socalTECH

APRIL 27, 2018

Los Angeles-based Maverick , a new startup launching a social network for girls, has raised $2.7M in a seed funding round, as it prepares to launch its service. READ MORE>>.

Social Network 149

Social Network Networking Seed Funding Los Angeles 149

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 8, 2021

Being called a lifestyle entrepreneur should be a point of pride, not an insult. Of course, even lifestyle entrepreneurs want to be happy, and want their business to be “successful.” Startup funding comes from personal savings and family. Non-equity funding has to come from personal sources, or government grants, or bank loans.

Entrepreneur 148

Entrepreneur Startup Equity Course 148

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 19, 2023

Every entrepreneur has an idea for transforming a market with innovative new technology, or transforming society with a new process. Entrepreneurs who have been really transformative, like Steve Jobs and Walt Disney, seemed to know how to deal with all the right elements. Seek innovation that begets invention. Failure is an option.

Entrepreneur 101

Entrepreneur Startup Ideas Competition 101

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 17, 2023

On the other hand, if you are a new entrepreneur, still in the idea stage, professional investors will only tell you to come back later when you have traction (customers and revenue). Thus your startup maturity and growth stage is the primary key to success with potential funding sources. Marty Zwilling

Funding 125

Funding Startup Ideas Equity 125

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 23, 2020

A continuing question I hear from young entrepreneurs is whether a university degree is important to startup success, or just a distraction in achieving their purpose in the world. Both provide entrepreneurial “head start” programs for aspiring entrepreneurs, free legal guidance, and access to experienced staff members.

Entrepreneur 157

Entrepreneur Mentor Class Resource 157

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 29, 2020

One of the most frequent questions I get as a mentor to entrepreneurs is “How do I find the money to start my business?” If you have the urge to be an entrepreneur, I encourage you to think seriously about each of these, before you zero-in on one or two, and get totally discouraged if those don’t work for you.

Funding 174

Funding Startup Equity Examples 174

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 16, 2023

The rate of new entrepreneurs increased between 2013 and 2021, from 280 to 360 out of 100,000 of the adult population. Of course, that’s both the good news and the bad news for aspiring entrepreneurs, since it means more competition, and the business landscape is changing faster than ever. The cost of social media done well is low.

Entrepreneur 104

Entrepreneur Startup Social Media News 104

Berkonomics

MARCH 30, 2012

You have enough in savings to get started, but how and where do you go to find additional funding sources? When searching for funding, one of your primary tasks should be to start where it is easier, and proceed from there. You want to establish a relationship here to gain access to their network at a later date.

Funding 192

Funding Entrepreneur Startup Invest 192

TechCrunch LA

AUGUST 16, 2020

Over their longtime personal and professional relationship, the two Los Angeles-based serial entrepreneurs have invested in each other’s companies and investment firms, but never worked together until now. With that in mind, the Watertower Ventures group, which launched in 2017 with a small, $5 million fund, is a return to those roots.

Funding 230

Funding Southern California Los Angeles Invest 230

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 11, 2020

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 124

Technical Review Funding Innocal Offshore 124

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2012

She actually IS the prototypical entrepreneur. But Tracy did what entrepreneurs do. Sam is the managing director of Launchpad LA and we were about to pick our 2012 class of entrepreneurs. In the first 5 minutes you’ll realize that she’s a classic entrepreneur. More on that later. That may soon change.

Startup 363

Startup Entrepreneur SEO Venture Capital 363

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 2, 2021

In the eyes of investors like me, to be an entrepreneur, it’s not enough to create an innovative solution – you need to convince me that you can build a profitable business. Great entrepreneurs like Elon Musk are always talking about their next venture to another planet, underground transportation, or electric vehicles.

Funding 152

Funding Startup Ideas Resource 152

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 12, 2023

Too many entrepreneurs tell me they are looking for an investor, and can’t differentiate between venture capital (VC) investors versus accredited angel investors. Angels are more likely to fund new entrepreneurs, and early-stage or seed rounds, while VCs tend to focus on entrepreneurs with a successful track record, and later stage rounds.

