Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 11, 2022

New entrepreneurs are always looking for a shortcut in getting their venture story and plan across to investors, and closing on the funding they need. As a former angel investor, I look for this level of alignment and understanding in every funding presentation I hear. Value propositions. Customer relationships.

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Funding Activity Customer Custom 133

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2023

According to most definitions, an entrepreneur is one who envisions a new and different business, meaning one that is not a copy of an existing business model. Many entrepreneurs have a passion and an idea, or even invent a new product, but are never able to execute to the point of creating a startup. Funding and rollout stage.

Entrepreneur 108

Entrepreneur Startup Ideas Satisfaction 108

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. Of course it helps to have innovative technologies before you start building a business.

Technical Review 156

Technical Review Funding Patents Ideas 156

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.

Entrepreneur 104

Entrepreneur Startup Social Media News 104

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.” If you are living your passion, you want to interact with customers, and “touch and feel” the product every day. According to William R.

Entrepreneur 148

Entrepreneur Startup Equity Course 148

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 31, 2020

Most technical entrepreneurs I know demand the discipline of a product specification or plan, and then assume that their great product will drive a great business. Serious investors, on the other hand, look for a professional business plan or summary first, and hardly ever look at the product plan.

Entrepreneur 124

Entrepreneur Startup Summary Product 124

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

APRIL 27, 2020

For some reason, too many aspiring entrepreneurs I know seem to focus on “actions” rather than “results.” These are not the entrepreneurs that I want to support, since I’m well aware that running a startup is far more complex, albeit more satisfying, than most conventional roles in established enterprises.

Product 123

Product Startup Tips Entrepreneur 123

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 7, 2020

As a startup investor, I often see business proposals looking for funding that really look like expensive hobbies looking for donations. I still see entrepreneurs who spend money and time for months on a new business idea without any separation of personal and business funds, and any formal accounting system for their new business.

Entrepreneur 131

Entrepreneur Outsource Development Startup Competition 131

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 18, 2014

Most technical entrepreneurs I know demand the discipline of a product specification or plan, and then assume that their great product will drive a great business. Serious investors, on the other hand, look for a professional business plan or summary first, and hardly ever look at the product plan.

Product 101

Product Entrepreneur Summary Activity 101

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. Creating and growing a business requires creativity beyond the product, in the areas of finance, marketing, and operations.

Funding 152

Funding Startup Ideas Resource 152

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 2, 2019

As a mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs, the most common question I get is, “I want to be an entrepreneur -- how do I start?” Many people with great ideas never make it as entrepreneurs, and true entrepreneurs can make a business out of anything. Few entrepreneurs can assimilate and hone a complete plan in their head.

Entrepreneur 135

Entrepreneur Mentor Ideas Writing 135

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 8, 2020

Entrepreneurs see “no risk” as meaning “no reward.” There are no guarantees in business, but it pays to learn from the experiences of entrepreneurs and business experts who have gone before you. Investors hate technology solutions looking for a problem, due to the high risk of no customers.

Entrepreneur 129

Entrepreneur Resource Metrics Customer 129

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 25, 2021

It seems like everyone wants to be an entrepreneur and get rich these days. It’s really a multi-step process, with the first step getting you from an idea to a viable product, and the remaining steps creating a sustainable business. Look hard at the technology for feasibility and risk. Keep thieves away (protect it).

Ideas 136

Ideas Entrepreneur Mentor Resource 136

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

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

The world around us is being disrupted by the acceleration of technology into more industries and more consumer applications. Technology solutions are now used by authoritarians to monitor and control populations, to stymie an individual company’s economic prospects or to foment chaos through demagoguery. What Has Changed in Financing?

Venture Capital 471

Venture Capital Writing Invest Pricing 471

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. Examples I have seen include atomic battery technology, or how marine algae could help feed the world.

Entrepreneur 126

Entrepreneur Ideas Resource Examples 126

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 14, 2014

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Solicit funds from friends and family. Use crowd funding. Set expectations accordingly.

Entrepreneur 113

Entrepreneur Funding Startup Technical Review 113

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 11, 2022

Sure, we built SaaS products before the term even existed but at 31 it was hard to delineate reality from what all of the monied people around us were telling us what we were worth. In those years I learned to properly build product, price products, sell products and serve customers. billion fund. Until we weren’t.

Venture Capital 466

Venture Capital Startup Marketing Pricing 466

TechCrunch LA

SEPTEMBER 23, 2020

.” Struck Capital, which is currently investing out of a $55 million second fund, would not disclose the size of DiCaprio’s stake, but said that the investment is significant. In addition to his commitment to the fund, DiCaprio will be making co-investments alongside the Struck Capital team.

