Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

I find it amusing when a journalist writes an article about a prominent startup (either privately held or preparing for an IPO) and decries that, “They’re not even profitable!” Exec Summary: Most companies (98+%) in the world (even tech startups) should be very profit focused. What makes up revenue?

Startup 418

Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 418

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 20, 2011

One of the readers asked my opinion around sharing your startup concept: My first question has always been - how do you protect your idea while shopping around for feedback, partners, developers, etc.? Especially if the idea could be whipped-up by a few 24-year olds in a few weeks? Lots of thoughts here.

Startup 211

Startup IP Ideas Patents 211

InfoChachkie

FEBRUARY 20, 2012

Like Steve Jobs, Michael Dell and Larry Ellison, he is one of the few startup Founders who remained at the helm of their respective companies throughout their entire maturation process. Great Startup Ideas Come From Everywhere. "At One Of The Most Important Startup Skills. "The " [Tweet this quote].

Tips 275

Tips Startup IP Santa Barbara 275

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 6, 2010

It’s a conversation that creeps up from time-to-time. For a combination of reasons I didn’t end up talking with the CEO in time and the company quickly became over subscribed. They might want you to start lean. What about Product / IP? Tags: Raising Venture Capital Startup Advice. It’s a P.

Startup 360

Startup Venture Capital Invest Slides 360

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 20, 2011

One of the readers asked my opinion around sharing your startup concept: My first question has always been - how do you protect your idea while shopping around for feedback, partners, developers, etc.? Especially if the idea could be whipped-up by a few 24-year olds in a few weeks? Lots of thoughts here.

Startup 198

Startup IP Ideas Patents 198

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 11, 2011

What could you learn from looking at your competitors or other tech startups in a different way? Or you think their startup is a passing fad and yours is the real deal? I was at a dinner about a year ago with a few VCs and startup founders. The topic of FourSquare came up. I hear views like this all the time.

Startup 313

Startup Press Writing News 313

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 25, 2009

Fantastic post by Christian Gammill - Startup Delta Force… From a competitive perspective (e.g. 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

APRIL 25, 2011

So pervasive has this thinking become that on several occasions startup companies with profitable & fast growing services businesses have come to me wanting to show me the product businesses they created internally to see whether they would be financeable or whether they might be able to create “spin outs&# that could be financed.

Services 332

Services Venture Capital IP Startup 332

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 5, 2010

I started the series talking about what I consider the most important attribute of an entrepreneur : Tenacity. A caller dialed in to ask us questions about his startup. He was from South America but living in Switzerland and had launched a startup while holding down a day job at a consulting firm (McKinsey if memory serves).

Entrepreneur 293

Entrepreneur Startup Venture Capital CTO Hire 293

InfoChachkie

FEBRUARY 11, 2013

In many instances, investors simply do not have the patience to wait for an entrepreneur to sufficiently clean up their deal once a significant issue is identified during the due diligence process. As such, make it easy for investors to unequivocally evaluate the veracity of your venture's IP.

Technical Review 264

Technical Review Entrepreneur IP RSS 264

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 30, 2014

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. We grilled their IP attorneys. The more we dug the more confident we became (and so did every advisor we used). Were they ambitious?

Technical Review 418

Technical Review Software Review CTO Hire IP 418

SoCal CTO

JULY 13, 2011

For example: Entrepreneurship as a Science – The Business Model/Customer Development Stack Customer Development for Web Startups How To Get Your First 1,000 Users Similarly, when you look at IP / Intellectual Property for Startups, it's dominated by Jill Hubbard Bowman 's wonderful content.

Content 175

Content Startup Social Media IP 175

socalTECH

JANUARY 28, 2013

If you're FreedomPop , the Encino-based startup, you start by offering up free 4G wireless data access, and then expand to offer free, voice-over-IP services, along with home-based wireless Internet services. Currently, users pay up front for data packages, and there are inefficiencies in that market.

