Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 26, 2015

Great technology leads to innovative solutions that are possible, but not necessarily great businesses. Yet, due largely to non-technology business considerations, including pricing, safety concerns and support infrastructure, there are none that most people can name. Develop written business plans as detailed as product plans.

Technical Review 54

Technical Review Product Activity Technology 54

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 23, 2010

Every new startup I know dreams of being funded by an angel investor. Yet according to the latest data from AngelSoft , only about 3 out of 100 companies who initiate the formal request process actually get funded. are eliminated during due diligence. Remember the old adage that “investors fund people, not ideas.”

Angel 89

Angel Funding Technical Review Startup 89

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 14, 2010

Bockerstette, Main Street Venture Fund As I outlined last week, trophy angel investors are always looking for trophy entrepreneurs. The result is that the Main Street Venture Fund consistently has more money available than good opportunities for investment. There is no product idea good enough to overcome bad partners.

Funding 106

Funding Startup Entrepreneur Activity 106

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2015

Few investors these days have the time or patience to read a full business plan, so a better way to catch their eye is with a tightly written and well formatted two-page executive summary. Skip the fuzzy marketing terms, such as "easier to use," "lower cost" and "disruptive technology."

Summary 101

Summary Patents Technical Review Competition 101

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 7, 2014

The size of the document should be based on your style, but 10-20 pages or slides are usually more than adequate to outline even a complex business. Most of these scenarios involve attracting outside investors, strategic partners, or key team members: You are the team and you don’t need outside funding.

Technical Review 109

Technical Review Writing Entrepreneur Slides 109

Xconomy

SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

With public interest in artificial intelligence technologies on the rise, five of the world’s largest corporations—vying against each other in so many spheres—are banding together to support research on the ethical and societal issues raised by machines with increasingly human-like capabilities.

Artificial Inteligence 40

Artificial Inteligence Technical Review Technical Advisors Research 40

SoCal CTO

AUGUST 3, 2010

5 Lessons from 150 startup pitches - A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks , July 11, 2010 I just reviewed several hundred startup pitches for Capital Factory. How to raise money with no lead - Venture Hacks , July 31, 2010 Paul Graham says “The future [of funding] is no fixed amount, no fixed closing date, and no lead.”

Startup 217

Startup Venture Capital Blogging Software Review 217

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2009

There was no viral social networking products back then like Twitter where people could easily discover your content. I had intended to talk about how bad the process could become, not to name-and-shame anybody (and The Funded was not yet around). I hadn’t thought about the fact that he would become aware of my link.

Venture Capital 274

Venture Capital Blogging Startup Slides 274

Tech.Co

MAY 22, 2018

Truth be told, your only path to some serious funding is perseverance and diligence in getting meetings and being prepared. To help you crush your next investor meeting, we asked top VCs and tech leaders to share their best pitch advice. Founders are understandably very passionate about their product and startup.

Tips 70

Tips Help Slides Technical Review 70

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 14, 2013

Of course there are scenarios where a written business plan is not critical, but I haven’t seen one yet where a well-written 15-page document, or at least a 10-slide pitch, is a negative. You need funding, and plan to get it from friends and family. A business plan may be a small investment to get a shot at that opportunity.

Entrepreneur 100

Entrepreneur Technical Review Writing Slides 100

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 20, 2016

Thus the top priority of every entrepreneur who wants funding should be to build and highlight their “dream team” of co-founders, executives and advisers, to attract the biggest and best investors. If your team has a depth of expertise in software, that won’t help you get funding for a new hardware solution.

Startup 60

Startup Entrepreneur Software Review Technical Review 60

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 19, 2009

The technology team disagrees on direction and wants resolutions. There’s a guy in Los Angeles that I met at several tech networking events. He was a really nice and personable guy who had deep domain knowledge in an industry that he’d worked in for 10 years that is in need of technological advancement.

Entrepreneur 414

Entrepreneur Technical Review Slides CTO Coach 414

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2010

It’s always fun debating companies with Dana because she’s always so knowledgeable on deals – particularly those in the digital media, ad-tech and eCommerce spaces. Their first fund was a $75 million fund raised in 2006 and they very recently announced a brand new $130 million fund. Greycroft is an early-stage VC.

Venture Capital 240

Venture Capital Startup Platform Technical Review 240

Xconomy

AUGUST 12, 2016

government’s Precision Medicine Initiative is an ambitious effort to collect the genomic data of 1 million Americans, and tech giant Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG ) is deeply involved. That story and the rest of the week’s biotech headlines below. —The U.S. —David H.

Google 40

Google Technical Review News Research 40

Tech Zulu Event

DECEMBER 19, 2011

TechZulu is heading out to CES and we have tons of products/gadgets/games/companies to review and interview. Learn how to attract funding, planning an exit strategy, and where they are investing. For double points Like Us on Facebook and leave a comment on our page on the product you want to see covered.

