Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 8, 2023

Most entrepreneurs have found by now one or more of the many popular crowdfunding sites , and have the name and contact information for at least one of the big venture capital firms. Here are eight key insights that will help you find a productive match: Angels want equity ownership, not causes. Marty Zwilling

Venture Capital 106

Venture Capital Angel Seed Funding Invest 106

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 4, 2010

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. Translation for any first time entrepreneurs can mean one of: a. As an entrepreneur you’re used to being optimistic and finding a way to make things work despite the odds. I get that.

Entrepreneur 297

Entrepreneur Startup Venture Capital Java 297

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

We’re going to start aggressively spend money on marketing our product. In a world where the economy only heads in one direction (read: 2009-2014) most investors & entrepreneurs forget to pay attention to gross burn. We want a strong balance sheet (um, ok. but that’s our firm’s money on your balance sheet.

Startup 383

Startup Company Companies .Net 383

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 19, 2022

Even if you ignore all the hype around crowdfunding, there can be no doubt that it is a real alternative for entrepreneurs to achieve visibility and funding today. Product pre-order model. With this model, a startup pre-sells their product early, at a cheaper price, in exchange for a pledge. Interest on debt model.

Funding 141

Funding Startup Outsource Development Satisfaction 141

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 5, 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. Entrepreneurs are inherently risk takers.

Entrepreneur 293

Entrepreneur Startup Venture Capital CTO Hire 293

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 30, 2010

Seth Levine of Foundry Group addresses this important topic this morning on his blog with a post, “ Has Convertible Debt Won ?&# I have to say that I didn’t take the question to mean that convertible debt had won for the entire market, but either way it’s clear that convertible debt has become an increasing trend.

Equity 319

Equity Pricing Venture Capital Entrepreneur 319

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 11, 2021

Many first-time entrepreneurs find themselves unable to bootstrap their startups, and also unable to find early funding at the venture capital level or even with angel investors. These are the only people likely to believe in newbies, with only minimal product evidence or business experience.

Funding 138

Funding Startup Equity Invest 138

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 1, 2015

Image via Flickr by Jupiter Labs Many first-time entrepreneurs find themselves unable to bootstrap their startups, and also unable to find early funding at the venture capital level or even with angel investors. These are the only people likely to believe in newbies, with only minimal product evidence or business experience.

Entrepreneur 106

Entrepreneur Startup Equity Invest 106

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. Most Silicon Valley tech entrepreneurs I know are more like Al Gore. It is election season. But here’s the thing. They have very accomplished backgrounds.

Entrepreneur 370

Entrepreneur Startup Press Venture Capital 370

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 27, 2021

Most entrepreneurs have found by now one or more of the many popular crowdfunding sites , and have the name and contact information for at least one of the big venture capital firms. Here are eight key insights that will help you find a productive match: Angels want equity ownership, not causes. Marty Zwilling.

Angel 126

Angel Funding Venture Capital Seed Funding 126

socalTECH

DECEMBER 27, 2018

Editor's note: All this week, and into the start of next year, we'll be featuring reflections on 2018 from notable investors, entrepreneurs, and others from Southern California's technology community. Over the last four years, I watched numerous entrepreneurs raise equity. You'll be able to browse all of those contributions here.

Southern California 133

Southern California SoCal Culver City Venture Capital 133

TechCrunch LA

OCTOBER 25, 2019

That’s why one former Goldman Sachs banker has partnered with two entrepreneurs from the traditional agriculture industry to create Bespoke Financial. “Cannabis will become a broad, mature industry just like any other, and if that is going to happen, there needs to be a debt structure that can support that,” Mancheril says.

Capital 103

Capital Company Companies Los Angeles 103

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 15, 2010

I spoke about the need of the CEO, CTO and head of Products to be in the same location. Can you please explain convertible debt and specifically how it pertains to angel deals? If you’re an entrepreneur, all else equal you prefer convertible debt because the deal is priced at a later stage when you’re worth more.

