Both Sides of the Table

JULY 27, 2014

What you’ll see if you watch the video is an unscripted and unfiltered look into how Scott Kupor & I see some of the changes and challenges of the venture industry. The only point we didn’t seem totally aligned on was what we happening to the “middle of the VC market.” tl;dr version.

Venture Capital 309

Venture Capital SaaS Writing Funding 309

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 16, 2018

Without taking a dime of outside capital, the company has achieved impressive success in a competitive, SaaS market segment, landing companies such as Nike, Intuit, NASA, AutoDesk and PBS. We build product roadmap software – it’s a SaaS company based here in Santa Barbara, California. Semick: They are.

Venture Capital 115

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Santa Barbara SaaS 115

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 22, 2012

He also nails the reason why venture capital is still necessary to grow large businesses quickly in a world where the costs of running startups have fallen dramatically. “Why do founders want to take the VCs’ money? .” After all, growth equals high valuations and loads of venture capital!

Startup 390

Startup Venture Capital Entrepreneur Technical Review 390

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 6, 2018

The best entrepreneurs in our industry focus on it year-round as opposed to just once every 18 months. As a VC I also have to fund raise every three years and these posts 100% apply to VCs raising money, too. Below is the outline Upfront. Lemons ripen early The hardest thing about fund raising is how dispiriting it can be.

Funding 236

Funding Venture Capital Startup Entrepreneur 236

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 7, 2010

I originally conceived it as the Top 11 things that I believe “all entrepreneurs need to succeed.&# If it stuck to this theme then I would stand by my top 11. It isn’t a “must&# for me but it’s certainly a huge positive when entrepreneurs have it. I learned the domain lesson myself. Another example.

Entrepreneur 267

Entrepreneur Startup SaaS San Diego 267

From the Venture Trenches

APRIL 11, 2013

Experience has shown that a strong emotional tie to a deal will help more than any other factor when raising venture funding. Entrepreneurs spend a lot of time and effort tracking performance, measuring sales traction and predicting growth in an effort to win over outside investors. The VC did not see the necessity of such a move.

Venture Capital 45

Venture Capital Capital Startup Invest 45

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 9, 2014

I often talk about what I’m looking for when I meet with an entrepreneur. Above all else I’m looking for a genuine passion for what the entrepreneur is doing. You can sense when it is a “mission” for this entrepreneur to succeed and she will continue the journey even if success isn’t easy or immediate.

Venture Capital 373

Venture Capital Startup Course Entrepreneur 373

socalTECH

DECEMBER 29, 2014

Today''s thoughts come from John Greathouse, who is a partner at Rincon Venture Partners. We enjoyed three rewarding exits this year, which is always fun for our entrepreneurs and LPs. We also brought in several top-tier VC firms onto the Boards of our portfolio companies, including: Sequoia, Accel, Kleiner and Volition.

Southern California 157

Southern California SaaS Venture Capital Entrepreneur 157

From the Venture Trenches

APRIL 11, 2013

Experience has shown that a strong emotional tie to a deal will help more than any other factor when raising venture funding. Entrepreneurs spend a lot of time and effort tracking performance, measuring sales traction and predicting growth in an effort to win over outside investors. The VC did not see the necessity of such a move.

Venture Capital 40

Venture Capital Capital Startup Invest 40

Tech Zulu Event

MAY 28, 2013

Join us for a special evening with InfoWorld’s Dave Linthicum as he delves into global enterprise software trends with some of LA’s most successful SaaS and cloud computing companies. The opportunities cloud computing and SaaS afford management. Paths to SaaS and cloud computing that will work for your enterprise. Scott Kriz.

SaaS 92

SaaS Cloud Computing CIO Web 92

socalTECH

MARCH 16, 2017

Are you an entrepreneur, looking for capital here in Southern California? It's turning out to be a great time for entrepreneurs looking for funding in the region, with not only high profile exits of such companies as Snap Inc., Watertower Ventures. Moonshots Capital. Greycroft Ventures. moonshotscapital.com.

Southern California 138

Southern California Artificial Inteligence Funding SoCal 138

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. How Much Capital You Have Raised / Your Runway In general I recommend that in early-stage startups you try to raise at least 15-18 months of runway.

