Xconomy

NOVEMBER 13, 2016

View the Slideshow A little more than a year ago, amid a resurgence in San Diego’s software sector, Xconomy identified a baker’s dozen of local tech companies to watch in 2016. I met with Seed San Diego partners Taner Halicioglu and Eric Gasser, who also reviewed the companies and provided their feedback. I widened my net this year.

San Diego 105

San Diego Technical Review Artificial Inteligence Startup 105

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 22, 2011

After 10 minutes I felt like we were old buddies because we had both been through the trenches of startup tech land and had had similar experiences. He has built an amazing facility, has established a design-centric credo, has assembled great mentors and certainly gets access to great talent.

Startup 418

Startup Yahoo Ideas Technical Review 418

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2013

I have never felt prouder of the team & product at awe.sm ( please visit to check out our latest & be ready for our next big product announcement due out in next month or so) and yet we just brought in a new CEO to the company, Fred McIntyre. ” We had inbound M&A requests from some of the biggest names in tech.

Startup 303

Startup Technical Review Product Blogging 303

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 28, 2021

Almost every entrepreneur and new business owner I mentor is certain that his/her idea has a very high probability of success, and all find it hard to believe that ninety percent of startups ultimately fail. Bill Gates was the technical genius, but Steve Ballmer, from Procter & Gamble, ran the business side of the equation.

Technical Review 131

Technical Review Case Study Mentor Software Review 131

Tech Zulu Event

JULY 8, 2011

For those who still might be wondering what Spotlight: LA Tech is all about, It’s a screening room for new technology homegrown in our region. It’s a gathering of friends and tech enthusiasts of all stripes. This Spotlight takes place Thursday, July 14, at The California Institute of Technology (CalTech). RSVP: AGENDA.

CalTech 100

CalTech Technical Review Company Companies 100

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 30, 2020

In my role as a mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs, I find that most have the technical challenges well understood, but many are a bit short on some basic street smarts , or basic business realities. With information overload due to the Internet, you need to find your customers, rather than assume they will find you.

Entrepreneur 173

Entrepreneur Patents Startup Technical Review 173

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 1, 2011

You need to be great at something: technology back-end, front-end design, usability, sales, marketing, quantitative analysis, leadership –> whatever. But if you’re not uber talented there is always a “Justin Bieber of technology&# waiting to kick your ass. Consider Usher a hard-working early-stage VC.

Entrepreneur 398

Entrepreneur Startup Writing Blogging 398

socalTECH

OCTOBER 11, 2010

The reason for that, is in my opinion, the majority of the innovations that have improved our nation in the past 150 years have been due to technology and engineering innovations. Here, the mentors come and focus on what the innovators want to do. Along with the prize, we also have the course, which is unique.

Competition 154

Competition Southern California Mentor USC 154

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 23, 2015

That’s why they insist on spending a day with your team as part of the due diligence process. As a mentor to entrepreneurs, I often get asked what you can do to build the right culture. Mentoring and training programs need to be put in place early. It simply doesn’t matter how great your solution is.

Entrepreneur 102

Entrepreneur Technical Review Mentor Training 102

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 16, 2022

They couldn’t possibly understand the new social media culture, new technologies, or have the determination to beat their younger counterparts in the market. In fact, they are well-qualified overall, having worked with high technology and computers for at least 20 years, are highly educated, and highly motivated.

Technical Review 147

Technical Review Software Review Entrepreneur Report 147

Tech.Co

MARCH 8, 2018

Fortunately, for those headed to SXSW, Startup Night SXSW 2018 , presented by the Kauffman Foundation and TechCo, will be filled with investors from a multitude of industries who are looking to discover and fund startups building the latest solutions and tech innovations. Blackwell, iTech Program Executive & OCT Innovation Liaison, NASA.

Technical Review 70

Technical Review Startup Software Review Entrepreneur 70

Tech Zulu Event

DECEMBER 13, 2013

The nuts and bolts of our tech company is that CMS in the middle, the connection engine. When I went full-time, I did not have the full-time support on the tech side I wanted. So, I have no tech support right now. Which I have shown to do, but anybody who invests in tech, invests in team. It’s a huge challenge for me.

