Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 30, 2014

As I’ve written about recently, at Upfront Ventures we started talking a couple of years ago about wanting to fund stuff with more meaning. I think this is a combination of being realists as venture capitalists that outsized returns in our funds must come from taking on bigger, more impactful projects that can move markets.

Technical Review 418

Technical Review Software Review CTO Hire IP 418

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 30, 2016

It is a truism that with more capital you will hire people more quickly and spend more liberally whether it’s on external contractors, PR firms, attending events, doing legal work (trademarks, patents) or whatever. You will build out features or expend to platforms — often before you have enough market feedback to warrant it.

Startup 292

Startup Software Review Pricing Entrepreneur 292

Berkonomics

MAY 8, 2014

The company has been funded entirely by grants from the National Institute of Health, amounting to millions of non-dilutive dollars in all. I am chairman of a company that, as I write this, is twelve years old and has not yet taken a dollar of outside investment. And often, grants come with detailed accounting and reporting requirements.

Company 166

Company Companies Writing Education 166

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 19, 2023

According to an MIT study a while back, only about 10% of patents granted in the United States have any meaningful commercial importance and less than one percent are of seminal importance. Nearly all new businesses aspiring to reach meaningful scale require some sort of outside funding to finance a competitive growth trajectory.

Entrepreneur 101

Entrepreneur Startup Ideas Competition 101

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 14, 2019

How an entrepreneur answers this question speaks volumes about their knowledge of business realities, customers, confidence, and their ability to handle investor funding. I like patents, trademarks, and trade secrets, so this answer is a better sustainable competitive advantage than the other five answers.

Competition 120

Competition Patents Resource Invest 120

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 29, 2023

The critical success factors for a product business are well known, starting with selling every unit with a gross margin of 50 percent or more, building a patent and other intellectual property, and continuous product improvement. Indeed, there are some success factors that are common to both environments.

Startup 111

Startup Training Services Writing 111

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 26, 2020

According to an MIT study a while back, only about 10% of patents granted in the United States have any meaningful commercial importance and less than one percent are of seminal importance. Nearly all new businesses aspiring to reach meaningful scale require some sort of outside funding to finance a competitive growth trajectory.

Startup 171

Startup Ideas Entrepreneur Competition 171

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 22, 2018

Our research revealed a saturation level causing unprecedented challenges, starting with exorbitant housing prices and runaway operating costs that accelerate a startup’s “burn rate”—its monthly spending. Suster has also noted for years that the region produces more technology doctorates than any other geography in the United States.

Southern California 224

Southern California Dollar Shave Club SoCal Develop 224

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2021

Features, availability, and brand are just the price of entry. In many cases, growing the ecosystem is so important that your best competitive move may be to invest in facilitating “competition,” such as Tesla Motors giving away their battery patents to other auto providers, without royalties, to build the ecosystem.

Competition 142

Competition Software Review Social Media Customer 142

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 3, 2020

The critical success factors for a product business are well known, starting with selling every unit with a gross margin of 50 percent or more, building a patent and other intellectual property, and continuous product improvement. Indeed, there are some success factors that are common to both environments.

Startup 174

Startup Training Services Writing 174

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 14, 2017

And of course we help with business development introductions and with fund raising events. The rise of crowd funding saw the first wave of founders gleeful that they could raise capital without having to deal with terrible VCs. Often we are asked to get involved in executive-level recruiting. Those seldom get reported.

Startup 217

Startup Technical Review Equity Report 217

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2015

" Investors want to buy into an entrepreneur with a startup that can provide evidence of an ability to double customer productivity, at half the cost, with patented technology. Patents or other intellectual property are a real competitive advantage for a startup, but first to market and working harder are not sustainable.

Summary 101

Summary Patents Technical Review Competition 101

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 25, 2021

Ask some potential customers to see if there is real interest, and start thinking about price versus cost. File at least a provisional patent and one or more trademarks. Pitching” is the insider term for presenting your product idea to people who could conceivably buy it or fund your efforts. Keep thieves away (protect it).

