Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2012

She actually IS the prototypical entrepreneur. It represents the great majority of entrepreneurship and eschews the fairytale rags-to-VC-riches stories we so often read about in the press. But Tracy did what entrepreneurs do. Sam is the managing director of Launchpad LA and we were about to pick our 2012 class of entrepreneurs.

Startup 363

Startup Entrepreneur SEO Venture Capital 363

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 17, 2019

At Upfront, our partners have been fortunate enough to be part of 18 companies that have reached north of $1 billion and the average tenure of an investment that exits at this scale is more than 10 years. We not only have our Series A funds that can write $500k?—?$15 15 million first checks but we also have three growth funds.

Venture Capital 223

Venture Capital IP Startup Google 223

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 14, 2013

Ever notice how some companies tend to be in the press all the time and your big new product launch struggled for inches? ” Here’s what I mean … Let’s start with what it takes for a journalist to want to write a story. They are an investment bank that targets the technology & media sectors.

Marketing 389

Marketing Press Blogging Startup 389

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2013

And a few teams of super talented, educated and bright entrepreneurs make a few mill. It has even gone so far that we now have evocative headlines in the tech press such as “ Buy or Die ,” which is what got me thinking about this post. The numbers you see announced in the press for deals are hardly ever right.

Press 357

Press Startup Yahoo Venture Capital 357

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2010

They have marked-up paper gains propped up by an over excited venture capital market that has validated their investments. Logic tells me the following: It is hard to make money angel investing. We jockey to make sure the press release has our names on it. It was an investment management class. Why should you care?

Invest 299

Invest Angel Technical Review Venture Capital 299

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. Wow, we''ve heard about your newsletter, and it seems to be motivating and inspiring entrepreneurs around the country.

Newsletter 133

Newsletter Startup Entrepreneur Writing 133

InfoChachkie

MAY 5, 2011

Just as Batman repeatedly avoids Poison Ivy’s kiss of death, so too must entrepreneurs avoid the Kiss of Death provisions which BDCs attempt to include in their agreements. Relinquish Press Release Capabilities. However, avoid writing contracts that may contractually hold the other party to an economically infeasible deal.

Outsource Development 244

Outsource Development Entrepreneur Resource Press 244

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2013

I hear a lot of entrepreneurs contemplating their great “idea” for several years with little discernable progress, and looking for money to start. Forcing yourself to write down a plan is actually the only way to make sure you actually have a plan. Show personal investment. milestones entrepreneur startup funding business'

Funding 112

Funding Entrepreneur Startup CTO Hire 112

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. If you use a publisher, they may add more visibility with press releases and book-signing events.

Writing 19

Writing Technical Review Entrepreneur Advertising 19

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 9, 2014

I have blogged about some of the downside consequences of the changes and the private information I have says the consequences are much worse than is reported in the press since few people publicly talk about. We led an investment round in a company a while ago in which we wrote a seven-figure check and have taken a board seat.

Venture Capital 352

Venture Capital Seed Funding Email Blogging 352

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 25, 2013

After all, I am no stranger to the publicly expressing the frustrations of dealing with the downside of this industry as I wrote about in 2006 when I was an entrepreneur. In the original version of his post, Andy writes. Most top tier VCs return about 3x invested capital and outlier funds (the best of a vintage) might return 6-8x.

Venture Capital 374

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Invest Funding 374

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 4, 2013

Because entrepreneurs often went to lawyers at their earliest stages to get their company registration done. Entrepreneurial lawyers like Don Lee , Dave Young or Ted Wang are good at sussing out which entrepreneurs are high potential. I asked for intro’s from entrepreneur friends. I spent time on college campuses.

Venture Capital 347

Venture Capital Startup Pricing Invest 347

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 4, 2013

Because entrepreneurs often went to lawyers at their earliest stages to get their company registration done. Entrepreneurial lawyers like Don Lee , Dave Young or Ted Wang are good at sussing out which entrepreneurs are high potential. I asked for intro’s from entrepreneur friends. Real life entrepreneurs are messier.

Startup 361

Startup Venture Capital Pricing Technical Review 361

InfoChachkie

JULY 23, 2012

Serial entrepreneur, venture investor and startup accelerator pioneer Brad Feld has notoriously mocked traditional marketing throughout his career. If you look at many of the companies we invest in, sure they have traditional marketing activities, but most of their growth and momentum comes from delighting their users.

Marketing 233

Marketing Blogging Startup Venture Capital 233

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 5, 2014

Last week a company we enthusiastically backed, uBeam , led by a very special entrepreneur, 25-year-old Meredith Perry , announced a $10 million round of financing. Here I make the case that entrepreneurs must stay focused on the prize, not the doubters. Entrepreneurs. ” **. It can be one of the strongest motivators.

Technical Review 417

Technical Review Startup Software Review Course 417

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. It sure wasn’t when I was a first-time entrepreneur.

Email 287

Email Blogging Venture Capital Writing 287

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 have written about the need for entrepreneurs to take inventory in themselves before deciding whom to hire as the rest of the team. and it forced me to spend some serious time thinking about what I really look for when I make investments.

Venture Capital 400

Venture Capital Conference Ideas Entrepreneur 400

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2018

If you truly believe that you, your company and your products are exceptional and your company will be valuable then you’re actually doing them a FAVOR by helping them invest in your startup. If you don’t believe in your bones that you’re amazing then it’s no wonder you don’t want to sell them on making the investment.”

Venture Capital 332

Venture Capital Funding Startup Sales 332

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 14, 2014

It’s why the first company I ever invested in as a VC – Invoca – just announced a $20 million funding by Accel Partners. Only naive people believe that but for inexperienced entrepreneurs you can be fooled into the narrative by the press who sometimes write stories without the actual data. PHONE CALLS.

