Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2014

In that article I talked about how PR drives: recruiting, employee retention, biz dev deals, funding and even M&A and that often “attribution” to your PR activities is unknown. But of course it’s hard to advise people that they should do PR without a guide to how to do it on the cheap or how to do it at all.

Press 319

Press Startup Writing Training 319

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 30, 2021

Foursquare is good example of a modern hyperlocal site, which describes itself as “50% friend-finder, 30% social city guide, 20% nightlife game.” They get many offers every month, so your entry offer better be low and convincing Funding requirements are substantial. It also shows how such a website can scale by adding new cities.

Startup 144

Startup Sites Content Sales 144

InfoChachkie

NOVEMBER 3, 2011

As the authors make clear in the book’s preface, their goal is to create a “definitive guide to venture capital deals” and “demystify the venture capital financing process.” Brad and Jason have been exposing venture capitalists’ secrets since 2005, when they began writing a blog series on Term Sheets at AskTheVC. What Not To Do.

Venture Capital 205

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Writing Guide 205

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 31, 2022

Thus, if you are like me, with no real background or experience in public speaking, I encourage you to start early with some traditional training, like a Dale Carnegie course, or read a good book on the subject, like the classic one by successful businesswoman and speaker Jan Yager, Ph.D., “ The Fast Track Guide to Speaking in Public.”

Marketing 113

Marketing Entrepreneur Customer Custom 113

TechCrunch LA

FEBRUARY 20, 2019

There are CEOs that always seem to guide their companies to the right place at the right time and drive their stock valuations up. Start writing down predictions about people, companies, and markets. We get at least a dozen at the TC offices every week, which is why we write about books so often around here these days.

Venture Capital 202

Venture Capital Startup Technical Review Invest 202

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 27, 2011

This is a blog post I really didn’t want to write. I didn’t want to write it because I have mixed feelings about AngelList. I didn’t want to write it because the bloggosphere doesn’t always do nuance well. So why I am writing it then? Most VCs fund companies with a degree of traction.

Venture Capital 267

Venture Capital Writing Blogging Startup 267

SoCal CTO

MARCH 12, 2012

I promised I would write this post with some thoughts and ideas on the topic. Before you go out looking for your Cofounder, you should also be thinking about what will motivate them as I talk about in How to Hunt Programmers for Your Startup - A Field Guide. Here's an example of that kind of email.

CTO Hire 211

CTO Hire CTO Coach Startup Equity 211

socalTECH

AUGUST 6, 2012

But, they could not write, and did not know what to write from the travel perspective. Every one of those writers has a byline and a bio, and are paid twice a week at a pretty decent rate for that writing or assignment. They couldn't find enough people to write the content they needed, at the quality they need.

Demand 240

Demand Media eHow Content 240

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 14, 2013

.” Here’s what I mean … Let’s start with what it takes for a journalist to want to write a story. Do I have an “angle” from which to write the story (first company to do X, company does biggest X, consumer behavior is doing X)? I hand out money. How differentiated is that? Think about Luma Partners.

Marketing 389

Marketing Press Blogging Startup 389

Tech Zulu Event

DECEMBER 26, 2013

Here’s how to write an executive summary with impact: 1. Just as I don’t recommend you outsourcing the writing of your business plan, I wouldn’t pass on this task. You are asking for money, so be upfront about how much funding you are seeking. This is a great guiding principle. Do it yourself. Keep it short and simple.

Summary 76

Summary Tips Startup Writing 76

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 26, 2014

Every startup needs access to capital, whether for funding product development, for initial rollout efforts, acquiring inventory, or paying that first employee. They have to sell themselves, more than their product, to close on every alternative source of funding. Thus “creative” really means maximizing non-bank financing.

Entrepreneur 101

Entrepreneur Capital Startup Funding 101

InfoChachkie

JUNE 11, 2012

Steve Jobs – “So we went to Atari and said, ‘Hey, we’ve got this amazing thing, even built with some of your parts, and what do you think about funding us? Bill Gates – “The best way to prepare [to be a programmer] is to write programs, and to study great programs that other people have written.

