Tech Zulu Event

DECEMBER 12, 2013

But I could see the connection between his background and my personal compulsion to use a product solely on its design factor. Yes I’m aware I used a product for two weeks and didn’t bother getting the name of it). This was the same company, whose product I’d used years before, solely on design aesthetics.

Technical Review

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 25, 2021

According to an old Harvard Business Review article, many people in history, famous for their inventions, like Thomas Edison, were entrepreneurs who only later were remembered as inventors of the products they commercialized. Of course it helps to have innovative technologies before you start building a business.

Technical Review

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 19, 2015

I usually envision a 50-50 ownership split for their efforts, but every engineer believes the technology side deserves the majority share. If you consider yourself a technologist, you probably believe and may be propagating one of the following myths: The first priority for funding should be to develop the technology.

Technical Review

socalTECH

MAY 14, 2010

Clearly, 2009 was not a good year, from the perspective of the technology innovation ecosystem. At the same time, the need for the products and services that OCTANe provides are greater in a recessionary economy than in when the economy is booming. For OCTANe to be successful, we want to see our technology ecosystem grow.

OCTANE

socalTECH

APRIL 26, 2011

We're not talking publicly about that yet, but the idea is to get away from the annual review, away from the quarterly review, and give everyone within and outside a company the ability to recognize people, up and down the chain, for doing great things in the workplace. There's a fairly complex platform we've patented.

Startup

socalTECH

AUGUST 4, 2015

We caught up with Mike recently to better understand the company's technology, why there's an interest in energy storage by utilities, and more about that deployment. Can you talk about your technology? We have a lot in common in terms of those air conditioners and even the technology, but our product is different in an important way.

Southern California

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. Although Elon Musk doesn’t talk about it very much, he owns over 350 patents through Tesla, just one of his many companies.

Entrepreneur

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 24, 2015

Professional investors and advisors, on the other hand, usually refuse to sign these agreements today due to the risk of litigation and administrative workload, and will walk away. If you are approaching a recognized venture capital group, or even an accredited angel investor, a non-disclosure agreement is counter-productive.

Ideas

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 8, 2015

Every startup founder loves to prompt for questions from investors and potential key team members about their vision, and the huge opportunity that can be had with their disruptive technology. If the company has been around for more than a couple of years, and still has no product or revenue flow, there better be a good explanation.

Technical Review

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 15, 2023

Professional investors and advisors, on the other hand, usually refuse to sign these agreements today due to the risk of litigation and administrative workload, and will walk away. If you are approaching a recognized venture capital group, or even an accredited angel investor, a non-disclosure agreement is counter-productive.

Technical Review

Tech Zulu Event

FEBRUARY 8, 2012

Building a strong tech industry to rival that of Silicon Valley is definitely no easy feat, but the overall feeling within Cal Tech’s Baxter Hall at last week’s event certainly bodes well for the year. Crowd Seats came up first to give their two minute breakdown of the company.

Technical Review

socalTECH

AUGUST 18, 2009

In the recent surge in interest in the clean technology and energy investment area, we're constantly surprised by the number of startups in the area focused on some aspect of the industry. Let's start on the technology side--can you tell us about the technology, and its origins? It's very simple, from the technical perspective.

UCLA

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 18, 2014

According to a Harvard Business Review article, many people in history, famous for their inventions, such as Thomas Edison, were entrepreneurs who only later were remembered as inventors of the products they commercialized. Of course, it helps to have innovative technologies before you start building a business.

Ideas

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 21, 2023

Or they get sidetracked by a technical glitch due to poor preparation. Equally bad is a full tutorial on your new disruptive technology. Investors are more interested in your solution and your business, rather than your technology. Some entrepreneurs seem to think that their product pitch is also their investor pitch.

Slides

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 18, 2012

Convincingly presents a patent, trademark, or other “secret sauce” that can create equity value, not just current cash flow for the owners. Allows sufficient time to find capital, including due diligence time for investors. The technology or product may be at an embryonic stage. Values intellectual property.

Entrepreneur

socalTECH

JULY 31, 2013

The firm recently raised a $15M series C funding, and we caught up with Kevin to learn more about why its customers, and investors, are interested in its technology. We have created a wireless technology and solution, end-to-end, that allows you to cost effectively connect devices that can be very, very remote.

Technical Review

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2013

Convincingly presents a patent, trademark, or other “secret sauce” that can create equity value, not just current cash flow for the owners. Allows sufficient time to find capital, including due diligence time for investors. The technology or product may be at an embryonic stage. Values intellectual property.

Technical Review

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

“Attached is a copy of my full business plan for your review.” I don’t have a business plan, but the technology is disruptive.” Investors are buying part of the business, not the product or service. Investors are buying part of the business, not the product or service. Investors invest in the jockey, more than the horse.

Entrepreneur

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 13, 2020

Despite some recent advances, there are still some cultures which have less regard for patents and other intellectual property. Leading edge technology software and manufacturing require constant course corrections and iterative restarts. But customers are not looking yet another homogeneous product or service, so be careful.

