Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 16, 2010

I sit through a lot of presentations. Understand Personality Types – One of the benefits of working for a big company (Accenture) was that we had lots of speakers come in and train us in topics like leadership, creativity, presentations, strategy, etc. I’m also reasonably intelligent as most VCs you present to will be.

Slides 358

Slides Venture Capital Startup Summary 358

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 25, 2021

It seems like everyone wants to be an entrepreneur and get rich these days. Pitching” is the insider term for presenting your product idea to people who could conceivably buy it or fund your efforts. Investors learned this a long time ago, so most will tell you that they invest in people, not ideas.

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Ideas Entrepreneur Mentor Resource 136

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 4, 2020

As an entrepreneur, I understand your passion when pitching your solution to investors and customers, but passion alone won’t make one more technology pitch stand out above all the rest. Investors tell me that they invest in people, more than products. Thus it behooves you to highlight your message with a bit of storytelling.

Startup 145

Startup Competition Customer Custom 145

socalTECH

AUGUST 6, 2013

The LAUNCH Fund , the angel investment fund of Los Angeles angel and entrepreneur Jason Calacanis, is looking to invest $200,000 in startups who present at two of the events being run by Calacanis over the next couple of months, according to an announcement by Calacanis Tuesday.

Invest 147

Invest Funding Startup Conference 147

SoCal Tech Calendar

JANUARY 5, 2013

Friday, January 11, 2013 -- Maverick Angels Investment Accelerator. Many entrepreneurs have promising businesses but are not skilled in how best to present themselves to investors. Do you have a great business idea?

Invest 113

Invest Angel Venture Capital Startup 113

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 31, 2020

Most technical entrepreneurs I know demand the discipline of a product specification or plan, and then assume that their great product will drive a great business. Is it any wonder why so few entrepreneurs ever find the professional investors they seek? Yet I’m still often approached by aspiring entrepreneurs who have neither.

Entrepreneur 124

Entrepreneur Startup Summary Product 124

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 17, 2020

Although most people believe that being a successful entrepreneur is all about having the right idea, I’m convinced from my years of experience as a startup advisor and investor that’s it’s more about you as a person. The best entrepreneurs are not just dreamers of the next big thing – they have to be great facilitators and problem solvers.

Entrepreneur 129

Entrepreneur Blogging Examples Customer 129

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 13, 2011

I believe in this so much that, despite my post advising you to be prepared for the *norm* in VC, I wrote a post about a company that came in for a presentation and never even got the slides out or presented a demo. The “Triple Play&# of VC Presentations. Be ready to map your presentation to their preferred method.

Venture Capital 299

Venture Capital Slides Technical Advisors Startup 299

SoCal Tech Calendar

APRIL 22, 2011

Thursday, April 28, 2011 -- Power of Angel Investing. This full-day seminar provides an overview of the angel investing process including the details of finding, evaluating, and structuring deals. It will also go into depth on how to develop angel-entrepreneur relationships that lead to success.

Invest 113

Invest Angel Case Study Study 113

SoCal Tech Calendar

APRIL 6, 2012

Thursday, April 12, 2012 -- Power of Angel Investing Seminar. This full-day definitive seminar provides an overview of the angel investing process including the details of finding, evaluating, and structuring deals. It will also go into depth on how to develop angel-entrepreneur relationships that lead to success.

Invest 100

Invest Tech Coast Angels Angel Case Study 100

SoCal Tech Calendar

APRIL 6, 2012

Thursday, April 12, 2012 -- Power of Angel Investing Seminar. This full-day seminar provides an overview of the angel investing process including the details of finding, evaluating, and structuring deals. It will also go into depth on how to develop angel-entrepreneur relationships that lead to success. See [link] (more)

Invest 113

Invest Angel Case Study Study 113

SoCal Tech Calendar

JULY 9, 2012

Wednesday, July 11, 2012 -- Maverick Angels Open Evening for Entrepreneurs. The Maverick Angels Open Evening for Entrepreneurs is an event geared towards familiarizing entrepreneurs with the Maverick Angels process, our members, and our sponsors. See [link] (more)

Entrepreneur 113

Entrepreneur Angel Startup Examples 113

Tech Zulu Event

MARCH 21, 2014

The Bitcoinference served as day 1 of 2 for 500 Startups’ “Commercism” series, with an official agenda that covered industry happenings, social dynamics, and a look into the investment environment. A profile of the state of the Bitcoin industry and its presence of female entrepreneurs. Getting Things Started.

