Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

I’m over-paying for every check I write into the VC ecosystem and valuations are being pushed up to absurd levels and many of these valuations and companies won’t hold in the long term. And the truth is that several entrepreneurs prefer it this way. Are we in a bubble?” By definition?—?I’m Seed has become an option factory for many.

Venture Capital 471

Venture Capital Writing Invest Pricing 471

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 12, 2023

Every entrepreneur I know has their favorite excuse for a previous failure – an investor backed out, the economy took a downturn, or a supplier delivered bad quality. In that spirit, I offer my perspective on ten common startup failure sources that rarely get admitted by entrepreneurs: Choose to skip the written business plan.

Startup 124

Startup Writing Entrepreneur Ideas 124

InfoChachkie

JUNE 3, 2013

Consistent with the statistics cited in Why Entrepreneurs Hate (Most) MBAs , the large majority of John and Kyle''s classmates accepted positions at investment banks and consulting firms upon graduation. If you want to be kept informed just send me an email and let me know that you''re in, and that was it. And of those 35 people.

Newsletter 233

Newsletter Startup Entrepreneur Writing 233

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 25, 2011

Yesterday I saw a Tweet from Chris Sacca fly by that prompted me to want to write a blog post helping entrepreneurs understand why they should push back against VCs asking for “super pro-rata” rights. Read: it’s an option for that investor and a super expensive one to you, the entrepreneur. Why should you care?

Entrepreneur 310

Entrepreneur Venture Capital Writing Invest 310

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 5, 2012

I use George Bush vs. Al Gore as allegory and I’ve been using it with entrepreneurs for years to sink in a simple point about how to communicate with the market. This does not mean you shouldn’t solve big, complex problems or write complex code. Most Silicon Valley tech entrepreneurs I know are more like Al Gore.

Entrepreneur 370

Entrepreneur Startup Press Venture Capital 370

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 12, 2021

As a startup mentor and investor, I am approached regularly by aspiring entrepreneurs who assert that business plans take too much time, are inaccurate, and rarely add value. In fact, they are probably in such a hurry to give you money that they don’t want you to waste time writing anything down and passing it along to new investors.

Technical Review 126

Technical Review Writing Entrepreneur Slides 126

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 27, 2015

Aspiring entrepreneurs who rely only on traditional learning vehicles (teachers, classrooms, and risk-free practice) are doomed to failure in founding a startup today. The Internet and the current information wave have changed everything. The Internet and the current information wave have changed everything.

Entrepreneur 102

Entrepreneur Social Media Startup Education 102

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 17, 2020

Every entrepreneur I know has their favorite excuse for a previous failure – an investor backed out, the economy took a downturn, or a supplier delivered bad quality. In that spirit, I offer my perspective on ten common startup failure sources that rarely get admitted by entrepreneurs: Choose to skip the written business plan.

Startup 174

Startup Writing Entrepreneur Ideas 174

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 14, 2013

On a regular basis, I am approached by entrepreneurs who assert that business plans are a waste of time. They cite sources like a recent BusinessWeek story, “ Real Entrepreneurs Don’t Write Business Plans ” and this NY Times article. With bootstrapping, no business plan is expected by anyone.

Entrepreneur 100

Entrepreneur Technical Review Writing Slides 100

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 20, 2022

Your marketing launch is the most important element of startup success these days, to get customer attention in this world of information overload. Yet it is the one element that too many entrepreneurs focus on only as an afterthought. If you want to connect with customers, put aside your writing formalities. Then write it down.

Content 146

Content Newsletter Competition Writing 146

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 30, 2022

Perhaps sparked by the recent pandemic, I’m seeing a new era of the entrepreneur, with startups springing up all around. Based on my own mentoring and investing experience, the best entrepreneurs are pragmatic problem solvers. Good problem solving requires making informed decisions, relying on logic.

Startup 135

Startup Mentor Entrepreneur Technical Review 135

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 15, 2021

The most successful entrepreneurs and executives I have seen are savvy business people first, and experts in their field second. It still amazes me how many entrepreneurs can fathom the physics of gyroscopes, but fail to comprehend the big picture requirements for positive cash flow and profit.