Social Media 84

Social Media Newsletter Mobile Startup 84

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 29, 2009

My firm GRP Partners recently funded a young LA based company named Ad.Ly so compelling (other than the fact that the CEO Sean Rad is a great young technology leader and his advisers – Brian Norgard , Dan Gould and Evan Rifkin - are some of the guys I respect most in the LA tech market.). contextual text ads (e.g.

Ideas 286

Ideas Advertising Google Technical Review 286

Tech Zulu Event

SEPTEMBER 20, 2010

StartupDemo is an opportunity for early stage startups to showcase their new products and/or services. This Panel is filled with investing super stars who will be going over must have content for all the startups and entrepreneurs out there. Stewart Roberts , President of Orange County of Tech Coast Angels. The Startups.

Social Media 71

Social Media Technical Review Mixergy Tech Coast Angels 71

socalTECH

DECEMBER 19, 2011

Last week, San Diego-based Kidzui --the kid's website and kid-friendly browser developer, announced another round of funding, and also launched Zui Studios, a new effort to create original content for the portal. We're taking our skills on reviewing content, and getting out of the way. Give us an overview on KidZui. It goes both ways.

Content 165

Content Startup Web Technical Review 165

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 22, 2010

Language Weaver is backed by Palisades Ventures, the Tech Coast Angels, and The Athenaeum Fund. So that continues to be a core area of focus for us, and has grown significantly over the last few years, an in which we've continued to invest. Let's switch over to talking about the company's funding--what's the status there?

Software Review 145

Software Review USC Content Tech Coast Angels 145

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 29, 2009

We've basically taken advantage of all the new technology out there--especially, the web-based service model. For parents, if you're interested in how your kids are doing, you can find out what their schedule is like, what homework is due when, what their grades are, and how they are progressing, plus you can communicate with their teachers.

Education 124

Education Startup Course Tool 124

Tech Zulu Event

OCTOBER 11, 2012

Facebook just hit 1 billion active users globally and that was great but a new social payment application is set to make Facebook users across the world get more from their connections and even allowing companies to sell or receive payments from their pages. As we know, developers always give their product a code name. What is Zunguz?

Software Review 92

Software Review Social Network Platform Technical Review 92

SoCal Delicious

JANUARY 9, 2014

Having a clear focus means it’s easier to communicate what your product is and who it’s for. By trying to appeal to everyone and adding features left, right and centre, you will actually dilute your message and could end up with a complex, bloated product. Here are two examples. Quote from John Wilshire, Artefact Cards 4.

Startup 78

Startup Design Customer Custom 78

Tech Zulu Event

OCTOBER 17, 2012

We have a great variety of skills in the team from Media, Marketing, Operations, Retail – all very focus on customer service, highlighting a product or brand in the best way for the least amount of money. Any funding yet? The core product is free to small business and self employed people and always will be.

Advertising 79

Advertising Services Social Network Startup 79

SoCal Delicious

OCTOBER 8, 2012

Loading… Tech. SIGNIFICANCE PASSING-MENTION. --> Tech Titans Hit the Beach As Silicon Valley moguls go on a home-buying spree in Los Angeles, theyre reshaping the real-estate landscape. The tech industry is going south. Venture capitalist and hedge-fund manager Peter Thiel—PayPals co-founder and Facebook s.

Los Angeles 44

Los Angeles Software Review Technical Review Journal 44

SoCal Delicious

JANUARY 20, 2010

On CBS MoneyWatch: Why Debit Cards Are Dangerous BNET Business Network: BNET TechRepublic ZDNet ZDNet Members login Newsletters Site Assistance RSS Feeds Home News & Blogs Videos White Papers Downloads Reviews Popular Enterprise Web 2.0 Dion Hinchcliffe Get Enterprise Web 2.0 Dion Hinchcliffe Get Enterprise Web 2.0

Web 29

Web Technical Review Web 2.0 Social Media 29

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

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 12, 2008

Matthew Graczyk is founder of angel-backed Zubican (www.zubican.com)--saw a problem, which was the difficulty of finding suppliers for products for businesses--and decided to solve the problem, with a site specifically targeted at helping B2B buyers and sellers connect. We've also got SEO feed pages. How are you funded and backed?

SEO 100

SEO Advertising Gogii Tech Coast Angels 100

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 4, 2013

You need to first create a compelling product. Compelling in the sense that you solve a real problem a target group of potential customers has with a product that is significantly better than the alternatives on that market. You need product / market fit. Product / market fit is everything. ” True. Spend it wisely.

Startup 401

Startup Customer Custom Technical Review 401