TechCrunch LA

MARCH 22, 2018

Recognizing the tens of billions of dollars that the Southern Californian region leaves on the table, because it hasn’t taken its rightful place in the American technology industry, a new group called the Alliance for Southern California Innovation has just released a report to analyze how SoCal can work to assume its pole position.

Southern California 224

Southern California Dollar Shave Club SoCal Develop 224

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

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

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. Grant writing takes skill and immense amounts of time.

Company 166

Company Companies Writing Education 166

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. Practice being a good communicator.

Startup 111

Startup Training Services Writing 111

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

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. Practice being a good communicator.

Startup 174

Startup Training Services Writing 174

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

JUNE 26, 2015

Skip the fuzzy marketing terms, such as "easier to use," "lower cost" and "disruptive technology." " 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.

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. Look hard at the technology for feasibility and risk. File at least a provisional patent and one or more trademarks. Keep thieves away (protect it). Make ‘em want it bad (pitch it).

Ideas 136

Ideas Entrepreneur Mentor Resource 136

socalTECH

JUNE 23, 2009

Semiconductor startups seem to be quite rare in today's environment, with few companies being funded or launched, due both to the difficulty of bringing products to market, lack of investment capital, as well as lots of established, large companies in the industry. For starters, let's talk about your technology. Ghz wireless market.

Patents 100

Patents Sample Technical Review Pricing 100

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

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 9, 2010

Thanks to all of our sponsors, who make our coverage of Southern California's technology industry possible: Sponsors. Backing Southern California's next great technology companies. Binary Pulse Technology Marketing (www.binarypulse.com). We Create Demand for California's Technology Companies. Technology.

Southern California 113

Southern California Tech Coast Angels IP Orange County 113

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 9, 2018

Every entrepreneur has an idea for transforming a market with innovative new technology, or transforming society with a new process. 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.

Guide 95

Guide Startup Ideas Entrepreneur 95

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

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

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 5, 2016

Every entrepreneur has an idea for transforming a market with innovative new technology, or transforming society with a new process. 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.

Startup 103

Startup Ideas Entrepreneur Competition 103

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 27, 2018

As a technology buff, I’m all too sensitive to the common investor complaint that technical people often end up selling yet another “solution looking for a problem,” because they are so impressed with their technology. Business model showing costs, pricing, and margins. Solo entrepreneurs have a hard time finding an investor.

Product 58

Product Slides Entrepreneur Invest 58

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. billion in venture capital to LA’s technology startups and 2014 will shatter that figure. When you begin to peel back the onion some surprising data presents itself.

Entrepreneur 376

Entrepreneur Snapchat Startup Google 376

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 13, 2016

Just because your technology is exciting and potentially disruptive doesn’t mean you are ready to build a business. This is also the place to first mention patents and any other differentiators that put you ahead of competition. How big is the funding request, and how much equity will you give?

Invest 108

Invest Startup Slides Equity 108

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 18, 2010

Dave Compton: NetPlenish is the first price replenishment search engine. How NetPlenish is different from any other website for pricing, is let's say that with the dog food- Alpo dog food--it will pull up who is lowest. Are you funded yet? Dave gave us an overview of the service and what it hopes to do. What is NetPlenish?

Compton 138

Compton Ventura Startup IP 138

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 25, 2021

Of course it helps to have innovative technologies before you start building a business. If you have been working alone, perfecting your idea, with no new business track record, your best strategy is to license the technology to a company or team with real business startup experience. Commercialization requires infrastructure.

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. Practice being a good communicator.

Services 72

Services Startup Training Writing 72

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 14, 2013

Every entrepreneur has an idea for transforming a market with innovative new technology, or transforming society with a new process. 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. Government matters.

Startup 105

Startup Ideas Entrepreneur Competition 105

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 28, 2013

Even in an open space, you need intellectual property, like patents, to keep potential competitors from overrunning you. The selection of an inappropriate pricing, marketing, or distribution strategy is a large potential risk. Technology risk. Financial risk. Very few businesses can be started without money. Marty Zwilling.

Startup 104

Startup Examples Entrepreneur Social Network 104

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. . Email readers continue here.] But we investors often allow too little slack in our estimates as well.

Venture Capital 212

Venture Capital Product Resource Marketing 212

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. Practice being a good communicator.

Services 105

Services Startup Training Writing 105

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 25, 2012

Even in an open space, you need intellectual property, like patents, to keep potential competitors from overrunning you. The selection of an inappropriate pricing, marketing, or distribution strategy is a large potential risk. Technology risk. Financial risk. Very few businesses can be started without money. Marty Zwilling.

Entrepreneur 108

Entrepreneur Examples Social Network Marketing 108

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 29, 2015

Ask some potential customers to see if there is real interest, and start thinking about price versus cost. Look hard at the technology for feasibility and risk. File at least a provisional patent and one or more trademarks. Keep thieves away (protect it). Make ‘em want it bad (pitch it).

Ideas 104

Ideas Mentor Resource Entrepreneur 104

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

JANUARY 30, 2012

Every entrepreneur has an idea for transforming a market with innovative new technology, or transforming society with a new process. 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. Government matters.

Entrepreneur 94

Entrepreneur Startup Ideas Competition 94

socalTECH

APRIL 29, 2014

Mann had long sold the company and patents, but one of their providers which had been installing them surgically, and had started installing parts from China. Unfortunately, those providers decided the gold leads were expensive, and decided to use a Chinese vendor which would provide them at half price.

Startup 262

Startup Competition Software Review UCLA 262

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 22, 2014

Ask some potential customers to see if there is real interest, and start thinking about price versus cost. Look hard at the technology for feasibility and risk. File at least a provisional patent and one or more trademarks. Keep thieves away (protect it). Make ‘em want it bad (pitch it).

Ideas 107

Ideas Mentor Entrepreneur Resource 107

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 17, 2016

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. Practice being a good communicator.

Services 61

Services Startup Training Writing 61

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 17, 2017

Ask some potential customers to see if there is real interest, and start thinking about price versus cost. Look hard at the technology for feasibility and risk. File at least a provisional patent and one or more trademarks. Keep thieves away (protect it). Make ‘em want it bad (pitch it).

Ideas 56

Ideas Mentor Resource Product 56

socalTECH

MARCH 9, 2015

Since then, we''ve been very busy staffing up the company, finishing our product, and getting it into production, and also have raised a Series A funding. What''s unique about the MOD-t, is we have a patent pending motion system for two of our 3 axis of motion. We launched on Indiegogo for about sixty days.

Idealab 100

Idealab Design Product Ideas 100

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 2, 2011

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 102

Startup Competition Patents Training 102