Startup 98

Startup Venture Capital Funding Invest 98

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 27, 2021

Most entrepreneurs have found by now one or more of the many popular crowdfunding sites , and have the name and contact information for at least one of the big venture capital firms. contributes more than $25 billion to fund 70,000 startups every year. Look to grants and strategic partners for seed funding. Marty Zwilling.

Angel 126

Angel Funding Venture Capital Seed Funding 126

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 3, 2011

I’m often asked the question about why there aren’t more women who are entrepreneurs. My inspiration to become an entrepreneur came from my mom, not my dad. She was the dominant figure in my family and was both an entrepreneur and a community leader. On my blog I’ve been hesitant to take the topic head on.

Entrepreneur 341

Entrepreneur Venture Capital Startup Blogging 341

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 12, 2014

One of the most frequent questions I get as a mentor to entrepreneurs is “How do I find the money to start my business?” If you have the urge to be an entrepreneur, I encourage you to think seriously about each of these, before you zero-in on one or two, and get totally discouraged if those don’t work for you.

Startup 113

Startup Entrepreneur Funding Equity 113

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 25, 2021

In fact, I often have to tell aspiring entrepreneurs that their inventions have zero value, at least not until they are put in the context of a business plan, with qualified people committed to executing the plan. Every inventor seems to think their invention is worth a million dollars, but I haven’t seen anyone pay that much for one yet.

Technical Review 156

Technical Review Funding Patents Ideas 156

socalTECH

OCTOBER 11, 2018

This morning, Moonshots Capital (www.moonshotscapital.com), led by Kelly Perdew and Craig Cummings , announced its first formal fund, a $19M seed stage fund. What we would do, is we would round up ten other angel investors, get $25,000 from each of them, and then roll up our sleeves and help that entrepreneur find venture capital.

Capital 164

Capital Funding Startup Venture Capital 164

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 5, 2019

Santa Monica-based venture investor March Capital Partners (www.marchcp.com) announced last week that it has raised a second fund, worth $300M. To learn about the new fund, we sat down with Jamie Montgomery , one of the fund's co-founders, to hear about March Capital's strategy and the new fund.

Funding 160

Funding Capital Artificial Inteligence Startup 160

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 20, 2014

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. Almost 80% of the funding handed out in the US consistently comes from these three locations. No surprises here. Whites and Asians lead the race.

Funding 108

Funding Entrepreneur Venture Capital Startup 108

InfoChachkie

MAY 26, 2016

Should millennial entrepreneurs go to college? If you believe the mythology surrounding the handful of entrepreneurs who did not obtain a degree, you may think that the path to entrepreneurial success is enhanced by avoiding college. I asked them to devise reasons an entrepreneur should remain in college.

Entrepreneur 150

Entrepreneur Case Study Education Seed Funding 150

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 29, 2019

As a mentor to many aspiring entrepreneurs, I challenge them to think beyond what I call linear extensions to a current trend, such as another “easier-to-use” app for smartphones, a new dating site for pets, or another niche social network. The difference relates to how you expect to get funding.

Entrepreneur 126

Entrepreneur Ideas Resource Examples 126

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 14, 2016

I recently read a blog post by Beezer Clarkson, Managing Director of Sapphire Ventures about why entrepreneurs should care about from whom their VC funds raise their capital. There are a lot of things I think entrepreneurs should care about when raising from a VC: How big or small their fund is? I’m still not sure.

Entrepreneur 150

Entrepreneur Venture Capital Invest Funding 150

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 13, 2020

Too many entrepreneurs tell me they are looking for an investor, and can’t differentiate between venture capital (VC) investors versus accredited angel investors. Angels are more likely to fund new entrepreneurs, and early-stage or seed rounds, while VCs tend to focus on entrepreneurs with a successful track record, and later stage rounds.

Venture Capital 125

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Startup Invest 125

SoCal Tech Calendar

OCTOBER 20, 2011

Wednesday, October 26, 2011 -- The Halo Effect: How Angels can Bridge the Entrepreneur Funding Gap. You are invited to attend the next Maverick Angels Open Evening for Entrepreneurs at the University of Southern California. Maverick Angels. See [link] (more)

Entrepreneur 100

Entrepreneur Angel Southern California Funding 100

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 23, 2017

Fund raising is hard for everybody. Fund raising is like a funnel where you need a bunch of potential leads in the top end and only a few will reach the bottom. Start Early The single biggest mistake founders make is waiting until they have too little cash in the bank before fund raising. you can usually get a sense of things.

