TechCrunch LA

APRIL 9, 2020

The Los Angeles-based app development shop, V/One , is giving away 50,000 free mobile app builds through the rest of April as the company officially launches its platform for would-be, LA-based mobile app moguls. “I had an app idea but no real idea how to executive it. I’m non-technical, meaning I can’t code.

Mobile 250

Mobile Develop Development Artificial Inteligence 250

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 4, 2020

As an entrepreneur advisor, I am surprised at how often I hear the same or very similar proposals of an incremental innovation to an existing process, versus a really new or breakthrough solution. That integration is the breakthrough that you should be looking for as an entrepreneur.

Startup 134

Startup Artificial Inteligence Ideas Entrepreneur 134

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

MARCH 10, 2023

I recognize that entrepreneurs tend to substitute vision and passion for formal processes, but using no discipline or process in building something new is a sure way to spend money, rather than see any return and build a self-sustaining business. Technologists building cool new platforms, just because they can, won’t find investor interest.

Outsource Development 115

Outsource Development Startup Ideas Competition 115

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 2, 2023

One of the simplest questions I get from aspiring entrepreneurs, and ironically one of the hardest, is “How do I start?” I want to tell them to just start anywhere, but I realize that most have no idea where anywhere is. They just aren’t prepared for the life they want, and are really asking me how to learn to be an entrepreneur.

Startup 108

Startup Education Tool Entrepreneur 108

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 1, 2022

In my experience as an advisor and mentor to entrepreneurs in business, one of the biggest failures I see is a lack of self-leadership. In my view, business leaders are not “idea people,” but people who drive a given idea to business results. You can’t lead a business to success, if you can’t lead yourself.

Capital 114

Capital Coach Satisfaction Ideas 114

socalTECH

AUGUST 12, 2014

If you''re a large, Hollywood studio, how do you tap into the energy and ideas of the startup community? to hear about how the program is both helping the studio tap into the energy and ideas of the startup community, as well as helping those startups find new customers in the media and entertainment business. Warner Bros. READ MORE>>.

Startup 159

Startup Technology Hollywood Media 159

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 17, 2020

Entrepreneurs who search for real pain points, and build solutions around them, have the best chance of changing the world. In my opinion, real pain points for most people do not include a new user interface for Facebook, a new programming platform for app development, or a new size smart phone. Truly “disruptive” technologies.

Customer 167

Customer Custom Startup Outsource Development 167

socalTECH

MAY 2, 2013

Despite a growing technology industry here in Southern California, local investors and entrepreneurs tell us there''s still a shortage of local, venture capital. In particular, funding for companies developing deep technology--software and cloud, as opposed to content and media--seems to be lacking.

Invest 159

Invest Technology Startup Venture Capital 159

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 8, 2014

” It’s the most common refrain I hear from investors and even entrepreneurs these days. Let me start with the obvious baseline that most people probably know instinctively: Los Angeles is the 3rd largest technology startup ecosystem in the US. What was Bill Gross’s heretical idea as portrayed to the tech elite?

Entrepreneur 376

Entrepreneur Snapchat Startup Google 376

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 5, 2014

The cost of entry for an aspiring entrepreneur has never been lower, and the total wealth of opportunities has never been larger. A while back, I focused on the e-Commerce side, so this time I wanted to highlight how a shortage of something, like natural resources, should be seen by an aspiring entrepreneur as a wealth of new startup ideas.

Resource 96

Resource Ideas Startup Commerce 96

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 8, 2023

As I work with aspiring entrepreneurs and business professionals, I often hear about stress and disappointment from a great idea or innovation that failed for reasons that you don’t understand. I will summarize her recommendations here, as well as adding my own insights: Pick a problem to solve rather than an idea.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Ideas Study Social Media 120

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 23, 2014

Sometimes entrepreneurs are so focused on making change happen for others, that they forget that continually changing themselves and their company is equally important. Negative advice on an unknown is easy and safe to give, so every entrepreneur hears it over and over. Listen and act on the ideas of others around you.

