Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2012

Tracy DiNunzio isn’t your typical Silicon Valley startup founder. She did her first tech startup after the age of 30. And she didn’t start her company in Northern California. She leveraged herself and even sold many of her possessions to get started. She started her business from a personal need.

Startup 363

Startup Entrepreneur SEO Venture Capital 363

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 1, 2022

As a mentor to many business professionals and owners, and aspiring entrepreneurs, I find a wealth of innovative ideas, but often less insight on what it really takes to transform ideas into an income stream that can excite new customers into long-term business success. A great innovation starts with at least three ideas.

Ideas 145

Ideas Startup Case Study Writing 145

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 28, 2018

Some entrepreneurs start polling venture capitalists for that multi-million dollar investment before they even have a business plan. It’s helpful to think of startups as proceeding through several stages, which I have defined some time ago from a funding perspective. Funding or rollout stage. Growth and exit stage.

Funding 94

Funding Startup Organization Incubator 94

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

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 31, 2021

If you sold your last startup for $800 million, you probably already know how to build a business, and even conservative investors won’t worry about the quality of your next business plan. Most investors tend to think of startups without a plan as expensive hobbies. I hope not. Marty Zwilling.

Sample 137

Sample Writing Mentor Content 137

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 27, 2011

I made every textbook mistake at my first startup, which is why I believe I was much more effective at my second one. The following are some lessons I learned about early-stage startup marketing. I worked with an entrepreneur who was to appear at a startup networking event where he was to talk about his company’s plans.

Marketing 380

Marketing Startup Press Technical Advisors 380

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 24, 2019

When you set up a board it is often initially a combination of the founders and the early investors. It can start 2–1 founders to investors and then sometimes moves to 3–2 but sometime around the A, B or C round the idea of “independent” directors comes up. I will also outline how to select them and incentivize them.

Startup 187

Startup Writing Venture Capital Oracle 187

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 18, 2017

Recently the firms two founding partners (and also Managing Partners) —  Fred Wilson and Brad Burnham  — decided to transition management of the firm to Andy Weissman (who joined in 2012) and Albert Wenger (joined in 2008 and writes one of the most thoughtful blogs in our industry ). Lindel Eakman led the discussion with Fred and Andy.

Venture Capital 161

Venture Capital Funding Capital Startup 161

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 10, 2022

As a mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs, the most common question I get is, “I want to be an entrepreneur -- how do I start?” Based on my experience, creating the solution is usually the easy part of starting a successful business. Yet startup founders are often lonely, since no one else can make their decisions.

Entrepreneur 124

Entrepreneur Mentor Ideas Writing 124

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 27, 2016

Some entrepreneurs start polling venture capitalists for that multi-million dollar investment before they even have a business plan. It’s helpful to think of startups as proceeding through several stages, which I have defined some time ago from a funding perspective. Funding or rollout stage. Growth and exit stage.

Organization 93

Organization Startup Incubator Ideas 93

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. What is Upstart.la?

Startup 221

Startup Mentor Southern California Incubator 221

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 12, 2021

As a startup mentor and investor, I am approached regularly by aspiring entrepreneurs who assert that business plans take too much time, are inaccurate, and rarely add value. 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 126

Technical Review Writing Entrepreneur Slides 126

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 19, 2022

One of the most common complaints I hear from entrepreneurs is that they are overwhelmed by the workload and stress of starting their company. But with the pressures of the economy, and limited access to outside funding, we all know this isn’t always possible or appropriate. Discuss the tough ones with a mentor.

Startup 123

Startup Tips Entrepreneur Mentor 123

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 24, 2014

As a result I didn’t write my first venture capital check until March 2009 – exactly 5 years ago. That company was Invoca, which just announced a $20 million fund raise led by Accel. Working with early-stage teams : coaching, mentoring, setting strategy, rolling up sleeves: 9/10. The monkey on my back.

Venture Capital 387

Venture Capital Downey Writing Press 387

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. Seed deals, for example, are easier to get funded than a late-stage deal for obvious reasons. A seed company hasn’t ramped up its cost base.

Venture Capital 263

Venture Capital Marketing Startup Writing 263

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 31, 2015

If you sold your last startup for $800 million, you probably already know how to build a business, and even conservative investors won’t worry about the quality of your next business plan. Most investors tend to think of startups without a plan as expensive hobbies. business business plan entrepreneur hobby startup' I hope not.

Startup 109

Startup Writing Mentor Sample 109

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 15, 2015

As a mentor to startups and new entrepreneurs, I continue to hear the refrain that business plans are no longer required for a new startup, since investors never read them anyway. Successful startups are all about the right people with the right stuff. There is no crowd of successful entrepreneurs. Written business plan.

Startup 104

Startup Writing Entrepreneur Slides 104

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 19, 2011

I recently sat down with Matt Coffin , the founder of LowerMyBills, which sold for $400 million but was very nearly a bankruptcy only a few years early, and talked “startups.&#. Matt is one of the most transparent, focused & honest startup guys you’ll meet. Or read the quick, informative summary below the image!

Acquisition 304

Acquisition Startup Customer Custom 304

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2023

Of course, starting and running your own business comes with financial and personal risks, so I always recommend that you do your homework first, and follow some tried and proven strategies to improve your odds of success. By far, the majority of new businesses I know are self-funding (bootstrapped) from your own savings and prior assets.

Social Media 98

Social Media Metrics Media Tool 98

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 2, 2019

As a mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs, the most common question I get is, “I want to be an entrepreneur -- how do I start?” Based on my experience, creating the solution is usually the easy part of starting a successful business. Yet startup founders are often lonely, since no one else can make their decisions.

