Berkonomics

MAY 4, 2023

Stop me if you’ve heard this story before. “My job as a (newspaper publisher telephone installer, stockbroker, travel agent, retail store manager) writer, poet, commercial artist – is safe as this economy continues to grow.” Yup. Thought so. We are in a decade of creative destruction that will affect most everybody. And the prime motivators of this massive destruction are the same class of entrepreneurs and innovators that have done it before.

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TechCrunch LA

JANUARY 3, 2023

The Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles, or HACLA, has confirmed it is investigating a cybersecurity incident shortly after the LockBit ransomware gang claimed responsibility for a cyberattack on the agency. HACLA, which provides affordable housing to more than 19,000 low-income families across Los Angeles, was added to LockBit’s dark web leak site on December 31.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 26, 2023

Every one of you business owners I know periodically introduces new products and services to sustain growth, fight off competitors, or take advantage of new technologies. Often, despite your passion and expectation, customers don’t immediately see the value and need that you see, and you have no idea why the initiative is stuck , and what could be the real customer issue or fix.

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socalTECH

JANUARY 10, 2023

La Jolla-based Personal AI, which is developing artificial intelligence software to help users draft personal messages, retain, and recall personal information, has raised $7.8M in a seed funding round. The funding came from Supernode Global, Differential Ventures, BBG Ventures, Beni VC, Village Global, Keshif Ventures, and Good Friends (founders of Warby Parker, Harry's, and Allbirds).

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Advertiser: Aggregage

Office leases are one of companies’ largest expenses, and if your whole team is working from home with no clear end in sight, you may be wondering what to do about your lease.

Company

Tech.Co

MAY 31, 2023

Launching and growing a startup is one of the biggest missions an entrepreneur can undertake. But while competition remains fierce, the advancement and accessibility of smart solutions are making it easy than ever for startups to find their feet. Business tools — from customer relationship management ( CRM ) platforms to accounting software — help to save startups time and money by automating key processes and maximizing efficiency.

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Startup San Diego

FEBRUARY 10, 2023

The post Press Release: Startup San Diego Announces Incoming Executive Committee Tapping Leaders from Industry, Non-profit & Education appeared first on Startup San Diego.

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San Diego Press Startup Education 77

StartUp Beat

MARCH 1, 2023

Decorilla leverages VR & AR tech to let interior design customers walk around a room design that doesn't exist yet. The post How this company is using VR & AR to enhance the age-old interior design business appeared first on StartUp Beat.

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Design Company Companies Startup 40

Berkonomics

JANUARY 12, 2023

Some types of businesses generate more and more recurring revenues over time, often growing to a size where recurring revenues pay all of the overhead of the company – an enviable position. The surprising recurring revenue trap. There is a phenomenon I have observed time after time with mature companies receiving over 75% of their revenues from recurring sources.

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Capital SaaS Sales .Net 296

Berkonomics

JUNE 1, 2023

Well, it’s a fair question. Note that none of these three famous innovators were inventors like Thomas Edison, but visionaries who see a new marketplace or niche or how to reach the mass market in ways not previously attempted. Innovation does not always equal invention. Leaders and companies that innovate new products, services and methods of delivery are the ones that stand out in a crowded business world, especially when attempting to gain recognition among the throngs of competitors visible

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Berkonomics

MAY 25, 2023

I love absolute statements. Pardon my English. But this is one of my favorite statements. You’re at the ignition stage of your newest business venture. Of course, you have a vision for what you will do to change the world. Let’s stress test that vision and sharpen it further to help ensure your success. Stress-testing your vision. First, if your vision is limited and you will be happy with a successful local dry-cleaning enterprise or small restaurant around the corner, you are not the target

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Berkonomics

MAY 18, 2023

Let’s create a use case. Most senior and middle level managers will understand when a subordinate comes to them to resign and begin a new business. But all will immediately question whether the new business will compete in any way with their enterprise and react to the future entrepreneur in either of two very distinct ways based upon those fears. Even more suspicious is the action of an employee who resigns suddenly without notice or explanation.

