Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 17, 2012

Brad Feld visited Los Angeles this past week. I always enjoy spending time with Brad as the antidote to the eco chamber. That seems very Brad to me. Brad was our guest of honor. But I think Brad actually has a point. IA Ventures – Roger Ehrenberg was doing angel investing before he became a VC.

Startup 304

Startup Venture Capital Los Angeles Woodland Hills 304

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 27, 2012

Most of what I think about startup communities came from mentorship by Brad Feld through hours of private discussion and debate. You can now take advantage of this wisdom directly as Brad has now published it for everybody in a fantastic new book, “Startup Communities.” Think Fred Wilson, Tony Hsieh or Brad Feld.

Startup 378

Startup Venture Capital Press San Diego 378

InfoChachkie

MARCH 5, 2012

.” I recently discussed the explosion of seed accelerators and incubators with Brad Feld, who, as the Co-Founder of acclaimed startup accelerator TechStars , is uniquely qualified to opine upon the subject. You can watch my seven minute discussion with Brad below or on YouTube here: [link].

Startup 270

Startup Incubator Doc Mentor 270

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 9, 2012

We all could learn a bit more about balance , as Brad Feld has outlined. Many through history became entrepreneurs precisely because they were unemployable. The Dave I know is a tireless traveler and loyal to his friends the way Brad Feld is. Brad does this kind of thing for people. But he knows that.

Startup 309

Startup Venture Capital Email Writing 309

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 7, 2013

The good news for entrepreneurs is that there have never been more office space options for early stage companies. I explored this issue in a recent conversation with fellow WSJ Accelerator, Brad Feld. If you want to hear more of Brad''s thoughts regarding Accelerators, you can watch our entire conversation HERE.

Incubator 238

Incubator Startup News Entrepreneur 238

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 12, 2010

Two people whom I respect (Babak Nivi and Brad Feld) added commentary that made me want to come back and clarify my thoughts. Brad Feld started with a bias for action in his post, “ Give Your VC’s Assignments.&#. I agree with Brad. Generic requests are useless.

Startup 267

Startup Venture Capital Writing Entrepreneur 267

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 2, 2011

After the weekend kerfuffle over AngelList I was reading Brad Feld’s post on Signal vs. Noise. But aside from choosing the time of day to focus on signal vs. noise, Brad’s post got me thinking about another question – what is signal and what is noise? It sure wasn’t when I was a first-time entrepreneur.

Email 287

Email Blogging Venture Capital Writing 287

InfoChachkie

JUNE 30, 2014

Entrepreneur and noted investor Brad Feld unwittingly echoed Franks approach to marketing when, during a discussion with me , he declared, " …companies should… focus on building amazing products. In such cases, entrepreneurs risk confusing marketing traction with product traction. Hurry Up And Stop Marketing.

Marketing 193

Marketing Software Review Product Social Media 193

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 24, 2011

I invested in LA-based Gogii , one of the fastest growing, most exciting mobile social networking companies you’ve never heard of and maker of a product called textPlus. I only recently invested and I only got here through persistence. The opportunity came up to invest in this one and I pounced. But I never gave up.

Gogii 310

Gogii Invest Blogging Startup 310

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. I know Brad Feld wrote a similar post. Brad is the ultimate giver. One of the most common questions I hear from first-time entrepreneurs is, “How do I meet angels?”

Venture Capital 407

Venture Capital Press GRP Partners Blogging 407

socalTECH

OCTOBER 22, 2020

Earlier this week, Good Growth Capital (www.goodgrowthvc.com) announced it has started looking at investments in Southern California, adding Krisztina Holly as West Coast Venture Partner for the firm. What kinds of areas does the fund make investments in? It looks like there's some link to MIT with the fund? That's where we add value.

Southern California 124

Southern California Capital Technical Review Startup 124

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2013

And I am often approached by entrepreneurs in cities which don’t have a vibrant VC community. ” Most VCs view it as their responsibility to mentor, debate, cajole and generally assist with investments they make. Tomorrow I’m meeting with a senior exec who is considering joining a company in which we’ve invested.

