Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 16, 2014

We’ve been dying to tell you all for a while that we had raised a new venture capital fund and of course given SEC filing requirements the story was somewhat already scooped by the always-in-the-know Dan Primack a few weeks ago. If you want to understand how the VC industry is changing there is a great primer in the link.

Venture Capital 396

Venture Capital Funding Technical Review Startup 396

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 8, 2014

And there’s none that makes me happier than to announce that Jordan Hudson has been promoted to a Principal at Upfront Ventures. What is a principal at a VC firm and how does it work at Upfront Ventures? ” Associates have different functions at different VCs. Industry reviews. VC firm admin.

Help 365

Help Invest Venture Capital Technical Review 365

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 1, 2009

In the first post in this three part series I described why I believe the VC market froze between September 2008 – April 2009. I’m not a doomsday guy, but just believe that we won’t see a V shaped recovery, which could make VC funding more difficult for tech start-ups (don’t shoot the messenger!). So why the ’09 bounce?

Venture Capital 269

Venture Capital Startup Funding Technical Review 269

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2020

Today we’re announcing that my partner Kara Nortman is becoming Co-Managing Partner at Upfront Ventures and I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to welcome her to her new role. I’ve become fond of saying “if I had a dollar for every person who told me just how much they loooooved Kara Nortman, I’d have a 10x fund.”

Venture Capital 361

Venture Capital Startup Invest CitySearch 361

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 16, 2010

Lots of discussion these days about the changes in the VC industry. The VC industry grew dramatically as a result of the Internet bubble - Before the Internet bubble the people who invested in VC funds (called LPs or Limited Partners) put about $50 billion into the industry and by 2001 this had grown precipitously to around $250 billion.

Venture Capital 311

Venture Capital Startup Seed Funding Rustic Canyon 311

socalTECH

DECEMBER 23, 2019

Every year, at the end of the year, we share some reflections on the past year from our readers, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, sponsors, and others in the local technology community. Today, we share the thoughts of Kelly Perdew , the founder and Managing Director of Moonshots Capital (www.moonshotscapital.com).

Capital 100

Capital Technical Review Truecar Venture Capital 100

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 22, 2012

Viewing the article through the lens of a venture capitalist there’s much to agree with under the mantra of “growth!” As the startup figures out how to make something lots of people want and how to reach those people, there’s a period of rapid growth. For example. Growth, again.

Startup 390

Startup Venture Capital Entrepreneur Technical Review 390

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2009

I had previously raised VC in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2005. In case VC’s haven’t figured this out yet, shit rolls downhill. No prizes for guessing which VCs I didn’t work with (and still won’t). I hadn’t thought about the fact that he would become aware of my link. My blog was wiped out.

Venture Capital 274

Venture Capital Blogging Startup Slides 274

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 12, 2014

Prorata rights are one of the most important rights of a private market technology investors and yet are seldom fully understood. These tensions seep out in some angels or seed funds publicly or semi-privately deriding later-stage VCs for their “bad” behavior. I have seen bad behavior from later-stage VCs, believe me.

Guide 336

Guide Venture Capital Startup Writing 336

InfoChachkie

NOVEMBER 23, 2015

There are a number of reasons why Rincon Venture Partners passed on Twilio’s Seed Round. VC's love to talk about their successes. Exceptions exist, such as the highly self-aware Paige Craig, who recently described how he missed out becoming Airbnb's first investor. A version of this article previously appeared on Forbes.

Venture Capital 100

Venture Capital Technical Review Software Review Southern California 100

InfoChachkie

JULY 7, 2016

Most entrepreneurs seem confused by my reaction and often say something like: “VCs love demos. When investors do interject, demos typically become even more pedantic, as Founders feel compelled to speak expansively about specific features in an attempt address the investor’s concerns. Don’t Demo Me Bro.

Venture Capital 176

Venture Capital Product Software Review Technical Review 176

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 17, 2020

In most cases, these applicants for equity funding must be rooted in technology to apply to this limited discussion. How many angel groups are there? Email readers, continue here… ] The Angel Capital Association (ACA) lists over four hundred member groups, located throughout the USA. Friends and family investors.

