively in all the common forms, including business writing, as well as talking, presenting, and producing videos.

Writing 125

Writing Entrepreneur Summary Email 125

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 1, 2011

I was initially skeptical, but it was a pure delight for me from start to finish. For the same reason I loved the much more flawed story of Anvil , who interestingly came from Toronto, about 100 miles away from where Justin Bieber grew up. It all has to start from talent. Usher worked hard to set up meetings (including L.A.

Entrepreneur 398

Entrepreneur Startup Writing Blogging 398

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 19, 2010

Yesterday I wrote a post about the " Urgency Addiction ” and how many people start important tasks late and then motivate with a huge wave of productivity and inspiration driven by deadlines and commitments to others. This comment and blog post prompted me to write a post that has been in my queue for a long time.

Product 301

Product Writing Email Tool 301

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?

Startup 156

Startup Hollywood Writing Press 156

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 16, 2013

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. I became aware of Sam several years ago as I started noticing his name repeated in the comments section of my blog. Sam later decided he wanted to do a startup.

Startup 372

Startup Course Ideas Invest 372

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 8, 2009

Many entrepreneurs make the mistake of thinking that funding is something you do in “funding season,&# some mythical 2-month period when you’re ready with a great Powerpoint deck and you hit up all of the VC’s at the same time so that you can quickly raise money and get back to the job of building a business. But be polite.

Venture Capital 309

Venture Capital Guide Startup Technical Review 309

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 3, 2011

We’ve hung out periodically over the past few years and I have enjoyed debating many startup topics. They switched to a flat rate model and sharing went up immediately. to $12 conversion went up! Sign me up.&# Awesome. All viral adoption starts with one thing – great content. Gregg says at $9.99

Startup 303

Startup Venture Capital Pricing Writing 303

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 1, 2010

Most early stage startups having monthly board meetings. A prominent startup CEO in NYC wrote me a private message telling me that this was an issue he was struggling with. I ran board meetings as a startup CEO for more than 8 years. But we barely get through all our email let alone log into online spreadsheets.

Startup 301

Startup Venture Capital Software Review Email 301

SoCal CTO

MARCH 3, 2011

I talk to roughly 2 or 3 new startups every week who need advice from an experienced CTO. But the reality is that I engage with about 5 new startups each year which means that I end up working with less than 5% of the startups where I provide these free consulting sessions. Do you have a Startup Founder Developer Gap ?

CTO Hire 264

CTO Hire Startup Technical Review Development Team Review 264

SoCal CTO

MARCH 3, 2011

I talk to roughly 2 or 3 new startups every week who need advice from an experienced CTO. But the reality is that I engage with about 5 new startups each year which means that I end up working with less than 5% of the startups where I provide these free consulting sessions. Do you have a Startup Founder Developer Gap ?

CTO Hire 259

CTO Hire Startup Technical Review Development Team Review 259

Tech.Co

DECEMBER 29, 2023

2023 hasn't been an easy year to be a startup. In fact, according to Crunchbase more than 212 startups closed their shutters in the third fiscal quarter alone – the highest number recorded in the firm's history. Yet, while many early-stage startups crumbled under the pressure, diamonds also emerged.

Startup 194

Startup Generative AI Newsletter Tool 194

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2013

Email updates frequently. And as Rob points out – if you email members with short updates more frequently they are more up to speed when you do need them to weigh in. Key point – if your emails are as long as my blog posts you’re forked. Make your emails actionable. Rob is an over communicator.

Tips 365

Tips Email Venture Capital CTO Coach 365

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 13, 2014

A few days before the meeting the CEO asked me to change the meeting to 11:45 because “he was going to be wrapping up a meeting in Pasadena at 11am” and it would take 45 minutes to get to Century City where my offices are. “No problem,” I replied. And that’s why he stood me up! ” And I meant it.

Conference 369

Conference Startup Century City Email 369

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 28, 2011

As Guy notes in the accompanying video interview, his primary goal with Enchantment is to reach a broader audience, beyond the high-tech, startup world. To this end, Guy has written a book that can be used by anyone seeking to further their cause ; from startups, to non-profits, to public policy issues to getting a job.

Santa Barbara 262

Santa Barbara Technical Review Social Media Startup 262