Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 14, 2009

Good idea & plan: You must start with a good idea and a PowerPoint deck (my outline is here , scroll down mid way). Very few people fund individuals. And a great product starts with the founder. Their name alone is enough to get meetings set up. The key to getting money is that the people writing the check trust you.

Angel 291

Angel Funding Venture Capital Startup 291

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 10, 2015

As I write these words I already imagine my next deposition in which I’m asked to read this out loud. I angel funded a company 5 years ago. Because no VCs would fund them with a pending lawsuit of this nature. I funded a company where the CEO stepped down. *. Lawsuits. Lawsuits are becoming so prevalent these days.

Startup 150

Startup IP Writing Ideas 150

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2016

Most are sitting on large portfolios of private companies that are raising money now or will need to do so in the future and they know that they’re up against some headwinds. The Motive for Speaking Up. ” “Mark has a vested interest in talking down valuations of startups.” All of these are false.

Startup 150

Startup Company Companies Venture Capital 150

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2013

Every investor expects to see some business traction, both before and after a funding event. I hear a lot of entrepreneurs contemplating their great “idea” for several years with little discernable progress, and looking for money to start. A great business often starts with one person, but it doesn’t end there.

Funding 112

Funding Entrepreneur Startup CTO Hire 112

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 3, 2011

I would love to see Tara follow up with blog posts on: why she believes this is the case & what we can do about it. The truth is I have been thinking a lot about the topic, I just haven’t been writing about it. We need to start encouraging it in our youth. AWS helped lower the cost of starting a company by 90%.

Entrepreneur 341

Entrepreneur Venture Capital Startup Blogging 341

SoCal CTO

MARCH 12, 2012

I've recently received several emails from people looking for a technical cofounder for their startup. I promised I would write this post with some thoughts and ideas on the topic. Make sure you go through the 32 Questions Developers May Have Forgot to Ask a Startup Founder. Here's an example of that kind of email.

CTO Hire 211

CTO Hire CTO Coach Startup Equity 211

Tech Zulu Event

APRIL 23, 2013

TechZulu caught up with Michael Piermont, amSTATZ Chief Executive Officer and this is what he revealed. With proven ability in both start-up and traditionally corporate atmospheres, Bobby has a truly unique ability to inspire others and lead by example. This is the first time each of the founders have started an enterprise.

Social Network 92

Social Network Networking Training Summary 92

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 8, 2010

August was a slow month in terms of traffic and I was away for a lot of the month, but there were some really great posts at the intersection of startups, technology, product and being a Startup CTO. He blogs to 10,000 web entrepreneurs at Software by Rob and co-hosts the podcast Startups for the Rest of Us.

Startup 191

Startup Venture Capital Blogging CTO Hire 191

SoCal CTO

AUGUST 3, 2010

Some great content around the intersection of startups and being a Startup CTO in June this year. This continues my series of posts: Top 30 Startup Posts in June 2010 Top 29 Startup Posts May 2010 Startup CTO Top 30 Posts for April 16 Great Startup Posts from March The following are the top items based on social signals.

Startup 217

Startup Venture Capital Blogging Software Review 217

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 6, 2012

Fortune 1000 CEOs usually don’t make good startup CEOs, and vice versa. You may have great credentials as a public servant in your home town, but that won’t get you money to build a social network on the Internet, or start a software company. The startup road is guaranteed to be long and hard. Marty Zwilling.

Startup 94

Startup Resource Social Network Mentor 94

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 14, 2014

Sponsored by VISA Business If you have a unique product or service, and you are not selling it around the world on the Internet, now is the time to start. In the early days (20 years ago), most new e-commerce sites, for example, cost a million dollars to set up. Start simple. business ecommerce entrepreneur startup'

Startup 100

Startup Commerce Sites Blogging 100

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 31, 2012

Every investor expects to see some business traction, both before and after a funding event. I hear a lot of entrepreneurs contemplating their great “idea” for several years with little discernable progress, and looking for money to start. A great business often starts with one person, but it doesn’t end there.

