Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 14, 2014

According to a Gompers and Lerner study, the challenge is very real, with a majority of new ventures that don''t attract investors failing within the first three years. My first advice for new entrepreneurs is to pick a domain that doesn’t have the sky-high up-front development costs, like online web sites and smart phone apps.

Entrepreneur 113

Entrepreneur Funding Startup Technical Review 113

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 10, 2023

Struggling entrepreneurs are often so happy to get a funding offer that they neglect the recommended reverse due diligence on the investors. Taking on equity investors to fund your company is much like getting married – it is a long-term relationship that has to work at all levels. It’s no fun for either side.

Technical Review 138

Technical Review Startup Innocal Offshore 138

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2018

The most important advice I could give you before you set out in fund raising mode is to understand that fund-raising a sales & marketing process and needs to be managed. If you don’t believe in your bones that you’re amazing then it’s no wonder you don’t want to sell them on making the investment.”

Venture Capital 332

Venture Capital Funding Startup Sales 332

socalTECH

AUGUST 4, 2009

San Diego News Network , an online, local community news site run by Neil Senturia and Barbara Bry, as well as former executives of the San Diego Union Tribune, has raised $707,220 in funding, part of a $2.0M funding effort by the company. The funding was disclosed in a regulatory filing Tuesday. READ MORE>>.

San Diego 113

San Diego News Networking Sites 113

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

Tech.Co

FEBRUARY 16, 2024

Read on to find a financing option that suits you, whatever your business's specialism, needs, and financial profile, or jump to a specific funding type below. Grants can be used at the discretion of the business owner – from marketing to onboarding and beyond, but winners need to use the funds as they pledged to in their application.

Technical Review 193

Technical Review Software Review Startup Competition 193

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 20, 2014

I’m a strong believer that investors invest in people, before they invest in a business plan, or an idea. 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. No surprises here. Whites and Asians lead the race.

Funding 108

Funding Entrepreneur Venture Capital Startup 108

socalTECH

DECEMBER 28, 2016

Today's contribution is from Lawrence Ng , serial entrepreneur who, last year, founded OnRamp Fund , a $10 million incubator that invests in early stage startups. What's was biggest news from you or your‏ firm this year? Lawrence Ng: Our biggest news was growing our global incubator, OnRamp. Lawrence C.

Funding 113

Funding Southern California Incubator Startup 113

Tech.Co

DECEMBER 29, 2023

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? 2023 hasn't been an easy year to be a startup.

Startup 210

Startup Generative AI Newsletter Tool 210

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 18, 2023

Billionaire entrepreneur and "Shark Tank" co-host Mark Cuban is an outspoken proponent of the all-in early approach in a video interview, and made it clear that he gives no credibility and low odds to founders seeking funding who have not fully committed their time and efforts to their cause.

Startup 102

Startup Satisfaction Entrepreneur News 102

socalTECH

JUNE 27, 2013

Despite the increase in startup activity in Southern California, local venture capital funds are still few and far between, and a large chunk of the funding here is still from Sand Hill Road. The firm just announced that new fund, and a new name, Upfront Ventures (www.upfront.com). Tell us about the new fund?

Funding 196

Funding Venture Capital Los Angeles Social Media 196

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2022

The problem is that professional investors (angels and venture capital) want a proven business model before they invest, ready to scale, rather than early projections and product development. Self-funding or bootstrapping is still the most common and safest approach for startups Keep your day job until real revenue flows.

Startup 136

Startup Technical Review Equity Incubator 136

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 1, 2010

There has been much discussion about VCs doing seed funding in the past year. I’ve written about it myself (Is VC Seed Funding Dead?) and (Is There Really a Signaling Problem with VC Seed Funding?). There is a structural reason that VCs are investing at early stages, 2. Short summary of my posts: 1.

Seed Funding 298

Seed Funding Funding Venture Capital GRP Partners 298

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.

Entrepreneur 288

Entrepreneur Startup Slides Seed Funding 288

socalTECH

DECEMBER 23, 2019

Every year, at the end of the year, we share some reflections on the past year from our readers, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, sponsors, and others in the local technology community. What was the biggest news for you/your company this year? 2020 will see the final close of Thin Lines first fund.

Artificial Inteligence 100

Artificial Inteligence Capital Venture Capital Southern California 100

socalTECH

DECEMBER 31, 2018

Editor's note: As we head into the new year, we've been featuring reflections on 2018 from notable investors, entrepreneurs, and others from Southern California's technology community. Raising money as a first-time VC fund is hard.In What was the biggest news for your firm in 2018?

Capital 113

Capital Venture Capital News Patents 113

Berkonomics

OCTOBER 18, 2018

For investors, a subsequent down round at a lower valuation than the last, or an exit opportunity at a loss are all opportunities for the affected stakeholder to show a side that can sometimes shock an entrepreneur or CEO. The chasm between management and employees. Simple building blocks for difficult times. The message here is simple.

Layoffs 240

Layoffs Class News Email 240

socalTECH

DECEMBER 23, 2020

What was the biggest news for you/your company this year? Thin Line Capital successfully reached the final close of its first fund. I have been able to work closely with these investors on strategic issues for the Thin Line fund in ways that wouldnt have been possible with prior business norms. Contact our editors for details.

Capital 113

Capital Technical Review Southern California CalTech 113

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

socalTECH

DECEMBER 26, 2019

Every year, at the end of the year, we share some reflections on the past year from our readers, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, sponsors, and others in the local technology community. What was the biggest news for you/your company this year? We'll be featuring contributions all through the holiday season. The birth of our company!

