Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2016

I answered in the same way I always do so I thought I’d just write it publicly. “I I think I’m better at the product stage of a business and helping with strategy, marketing, pricing, feature sets and so forth than I am at evaluating later-stage businesses based on financial results and business metrics and priced accordingly.

Invest 254

Invest Writing Pricing Metrics 254

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 23, 2019

Even if it’s only a few PowerPoint slides or typed paragraphs, writing something down is the first step toward making it real. Always write in the future tense, what you will do, and name yourself as the key person responsible. Create a specific plan to network to get the help you need.

Ideas 99

Ideas Slides Writing Startup 99

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 2, 2020

Create a written plan, with target milestones and metrics. I have found that the process of writing down your idea, with a plan for implementation, and reviewing that plan with a business advisor, will force you to learn and acknowledge the real requirements for implementation. Expand your own learning and knowledge by helping others.

Ideas 126

Ideas Writing Examples Outsource 126

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 3, 2020

I found some great help in outlining the elements of this process in the classic book, “ Disruptors ,” by Kunal Mehta. Put it behind you by setting your own realistic metrics for success and happiness. Then write them down. By writing these goals, you add validity to each target and create a mental desire to see them fulfilled.

Entrepreneur 123

Entrepreneur Satisfaction Writing Metrics 123

TechCrunch LA

FEBRUARY 20, 2019

Start writing down predictions about people, companies, and markets. We get at least a dozen at the TC offices every week, which is why we write about books so often around here these days. Startups either get three dozen term sheets or none at all, since every firm is walking around with the same frameworks and metrics in their head.

Venture Capital 202

Venture Capital Startup Technical Review Invest 202

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 10, 2021

I started advice with the premise that no amount of exercise or food eating plan would help with long-term fitness or weight goals unless you first had a mental plan and a set of measurements to track your progress. Having a positive mental outlook helped me perform better. You can’t help but not want to let Matt down.

Coach 538

Coach Startup Guide Journal 538

socalTECH

JUNE 11, 2018

For those not familiar with the writing process in Hollywood works, fill us in? We saw that there were a lot of talent discovery programs out there, such as screenwriting fellowships, labs, film festivals, workshops, and writing competitions. That's been our focus, on centralizing talent discovery on the platform.

Technical Review 100

Technical Review Hollywood Platform Competition 100

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 14, 2018

Whenever you write your deck and send it out I think you should actually think to yourself, “my competitors are probably going to read this one day and this will be forwarded widely” and if your response isn’t “so what!” I’m sure that some VCs and others do love online viewers when they read a deck.

Funding 239

Funding Venture Capital IP Competition 239

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 27, 2011

Or if you’re pinched on time the summary is below and the time coding can help you watch a brief snippet on topics that interest you. 41:00 Transitioning from software to writing. 48:30 Vanity metrics. 52:00 Actionable metrics. 48:30 Vanity metrics. 52:00 Actionable metrics. Eric is so damn good.

Social Media 301

Social Media Startup Metrics Media 301

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2013

Understanding where your VC partner sits in their respective fund and where their fund is in the cycle of its investment lifecycle will help you understand your VCs behavior. In addition to helping manage the board Chris also helps represent the interests of the angel investors / common stock holders.

Tips 365

Tips Email Venture Capital Blogging 365

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2013

It’s a hard topic to write about because it’s almost an accepted norm that total transparency is good. A tool to better help you find bars & restaurants? They told you, “Yeah, man, I’ll gladly write the first $250,000. I’d need a letter from you to help with my loan.” Of course not.

Startup 417

Startup Course Venture Capital Writing 417

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2019

This is smart because amazing board members can be transformative with important advice and access and can also help attract other great board members (and team members). I actually think having a formal board can really help you. If your metric move immediate up-and-to-the-right? Some seed investors are amazing.

