Both Sides of the Table

JULY 23, 2013

I have long advised startup companies that if you don’t control your messaging somebody else will and your potential customers will form impressions of you shaped by somebody else or by nobody at all. For 1991 I was very technical and also had a lot of practical business implementation experience in technology.

Technical Advisors 385

Technical Advisors Marketing Startup Venture Capital 385

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 12, 2010

Of course, there's no law saying you have to go to college to start a business. Current young adults have grown up hearing about Bill Gates as the paragon of success. Too many startups fail simply by missing the practical elements of money management, time management, and setting priorities. Pick an idea, any idea.

Technical Advisors 90

Technical Advisors Startup Course Entrepreneur 90

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2015

In my years of advising startups and occasional investing, I’ve seen many great ideas start and fail, but the right team always seems to make good things happen, even without the ultimate idea. That’s why investors say they invest in people (bet on the jockey, not the horse), rather than the idea.

Technical Advisors 105

Technical Advisors Outsource Development Startup High Tech 105

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 27, 2011

I made every textbook mistake at my first startup, which is why I believe I was much more effective at my second one. The following are some lessons I learned about early-stage startup marketing. Most people totally advise against stealth. But once a VC has heard your idea he can’t “un-think&# it.

Marketing 380

Marketing Startup Press Technical Advisors 380

Tech Zulu Event

JULY 28, 2012

For those who haven’t heard of what Startup Weekend is all about, it’s building a company on STEROIDS! Friday Night, people started trickling in at Coloft at 6pm. People were so excited for the weekend, many of who have participated in Startup Weekend before and a few like me, who were there for the first time.

Startup 99

Startup Technical Advisors Ideas USC 99

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 21, 2020

Many of the entrepreneurs I advise or invest with spend considerable time on the Internet, keeping up with technology, customers, and competitors, but very few feel the need for an early personal presence. Every future entrepreneur should start by networking. A positive personal brand will give your product instant credibility.

Product 127

Product Entrepreneur Technical Advisors Technical Review 127

socalTECH

OCTOBER 24, 2011

One of the biggest complaints you hear from both entrepreneurs and investors in Los Angeles, is the lack of a credible, visible startup accelerator in the Los Angeles area. We caught up with Erik to hear more about MuckerLab, and its efforts to grow the Los Angeles technology ecosystem. Erik, thanks for the time.

Technical Advisors 176

Technical Advisors Startup Southern California Los Angeles 176

socalTECH

AUGUST 28, 2017

PartySlate (www.partyslate.com)--which is backed by a slate of LA area investors--offers up a place to browse photos on events, find venues, and most importantly, planners who put those events on, so your next big event can be an unforgettable one. Being a digital person, I kept looking online for new ideas. He's based in LA.

Technical Advisors 100

Technical Advisors Technical Review Metrics Startup 100

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 1, 2018

I’m not saying success is rare, but the list of famous entrepreneurs who started their career in a big company is small. I made the jump myself from IBM several years ago, and now have a satisfying startup advising small businesses and mentoring entrepreneurs. Already have dependents and employees who look up to you.

Startup 52

Startup Technical Advisors Entrepreneur IBM 52

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 4, 2009

This is part of my Startup Advice series. at a startup that has already raised $5 million the chances of you making your retirement money on that company is EXTREMELY small. I often have career discussions with entrepreneurs – both young and more mature – whether they should join company “X&# or not. That’s Ok.

Startup 418

Startup Technical Advisors Venture Capital Santa Monica 418

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2010

Many entrepreneurs are convinced that banks are not worth the effort for startups, especially early-stage ones that still don’t have a revenue stream, or collateral to back up their financing needs. Show focus and your understanding that your company is something more than just a good idea. A winning product or service.

Technical Advisors 80

Technical Advisors Startup Equity Ideas 80

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 19, 2009

This is part of my Startup Advice series. I spent nearly a decade building software for large companies and then advising companies on the same. So I was surprised at the sheer volumes of decisions that had to be made when I became a startup CEO. So we discussed his ideas several times. This was such a guy.

