Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 14, 2019

My answer always varies as I examine each deal, sometimes deferring and passing on an investment because of an uneasy feeling about the entrepreneur, even if the business plan seems able to capture the market. And what if that person admitted immediately that he or she had no team and was not the person to take this plan to market?

Venture Capital 120

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Ideas Summary 120

Berkonomics

APRIL 4, 2019

On the other side, entrepreneurs and CEO’s usually have a natural fear of giving too much information to us investors after the initial investment is received. Email readers, continue here…] Prepare for your annual meetings well. Requirements created by investment documents. But don’t worry.

Class 120

Class Course Report Competition 120

Berkonomics

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014

We are not always smart about the market or the product. Great teams are not bound by their original product or marketing plan. My favorite example of a world class pivot comes from the CEO and board of one of my most successful investments. Plans don’t often work as devised.

Class 176

Class Resource Email Examples 176

Berkonomics

APRIL 13, 2017

Is your market identifiable and accessible? Test yourself as to whether you can identify the size of your market niche, and whether you can overcome the many barriers to access customers within your niche. How large a total market? Email readers, continue here…] Can you dominate that market?

Patents 291

Patents Pricing Ideas Marketing 291

Berkonomics

MAY 27, 2021

If you take money from knowledgeable investors, you will be required to create a board as a part of the investment process. The average board for a company taking outside investment money is five. So, why go through the effort? Boards perform two important types of task. What are the legal responsibilities of board members?

Resource 156

Resource Acquisition Class Help 156

Berkonomics

APRIL 14, 2012

There is a natural fear of giving too much information to investors after the initial investment is received. Others worry that investors will latch onto individual line items within financial data and engage in inquisitions regarding telephone bills, marketing costs and other tactical line items in detailed financial statements.

Class 202

Class Report Competition .Net 202

InfoChachkie

APRIL 25, 2011

Although many are entertaining, most fail to provide entrepreneurs with a sufficient return on their time investment. I have used Guy’s previous book, The Art Of The Start (Art ), in my UC Santa Barbara New Venture Creation class for the past five years. He then helps readers evaluate their results with some amusing “grades.”

Technical Review 279

Technical Review Blogging Class Entrepreneur 279

Berkonomics

SEPTEMBER 6, 2010

Even venture capitalists who sit on boards where they have significant investments often forget this point. They write into their investment documents that they will occupy a seat on the board for as long as they are invested in the company, thinking of this as a protection for their investment and tool for them to influence growth.

Class 179

Class Coach Invest Sales 179

socalTECH

JUNE 20, 2012

For readers, LaunchpadLA is all about? We got over 400 applications for the ten slots we had open in this class, and we picked ten amazing companies. So far, eight of the ten companies in our current class have raised outside funding, and we're really happy with how it's gone so far. We're really excited for the next steps.

Class 261

Class Mentor Startup Santa Monica 261

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 19, 2015

These nominees came from (many) reader suggestions; suggestions by a wide range of industry insiders who served as an informal nominating committee; and our own and other editorial coverage. Gunnar Lovelace and Nick Green , Thrive Market. Congratulations to our third class of the socalTECH 50! Where did these names come from?

SoCalTech 100

SoCalTech Lootcrate Southern California Snapchat 100

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 14, 2014

It’s why the first company I ever invested in as a VC – Invoca – just announced a $20 million funding by Accel Partners. It’s why opt-in marketing databases can be so incredibly valuable for companies like Gilt Groupe, One King’s Lane and AdoreMe. Much more data in the full post. PHONE CALLS.

Email 339

Email SaaS Venture Capital Google 339

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 25, 2010

I recently read a book I’d highly recommend to every reader of this blog called “ Yes, 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to be Persuasive &# by Robert B. Rincon is part of the new breed of Seed Stage VCs and with the leadership of Jim Andelman has charted out the most authentic early-stage investment strategy in Southern California.

Guide 293

Guide Funding Venture Capital Technical Review 293

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 23, 2023

Here is the warning: The execution of equity allocations and of a good incentive program using equity is often mismanaged, damaging the corporate capitalization structure and even affecting the outcome of subsequent investment into the company. … In other words, you cannot create bargain options at below “market rates.”

Equity 156

Equity Class Pricing Sales 156

InfoChachkie

JULY 21, 2011

We see two markets. You decide how much you want to invest in your employees and then you give your employees the control to build a custom perk package for themselves. We brought in 10 – 20 people in each class. For me, it comes down to the right people – I usually invest in teams. We save you a ton of time.

Summary 246

Summary Tips Sales Entrepreneur 246

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 5, 2012

I use George Bush vs. Al Gore as allegory and I’ve been using it with entrepreneurs for years to sink in a simple point about how to communicate with the market. You imagined him as the kid in your class at school at the front of the room raising his hand at every question and saying, “Oooh, me. Call on me.

