Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 29, 2023

The critical success factors for a product business are well known, starting with selling every unit with a gross margin of 50 percent or more, building a patent and other intellectual property, and continuous product improvement. Start with a service you know and love. Capture your “secret sauce.”

Startup 111

Startup Training Services Writing 111

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 8, 2019

Responding to Elizabeth Warren’s call to regulate and break up some of the nation’s largest technology companies, the venture capitalists that invest in technology companies are advising the presidential hopeful to move slowly and not break anything. This is not a new model, and it makes no sense,” says Narasin.

Technical Review 144

Technical Review Startup Chief Technology Officer Social Media 144

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 3, 2020

The critical success factors for a product business are well known, starting with selling every unit with a gross margin of 50 percent or more, building a patent and other intellectual property, and continuous product improvement. Start with a service you know and love. Capture your “secret sauce.”

Startup 174

Startup Training Services Writing 174

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 7, 2013

When I first started writing this blog several years ago I had less followers than you have right now. But the realist in me knew I couldn’t write daily nor could I convince you to think to check out my blog with regularity. It’s like a Pachinko machine (yes, I had one in my house growing up). I should know.

Writing 326

Writing Buzzfeed Social Media Blogging 326

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

I find it amusing when a journalist writes an article about a prominent startup (either privately held or preparing for an IPO) and decries that, “They’re not even profitable!” Exec Summary: Most companies (98+%) in the world (even tech startups) should be very profit focused. One of them is profitability.

Startup 418

Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 418

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 17, 2019

I had just left Salesforce.com where I was VP, Products, after they had acquired my second startup. VC is a long-term business Some businesses are overnight successes but few of them really move immediately up and to the right. We not only have our Series A funds that can write $500k?—?$15

Venture Capital 223

Venture Capital IP Startup Google 223

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 13, 2019

Most social media outlets don’t require a subscription charge, but they certainly always require an investment, sometimes large, in people, in technology, your reputation, and your time. As with many startup activities, you only have one chance for a great first impression. Communication and writing skills are required.

Social Media 79

Social Media Media Invest Platform 79

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 21, 2020

if you listen you’ll pick up much more than my quick notes below). We talked about what startup CEOs should do in these situations and how to think about these renegotiations. B2C Companies We talked about how some companies saw an immediate decline in purchasing (for example if you’re in travel or hospitality). In a word: Yes.

Venture Capital 263

Venture Capital Marketing Startup Writing 263

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 13, 2013

One of my favorite events last year was attending Startup Grind where I got to interview Clayton Christensen, author of The Innovator’s Dilemma. ” We talked about my influences as a younger person and what got me started in technology and entrepreneurship. And of course we talked about many of my views of building startups.

Startup 337

Startup Entrepreneur Ideas Venture Capital 337

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 1, 2010

We all like to think of startups as “non hierarchic&# organizations and to some extent that should be true. I see two common mistakes in companies (not just in startups, in fact). An obvious example would be in sales. As a content management system we had lots of write activities and went with Postgres.

Startup 308

Startup CTO Coach Technical Review CTO Hire 308

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 17, 2012

Brad wrote up his answer here – you should read it because it’s very instructive for how I believe communities ought to think about naming conventions. I recommend that you start by writing down the attributes you would want people to think about when they think about your brand. This is the list I would start with.

Startup 304

Startup Venture Capital Los Angeles Woodland Hills 304

TechCrunch LA

FEBRUARY 20, 2019

When should you start a company? What company should you start? When should a VC invest? Most startups die. We can miss the round of financing, we can start a company a year or two behind someone else and lose the first-mover advantage. Start writing down predictions about people, companies, and markets.

Venture Capital 202

Venture Capital Startup Technical Review Invest 202

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 16, 2013

It’s the first EIR that we’ve had in the years that I’ve been with the firm and I hope will be the start of our investment in this program. We’re excited to continue to grow our investment professional staff and will continue to do so over the course of 2013 & 2014 with our new fund.

