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

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. Investors expect this step to be proven successful before funding.

Ideas 145

Ideas Startup Case Study Writing 145

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

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. Sourcing high-quality leads : 9/10.

Venture Capital 387

Venture Capital Downey Writing Press 387

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 12, 2020

It’s helpful to think of startups as proceeding through several stages, which I have defined a long time ago from a funding perspective. The first step toward a business with any idea is to write it down, and build a business plan around it. Funding or rollout stage.

Resource 171

Resource Startup Organization Incubator 171

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2023

Based on my own experience as a mentor and angel investor, I find that as many as ninety percent of startups fail in the first five years, despite their best efforts. 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

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 Entrepreneur Invest Equity 199

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. Many times I think that it would be awesome to have a conversation with them, but typically write off the idea because the process for access is too difficult. Any funding yet?

Mentor 94

Mentor Platform Social Network Chief Technology Officer 94

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 21, 2020

Seed deals, for example, are easier to get funded than a late-stage deal for obvious reasons. But there are some deals that will get funded even though not necessarily seed: If you’re in an anointed category that will serve a post Covid-19 world well. It may take much longer to close deals than you’d like. In a word: Yes.

Venture Capital 263

Venture Capital Marketing Startup Writing 263

socalTECH

JUNE 6, 2011

Those programs--epitomized by YCombinator in the Bay Area, and TechStars in Boulder, Colorado--attract newly minted entrepreneurs with a mixture of cash and mentoring, and a program which rapidly takes ideas and turns them into viable, executing businesses. Those mentors are not just Bruce and I, although we are full time on this.

Startup 221

Startup Mentor Southern California Incubator 221

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2012

Tracy is knowledgeable enough to talk tech and swap design & product stories with other founders, but she realized early that networking amongst this group and reading and writing in their journals would not bring her more customers. Once off the ground she could attract mentors from her industry.

Startup 363

Startup Entrepreneur SEO Venture Capital 363

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 19, 2022

But with the pressures of the economy, and limited access to outside funding, we all know this isn’t always possible or appropriate. Write it down, but even then, keep it to the top ten priority items or less. Discuss the tough ones with a mentor. Having too much on your plate can turn your dream into a nightmare.

Startup 123

Startup Tips Entrepreneur Mentor 123

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. Others send investors email and business plans in all uppercase or no punctuation.

Entrepreneur 111

Entrepreneur Social Media Patents Mentor 111

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 31, 2015

Based on my experience as an investor and mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley and elsewhere, one of the quickest ways to kill your credibility and your startup is to offer a poorly written business plan, or none at all. Don’t try to impress constituents with technical terms, jargon, and acronyms.

Startup 109

Startup Writing Mentor Sample 109

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 2, 2020

I have found that the process of writing down your idea, with a plan for implementation, and reviewing that plan with a business advisor, will force you to learn and acknowledge the real requirements for implementation. Create a written plan, with target milestones and metrics.

Ideas 126

Ideas Writing Examples Outsource 126

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 23, 2015

Fred has of course been a public mentor to us all with his market-defining terminology that he popularized including “freemium” and “mobile first.” What you may not know is that Fred has been a behind-the-scenes mentor to many of the newer VCs in the industry including myself. This works brilliantly.”

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Startup Writing Blogging 150

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2020

As a mentor to entrepreneurs, I tend to see many of the same obstacles appearing in every new startup, and since I don’t want to appear to be a downer , I’m not sure how to properly warn people ahead of time to be on the alert for these challenges. Funding is depleted before customer sales ramp up. The world today never stands still.

Startup 131

Startup Entrepreneur Customer Custom 131

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 7, 2014

As a startup mentor and investor, I am approached regularly by aspiring entrepreneurs who assert that business plans are a waste of time. They cite sources like the BusinessWeek story, “ Real Entrepreneurs Don’t Write Business Plans ” and this Forbes article. You need funding, and plan to get it from friends and family.

Technical Review 109

Technical Review Writing Entrepreneur Slides 109

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 13, 2020

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. Others send investors email and business plans in all uppercase or no punctuation.

Entrepreneur 126

Entrepreneur Social Media Patents Mentor 126

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 31, 2022

As a mentor for aspiring and early-stage entrepreneurs, I talk to a fair number who may have a great vision and a strong engineering background, but have a negative interest in the role of public speaking in business. The other four are: new product development, writing, time management, and sales/marketing.

Marketing 113

Marketing Entrepreneur Guide Custom 113

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 16, 2014

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. I’ve seen you write a $10 million check before. But I always ask. million.