Startup 212

Startup Venture Capital .Net Capital 212

socalTECH

OCTOBER 18, 2010

Manhattan Beach-based CapLinked , which develops online, software-as-a-service to help entrepreneurs connect with and keep their investors updated, is opening up its public beta today. Tags: management investment investor saas software venture capital entrepreneur interview paypal caplinked jackson eric.

Manhattan Beach 157

Manhattan Beach SaaS Venture Capital Sites 157

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 12, 2012

I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Steve Blank, author of Four Steps To The Epiphany , Stanford Professor and noted entrepreneur. The subject discussed in the video below is Steve’s belief that Venture Capitalists should begin their careers as operational entrepreneurs. The Alchemy Of A Great Venture Capitalist.

Venture Capital 239

Venture Capital Startup Entrepreneur SaaS 239

socalTECH

DECEMBER 26, 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. Here's Jim Andelman of Bonfire Ventures. Were pleased to be a part of one of SoCals greatest VC-backed successes.

Southern California 100

Southern California SoCal Venture Capital News 100

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

socalTECH

JANUARY 2, 2020

Every year, at the end of the year, we share some reflections on the past year from our readers, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, sponsors, and others in the local technology community. Today, we share the thoughts of Peter Cowen , Managing Director of Sutton Capital Partners (www.suttoncapitalpartners.com).

Capital 100

Capital SoCal Southern California SaaS 100

InfoChachkie

MAY 5, 2016

Given TimeHop’s failed experiment, I was especially intrigued when I learned that a team of a dozen remote entrepreneurs hack the typical corporate structure and creates a company that generated nearly $100 million in revenue. Dan Engel, Co-Founder and former CEO of FastSpring, is a highly successful serial entrepreneur. FastSpring.

Entrepreneur 100

Entrepreneur Santa Barbara Email Outsource Development 100

socalTECH

JULY 9, 2019

in Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences from West Virginia University, and told us a bit about the fund, its investments, and his advice to entrepreneurs looking for investment from the company. Chris Bostick: We're a mid-Wilshire venture firm, with a $260M fund. What are you looking for in a company and entrepreneur?

Venture Capital 113

Venture Capital Invest SaaS Entrepreneur 113

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 20, 2014

Want to be an entrepreneur? In addition, Entrepreneur Magazine recently included UCSB in its Top 50 Schools For VC Backed Entrepreneurs at number 37. A decent showing, but well below a number of larger schools, as the ranking is based on the number of graduates who secured VC funding. Techpreneurs.

Santa Barbara 258

Santa Barbara Technical Review Startup Venture Capital 258

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 23, 2013

When I started my second company I was a serial entrepreneur. I introduced myself as a serial entrepreneur. I talked with a few VCs and batted around the idea of becoming a VC. No prizes for guessing how my VC chats went. But you don’t really have VC experience.” I was a serial entrepreneur.

Technical Advisors 385

Technical Advisors Marketing Startup Venture Capital 385

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

In a world where the economy only heads in one direction (read: 2009-2014) most investors & entrepreneurs forget to pay attention to gross burn. This is why investors really like SaaS software companies where you have recurring revenue and your largest customer accounts for < 5% of your revenue and your renewals rates are > 90%.

Startup 383

Startup Company Companies .Net 383

InfoChachkie

AUGUST 22, 2016

My venture firm, Rincon Venture Partners recently teamed with Jason Lemkin, Founder of SaaStr , to host the first SaaStrX event. We had a spirited discussion regarding a number of issues related to blowing past $10M in annual recurring SaaS revenue, in front of a sold-out crowd of about 400 entrepreneurs.

Customer 100

Customer Custom Cornerstone OnDemand Metrics 100

socalTECH

OCTOBER 16, 2015

Pasadena-based 17hats , a startup that develops business management software aimed specifically at solo entrepreneurs (solopreneurs), has raised $4M in a Series A funding. The funding was led by Wavemaer Partners, and also included Talmadge O'Neill and Harry Tsao of Mezi Media and Tamim Mourad of PriceGrabber. 17hats is led by Donovan Janus.

Entrepreneur 100

Entrepreneur Tool Coach Pasadena 100

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 20, 2010

Jackson, CEO and co-founder of CapLinked (www.caplinked.com), which is developing tools to help entrepreneurs and investors connect. Eric is an experienced entrepreneur, and was a very, very early employee at PayPal, where he was recruited by Peter Thiel. Jackson: It's actually two audiences, both the entrepreneur and investor.