Venture Capital 365

Venture Capital Marketing Santa Barbara Startup 365

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2015

I am reminded of this problem every time my firm does a financing where a note went before us but more specifically I was reminded by this great post by Brad Feld to talk about the pre-money vs. post-money conversion issue. Pre-money ($8m) + investment ($2m) = Post-money ($10m) and the investors now own 20% of your company $2m / $10m.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Pricing Startup Invest 150

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2016

We know that to be successful we need to fund truly transformational entrepreneurs grounded in unique academic skills and with the self confidence and ambition to try and achieve results in which the market will naturally be skeptical. We can’t wait to see what the next few years bring.

Company 207

Company Companies CTO Coach Funding 207

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 25, 2015

This is why I loved Brad Feld’s recent post about the “ illusion of product / market fit.” ” This, too, is a must read for any entrepreneur. I have many investments with early traction and I the entrepreneurs I work with must tire of my constantly saying, “Are we really making a difference?

Product 150

Product Startup Metrics Technical Review 150

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 15, 2012

One the most frequent questions asked of me by entrepreneurs is, "How can I become a Venture Capitalist?" The inquiry is common because being a VC is (to an entrepreneur, at least) a sexy job. In contrast, an Angel Investor is someone who invests their own capital. Manipulate Your Odds.

Venture Capital 242

Venture Capital Technical Review Invest RSS 242

socalTECH

JUNE 27, 2013

We caught up with Mark Suster , one of Upfront''s General Partners and a well known blogger and technology personality, the new fund, and how his blogging is now driving the firm''s investment activity. As you probably know, two thirds of our investments go into Los Angeles. Tell us about the new fund? Mark Suster: It''s a $200M fund.

Funding 196

Funding Venture Capital Los Angeles Social Media 196

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 3, 2009

There are now a second generation of entrepreneurs and companies that have learned from their last successes and are producing great new companies like TopSpin Media , Sometrics and GumGum. Andy Sack, Dave McClure, Brad Feld & Jason Nazar (photo by Jolie Odell). We have accomplished much yet have much work to do.

Twiistup 228

Twiistup SoCal Southern California Yammer 228

InfoChachkie

DECEMBER 22, 2011

By early 2010, I found my stylistic voice and identified my audience of emerging entrepreneurs and thus dropped my penname. In addition, my role as Partner at Rincon Venture Partners provided me with a business reason to invest additional time and effort into my humble blog.

Newsletter 205

Newsletter Blogging Santa Barbara Content 205

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 19, 2017

One of the hardest decisions entrepreneurs make when they start a company and raise outside capital is figuring out what an acceptable “burn rate” is. That is, how much should your company be willing to lose in cash every month as you make investments in staff and equipment that funds technology, sales, marketing and management.

Startup 212

Startup Venture Capital .Net Capital 212

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 23, 2015

My goal in the interview overall was to capture more of the personal side of Fred since so much of his investment thesis and portfolio work already comes out in his blog. Not to mention USV’s investments in MongoDB (10Gen), Lending Club and a host of others. You need to invest in good markets and bad.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Startup Writing Blogging 150

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 13, 2013

And yet as I reflected this week on December/January board packs that highlighted the year many companies I’ve invested in have had it is pretty mind boggling. But as an entrepreneur (and VC) you need to be aware of your own stress levels, the consequences of bottling that stress and the impact on your families & friends.

Writing 313

Writing Venture Capital Blogging Startup 313

SoCal CTO

JANUARY 5, 2011

500 Hats , January 10, 2010 Developing new startup ideas - Chris Dixon , March 14, 2010 Batch Processing Millions and Millions of Images - Code as Craft , July 9, 2010 jQuery Plugin: Give Your Characters a NobleCount - The Product Guy , March 23, 2010 How do the sample Series Seed financing documents differ from typical Series A financing documents?

Startup 378

Startup Venture Capital Blogging CTO Coach 378

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

Tech Zulu Event

SEPTEMBER 28, 2011

Startup Weekend, a global grassroots network of entrepreneurs and leaders, announced an initiative in partnership with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation that will lead to the creation of vibrant startup communities in cities across the nation.