Funding 238

Funding Venture Capital Startup Course 238

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 5, 2020

In my experience with entrepreneurs, there seems to a wealth of self-proclaimed “idea people” who aspire to start businesses, but only a few who are willing and able to dig in and get the job done. Only rare great entrepreneurs, like Bill Gates and Elon Musk, have proven to be both. Detailed product specifications and prototypes.

Ideas 122

Ideas Entrepreneur Startup IBM 122

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 26, 2013

Understanding “The Funding Angle” I sit at enough board meetings to hear conflicting advice given to entrepreneurs about how to handle PR and announcements at startups. Is Funding a Worthy Announcement? There are reasons you may delay funding announcement but rarely reasons not to announce.

Startup 355

Startup Funding News Press 355

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 1, 2010

I call it the entrepreneur thesis. I’m not talk about the age old debate amongst investors whether you back entrepreneurs, markets or products (or as people like to hedge – product / market fit). It’s entrepreneurs I back. It’s what I call the “entrepreneur thesis.” So what is the “entrepreneur thesis?”

Entrepreneur 321

Entrepreneur GRP Partners Venture Capital Invest 321

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 25, 2021

It seems like everyone wants to be an entrepreneur and get rich these days. Pitching” is the insider term for presenting your product idea to people who could conceivably buy it or fund your efforts. Attend trade shows and network to find the right players and pitch your product. Factory in the garage (make it).

Ideas 136

Ideas Entrepreneur Mentor Resource 136

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 21, 2020

Many of the entrepreneurs I advise or invest with spend considerable time on the Internet, keeping up with technology, customers, and competitors, but very few feel the need for an early personal presence. Invest your time in networking online, as well as offline. Every future entrepreneur should start by networking.

Product 127

Product Entrepreneur Technical Advisors Technical Review 127

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 30, 2013

I suggest that there are several important questions before assuming that funding is the gate to your success. Here are some key questions to ask yourself, before asking others for money: Do you really need investor funding to make this work? Do you really understand and aspire to entrepreneur lifestyle? Marty Zwilling.

Entrepreneur 101

Entrepreneur Funding Training Startup 101

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 21, 2018

It pays big dividends to network with peers and others if you want to succeed in business. You need to get guidance before you start a new venture, connections to investors as you seek funding to scale the business, and expansion and exit insights as the business matures. Keep all network interactions upbeat and positive.

Networking 86

Networking Startup Mentor .Net 86

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 13, 2011

The Tech Coast Angels , the largest angel investment group in Southern California, as well as the United States, said today that it has launched a new network which will syndicate deals between the firm and other angels. The groups said the network will reduce the need for due diligence when presenting startups to the respective groups.

Tech Coast Angels 157

Tech Coast Angels Technical Review Angel Networking 157

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2013

Every investor expects to see some business traction, both before and after a funding event. I hear a lot of entrepreneurs contemplating their great “idea” for several years with little discernable progress, and looking for money to start. Now investors will pay attention, since scale-up funding is less risky and has a time frame.

Funding 112

Funding Entrepreneur Startup CTO Hire 112

SoCal Tech Calendar

MARCH 6, 2017

Wednesday, March 8, 2017 -- Fierce, Funded, and Female: A Discussion On Capital Raising. Join a group of female investors and successful entrepreneurs for an open discussion on raising money for your new venture. What are the pros and cons of equity funding from angels, VC firms, crowdfunding and bank lending? General Assembly.

Capital 100

Capital Funding Venture Capital Equity 100

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 27, 2018

MBA’s are an easy target for entrepreneurs’ scorn. I too have taken shots at MBA’s, describing why they are not typically well suited for startup life in Why Entrepreneurs Hate (Most) MBAs. Their venture fund will focus on startups founded by Wharton, Stanford and Harvard students and alumni. “When M.B.A.’s

Entrepreneur 113

Entrepreneur Allegis Startup Competition 113