Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 17, 2019

I became a VC 12 years ago in 2007 when the pace of deals was much slower. As I was trying to figure out the role I wanted to play in the VC world I decided I wanted to focus on businesses that were building deeply technical products to solve problems for business users. We not only have our Series A funds that can write $500k?—?$15

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Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 3, 2016

In the VC insider baseball world a discussion has gone on about “VC platforms” over the past 5 or so years. While firms define platforms differently, let’s just say they are the services that a VC offers outside of investment capital and partner time on boards or providing intros.

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Venture Capital Platform Startup Resource 150

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 27, 2023

Most aspiring entrepreneurs look to their alma mater, or any university, as a source of classes that can help them, but neglect to think outside the box or take advantage of all the other resources to be found there. Get help with grant funding and incubator resources. Access to entrepreneurs-in-residence, business mentors.

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Entrepreneur Class Startup Resource 110

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 2, 2014

Too many entrepreneurs tell me they are looking for an investor, and can’t differentiate between venture capital (VC) investors versus accredited Angel investors. They fail to realize that the considerations are quite different for each, which can make or break their investment efforts, and ultimately their startup.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 12, 2023

Too many entrepreneurs tell me they are looking for an investor, and can’t differentiate between venture capital (VC) investors versus accredited angel investors. They fail to realize that the considerations are quite different for each, which can make or break their investment efforts, and ultimately their startup.

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Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 8, 2014

And there’s none that makes me happier than to announce that Jordan Hudson has been promoted to a Principal at Upfront Ventures. What is a principal at a VC firm and how does it work at Upfront Ventures? ” Associates have different functions at different VCs. VC firm admin. Portfolio community building.

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TechCrunch LA

JANUARY 18, 2019

With an inaugural investment into the Los Angeles-based entertainment startup Culture Genesis , Clifford Harris Jr., ”, has launched a new syndicated investment vehicle called Tech Cypha. billion in 2018, a record for the region, according to data from Pitchbook and the National Venture Capital Association.

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Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 11, 2021

Venture capitalists sometimes make an error in directing their portfolio company CEOs to push resources to the limit and scale the business to immense size quickly, all to seize market share. Many, many companies accepting venture capital lost it all following this instruction. Here’s a lesson from experience. But beware.

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Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 14, 2010

They had received a term sheet from a VC and were wondering whether to work with this firm. I often tell people that raising venture capital is more difficult than getting married. Not so in venture capital. You’re tied at the hip to your VC. But what about once you have a term sheet?

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socalTECH

OCTOBER 28, 2020

Two, Los Angeles-area venture capital investment funds have gotten backing from PayPal , as part of a new effort by PayPal to support Black and Latinx-led venture capital funds. led by Austin Clements and Ajay Relan; and VamosVentures , led by Marcos C. Slauson & Co. READ MORE>>.

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Berkonomics

JANUARY 25, 2024

Entrepreneurs will have a relative willing to devote time, a school friend with business experience, professionals who charge for the service, investors with a reason to promote your success and more. We had no term for such work in those days and created the phrase “resource capitalist” to describe the person and process.

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Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 4, 2010

I’m not anti VC. But there are a lot of things that become norms in the VC industry that always drove me crazy from entrepreneur’s side of the table. One of them is when VCs say, “I’d like to ‘noodle’ on that for a while.&#. I’d love it if VCs gave more honest and direct feedback.

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TechCrunch LA

MAY 20, 2021

Builders VC led the round, which included participation from Celtic, Newfund and Wish co-founder Danny Zhang. There’s all these individual contractors out there and even though they are very affordable, it’s very hard for them to get to the homeowners, as they don’t have much resources,” Wu, a Chinese immigrant, told TechCrunch. “So

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Technical Review Startup Venture Capital Software Review 185

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 4, 2010

It was especially fun for me because we got the chance to talk about the VC industry and how entrepreneurs should think about the VC industry in addition to discussing deals. Clearstone currently invests out of a $200 million fund based in LA with offices in Menlo Park and in India. Segment Two: “Deal of the Week”.

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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.

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Berkonomics

JUNE 8, 2017

Email readers, continue here…] Bootstrapping: This term describes your ability to start a business with little investment and grow it using internally-generated funds. And even with the significant cost of credit card debt, many entrepreneurs aggressively use existing cards to finance a startup.

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SoCal Tech Calendar

MARCH 23, 2012

Wednesday, March 28, 2012 -- Maverick Angels Open Evening for Entrepreneurs. The Open Evening is an event geared towards familiarizing entrepreneurs with: Angel and Venture Capital investing strategies; Maverick Angels unique investment process; Entrepreneur resource networks; Navigating the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 5, 2023

Some entrepreneurs start polling venture capitalists for that multi-million-dollar investment before they even have a business plan. Every entrepreneur needs help and support along the way, from developing the initial idea, to selling off the successful business (exit strategy).

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Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 14, 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 wanted to also post the series here to have it as a resource on my blog for future entrepreneurs who stop by. Excite, Ask Jeeves and Lycos? Yeah, right.