Mentor 139

Mentor Entrepreneur Ideas Networking 139

InfoChachkie

JUNE 3, 2013

Consistent with the statistics cited in Why Entrepreneurs Hate (Most) MBAs , the large majority of John and Kyle''s classmates accepted positions at investment banks and consulting firms upon graduation. If you want to be kept informed just send me an email and let me know that you''re in, and that was it. And of those 35 people.

Newsletter 133

Newsletter Startup Entrepreneur Writing 133

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 30, 2018

One of the hardest things about the fund-raising process for entrepreneurs is that you’re trying to raise money from people who have “asymmetric information.” As an entrepreneur it can feel as intimidating as going to buy a car where the dealer knows the price of every make & model of a car and you’re guessing at how much to pay.

Venture Capital 324

Venture Capital Pricing Startup Invest 324

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

Entrepreneurs are always looking for “the next big thing,” when maybe in fact it’s a lot of little things that are only recognized after the fact as components of a big evolution or revolution. So how do entrepreneurs train to lead the Anywhere Revolution, rather than be dragged along by its wave? Be an analytic thinker.

Entrepreneur 95

Entrepreneur Ideas Writing Training 95

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 16, 2023

Successful entrepreneurs often start with a “random” idea, but they quickly focus their efforts and follow a “system” to organize their startup and maximize the clout of their activities. If you can’t write it down, you probably don’t understand it. Provide a unique point of view. Continue to learn and grow.

Social Media 94

Social Media Media Ideas Writing 94

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 28, 2014

Perhaps sparked by the recent recession, I’m seeing a new era of the entrepreneur, with startups springing up all around. Based on my own mentoring and investing experience, the best entrepreneurs are pragmatic problem solvers. Good problem solving requires making informed decisions, relying on logic.

Entrepreneur 102

Entrepreneur Mentor Technical Review Satisfaction 102

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2018

When you raise money from investors you produce information that you are told they want and care about: A fund-raising deck that articulates your company strategy, plans, team, market, competitors and so forth. Most entrepreneurs (and VCs raising from LPs) think this means progress. I have to back up and give you more context.

Funding 336

Funding Venture Capital Startup Email 336

SoCal Tech Calendar

JUNE 5, 2019

The panels of seasoned and newer investors will focus on Early-Stage Venture Investing: How to meet investors, pitch them, and what it really takes to get them to write you a check! As an additional benefit, entrepreneur 1/4 page summaries will be given to the investor speakers and attendees.

San Diego 100

San Diego Venture Capital Angel Summary 100

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 30, 2019

What every entrepreneur needs more than anything else, after they have built an innovative new product or service, is visibility, credibility, and trust by customers, potential employees, and future business partners. Yet, most good business people I know agree, but don’t know where to start.

Writing 19

Writing Technical Review Entrepreneur Advertising 19

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 17, 2020

Even in this age of videos and text messages, the quickest way to kill your startup dream with investors, business partners, or even customers, is embarrassingly poor writing. You have to be able to communicate effectively in all the common forms, including business writing, as well as talking, presenting, and producing videos.

Writing 125

Writing Entrepreneur Summary Email 125

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 28, 2022

Business success is all about having the best team, yet the average entrepreneur has little prior experience with hiring people and building top-notch teams. Most new entrepreneurs assume their passion will attract and motivate the right team members. Assigning and measuring early milestones is a must.

Organization 104

Organization Entrepreneur Satisfaction Screening 104

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 6, 2020

Aspiring entrepreneurs who rely only on traditional learning vehicles (teachers, classrooms, and risk-free practice) are doomed to failure in anticipating change today. The Internet and the current information wave have changed everything. The Internet and the current information wave have changed everything.

Social Media 127

Social Media Startup Education Entrepreneur 127

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 29, 2016

Aspiring entrepreneurs who rely only on traditional learning vehicles (teachers, classrooms, and risk-free practice) are doomed to failure in anticipating change today. The Internet and the current information wave have changed everything. The Internet and the current information wave have changed everything.

Entrepreneur 61

Entrepreneur Social Media Startup Education 61

SoCal Tech Calendar

OCTOBER 31, 2016

Brad has been an early stage investor and entrepreneur since 1987. Brad is a nationally recognized speaker on the topics of venture capital investing and entrepreneurship and writes the widely read blogs Feld Thoughts (link is external), Startup Revolution (link is external), and Ask the VC (link is external).

