Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 27, 2013

Perhaps the biggest piece of new news is that after 17 years of operations we’ve changed our name from GRP Partners to Upfront Ventures. Wouldn’t we be a bit hypocritical if we talked with entrepreneurs about innovation and change but we weren’t willing to take it on ourselves? What’s up with that?

Funding 343

Funding Santa Monica Venture Capital Startup 343

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 1, 2010

There is a structural reason that VCs are investing at early stages, 2. Many (Union Square Ventures, Foundry Group, True Ventures, GRP Partners, Mike Hirshland at Polaris Ventures) do it the right way – we treat it as a normal investment and we don’t have a “options&# strategy with our investment.

Seed Funding 298

Seed Funding Funding Venture Capital GRP Partners 298

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 16, 2013

I’m very excited to be finally be able to announce that this week we’ve added Sam Rosen to our ranks at GRP Partners in the role of entrepreneurs-in-residence – EIR. At the time of that investment I had exchanged notes with Dave McClure who also invested. Jordan Hudson. Kevin Zhang.

Startup 372

Startup Course Ideas Invest 372

SoCal Tech Calendar

DECEMBER 3, 2010

Early stage investing is booming and we are finally seeing the kind of exits that show signs of a potential IPO market in our future. What is the new business of investing  startups are getting funded at rapid speeds, if venture is broken, whos doing the investing? Dealmaker Media LA.

GRP Partners 100

GRP Partners Clearstone Funding Startup 100

Tech Zulu Event

FEBRUARY 8, 2013

million led by GRP Partners, with participation from Baroda Ventures, Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments (BDMI), Daher Capital, Double M Capital, Karlin Ventures, Clark Landry, Andy Rankin, and Launchpad LA. . · YieldMetrics has already raised $1.7 The founders previously ran another company together.

GRP Partners 96

GRP Partners Startup Tech Coast Angels Bertelsmann 96

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 30, 2010

I’m very pleased today to announce that I invested, on behalf of GRP Partners, in Burstly alongside Rincon Venture Partners , an early stage VC in Southern California whith whom we love to work (and were our co-investors on RingRevenue ). I’ll explain in detail below.

Mobile 282

Mobile Invest Company Companies 282

SoCal Tech Calendar

JUNE 2, 2010

Will investments pick up? What can an entrepreneur do to improve his or her company's chances of raising money in this environment? What can an entrepreneur do to improve his or her company's chances of raising money in this environment? What does it take for a San Diego company to raise a Seed or Series A round?

Tech Coast Angels 100

Tech Coast Angels Capital GRP Partners Southern California 100

socalTECH

JUNE 27, 2013

However, one, longtime local fund-- GRP Partners --appears to have found the right formula for venture success, and has just raised a brand new, $200 million fund. As you probably know, two thirds of our investments go into Los Angeles. Mark Suster: For starters, we''ve just invested in industries we know well.

Funding 196

Funding Venture Capital Los Angeles Social Media 196

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 24, 2012

I told him that our market was absolutely booming and was worthy of a commensurate investment. Not that I’ll take credit for what I’m about to announce, but I knew that if somebody could commit to building out LA and making the investments required to kick ass in this market it would be Cooley. Invest they have.

Venture Capital 299

Venture Capital Startup Los Angeles GRP Partners 299

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 17, 2010

We have many seasoned entrepreneurs who have built successful companies here and made a lot of money for investors and themselves. LA generally doesn’t have an appetite for this kind of investment at early stages. my firm, GRP Partners, was an investor). LA investors are more pragmatic.

Company 290

Company Companies Technology Startup 290

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. Pose – Raises $5 million in 2 rounds from GRP Partners, True Ventures, Mousse Partners & Founder Collective. For the past 2.5

Venture Capital 287

Venture Capital Funding Startup GRP Partners 287

Tech Zulu Event

JUNE 11, 2013

Mark Suster of GRP Partners and Launchpad was confirmed to keynote along with Nely Galan of Galan Entertainment, the first Latina president of Telemundo. billion was invested in Southern California start-ups with 220 new companies launching in Los Angeles. Silicon Beach Fest takes place June 19-22, 2013 in Santa Monica.