Venture Capital 210

Venture Capital Seed Funding Pricing Southern California 210

Berkonomics

JUNE 8, 2017

Certainly, bootstrapping is a preferred method of funding growth if it does not hold back the speed of growth or hobble the quality of product or service to the extent that better-funded competitors can overtake the business. There is a lot to say about retaining control. Dave’s book and ebook on raising money available on Amazon.com.

Venture Capital 266

Venture Capital Class Invest Equity 266

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 22, 2020

In their passion to succeed, too many entrepreneurs treat friends and family investments as “low-hanging” fruit, only to find out later, after a stumble, that the pain of lost relationships is greater than the loss of their beloved startup. Tie payments to your product or service revenue. Loans are a safer option than equity.

Funding 123

Funding Startup Equity Venture Capital 123

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 23, 2010

Often when startups who have raised venture capital need another round of financing they will turn to their existing investors to give them money before raising from outsiders. It starts as a debt instrument (e.g. a loan) that is later converted to equity at the time of the next financing.

Startup 290

Startup Funding Venture Capital Pricing 290

TechCrunch LA

AUGUST 5, 2022

A few minutes away from downtown Atlanta, Collab Studio ATL describes itself as “a tech-based one-stop shop for content creators, HBCU students and young entrepreneurs to achieve their business goals.” The productivity at the studio is much better than the house for business and content.”. View this post on Instagram.

Platform 210

Platform Social Media Netflix Content 210

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 9, 2013

I spoke this past week at the LeWeb conference in London, which was a superbly well run event with a very quality production team. They are also driving down the margins they make and are offering products that are initially lower functionality than their competitors. Add unemployment to debt. Will this Trend Last?

Marketing 361

Marketing Course Pricing Networking 361

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 19, 2018

As an advisor to young entrepreneurs, I find that many are a bit naïve about how the investment process really works. In my first working session with this entrepreneur, I suggested ways to break this request into stages or tranches, based on showing traction, with the first amount in a more affordable range of $50 thousand or less.

Tips 86

Tips Funding Startup Entrepreneur 86

socalTECH

MAY 30, 2012

If you're a startup business owner, how do you get to the next step, and build your first product? That's the idea behind a new startup, Fundable , headed by serial entrepreneur Wil Schroter , which allows you to use rewards -- product, company schwag, an even equity -- as a tool to get your startup to the next stage.

Startup 223

Startup Equity Venture Capital Ideas 223

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 27, 2010

Entrepreneurs who experience promising initial success also play a similar game. Although the offer was gratifying, it was clear to the Founders that this windfall would ultimately fall far short of the value that could be created by productizing the technology and generating substantial user adoption. The payout was also unique.

Entrepreneur 124

Entrepreneur Venture Capital Acquisition Pricing 124

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 11, 2012

Many entrepreneurs I know feel guilty about not quitting their day job when initiating their startup, worrying about not giving their all to an employer, juggling the multiple roles, or even a legal conflict of interest. Then there are the more pragmatic questions of how to make concurrent startup efforts productive. Marty Zwilling.

Entrepreneur 95

Entrepreneur Startup Ideas Funding 95

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 27, 2010

Entrepreneurs who experience promising initial success also play a similar game. Although the offer was gratifying, it was clear to the Founders that this windfall would ultimately fall far short of the value that could be created by productizing the technology and generating substantial user adoption. The payout was also unique.

Entrepreneur 124

Entrepreneur Acquisition Pricing .Net 124

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 25, 2010

Not that they’re “such a bad idea&# but more that there are inherent problems for entrepreneurs in the process of raising angel money that need to be addressed. This leads to the problem of “herding cats&# for entrepreneurs raising angel money. Another mechanism is “convertible debt with a cap&# (max price).

Venture Capital 286

Venture Capital Pricing Technical Review Startup 286

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 16, 2015

Most entrepreneurs have found by now one or more of the many popular crowdfunding sites , and have the name and contact information for at least one of the big venture capital firms. Here are eight key insights that will help you find a productive match: Angels want equity ownership, not causes.