Entrepreneur 105

Entrepreneur Technical Review Mentor Summary 105

socalTECH

DECEMBER 26, 2017

During the holiday season, our tradition over the last few years has been to post reflections on the past year and some predictions from Southern California's "movers and shakers" in the technology industry. Our team has an eye for identifying legacy industries and nascent trends, and creating platforms for innovation.

Dollar Shave Club 140

Dollar Shave Club Tsavo Userplane Southern California 140

socalTECH

MAY 17, 2018

The insurance industry is an old industry, with a lot of contradictions--it's one where the more claims insurers pay to help customers, the less money the insurers make--and it's also one that hasn't been disrupted much yet by technology. Is it possible to use technology to replace the age-old system currently in use in insurance?

Technology 165

Technology Startup West Los Angeles Platform 165

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 1, 2021

Every entrepreneur and every business I meet in my consulting and mentoring role has great intentions of bringing real innovation to the market, yet I find that most ideas are merely small extensions to existing solutions. Inventors are always talking about what they can do with technology, before sizing the need and the market.

Startup 146

Startup Mentor Entrepreneur Ideas 146

TechCrunch LA

NOVEMBER 23, 2020

Boulevard , a spa management and payment platform, has raised $27 million in a new round of funding despite a business slowdown caused by the COVID0-19 pandemic. Through those months of interviews the two developed the booking management and payment platform that would become Boulevard.

Software 323

Software Beverly Hills Los Angeles Equity 323

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 12, 2015

One of the simplest questions I get from aspiring entrepreneurs, and ironically one of the hardest, is “How do I start?” I want to tell them to just start anywhere, but I realize that most have no idea where anywhere is. They just aren’t prepared for the life they want, and are really asking me how to learn to be an entrepreneur.

Entrepreneur 112

Entrepreneur Startup Education Tool 112

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 7, 2011

Equally, I encouraged entrepreneurs to spend time getting to know their future VCs early because getting a feel for your chemistry is far more important than how the VC is ranked in some survey. Equally, I encouraged entrepreneurs to thoroughly reference check their VCs – you’ll learn much more from this than anything else.

Entrepreneur 330

Entrepreneur Marketing Venture Capital Hulu 330

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 10, 2018

One of the most frequent questions I get as a mentor to entrepreneurs is “How do I find the money to start my business?” I always answer that there isn’t any magic, and contrary to the popular myth, nobody is waiting in the wings to throw money at you, just because you have a new and exciting business idea.

Entrepreneur 96

Entrepreneur Startup Equity Funding 96

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 17, 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 also wonder about the entrepreneur who would sign a term sheet that came from somebody they hadn’t gotten to know over time. Great entrepreneurs pivot.

Entrepreneur 291

Entrepreneur Startup Google Yammer 291

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. Growing our practice from 3 original partners who would meet at coffee shops into a full institutional investing platform is a constant evolution.

Southern California 100

Southern California News Platform Class 100

socalTECH

OCTOBER 17, 2016

www.science-inc.com), the startup �studio� led by former MySpace CEO and technology veteran Mike Jones , just saw its third acquisition out of its portfolio this year�the acquisition of FameBit by Google/Youtube. They had been huge fans of the platform, and I think they had a super, genuine connection with Youtube, thus with Google.

Dollar Shave Club 100

Dollar Shave Club Entrepreneur Startup Google 100

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 28, 2016

I recognize that entrepreneurs tend to substitute vision and passion for formal processes, but no discipline or process in building something new is a sure way to spend money, rather than see any return and build a self-sustaining business. Technologists building cool new platforms, just because they can, won’t find investor interest.

Ideas 62

Ideas Outsource Development Startup Competition 62

socalTECH

JUNE 3, 2019

For this morning's interview, with caught up with serial entrepreneur James Citron , the founder of Pledgeling (www.pledgeling.com), a startup which enables any business to help connect their business with social causes. As a serial entrepreneur, oftentimes I wasn't around. What is Pledgeling? A few things happened to me personally.