GRP Partners 88

GRP Partners MyLife Dollar Shave Club Santa Monica 88

Tech Zulu Event

JANUARY 14, 2014

Last year, the humbly brilliant and veteran entrepreneur (I totally signed up for www.MoviePass.com the second I saw it), joined Upfront, as a venture partner. Business Culture Entrepreneurship Investment behavioral health Hamet Watt innovation Technology Upfront Ventures Venture Capital'

GRP Partners 87

GRP Partners Startup Incubator Venture Capital 87

InfoChachkie

AUGUST 20, 2010

Noted entrepreneurial blogger and respected Venture Capitalist, Mark Suster , who is also a Partner at GRP Partners, recently published a great post related to influence and persuasion, which is excerpted below: ———————————————-.

Southern California 113

Southern California GRP Partners Blogging SoCal 113

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 2, 2010

I’m writing this post to explain to entrepreneurs what you should be thinking about in terms of the VC’s you approach and the size and stage of their funds. VC’s don’t invest 100% of their own money. And funds also have investments from the partners of the firm.

Venture Capital 269

Venture Capital Funding Invest GRP Partners 269

socalTECH

JUNE 20, 2012

We caught up with Sam Teller , who is directing efforts at the accelerator, to help fill entrepreneurs in on where the program fits in the world of technology and startup acceleration. We were founded in 2009 by Mark Suster from GRP Partners. It was really just something built for the community to help support entrepreneurs.

Class 261

Class Mentor Startup Santa Monica 261

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 12, 2013

But less as a complaint and more as advice to younger networkers, the more you invest in relationships the more you will get when you need. One of the most common questions I hear from first-time entrepreneurs is, “How do I meet angels?” When I joined GRP Partners in 2007 I was offered a role as a General Partner.

Venture Capital 407

Venture Capital Press GRP Partners Blogging 407

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2011

This was an audience of mostly first-time entrepreneurs. It is great for entrepreneurs and great for VCs. So here is what I have been telling entrepreneurs privately for the past 6 months. What a bubble means for each entrepreneur. Still, market amnesia by ordinarily rational actors always surprises me. I believe that.

Pricing 309

Pricing Marketing Startup Venture Capital 309

socalTECH

DECEMBER 30, 2010

We asked the same five questions of a variety of top technology entrepreneurs, investors, and others, to hear what they're thinking about, and are sharing it here over the next two weeks. Also, we had an investment in a company that went public this year, BroadSoft, which is one of 2010's best-performing IPOs.

Technical Review 160

Technical Review Southern California Cloud Computing Venture Capital 160

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 20, 2012

Now, I’m pretty on the record that being an entrepreneur is about being great at The Do. I had one of the biggest mental breakthroughs about what I want to do differently at GRP Partners in 2013. If you are a startup entrepreneur already my guess is that you have a heavy bias towards the Do that comes with the territory.

Venture Capital 400

Venture Capital Conference Ideas Entrepreneur 400

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 3, 2010

I know many super experienced entrepreneurs who don’t understand the basics of how fund size and age can affect them so I thought it was worth establishing a baseline. First, if the VC does 15-20 of these under one partner then it is certain he can’t spend any time with these investments. And they don’t.

Venture Capital 265

Venture Capital Seed Funding Pricing Invest 265

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 7, 2013

I’m super excited to announce that GRP Partners led the investment in Ethan Anderson’s new company MyTime (link has LA-based merchants but will give you a good feel for the product). We generally have a policy to only fund entrepreneurs once the first version of a product has shipped or it near to shipping.

CTO Coach 359

CTO Coach Google CTO Hire GRP Partners 359

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 8, 2010

Entrepreneurs always walk away with new relationships, knowledge, deal discussions and enthusiasm. And it’s his mantra for successful entrepreneurs, “you need to be extremely focused on the details.” My action item – I will soon announce the GRP Partners CEO Summit. Greycroft – Why Accountants Don’t Run Startups.

Startup 279

Startup Venture Capital Tips Custom Development 279

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2010

I get paid (well) for interesting people to come in and tell me how they want to change the world – Being an entrepreneur is like having blinders on. At least for the best entrepreneurs. Some people do the conference circuit too much, get involved in lots of side projects and attend every entrepreneur dinner. I love it.

Venture Capital 312

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Entrepreneur 312

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 16, 2010

The VC industry grew dramatically as a result of the Internet bubble - Before the Internet bubble the people who invested in VC funds (called LPs or Limited Partners) put about $50 billion into the industry and by 2001 this had grown precipitously to around $250 billion. So the people who invest in VC funds have two problems.

Venture Capital 311

Venture Capital Startup Seed Funding Rustic Canyon 311

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 9, 2012

I had a very enjoyable day in Cincinnati meeting many local entrepreneurs, angels and accelerators. I was here to see one of our LPs (limited partners are the people who invest money in VC funds) called Fort Washington. I went even further when I was an entrepreneur. It’s easy to discount Cincy – it’s a “flyover state.”