Capital 188

Capital Funding Los Angeles Invest 188

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 21, 2023

The average length of a funding pitch to angel investors is ten minutes. Equally bad is a full tutorial on your new disruptive technology. Investors are more interested in your solution and your business, rather than your technology. Some entrepreneurs seem to think that their product pitch is also their investor pitch.

Slides 147

Slides Funding Technical Review Startup 147

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

If you’re funding the same stuff as everybody else and if you started your activities when the clues were obvious you’re much less likely to drive enormous returns. When Fred Wilson funded Twitter I guarantee you it wasn’t obvious that it was a billion dollar idea. Venture Capital is a tricky industry. Far from it.

Funding 362

Funding Technical Review Ideas Startup 362

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 14, 2022

For startups, the entrepreneur and founder is almost always the face of the company. Research has confirmed that culture is a primary driver for financial performance, customer experience, and team productivity. Organizations are assigned value by how well they take advantage of the best technology, and turn information into action.

Technical Review 129

Technical Review Funding Organization Coach 129

SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 10, 2009

He has a really interesting background as a product manager and now an entrepreneur. Like many product managers, my background is fairly eclectic. That's where I learned I enjoyed interacting with customers and working with development teams to build and launch products. Tell me a bit about your background.

Product 150

Product Entrepreneur Social Media Google 150

socalTECH

MARCH 28, 2019

Earlier this month, the annual Montgomery Summit conference was held in Santa Monica, including a special portion of the conference dedicated to the Rise of the Female Entrepreneur. I got started in investment banking, focused on helping medical companies buy technology companies, and then later in the enterprise space and in the cloud.

Capital 162

Capital Entrepreneur Invest Artificial Inteligence 162

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 25, 2010

Chris Dixon wrote a blog post last week titled, “ Techies and Normals &# in which he defined “Techies&# as people who are not just “early adopters&# but also have more of a geeky, technical, product bent. They use products because the products solve a need they have. He is both. Blah, blah, blah.

Product 348

Product Startup Design Blogging 348

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

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 18, 2021

Angel investors and venture capitalists are looking for startups with real products and a proven business model, ready to scale. Yet I still get too many business plans that clearly are looking for money to do research and development (R&D) on a new and unproven technology. Technology pilots. Commercial product prototypes.

Help 165

Help Research Startup Funding 165

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 11, 2020

The road to becoming an entrepreneur is a journey , and it’s not a short trip. Every entrepreneur starts by accepting the reality that you have a rare mindset of joy of discovery, with an intense curiosity about how certain things or people work, or why a new technology hasn’t yet been accepted. The right culture is the key.

Entrepreneur 139

Entrepreneur Help Incubator Startup 139

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 14, 2021

In their passion and excitement about a new product or service, entrepreneurs tend to continually narrow the scope of potential competitors, and often claim to have no direct competitors. Order-of-magnitude cost reduction or productivity increase. Clear product differentiation and a singular focus.

Competition 166

Competition Funding Startup Patents 166

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

Irvine-base security technology provider CrowdStrike announced this morning that it has raised $30M in a Series B funding round, which was led by Accel Partners and also included Warburg PIncus. Sameer Gandhi of Accel Partners joinst he company''s board with the funding.

Technology 147

Technology Venture Capital Entrepreneur Funding 147

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 23, 2021

Indeed, two of the best funded companies in the lab-grown meat market hail from The Netherlands, where Mosa Meat is being challenged by a newer upstart, Meatable , which just announced $47 million in new financing. The company aims to have its first product approved by European regulators by 2023 and notching commercial sales by 2025.

Chief Technology Officer 261

Chief Technology Officer Technical Review Software Review Product 261

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

OCTOBER 26, 2020

None normally work for or provide funds for early-stage startups. Typically, their service is to help you invest in stocks, bonds, or mutual funds, much like independent financial advisors. Many investment banks even call themselves “boutiques.” I guess it’s no wonder that banks are struggling these days with their public image.

Invest 144

Invest Entrepreneur Venture Capital Funding 144

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2019

Serious entrepreneurs know that, but too many “wannabes” still fall for that elusive get-rich-quick scheme with no risk. As an active angel investor, I still hear entrepreneurs asserting large opportunities with minimal risk and no competition. First you need to assess the risks and value of investor funding and carrying debt.

Entrepreneur 107

Entrepreneur Marketing Customer Custom 107

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 6, 2014

David Carter and Allen Hurff are two startup veterans, who believe they have a new formula to help create early stage, technology companies, through their new "startup studio", Zuma Ventures (www.zumavc.com). Incubators, at the core level, take basic core level technology and try to build a company around it.

Startup 231

Startup Technology Incubator Silver Lake 231

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. entrepreneur funding venture capital' No surprises here.

Funding 108

Funding Entrepreneur Venture Capital Startup 108