Startup 104

Startup Venture Capital Draper Invest 104

Berkonomics

MAY 25, 2023

First, if your vision is limited and you will be happy with a successful local dry-cleaning enterprise or small restaurant around the corner, you are not the target for this epic effort to help entrepreneurs build great businesses that do change the world. Please take what you can from these weekly posts. Many will apply directly to you.)

Entrepreneur 156

Entrepreneur Course Resource Email 156

SoCal Tech Calendar

AUGUST 4, 2012

Friday, August 10, 2012 -- Clean Business Investment Summit. See [link].

Invest 113

Invest Entrepreneur Capital 113

Tech Zulu Event

DECEMBER 18, 2013

We will also have some of the top companies present that each of the panelist has invested in. Our Panelist Include: Brock Pierce - Starting & Investing in Bitcoin, Games, and Gambling Businesses. Brock Pierce is a 10x entrepreneur best known for pioneering the market for digital currency.

Startup 111

Startup Entertainment Media Santa Barbara 111

SoCal Tech Calendar

MAY 4, 2010

Monday, May 10, 2010 -- Power of Angel Investing. This full-day seminar provides an overview of the angel investing process including the details of finding, evaluating, and structuring deals and developing angel-entrepreneur relationships that lead to success. San Diego Tech Coast Angels.

Invest 100

Invest Tech Coast Angels Angel Case Study 100

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 17, 2017

He eventually founded and sold consumer health firm ViSalus to a public company and is now back making investments, in technology companies, as a venture capitalist here at Los Angeles-based HashtagOne (www.hashtagone.com). What's the theme of your investments? That's why we have investments in Heal, Saucey, and FragMob.

Venture Capital 100

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Technical Review Software Review 100

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 18, 2023

Once an entrepreneur, always an entrepreneur. Although many won’t admit it, true entrepreneurs can’t wait to exit their current startup, and build a new and better one with their next great idea. For these reasons, I always look for an overt exit strategy in every startup I might consider for an angel investment.

Startup 99

Startup Entrepreneur Metrics Acquisition 99

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 15, 2012

If you are new to the startup space and Angel investing, you probably don’t realize that some groups of Angel investors charge entrepreneurs a fee to pitch to their groups. In reality, these fees are usually trivial compared to your real costs of preparing, travelling, and presenting to investors. Find and fix that first.

Entrepreneur 95

Entrepreneur Angel Funding Blogging 95

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 8, 2014

” It’s the most common refrain I hear from investors and even entrepreneurs these days. ” I hear it when I visit LPs (the people who invest in VCs) all across the country, “Yeah, I haven’t been out there for a few years but I keep hearing that something is going on there.” LA By The Numbers.

Entrepreneur 376

Entrepreneur Snapchat Startup Truecar 376

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 19, 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 started the series talking about what I consider the most important attribute of an entrepreneur : Tenacity. Many entrepreneurs struggle with their setbacks.

Entrepreneur 288

Entrepreneur Startup Slides Seed Funding 288

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 7, 2011

A few months ago I wrote a post called “ Invest in Lines, Not Dots.&# It was my investment philosophy that observing teams’ performance over time was far more insightful than reacting to how good of a product demo they do, how good they present Powerpoint slides or how great tech blogs say they are. Let me explain.

Entrepreneur 330

Entrepreneur Marketing Venture Capital Hulu 330

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 19, 2009

(In case it’s not obvious it’s a play on the Nike slogan, “Just Do It.&# ) I believe that being successful as an entrepreneur requires you to get lots of things done. Entrepreneurs make fast decisions and move forward knowing that at best 70% of their decisions are going to be right. This paralyzes most people.

Entrepreneur 414

Entrepreneur Technical Review Slides CTO Coach 414

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2023

Every entrepreneur and business executive knows that continuous innovation is required to survive, but most struggle with this more than any other challenge they face. Sponsor experiments and measure like new investments. Invest more energy in the “horse you can control.” Innovation driven by the next crisis is not leadership.