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Company Companies Entrepreneur Layoffs 156

Berkonomics

MAY 11, 2023

So, what do you think is more important? There may be more choices here. But the most important ones for any size business, including start-ups, is: Do you believe it should be the quality of your management team, or the plan you execute so brilliantly toward your success? Do you want a unanimous answer right away? Checking with professional investors from angels to VC’s, the answer appears to be near unanimous: the quality of the proposed or actual management team comes in a strong first before

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Startup Entrepreneur Angel Statistics 156

Berkonomics

APRIL 27, 2023

Everyone who manages a company, a workgroup or a sales force wants to write as many new deals as possible and is usually wary about doing anything that might threaten the positive outcome of a pending sale. We hesitate to enforce our own rules. So, it is common practice to leave an offer containing a discount open, following up periodically to attempt to nudge a prospect into signing.

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TechCrunch LA

FEBRUARY 27, 2023

Waymo will begin testing its autonomous Jaguar I-Paces without a human safety operator in Los Angeles in the next couple of weeks. This is the company’s next step on its path to commercializing robotaxi services in its second California city. To start, only employees will be able to hail rides in the driverless robotaxis. While Waymo has been mapping several LA neighborhoods, including Downtown, Miracle Mile, Koreatown and Westwood, since 2019, the company will start its rider-only testing

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Berkonomics

APRIL 20, 2023

Well, the numbers don’t lie, even if there are several sources of these statistics. Starting a company is HARD – in so many ways. And risky too. Let’s start with a restaurant -not our thing. But… I read several years ago that the average startup restaurant lasts only about a year. Ouch! Here I am a professional investor in early-stage companies, and I attempt to find those with the greatest chance of success and growth in value over time.

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Startup Angel Statistics Invest 156

Berkonomics

APRIL 13, 2023

Here’s another one from my Dad, a very wise man. He gave me this advice right after I received my driver’s license years ago. It took years to understand the importance of this prophetic statement. Taking this advice literally: Gun shots, drunk drivers, mayhem, and even curfews qualify as just some of the things that could bite in the early morning.

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Berkonomics

APRIL 6, 2023

Some of you have gotten along forever without a board of directors, or used your spouse as the “other” board member from the start. But there are some very good reasons to build a great board composed of some outside members. And good board members can add real value to you and the company. Where to learn more… In other posts (and in our book, “Building Great Boards” – available on Amazon and other booksellers) we cover legal responsibilities of a board, how to pay boa

Company 156

Company Companies Ideas Competition 156

Berkonomics

MARCH 30, 2023

Let’s get right down to it. Your banking relationship can be like a great marriage or a bad trip to the DMV. In most cases it is strictly your choice. But the results of that choice will reverberate for what could be years. Yes, we will spend a moment reviewing the SVB-Signature Bank crisis that recently left many of us losing sleep. But we will do this in the context of our decision-making and protection of our businesses.

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Berkonomics

MARCH 23, 2023

“Re-imagining” our lives The world is experiencing a new era of re -imagination , in which virtually all our old ways of doing things are being uprooted by new, more efficient and more widely available methods of accomplishing old tasks. We collaborate using Zoom, Teams, Salesforce, Yammer, Skype, GoToMeeting, Fuze and hundreds of other tools not available to the last generation of whiteboard, personal meeting or teleconference users.

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Berkonomics

MARCH 16, 2023

Why should we ask this question? As an early-stage investor, the first test for me is whether “my” entrepreneur is flexible in both the plan and execution of their vision (since from experience almost everything about a business plan changes over time), and whether that person, no matter what age or experience, is coachable. Doctoral theses have been written on this subject.

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Berkonomics

MARCH 9, 2023

Here is one very personal question. “Have you figured out what you want to have, or to be, when you reach the end of your personal run in this business life?” It is a fair question to ask. Most of us work in our businesses, either as managers or owners, and rarely step outside to think about how this will end in a perfect world. Investors call this discussion “exit planning” and of course they include themselves in the discussion.

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Berkonomics

MARCH 2, 2023

One thing a senior manager can count on is that someday, something will go right, very right. Well, after all the disappointments, pressure and outright failures, this is NEWS. So, we tend to go overboard a bit. As a member of the board, I’ve received calls on weekends, at night and texts at hours I didn’t even think existed – from CEOs who couldn’t control the euphoria.

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Software Guide Demand News 156

Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 23, 2023

When do you sell your company? Obviously, we all want to sell at the top. And there is the problem. How do you know when you are at or near that right point to sell for maximum value? Those of us in the business of calculating (guessing) this mythical peak in value often make the same mistake as our entrepreneurs. We hang on just a little bit longer, expecting continued or accelerating growth and value as in previous periods of the same.