Startup 236

Startup Venture Capital Tips Capital 236

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 7, 2011

The other thing that struck me, is because it is only men, they tend to write with lots of testosterone. Their writing style, even for a mainstream publication, is they write with lots of testosterone. They write about the transmission, the brakes, and the suspension, and that creeps into all of their evaluations of cars.

Truecar 204

Truecar Writing Edmunds Sites 204

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 9, 2014

In a funding round with 1 or 2 VCs and 15-20 angels or 4-6 seed funds if you gave every investor you financial information and performance metrics your proprietary information would increase in its probability of leaking out. We are doing what we do – writing larger checks and playing an active role at the company.

Venture Capital 352

Venture Capital Seed Funding Email Blogging 352

SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 5, 2009

We have a number of startups (or pre-startups) that we are helping get launched. You are writing about the essentials of business. Any thoughts on my recent post Startup Metrics ? The Startup Metrics post is a good example of what I call “holocognics.” We also represent a few larger companies with international issues.

Startup 150

Startup SEO Pepperdine Blogging 150

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 16, 2018

Some of the products I’ve helped validate and launch include GoToMyPC, GoToMeeting and AppFolio. Our software helps companies save time, improve their communication, and ultimately build better products faster. I think in the end it’s helped us build a better product because we are resource-constrained. Semick: They are.

Venture Capital 115

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Santa Barbara SaaS 115

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2018

I hired a sales coach named Kai Krickle who helped me figure out how to close more deals. He told me to stop responded to RFPs where I wasn’t the person who helped write the specs for the RFPs. He told me, “if you didn’t help shape the RFP somebody else did and you’ve already lost.” How should I best prepare for that?”

Funding 336

Funding Venture Capital Startup Email 336

socalTECH

JUNE 13, 2011

Well, Los Angeles-based KarmaGoat (www.karmagoat.com) has figured out a way to help people get rid of those unwanted items they have--and provide those proceeds to charity. That gift of livestock can help families out of extreme poverty. Did the experience at Anderson help you with starting the company?

UCLA 256

UCLA Startup Ideas Help 256

TechEmpower

FEBRUARY 13, 2013

Through our fifteen years, we've been charged with helping clients get business done with technology. Focusing on the metrics that ultimately drive the business, often the bottom line, has provided a reality check, a counter-weight to the desire to consume all new technologies. It's a fun and funny business to be in.

Web 200

Web Platform Technology JavaScript 200

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2019

The number is much higher for those who choose to go it alone, without help. Writing down key parameters will force you solidify the specifics, and mentally commit to them. This is the point where you must manage to metrics, work on the culture of the organization, and look for partner-based growth.

Ideas 94

Ideas Slides Technical Review Patents 94

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 2, 2010

And the only way to do that is to help them calculate the ROI (return on investment) of using your product. As a company you need to invest in ROI calculators (spreadsheets) that are easy for sales reps to plug in basic customer metrics and pop out with an expected benefit.

Sales 289

Sales Startup Training Pricing 289

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 24, 2016

What you Before Sets the Course for How Well the Day Goes Make sure you send your financial and operating metrics no less than 72 hours before the board meeting — even better if it can be a week in advance. It’s helpful. Many of these people can be helpful. So here’s a short guide to achieving that. It’s disarming.

Guide 196

Guide Startup Metrics Conference 196

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 31, 2014

I found some great help in outlining the elements of this process in a recent book, “ Disruptors ,” by Kunal Mehta. Put it behind you by setting your own realistic metrics for success and happiness. Then write them down. By writing these goals, you add validity to each target and create a mental desire to see them fulfilled.

Entrepreneur 100

Entrepreneur Satisfaction Startup Writing 100

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 29, 2015

Joey Flores: For starters, we're smart enough not to believe anything until it is in writing. We had some investors very interested but wanted us to validate some metrics, so we spent time building things to prove those metrics. How did you know they were serious? We had a lot of reasons we had to do a lot of things.

Software Review 100

Software Review Startup Metrics Content 100

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 4, 2014

Write down the key elements of your business plan very early, and keep it current as things evolve. Even if you are doing the work yourself, you need to document requirements, features, metrics, and milestones. At this stage, you should start recruiting, hiring, paying, and training others to help you run your business.