Entrepreneur 135

Entrepreneur Mentor Ideas Writing 135

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 27, 2015

One of the most common complaints I hear from entrepreneurs is that they are overwhelmed by the workload and stress of starting their company. But with the pressures of the economy, and limited access to outside funding, we all know this isn’t always possible or appropriate. Discuss the tough ones with a mentor. Marty Zwilling.

Tips 107

Tips Entrepreneur Startup Mentor 107

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 24, 2019

I have been writing a series on how startup boards get selected, who sits on them and what to avoid. I will also delve into how to prepare for them, how to make the meeting effective and how to best follow up to make sure people take action. A good board member cares enough to weigh in BEFORE the meeting starts.

Startup 251

Startup Help Technical Review Writing 251

Berkonomics

MAY 22, 2014

Bill Payne has been actively involved in angel investing since 1980, funding over 50 companies and mentoring over 100 more. In most cases, those entrepreneurs choosing to raise capital using PPMs retain specialists (many of whom are lawyers) to write their PPMs – a rather expensive undertaking. By Bill Payne.

Writing 199

Writing Invest Entrepreneur Equity 199

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 23, 2015

One of the questions we discussed is, “How much capital should a startup raise?” In his words, [in some instances] “because lots of capital is available, the company takes on the capital and that ends up resulting in no constraints on decision making and so the company decides to do five things in stead of just one.”

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Startup Writing Blogging 150

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 21, 2014

Startups are hard. You join teams that got good write-ups on TechCrunch, have great VCs, have star CEO’s, whatever. We tell startup stories. Our founder, Yves Sisteron, was my mentor and board member at my first startup. You’ve heard that a million times. Those that we survive with become family.

CTO Hire 320

CTO Hire Startup CTO Coach Venture Capital 320

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 15, 2022

As a startup mentor, I’m always amazed that some entrepreneurs seem to be an immediate hit with investors, while others struggle to get any attention at all. Some entrepreneurs love to talk and produce videos, but hate to write anything down. There is no room in this realm for negativism, excuses, or lack of confidence.

Entrepreneur 111

Entrepreneur Social Media Patents Mentor 111

InfoChachkie

JUNE 9, 2015

With top-ranked accelerators Lauchpad LA closing its doors and Y Combinator rebranding itself as a seed fund, it seems fair to ask the question, “Are Accelerators Dead?”. My Forbes co-contributor Geri Stengel concurs that something is happening in the Volunteer State, writing last month about that state’s emerging women entrepreneurs.

Startup 100

Startup Class LAMP Santa Barbara 100

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 6, 2012

Fortune 1000 CEOs usually don’t make good startup CEOs, and vice versa. You may have great credentials as a public servant in your home town, but that won’t get you money to build a social network on the Internet, or start a software company. The startup road is guaranteed to be long and hard. Able to communicate a vision.

Startup 94

Startup Resource Social Network Mentor 94

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 27, 2017

One of the most common complaints I hear from entrepreneurs is that they are overwhelmed by the workload and stress of starting their company. But with the pressures of the economy, and limited access to outside funding, we all know this isn’t always possible or appropriate. Discuss the tough ones with a mentor.

Startup 59

Startup Entrepreneur Tips Mentor 59

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 18, 2014

As a mentor to startups and new entrepreneurs, I continue to hear the refrain that business plans are no longer required for a new startup, since investors never read them anyway. For aspiring entrepreneurs, or if your last startup failed, it’s all about standing out above the crowd of others like you. Marty Zwilling.

Entrepreneur 108

Entrepreneur Startup Writing Slides 108

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 16, 2014

I got a call a few years ago from a well-known investor up North. He’s an incredibly smart investor and somebody that I actually consider to be a mentor to myself. His fund is > $500 million and I guaranfuckingtee he ain’t calling me if that company is crushing it. You have a big fund. Startup Advice'

Venture Capital 333

Venture Capital Startup Technical Review Email 333

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2014

I started in 2007 with a thesis that my primary investment decision would be about the team (70%) and only afterward about the market opportunity (30%). I was telling him that it was much easier when I started because there were fewer deals, life was less public and somehow the world seemed to be spinning more slowly. I don’t.

Venture Capital 374

Venture Capital Invest Press Startup 374

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 8, 2017

Don’t believe that Silicon Valley myth that all you have to do is sketch your idea on the back of a napkin, and investors will line up to give you money. Based on my experience as an angel investor and a mentor to dozens of entrepreneurs, having no business plan is the quickest way to define yourself as just a dreamer, or at best a hobbyist.

Startup 65

Startup Writing Patents Competition 65

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 8, 2014

Let me start with the obvious baseline that most people probably know instinctively: Los Angeles is the 3rd largest technology startup ecosystem in the US. Given how efficient markets are when a large market like LA starts to blossom it attracts capital pretty quickly. LA By The Numbers.

Entrepreneur 376

Entrepreneur Snapchat Startup Google 376

Tech Zulu Event

NOVEMBER 5, 2012

Huddlewoo a live video platform set to launch early 2013 to give people the ability to access extraordinary people for one-on-one conversations and mentoring. We caught up with the CEO William Zell. Any funding yet? We have received seed funding from a friend and it is personally funded. What do you do and Why?

Mentor 94

Mentor Platform Social Network Chief Technology Officer 94

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 20, 2010

Fortune 1000 CEOs usually don’t make good startup CEOs, and vice versa. You may have great credentials as a public servant in your home town, but that won’t get you money to build a job board on the Internet, or start a software company. The startup road is guaranteed to be long and hard. The size of the race is also important.

Startup 93

Startup Resource Mentor Writing 93

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 24, 2010

A little known, but valuable resource, every startup should investigate is a formal or informal connection to your local university. Start by contacting a professor in your area of interest or expertise. Start by contacting the school entrepreneurship support organization. Research and development. Finding a team.

Help 94

Help Startup Mentor Incubator 94