Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2011

Recently I heard a talk by Dave McClure, a long-time angel investor, who also proclaims to be one of the “new breed” of venture capitalists in Silicon Valley, as CEO of 500Startups , which is either a micro-VC seed fund, or a startup incubator, or both. Series-seed round. Incremental investment may follow.

Startup 92

Startup Funding Seed Funding Incubator 92

socalTECH

JANUARY 7, 2019

What was the biggest news for your organization in 2018? Startup Boost became global, growing to six cities in 2018 (Los Angeles, New York, Toronto, Detroit, Dublin and London), helping over 70 early stage startups. And, many of the presenting companies received sizable funding commitments and offers of ongoing help.

Technical Review 157

Technical Review Software Review Startup Coach 157

socalTECH

JANUARY 2, 2019

As we close out our contributions for the end of 2018, we have a contribution from investor and investment banker Peter Cowen of Sutton Capital Partners. What was the biggest news for your company in 2018? One company that we have mentored, invested in and serve on the board of, is in lending and has hit a very exciting tipping point.

Capital 113

Capital Southern California Technical Review SaaS 113

socalTECH

DECEMBER 28, 2017

This morning, we have a contribution from investor and investment banker Peter Cowen of Sutton Capital Partners. Sutton Capital Partners is a technology investment banking firm and we are, investors in local SaaS/subscription companies and is well known as the host of the annual Recurring Revenue Conference.

Capital 124

Capital Southern California SaaS SoCal 124

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. Contrary to popular opinion I actually believe crowd-funding is best used after seed capital or venture capital. I have no money?

Press 319

Press Startup Writing Training 319

Tech.Co

JANUARY 15, 2018

It was over 11 years ago that I saw a need to better connect startups and innovators with the communities around them so they could connect for partnerships, funding, amplification, and support. Our dream went beyond monthly cocktail events, and together we created a new vision for how we could help innovators everywhere. What’s next?

Media 175

Media News Organization Content 175

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 12, 2010

We led off with a discussion about Slide being acquired by Google, which was breaking news in the time slot where we filmed this episode. People like Fred Wilson who say let all the small companies fund and bloom, create more jobs, etc. Is there a bubble going on in seed investing? Is there a gap in Series B funding? (10-12mm

Venture Capital 232

Venture Capital Slides Seed Funding Google 232

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 14, 2014

and I thought if we brought the community together for common purpose we could create more of a sense of community to help new entrepreneurs get funded, assemble teams, raise profiles and help with biz dev, product, etc. Companies were getting funded more easily and many more companies were actually being created.

Venture Capital 290

Venture Capital Startup Idealab Funding 290

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 16, 2012

A while back I heard a talk by Dave McClure, a long-time angel investor, who also proclaims to be one of the “new breed” of venture capitalists in Silicon Valley, as CEO of 500Startups , which is either a micro-VC seed fund, or a startup incubator, or both. The good news is that he is all about helping early-stage startups.

Entrepreneur 101

Entrepreneur Startup Seed Funding Incubator 101

Tech.Co

JANUARY 15, 2018

It was over 11 years ago that I saw a need to better connect startups and innovators with the communities around them so they could connect for partnerships, funding, amplification, and support. Our dream went beyond monthly cocktail events, and together we created a new vision for how we could help innovators everywhere. What’s next?

Media 70

Media News Organization Content 70

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 19, 2009

But in that moment of hearing the news, I tried to remind myself that dwelling in the negative never helps, that in fact every kick to the head provides motivation to crank it up. He … said that his fund would actively help in getting us the next round. All traits of an entrepreneur must be exercised in concert.

Entrepreneur 288

Entrepreneur Startup Slides Seed Funding 288

Steve Reich

AUGUST 15, 2015

If you can’t raise from a few strong angels, from seed funds or from a VC then raising from a ton (let’s say 20+) angels is a perfectly acceptable strategy. Put yourself in their shoes–they are busy and have multiple investments. The bad news? How many Angels do you want in your cap table? Send that email.

Angel 40

Angel News Pasadena Angels Seed Funding 40

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 28, 2010

Rustic Canyon is an LA-based, but geography-agnostic VC that is currently investing from a $200 million fund. They were originally founded inside of Times Mirror and had a huge string of major investment success before spinning out as a fully independent fund. Obviously they see big things in Wildfire. 4mm in Series A.