Ideas 136

Ideas Entrepreneur Mentor Resource 136

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 25, 2009

Now, given our current economic crisis and VC ‘challenges’, the barriers to funding have gone up significantly as well. Fantastic post by Christian Gammill - Startup Delta Force… From a competitive perspective (e.g. all the other folks out there that will try to enter the same market) the barriers have been dropping over the last few years.

Startup 150

Startup SEM IP SEO 150

Berkonomics

AUGUST 10, 2017

Many of the start-ups my various angel funds have financed died a slow death, not because of poor concept but because of poor execution, wasting fixed overhead and draining the financial resources from the company coffers. And professional investors often penalize the company with lower-priced down rounds or expensive loans as a result.

Venture Capital 243

Venture Capital Product Resource Marketing 243

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 2, 2015

How an entrepreneur answers this question speaks volumes about their knowledge of business realities, customers, confidence, and their ability to handle investor funding. I like patents, trademarks, and trade secrets, so this answer is a better sustainable competitive advantage than the other five answers.

Startup 118

Startup Competition Patents Resource 118

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 2, 2020

His challenge is to focus on one market, with a specific design, cost, and price. Then, he'll need to patent it and create a plan to show opportunity, competition, and financial projections. For example, I have a friend with a Ph.D. in Physics who talks passionately about starting a business producing nuclear powered batteries.

Ideas 126

Ideas Writing Examples Outsource 126

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 25, 2014

How an entrepreneur answers this question speaks volumes about their knowledge of business realities, customers, confidence, and their ability to handle investor funding. I like patents, trademarks, and trade secrets, so this answer is a better sustainable competitive advantage than the other five answers.

Entrepreneur 110

Entrepreneur Competition Patents Resource 110

Xconomy

JUNE 3, 2016

Merck also saw some expected fruits of its 2014 big-ticket acquisition of Cubist Pharmaceuticals wither away this week, as the Supreme Court wouldn’t reverse a decision that shaved years off the patent life of the top-selling antibiotic daptomyicin (Cubicin). ” The project leaders are seeking $100 million in funding.

San Diego 62

San Diego Patents Acquisition News 62

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 1, 2013

I find that startups looking for funding often never even think of asking strategic partners, rather than just venture capitalists. Many businesses have found that raising the price of a product to give it status can win more customers than a price war. Change the way you look at things, and the things you look at change.

Startup 100

Startup Ideas Patents Training 100

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 9, 2018

According to an MIT study a while back, only about 10% of patents granted in the United States have any meaningful commercial importance and less than one percent are of seminal importance. Nearly all new businesses aspiring to reach meaningful scale require some sort of outside funding to finance a competitive growth trajectory.

Guide 95

Guide Startup Ideas Entrepreneur 95

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 26, 2012

I find that startups looking for funding often never even think of asking strategic partners, rather than just venture capitalists. Many businesses have found that raising the price of a product to give it status can win more customers than a price war. Change the way you look at things, and the things you look at change.

Ideas 109

Ideas Entrepreneur Patents Training 109

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 27, 2018

How an entrepreneur answers this question speaks volumes about their knowledge of business realities, customers, confidence, and their ability to handle investor funding. I like patents, trademarks, and trade secrets, so this answer is a better sustainable competitive advantage than the other five answers.

Competition 51

Competition Patents Resource Entrepreneur 51

InfoChachkie

NOVEMBER 3, 2011

Attitude – Brad and Jason clearly exhibit an entrepreneur-centric approach to the venture funding process. Examples – The book is filled with text excerpted from actual funding documents, rather than the generic templates usually found in academic textbooks. Price – I am cheapskate. The hardcopy list price of $49.95

Venture Capital 205

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Writing Guide 205

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 9, 2010

and international patent and trademark procurement - IP Litigation - IP Licenses and Agreements: distribution, development, joint venture - Intellectual property aspects of mergers and acquisitions. Joyent - An Enterprise Class Cloud Computing Company funded by Intel Capital, provides the most comprehensive cloud solution available today.