Startup 104

Startup CTO Hire Press Customer 104

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2009

On December 2nd, 2006 I wrote the blog post published later in this post when I was CEO of startup Koral about my experiences in pitching VCs. I had seen many cycles and decided that since I was going to do it all over again I should write about it. I decided to write about my experience and to be blunt. And covered we did.

Venture Capital 274

Venture Capital Blogging Startup Slides 274

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 1, 2010

I continue to collect great content that is the intersection of startups, products, online and technology. aka: An Open Letter to the Next Big Social Network) - 500 Hats , November 1, 2010 I've held off writing this post for a long time, because I couldn't quite get my head around all the issues. call to arms.

Technical Review 175

Technical Review Startup Product Technology 175

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 17, 2011

Every investor expects to see some business traction, both before and after a funding event. I hear a lot of entrepreneurs contemplating their great “idea” for several years with little discernable progress, and looking for money to start. A great business often starts with one person, but it doesn’t end there.

Startup 101

Startup CTO Hire Press Customer 101

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. Either way, don’t assume that the entire room is up to speed on your company. 30% of our last fund went into deals in this sector. Congratulations.

Venture Capital 318

Venture Capital Startup Sales Writing 318

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 29, 2010

Mike Stern (wasn’t sure which one so leave a comment if it’s you): Q: “is it possible to sell your startup without venture investment if the company has big traction and a large user base?&# But most importantly I lectured founders that you can’t avoid the admin of setting up your ESOP. This is minutes 8-11.

Venture Capital 282

Venture Capital Capital Startup Pricing 282

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 18, 2011

If you have a unique creation or invention, and you are not selling it around the world on the Internet, now is the time to start. In the early days (20 years ago), most new e-commerce sites cost a million dollars to set up. The cost for the domain name is maybe $10/year, and the hosting starts around $50/year. Start simple.

Commerce 99

Commerce Startup Sites Tool 99

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 18, 2013

I have started thinking about what the future might look like and I’ve started imagining what I call, “MMOV” or massive multiplayer online video. Maker’s talent started commenting on it and sharing it. Why would it? Sure, the revenue & margin will be significantly lower than traditional TV.

Startup 380

Startup Media Content Platform 380

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 1, 2014

Now, even the earliest stage startup can rise to visibility or be forever lost by their first media spotlight, so it behooves us all to know the rules early. Ask Eric Migicovsky, founder of Pebble , who raised over $10 million on the Kickstarter crowd-funding platform for his relatively low-tech wristwatch with programmed clock faces.

Press 105

Press Social Media Startup Training 105

socalTECH

JUNE 18, 2009

Our interview today is with Santa Monica-based OneCubicle (www.onecubicle.com), a new startup we ran across recently, which is looking to provide a more professional social networking site for younger people. Why did you decide to start yet another social networking site? It's not in my make up.

Social Network 100

Social Network Entertainment Startup CTO Coach 100

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 21, 2010

In writing anything positive about any of the companies I’m not suggesting that it means that I prefer them to any of their competitors. I just cover the companies that were funded that week. Also, some of the deals I write about I have actually seen as part of their fund raising process. Others I have not.

Venture Capital 265

Venture Capital Capital Email Blogging 265

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 14, 2012

…” I’ll write soon on my views of why I believe Instagram took off as a social network and what I think comes next. Instagram happens to be one of the few social networks I regularly use along with Twitter. Not as an enticement to get a buyer to pay up after the deal. Think about it.

Venture Capital 316

Venture Capital Pricing Social Network Acquisition 316

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 16, 2010

If you have a unique creation or invention, and you are not selling it around the world on the Internet, now is the time to start. In the early days (20 years ago), most new e-commerce sites cost a million dollars to set up. The cost for the domain name is maybe $10/year, and the hosting starts around $50/year. Start simple.

Commerce 88

Commerce Startup Sites Tool 88

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 13, 2022

Writing in business is not the same as in an academic environment. This will pay big dividends in getting your favorite project funded, or justifying your own salary, or negotiating a bonus. Follow-up and persistence are a rare natural phenomenon. Atrocious resumes and social network antics will kill your career.