Entrepreneur 414

Entrepreneur Technical Review Slides CTO Coach 414

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 17, 2009

This is part of my ongoing series “ Start-up Lessons. &# If you want to subscribe to my RSS feed please click here or to get my blog by email click here. I often talk with entrepreneurs who are kicking around their next idea. Imagine you pour 5 years of your life into your next gig and it starts to become successful.

Startup 365

Startup Technical Advisors IP Ideas 365

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 27, 2013

Many entrepreneurs are convinced that banks are not worth the effort for startups, especially early-stage ones that still don’t have a revenue stream, or collateral to back up their financing needs. Show focus and your understanding that your company is something more than just a good idea. A winning product or service.

Technical Advisors 75

Technical Advisors Entrepreneur Equity Ideas 75

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. So don’t wait for that “idea of the century” that no one has ever thought of before.

Technical Review 149

Technical Review Startup Entrepreneur Software Review 149

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 17, 2018

Most of the entrepreneurs I advise today are ready to declare success when they get that first surge of traction with a real customer. This is a good sign, but they have no idea that the hard work of scaling the business is still ahead of them. Here again, it’s important to measure value, rather than project cost.

Technical Advisors 83

Technical Advisors Tool Software Product 83

Tech.Co

MAY 22, 2018

I’ve had many startup founders tell me that their startup literally has no competition,” said Frank Gruber, Cofounder of Tech.Co, Startup of the Year , and Established. “In What startup teams don’t realize is that having competition is good. It’s validating that there is a market for their idea.

Tips 70

Tips Help Slides Technical Review 70

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 13, 2011

I would argue that this mostly consists of consumer Internet companies (although not exclusively) and it is predominantly early-stage people who are product gurus and have a mildly technical bend to them. I talked about this in the TWiVC video but I didn’t do a good enough job of writing it up in the summary notes in the post.

Venture Capital 299

Venture Capital Slides Technical Advisors Startup 299

Jason Nazar

APRIL 7, 2011

What’s The Remedy: At social mixers make eye contact at least 20% of the time with people who approach you; temper negative feedback with some positive reinforcement on the struggles of trying to come up; don’t treat people differently based on the amount of money you think they can make you. The WannaBe Board of Advisor.

Technical Advisors 112

Technical Advisors Startup Social Media Ideas 112

SoCal CTO

MARCH 4, 2010

I’ve worked with 30+ early-stage companies in all sorts of capacities (and spoken to many, many more), so I thought it might be worthwhile trying to classify the various ways that I’ve engaged in different technology roles in startups. Later he posted about his experience in Challenges of Startups.

Technical Review 170

Technical Review Technical Advisors CTO Coach Startup 170

Frank Addante

JUNE 4, 2006

► August (1) Stay Positive ► July (2) Go Fast, but Don’t Hurry The DNA of an A++ Team ► June (1) Setting up Shop - Picking an Office Space ► May (3) Startup 6.0 - the Rubicon Project: Internet Advert. ► May (5) the Rubicon Project The Journey Startup 6.0: Visit StrongMail Website Startup 4.0:

Startup 40

Startup Venture Capital Email CTO Hire 40

Frank Addante

MAY 15, 2006

► August (1) Stay Positive ► July (2) Go Fast, but Don’t Hurry The DNA of an A++ Team ► June (1) Setting up Shop - Picking an Office Space ► May (3) Startup 6.0 - the Rubicon Project: Internet Advert. No, it’ Startup 2.0: Startup 1.0: “The Bug Bite&# - The Internet Needs.

Advertising 40

Advertising Startup Chief Technology Officer Technical Review 40

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 25, 2010

Let me start with a story. We ended up agreeing a term sheet for $16.5 We had people hearing through the grapevine that we were about to raise money and new investors started calling us to get in on the deal. Guys, I accept that we could probably shop this around but we could also end up with nothing. I was resolute.

Venture Capital 301

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Technical Advisors 301

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 27, 2015

Something is rotten in tech startup land. It’s not that I’m anti innovation or a disbeliever in disruption or calling it a full-scale bubble or saying every darling startup is going to fail. The uninvited crowds have all turned up. He turned up for the fun but went too hard, too early. None of those.

Technical Advisors 150

Technical Advisors Startup Writing Blogging 150