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. Back then there was no “cloud” so we had to plow money into hardware, software licenses and web hosting. In fact, my salary never caught up with my pre startup salary across 2 companies and 8 years.

Startup 409

Startup Invest Venture Capital Writing 409

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2012

Tracy DiNunzio isn’t your typical Silicon Valley startup founder. She did her first tech startup after the age of 30. And she didn’t start her company in Northern California. She leveraged herself and even sold many of her possessions to get started. She started her business from a personal need.

Startup 363

Startup Entrepreneur SEO Venture Capital 363

socalTECH

MAY 14, 2019

Santa Barbara-based Curtail , a new cybersecurity startup which recently landed $3.25M in funding, said this morning that it has named two VPs. According to the startup, Deborah Scanlon will serve as vice president of strategic sales, and Nigel Quinnin will take on the role of vice president of development at the company.

Funding 133

Funding Chief Technology Officer Santa Barbara Seed Funding 133

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 12, 2019

Los Angeles-based Signal Sciences (www.signalsciences.com), which develops web application firewall software, just inked a big, $35M series C funding round a few weeks ago, and now has plans to dramatically expand its hiring in Los Angeles. Any lessons youve learned so far in the startup process that you wish youd known before?

Startup 113

Startup Funding Technical Review Software Review 113

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2018

the most counter-intuitive fund-raising advice you’ll ever get I’m about to offer you some fund-raising advice that flies directly in the face of what most conventional wisdom will tell you. Let me start out with my premise: “Data rooms are where fund-raising processes go to die.”

Funding 336

Funding Venture Capital Startup Email 336

socalTECH

MARCH 18, 2013

Need to build a web application, and wish you could do it in a more intuitive, visual way? Divshot , one of the startups out of Los Angeles startup accelerator Launchpad LA , said today that it has raised $1.1M in a seed financing round, for its drag-and-drop software for building web applications. READ MORE>>.

Web 164

Web Software Framework Web Development 164

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 332

Venture Capital Funding Startup Sales 332

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 5, 2021

Brand evangelists offline talk up your product lines at cocktail parties or recommend your services to friends while watching their kids' soccer game. It also means making the content appear omnipresent on the Web and in the marketplace, including dedicated video sites and blogs. Develop viral content. That’s a double death wish.

Marketing 139

Marketing Startup SEM Blogging 139

socalTECH

MAY 19, 2017

In today's world of web application development, speed is everything. Venice Beach-based Signal Sciences (www.signalsciences.com) has created sofdtware designed for those application developers to help protect those web applications. How did you start the company? In that world, the risk of security holes is huge.

Web 138

Web Startup Southern California Software 138

Tech.Co

MAY 16, 2024

If this sounds like something that might benefit you, we’ve rounded up seven grant programs that should be on your radar, including their funding amounts, eligibility criteria, and application deadlines. You can unsubscribe at any time. 🌎 Or appear as if you're in another country?

Design 181

Design Commerce Entrepreneur News 181

socalTECH

MAY 22, 2013

Qualaroo , a developer of website conversion and analytics software which helps web businesses improve the experience and conversion of their visitors, has launched a new product. Qualaroo''s CEO, Sean Ellis, has been involved in such startups as Eventbrite, Dropbox, Xobni, LogMeIn, among other companies.

Web 203

Web Help Product Customer 203

socalTECH

DECEMBER 20, 2017

San Diego-based Zesty.io , a startup developing web content management systems, said on Wednesday that it has raised $1.5M in a new funding. The funding came from ClearVision Equity Partners, a local San Diego investors. said the new funding will go towards sales and marketing, plus its product development roadmap.

Funding 113

Funding San Diego Equity Content 113

socalTECH

MAY 13, 2013

Los Angeles-based Greentoe.com , which operates an online marketplace which lets people name their own price for electronics and other items, has raised a round of angel funding, the firm said today. The funding came from Parker Thompson from 500 Startups/Dave McClure. Size of the funding was not announced.

Angel 231

Angel Funding Venture Capital Entertainment 231

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 12, 2019

El Segundo-based Endpoint , a new mobile-first startup focused on title and escrow services, has spun out of title insurance giant First American Financial Corporation , and raised $30M in funding from First American. Endpoint will be led by CEO Scott Martino.

El Segundo 113

El Segundo Funding Incubator Web 113

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 20, 2020

Contrary to popular opinion, viral marketing has not eliminated the need for old-fashioned lead generation to bring customers to a startup. His professional background includes having held marketing-executive roles at big companies as well as startups. Social-media advertising. Cold calling.

Customer 146

Customer Custom Marketing Startup 146

socalTECH

JANUARY 9, 2013

Combine that with the growing startup community here, and you end up with at. We've compiled a list of five of the startups that are revolutionizing some part of music, based here in Southern California. It specifically does NOT play Top 50 music, instead, helping the audience explore and find up and coming music.

Southern California 254

Southern California Startup Sherman Oaks Venice 254

Tech.Co

JULY 13, 2023

Initially pinned as a generative AI startup for Twitter when it first hit the headlines back in April, the xAI website seems to suggest that the new startup will remain separate from the social media platform, as well as Musk's collection of other technology companies. The post What Is xAI?

Artificial Inteligence 115

Artificial Inteligence ChatGPT Generative AI Technical Review 115

socalTECH

OCTOBER 18, 2010

Los Angeles-based Steamboat Ventures , the venture capital arm of The Walt Disney Company, has invested in a Chinese startup which provides web, video, and search analytics, Gridsum Technology. Size of the funding round was not disclosed. As part of the funding, Steamboat's Perry Chui and Alex Hartigan join Gridsum's board.

