Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 7, 2014

I had dinner this week with a top new customer at one of our enterprise software investments. I wish I did more enterprise software investing because when I attend meetings like this I realize that this is my core DNA – rolling out business software solutions to customers. You can’t. Many people advise against this.

Customer 341

Customer Custom Venture Capital Software Review 341

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

To grow faster businesses need resources in today’s financial period to fund growth that may not come for 6 months to a year. You have to understand whether they’re likely to yield revenue growth in the near term OR whether you have access to cheap enough capital to fund your losses until your investments pay off.

Startup 418

Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 418

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 16, 2010

The VC industry grew dramatically as a result of the Internet bubble - Before the Internet bubble the people who invested in VC funds (called LPs or Limited Partners) put about $50 billion into the industry and by 2001 this had grown precipitously to around $250 billion. So the people who invest in VC funds have two problems.

Venture Capital 311

Venture Capital Startup Seed Funding Rustic Canyon 311

TechCrunch LA

JULY 19, 2022

The process for retailers and brands to liquidate excess inventory hasn’t changed very much, if at all, and while some retailers were able to build operational infrastructure to service the off-price channels, it continues to be a constant pain point. to develop some sweet inventory-planning software. Last week, Syrup Tech raised $6.3

Product 191

Product Funding Technical Review Equity 191

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 29, 2011

We want to create the right mix of the types of activities, price points, and make sure we have high quality content and high quality activities. Also, we've got a few entrepreneurs, including Kevin Chou, who is at Kabam up north, and has raised $150M in funding, and Alex Bard, who was at Goowy, which he sold to AOL.

Startup 271

Startup CTO Coach Activity Software Review 271

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2011

He said, “They need an unbiased view of the fund raising environment because there is too much misinformation and everything seems to be changing fast.&#. But that doesn’t mean that people are paying rational prices as investors based on intrinsic value. – you’re very well positioned as a fund.

Pricing 309

Pricing Marketing Startup Venture Capital 309

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 23, 2021

Indeed, two of the best funded companies in the lab-grown meat market hail from The Netherlands, where Mosa Meat is being challenged by a newer upstart, Meatable , which just announced $47 million in new financing. Meatable has a long road ahead of it, because, as Gates acknowledged in his interview with MIT Technology Review (ed.

Chief Technology Officer 261

Chief Technology Officer Technical Review Software Review Product 261

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 14, 2011

Dat Do: We produce valuation software that solves a lot of complex valuation issues for privately held companies, backed by venture capital and private equity. Who would be purchasing the software? How to price it. Audit firms like PwC, potentially a client, they would use it to review it when they received the valuation.

Software Review 193

Software Review Startup Venture Capital Software 193

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 17, 2018

You get to have interesting conversations with founders and review business plans and then see how these businesses evolve over the years. But if you raise at too high a price you make it harder to raise next round. You wouldn't build a single point of failure in your code - shouldn't in your company.

Software Review 242

Software Review Technical Review Pricing Metrics 242

socalTECH

MARCH 13, 2014

Brighter.com , the online marketplace for dentists which is looking to bring upfront pricing to the dental market, said Thursday that it has expanded beyond Los Angeles and into Orange County. Brighter''s tools include dentist reviews; upfront cost estimates; and scheduling and appointment handling software for the dentists themselves.

Orange County 138

Orange County Software Review Los Angeles Pricing 138

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 28, 2018

If Bird has thousands of scooters in a neighborhood (and if it can acquire these scooters at cheaper prices due to scale advantages) then it’s significantly more difficult for new entrants to launch without serious capital and it’s hard to get serious capital from investors who perceive you’re late to the game.

Santa Monica 256

Santa Monica Funding Startup Course 256

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 29, 2010

on the entrepreneur side of the table) when I raised at too high of a price. So don’t raise money at a cheap price, but don’t get too far ahead of yourself either. Pricing high also takes exit options off the table. But if you do this early (pre VC) then the price points are pretty low. This is wrong.

Venture Capital 282

Venture Capital Capital Startup Pricing 282

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

TechCrunch LA

FEBRUARY 6, 2022

Hello friends, and welcome back to Week in Review ! Large technology companies are growing at amazing rates and startup funding is at an all-time high. Last week, we talked about about the “de-stonkifying” of the market. This week, we’re looking at a wounded Facebook/Meta that finds itself backed into a corner.

