Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 17, 2020

Even in this age of videos and text messages, the quickest way to kill your startup dream with investors, business partners, or even customers, is embarrassingly poor writing. You have to be able to communicate effectively in all the common forms, including business writing, as well as talking, presenting, and producing videos.

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Writing Entrepreneur Summary Email 125

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 25, 2010

I’ve been meaning to write about this for a while and was going to use AngelList by Nivi & Naval as the basis for my example and the perfect prompt came yesterday when I read Fred Wilson’s blog post on AngelList. So how does this apply to you? From there Rob decided to make a small investment.

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Guide Funding Venture Capital Technical Review 293

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. So I think it’s now fair to rate me at 9/10 on follow-on fundings. I am closing 3 new fundings in April (2 new, 1 follow-on).

Venture Capital 387

Venture Capital Downey Writing Press 387

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 6, 2018

Fund raising. But it’s critical for your business, for you as a leader and people who excel at fund raising have an extreme advantage over those who do not. As a VC I also have to fund raise every three years and these posts 100% apply to VCs raising money, too. It definitely has a “d” in it, as in it’s really not fun, raising.

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Funding Venture Capital Startup Entrepreneur 236

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 14, 2018

I Know Everybody Told You to Send Your Fund-Raising Decks as a Link. Here’s Why You Should Just Send the Deck I know you have your document sending tool to send your fund-raising deck to VCs and track who read your deck, which pages they read and how much time they spend on each page. What should not be in your deck?

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Funding Venture Capital IP Email 239

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

Even in this age of videos and text messages, the quickest way to kill your startup dream with investors, business partners, or even customers, is embarrassingly poor writing. You have to be able to communicate effectively in all the common forms, including business writing, as well as talking, presenting, and producing videos.

Writing 109

Writing Entrepreneur Summary Email 109

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 27, 2011

But should you actually write one if you’re a startup, an industry figure (lawyer, banker) or VC? This is a post to help you figure out why you should write and what you should talk about. GRP Partners last fund is the single best performing VC fund in the US (prequin data) for its vintage year). Absofuckinglutely.

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Blogging Startup Writing Venture Capital 373

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 25, 2014

Fund Raising – No self respecting VC would admit (even to themselves) that they are influenced by what they read about you in the press. It’s much hard to get funded as a company nobody has heard of. but didn’t convert to sales. There is no attribution on that inbound phone call. PR pays dividends in Biz Dev.

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Press Google Course Writing 415

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

I find it amusing when a journalist writes an article about a prominent startup (either privately held or preparing for an IPO) and decries that, “They’re not even profitable!” To grow faster businesses need resources in today’s financial period to fund growth that may not come for 6 months to a year.

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Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 419

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 10, 2015

I write about sales often both because it’s the lifeblood of any organization and because in my experience it is the area in which more startups are least experienced or inclined. I also write and talk about it frequently because raising capital is a part of sales and this is important for entrepreneurs to understand.

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Sales Startup Venture Capital Funding 150

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 29, 2014

But then you can springboard from there to your next gig and you’ll be an experienced startup employee with functional experience at sales, marketing, product or whatever roles you played.” My starting salary when I joined a VC fund as a partner at the age of 39 (and after 2 exits)? It’s gonna suck, I know.

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Startup Invest Venture Capital Writing 409

TechCrunch LA

JUNE 9, 2021

Even as NFT sales dip below their most speculative highs, startups aiming to tap into their potential are still scoring big funding rounds from investors who believe there’s much more to crypto collectibles than the past few months of hype. The round was led by WestCap. The startup has raised a whopping $120 million to date.

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Platform Framework Los Angeles Design 308

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 19, 2015

Sales people (and website customer acquisition folks) all think in terms of funnels and yet non-sales professionals seldom do. VC meetings are easy to come by but money in the bank is the only thing that will fund your next 12 months. We all know the type of person who lives in the top end of the funnel.