Venture Capital 270

Venture Capital Capital Rustic Canyon Mobile 270

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 26, 2022

Considering that many of our funds are in the $200–300 million range, these returns were more meaningful than if we had raised billion dollar funds. Obviously the funding environment has changed considerably in 2022 but as early-stage investors our daily jobs stay largely unchanged. The answer is: not much.

Startup 408

Startup Venture Capital Writing Invest 408

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 23, 2015

Crosscut Ventures has just announced their 3rd fund and clocking in at $75 million , which will be focused heavily on Los Angeles – FTW. This week Michael Dubin’s startup Dollar Shave Club announced a $75 million funding round at a rumored $650 million valuation. LA has grown up a lot over the past 5 years.

News 150

News Funding Venture Capital Dollar Shave Club 150

Tech Zulu Event

OCTOBER 26, 2011

Accepted applicants will not only be eligible for a pre-seed fund up to $25K to begin developing a prototype, they will also be guided through the process of building a lean company during K5Launch. SoCal is home to some of the greatest startup success stories.

San Diego 66

San Diego Southern California Orange County SoCal 66

Tech Zulu Event

OCTOBER 26, 2011

Accepted applicants will not only be eligible for a pre-seed fund up to $25K to begin developing a prototype, they will also be guided through the process of building a lean company during K5Launch. SoCal is home to some of the greatest startup success stories.

San Diego 56

San Diego Southern California Orange County SoCal 56

Tech Zulu Event

DECEMBER 18, 2012

Any funding yet? We received seed funding from Investitionsbank Berlin , a state bank investing in innovation and technological advancements. This special kind of funding is of interest to young startups in Germany, as we did not have to give away shares of our company in the funding process.

Networking 71

Networking Help Social Media Platform 71

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 27, 2021

The good news is that a few of these do have an envious success record. Initial funding. Many incubators do provide seed funding for entrepreneurs selected, usually in small amounts like $10,000 to $20,000, and usually taking 5% to 15% of your equity in return. Follow-on funding and connections. Peer support.

Incubator 146

Incubator Technical Review Entrepreneur Mentor 146

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 23, 2012

There are obvious reasons the industry has had less-than-desirable returns, including: massive over-funding of the sector, huge increases in inexperienced venture capitalists that took a decade to peter out, and the massive correction in the value of the public stock markets that closed many exit opportunities for half a decade.

Venture Capital 347

Venture Capital Capital Technical Review Startup 347

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014

The frantic pace of technology cycles, the amount of tech news, the blogs, the conferences, the demo days, the announcements, the fundings, the IPOs. It got me thinking about the advice that I often give to new VCs. They want you to fund, fund, fund. It’s exhausting. Perhaps unsustainable.

Startup 317

Startup Technical Review Venture Capital Email 317

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 30, 2014

The good news is that a few of these do have an envious success record. Initial funding. Many incubators do provide seed funding for entrepreneurs selected, usually in small amounts like $10,000 to $20,000, and usually taking 5% to 15% of your equity in return. Follow-on funding and connections. Peer support.

Incubator 103

Incubator Entrepreneur Technical Review Mentor 103

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 2, 2013

The good news is that a few of these do have an envious success record. Initial funding. Many incubators do provide seed funding for entrepreneurs selected, usually in small amounts like $10,000 to $20,000, and usually taking 5% to 15% of your equity in return. Follow-on funding and connections. Peer support.

Incubator 115

Incubator Help Startup Technical Review 115

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 8, 2010

How I Think About Seed Investing As A VC - Feld Thoughts , August 2, 2010 Last week saw an explosion of discussion around seed investing, including plenty of negative comments around VCs as seed investors. They are: Fred Wilson: Lead Investors, Dipshit Companies, and Funding Every Entrepreneur.

Startup 191

Startup Venture Capital Blogging CTO Hire 191

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 30, 2010

My original thinking from Oct ’09 was, while I didn’t (and still don’t) have a crystal ball I worried that: consumers were over-stretched with debt (and make up 77% of the economy), unemployment would continue to rise, which in turn would drive the stock market south and cut the rate of M&A activity and VC investment even further.

Entrepreneur 298

Entrepreneur Venture Capital Technical Review Startup 298

SoCal CTO

AUGUST 3, 2010

Welcome to the Lost Decade (for Entrepreneurs, IPO’s and VC’s) - Steve Blank , July 15, 2010 If you take funding from a venture capital firm or angel investor and want to build a large, enduring company (rather than sell it to the highest bidder), this isn’t the decade to do it. The good news: There are good answers to these questions!

Startup 217

Startup Venture Capital Blogging Software Review 217