Marketing 246

Marketing Newsletter Technical Review News 246

socalTECH

OCTOBER 4, 2010

Last week, Santa Monica-based Revolution Prep announced its first, institutional round of funding, worth $15M, from Kennet Partners. The company provides SAT, ACT, and other similar test preparation courses and related software. I had worked as a tutor for Princeton Review, and Jake for Kaplan. We started in 2000.

Software Review 178

Software Review Technical Review Education Startup 178

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 16, 2010

My favorite new software tool is DailyBurn. Problem is – Weight Watchers software TOTALLY SUCKS. And the starting price for WW is $18 / month … DailyBurn is free. I got so excited about this company that I reached out to the CEO to enquire about fund raising. I’m not that public about my weight.

Technical Review 278

Technical Review Software Review Startup Southern California 278

InfoChachkie

APRIL 28, 2011

However, in the long run, entrepreneurs always benefit from delivering Maximum Utility for a fair price. Perhaps in part due to its dominant market share, WebEx adopted telecom-style pricing, which effectively penalized their users. WebEx’s predatory pricing made it vulnerable to a new entrant. Arbitrage Is Fleeting.

Entrepreneur 225

Entrepreneur SaaS Pricing Cloud Computing 225

socalTECH

APRIL 20, 2016

Santa Monica-based online dental marketplace Brighter , founded by serial entrepreneur Jake Winebaum, has raised $21M in a Series D funding round. The funding was led by General Catalyst, and also included DAG Ventures, Mayfield, Benchmark Capital, and Tenaya. Gabe Ling of General Catalyst join's the company's board with the funding.

Software Review 100

Software Review Santa Monica Pricing Funding 100

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 28, 2009

We went through the euphoria of massive exposure at the time of our launch due to an article that ran in the Financial Times. Our software wasn’t fully baked. We had one of the largest US software companies talk about buying us. We’re all scared that the next round of funding won’t come. We were hot.

Startup 331

Startup Press Customer Custom 331

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2021

As a business advisor, I have to recommend even to established companies that they review and revamp their competitive strategy now, even if it appears to be working today. Features, availability, and brand are just the price of entry. These have the vision and the resources to fund long-term digital success.

Competition 142

Competition Software Review Social Media Customer 142

socalTECH

APRIL 1, 2009

Santa Monica-based Zag.com , the online car buying software firm headed by Scott Painter, announced this morning that it has inked a deal with the AAA, to power a new service called AAA Automaker. Zag is venture backed by Anthem Venture Partners, USAA, GRP Partners, Arcturus Capital, Callaway Cars and the Skoll Fund. READ MORE>>.

Zag 100

Zag Services Arcturus GRP Partners 100

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 19, 2009

I spent nearly a decade building software for large companies and then advising companies on the same. Most of them are completely mundane such as choosing which: bank, office space, 1-year lease vs. 2-year lease, logo, URL, pricing structure or which VC. If you’re not then you’re not trying hard enough.

Entrepreneur 414

Entrepreneur Technical Review Slides CTO Coach 414

TechCrunch LA

MAY 20, 2021

As more people spent time at home last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the startup saw its contract revenue spike by 5x, Wu says. Eano, she said, offers competitive and transparent pricing so that homeowners aren’t surprised as a remodeling project goes on. And in the first quarter of this year, business was up 70% year over year.

Technical Review 185

Technical Review Startup Venture Capital Software Review 185

Tech Zulu Event

AUGUST 12, 2014

In just one day the Skully AR-1 was able to nab funding of over $900,000 and counting on Indiegogo and they still have a month left! For those who may not be familiar with the Skully AR-1, its a motorcycle helmet with heads up display, review camera and GPS navigation. Absolutely crushing their goal of $250,000. For

Technical Review 103

Technical Review Software Review Pricing Funding 103

Tech.Co

DECEMBER 29, 2023

As investors continue pouring funding into artificial intelligence and consumer habits shift, many AI and subscription model startups have been enjoying rapid growth. Source: runwayml.com In June, Runway raised $141 million in funding, nudging its market valuation to an envy-inducing $1.5 Organic milk formula product Bobbie.

