Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 8, 2014

billion 2013 figure) have been massive financings at Honest Company ($70mm), JustFab ($85mm), ZipRecruiter ($63mm) and lord only knows how much SnapChat has actually accumulated. And of course we have great public companies that have spanned content & communications like J2 Global whose market cap as of this writing is a cool $2.5

Entrepreneur 376

Entrepreneur Snapchat Startup Google 376

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2016

I went to an industry event where people actually called me self-centered for writing publicly. In 2016 I finally cracked SnapChat with the launch of Discovery. It’s hard to be discovered on SnapChat right now so I occasionally tweet my SnapChat add handle: https://www.snapchat.com/add/msuster.

Snapchat 150

Snapchat Product Startup AMA 150

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 22, 2014

So I thought I’d write about out with what I would look for in a VC knowing what I know now and why. I had an enjoyable conversation this morning with a young team straight out of college this morning and they were calling to ask advice on how to approach fund raising (angels vs. VCs, how to select a VC, etc.) Most VCs are book smart.

Venture Capital 364

Venture Capital Coach Writing SaaS 364

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 17, 2019

I know it may feel this way since I’m writing this tongue in cheek. The person writing things he or she is doing me a favor. They had to physically write a letter, address it, put a stamp on it (pay) and then put it in the mailbox. that’s where I go to chill out and look at photos of friends. Your kids are getting huge!).

Email 250

Email Writing Conference Mobile 250

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 16, 2013

” Case in point: Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, SnapChat. Should I write off my $2.5 The minute you try to monetize now they have metrics with which to beat you up and say you’re business has limitations.” This is certainly one Path you can take if you have the right background. What mostly happens is you get some growth.

Venture Capital 412

Venture Capital Startup Funding Snapchat 412

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 12, 2014

While many tech startups do this intuitively (say, SnapChat thinking it would be much better if our photos out partying disappeared) it still happens. You might write a piece now and then that catches fire but there is nothing repeatable that would be useful for a business. Simply write a great book?

Marketing 379

Marketing Startup SEM SEO 379

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2019

seed and they are writing $1.25m of it you can expect them to require a board seat) The competitive landscape (If you have several sources of capital you can likely politely decline the board request or can grant them a seat but ask for it to be “common appointed” and those revokable if you need in the future).

Startup 236

Startup Venture Capital Tips Capital 236

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 21, 2016

When you think about great companies that have survived market changes or platform changes you think about Facebook, Snapchat, Uber and the like and have to respect their great ability to constantly adapt. As leaders we intuitively know that while basic skills in math, science, reading & writing are necessary — they are not sufficient.

Design 150

Design Ideas Startup Writing 150

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 17, 2017

Or you know the other one — the one where Snapchat lost $2 billion in just one quarter. It’s common cocktail party chatter to hear people confidently pronounce that some well known startup is sure to blow up because, “How could they succeed when they’re not even profitable!” Two-f **g-billion! What a disaster!

Startup 227

Startup Venture Capital Sales Course 227

socalTECH

MARCH 16, 2017

We are going to write checks of between $100,000 and $500,000, and we are going to invest in what we are calling first institutional capital. Companies like Zefr, Scopely, and others I did not write a check, because you have a different mindset as an individual investors. Two, is I missed a bunch of deals because I did not have a fund.

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Invest Funding Capital Startup 145

socalTECH

DECEMBER 11, 2018

Right now, when people are communicating using Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, and others, those businesses are principally using display advertising and sponsored listings to monetize those users. Yet, the ways that enterprises and businesses are monetizing that user interaction is sort of archaic, compared to the evolution of the technology.

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San Diego Social Media Commerce Snapchat 159

Tech.Co

FEBRUARY 14, 2017

Writing a wish list for birthday presents at 10 years-old is expected. Snapchat Stories are an easy way to send your friend a birthday wish. Within a month we had celebrities such as Justin Bieber, Big Sean and Grammy-nominated producer Kosine Palacious attending the first official ‘Doppels Day’ event,” said Hagger. At 26, not so much.