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Entrepreneur Startup Venture Capital Google 338

SoCal Tech Calendar

NOVEMBER 22, 2012

Wednesday, November 28, 2012 -- Open Evening for Entrepreneurs - Los Angeles. Fellow Mavericks and Friends of our Network: Come prepared with your questions for our "Ask the Angels" panel, at the next Maverick Angels Open Evening for Entrepreneurs on Wednesday, November 28, 2012. Maverick Angels. See [link] (more)

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InfoChachkie

JANUARY 16, 2018

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. We both made personal investments in the company. I’m not claiming that bootstrapping has been easy.

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Venture Capital Entrepreneur Santa Barbara SaaS 115

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. Explain what kinds of investments TenOneTen makes or hopes to make? David Waxman: We''ve been making investments since the beginning of the year.

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Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 12, 2012

Even with great credentials, it is all too possible for an entrepreneur to come across as a high risk investment. Here are some “rules of thumb” that indicate a marketable and experienced entrepreneur: Highlights team strengths, more than his own. Loner entrepreneurs won’t get their foot in the door with any investor I know.

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SoCal Tech Calendar

OCTOBER 20, 2011

Wednesday, October 26, 2011 -- The Halo Effect: How Angels can Bridge the Entrepreneur Funding Gap. You are invited to attend the next Maverick Angels Open Evening for Entrepreneurs at the University of Southern California. Maverick Angels. See [link] (more)

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Berkonomics

AUGUST 13, 2020

In fact, many angel investors or venture capitalists look for and respect the lessons learned by entrepreneurs that have survived a failed business. The key question is: Why did an entrepreneur fail? A successful entrepreneur who has seen the movie before is even more valued. You will have “seen the movie before”.

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Startup Entrepreneur Venture Capital Course 156

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2022

The problem is that professional investors (angels and venture capital) want a proven business model before they invest, ready to scale, rather than early projections and product development. For the rest of us, the following suggestions will help you survive the valley of death: Accumulate some resources before you start.

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Startup Technical Review Equity Incubator 136

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.

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Entrepreneur Marketing Venture Capital Hulu 330

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 27, 2012

My friend and fellow SoCal venture capitalist Peter Lee wrote a post about the different roles within a VC and spent much time on the role of an associate. These are the permanent members of a VC. The process for raising money from a VC is a sales process and as such much of what is taught in enterprise sales can be applied.

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Venture Capital Sales Entrepreneur Startup 308

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 30, 2020

Most aspiring entrepreneurs look to their alma mater, or any university, as a source of classes that can help them, but neglect to think outside the box or take advantage of all the other resources to be found there. Get help with grant funding and incubator resources. Access to entrepreneurs-in-residence, business mentors.

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Class Startup Resource Mentor 124

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 27, 2021

More and more entrepreneurs are hearing about the successful graduates and investors queued behind a few well-known startup incubators, including Y Combinator, TechStars, and the Founder Institute. In my view, the quality of incubator leadership is the single biggest potential value provided and learning opportunity for entrepreneurs.

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Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 3, 2010

This was really a fun week at TWiVC because we decided to have an entrepreneur come and talk about raising capital rather than having a VC come on. It’s always such a pleasure for me to spend time with Farb because he has all of the enthusiasm and energy you love to see in entrepreneurs. OTHER DEALS: 1. BlockChalk.

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Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 1, 2010

In today’s post I want to talk about the concept of a VC flightpath. This is my description of a VC process, not one I’ve heard from other VCs so don’t expect it to be accepted nomenclature. I have no idea why, but that’s always how it always felt to me when I was an entrepreneur raising money.

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Venture Capital Entrepreneur Capital Ideas 275

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 11, 2013

You can watch the video above for a very brief overview of why we rebranded and where we see our place in the VC ecosystem along with what has changed in our industry. The link for the video is here and if you want a short firsthand view on our changes it’s a great resource.

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socalTECH

APRIL 26, 2018

In a study which belies the opt-cited preference for "young" entrepreneurs in the startup and venture capital industry, a new study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology find that the mean age of the founders of the 1,000 fastest growing new ventures in the U.S. is actually 45.0. READ MORE>>.

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Study Venture Capital Resource Sales 147

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 14, 2014

According to a Gompers and Lerner study, the challenge is very real, with a majority of new ventures that don''t attract investors failing within the first three years. My first advice for new entrepreneurs is to pick a domain that doesn’t have the sky-high up-front development costs, like online web sites and smart phone apps.

Entrepreneur 113

Entrepreneur Funding Startup Technical Review 113

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 16, 2012

Some entrepreneurs start polling venture capitalists for that multi-million dollar investment before they even have a business plan. Every entrepreneur needs help and support along the way, from developing the initial idea, to selling off the successful business (exit strategy).

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Resource Startup Organization Incubator 94

Tech Zulu Event

AUGUST 8, 2013

is one of the most common questions I hear from early-stage entrepreneurs. To new entrepreneurs, this can seem like one of those vicious cycles: “I don’t have any connections to VCs so therefore I can’t make any connections.”. Once you have your list, talk to other entrepreneurs to get their impressions and feedback.

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Venture Capital Tips Incubator Startup 86