Southern California 243

Southern California Entrepreneur Software Review Yammer 243

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 20, 2015

VC funding. We love capital efficiency until we love land grabs until we abhor over funding until we get huge payouts and ring the bell for more funding until we attract every non-VC on the planet to invest in startups until it crashes and we start the cycle all over again none the wiser. ” I’m not so sure.

Funding 150

Funding Venture Capital Startup Marketing 150

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 25, 2010

“Yes&# was given to me by one of my favorite angel investor / seed VC’s to work with – John Greathouse of Rincon Venture Partners and author of the blog InfoChachkie that you should check out because it is filled with great info from a guy who has been a very successful operator.

Guide 293

Guide Funding Venture Capital Technical Review 293

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 25, 2015

I have written about the deceiving nature of early successes before – in particular in the SaaS or B2B world leading to a phenomenon called “shelfware.” ” This, too, is a must read for any entrepreneur. If venture capital is propping up your business performance – good luck when the spigot slows one day.

Product 150

Product Startup Metrics Technical Review 150

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 23, 2015

We talk a lot about his schooling, his early jobs as a developer and then as a VC and we talk about his decision to spend winters in Los Angeles. Fred is generous with his time and advice and I hope has shaped a generation of VCs for the better. You can’t time VC investing markets. VC investing is hard work.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Startup Writing Blogging 150

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 14, 2019

in a funding led by Orange County's Okapi Venture Capitalis looking to help direct to consumer brands use better data to direct their marketing and other efforts. They are really focused on their core product, and they have an ecosystem where they want other entrepreneurs and other businesses to help their entrepreneurs.

Startup 113

Startup Platform Commerce San Diego 113

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 26, 2016

Perhaps the most misused terms I see these days from entrepreneurs involve CAC (customer acquisition costs) and LTV (life time value) and a lack of understanding these critical components is driving many companies to premature failure. So I spend an inordinate amount of time with entrepreneurs focused on payback. End of story.

Metrics 150

Metrics Startup SaaS Course 150

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 21, 2014

I’d like to do a few posts on what life looks like on the way up and perhaps how to keep your head on straight and avoid drinking your own Kool Aid because as I often advise entrepreneurs on irrational exuberance, “ In a strong wind even turkeys can fly.” It’s when the game slows. ” The Lessons of Shelfware.

Marketing 354

Marketing Case Study Metrics Sales 354

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 24, 2015

For starters – we all know the argument that more enterprises are buying SaaS software because it works more easily than on-premise software and that expectations set by our consumer lives to have software as easy and convenient as Amazon, Google or Facebook drives our business lives. I have to assume other investors feel the way I do.

Marketing 150

Marketing Venture Capital Startup Invest 150

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 18, 2015

I rarely talk to any startup entrepreneur or VC who doesn’t feel it and somehow long for simpler times despite the benefits we all enjoy from increased enthusiasm for our sector. For entrepreneurs there’s too much money sloshing around. They’re doing how much in SaaS revenue? Easier said than done.

Software Review 150

Software Review Startup Venture Capital Invest 150

From the Venture Trenches

APRIL 30, 2013

As a fourteen-year veteran of the venture industry I have often heard the phrase, “value added investors”, which is usually touted by certain VC’s as their biggest differentiating quality. The value that is being “added” is often at arms length or via a specialist who interacts with the entrepreneur.

Web Design 103

Web Design Social Media Seed Funding Design 103

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 6, 2014

When you first start your company and raise initial venture capital your board probably consists of 1-3 founders and 1-2 VCs. With small amounts of money invested (sub $3 million) the risks are reasonably low for most VCs and the consequences of bad decisions or decisions a VC has limited say in is tolerable.

Startup 325

Startup Sales Technical Review Software Review 325

socalTECH

JUNE 2, 2017

We also looked at people who had great mobile portfolios, media and content, and Saas, which included Karlin Ventures and Rincon in Los Angeles. Eric Futoran: The biggest lesson, which I teach to other entrepreneurs, is don't assume anything. I don't see a lot of entrepreneurs doing that, especially for fundraising.

Mobile 178

Mobile Develop Development Tool 178