Los Angeles 87

Los Angeles Startup Angel Entrepreneur 87

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 6, 2014

I should note that my friend Brad Feld has written a new book on the subject that I would recommend if you want the bible on the topic. I admit that I haven’t yet read it but I’ve had numerous discussions with Brad over the years about board structure & conduct and consider him a mentor on the topic.

Startup 325

Startup Sales Technical Review Software Review 325

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

Xconomy

OCTOBER 29, 2018

In September, Backstage Capital , a venture investment firm seeding early-stage startups led by women, people of color, and members of the LGBTQ community, launched a $36 million fund to help support black women founders. Detroit is “a rising standout for entrepreneurs in the Midwest,” the firm said in a.

Los Angeles 107

Los Angeles Invest Capital Entrepreneur 107

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 22, 2010

Brad Feld hadn’t written his seminal “ term sheet series &# and The Funded hadn’t yet been created. And for some strange reason entrepreneurs didn’t share this information. I’ve started from day one trying to build total transparency into my process with entrepreneurs. That’s normal.

Venture Capital 405

Venture Capital Pricing Startup Funding 405

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 17, 2010

First, I’d like to quote (paraphrase) Brad Feld speaking at Twiistup in LA in 2009, “I keep hearing people in LA talking with a chip on their shoulders about building a tech business here relative to Silicon Valley. LA generally doesn’t have an appetite for this kind of investment at early stages.

Company 290

Company Companies Technology Startup 290

SoCal CTO

APRIL 8, 2010

Startup Company Lawyer , March 14, 2010 After the recent announcement of the Series Seed Financing documents by Marc Andreesen, Brad Feld points out that there are now four sets of “open source” equity seed financing documents. I do sometimes get impatient when the investment proposal has little or no information on the exit path.

Startup 150

Startup Software Review Competition SoCal 150

InfoChachkie

MAY 22, 2012

The same should be true of an entrepreneur who is attempting to secure money from sophisticated investors. Step 1: The Person, Not The Firm – As Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson make clear in their book Venture Deals , entrepreneurs should identify specific venture partners, rather than target firms as a whole. Prep Steps.

Venture Capital 236

Venture Capital Capital Research Customer 236

SoCal CTO

JUNE 9, 2010

Why Entrepreneurs Hate Lawyers. My Obsession With The Product - Feld Thoughts , May 3, 2010 For some reason I’ve been doing a lot of interviews lately. 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.

Startup 248

Startup Venture Capital Conference Social Media 248

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 26, 2011

I have often said that what separates real entrepreneurs from pundits and bystanders is a bias towards getting things done versus over analyzing things. The startup entrepreneur knows that they’re going to be wrong often. Great entrepreneurs find a way. But if you’re afraid of firing people you shouldn’t be an entrepreneur.

Startup 335

Startup Technical Review Framework Entrepreneur 335

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2009

My blog linked to Brad Feld’s blog because I was so grateful for his series on term sheets and he was one of the biggest reasons that as a VC I felt compelled to blog. On December 3rd Brad Feld wrote a one paragraph blog post titled “ Raising Venture Capital &# in which he linked to my blog. Folksonomy.

Venture Capital 274

Venture Capital Blogging Startup Slides 274

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 7, 2012

The other reason for building it, is LA is crapped on all the time from a press perspective and entrepreneur perspective. The other amazing thing, is getting access to people like David Cohen and Brad Feld. My sort of selection method is to bring in people who can teach me stuff. How did you and Charlotte get into software?

Startup 242

Startup CTO Coach Blogging Social Media 242

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 21, 2010

I recently read a post over on VentureHacks titled, “ Top Ten Reasons Entrepreneurs Hate Lawyers &# written by Scott Walker (who blogs on legal issues for entrepreneurs ). Because many great entrepreneurs work with lawyers in registering their companies they have their ear to the pavement on the earliest of company formations.

Startup 318

Startup IP Southern California Entrepreneur 318