Startup 194

Startup Generative AI Newsletter Tool 194

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 12, 2018

When Jamie told us he was going to build “Doorbot” (the name prior to Ring) and he explained to us that it was a video security doorbell sold at mass-market prices to bring security to homes that have never been able to afford them?—?we We funded the seed round, the A round, the B round, C round, D round and E round.

Startup 247

Startup Pricing Product Marketing 247

socalTECH

MARCH 12, 2013

The company--which is in the business of operating a content delivery network (CDN) to accelerate the delivery of web graphics, multimedia, applications, and more to end users-- recently disclosed it more than doubled its revenues in 2012, and has grown to over 230 employees--all due to a huge amount of demand for CDN services by its customers.

CTO Hire 248

CTO Hire Content Networking Web 248

Xconomy

OCTOBER 3, 2018

Share prices for the two Silicon Valley companies spiked in after-hours trading following the announcement Wednesday that both their boards approved the all-stock deal. The goal of the combined entity is to provide a leading data platform. Read more » Reprints | Share: UNDERWRITERS AND PARTNERS.

Platform 93

Platform Software Review Web Pricing 93

Tech Zulu Event

APRIL 9, 2014

Perhaps it’s time to raise a round of Venture Capital funding and want a pitch presentation a bit more composed than the dusty Keynote you put together last year for your friends and family round. Due Diligence. When you have big business decisions (management consulting, entering new markets, pricing sheets, etc.),

Outsource Development 105

Outsource Development Software Review Technical Review Outsource 105

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 28, 2021

I recommend a trial run with an experiment or MVP (minimum viable product), at full price and cost, before the big bang launch, risking your investment money and a major time commitment. With my software background at IBM, I’m well aware that technical early adopters value more and more features, and are able to deal with complexity.

Technical Review 131

Technical Review Case Study Mentor Software Review 131

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 5, 2011

Chris Devore & Andy Sack have created Founder’s Coop with the goal of funding, incubating & launching more early-stage ventures in Seattle. Consider just how much exposure the Austin community gets every year due to SXSW. I know that Founder’s Coop has a fund as does TechStars Seattle. It’s awesome.

Venture Capital 317

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Press 317

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 27, 2019

This can include: Fund raising, product development choices, sales, marketing effectiveness, competition, business development, M&A … whatever. Create a Short Strategy / Discussion Deck Create a 5–10 page presentation in your favorite presentation software on any key issues you are grappling with.

Startup 226

Startup Slides Metrics News 226

Tech.Co

OCTOBER 27, 2023

Who Owns Anthropic, and Who Funds It? An Intro to the Chatbot 8 Questions with Claude [Test] Claude Pricing & Tokens Explained Claude 2 and ChatGPT: Key Differences Should You Use Claude AI? Who Owns Anthropic, and Who Funds it? It is trained on over 137 billion text and code parameters – the same as Meta's Llama 2.

ChatGPT 126

ChatGPT Artificial Inteligence Training Startup 126

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 12, 2019

Image via Flickr by Phil Gyford Starting a new venture still costs real money, even though the entry price has come down dramatically in last few decades. For example, I come from a software background, and back in the early PC days, it could easily cost half a million dollars for a team of professionals to produce a commercial product.

Startup 105

Startup Software Review Technical Review Social Media 105

Tech Zulu Event

SEPTEMBER 27, 2010

Comparison shopping is great when you are out and about looking for the best deals on a product or even looking for reviews. However, I catch myself wondering about the reviews on occasion. For all I know this could be an intern working for the product maker going around putting up great reviews for a crappy product.

Software Review 58

Software Review Social Media Social Network Product 58

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 29, 2009

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. In the meantime, I was getting frustrated with the software being used at my son's school.

Education 124

Education Startup Course Tool 124

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 10, 2009

One was simply yield management--that's an overused term, but basically it's the notion that you have to be able to have a basis for forecasting your available inventory, and adjust your prices accordingly. We're the only company with this auto-build functionality, which includes inventory forecasting and dynamic pricing.

Advertising 127

Advertising Startup Sales Tool 127