Email 339

Email SaaS Venture Capital Google 339

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. I will write more about this in the next 2 weeks. I suppose I should have imagined that this line would get more press than all other comments combined. What a bubble means for each entrepreneur. Fair enough.

Pricing 309

Pricing Marketing Startup Venture Capital 309

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 12, 2011

Chris Dixon is one of my favorite people in tech and writes one of the few blogs I read religiously. He is the CEO of Hunch , company that I believe is solving a very big problem that I have been telling entrepreneurs needs to be solved for the past 2 years. I’ve also found him to not be dogmatic either.

Technical Review 281

Technical Review Venture Capital Startup Artificial Inteligence 281

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 1, 2016

We want to invest in early-stage technology enabled startup businesses – upfront in the funding cycle. In fact, 90% of our investments are either Seed or A-round investments (10% are B-round). We’re a national venture capital investment firm but with our roots firmly in Los Angeles. That’s healthy.

Startup 150

Startup Coach Course Invest 150

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 10, 2012

I even had some reservations about writing this blog post this because I have no desire to p**s off other investors or great entrepreneurs. You may already know all this since it occurred a couple of weeks ago and was already in the press. Of course not. It’s funny timing for me personally.

Blogging 328

Blogging Content Press Startup 328

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 1, 2011

There have been a lot of entrepreneurs here in software and other industries, and interestingly enough there seem to be more self-funded, bootstrapped firms here, rather than those looking for venture capital to get off the group. The traditional way to handle that is to write code. READ MORE>>.

Networking 214

Networking IBM IBM Pacific Palisades 214

InfoChachkie

APRIL 9, 2012

These entrepreneurs do not risk everything, work outrageous hours and put themselves under extreme pressure because they want to. If it were a decision to be an entrepreneur, then most right-minded individuals would decide to turn back when they encountered the first inevitable startup crises. Entrepreneurs want to matter.

Startup 243

Startup Ideas Entrepreneur Statistics 243

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 19, 2011

Matt’s commitment to re-investing in tech startups is reminiscent to this great Fred Wilson post of “recycling capital. &#. Big thank you to Darius Vasefi , of EyeOnJewels for the write up. o Huge on PR, “Be Everywhere” is his motto – fly to NY, proactively everywhere he could get press. That was a quick meeting!!

Acquisition 304

Acquisition Startup Customer Custom 304

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 17, 2017

I often ask entrepreneurs to consider, “What’s your objective? Of course when you think about it it’s kind of obvious but when people make snap judgments about information they hear about companies or read about in the press they often don’t take the time to start to consider the details. Let’s look at years 3–5 of these two companies.

Startup 227

Startup Venture Capital Sales Course 227

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 13, 2013

I spoke a lot about the need for “personal branding” which I plan to write about soon. My mom was an entrepreneur – she was kind of my inspiration for entrepreneurship. And no one could see me as anything but a startup guy, so I started a second company and called myself a serial entrepreneur.

Startup 337

Startup Entrepreneur Ideas Venture Capital 337

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 31, 2012

I hear a lot of entrepreneurs contemplating their great “idea” for several years with little discernable progress, and looking for money to start. Forcing yourself to write down a plan is actually the only way to make sure you actually have a plan. Show personal investment. Traction means forward progress.

Startup 104

Startup CTO Hire Press Customer 104

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 12, 2014

The starting point of product IS marketing, which is what a lot of young entrepreneurs that never studied business don’t realize. You might write a piece now and then that catches fire but there is nothing repeatable that would be useful for a business. Simply write a great book? How do people drive SEO growth?

Marketing 379

Marketing Startup SEM SEO 379

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 1, 2010

But I use this all of the time as a metaphor when talking with entrepreneurs in person and I’ve found it to be a useful way of explaining to entrepreneurs what is going in in the VC’s life. I have no idea why, but that’s always how it always felt to me when I was an entrepreneur raising money.

Venture Capital 275

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Capital Ideas 275

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 17, 2011

I hear a lot of entrepreneurs contemplating their great “idea” for several years with little discernable progress, and looking for money to start. Forcing yourself to write down a plan is actually the only way to make sure you actually have a plan. Show personal investment. Traction means forward progress.

Startup 101

Startup CTO Hire Press Customer 101

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 22, 2010

I hear a lot of entrepreneurs contemplating their great “idea” for several years with little discernable progress, and looking for money to start. Forcing yourself to write down a plan is actually the only way to make sure you actually have a plan. Show personal investment. Traction means forward progress. Marty Zwilling.

Tips 88

Tips Startup CTO Hire Press 88

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 23, 2015

For some aspiring to be tech entrepreneurs, I often suggest a two-step process, as I argued in this post that “ The First Startup Founder You Need to Invest in Is You.” At Upfront we invested in such a company. And one that you get to write. I’m just pointing out that it’s not for most people.

Technical Review 150

Technical Review Startup Venture Capital IP 150

Tech Zulu Event

JANUARY 15, 2014

About Amanda: After finishing business school at Wharton, she moved directly into investment banking and spent two years working within the tech sector. From building companies to providing insights across different industries, she’d gotten the full suite of experiences at Techstars (and encourages participation for any entrepreneur).

Outsource Development 108

Outsource Development Startup Incubator Press 108

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 15, 2010

In normal times investors will look for “traction&# before investing. This sometimes frustrates entrepreneurs who just want to “get back to running the business.&# But if you understand it you’ll see that it is perfectly rational and it should also influence how you form relationships with investors. I funded Ad.ly

Invest 411

Invest Technical Review Venture Capital Startup 411