L.A. Business Journal

APRIL 20, 2017

seed funding falls sharply in first quarter, Brian Lee and Ron Burkle-backed medical apparel Startup Jaanuu raises $5 million from retail execs, and Nasty Gal founder Sophia Amoruso’s dramatic biopic releases Friday on Netflix.

Seed Funding

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 26, 2024

and if you miss projections [Email readers, continue here…] The reaction to bad news by Vs controlling the board by virtue of their power to supply additional money, often includes the threat – or reality – of starting the process to find a replacement CEO. Are angels and friends a better bet?

Coach

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 19, 2018

It’s great to start with a big dream as you contemplate a new business, but finding the money you need takes more than dreaming. For example, I just read an otherwise impressive business plan last week from a first-timer who asked for $10 million to get started. Get started first on your own time and money.

Tips

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 1, 2017

La Jolla-based molecular dermatology startup DermTech announced today that it has raised $10M in its Series C funding round, part of an ongoing $15M financing effort by the company. The company said the new funding will to expand its sales force and bring new skin cancer products to the market. READ MORE>>.

Funding

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 15, 2017

Upfront Ventures was created 20 years ago as one of the original VC funds in Los Angeles. And I constantly have to remind people that the largest tech startup employer in LA is actually SpaceX and that, yes, Elon Musk does live in LA.

Dollar Shave Club

L.A. Business Journal

FEBRUARY 14, 2017

Seed-stage companies in Los Angeles received a total of $369 million in funding in 2016, according to report from Venice tech accelerator Amplify.LA.

Seed Funding

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 30, 2017

One of the most common complaints I hear from new business owners and startups is about the pain and difficulty raising capital. The “venture capital” model is the only option they know, where they feel they get no mercy, giving up equity and control. Complete and heed fund-raising legal compliance requirements.

Technical Review

socalTECH

MARCH 15, 2018

Westlake Village-based Pray.com , which develops social networking applications for religious communities, has raised $14M in a Series A funding, the company said this week. The funding was led by TPG Growth, and also included Science Inc. and Greylock Partners. READ MORE>>.

Social Network

TechCrunch LA

FEBRUARY 14, 2018

Alongside co-founder and longtime partner Stephan Ango, Jesse Genet has built a business with Lumi that’s already been profitable, and has just raised $9 million in venture funding to boost its growth. Read More.

Los Angeles

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 8, 2018

Upfront Ventures has a deep-seated commitment to equality in funding & building diverse teams across all ethnicities, nationalities and genders. If you’re an entrepreneur who would like to see this clause in more startups please ask your VC to include it in future term sheets and link to it from their home page. “We

Venture Capital

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 28, 2018

We seed funded a company a few years ago called Parachute Home that has grown 180% CAGR (compounded annually) and is now doing tens of millions of revenue with very little capital raised. It starts with a category being done poorly, reimagining the experience, creating distinctive products and then constantly messaging this to the market.

Product

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 29, 2014

In the comments section a clever question popped up about whether I would have invested in myself before I became an investor. In fact, my salary never caught up with my pre startup salary across 2 companies and 8 years. Sometimes the discussion veers over into whether or not he or she should get an MBA before trying a startup.

Startup

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 18, 2014

Yet along with “authenticity” they are two of the key attributes I look for when I meet with companies I may consider funding one day. Running a startup is a grind. Passion is also the featured heavily in nearly every presentation I give to entrepreneurs or on college campuses or in talks with MBA students.

Startup

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 30, 2014

Many startups now go through accelerators and have mentors passing through each day with advice – usually it’s conflicting. There are bootcamps, startup classes, video interviews – the sources are now endless. Because I’ve asked more than 100 VCs similar questions I start to notice patterns in thinking.

Startup

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 27, 2021

On Funding?—?Shots Shots on Goal Being great as a startup technology investor of course requires a lot of things to come together: You need to have strong insights into where technology markets are heading and where value in the future will be created and sustained You need be perfect with your market timing.

Funding

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 26, 2022

Considering that many of our funds are in the $200–300 million range, these returns were more meaningful than if we had raised billion dollar funds. Obviously the funding environment has changed considerably in 2022 but as early-stage investors our daily jobs stay largely unchanged. What do you do with a $650 million platform?

Startup

TechCrunch LA

MAY 19, 2018

In startup-land, however, the presumptions about where housing demand is going looks a bit different. A Crunchbase News analysis of residential-focused real estate startups uncovered a raft of companies with a shared and temporary housing focus that have raised funding in the past year or so. This isn’t a U.S.-specific

Startup

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 10, 2015

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. I funded a US company that bought a URL and a brand name and filed for a trademark. So why exactly have lawsuits (anecdotally) picked up so much in the past 5 years?

Startup

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2018

The most important advice I could give you before you set out in fund raising mode is to understand that fund-raising a sales & marketing process and needs to be managed. In my post “ Measure twice, cut once ” I’ve outlined how to plan before you start raising. You can short-hand this as “engagement.”

