Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 16, 2013

I’m very excited to be finally be able to announce that this week we’ve added Sam Rosen to our ranks at GRP Partners in the role of entrepreneurs-in-residence – EIR. I thought Sam might know some talented young entrepreneurs to apply. Come to entrepreneur pitches. Come to partner meetings.

Startup 372

Startup Course Ideas Invest 372

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 1, 2010

Many (Union Square Ventures, Foundry Group, True Ventures, GRP Partners, Mike Hirshland at Polaris Ventures) do it the right way – we treat it as a normal investment and we don’t have a “options&# strategy with our investment. Many firms do it in a way that can be more detrimental to entrepreneurs.

Seed Funding 298

Seed Funding Funding Venture Capital GRP Partners 298

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2010

I get paid (well) for interesting people to come in and tell me how they want to change the world – Being an entrepreneur is like having blinders on. At least for the best entrepreneurs. Some people do the conference circuit too much, get involved in lots of side projects and attend every entrepreneur dinner. I love it.

Venture Capital 312

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Entrepreneur 312

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 21, 2014

You join teams that got good write-ups on TechCrunch, have great VCs, have star CEO’s, whatever. Writing a book will be fun. I started working with David when I was an entrepreneur and he was an associate with a VC firmed called … wait for it … GRP Partners (now Upfront Ventures)! You REALLY know.

CTO Hire 320

CTO Hire Startup CTO Coach Venture Capital 320

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 2, 2010

I’m writing this series because if you better understand how VC firms work you can better target which firms make sense for you to speak with. I’m writing this post to explain to entrepreneurs what you should be thinking about in terms of the VC’s you approach and the size and stage of their funds.

Venture Capital 269

Venture Capital Funding Invest GRP Partners 269

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2011

This was an audience of mostly first-time entrepreneurs. It is great for entrepreneurs and great for VCs. I will write more about this in the next 2 weeks. So here is what I have been telling entrepreneurs privately for the past 6 months. What a bubble means for each entrepreneur. I believe that. But it will end.

Pricing 309

Pricing Marketing Startup Venture Capital 309

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 3, 2011

I’m often asked the question about why there aren’t more women who are entrepreneurs. The truth is I have been thinking a lot about the topic, I just haven’t been writing about it. My inspiration to become an entrepreneur came from my mom, not my dad. Every single one. And many of the best women founders.

Entrepreneur 341

Entrepreneur Venture Capital Startup Blogging 341

InfoChachkie

JULY 14, 2011

9) In Getting The Band Back Together , I write about the power of serial Founding teams. Do you have any words of caution or advice for entrepreneurs who attempt to “Get Their Band Back Together”? “In When assembling a team, I encourage entrepreneurs to seek out the MVPs, and look to build diversity into the teams they assemble.”.

Marketing 209

Marketing Advertising Paid Search Startup 209

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 27, 2011

But should you actually write one if you’re a startup, an industry figure (lawyer, banker) or VC? This is a post to help you figure out why you should write and what you should talk about. I know that I have not yet earned these kudos based on investment returns (although my partners have. By definition, you read blogs.

Blogging 373

Blogging Startup Writing Venture Capital 373

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 8, 2009

He writes with a great perspective and is well worth reading. I just completed an exercise where I went out to hire a new associate for my VC firm, GRP Partners. But there are plenty of partners and successful entrepreneurs who don’t have MBAs. I was reading Chris Dixon’s blog tonight.

Startup 337

Startup Venture Capital Study Course 337

Tech Zulu Event

JUNE 28, 2012

Panels were based at hubs including Leadership, Branding / Advertising, Social Media, Entrepreneurs, Community and more. RT @OEInnovation #SBF why I live in #LA: intersection of #beach #tech #entrepreneur #entertainment. & & #celebrity to pull off anything! RT @urlgrl @DigitalLA had an amazing time at #SBF. Photo by TechZulu).

Hollywood 67

Hollywood Technical Review Startup Rustic Canyon 67

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 30, 2010

I’m very pleased today to announce that I invested, on behalf of GRP Partners, in Burstly alongside Rincon Venture Partners , an early stage VC in Southern California whith whom we love to work (and were our co-investors on RingRevenue ). I’ll explain in detail below.

Mobile 282

Mobile Invest Company Companies 282

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 5, 2011

I’m an entrepreneur at heart so I’m always inspired when I hear stories about innovation. It’s why my investment philosophy is called, “ the entrepreneur thesis.&#. I know it’s not single-handed as he has both fantastic partners at Foundry Group and many other community leaders. Of course I have.

Venture Capital 317

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Press 317

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 29, 2011

.&# Surprisinly, this strategy works well with many entrepreneurs. It’s as though we forgot the management mantra of the 90′s about “core competencies&# or the most common VC advice to entrepreneurs: Focus. I would put my firm, GRP Partners in with the group working with teams in different ways.

Venture Capital 296

Venture Capital Capital Software Startup 296

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 15, 2011

We were talking about a company, Factual (disclosure my firm is an investor), which was founded by one of LA’s most talented Internet entrepreneurs, Gil Elbaz , who as co-founder of Applied Semantics (purchased by pre-IPO Google for $102 million and now Google AdSense) is responsible for a large portion of the Internet’s monetization.

Venture Capital 313

Venture Capital Southern California Google Startup 313

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 1, 2010

I call it the entrepreneur thesis. I’m not talk about the age old debate amongst investors whether you back entrepreneurs, markets or products (or as people like to hedge – product / market fit). It’s entrepreneurs I back. It’s what I call the “entrepreneur thesis.” So what is the “entrepreneur thesis?”

Entrepreneur 321

Entrepreneur GRP Partners Venture Capital Invest 321

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 10, 2011

Today I’m announcing that GRP Partners is doubling down on the Twitter ecosystem by investing in DataSift , a company who provides a real-time data platform and tools to third-party developers and corporations. Read this story that is typical of many entrepreneurs with whom I talk. In fact, they seem intentionally opaque.

Platform 307

Platform News Startup Invest 307