Startup 372

Startup Course Ideas Invest 372

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2011

2 preamble issues having read the comments on TC today: 1: I know that the prices of startup companies is much great in Silicon Valley than in smaller towns / less tech focused areas in the US and the US prices higher than many foreign markets. I said both in the article but felt compelled to provide a statement up front for the skimmers.

Startup 336

Startup Pricing Technical Review Marketing 336

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 2, 2010

As a tech startup grows it needs to develop more process & management if it is to scale. Some objections are real and they end up becoming changes to your product, your service plan or your pricing / bundling. Some examples of common objections across many companies: 1. You can have best of both worlds.

Sales 289

Sales Startup Training Pricing 289

socalTECH

DECEMBER 2, 2019

Greenfield Robotics (greenfieldrobotics.com), is a startup, split between Los Angeles and Kanasas, which is working on robotic systems which make it possible for farmers to remove their reliance on chemical sprays. Clint Brauer: Greenfield Robotics was started to solve the problem with broad acre farming, which is the chemical problem.

Startup 197

Startup Examples Long Beach Software 197

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 9, 2014

I only say that because after years as a VC I can always tell when my peer group invested in something because “it seemed like it would make money” versus when they invested out of passion. I really want to start my journeys only with people with whom I want to work closely with for the next 5-7 years or more.

Venture Capital 373

Venture Capital Startup Course Entrepreneur 373

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 25, 2016

Many startup businesses – tech or otherwise – fail. Trying outrageous new things or even trying mundane things but in new ways but with extreme quality & innovation is what fuels the tech startup industry. But today I want to give you advice on how to decrease your odds of failure in a startup. Market Size.

Startup 150

Startup Marketing Study SEO 150

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 23, 2020

A continuing question I hear from young entrepreneurs is whether a university degree is important to startup success, or just a distraction in achieving their purpose in the world. Take advantage of free startup programs and mentors. Write a business plan and pitch deck for learning.

Entrepreneur 157

Entrepreneur Mentor Class Resource 157

socalTECH

APRIL 8, 2014

There seems to a perpetual shortage of local venture capital investors in the region, despite the huge growth in startup activity here, particularly along Silicon Beach. Among those funds is TYLT Lab (www.tyltlab.com), which recently announced a new, $20M early stage investment fund specifically focused on companies here.

Seed Funding 220

Seed Funding Santa Monica Funding Startup 220

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 25, 2022

One of the first harsh realities that every entrepreneur has to learn is that most of the things that are critical to startup success are outside of their direct control. Like attracts like, and if you invest early in becoming a person others can trust, business people who you can trust will be attracted to you. Marty Zwilling.

Startup 116

Startup Entrepreneur Metrics Writing 116

socalTECH

MARCH 2, 2020

Smith , the founder of Croquet (www.croquet.io), a new Los Angeles startup which actually has its roots at the very beginning of the modern computing era. You can spin a coin, pick up an object. In the real world, you pick up an object, and you can hand it to seomeone else. For today's interview, with talked with David A.

Platform 168

Platform Startup Examples Web 168

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 5, 2012

This does not mean you shouldn’t solve big, complex problems or write complex code. Partisan rancor aside, we had just come off a boom decade – especially in tech – and many people at the start of the election thought Al Gore was a shoe in. That’s why your examples need to sound human. Al Gore was not.

Entrepreneur 370

Entrepreneur Startup Press Venture Capital 370

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 30, 2010

I’m very pleased today to announce that I invested, on behalf of GRP Partners, in Burstly alongside Rincon Venture Partners , an early stage VC in Southern California whith whom we love to work (and were our co-investors on RingRevenue ). Naturally I’m excited about this investment or I wouldn’t have done it.

Mobile 282

Mobile Invest Company Companies 282

socalTECH

JUNE 6, 2011

Although Los Angeles has become a hub for the high tech startup world, Surprisingly, one of the things which hasn't happened in the Los Angeles area is any huge, successful venture acceleration programs. Dan Dato: The quickest way to describe it is it's a Techstars-like, YCombinator-like startup accelerator.