Entrepreneur 370

Entrepreneur Startup Press Venture Capital 370

Berkonomics

SEPTEMBER 13, 2018

Strategic buyers look for managerial talent, intellectual property, geographic expansion, an extension into adjacent markets – and more – that will be achieved with the acquisition of your company. There is a third class of buyer I discovered first hand when selling my company – the emotional buyer.

Pricing 600

Pricing Sales IBM IBM 600

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 17, 2020

Here is a class of investor we’ve covered before, one usually focused upon you and less upon your business case. We’ve worried together about the moral obligation implicit in taking such investments from people so close, even with their promise never to expect a return. Angel investment groups or funds.

Equity 156

Equity Technical Review Class Organization 156

Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 14, 2011

There are four basic ways to increase the cash position of a company: inject cash through borrowing or investment, decrease spending or payments on debt, increase efficiency of operations, and increase revenues or advance payments from customers. Email readers continue here.] We have discussed why never to run out of cash.

Services 159

Services Statistics Startup .Net 159

Berkonomics

SEPTEMBER 28, 2017

Here is the warning: The execution of partnership equity allocations and of a good incentive program using equity is often mismanaged, damaging the corporate capitalization structure and even affecting the outcome of subsequent investment into the company. In other words, you cannot create bargain options at below “market rates.”

Equity 256

Equity Class Pricing Sales 256

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 25, 2008

Unlike Walmart, you don't have to walk through a reader or interrogator, because we have an active tag with a five year asset life, saying here I am. We've got a nice API with ties to the enterprise class applications. I think we've got a great team, with the right product, at the right time in the market.

Startup 113

Startup CTO Hire Resource Venture Capital 113

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2011

I’ve just completed an investment in Ryan Carson’s new company, TreeHouse. I’m investing heavily in Internet video. I know readers of this post aren’t in that demo but that’s what the data says. I know readers of this post aren’t in that demo but that’s what the data says.

Invest 295

Invest Carson Technical Review Education 295

Berkonomics

APRIL 3, 2014

There are three classes of equity investors for early stage businesses that we have not yet considered. First, angel investment groups come in all sizes from a few organized angels to large groups of three hundred or more. Angel groups invest from $250,000 to $1,000,000 or more in qualified investments.

Equity 232

Equity Startup Organization Invest 232

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 13, 2014

If you take money from knowledgeable investors, you will be required to create a board as a part of the investment process. The average board for a company taking outside investment money is five. Boards perform two important types of task. With three or more shareholders, you must have a three person board of directors in most states.

Resource 222

Resource Acquisition Class Help 222

Berkonomics

MAY 12, 2010

The fee for registration is well under $100, so this is not an issue.) Most early stage companies make the mistake of making option grants to new hires at all levels that are too aggressive and distort the capital structure of the company to a degree that damages future professional investment. Email readers continue here.]

Equity 213

Equity Class Pricing Startup 213

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 22, 2009

Only Hire A+ People Who Punch Above Their Weight Class. I believe that you should always hire people are are looking to “punch above their weight class,&# which means to hire people who want to be one league above where they are today. Weight Class : Let’s take sales. I’m not one of those. Your solution?

Startup 327

Startup Sales Class CIO 327

Berkonomics

SEPTEMBER 2, 2011

Strategic buyers look for managerial talent, intellectual property, geographic expansion, an extension into adjacent markets and more that will be achieved with the acquisition of your company. Email readers, continue here.] There is a third class of buyer I discovered first hand when selling my company – the emotional buyer.

Sales 220

Sales Pricing IBM IBM 220

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 18, 2015

There is a lot of uncertainty about the state of the private, high-growth technology markets and the venture capital markets that underpin them. There is nobody to blame for this abandonment of common sense – it is simply the market being the market and we’re doomed to repeat history. It’s just a market.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Pricing Platform Marketing 150

SoCal CTO

AUGUST 3, 2010

5 Lessons from 150 startup pitches - A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks , July 11, 2010 I just reviewed several hundred startup pitches for Capital Factory. Interesting patterns emerged: Everyone makes the same classes of error. That’s @MeganBerry to you, blogger and social media expert, marketing manager of Klout.com.

Startup 217

Startup Venture Capital Blogging Software Review 217

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 12, 2016

The Luddites would ruin machinery by “throwing a spanner in the works” (or a monkey wrench to the American reader). In order to combat the losses of traditional jobs we invested in education and training and public infrastructure that enabled the growth of the middle class. It’s actually more complicated than that.

Education 150

Education Resource Class Course 150