Startup 113

Startup Venice Social Network Tool 113

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2015

I must admit I discuss this very frequently with portfolio companies but hadn’t thought to write about it. If you’re negotiating with Samsung you can imagine they have Apple on their minds and if you’re negotiating with Twitter you can imagine they have eyes on Facebook, Google and even Snapchat.

Outsource Development 150

Outsource Development Startup Customer Custom 150

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2016

Brad was openly writing about this and it felt like he was giving the VC playbook away for free! We write about $40 million of first-checks into new deals / year and about $40 million of follow-on investments. When I started blogging it was because I was inspired by Brad Feld. But let me be even more clear.

Startup 150

Startup Companies Company Venture Capital 150

Tech Zulu Event

DECEMBER 5, 2013

Then, I’m doing emails, accounting, HR, writing proposals, interviewing potential hires, and other random tasks until noon. I am not surprised that Snapchat is LA based. From 7:30 to 9:00am, I’m meeting with my 4 other co-founders and going over if we’re on track to meet our goals for the day and week.

Startup 107

Startup Los Angeles USC Southern California 107

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2016

If you’re writing and looking up occasionally you’re assumed to taking notes. It’s honestly liberating to know that I CAN’T check my email, Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, NYTimes, etc. It’s much less rude than being on a device where the participants KNOW you aren’t paying attention. Medication.

Tips 150

Tips Startup Help Mobile 150

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 23, 2014

But it still takes VC to scale a business (thus large capital into industry winners like Uber, Airbnb, SnapChat, etc). Just 3 years ago there was talk of institutional investors “not being able to write small enough checks.” ” The new narrative is “will my seed funds be able to fund the prorata of their winners?”

Venture Capital 398

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Seed Funding 398

Tech Zulu Event

FEBRUARY 17, 2016

As I sit here writing this, I can’t help but think how excited I am about our future. Similar to when Snapchat got rid of the “hold to view” function , or how Facebook routinely shifts and evolves its newsfeed algorithm, if Twitter can move on from what used to define it and create a new space, it could have a bright future.

Platform 40

Platform Startup News Content 40

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 17, 2017

In more than a decade of writing about the Internet and tech-enabled businesses I’ve learned that mobs don’t do nuance well. Our social graphs are locked in Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat. The reality is that cryptocurrencies can be both and can be liberating and corrupting at the same time.

Course 280

Course Startup Framework Marketing 280

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 11, 2016

Thus begins Snapchat and why you don’t get it. Snapchat will be used for both like the Internet (and TV) are. I just need to break you of the idea that Snapchat is for one thing – it is not. But since Snapchat uses the frequency above your hearing range it’s nearly impossible to “get” without help.

Snapchat 150

Snapchat Screening Venture Capital Guide 150

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 13, 2021

How I Shifted from Just Counting Calories to Supercharging My Fitness Workouts This is part of a weight loss and fitness improvement series that I’m writing to share how I went from 222 pounds and unable to bike more than 20 minutes on a Peloton to 153 pounds and running 8–12 miles / day in just 18 months.

Startup 302

Startup Screening Competition Training 302

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 17, 2017

And when the tides turned towards more inclusiveness I cheered it on whether it was on this blog or through Twitter / Facebook / Snapchat. The writing on this show is some of the best writing in modern American comedic shows. I felt it was both a business issue and a human issue and deserved to have support of non-gay leaders.

Startup 197

Startup Blogging Technical Review Writing 197

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 9, 2016

As of this morning Clinton still holds a lead in the popular vote but even that as I write is only by 0.2% yes, I get those) … There is an unfollow button on Twitter and Facebook and Snapchat and this blog on Medium. Or that commentators like Fareed Zakaria called him “a cancer on democracy.” And yet he won. Keep your mouth shut.” (yes,

Blogging 267

Blogging Course Venture Capital Media 267