Class 140

Class Course Email Social Network 140

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 20, 2017

Now, even the earliest stage startup can rise to visibility or be forever lost by their first media spotlight, so it behooves us all to know the rules early. Ask Eric Migicovsky, founder of Pebble , who raised over $10 million on the Kickstarter crowd-funding platform for his relatively low-tech wristwatch with programmed clock faces.

Media 55

Media Social Media Startup Training 55

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 15, 2010

We’re staring to get the hang of how to divide the show up into talking about deals but also talking about issues for entrepreneurs during funding. Next Wednesday we’ll have Dana Settle of Greycroft Partners, a New York / LA early-stage venture capital fund. short answer: very, very rarely. But it does happen.

Venture Capital 285

Venture Capital Startup Advertising Redpoint 285

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 9, 2009

There’s an old saying that if I’m talking with you and I start the conversation by saying, “whatever you do, DO NOT think about Elephants &# then you can’t help but thinking about elephants while we’re speaking. Your A round investors are not stepping up. - You raised $1.5 Today you have 2,000 users. -

Venture Capital 264

Venture Capital Startup Training Sales 264

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 4, 2019

If you are looking for funding and customers for your new business, you need to identify your “unique selling proposition” (USP) right up front, in 30 seconds or less, to differentiate yourself in today’s information overload. Investor and customer attention spans are short, and both will write you off quickly.

.Net 73

.Net Examples Customer Custom 73

Tech Zulu Event

NOVEMBER 5, 2012

MIIGLE is a LA-based social network for entrepreneurs and innovators that recently launched its Beta version. The platform enhances the process of turning ideas into entrepreneurial ventures and growing startups through social collaboration. So Luc , you call yourself a ‘Netrepreneur’ and social entrepreneur.

Startup 101

Startup Ideas Platform Entrepreneur 101

socalTECH

APRIL 14, 2011

I ended up passing on the Twitter investment, but I put out a blog post at the time--I was working for CBS--asking if someone would want to build it, and a kid named Soren MacBeth emailed me back saying he'd build it, which started the idea of StockTwits. Because of that, I indirectly ended up with a good amount of shares in Twitter.

Ideas 248

Ideas Web Startup Content 248

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 22, 2019

Now, even the earliest stage startup can rise to visibility or be forever lost by their first media spotlight, so it behooves us all to know the rules early. Ask Eric Migicovsky, founder of Pebble , who raised over $10 million on the Kickstarter crowd-funding platform for his relatively low-tech wristwatch with programmed clock faces.

Press 96

Press Entrepreneur Social Media Training 96

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 10, 2013

If you have a unique creation or invention, and you are not selling it around the world on the Internet, now is the time to start. In the early days (20 years ago), most new e-commerce sites cost a million dollars to set up. The cost for the domain name is maybe $10/year, and the hosting starts around $50/year. Start simple.

Sites 78

Sites Commerce Startup Tool 78

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 1, 2011

There have been a lot of entrepreneurs here in software and other industries, and interestingly enough there seem to be more self-funded, bootstrapped firms here, rather than those looking for venture capital to get off the group. You are self funded too, we recall. The traditional way to handle that is to write code.

Networking 214

Networking IBM IBM Pacific Palisades 214

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 15, 2014

.” I have been weighing in slowly on the topic over the past few weeks on Twitter but have avoided writing a blog post about it until now. I started from a position of wanting a “real identity” because to me I want to know whom I’m dealing with. Contrast that with HackerNews. Cars are dehumanizing.

Technical Review 329

Technical Review Blogging Examples Startup 329

socalTECH

JUNE 30, 2009

FreedomSpeaks is a startup developing a business around connecting people with information about their political representatives, and also enabling organizations and others to do the same. We caught up with Jason and Kurt to hear more about the company. What's the story behind the company and how it started? Jason Kiesel: Yes.

Startup 100

Startup Writing Southern California Email 100

socalTECH

JUNE 30, 2011

Earlier this month, Los Angeles-based Gamzee (www.gamzee.com), a new game company founded by Howard Marks, the co-founder of Activision and Acclaim Games, announced a seed round of funding. We caught up with Howard to hear about what Gamzee is all about, and where he thinks the next big thing in games is going to be.

Activision 217

Activision Platform Startup Mobile 217