Tips 279

Tips Startup Education Entrepreneur 279

socalTECH

OCTOBER 12, 2020

I had my own list on my iPhone, writing down what I wanted to watch, and where those shows are. Where are you in terms of funding the company? We'll be looking for additional funding down the line. How did you come up with the idea for the company? I started protyping an idea of how to do this, across all platforms.

Startup 113

Startup Netflix Ideas Content 113

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 28, 2019

Thus, if you are like me, with no real background or experience in public speaking, I encourage you to start early with some traditional training, like a Dale Carnegie course, or read a good book on the subject, like the classic one by successful businesswoman and speaker Jan Yager, Ph.D., “ The Fast Track Guide to Speaking in Public.”

Entrepreneur 87

Entrepreneur Customer Custom Guide 87

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 14, 2011

Journalists write stories that have an appeal to readers whether the accusations have merit or not. Journalists aren’t going to write about you all the time unless you’re Facebook. Use it as an excuse to get a journalist to write about you. Here’s a 10-point guide on how to work with PR firms.

Startup 329

Startup Press Training Media 329

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 26, 2017

Thus, if you are like me, with no real background or experience in public speaking, I encourage you to start early with some traditional training, like a Dale Carnegie course, or read a good book on the subject, like the classic one by successful businesswoman and speaker Jan Yager, Ph.D., “ The Fast Track Guide to Speaking in Public.”

Company 97

Company Companies Entrepreneur Customer 97

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 6, 2013

Every startup needs access to capital, whether for funding product development, for initial rollout efforts, acquiring inventory, or paying that first employee. They have to sell themselves, more than their product, to close on every alternative source of funding. Thus “creative” really means maximizing non-bank financing.

Startup 97

Startup Entrepreneur Equity Examples 97

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 17, 2009

If you live somewhere where this is the case you’re better off discussing with your employer that you may from time-to-time work on private projects outside of work hours and you want their clearance in writing that this is OK. Register a company. This is advice that I give people all the time. Starting with 25% is even harder.

Startup 365

Startup Technical Advisors IP Ideas 365

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 27, 2019

It should be your guide for what to avoid. This can include: Fund raising, product development choices, sales, marketing effectiveness, competition, business development, M&A … whatever. You can write this as a narrative in 3–5 key bullet points. But what are the KEY ISSUES management is grappling with.

Startup 226

Startup Slides Metrics News 226

Tech Zulu Event

FEBRUARY 12, 2015

to “where can I get help writing one?” While it may be tempting, with everything that you have to do, to try to find someone else to write your executive summary, you really need to do this yourself. It’ll also help you to hone your selling skills…which you’ll need to draw on heavily to be successful at raising funds.

Summary 40

Summary Outsource Development Writing Outsource 40

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 25, 2013

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. But the larger funds usually have lower returns because they are often investing bigger dollars at later stages with less risk and therefore lower returns. Yeah, true.

Venture Capital 374

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Invest Funding 374

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

It’s what signals to existing investors how quickly their teams need to be fund raising and the level of risk the company is facing and also it signals to potentially new investors both how quickly you need to raise (ie you have less leverage if you’re in a rush) as well as how much cash you’ll need if they fund you.

Startup 383

Startup Company Companies .Net 383

SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 1, 2010

So before you ask someone to even spend an hour of their time writing code or reviewing specs make sure you can pay them in some form (coffee, dinner, laptop, etc.), and if you can’t then you better start thinking of ways to raise enough funds to be able to pay them something. Don’t expect someone to work for nothing endlessly.

CTO Hire 241

CTO Hire CTO Coach Equity Develop 241

Tech Zulu Event

APRIL 1, 2013

Aspiring creators learn by connecting with top web filmmakers and YouTubers on a topics specific to the web: developing a web series, producing web series, writing for genres like comedy & sci-fi, directing, editing, camera, Kickstarter funding, show hosting, distribution, and marketing. Any funding yet? Challenges?

Web 93

Web USC Course Guide 93

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 24, 2012

Thus, if you are like me, with no real background or experience in public speaking, I encourage you to start early with some traditional training, like a Dale Carnegie course, or read a good book on the subject, like the one just released by successful businesswoman and speaker Jan Yager, Ph.D., “ The Fast Track Guide to Speaking in Public.”