Framework 96

Framework Ideas Competition IBM 96

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 16, 2016

I’ve seen several presentations that never moved past the first slide before running out of time. Some entrepreneurs seem to think that their product pitch is also their investor pitch. Research your audience before presenting. Others can be present for effect, but deferrals to team members for answers are a sign of weakness.

Startup 64

Startup Slides Technical Review Research 64

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 13, 2019

If you want people to invest in your idea, then my best advice is first write a business plan, and keep it simple. The one-page Oprah plan is a good executive summary, but it’s not enough to get the investment. Don't confuse your business plan with a doctoral thesis or the back of a napkin. Polish the overall look and feel.

Tips 96

Tips Entrepreneur Writing Content 96

InfoChachkie

MAY 6, 2013

This is due to a fundamental disconnect between the increased activity of high-volume seed investors (that fill out lots of Seed rounds) and the relatively small number of Series A investors, who only make 1 or 2 investments, per partner, per year.". There is a similar Darwinian aspect to venture capital investing.

Entrepreneur 246

Entrepreneur Venture Capital Technical Review Capital 246

SoCal Tech Calendar

MARCH 19, 2010

Thursday, March 25, 2010 -- Clean Business Investment Summit. The Summit allows clean tech, green, socially responsible, and sustainable enterprises to present their companies to investors looking for viable, ethical Clean Business opportunities. See [link] (more).

Invest 100

Invest Entrepreneur Capital Marketing 100

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 13, 2016

Entrepreneurs who are looking to attract investors need to develop and pitch a plan -- preferably written -- that answers every potential investor question about your startup before it is asked. Investors will be looking for a sizing validated by industry analysts large enough for good investment returns.

Invest 108

Invest Startup Slides Equity 108

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 10, 2015

As an advisor to entrepreneurs and active angel investor, I often get questions about the realism of the Shark Tank TV series, compared to professional investor negotiations. Yet the process is eerily realistic, and every entrepreneur can glean some important lessons. Investors invest in people, more than ideas.

Entrepreneur 106

Entrepreneur Sample Ideas Custom 106

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 26, 2010

This is part of my series on what makes an entrepreneur successful. I originally posted it on VentureHacks , one of my favorite websites for entrepreneurs. I started the series talking about what I consider the most important attribute of an entrepreneur : Tenacity. The best entrepreneurs focus on details.

Entrepreneur 286

Entrepreneur Startup CTO Hire Sales 286

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 22, 2021

Yet in my experience on both sides of this equation, I find that many aspiring entrepreneurs focus only on the best idea , assuming that it will attract the right investors. Investors love entrepreneurs who come across as constantly on the lookout for new ideas, and able to grasp the larger implications for market change.

Ideas 140

Ideas Entrepreneur Equity Resource 140

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 3, 2021

Based on my own years of experience in startups and big business, and more recently as an angel investor, I often cringe when I see one of you entrepreneurs missing a cue that I have seen work for many before you. A passionate entrepreneur I met a while back had found that a certain algae could be grown cheaply, and could end world hunger.

Entrepreneur 162

Entrepreneur Social Media Examples Metrics 162

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 11, 2023

Savvy entrepreneurs start testing their ideas on potential customers even before the concept is fully cooked. This early in the game, any coverage and peer review is better than just being another unknown entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs who wait to be found are destined to spend a lot of time alone.

Ideas 126

Ideas Startup Social Media Blogging 126

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 19, 2010

As a member of the local angel group Selection Committee, I’ve seen a lot of startup presentations to investors, and I’ve never seen one that was too short - maybe short on content, but not short on pages! Every startup needs both a business plan and an investor presentation, completed before you formally approach any investors.

Slides 94

Slides Competition Sample Sales 94

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 24, 2023

Investors invest in people, not ideas. As an entrepreneur, you need relationships to succeed. The Power of Self-Discipline ,” outlined seven ways to make other people feel important, which I believe are extremely relevant to entrepreneurs and business: Accept people the way they are. Customers buy from people, not companies.

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Customer Custom Outsource Development Entrepreneur 90