Venture Capital

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 29, 2017

I am so proud and humbled to be able to formally announce that Upfront Ventures has raised its 6th venture capital fund in the past 21 years. Upfront VI is our latest core fund and is $400 million to invest in early stage entrepreneurs. This brings our combined funds under management to nearly $2 billion.

Funding

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 12, 2019

Seed investments are down by any measure (funds, deals, dollars) over the past 3 years in deals < $1 million AND in deals between $1–5 million. The reality is that as a result of two major trends the costs of starting a technology startup went down massively. The “A Round” of my startup in 1999 was $16.5 What gives?

Venture Capital

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 7, 2014

My view: “Spending any time or energy trying to game the ‘definition’ of your round of fund raising is a total waste. ” Here’s how all the drama started for me. A rounds back then seemed to be anywhere from $2-3 million (LA or NYC) or up to $5 million in Silicon Valley. $5 Nobody cares.

Seed Funding

TechEmpower

AUGUST 7, 2023

What does it mean to be a CTO for a startup? Should a startup CTO spend their time programming? Here’s a graphic from Socal CTO that illustrates the roles as they change over time: In its earliest days, a startup’s top need is often to produce a product. What does the role demand? Exploring new technologies? It might be.

CTO Hire

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 28, 2021

On Funding?—?The The Denominator Effect I recently wrote a post about funding for investors to think about having a diversified portfolio , which I called “shots on goal.” The thesis is that before investing in an early-stage startup it is close to impossible to know which of the deals you did will break out to the upside.

Funding

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 27, 2021

A new program, run by the Alliance for Southern California Innovation, is looking to connect startups with Series A funding, according to the group. According to the two, the program recruits and selects top SoCal-based startups that have demonstrated clear market traction and provides introductions to leading venture funds.

Southern California

TechCrunch LA

OCTOBER 7, 2021

An edtech startup called Entity Academy — which provides women with training, in areas like data science and software development; mentoring; and ultimately job coaching — has raised $100 million on the heels of strong growth of its business, and an ambition to improve that ratio.

Mentor

TechCrunch LA

MAY 23, 2019

The Los Angeles ecosystem is $76 million stronger today as Fika Ventures , a seed-stage venture capital firm, announces its sophomore investment fund. Fika invests roughly half of its capital exclusively in startups headquartered in LA, with a particular fondness for B2B, enterprise and fintech companies.

Funding

L.A. Business Journal

AUGUST 23, 2021

is lining up capital to start production on a second electric vehicle in late 2023 after unveiling a debt offering of $625 million. Manhattan Beach-based Fisker Inc.

Manhattan Beach

socalTECH

APRIL 4, 2019

Los Angeles-based eTailPet , a new startup which helps pet store owners create online e-commerce sites, has received a round of seed funding, the company said this week. The seed funding was worth $800K, and led by Moonshots Capital, and also included individual angels from the pet industry. READ MORE>>.

Seed Funding

Tech.Co

DECEMBER 29, 2023

2023 hasn't been an easy year to be a startup. In fact, according to Crunchbase more than 212 startups closed their shutters in the third fiscal quarter alone – the highest number recorded in the firm's history. Yet, while many early-stage startups crumbled under the pressure, diamonds also emerged.

Startup

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 11, 2021

As an angel investor to startups, I’m still surprised to find entrepreneurs who expect investors to give them money, and assume no strings attached. Angel and venture capital money always comes with ownership and management implications, starting with the obvious ones outlined in the term sheet for the deal.

Funding

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2019

Do you need a board when you first start you company? If you haven’t raised any money or if you raised a small round from angels or friends & family I would suggest you avoid setting up a formal board unless the people who would join your board are deeply experienced at sitting on startup boards.

Startup

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 5, 2014

Even bigger is the desire to stick one’s middle finger up at all of the people who doubted you all along. ” When Elon Musk set out to build SpaceX he wasn’t greeted with enthusiasm from the space community not used to having a private enterprise challenge the government funded space exploration of NASA.

Technical Review

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 13, 2014

Let me start with the news that I’m excited to share with you. Startup CEO experience (Founded P.S. XO along with my good friend Soleil Moon Frye. For starters we’re an LA-based venture fund who invests nationally (and sometimes internationally, but less so). But she also has the temperament, which is important.

Venture Capital

TechCrunch LA

JANUARY 29, 2018

Los Angeles is becoming one of the more interesting destinations for startups and the investors that provide money for venture capital firms to place bets on young companies are increasingly starting to take notice. New funds are launching in Los Angeles at a pretty feverish clip, and the latest to plant its flag in the […].

Southern California

L.A. Business Journal

JULY 1, 2019

Culver City-based social networking startup Sgrouples Inc., million in a venture round, bringing its total funding to $15 million since launching in 2012. doing business as MeWe, announced it raised $4.5

Social Network

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 19, 2015

The biggest difference I cite is that Venture Capital often feels like an “individual sport” while startups are a “team sport.” Startups are team sports because you’re all working on the same shared objective of the company. The truth is that the newer the firm the easier that shared mission is.

Rancho Palos Verdes