Angel 106

Angel Startup Venture Capital Seed Funding 106

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 21, 2015

Even if you ignore all the hype around crowdfunding, there can be no doubt that it is a real alternative for entrepreneurs to achieve visibility and funding today. Product pre-order model. With this model, a startup pre-sells their product early, at a cheaper price, in exchange for a pledge. Interest on debt model.

Venture Capital 108

Venture Capital Angel Satisfaction Equity 108

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 23, 2013

The new hot topic for entrepreneurs the last couple of years is crowd funding, which is anticipated to at least supplement, if not replace, the slow and mysterious process of current Angel and venture capital investors. It has had some notable successes for entrepreneurs (over $1M in funding), as well as non-starters.

Funding 99

Funding Satisfaction Sites Outsource Development 99

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 11, 2015

In their passion to succeed, too many entrepreneurs treat friends and family investments as “low-hanging” fruit, only to find out later, after a stumble, that the pain of lost relationships is greater than the loss of their beloved startup. Tie payments to your product or service revenue. Loans are a safer option than equity.

Startup 97

Startup Equity Entrepreneur Venture Capital 97

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 19, 2014

In the US, many entrepreneurs see grants as “free money,” since they are not loans and don’t have to be repaid. A grant is not an equity investment, so the entrepreneur doesn’t have to give up a stake in the company either. Grants start as small a few thousand dollars, but can provide millions of dollars in capital to new ventures.

Startup 97

Startup High Tech Research Funding 97

socalTECH

DECEMBER 12, 2013

We caught up with CEO Simon Anderson to learn more about the big debt funding round and how it came about, the complexities of providing founder liquidity in a bootstrapped company--and how the company is looking to use those funds to take the company to the next level. Our target market is entrepreneurs, creatives, and developers.

Software Review 238

Software Review Cloud Computing Technical Review Platform 238

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 10, 2014

In their passion to succeed, too many entrepreneurs treat friends and family investments as “low-hanging” fruit, only to find out later, after a stumble, that the pain of lost relationships is greater than the loss of their beloved startup. Tie payments to your product or service revenue. Loans are a safer option than equity.

Funding 101

Funding Startup Equity Entrepreneur 101

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 9, 2018

In their passion to succeed, too many entrepreneurs treat friends and family investments as “low-hanging” fruit, only to find out later, after a stumble, that the pain of lost relationships is greater than the loss of their beloved startup. Tie payments to your product or service revenue. Loans are a safer option than equity.

Funding 59

Funding Startup Equity Entrepreneur 59

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2012

The new hot topic for entrepreneurs these days is crowd funding, which is anticipated to at least supplement, if not replace, the slow and mysterious process of current Angel and venture capital investors. It has had some notable successes for entrepreneurs (over $1M in funding), as well as non-starters. Marty Zwilling.

Funding 96

Funding Satisfaction Sites Outsource Development 96

SoCal Delicious

MAY 6, 2012

where entrepreneurs share their stories. 63 Los Angeles Entrepreneurs To Be Proud Of By mario on May 2, 2012 in Features , grid. Free Corporations For First-Time Entrepreneurs. Right now they’re setting up 500 free corporations for first time entrepreneurs. Here are 62 63 Los Angeles entrepreneurs we can be proud of.

Los Angeles 78

Los Angeles Entrepreneur Angel Fractional CTO 78

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 13, 2013

In the US, many entrepreneurs see grants as “free money,” since they are not loans and don’t have to be repaid. A grant is not an equity investment, so the entrepreneur doesn’t have to give up a stake in the company either. Grants start as small a few thousand dollars, but can provide millions of dollars in capital to new ventures.

Equity 92

Equity Startup High Tech Research 92

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

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. So here is what I have been telling entrepreneurs privately for the past 6 months. In any given year there are about 50 venture-backed companies or so that are bought for $100 million or more. I believe that.

Pricing 309

Pricing Marketing Startup Venture Capital 309