Startup 221

Startup Mentor Southern California Incubator 221

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 14, 2014

Sponsored by VISA Business If you have a unique product or service, and you are not selling it around the world on the Internet, now is the time to start. Anyone can be an entrepreneur today, without a huge investment, bank loans, lawyers, venture capitalists, or Angels. Start simple. The cost of entry has never been lower.

Startup 100

Startup Commerce Sites Blogging 100

Tech Zulu Event

MARCH 10, 2012

And with these examples, there is one assumed property. Whether it be taking in information, learning, executing, or increasing our output, or investing it into relationships and health, this is the goal for the time we gained. For newly launched start up, Readitfor.me Readitfor.me

Startup 76

Startup Social Media Content Web 2.0 76

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 17, 2013

The main thrust of the post is that with YouTube taking a 45% of revenue and talent taking 70% of the remaining revenue, YouTube Networks didn’t have sustainable businesses unless they invested heavily in technology as a tool to increase margin and provide defensibility. margin range to more sustainable 50-60% margin businesses.

Company 339

Company Companies Technical Review Content 339

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 17, 2016

The critical success factors for a product business are well known, starting with selling every unit with a gross margin of 50 percent or more, building a patent and other intellectual property, and continuous product improvement. Start with a service you know and love. Capture your “secret sauce.”

Services 61

Services Startup Training Writing 61

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 14, 2013

Creating awareness for your brand and products is one of the lifebloods of technology startups yet in a world where so many companies are being created it becomes difficult to rise above the noise. ” Here’s what I mean … Let’s start with what it takes for a journalist to want to write a story.

Marketing 389

Marketing Press Blogging Startup 389

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 6, 2018

As a VC with scores of startups in our portfolio we have ringside seats to many, many fund raising processes plus I had to raise money across about 5 different rounds of capital as an entrepreneur so I’ve developed some thought on the process that I hope can be helpful to some of you before you start. Let me give you an example.

Funding 236

Funding Venture Capital Startup Entrepreneur 236

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 15, 2021

Examples that come to mind include satellite phones, the Segway PT vehicle, hydrogen fueled auto engines, and many more. You don’t really understand a new idea, until you try to write it down and succinctly communicate it to peers and critics. Be proactive in contributing business ideas and follow through.

Mentor 139

Mentor Entrepreneur Ideas Networking 139

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 12, 2014

If you’re a technology startup you need to excel at product, of course. The starting point of product IS marketing, which is what a lot of young entrepreneurs that never studied business don’t realize. The start of marketing is figuring out a market need and a way to solve that need better than anybody else.

Marketing 379

Marketing Startup SEM SEO 379

InfoChachkie

MAY 16, 2011

As an entrepreneur and startup investor, I have helped create companies which achieved two IPOs which collectively raised over $100 million, as well as two acquisitions which totaled $385 million. 5) Allow Partners To Write Your Agreements. 5) Allow Partners To Write Your Agreements. “Learn from the mistakes of others.

Startup 242

Startup Outsource Development Outsource Sales 242

socalTECH

JANUARY 18, 2011

We caught up with Julie Schoenfeld , the firm's CEO, to hear about how the firm's offerings have evolved, an interesting comparison of the firm's software to what Demand Media is doing, and what this new funding will go towards. The first thing we do, is we start with great content. So, we start with that.

Marketing 232

Marketing Funding Content Writing 232

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2014

When to start PR? So my simple advice is to start PR as early as possible (and certainly earlier than most of your investors will advise) when you have your head around your product plans and are well into execution (or ready to launch) precisely because your recruiting, seed funding and initial user base may depend on it.

Press 319

Press Startup Writing Training 319

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 16, 2014

I got a call a few years ago from a well-known investor up North. For all the things he’s likely known for, he probably hasn’t yet built a strong relationship as an early stage venture investor (he invests often in later-stage deals where he is very respected). I’ve seen you write a $10 million check before.

Venture Capital 333

Venture Capital Startup Technical Review Email 333