Equity 156

Equity Technical Review Class Organization 156

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

I love how transparently Danielle lives her startup (& encourages other to join in) because it provides much needed transparency to other startups. . ” I highly recommend reading it. But what IS the right amount of burn for a company? Turns out like most things there are no simple answers. Let’s set up a framework.

Startup 383

Startup Company Companies .Net 383

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 12, 2011

Chris Dixon is one of my favorite people in tech and writes one of the few blogs I read religiously. If you don’t read it and you care about tech & entrepreneurship, you should. He and I once took different sides of an debate about whether “VC signaling&# in early-stage deals is a serious problem or not.

Technical Review 281

Technical Review Venture Capital Startup Artificial Inteligence 281

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 24, 2015

By now most of you know that Chris Sacca invested in what is now thought to be one of the best performing VC funds of all time having invested an $8.4 But did you ever wonder how Matt Mazzeo, who’s in his early 30s became Chris’s partner? We spoke at length about seeking out mentors and how to get the most out of them.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Funding RSS Technical Review 150

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 23, 2015

I wrote this conundrum and the need to take charge of how the market define your skills in my much-read blog post on “ personal branding.” I wrote this conundrum and the need to take charge of how the market define your skills in my much-read blog post on “ personal branding.”

Technical Review 150

Technical Review Startup Venture Capital IP 150

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 15, 2010

You’ll be able to give them an update on key hires, pilot customers, key tech innovations – whatever. You’ll be able to give them an update on key hires, pilot customers, key tech innovations – whatever. Everyone seems to be in such a rush to get shacked up these days. We want to make sure we’re in love.

Invest 411

Invest Technical Review Venture Capital Startup 411

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 16, 2012

There is all sorts of advice on the Internet about how to raise capital. I’ve raised money as a “hot company” and I’ve raised capital when no one would return my phone calls. And of course I’ve sat on the other side of the table: As a VC. Raising money is hard. Executive Summary.

Develop 366

Develop Development Funding Venture Capital 366

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). Tell us a bit of the story on how you started HashtagOne? I'm a bit of an anti-VC, as you know.

Venture Capital 100

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Technical Review Software Review 100

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014

The frantic pace of technology cycles, the amount of tech news, the blogs, the conferences, the demo days, the announcements, the fundings, the IPOs. It got me thinking about the advice that I often give to new VCs. So this becomes your dealflow. It’s exhausting. Perhaps unsustainable. Lines, Not Dots. And so forth.

Startup 317

Startup Technical Review Venture Capital Email 317

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 25, 2010

So, where does this all come from and how can you apply it in practice? So, where does this all come from and how can you apply it in practice? We moved into the legal process and final due diligence in January and February of 2000. Let me start with a story. We ended up agreeing a term sheet for $16.5 I was resolute.

Venture Capital 301

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Technical Advisors 301

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 9, 2011

I spent my days meeting companies, figuring out what areas of the market interested me and trying to get a sense for how VCs thought about fair valuations. Let’s review all of our existing investments. But probably because as a group we travel a lot. Yesterday was a Monday. And not a pleasant one. It was September 2008.

Marketing 305

Marketing Venture Capital Funding Technical Review 305

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2010

Our guest this week on #TWiVC was Dana Settle , partner at Greycroft Partners , a venture capital firm with offices in New York and Los Angeles. It’s always fun debating companies with Dana because she’s always so knowledgeable on deals – particularly those in the digital media, ad-tech and eCommerce spaces.

Venture Capital 240

Venture Capital Startup Platform Technical Review 240

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2010

I know that sounds trite but that is exactly how my firm talks about things in partner meetings. It becomes a large part of the conversation in our partners’ meeting afterward. It becomes a large part of the conversation in our partners’ meeting afterward. This is the last post in that series.

Technical Review 284

Technical Review Entrepreneur Startup Funding 284

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

Venture Capital is a tricky industry. Many questioned whether it could survive under the fail whale, inevitable competition from Facebook, founder fighting, fights with 3rd-party developers let alone become a revolutionary business that could make money. Far from it. Lots of it. It was an early and smart bet. Online education.