Southern California 113

Southern California Tech Coast Angels IP Orange County 113

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 13, 2016

This is also the place to first mention patents and any other differentiators that put you ahead of competition. You need to identify pricing details, sales channels, strategic partners and a customized marketing plan consistent with your industry and target segment. How big is the funding request, and how much equity will you give?

Invest 108

Invest Startup Slides Equity 108

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 5, 2016

According to an MIT study a while back, only about 10% of patents granted in the United States have any meaningful commercial importance and less than one percent are of seminal importance. Nearly all new businesses aspiring to reach meaningful scale require some sort of outside funding to finance a competitive growth trajectory.

Startup 103

Startup Ideas Entrepreneur Competition 103

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 25, 2021

Investors expect proof that your invention can be manufactured in volume, and can justify a sales price at least double the cost, to a large customer set that has money to spend. A long-term advantage usually also requires intellectual property, such as a patent, trade secret, or trademark. Lock in your sustainable advantage.

Technical Review 156

Technical Review Funding Patents Ideas 156

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 2, 2018

The critical success factors for a product business are well known, starting with selling every unit with a gross margin of 50 percent or more, building a patent and other intellectual property, and continuous product improvement. Indeed, there are some success factors that are common to both environments.

Services 72

Services Startup Training Writing 72

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 27, 2018

Unfortunately, customers look for value in solving their problem, and new technologies alone scare them, so these solutions don’t get bought by customers, or funded. Business model showing costs, pricing, and margins. In reality, there isn’t much overlap between the business pitch I expect, versus a product pitch.

Product 58

Product Slides Entrepreneur Invest 58

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 27, 2014

The critical success factors for a product business are well known, starting with selling every unit with a gross margin of 50 percent or more, building a patent and other intellectual property, and continuous product improvement. Indeed, there are some success factors that are common to both environments.

Services 105

Services Startup Training Writing 105

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 18, 2016

It’s like trying to sell a home still being built at next year’s dream market price. Patents filed, even provisional, as well as trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets count as barriers to entry and sustainable competitive advantages. Relate your startup to similar startups funded with a higher valuation.

Startup 71

Startup Patents Invest Blogging 71

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 29, 2015

Ask some potential customers to see if there is real interest, and start thinking about price versus cost. File at least a provisional patent and one or more trademarks. Pitching” is the insider term for presenting your product idea to people who could conceivably buy it or fund your efforts. Keep thieves away (protect it).

Ideas 104

Ideas Mentor Resource Entrepreneur 104

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 14, 2013

According to a recent MIT study , only about 10% of patents granted in the United States have any meaningful commercial importance and less than one percent are of seminal importance. Nearly all new businesses aspiring to reach meaningful scale require some sort of outside funding to finance a competitive growth trajectory.

Startup 105

Startup Ideas Entrepreneur Competition 105

Berkonomics

MARCH 30, 2010

Many of the start-ups my various angel funds have financed died a slow death, not because of poor concept but because of poor execution, wasting fixed overhead and draining the final resources from the company coffers. . Lots of good jobs were lost and many investors including myself were left with the question.

Venture Capital 212

Venture Capital Product Resource Marketing 212

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 12, 2012

Both conclusions will kill your credibility, and usually preclude any further funding interest. For example, “Compared to product x, my solution will get the job done in half the time, and at half the price.” Being first to offer something is often used to cover the fact that you have no patent or intellectual property.

Startup 100

Startup Competition Patents Training 100

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 22, 2014

Ask some potential customers to see if there is real interest, and start thinking about price versus cost. File at least a provisional patent and one or more trademarks. Pitching” is the insider term for presenting your product idea to people who could conceivably buy it or fund your efforts. Keep thieves away (protect it).

Ideas 107

Ideas Mentor Entrepreneur Resource 107