Startup 245

Startup IP Networking Encino 245

socalTECH

JULY 16, 2013

We caught up with Andy Wilson , who is behind the effort, to hear about why he thinks Pasadena needs its own technology identity. It started around a year ago, as I was driving back from Santa Monica from an event. The thesis is, we need collaboration, ideas, and IP, and to translate that into innovation. I got a resounding yes.

Pasadena 242

Pasadena Santa Monica CalTech Technical Review 242

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 24, 2021

When someone says Intellectual Property (IP), most entrepreneurs think only of patents. In reality, patents are only one of at least eight items that should be in your IP portfolio. You need all these before you start looking for funding. Some of the other items may cost a lot less, and may be worth far more in the long run.

Startup 145

Startup Patents IP Social Media 145

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2010

I never implied that startups are all great and job hoppers are all at fault. Most of what I learned about operating startups I learned from the really tough years at my first company from 2001-2003. That is when no customers wanted to work with Internet startups because we as an industry had burned so many customers.

Startup 285

Startup Venture Capital Sales Software Review 285

socalTECH

JUNE 9, 2014

Los Angeles-based Jukin Media (www.jukinmedia.com) thinks it has figured that out, and instead of trying to create viral videos, has been buying up the rights to those videos--before they really go viral--to create not just a one-hit, viral video wonder, but a sustainable business. What is Jukin Media? Can you talk about those businesses?

Media 235

Media Content Startup IP 235

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 17, 2012

That they’re not afraid to stick their noses up to the establishment. ” I like people to have a healthy bit of motivation derived from wanting to stick their middle finger up at somebody who once dissed them or held them back. Well – he had this awesome platform that was super technical – great IP.

Startup 336

Startup Entrepreneur IP Venture Capital 336

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 11, 2019

When someone says Intellectual Property (IP), most entrepreneurs think only of patents. In reality, patents are only one of at least eight items that should be in your IP portfolio. You need all these before you start looking for funding. Some of the other items may cost a lot less, and may be worth far more in the long run.

IP 93

IP Invest Patents Social Media 93

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 13, 2012

We spoke with Jim Franklin , the firm's CEO, to hear more about how the company went from an accelerator startup at TechStars just a few years ago, to now more than 100 employees spread across offices in Boulder; Colorado, Anaheim, California; Frankfurt; London, and elsewhere, to tackle the problems of transactional email.

Email 157

Email Startup IP Newsletter 157

SoCal Tech Calendar

JULY 14, 2010

Tuesday, July 20, 2010 -- How Savvy Companies Leverage Brand, Technology and IP Licensing to Leap Ahead of The Competition. See [link] (more).

IP 100

IP Competition Technology Companies 100

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 17, 2019

I had just left Salesforce.com where I was VP, Products, after they had acquired my second startup. VC is a long-term business Some businesses are overnight successes but few of them really move immediately up and to the right. We have invested in every round and as a result our ownership has actually gone up over time.

Venture Capital 223

Venture Capital IP Startup Google 223

TechCrunch LA

NOVEMBER 12, 2020

Designed to be a collaborative startup company incubator alongside corporate partners, Launchpad focuses on developing new consumer tech businesses focused on M13’s main investment areas: health, food, transportation, and housing. “ The EIRs will receive a small stipend and equity in the business, Barber said. .

Startup 178

Startup Incubator Los Angeles IP 178

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 21, 2013

I recently wrote a blog post in which I pointed out that many investors & advisors discourage enterprise startups from having a professional services (PS) business and I think this is a big mistake. I think it’s important for enterprise startups to layer in professional services into your revenue stream. rollout support.

Software Review 321

Software Review Software Services Companies 321

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 10, 2014

The venture-backed startup, which has the high profile backing of the same companies which backed free voice-over-IP service Skype (Mangrove Capital, DCM and Atomico) said it will also continue to offer up its free phone plans, which have specific minutes and data limits. READ MORE>>.

Mobile 200

Mobile IP Los Angeles Services 200

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 10, 2015

There is not a single case I’ve been involved with in any of the startups I’ve backed that has even a small bit of merit. So why exactly have lawsuits (anecdotally) picked up so much in the past 5 years? I started writing about problems when founding a startup years ago but the problem has gotten worse.