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Startup Framework Sales Venture Capital 420

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 19, 2010

I’m writing this post as part of my series with Advice on Raising Venture Capital but will file it under Sales Tips as well since it applies equally to both scenarios. This is true whether your at a sales meeting or at a VC firm. 30% of our last fund went into deals in this sector. Congratulations.

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Venture Capital Startup Sales Writing 318

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 24, 2021

It has historically been the case that VCs would rather fund the promise of 100x in a company with almost no revenue than the reality of a company growing at 50% but doing $20+ million in sales. Our goal is to produce a $10 billion+ winner and remain the market leader in this SaaS category of AI in Sales & Marketing.

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Venture Capital Capital Funding Startup 363

TechCrunch LA

APRIL 23, 2020

There’s also a relatively modest request (of only $4 billion) for funding devoted to pilot projects, startup companies, and public clean technology investment initiatives (like LACI). The funding would include $20 billion for utility upgrades. There’s $25 billion in money set aside for public transit and $12.5

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Southern California Los Angeles Rosemead Incubator 261

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 27, 2011

Marketing futures can be really good for enterprise software companies where the information is passed between sales rep and potential customer in terms of near-term roadmap. Market to Your Target Audience – I’ve seen a lot of startups who like to write blog posts on life as an entrepreneur. Read their articles.

Marketing 380

Marketing Startup Press Technical Advisors 380

TechCrunch LA

JULY 19, 2022

It also handles the back end as well by automating the posting, sale and shipment of unsold inventory while offering immediate payment to creditworthy sellers. million in new funding for its predictive inventory recommendation platform, joining other similar companies, including Zippedi and Inventa. Last week, Syrup Tech raised $6.3

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Product Funding Technical Review Equity 191

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 22, 2014

I had an enjoyable conversation this morning with a young team straight out of college this morning and they were calling to ask advice on how to approach fund raising (angels vs. VCs, how to select a VC, etc.) So I thought I’d write about out with what I would look for in a VC knowing what I know now and why. Connections?

Venture Capital 364

Venture Capital Coach Writing SaaS 364

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 17, 2011

Actually, I think the advice in this post applies to any sales meeting also. I wanted to write a quick post on a pet peeve that I have when teams present “who they are” whether in a bio slide or just in the up front introductions. I am a big believer in VC pitches that the bio slide should come up front.

Slides 296

Slides GRP Partners Venture Capital Writing 296

InfoChachkie

JUNE 3, 2013

I said, ''Hey, listen were going to start writing this newsletter and it''s going to highlight our trials and tribulations, our failures and our successes. The opening paragraphs of that first newsletter are indicative of the captivating and accessible writing style, which eventually cultivated a huge audience. And of those 35 people.

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Newsletter Startup Entrepreneur Writing 233

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2014

In that article I talked about how PR drives: recruiting, employee retention, biz dev deals, funding and even M&A and that often “attribution” to your PR activities is unknown. Contrary to popular opinion I actually believe crowd-funding is best used after seed capital or venture capital. I have no money?

Press 320

Press Startup Writing Training 320

Berkonomics

AUGUST 17, 2023

Preparing for the game… If you have been following our recent insights, you’ll be up to speed knowing that professional investors negotiate tough terms, from provisions of control over asset acquisition, eventual sale of the company, future investments, forced co-sale when others attempt to sell their shares and more.

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Invest Capital Startup Entrepreneur 296

TechCrunch LA

JULY 2, 2020

In the past year, it’s seen one of the most profitable venture-backed exits of any tech ecosystem (with the $4 billion sale of Honey to PayPal) and investors are minting billion-dollar companies in the region at a torrid pace. When it comes to venture capital, Los Angeles is a city on the rise.

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Los Angeles Venture Capital Capital Invest 277

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 2, 2011

I should try to come back and write about this more, but the point of this post is that it's important not to only think about this aspect. A few things jumped out at me: - Experience in sales or technology - considered a minor negative? If you've not had a C-level but have had experience in sales or tech. is a requirement.