Outsource Development

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 14, 2017

Agreeing an annual budget Setting a 409a valuation used to price stock options Agreeing stock option allocations Reviewing financial performance Talking about the organizational structure and where we need to bolster things Discussing sales & marketing strategies, product launches, technical challenges Talking about law suits (patents, trademarks, (..)

Startup

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 21, 2020

“Attached is a copy of my full business plan for your review.” I don’t have a business plan, but the technology is disruptive.” Investors are buying part of the business, not the product or service. Investors are buying part of the business, not the product or service. Investors invest in the jockey, more than the horse.

Technical Review

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 8, 2018

According to an old Harvard Business Review article, many people in history, famous for their inventions, like Thomas Edison, were entrepreneurs who only later were remembered as inventors of the products they commercialized. Of course it helps to have innovative technologies before you start building a business.

Technical Review

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 27, 2010

Convincingly presents a patent, trademark, or other “secret sauce” that can create equity value, not just current cash flow for the owners. Allows sufficient time to find capital, including due diligence time for investors. The technology or product may be at an embryonic stage. Values intellectual property.

Entrepreneur

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 29, 2020

Or they get sidetracked by a technical glitch due to poor preparation. Equally bad is a full tutorial on your new disruptive technology. Investors are more interested in your solution and your business, rather than your technology. Some entrepreneurs seem to think that their product pitch is also their investor pitch.

Startup

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 8, 2015

“Attached is a copy of my full business plan for your review.” I don’t have a business plan, but the technology is disruptive.” Investors are buying part of the business, not the product or service. Investors are buying part of the business, not the product or service. Investors invest in the jockey, more than the horse.

Technical Review

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 18, 2022

“Attached is a copy of my full business plan for your review.” I don’t have a business plan, but the technology is disruptive.” Investors are buying part of the business, not the product or service. Investors are buying part of the business, not the product or service. Investors invest in the jockey, more than the horse.

Technical Review

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

Of course, every company needs these, in due time. In today’s Internet world, enterprising entrepreneurs have found that they can find out and do almost anything they need, from incorporating the company to filing patents, without expensive consultants, or the cost to hiring and firing employees. Need expensive resources up front.

Entrepreneur

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 23, 2013

Of course, every company needs these, in due time. In today’s Internet world, enterprising entrepreneurs have found that they can find out and do almost anything they need, from incorporating the company to filing patents, without expensive consultants, or the cost to hiring and firing employees. Need expensive resources up front.

Entrepreneur

socalTECH

DECEMBER 30, 2020

Every year, we feature the year end reflections of founders, CEOs, investors, and others in Southern California's high tech community. It's been a tough year for many due to the pandemic; how have you or your company adapted to the business environment? What are you most looking forward to in the technology/startup world in 2021?

Southern California

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 19, 2015

Or they get sidetracked by a technical glitch due to poor preparation. Equally bad is a full tutorial on your new disruptive technology. Investors are more interested in your solution and your business, rather than your technology. Some entrepreneurs seem to think that their product pitch is also their investor pitch.

Slides

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2015

As a model, think high-quality marketing collateral, with text and graphics in columns and sidebars, but focused on the value of your business, rather than selling your product. Skip the fuzzy marketing terms, such as "easier to use," "lower cost" and "disruptive technology."

Summary

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 8, 2014

Despite some recent advances, there are still some cultures which have less regard for patents and other intellectual property. Leading edge technology software and manufacturing require constant course corrections and iterative restarts. But customers are not looking for yet another homogeneous product or service, so be careful.

Outsource Development

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 30, 2013

Or they get sidetracked by a technical glitch due to poor preparation. Equally bad is an extended pitch on your new disruptive technology. Investors are more interested in your solution and your business, rather than your technology. Some entrepreneurs seem to think that their product pitch is also their investor pitch.

Angel

Tech Zulu Event

SEPTEMBER 23, 2010

PT as they kick off the new weekly tech law show "TechZulu Law" with a discussion with IP attorney Denise Grayson, who portrays the attorney of Eduardo Saverin in the film about the early days of Facebook, "The Social Network.". The show focuses on legal issues surrounding startups, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and emerging technology.

IP

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 13, 2012

Of course, every company needs these, in due time. In today’s Internet world, enterprising entrepreneurs have found that they can find out and do almost anything they need, from incorporating the company to filing patents, without expensive consultants, or the cost to hiring and firing employees. Need expensive resources up front.

Technical Review

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2011

are eliminated during due diligence. File a patent and trademarks to show real intellectual property. Build a prototype product. This must be someone who is willing to pay real money for your product or service. Over half of the survivors remaining are eliminated during live presentations, and another 6.5%

Invest

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 29, 2017

They seem shocked to learn that most professional investors and advisors, myself included, routinely decline such requests, due to costly litigation and administrative nightmares. Get an NDA before detailed patent disclosures. Some entrepreneurs avoid the patent process, since patent details become public once a patent is issued.

Technical Review