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Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 16, 2023

Here’s the IRS take on the issue: It is no secret that the IRS carefully looks below the surface for personal use of company assets (including cash) in its corporate income tax audits. This insight addresses more the impact of such behavior upon the actions of employees and others who observe that behavior from a senior manager or owner of a business – and know that they cannot say anything about it without jeopardizing their jobs.

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Entrepreneur Entertainment Capital Pricing 156

Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 9, 2023

I admit that my dad taught me this when I was just a fifteen–year old kid starting a business and negotiating with suppliers for the first time. But I learned it again and again in my various business lives. Here’s a striking example. The most striking example was the one hundred million–dollar purchase of one of my companies by a New York private equity investor using only five million of its cash.

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Pricing Equity Acquisition Sales 156

Berkonomics

JANUARY 26, 2023

Can your contact solve real-world issues? I recently experienced an amazing effort of outreach by a vice president of a large national customer asking for a meeting with the product development team of a critical supplier, one of “my” companies. The goal, the VP stated, was to “see if these guys are battle hardened veterans that have dealt with the real-world product and delivery problems” of a nationally important customer.

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Berkonomics

JANUARY 19, 2023

In the non–profit world, the term, “time, talent and treasure” has been used so often it is almost at the edge of being trite. It’s used in that arena to describe a volunteer’s sacrifice in support of the non–profit enterprise. Bending the meaning for use in business… I was surprised to discover that the term seems undiscovered in the business world.

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Berkonomics

JANUARY 5, 2023

Public companies looking to acquire your growing enterprise usually have a few financial measures that help them weed out those candidates that will be too expensive in terms of effort or of too little financial attractiveness. The first rule: 10/40: One of my company CEOs recently described his rule for acquisition success, and it resonated with me as a great goal for planning during acquisition exercises.

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Acquisition .Net Sales Email 156

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 28, 2023

In business, and in your personal life, the ability to anticipate and overcome criticism is one of the biggest differentiators between leaders, who make things happen, and followers, who may have great ideas but never seem to get things to go their way. In fact, leaders are not remembered for their dreams, aspirations, or intentions – they are remembered because they achieved results.

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Ideas Entrepreneur Mobile Case Study 140

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 22, 2023

Most of the entrepreneurs and aggressive business owners I meet in my consulting practice are focused on finding new disruptive solutions and killing competitors as the key to success. If you are one of these, you may be missing win-win opportunities to incrementally expand existing markets, create new ones enabled by new technologies, or do good for society in this new age.

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Capital Netflix Mentor Entrepreneur 139

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 27, 2023

The days of leadership without engagement are gone. With interactive social media and video everywhere, everyone needs to feel they have a relationship with their leaders, and every brand needs leader personification for customers to relate. Soon you won’t be able to name a business as one of your favorites if you can’t personally visualize and relate to company leadership.

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Customer Custom Entrepreneur Social Media 135

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 30, 2023

Over my many years of mentoring aspiring entrepreneurs and business professionals, I often hear a desire to start a new business, with a big hesitation while waiting for that perfect idea and perfect alignment of the stars. From my own experience and from the best entrepreneurs I know, I always offer some basic business realities, and assure you that conditions will never be perfect.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 21, 2023

The average length of a funding pitch to angel investors is ten minutes. Even if you have booked an hour with a VC, you should plan to talk only for the first fifteen minutes. The biggest complaint I hear from fellow investors is that startup founders often talk way too long, and neglect to cover the most relevant points. Or they get sidetracked by a technical glitch due to poor preparation.

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Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 10, 2023

If you are one of the new age of entrepreneurs who hates the thought of doing a business plan as a first step in starting your new venture you will love this message. More and more professionals agree that a better strategy is to explore and fine tune your assumptions before declaring a specific plan with financial projections based only on your dream and passion.

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Startup Capital Entrepreneur Summary 144

socalTECH

JANUARY 10, 2023

San Diego-based CARI Health, which is developing a wearable, real-time mediation monitor, said on Tuesday that it has raised $2.3M in a seed funding round. The funding came from the San Diego Angel Conference, NuFund Venture Group, Cove Fund, Chemical Angel Fund, Medical Devices of Tomorrow, along with other individual investors. The company said the funding will go towards in-patient clinical studies.

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San Diego Seed Funding Angel Funding 133

Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 2, 2023

Celebrating that strategic partnership Many of us make it a priority to find and partner with companies that can add to our offering or extend our reach. And we rightly celebrate each such pairing, often with a mutual press release. And sometimes that’s all we end up doing. Call it a “press release partnership.” Or an opportunity missed. Or a relationship not nurtured.

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