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Startup Custom Development Sales Writing 198

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2011

2: As expected at least one person accused me of writing this post because I want to see lower valuations. I have conversations with entrepreneurs and other VCs on a daily basis about fund raising, the prices of deals, how much companies should raise, etc. I acknowledged this in the article. I’m just making the commentary.

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Startup Pricing Technical Review Marketing 336

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 22, 2010

Brad Feld hadn’t written his seminal “ term sheet series &# and The Funded hadn’t yet been created. I’m not sure I really even need to write this at length because Nivi absolutely nailed the topic in his article “ The Option Pool Shuffle.&#. Back then VentureHacks didn’t exist. That’s normal.

Venture Capital 405

Venture Capital Pricing Startup Funding 405

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 8, 2012

I would never as a VC fund a round and then expect somebody else to pay a higher price right after me. The trouble is, nobody has an incentive to agree to write the first check. ” If you remember the three rules of sales : it’s. By the way, this is EXACTLY how VCs close their funds. So you need an anchor.

Pricing 294

Pricing Venture Capital Writing Equity 294

Berkonomics

MAY 22, 2014

Bill Payne has been actively involved in angel investing since 1980, funding over 50 companies and mentoring over 100 more. The sale of equity in private companies is regulated by the Securities Act of 1933, which requires that the company either register with the SEC or meet one of several exemptions (Regulation D). By Bill Payne.

Writing 199

Writing Invest Entrepreneur Equity 199

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 16, 2013

Because at least while the VC spigot is open and flowing for high-potential individuals that fit a pattern that some VCs seem to favor they can access cheap capital that isn’t terribly dilutive and can use the to fund development and swing for the fences with limited focus on monetization. Should I write off my $2.5

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Venture Capital Startup Funding Snapchat 412

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NOVEMBER 20, 2012

I am inspired by the constant innovation in our industry by First Round Capital like the Dorm Room Fund , their expansion to Philadelphia (I hope they also have a secret plot to replace Andy Reid while there), the exchange fund and other initiative. I’ve written about these sales mavericks before.

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Venture Capital Conference Ideas Entrepreneur 400

Berkonomics

MAY 8, 2014

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. The company has been funded entirely by grants from the National Institute of Health, amounting to millions of non-dilutive dollars in all. Grant writing takes skill and immense amounts of time.

Company 166

Company Companies Writing Education 166

Berkonomics

JUNE 29, 2017

If you have been following our recent insights, you’ll be up to speed knowing that professional investors negotiate tough terms, from provisions of control over asset acquisition, eventual sale of the company, future investments, forced co-sale when others attempt to sell their shares and more.

Invest 243

Invest Entrepreneur Sales Startup 243

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2011

You’re writing a freaking blog post! I had a pre breakfast with a CEO of a company in which I invested talking about his next fund raising round. I called another about his fund raising (DUDE – you never called me back! ). Fund raising. I never get grumpy that people write. “But WAIT !!!

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Email Product Startup Writing 314

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 21, 2010

When to get a lawyer - If you plan to be a venture or angel backed technology company (what I mostly write about) the best time to start meeting and getting to know lawyers is long before you ever start your company. I write about some of the lessons in my post on Startup Mistakes. Consider it a sales & marketing expense for them.

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Startup IP Southern California Entrepreneur 318

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AUGUST 8, 2009

Your friends and advisers tell you that this means you need revenue because in this economy VC’s will only fund businesses with revenue. Now there are some firms that have strict rules about not funding pre-revenue companies – that’s different. Fund raising is an ongoing process and not an event on a workplan.

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Venture Capital Guide Startup Technical Review 309

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 3, 2013

This is why I am such a big fan of General Assembly both because they’re teaching more tangible skills but also because they’re working directly with employers to fund classes as well as to onboard the more successful GA students directly. The numerator (return) encourages more sales, which is fine. Neither does Clayton.

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Venture Capital Education Offshore Outsource Development 403