Invest 189

Invest News Technology Services 189

socalTECH

JANUARY 18, 2011

This morning, Pasadena-based Perfect Market (www.perfectmarket.com) announced a new, $9M round of funding for the firm's technology, which is used to help publishers monetize their content. Congrats on funding. We make sure that content is available, and linked to current news stores. So, we start with that.

Marketing 232

Marketing Funding Content Writing 232

socalTECH

DECEMBER 23, 2019

Every year, at the end of the year, we share some reflections on the past year from our readers, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, sponsors, and others in the local technology community. What was the biggest news for you/your company this year? What was the biggest news for you/your company this year? Since 2010, $6.3B

Capital 100

Capital Technical Review Truecar Venture Capital 100

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 8, 2015

According to a classic Gompers and Lerner study, the challenge is very real, with a majority of new ventures that don't attract investors failing within the first three years. My first advice for new entrepreneurs is to pick a domain, such as online web sites and smart phone apps, that doesn’t have the sky-high up-front development costs.

Entrepreneur 105

Entrepreneur Startup Technical Review Equity 105

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 4, 2022

The problem is that professional investors (angels and venture capitalists) want a proven business model before they invest, ready to scale, rather than the more risky research and development efforts. Self-funding or bootstrapping is still the most common and safest approach for startups Keep your day job until revenue starts to flow.

Tips 104

Tips Startup Technical Review Equity 104

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 26, 2010

This is part of my 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. The best entrepreneurs focus on details.

Entrepreneur 286

Entrepreneur Startup CTO Hire Sales 286

socalTECH

OCTOBER 5, 2017

In this solo episode we meet up with Greg Bettinelli and talk about Upfront Ventures, investing in Los Angeles, high performance cultures, building legacy, helping/funding/nurturing entrepreneurs and the future of the Los Angeles tech scene. Media Sponsor: SOCALTECH - High Tech News and Information for Southern California.

West Hollywood 100

West Hollywood Compton Southern California Santa Monica 100

socalTECH

DECEMBER 23, 2020

What was the biggest news for you/your company this year? In a year filled with challenging news, we were fortunate (across Archer Venture Capital and Liquid Stock) to have some high quality exits in our portfolio, but moreover to see how our amazing entrepreneurs successfully managed the disruption caused by COVID-19.

Venture Capital 124

Venture Capital Capital Technical Review Brentwood 124

socalTECH

APRIL 19, 2018

funding round, so we though we'd catch up with one of its co-founders, Brett Crosby , to learn more about the new funding and the company's growth. That's our bigest news. We also announced we have now funded over $900M in loans, which if you remember, only eight months ago we had announced we had $300M in loan volume.

Funding 113

Funding Platform News Capital 113

socalTECH

DECEMBER 31, 2018

Editor's note: As we head into the new year, we've been featuring reflections on 2018 from notable investors, entrepreneurs, and others from Southern California's technology community. What was the biggest news for your company in 2018? That's often the best time to invest. Nothing that really blew me away.

Ventura 154

Ventura Tech Coast Angels Santa Barbara Southern California 154

Berkonomics

APRIL 28, 2012

This important variation on “money talks” is an important consideration for entrepreneurs when seeking an investment from professionals such as VC’s. Something like a marriage (and often lasting just as long statistically), your investment partner can be a great cheerleader, coach and resource.

Coach 174

Coach Venture Capital Statistics News 174

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 6, 2019

The problem is that professional investors (angels and venture capital) want a proven business model before they invest, ready to scale, rather than early projections and product development. Self-funding or bootstrapping is still the most common and safest approach for startups Keep your day job until real revenue flows.

Startup 128

Startup Technical Review Equity Incubator 128

socalTECH

DECEMBER 31, 2018

Editor's note: As we head into the new year, we've been featuring reflections on 2018 from notable investors, entrepreneurs, and others from Southern California's technology community. What was the biggest news for your company in 2018? You'll be able to browse all of those contributions here.

Venture Capital 113

Venture Capital Capital Southern California News 113

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 21, 2010

One of the investment themes I’ve been focused on in the past 3 years has been Performance-Based Marketing. When I started investing the US advertising market was $300 billion with only 10% of it ($30 billion) of it being online and measurable. I hope to announce one investment in this space in the next few months.

Advertising 284

Advertising Invest RSS CPC 284

socalTECH

JANUARY 2, 2020

Every year, at the end of the year, we share some reflections on the past year from our readers, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, sponsors, and others in the local technology community. What was the biggest news for you/your company this year? Two were sold to public companies and one to a Bain-backed rollup.

Capital 100

Capital SoCal Southern California SaaS 100

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 16, 2015

As an angel investor to startups, I’m still surprised to find entrepreneurs who expect investors to give them money, and assume no strings attached. If the entrepreneur wants total control of their own venture, with no one looking over their shoulder, they should work within the limits of their own resources, a process called bootstrapping.

Funding 106

Funding Entrepreneur Startup Report 106

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 16, 2012

A while back I heard a talk by Dave McClure, a long-time angel investor, who also proclaims to be one of the “new breed” of venture capitalists in Silicon Valley, as CEO of 500Startups , which is either a micro-VC seed fund, or a startup incubator, or both. He is going gangbusters, and is now targeting a $50M second round of funding.

Entrepreneur 101

Entrepreneur Startup Seed Funding Incubator 101

Tech Zulu Event

DECEMBER 28, 2012

Most of the time the advice you are looking for is from a successful entrepreneurs who might be so busy to be reached. The starup offers online entrepreneurial networking opportunities by introducing professionals with expertise (Advisors) to those seeking business advice (Entrepreneurs). Which startups or entrepreneurs have signed up?

Entrepreneur 89

Entrepreneur Startup Paramount Social Media 89