Technical Review 87

Technical Review Mobile Startup Los Angeles 87

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 2, 2019

Here I often find that you need to seek and work with a co-founder who can complement your technical skills with financial and marketing to start the business. You probably delegated a few things to keep these people earning their paychecks, but you are still reviewing and approving everything that comes in and out of your company.

Company 99

Company Companies Technical Review Startup 99

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 18, 2020

They couldn’t possibly understand the new social media culture, new technologies, or have the determination to beat their younger counterparts in the market. In fact, they are well-qualified overall, having worked with high technology and computers for at least 20 years, are highly educated, and highly motivated.

Startup 124

Startup Technical Review Software Review Entrepreneur 124

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 1, 2022

In my role as a mentor, I challenge every business leader to be more open-minded as they face the challenges of change and new competitors entering their space. Technology, competitors, and customers are changing every day, so the “ tried and trusted ” ways you do things need to be reviewed and updated regularly.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Customer Custom Social Media 120

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 4, 2019

As an introvert myself, I remember worrying that I could never be comfortable giving a sales pitch, or networking to find clients. Asking someone to be your mentor is not a sign of weakness, and most mentors love to help. If your strength is technology, find a partner who can complement you with marketing and financial skills.

Entrepreneur 104

Entrepreneur Mentor Activity Startup 104

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 1, 2014

They couldn’t possibly understand the new social media culture, new technologies, or have the determination to beat their younger counterparts in the market. In fact, they are well-qualified overall, having worked with high technology and computers for at least 20 years, are highly educated, and highly motivated.

Entrepreneur 106

Entrepreneur Technical Review Software Review Report 106

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 17, 2017

He eventually founded and sold consumer health firm ViSalus to a public company and is now back making investments, in technology companies, as a venture capitalist here at Los Angeles-based HashtagOne (www.hashtagone.com). I had a sales force when I was at SkyPipeline, selling telecom, networking, and broadband wireless products.

Venture Capital 100

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Technical Review Software Review 100

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 24, 2019

This is often management’s fault because a long-deck plus financials that arrive the night before a board meeting don’t allow for directors to properly review them. It is our job to “dip” into the organization and have signals coming out of product, engineering, sales, support, marketing, etc. I believe the same is true about boards.

Startup 251

Startup Help Technical Review Writing 251

InfoChachkie

JULY 21, 2016

The reality television show Shark Tank makes for entertaining content but many of its underlying messages are potentially detrimental to tech entrepreneurs. I am not alone in my opinion that Shark Tank is not representative of real-world tech investing. A version of this article previously appeared in The Wall Street Journal.

Entrepreneur 113

Entrepreneur Entertainment Technical Review Ideas 113

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 2, 2017

Anne Fulton: Fuel50 is a career pathing startup, part of the HR technology landscape. We're a disruptor, the third wave in human resources technology. You can find a mentor, a coach, a project, or experience, to help you prepare for the role you are looking for. What is Fuel50? The whole space has been neglected.

Help 100

Help Southern California Startup Technical Review 100

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2019

Thus, I’m more impressed with entrepreneurs who ask me to review their implementation plan, rather than listen again to their idea. There are lots of resources available for the challenge of that activity, including the Internet and mentors like me. Some dreams sound great, but may not yet be viable or proven with today’s technology.

Ideas 94

Ideas Slides Technical Review Patents 94

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 8, 2018

As a long-time advisor to entrepreneurs and business owners, I rarely find someone who doesn’t proclaim that the business world is changing rapidly, with new technology, new customer expectations, and new cultures. Yet, I’m still frustrated by the number of business owners that haven’t updated their business-as-usual practices.

Technical Review 84

Technical Review Customer Custom Startup 84

Tech.Co

JANUARY 10, 2018

In the Harvard Business Review Female Economy 2009 report, women purchasing power was predicted to control about $28 trillion in annual global consumer spending, if not more. To have a successful sales strategy, it would behoove you to include women’s voices on your team, even if you’re selling [a men’s product].”. Final Thoughts.

Tips 70

Tips Customer Custom Dollar Shave Club 70

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 13, 2018

I recently was an advisor to a very strong technical executive who insisted on “being involved” in literally every decision in his startup. He ignored my advice and ultimately lost several key executives, and then his own health, due to stress and workload. They need your mentoring, tools, and historical data to be a top performer.