Steamboat Ventures 167

Steamboat Ventures Web Invest Venture Capital 167

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

I’m over-paying for every check I write into the VC ecosystem and valuations are being pushed up to absurd levels and many of these valuations and companies won’t hold in the long term. Today you have funders focused exclusively on “Day 0” startups or ones that aren’t even created yet. of the fund. By definition?—?I’m

Venture Capital 471

Venture Capital Writing Invest Pricing 471

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 3, 2023

One of the reasons that now is the time to be an entrepreneur is the explosion of startup assistance organizations, usually called incubators or accelerators. Most of these are non-profits, set up by a university to commercialize new technologies, or a municipality to foster business development for the local economy.

Organization 92

Organization Incubator Startup Resource 92

socalTECH

JANUARY 16, 2013

According to Eric Robison, the firm's CEO, the funding round will go towards increasing the firm's global reach and expanding content. Lynda.com offers up online education courses on things like Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Microsoft Excel, AutoCAD, and much more. Meritech Capital also participated in the funding.

Funding 178

Funding Santa Barbara ReachLocal Southern California 178

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 27, 2023

You can find dozens more on the Conscious Capitalism web site. Of course a profitable model isn’t required if you intend to rely totally on donations, or have deep pockets to fund your socially conscious efforts yourself. Entrepreneurs and startups are all about innovation, in business principles as well as in products and services.

Startup 92

Startup Capital Guide Entrepreneur 92

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 30, 2019

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Solicit funds from friends and family. Use crowd funding.

Startup 87

Startup Technical Review Equity Incubator 87

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 4, 2022

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Solicit funds from friends and family. Use crowd funding.

Tips 104

Tips Startup Technical Review Equity 104

Tech.Co

FEBRUARY 16, 2024

Read on to find a financing option that suits you, whatever your business's specialism, needs, and financial profile, or jump to a specific funding type below. Want to browse the web privately? ? Up to 100 businesses will receive honorary mentions and get $300 in My FedEx Rewards vouchers. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Technical Review 193

Technical Review Software Review Startup Competition 193

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 13, 2017

Los Angeles-based venture investor March Capital Partners is the lead investor in a new funding round for gaming software development kit (SDK) developer Genvid , according to Genvid. in new funding led by March Capital Partners, and also including OCA Ventures. The startup is based in New York. Genvid said it raised $2.5M

Develop 113

Develop Development Capital Funding 113

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 21, 2010

If you’re a startup and you don’t have a close relationship with a few law firms you’re really missing one of the most important relationships that any entrepreneur can have. Many people start companies arse backwards. I write about some of the lessons in my post on Startup Mistakes.

Startup 318

Startup IP Southern California Entrepreneur 318

TechCrunch LA

DECEMBER 15, 2021

Papaya is a Los Angeles-based startup with a mission to do just that. It has developed technology to give people a way to pay bills outside of traditional methods, such as through the mail, over the phone or via a Web portal. So I think it’s safe to say that any technology that can make the process easier is welcome by all.

Mobile 208

Mobile Artificial Inteligence Startup Los Angeles 208

socalTECH

AUGUST 15, 2014

We recently spoke with the CEO and co-founder of Kixer, Keith Bonnici --most recently SVP of Business Operations at Scopely--about the startup, which recently announced a seed financing round. I sold a couple of businesses, and ended up running the mobile gaming part of Scopely. Why start Kixer now, and why not stay at Scopely?

Mobile 124

Mobile Web Artificial Inteligence Technical Review 124

socalTECH

MARCH 7, 2014

General Assembly , which conducts classes on web development, Photoshop, Javascript, digital marketing, and all kinds of other topics through its location in Los Angeles, has just scored a $35M funding round, a Series C for the company. READ MORE>>. general assembly angeles venture capital learning digital school technology'

JavaScript 183

JavaScript Funding High Tech Web Development 183

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 27, 2014

Venture capitalists (VCs) have long been seen as the top of the pyramid for startup funding sources, but in fact angel investors now fund over 60 times as many companies, according the Center for Venture Research. The cost of entry for tech startups continues to go down. Mobile and web software apps may cost even less.

Angel 104

Angel Funding Startup Venture Capital 104

socalTECH

APRIL 27, 2012

Six companies started by students at the University of Southern California's Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at USC Marshall have been awarded a total of $50,000 in seed funding, after competing in the center's New Venture Seed Competition held this week. providing online tutoring. providing online tutoring.

Seed Funding 244

Seed Funding USC Competition Funding 244

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. I’ll make my next posting shorter. I get that.

Angel 291

Angel Funding Venture Capital Startup 291

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 14, 2014

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Solicit funds from friends and family. Use crowd funding.

Entrepreneur 113

Entrepreneur Funding Startup Technical Review 113

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 21, 2010

Los Angeles-based MySpace has been among the most visible of Southern California's Internet era success stories, although the site--now owned by News Corporation--has had its own share of ups-and-downs, as well as questions about its future. Here are four startups of them, and what they're doing: Demand Media. www.demandmedia.com).

Startup 178

Startup Tech Coast Angels Demand News 178

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 27, 2012

Recently I wrote a post arguing to make the definition of a Startup more inclusive than that to which Silicon Valley, fueled by Venture Capital return profiles, would sometimes like to attach to the word. Most of what I think about startup communities came from mentorship by Brad Feld through hours of private discussion and debate.

Startup 378

Startup Venture Capital Press San Diego 378

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 29, 2014

It had an influence on the people who fund our industry in a negative way as many asset managers who fund our industry read this flawed report. I hope to publish that deck and a full write up in the next 10 days in partnership with Dan Primack at Fortune (if my write up doesn’t suck, I guess ;-)). Startup Lessons'

Venture Capital 362

Venture Capital Capital Startup Writing 362