Technical Review 113

Technical Review Software Review Mogreet Platform 113

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?” I always answer that there isn’t any magic, and contrary to the popular myth, nobody is waiting in the wings to throw money at you, just because you have a new and exciting business idea.

Startup 113

Startup Entrepreneur Funding Equity 113

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 21, 2023

One of the most frequent questions I get as a mentor to entrepreneurs is “How do I find the money to start my business?” I always answer that there isn’t any magic, and contrary to the popular myth, nobody is waiting in the wings to throw money at you, just because you have a new and exciting business idea.

Startup 106

Startup Capital Equity Funding 106

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 21, 2017

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.” More recently, the desire for extra income has become the key driver in new startups, according to a 2015 study. According to William R. Cobb and M.

Entrepreneur 69

Entrepreneur Startup Equity Course 69

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?” I always answer that there isn’t any magic, and contrary to the popular myth, nobody is waiting in the wings to throw money at you, just because you have a new and exciting business idea.

Funding 174

Funding Startup Equity Examples 174

socalTECH

JUNE 19, 2015

That's the idea behind Connectifier (www.connectifier.com), an Orange County-based startup led by John Jersin --whose founders and many of its employees have come from Google, Amazon, and other companies where search is a part of their DNA. Recruiters can access that search technology in one of two ways. Tell us about Connectifier?

Technology 100

Technology Google Startup Orange County 100

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 15, 2016

One of the simplest questions I get from aspiring entrepreneurs, and ironically one of the hardest, is “How do I start?” I want to tell them to just start anywhere, but I realize that most have no idea where anywhere is. They just aren’t prepared for the life they want, and are really asking me how to learn to be an entrepreneur.

Entrepreneur 58

Entrepreneur Startup Education Tool 58

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

Don began by explaining that his impoverished childhood drove him to a life as an entrepreneur. ". To give you an idea how poor, our kitchen table had three legs. I had never thought about being an entrepreneur. So… I ate a piece of humble pie… (and) I started ingesting information about how to run a technology startup.

Startup 250

Startup Entrepreneur Design Santa Barbara 250

SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 10, 2009

He has a really interesting background as a product manager and now an entrepreneur. to work on an entertainment-related technology project and have stayed ever since. We are creating a platform that enables users to play instant games and apps directly on the computer desktop. Tell me a bit about your background.

Product 150

Product Entrepreneur Social Media Google 150

Xconomy

NOVEMBER 2, 2016

Tech entrepreneurs are likely considering how hospitable the new leadership might be to their specific industry sectors. Educational technology is one field worth examining, even though education hasn’t been a front-burner issue in the final months of the campaign. schools don’t do now. families earning up to $125,000 a year.

Education 40

Education Platform Company Companies 40

socalTECH

APRIL 4, 2013

We spoke with co-founder Brenton Sullivan about the company''s platform, and how it''s hoping to transform the athletic recruiting process. What''s the idea behind FieldLevel? Brenton Sullivan: What we are is a private social network and platform for coaches to connect with each other, to exchange information on athletes.

Coach 252

Coach USC Statistics Startup 252

Tech Zulu Event

NOVEMBER 11, 2013

The intersection of entertainment and technology has been a long time coming. Those who are more involved in traditional entertainment are seeing a major shift online which is why an additional one-day seminar was created to coincide with Silicon Beach Fest Hollywood as a partnership called, Idea to Screen.

Hollywood 100

Hollywood Screening Ideas Entertainment 100

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2021

As a new business advisor, I am no longer surprised that every new entrepreneur believes the hard part is creating the first product and the business. Perhaps luckily, they have no idea that scaling the business and maintaining vitality as a mature business is even harder. Prepare for sustainability in the long haul. Marty Zwilling.

Tips 170

Tips Startup Mentor Press 170