Technical Review 51

Technical Review Startup Training Netflix 51

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 16, 2018

Regularly follow reviews and influencers in your industry. An easy way to connect with people you can learn from, and keep your pulse on where things are heading, is to hire team members who are smarter than you in complementary business areas, including marketing and sales. Build and listen to an effective group of advisors.

Customer 57

Customer Custom Technical Review Software Review 57

SoCal Delicious

JANUARY 9, 2014

In the startup world there’s been a culture of solution or technology first, whereas I believe we should be taking a more people-centred approach to building products and services. Unless the thing you’re building has real value to someone, it’s just a vanity project, no matter the technology. We have two ears and one mouth.

Startup 78

Startup Design Customer Custom 78

Tech Zulu Event

APRIL 9, 2013

What began as a pit stop vacation in a third world county, led to an epiphany, which turned into a passionate pursuit, and eventually a new social enterprise company that fundraises to bring sports to girls worldwide through the sale of athletic bags. Growing up, Katie was an athlete and played tennis in college.

Organization 98

Organization Startup Research Ideas 98

Jason Nazar

NOVEMBER 1, 2015

In many cases, before the sale is complete, you’ll also measure your cost per lead (CPL) as in-between step in order to collect data about the user to remarket to them. See what other startup mentors have to say about marketing tactics. In a growing tech business, you ideally want to have a ratio of 3:1 or greater of LTV/CAC.

Marketing 40

Marketing CPC Metrics .Net 40

Jason Nazar

MAY 1, 2016

In many cases, before the sale is complete, you’ll also measure your cost per lead (CPL) as in-between step in order to collect data about the user to remarket to them. See what other startup mentors have to say about marketing tactics. In a growing tech business, you ideally want to have a ratio of 3:1 or greater of LTV/CAC.

Marketing 40

Marketing CPC Metrics .Net 40

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 8, 2010

Due to the language and culture issues in Europe we opted for a country structure with an MD in each country and local sales, marketing & customers support staff. This is akin in the US to having sales staff in NY, SF & LA with your HQ in one of these locations. But it wasn’t just about company structures.

Venture Capital 319

Venture Capital Startup Sales Customer 319

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 2, 2011

They could chat about it with their peers or mentors. I get many requests from recent graduates asking if I’d meet for a coffee or be a mentor. I like customer service but I also need to do sales, marketing, finance & operations. By having 5 or 6 blog posts with different points of view they could draw more inferences.

Email 287

Email Blogging Venture Capital Writing 287

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 11, 2009

The week before your meeting 2 people need to cancel due to travel conflicts. But I would argue that you can develop relationships with many advisers, mentors and VCs that will help with introductions for no equity. So one of your sales pitches to them to join is the other people you have on board (or are approaching).

Startup 306

Startup Venture Capital Equity Technical Review 306

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 3, 2015

We had just gotten over the dot com crash and return to normalcy where nobody seemed to give a s**t about tech companies any more. We shared information about building sales teams. Hiring inside reps, how to comp field sales reps and how to balance leads across both. I was Johnny NoMates. We attended Saleforce.com parties.

SaaS 322

SaaS Venture Capital Conference Technical Review 322

Tech Zulu Event

JULY 2, 2013

Having never lived in Silicon Valley and unaware of what it is like to start a business in the heart of technology, it was interesting to hear that one of the benefits of living in Los Angeles during our time of tech growth is the fact entrepreneurs aren’t caught up in the daily routine due to the smaller pond aspect.

Cornerstone OnDemand 93

Cornerstone OnDemand Santa Monica Technical Review Startup 93

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 27, 2019

As a mentor to entrepreneurs, I often get asked for the magic that has made Amazon the world's most valuable brand , from a total unknown only twenty years ago. My simple answer is that they keep their focus on customers, rather than technology. Jeff Bezos has kept his focus on customers.

Marketing 123

Marketing Technical Review Customer Custom 123

InfoChachkie

JUNE 9, 2015

Good news: a quick review of TechCrunch’s March 2015 List of Top 20 U.S. Convert Graduate-Founders Into Mentors. Bringing an accelerators’ graduates back as mentors provides value to the next class, certainly. If the sales aren’t there, it might be time for the entrepreneurs to either pivot or seek out a new venture.”

Startup 100

Startup Class LAMP Santa Barbara 100