Press 364

Press Course Startup Email 364

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 1, 2010

He didn’t tell it in the video but, ever the entrepreneur, Scott started a business to take couples up on a “mile high club&# flight on airplanes as a way of getting all of his miles logged to get his next class of airplane license that required a certain number of hours logged. It’s part of what makes him so likable.

Zag 248

Zag Truecar Venture Capital CarsDirect 248

Tech Zulu Event

SEPTEMBER 1, 2010

StartupDemo partners Mixergy & AsAble.com have just announced their VC/Angel investor panel for the event. This Panel is filled with investing super stars who will be going over amazing content for all the startups and entrepreneurs out there. Mark Suster , GRP Partners. Panel speakers: Paige Craig , aka.

Venture Capital 58

Venture Capital Mixergy Orange County Tech Coast Angels 58

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 21, 2014

And the fact that we’ve all worked for a decade with Dana Kibler who is our long-time CFO and now helping run Investment Operations & Platform Services we have a truly senior & killer internal team. But he has the added benefit of living in the UK – making him the perfect partner for Nick. Back together.

CTO Hire 320

CTO Hire Startup CTO Coach Venture Capital 320

socalTECH

APRIL 1, 2010

in a venture round from GRP Partners and Rincon Ventures, for the firm's mobile ad management platform. Mark Suster lead GRP's investment in the firm, and Jim Andelman led Rincon's investment. Tags: evan rifkin interview startup entrepreneur advertising tagworld. They have been phenomenal to work with.

Startup 164

Startup Platform Advertising GRP Partners 164

InfoChachkie

JULY 14, 2011

Do you have any words of caution or advice for entrepreneurs who attempt to “Get Their Band Back Together”? “In When assembling a team, I encourage entrepreneurs to seek out the MVPs, and look to build diversity into the teams they assemble.”. Rincon Venture Partners and GRP Partners ). Be prepared to iterate.

Marketing 209

Marketing Advertising Paid Search Startup 209

SoCal CTO

JUNE 9, 2010

Why Entrepreneurs Hate Lawyers. In many of them I get asked similar questions, including the inevitable “what makes a great entrepreneur?” friend of mine asked me to chat with a startup he’d invested in. think his strategy is essentially the Ron Conway strategy , and at his rate ("34-ish investments" in 1-2yr?)

Startup 248

Startup Venture Capital Conference Social Media 248

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 9, 2009

We brought together Peter Cowen of Groundwork Equity , Mark Suster of GRP Partners , Rick Smith of Crosscut Ventures , and Richard Yen of Saban Ventures -- all of who will be on the judging panel for the Tech Coast Angel's Fast Pitch on February 24th, to give us a their hints and tips about pitching to venture capitalists.

Tech Coast Angels 100

Tech Coast Angels Ideas Entrepreneur Invest 100

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 8, 2009

I just completed an exercise where I went out to hire a new associate for my VC firm, GRP Partners. I tell people regularly that I only invest in companies where the DNA is software. If you want to go into investment banking above a certain level you’ll need one. I had to laugh a bit reading it. So back to MBAs.

Startup 337

Startup Venture Capital Study Course 337

Tech Zulu Event

SEPTEMBER 20, 2010

We will be bringing you some of the hottest startups around to give you a quick rundown about their companies and get to know the entrepreneur behind those companies. For those of you who may not know about StartupDemo, it is an event that TechZulu and Schmoozd have partnered up to bring you some of the hottest startups around.

Social Media 71

Social Media Technical Review Tech Coast Angels Mixergy 71

Tech Zulu Event

SEPTEMBER 24, 2010

Mark Suster , GRP Partners. Investment trends in startups that are about or related to social media. CapLinked lets entrepreneurs focus on what they do best, while making sure their investors always stay in the loop. They make it easy to collect investment funds, track ownership, and provide targeted updates to investors.

Social Media 60

Social Media Technical Review Tech Coast Angels Venture Capital 60

Tech Zulu Event

JUNE 28, 2012

Panels were based at hubs including Leadership, Branding / Advertising, Social Media, Entrepreneurs, Community and more. RT @OEInnovation #SBF why I live in #LA: intersection of #beach #tech #entrepreneur #entertainment. & Thanks to all of my old & new friends for making it so rich with optimism, expertise, & wisdom.

Hollywood 67

Hollywood Technical Review Startup Rustic Canyon 67