Entrepreneur 126

Entrepreneur Media Customer Custom 126

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 19, 2010

I’m writing this post as part of my series with Advice on Raising Venture Capital but will file it under Sales Tips as well since it applies equally to both scenarios. You need to let the energy of the room guide you. 30% of our last fund went into deals in this sector. tip: write it down when asked / parked).

Venture Capital 318

Venture Capital Startup Sales Writing 318

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 11, 2016

This post is a “how to” guide so I’ll save the “why I believe Snapchat is an important medium” for one of my next posts. It’s more like writing a Tweet vs. sending a Direct Message (DM) in Twitter, which feels more intimate and intrusive or a FB post vs. a Private Message. Follow the breadcrumb.

Snapchat 150

Snapchat Screening Venture Capital Guide 150

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 29, 2013

Thus, if you are like me, with no real background or experience in public speaking, I encourage you to start early with some traditional training, like a Dale Carnegie course, or read a good book on the subject, like a recent one by successful businesswoman and speaker Jan Yager, Ph.D., “ The Fast Track Guide to Speaking in Public.”

Startup 116

Startup Entrepreneur Customer Custom 116

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 8, 2014

Over the past 4 years LA’s tech fundings have growing at a 30% compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) which is > 4 times the US average VC CAGR (7%). Both are massively funding other LA tech companies through what Fred Wilson once defined as “recycled capital.” and are guiding LA 2.0.

Entrepreneur 376

Entrepreneur Snapchat Startup Google 376

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 1, 2010

Of course I knew that they sat on other boards that kept them busy but somehow it seemed like I had all of their attention to myself during the fund raising process – especially the ones who seemed to like me and spend time with me.

Venture Capital 275

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Capital Ideas 275

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 12, 2010

We both felt that the critical reasoning skills and writing skills were critical to our career development. Online travel guide that is served up in-stream with restricted data size in the same was as Twitter. - Mo & I both have double majors with one being finance / econ. Targeting SMB’s (small & medium businesses).

Venture Capital 217

Venture Capital Capital Metrics Competition 217

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 11, 2011

It was a pleasure to write them myself. He had the idea that people would want city guides to tell them where to eat and what to do. And when I say this I don’t mean they funded billion dollar companies – they literally created them. His impact has even helped a small country gain admission to the United Nations.

Competition 350

Competition Idealab Product CitySearch 350

Tech Zulu Event

MARCH 3, 2015

I often write about the best strategies for startup fundraising or how to manage startup financing and optimize for growth. Make sure you have a lawyer to help draft your contracts and guide you’re communicating policies and procedures. Accounting and Finance Support.

Startup 40

Startup Outsource Development IP Outsource 40

socalTECH

OCTOBER 4, 2010

Last week, Santa Monica-based Revolution Prep announced its first, institutional round of funding, worth $15M, from Kennet Partners. It was us, funding ourselves from credit cards, literally, to a company that is now on par with Kaplan and Princeton Review. How did you manage the growth you have, without outside funding?

Software Review 178

Software Review Technical Review Education Startup 178

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 29, 2009

If you've taken a course, and need an application to do chemistry or math analysis, there's a store where you can write, share, sell, or buy those applications. They were looking for someone to help and guide them. How is the company funded? The other part of this is an app store.

Education 124

Education Startup Course Tool 124

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 5, 2011

Most technology startups seem to be funded by product people or business people. I’ve started writing up some of those sales & marketing lessons and I plan to continue to build that section out over time. It’s my guide to understanding when you’re being gamed. This article originally appeared on TechCrunch.

Sales 316

Sales Startup Pricing Customer 316

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2011

An inflated sense of financial well-being can result in sloppy budgeting and accounting as you write checks here and there without pause. But if you've spent all your money on the website for party supplies, you may not have the funds to have the site redone. Your mortgage and grocery bill depend on it. and to tell their friends.

Startup 92

Startup Capital Blogging Ideas 92