Startup 107

Startup Outsource Development Training Outsource 107

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

Even when your startup is a one-man show, you will soon find that you are “out of control,” unless you start organizing and writing down how and when key things need to get done. Write down the key elements of your business plan very early, and keep it current as things evolve. The right question is “What is the minimum that I need?”

Startup 102

Startup Outsource Development Writing Training 102

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 2, 2015

Smart entrepreneurs have metrics for assessing their progress against milestones and regularly communicate new insights to the team. Write every check personally, rather than relying on a bookkeeper or administrative help. Startups are all about change, but entrepreneurs can be slow to change, due to passion and stubbornness.

Startup 105

Startup Entrepreneur Marketing Satisfaction 105

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 3, 2019

I was a sales person at HotJobs, but after we went public I helped open up an office in Los Angeles, and lived in Los Angeles for eight years. The, I moved back to LA and helped build out our strategic account management and our strategic sales team for HotJobs. I didn't really set out to write a book. That was four years ago.

Sales 113

Sales Startup Custom Development Framework 113

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 7, 2015

I found some great help in outlining the elements of this process in the classic book, “ Disruptors ,” by Kunal Mehta. Put it behind you by setting your own realistic metrics for success and happiness. Then write them down. By writing these goals, you add validity to each target and create a mental desire to see them fulfilled.

Satisfaction 57

Satisfaction Entrepreneur Writing Startup 57

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 15, 2016

When you raise larger rounds there is more “due diligence,” which includes: calling customers, looking at financial metrics, doing cohort analysis (looking for trends like changes in churn rates), evaluating competitor positioning and understanding more of the competency of your executive team.

Startup 150

Startup Capital Funding Invest 150

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 19, 2015

I’ve tried over the years to write many times about the realism of the downsides of being an entrepreneur because there is a complete cognitive dissidence between what you read about yourself in the press and what you feel internally about where you’re at in the journey. I have written some posts in the past that may be helpful.

Press 150

Press Venture Capital Startup Entrepreneur 150

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 20, 2015

But if you take $10 on $30, $40 or even $50 G-d help you if you need to raise your next round and haven’t demonstrated amazing traction or you raise after the next correction. But sometimes “mo” is “ faux ” and then … G-d help you. why do I write p.s.’s sometimes?

Funding 150

Funding Venture Capital Startup Marketing 150

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 1, 2010

Even when your startup is a one-man show, you will soon find that you are “out of control,” unless you start organizing and writing down how and when key things need to get done. Write down the key elements of your business plan very early, and keep it current as things evolve. The right question is “What is the minimum that I need?”

Startup 95

Startup Outsource Development Writing Training 95

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. As an early stage investor you’re often planning around 10x your investment at the time your write your first check so in this case you’d be going into your investment expecting an exit of $800 – $1.2

Startup 336

Startup Pricing Technical Review Marketing 336

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 31, 2013

Write down the key elements of your business plan very early, and keep it current as things evolve. Even if you are doing the work yourself, you need to document requirements, features, metrics, and milestones. At this stage, you should start recruiting, hiring, paying, and training others to help you run your business.

Outsource Development 92

Outsource Development Training Outsource Metrics 92

socalTECH

MARCH 6, 2017

Some might be looking for some liquidity, they might want to sell their app outright, or it could be they want to cut a deal on the publishing side, and get some helping out with advertising and monetization. We are making changes to the user interface, to help limits things like attrition and other things we're trying to avoid.

Media 153

Media Mobile Startup Acquisition 153

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 13, 2022

Like any coach would ask, you need to brainstorm and write down the short list of things that are getting in the way of your joy and satisfaction at work, as well as the single biggest thing that would grow your joy in business and personal life. It helps to partner with and coach others. Celebrate every step of progress.

Coach 105

Coach Help Satisfaction Metrics 105