Funding 362

Funding Technical Review Ideas Startup 362

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2010

While many of my friends bragged about their 5 condos in Florida I kept talking about how the real estate market was in a bubble – their gains an illusion. I pointed to several Economist articles I had read that mapped historical prices of real estate for 400 years and how on average property values grow at no more 1.5%

Invest 299

Invest Angel Technical Review Venture Capital 299

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2017

He was running to be the 42nd mayor of Los Angeles and he outlined his vision to “open up the city government to technology and innovation” if he were elected. He wanted to bring the same level of technology focus and energy that Mayor Bloomberg had brought to New York City. But this post is about the broader context of LA.

Riot Games 191

Riot Games Los Angeles Technical Review Venture Capital 191

SoCal CTO

AUGUST 3, 2010

5 Lessons from 150 startup pitches - A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks , July 11, 2010 I just reviewed several hundred startup pitches for Capital Factory. 5 Lessons from 150 startup pitches - A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks , July 11, 2010 I just reviewed several hundred startup pitches for Capital Factory.

Startup 217

Startup Venture Capital Blogging Software Review 217

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 1, 2010

I continue to collect great content that is the intersection of startups, products, online and technology. How to Take Down Facebook -- Hint: It Ain't Twitter. The United States is now a debtor nation to China and that the bill is about to come due. but: Something is Still Missing. but: Something is Still Missing. call to arms.

Technical Review 175

Technical Review Startup Product Technology 175

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 20, 2011

If you read this blog often you'll know that I'm a huge fan of First Round Capital. They have totally changed the way you run a VC firm, investing heavily in systems & events for their founders that are pushing the boundaries of the way our industry works. I'm a huge fan of this innovation. and Half.com.

Capital 284

Capital Venture Capital Technical Review Startup 284

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 25, 2010

I just re-read it and on second reflection, I’m surprised just how much I found myself in near TOTAL agreement with Paul. I talked about this in my social proof post where I gave some suggestions about how to get the early guys off of the fence. I argued it in my post on how social proof helps fund raising with angel investors.

Venture Capital 286

Venture Capital Pricing Technical Review Startup 286

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 5, 2011

Seattle should be the envy of any non Silicon Valley tech community in the country. It really wouldn’t take much to turn a great technology ecosystem into a truly electric one. Who’s going to help you with improving your marketing / positioning to become a clear platform category leader like Twilio?

Venture Capital 317

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Press 317

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 6, 2014

When you first start your company and raise initial venture capital your board probably consists of 1-3 founders and 1-2 VCs. Most experienced VCs won’t push you to give up founder control at this stage of the business nor should they. Reviewing financial & operational performance. In the Early Days.

Startup 325

Startup Sales Technical Review Software Review 325

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 27, 2011

I hope I straddled people’s points of view well enough not to have offended anybody while adding a framework for how I think about the service. I hope I straddled people’s points of view well enough not to have offended anybody while adding a framework for how I think about the service. So why I am writing it then?

Venture Capital 267

Venture Capital Writing Blogging Startup 267

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 4, 2014

I think as a tech industry we have bred a culture that places more emphasis on product excellence than managing human behavior. Yet talk with people at Twitter these days and many seem to feel like they are part of a movement – and that doesn’t just come due to product success. Those are the easy cases.

Startup 340

Startup Technical Review Course Press 340

socalTECH

DECEMBER 30, 2010

All this week, we are sharing the opinions of some of the top influencers in Southern California's high tech community. We asked the same five questions of a variety of top technology entrepreneurs, investors, and others, to hear what they're thinking about, and are sharing it here over the next two weeks. 2010 was very good to us.

Technical Review 160

Technical Review Southern California Cloud Computing Venture Capital 160

Tech Zulu Event

AUGUST 27, 2014

How can I improve the financial health of my company? How can I minimize my income tax burden? Of equal importance, with the right support, your company can be assured that you are meeting all of your tax obligations, thereby avoiding an unwanted IRS audit due to compliance issues. How can I support—and finance—company growth?

Venture Capital 93

Venture Capital Outsource Help Writing 93