Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 4, 2009

I often have career discussions with entrepreneurs – both young and more mature – whether they should join company “X&# or not. I spoke with an investor recently who told me that 1,500 deals get funded / year in the US, 80 (5.3%) eventually sell for $50 million and only 8 (0.5%) eventually sell for $150 million or more.

Startup 418

Startup Technical Advisors Venture Capital Santa Monica 418

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 27, 2011

Most people totally advise against stealth. I actually like finding entrepreneurs who are more circumspect, less braggadocios and generally more planned about their actions. Where Stealth is Bad – I do meet entrepreneurs who clearly fall on the other side of spectrum and are totally closed. Be careful about this advice.

Marketing 380

Marketing Startup Press Technical Advisors 380

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 9, 2020

In my years of advising startups and occasional investing, I’ve seen many great ideas start and fail, but the right team always seems to make good things happen, even without the ultimate idea. Yet every entrepreneur I meet wants to talk about the idea, and rarely mentions the team. Outsourcing your core competency does not work.

Technical Advisors 123

Technical Advisors Outsource Development Startup High Tech 123

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 12, 2021

Getting customer attention often takes more innovation today than solving the tough technical problems. As a business adviser, I still see too many new venture founders who skimp on their marketing focus, or start too late. It works in fashion, real estate, and certainly in the technical world.

Technical Advisors 154

Technical Advisors Tips Marketing Case Study 154

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2023

Many entrepreneurs are convinced that banks are not worth the effort for startups, especially early-stage ones that still don’t have a revenue stream, or collateral to back up their financing needs. If you don't have a team on staff, then a banker is going to want to hear about outsourcing and advisors. A winning product or service.

Equity 121

Equity Technical Advisors Funding Ideas 121

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. Every future entrepreneur should start by networking. A positive personal brand will give your product instant credibility.

Product 127

Product Entrepreneur Technical Advisors Technical Review 127

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2015

In my years of advising startups and occasional investing, I’ve seen many great ideas start and fail, but the right team always seems to make good things happen, even without the ultimate idea. Yet every entrepreneur I meet wants to talk about the idea, and rarely mentions the team. Outsourcing your core competency does not work.

Technical Advisors 105

Technical Advisors Outsource Development Startup High Tech 105

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 8, 2020

As an advisor to entrepreneurs, I often hear the desire to run their own company, to avoid having someone else telling them how to run the business. They then ask me to help them find investors who can provide the funding they need. are still bootstrapped today, often starting with less than $10,000 of personal funds.

Technical Advisors 125

Technical Advisors Startup News Resource 125

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 27, 2020

Many entrepreneurs are convinced that banks are not worth the effort for startups, especially early-stage ones that still don’t have a revenue stream, or collateral to back up their financing needs. If you don't have a team on staff, then a banker is going to want to hear about outsourcing and advisors. A winning product or service.

Technical Advisors 162

Technical Advisors Tips Startup Equity 162

Tech.Co

OCTOBER 16, 2024

While it’s never a bad time to apply for a business grant, October is one of the busiest months in the funding calendar, so it’s definitely worth exploring what options are out there before opportunities dry up during the holiday season. While the prize fund varies per year, this year a cash sum of $2,250 is up for grabs.

Technical Review 167

Technical Review Technical Advisors Design News 167

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 18, 2018

In my years of advising startups and occasional investing, I’ve seen many great ideas start and fail, but the right team always seems to make good things happen, even without the ultimate idea. Yet every entrepreneur I meet wants to talk about the idea, and rarely mentions the team. Outsourcing your core competency does not work.

Technical Advisors 57

Technical Advisors Startup Outsource Development High Tech 57

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 21, 2018

If you are one of the thousands of entrepreneurs who need equity funding to get your startup going (no loans to repay), you are probably overwhelmed at the prospect of finding, contacting and pitching to the huge number of qualified angels and investment groups around the country. Recruit a team with complementary skills.