Startup 150

Startup IP Writing Ideas 150

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 5, 2011

I’m inspired by the enthusiasm of the young, emerging startup ecosystem that is here. As I gear up to give a keynote at the annual Seattle 2.0 awards dinner on Thursday night I started reflected on what it would take to “change the trajectory&# for Seattle or for any regional market, really.

Venture Capital 317

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Press 317

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 18, 2013

I have started thinking about what the future might look like and I’ve started imagining what I call, “MMOV” or massive multiplayer online video. Maker’s talent started commenting on it and sharing it. In fact, that’s how Maker Studios got started in the first place. Why would it?

Startup 380

Startup Media Content Platform 380

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 9, 2010

Startups Made Simple. www.pitchtheangels.com) Join Tech Coast Angels members and other start up investors at the 5th Annual Los Angeles Fast Pitch Competition. Fast Pitch Los Angeles is one of the best start up networking events of the year. SoCal IP Law Group LLP - IP Counselors For Technology Companies.

Southern California 113

Southern California Tech Coast Angels IP Orange County 113

socalTECH

AUGUST 25, 2010

Gizmo5--one of the firm started by MP3.com com founder Michael Robertson--offered up a voice-over-IP client which allowed users to call internationally to landlines. Google looks to be possibly leveraging technology it gained from the acquisition of San Diego-based Gizmo5 back in November.

Google 168

Google IP San Diego Startup 168

socalTECH

MAY 21, 2014

Los Angeles-based startup Invisible Text is hoping the attractiveness of disappearing messages--made popular by Snapchat--might rub off on its new software, saying Wednesday that it is launching a new set of apps for the iPhone to let users send disappearing email and to make secure phone calls that do not leave a footprint. READ MORE>>.

Email 180

Email Snapchat IP Los Angeles 180

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 12, 2009

San Diego-based Gizmo5 , the voice-over-IP service and software started by former MP3.com Google said it is suspending new signups for Gizmo5's VoIP service, and existing users will no longer be able to sign up for a call-in number. com founder Michael Robertson, has been acquired by Google. READ MORE>>.

Google 140

Google IP San Diego Startup 140

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 14, 2013

When someone says Intellectual Property (IP), most entrepreneurs think only of patents. In reality, patents are only one of at least eight items that should be in your IP portfolio. You need all these before you start looking for funding. Patent attorney fees start at around $5K. Here are the key elements: Company name.

Startup 103

Startup Patents IP Social Media 103

socalTECH

AUGUST 10, 2011

Los Angeles-based GOGII , the text messaging app developer behind textPlus , said Tuesday that it has started offering up free phone numbers for texting in Canada. The new Canadian phone support comes as part of a partnership with Iristel, a voice-over-IP operator operating in Canada.

Gogii 160

Gogii GRP Partners IP Startup 160

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 7, 2011

They’ve been around for a while and when they first announced this initiative I knew the day would come when people would start saying, “should I replace Disqus?&# I started telling people privately that I thought Google should buy Disqus for the same reasons Facebook wants to own commenting in the first place. That may be.

Blogging 287

Blogging Social Network Google Startup 287

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 25, 2010

Having re-read it, I believe his real premise instead is, “Fixed-size, multi-investor angel rounds are such a bad idea for startups that one wonders why things were ever done that way.&#. Either would be fine with startups, so long as they can easily change their valuation. When I’m in, I’m in. rings true to me.

Venture Capital 286

Venture Capital Pricing Technical Review Startup 286

SoCal Tech Calendar

MARCH 29, 2021

Friday, April 2, 2021 -- USC Viterbi Startup Garage Deadline. USC Viterbi Startup Garage (VSG) is hosting an open call for early-stage technology startups for their Spring Cohort kicking off late-April. Any IP developed by the teams is theirs to keep! For more information visit the VSG Webpage or contact vsg@usc.edu.

USC 100

USC Startup Southern California IP 100