Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 25, 2011

This thinking is largely driven by the venture capital industry (and subsequently Wall Street) who are in search of high margin, highly scalable businesses. It’s nearly impossible to get a services company financed by VCs. Why Shouldn’t Most Services Businesses Raise VC? You own the IP you create.

Services 332

Services Venture Capital IP Startup 332

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 25, 2010

We were trying to optimize around a few criteria: price, size of round, number of syndicate partners and, of course, terms. My co-founder and other management team members wanted us to hold off and see whether we could get the deal done at a higher price. Many deals – VC or otherwise – didn’t close. Especially in VC.

Venture Capital 301

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Technical Advisors 301

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 30, 2014

Today I’m handing her the largest A-round check I’ve ever written as a VC as we lead her $10 million A-Round at uBeam. As I’ve written about recently, at Upfront Ventures we started talking a couple of years ago about wanting to fund stuff with more meaning. We hired IP specialists to review prior art.

Technical Review 418

Technical Review Software Review CTO Hire IP 418

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

” Stay lean and only raise a big round if you DO find product / market fit and which point you want to loosen the belt quickly and raise the capital to do so. .” ” Stay lean and only raise a big round if you DO find product / market fit and which point you want to loosen the belt quickly and raise the capital to do so.

Startup 383

Startup Company Companies .Net 383

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 6, 2010

But in my experience as an entrepreneur and now spending my time amongst investors I can generalize that almost all VC investments in early stage technology & Internet investments come down to just four key factors. And VC’s are tough customers. I’ve talked before about how to build long-term relationships with VCs.

Startup 360

Startup Venture Capital Invest Slides 360

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 25, 2009

Now, given our current economic crisis and VC ‘challenges’, the barriers to funding have gone up significantly as well. How’s that for duality.

Startup 150

Startup SEM IP SEO 150

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

When they look at buying your company they often think in terms of “how long will it take until I earn back the profits to pay for my acquisition price?” Do you imagine eventually raising VC and trying to build a faster growing company?” ” If you’re not profitable you’re purely a cost center to them.

Startup 418

Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 418

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 21, 2013

This might mean helping customers buy traffic, arb’ing deals, helping with RTB pricing or trading, etc. Importantly, make sure that you retain IP rights to your custom work which needs to be part of the engagement contract. At a minimum co-ownership of the IP. Integrate PS Work Into Sales & Marketing Processes.

Software Review 321

Software Review Software Services Company 321

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 21, 2010

Shame about not getting it in legal writing that you owned the original IP. Founded it as a California LLC but your potential VC wants a Delaware C-Corp? Forget to get around to setting up that Employee Stock Option Plan and want to be able to give the early guys their options at a low strike price? Our lives are intertwined.

Startup 318

Startup IP Southern California Entrepreneur 318

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 5, 2011

I need to take some VC meetings. But it did take Brad as a public spokesman, consummate networker and successful VC to help create legitimacy to let David’s ideas flourish. When you think about the success that is Silicon Valley, the unfair advantage is not just the huge amounts of available venture capital.

Venture Capital 317

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Press 317

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 13, 2010

It’s clear that the exuberance has returned to hiring, paying large compensation, poaching staff with big payouts and large fund raising events at lofty prices. It’s why as an investor I look for talented teams with long-term vision, a unique point-of-view, differentiated IP and a desire to build something enduring.

Technical Review 302

Technical Review Marketing IP Outsource Development 302

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 1, 2020

Our interview today is with Andrew Schydlowsky , the CEO and founder of Santa Barbara-based TrackStreet (www.trackstreet.com), a startup which is backed by Okapi Capital, The Cove Fund, Early Light Ventures, SaaS Venture Capital, and Stage Venture Partners. What is TrackStreet? We evolved and expanded from there.

Artificial Inteligence 140

Artificial Inteligence Startup Commerce Sales 140

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 7, 2015

They now have a strong VC lead from Foundry Group and from experience when you get advice from Foundry it comes with authority, experience, empathy and the right amount of straight talk. I love how open Danielle has been throughout the development of her startup Mattermark including honest reflections of when she has changed her opinion.

Angel 150

Angel Startup Seed Funding Invest 150

Xconomy

JULY 19, 2016

Some of these acquisitions may carry price tags into the billions of dollars, while the vast majority will be smaller deals that bring a best-of-breed point solution into the product catalog. More than any other IT segment, compelling technology and defensible IP are a critical piece of any security solution.

Symantec 40

Symantec IBM IBM Acquisition 40

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 2, 2015

I love the enthusiasm, the boundless energy and the sense of possibility that comes from having an idea that hasn’t yet been beat up in the marketplace of competing ideas, customer contracts, VC skepticism, jaded journalists or fickle consumers who are on the The New, New Thing. They can help you with pricing. On and on and on.

Outsource Development 150

Outsource Development Metrics Startup Sales 150

socalTECH

APRIL 22, 2010

However, as that evolved, as a management team we did a good job going after that with our IP, and that piece went well. A few executives we've talked to have told us that private equity often is a bit more forgiving than venture capital? We never would have thought, five years ago, that that would happen as well.

Equity 124

Equity San Diego Startup Activity 124

SoCal Delicious

SEPTEMBER 22, 2008

Pricing and revenue? Block IP address. Block IP address. Block IP address. Block IP address. Block IP address. Block IP address. Generally, 2-3 reports are good enough to start, but ultimately you’ll probably track dozens of dashboards each focusing on specific aspects of your business like.

Startup 29

Startup IP Email Report 29

SoCal CTO

JANUARY 5, 2011

- SoCal CTO , January 13, 2010 5 Lessons from 150 startup pitches - A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks , July 11, 2010 9 Reasons Why Many Smart People Go Nowhere - Life Beyond Code , March 29, 2010 No Accounting For Startups - Steve Blank , February 22, 2010 Startup Advice In Exactly Three Words - #StartupTriplets - OnStartups , January (..)

Startup 378

Startup Venture Capital Blogging CTO Coach 378