Venture Capital 100

Venture Capital Writing Blogging Activity 100

SoCal Tech Calendar

JUNE 7, 2019

The panels of seasoned and newer investors will focus on Early-Stage Venture Investing: How to meet investors, pitch them, and what it really takes to get them to write you a check! As an additional benefit, entrepreneur 1/4 page summaries will be given to the investor speakers and attendees.

Orange County 100

Orange County Venture Capital Angel Tech Coast Angels 100

Berkonomics

MARCH 5, 2020

In the creation of a young company, there are five principal risks to be addressed by the entrepreneur. So, it is important for the entrepreneur to identify, address and mitigate each of these in order to increase valuation and decrease the risk of ultimate loss of the business.

Outsource Development 156

Outsource Development Ideas Resource Patents 156

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 12, 2011

Entrepreneurs are always looking for “the next big thing,” when maybe in fact it’s a lot of little things that are only recognized after the fact as components of a big evolution or revolution. So how do entrepreneurs train to lead the Anywhere Revolution, rather than be dragged along by its wave? Be an analytic thinker.

Entrepreneur 92

Entrepreneur Ideas Writing Training 92

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 16, 2018

Product managers have challenges with getting the right information at the right level to the right people. Greathouse: Your collective experiences have clearly made bootstrapping a viable option for you, more so than might be the case for a typical, younger entrepreneur who needs more direction, doesn’t have cash discipline, etc.

Venture Capital 115

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Santa Barbara SaaS 115

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 16, 2011

It’s the entrepreneur’s equivalent of “ 10,000 hours.&#. If you wait until you need to fill somebody in a roll you’re losing valuable time as an entrepreneur. You know the drill – “informational interview.&# Life is an informational interview. Help them write other stories.

Startup 410

Startup Writing Press Venture Capital 410

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 6, 2021

In my experience, many entrepreneurs rely too much on the perspective of a trusted advisor, or try to emulate a competitor who is getting attention. The challenge is how to develop that self-leadership in every aspiring entrepreneur and business professional role. Make sure everyone knows your expertise.

Entrepreneur 132

Entrepreneur Course Satisfaction SpaceX 132

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 1, 2012

Based on my experience as a mentor and an entrepreneur, if you fail on your first startup, you are about average. Every young entrepreneur knows implicitly that startup success is a long hard road. Of course, a real entrepreneur always takes a failure as a milestone on the road to success. How can you improve your odds?

Entrepreneur 109

Entrepreneur Ideas Resource Statistics 109

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 6, 2023

Here is my prioritized list of work management strategies I recommend to all business professionals and entrepreneurs: Avoid reliance on multi-tasking to keep up with requests. Some successful people do this by establishing a routine and sticking to it, or by writing down and managing their own list of open work items.

Demand 103

Demand Activity Email Mentor 103

socalTECH

OCTOBER 11, 2018

We sat down with Kelly ahead of the announcement to chat about the new fund, why they think military veterans are particularly well suited as startup entrepreneurs, why the two went from organizing individual deals for funding to a formal fund, and more. Usually, an entrepreneur, hearing that, won't say no.

Capital 164

Capital Funding Startup Venture Capital 164

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 5, 2013

The most successful entrepreneurs and executives I have seen are savvy business people first, and experts in their field second. It still amazes me how many entrepreneurs can fathom the physics of gyroscopes, but fail to comprehend the big picture requirements for positive cash flow and profit.

Entrepreneur 101

Entrepreneur Mentor Ideas Startup 101

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2020

Successful entrepreneurs often start with a “random” idea, but they quickly focus their efforts and follow a “system” to organize their startup and maximize the clout of their activities. If you can’t write it down, you probably don’t understand it. Provide a unique point of view. Continue to learn and grow.

Social Media 126

Social Media Media Ideas Writing 126

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 2, 2011

I’m sitting at my computer now at 9.00pm writing this – which is an hour earlier than I normally write (there are about 8 women at my kitchen table having a book club (aka excuse to drink wine & gossip so I’m locked in another room writing. We have an informed point of view. I enjoy that. Same thing.

Email 287

Email Blogging Venture Capital Writing 287