Venture Capital 333

Venture Capital Startup Technical Review Email 333

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. Disciplining yourself to write down the plan is actually the best way to make sure you actually understand it yourself. Pitch your company, not your product.

Entrepreneur 108

Entrepreneur Startup Writing Slides 108

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 8, 2017

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. Yet I continue to get funding requests that never mention any specific plans or costs to be associated with these elements.

Startup 65

Startup Writing Patents Competition 65

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 2, 2011

I’m sitting at my computer now at 9.00pm writing this – which is an hour earlier than I normally write (there are about 8 women at my kitchen table having a book club (aka excuse to drink wine & gossip so I’m locked in another room writing. They could chat about it with their peers or mentors.

Email 287

Email Blogging Venture Capital Writing 287

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 1, 2020

It goes without saying that if you find yourself in a really negative headspace PLEASE reach out to any trusted mentor, friend or family member. If your company can help with job search, or resume writing or providing references or calling other companies to tell them you did redundancies?—?you I imagine many of you are, too.

Demand 215

Demand Guide Custom Customer 215

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. Disciplining yourself to write down the plan is actually the best way to make sure you actually understand it yourself. Pitch your company, not your product.

Startup 104

Startup Writing Entrepreneur Slides 104

socalTECH

OCTOBER 11, 2010

Fariborz Masseh: The idea of funding a business plan competition is not a new idea. In 2003 or 2004, I moved to California, and decided to change from running an engineering company into running a hedge fund. Now, I run a hedge fund and finance firm in Southern California. It has been done before, at a number of schools.

Competition 154

Competition Southern California Mentor USC 154

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 27, 2016

It’s helpful to think of startups as proceeding through several stages, which I have defined some time ago from a funding perspective. The first step toward a business with any idea is to write it down, and build a business plan around it. Funding or rollout stage.

Organization 93

Organization Startup Incubator Resource 93

InfoChachkie

DECEMBER 8, 2011

Of the 80 companies that have completed the program since its 2007 inception, 49 have received funding, 8 have been acquired and 8 have ceased operations. Writing a book is very different from writing a blog. One, I wanted to know what it was like to write a book. There were a couple motivations.

Venture Capital 224

Venture Capital Writing Entrepreneur Blogging 224

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

MAY 26, 2013

The entrepreneur’s tendency to be in a huge hurry to obtain the funding can end up being disastrous, and play into the hands of these less scrupulous investors. As long as somebody recognizes their million dollar idea and writes them a check, the source really doesn''t matter. The mentoring offer always sounds good up front.

Angel 105

Angel Writing Startup Invest 105

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 15, 2019

But with the pressures of the economy, and limited access to outside funding, we all know this isn’t always possible or appropriate. Write it down, but even then, keep it to the top ten priority items or less. Discuss the tough ones with a mentor. Having too much on your plate can turn your dream into a nightmare.

Tips 86

Tips Startup Entrepreneur Mentor 86

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 21, 2014

You join teams that got good write-ups on TechCrunch, have great VCs, have star CEO’s, whatever. Our founder, Yves Sisteron, was my mentor and board member at my first startup. Writing a book will be fun. “Getting the band back together” doesn’t stop for me with just our fund. You REALLY know.

CTO Hire 320

CTO Hire Startup CTO Coach Venture Capital 320

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2014

I know I can’t be in every deal and I know that the easy part of being a VC is writing the first check in a deal. This is when founders need you the most – either are coach, mentor, interviewer, work off-loader or honest-mirror-reflection of reality. If an accelerator is writing you they’re also writing 25 other VCs.

Venture Capital 374

Venture Capital Invest Press Startup 374

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 27, 2011

They certainly struggle to find mentors as there is nothing more frustrating than trying to help a company who is afraid to tell you anything. Market to Your Target Audience – I’ve seen a lot of startups who like to write blog posts on life as an entrepreneur. A funding announcement is a stand-alone event.

Marketing 380

Marketing Startup Press Technical Advisors 380

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2012

The entrepreneur’s tendency to be in a huge hurry to obtain the funding can end up being disastrous, and play into the hands of these less scrupulous investors. As long as somebody recognizes their million dollar idea and writes them a check, the source really doesn't matter. The mentoring offer always sounds good up front.

Angel 112

Angel Entrepreneur Writing Invest 112

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 24, 2010

They are likely to be able to get grants to fund development for you in strategic focus areas, like alternative energy sources, that would otherwise cost you many thousands of dollars.< Other engineering departments at ASU often provide grad students to build prototypes, and even venture funding for certain projects.

Help 94

Help Startup Mentor Incubator 94