Platform 94

Platform Equity Invest Technical Advisors 94

socalTECH

AUGUST 28, 2017

He and I connected, and walked through PartySlate and what we were doing, and he immediately said he wanted to invest and become an advisor to the company. That is all gearing up for a Series A funding, which will happen in the summer of 2018. He's based in LA. I went to Michigan with him.

Technical Advisors 100

Technical Advisors Technical Review Metrics Startup 100

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 10, 2011

He could not be persuaded to commit the funds required for localization. Our own subsidiary, of a major technology company, started to repair and service competitive products in order to maintain our own technical staff and service capabilities. Thorough name searches as well as professional advice in this area is highly advised.

Startup 90

Startup Technical Advisors Sales Examples 90

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 17, 2018

Most of the entrepreneurs I advise today are ready to declare success when they get that first surge of traction with a real customer. You need to find investors for funding, vendors for volume manufacturing, processes for repeatable execution, as well as marketing and distribution to attract customers far beyond your pilot rollout.

Technical Advisors 83

Technical Advisors Tool Software Product 83

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 1, 2018

While spending years in a big company as an employee and an executive, I heard many people talking about jumping the corporate ship, dreaming of being an entrepreneur, and totally in charge of their own destiny. I’m not saying success is rare, but the list of famous entrepreneurs who started their career in a big company is small.

Startup 52

Startup Technical Advisors Entrepreneur IBM 52

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 23, 2015

For some aspiring to be tech entrepreneurs, I often suggest a two-step process, as I argued in this post that “ The First Startup Founder You Need to Invest in Is You.” ” My friend Ian Sigelow wrote about this last week and advised people not to take on this kind of job.

Technical Review 150

Technical Review Startup Venture Capital IP 150

Frank Addante

JUNE 4, 2006

Venture Capital Funding 7. Prior to raising $16M+ in funding from top-tier venture capital firms such as Sequoia Capital, Globespan Capital and Evercore Ventures, StrongMail was self-funded and cash-flow positive. I decided that I was going to consult/advise a few companies and relax for a bit. Relaxing 2. Incubation 3.

Startup 40

Startup Venture Capital Email CTO Hire 40

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

It’s what signals to existing investors how quickly their teams need to be fund raising and the level of risk the company is facing and also it signals to potentially new investors both how quickly you need to raise (ie you have less leverage if you’re in a rush) as well as how much cash you’ll need if they fund you.

Startup 383

Startup Company Companies .Net 383

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 25, 2010

A reminder that it is important for all entrepreneurs is to remember to be careful about “deal drift.” Morgan Stanley then funded one of our competitors. Had I delayed my fund raising in 99/00 by even 3-4 weeks I’m convinced I would not have raised any money at all. Morgan Stanley had proposed a higher valuation to let them in.

Venture Capital 301

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Technical Advisors 301

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 13, 2011

I would argue that this mostly consists of consumer Internet companies (although not exclusively) and it is predominantly early-stage people who are product gurus and have a mildly technical bend to them. I funded them 8 weeks later. I’m sure there are many more. I would mostly lump me in that category.

Venture Capital 299

Venture Capital Slides Technical Advisors Startup 299

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 27, 2015

Our firm has funded many of them. But the status symbol of this milestone is driving investors, entrepreneurs, the press and everybody into thinking you magically can achieve this status in a matter of a few years with a great team and an astounding idea. I met a wealthy investor from China. At least for now. For a fee, of course.

Technical Advisors 150

Technical Advisors Startup Writing Blogging 150

Frank Addante

MAY 15, 2006

In fact, we probably had hundreds of competitors including seven that were either very well funded with significant venture capital or publicly held (e.g. We didn’t hire resumes and experience, we hired smart, good people who wanted to be entrepreneurs. DoubleClick, 24/7 Media, AdForce, Engage, Flycast).

Advertising 40

Advertising Startup Chief Technology Officer Technical Review 40

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 5, 2010

Those cultural normals are established through human connections: the night we all stayed late to get that release out the door, the day we celebrated our funding round or the day we landed our first big account. If they’re not I won’t fund. If they can’t, I doubt it will become a big, important technical company.

Technical Advisors 335

Technical Advisors Outsource Development Offshore Startup 335