socalTECH

MARCH 16, 2017

Earlier this week, Derek Norton , a long time advisor to the media, Internet, and technology industry in Los Angeles, announced a brand new venture capital fund called Watertower Ventures (www.watertowerventures.com). We sat down with Derek to learn more about the new $5M fund and what it's all about. Tell us about the new fund?

Invest 145

Invest Funding Capital Startup 145

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 14, 2010

Bockerstette, Main Street Venture Fund As I outlined last week, trophy angel investors are always looking for trophy entrepreneurs. The result is that the Main Street Venture Fund consistently has more money available than good opportunities for investment. Tags: entrepreneur investor angel successful funding business.

Funding 106

Funding Startup Entrepreneur Activity 106

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 1, 2016

At the Upfront Summit in early February, we had a chance to have many off-the-record conversations with Limited Partners (LPs) who fund Venture Capital (VC) funds about their views of the market. In fact, if you add the capital flows of the past ten years, there have been just shy of $50 billion in net cash outlays.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Capital Marketing Seed Funding 150

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 7, 2021

First you have to find the current owner, using WHOIS , or other lookup functions available on the net. Get the agreement in writing as quickly as possible. The faster you fund the account the better chance you have of the seller not being able to back out. Negotiate for the name.

Startup 136

Startup Pricing Tips .Net 136

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 18, 2014

People cite sources like this BusinessWeek story last year “ Real Entrepreneurs Don’t Write Business Plans ,” or even my own article a while back, “ 10 Reasons Not To Write A Business Plan First.” Net out the problem and your solution in the first 30 seconds. aspiring entrepreneur business plan funding stand out startup'

Entrepreneur 108

Entrepreneur Startup Writing Slides 108

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 15, 2015

People cite sources like this BusinessWeek story a while back “ Real Entrepreneurs Don’t Write Business Plans ,” or even my own article on this subject, “ 10 Reasons Not To Write A Business Plan First.” Net out the problem and your solution in the first 30 seconds. Executive summary glossy. Pitch your company, not your product.

Startup 104

Startup Writing Entrepreneur Slides 104

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 6, 2016

I even prefer to fund entrepreneurs who have experience some level of set-backs in their careers or startups because I think it brings a humility to decision-making that I find healthy. I talk about failure a lot because I think it can be tremendously instructive and I think that success without failure often masks underlying lessons.

Startup 261

Startup Press Blogging .Net 261

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 27, 2011

This is a blog post I really didn’t want to write. I didn’t want to write it because I have mixed feelings about AngelList. I didn’t want to write it because the bloggosphere doesn’t always do nuance well. So why I am writing it then? Most VCs fund companies with a degree of traction.

Venture Capital 267

Venture Capital Writing Blogging Startup 267

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 4, 2019

If you are looking for funding and customers for your new business, you need to identify your “unique selling proposition” (USP) right up front, in 30 seconds or less, to differentiate yourself in today’s information overload. Investor and customer attention spans are short, and both will write you off quickly.

.Net 73

.Net Examples Customer Custom 73

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 5, 2010

But when I’m looking to write my check I need to look in the eyes of the captain — the maestro who brings the whole orchestra together. If your idea is so amazing that it warrants my hard-earned angel money or the money of my LP investors from our fund then why should I take a risk on you if you won’t take a risk on yourself?

Entrepreneur 293

Entrepreneur Startup Venture Capital CTO Hire 293

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

I find it amusing when a journalist writes an article about a prominent startup (either privately held or preparing for an IPO) and decries that, “They’re not even profitable!” To grow faster businesses need resources in today’s financial period to fund growth that may not come for 6 months to a year.

Startup 418

Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 418

Tech.Co

APRIL 11, 2018

You’d be forgiven, then, for assuming the city is seeing a net loss of tech workers. Writing in March, the New York Times’ Kevin Roose had an answer that will hit Bay Area-bound tech workers where it hurts: Their wallets. If they leave, they take their massive influence and venture funds with them.

Report 70

Report .Net Template Writing 70

Steve Reich

JULY 20, 2013

Worse yet, Angels will no longer be able to “self certify” as accredited investors–we will have to show W2′s or proof of our net worth, and most of us will never be willing to share such personal information. Please–call your Congressman, write your Senator, and post a comment at the SEC’s website.

Pasadena Angels 45

Pasadena Angels Pasadena .Net Writing 45

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 17, 2017

To grow faster businesses need resources in today to fund growth that may not come for 6 months to a year. They don’t want high burn rates but they will never fund slow growth. million to fund operations in their first year of operations. They raised $5 million in venture capital to fund growth. Not necessarily.

Startup 227

Startup Venture Capital Sales Course 227

InfoChachkie

AUGUST 11, 2011

Value Prop Twitter Style : AngelList is the productization of raising startup funding. 3) If you were writing your book Pitching Hacks today, how would your advice differ ? The companies that fail to raise funding are the ones who use too many words and too few actions. For his exact quotes, watch the video.

Startup 273

Startup Software Review Summary Technical Review 273

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 20, 2018

Net out the problem and your solution in the first 30 seconds. Disciplining yourself to write down the plan is actually the best way to make sure you actually understand it yourself. Successful startups are all about the right people with the right stuff. Executive summary glossy. Pitch your company, not your product.

Startup 65

Startup Entrepreneur Slides Content 65

socalTECH

MAY 18, 2010

As of the last four months, we've had about 200,000 plus downloads, a bunch of great write ups, and a lot of mom bloggers who have been reviewing the app and writing stories on it. The net-net, is they want to simplify their lives, and we've given them an application that allows them to simplify their life, save money, and share.

Mobile 168

Mobile .Net Pasadena Software Review 168

Tech.Co

MAY 9, 2024

Seeking funding is a right of passage for many small business owners. If you’re interested in pursuing this type of finance, we round up some government grants small businesses can apply for in May, including their specialisms, funding limits, and deadlines. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Outsource Development 203

Outsource Development Technical Review Research Writing 203

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 10, 2013

The net is that if I see a website business plan today with a projected development cost greater than $200K, I suspect the founder must be including some fancy perks, or they don’t understand the market dynamics of e-commerce today. Life is more fun that way. Grab your shopping basket. Marty Zwilling.

Sites 78

Sites Commerce Startup Tool 78

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 1, 2013

The sad truth is that cash flow surprises kill many startups, even though they should have been adequately funded to survive. Of course, you can’t predict everything, but writing down what you know will identify existing problems sooner, and allow other team members to help. You can be on budget, and still run out of cash.

Startup 114

Startup Sales Layoffs Slides 114

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 18, 2011

The net is that if I see a website business plan today with a projected development cost greater than $200K, I suspect the founder must be including some fancy perks, or they don’t understand the market dynamics of e-commerce today. Life is more fun that way. Grab your shopping basket. Marty Zwilling.

Commerce 99

Commerce Startup Sites Tool 99

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 24, 2021

It has historically been the case that VCs would rather fund the promise of 100x in a company with almost no revenue than the reality of a company growing at 50% but doing $20+ million in sales. that plays a leading role in funding in the Central Coast of California. It literally drove FOMO. My first ever investment as a VC was Invoca.

Venture Capital 363

Venture Capital Capital Funding Startup 363

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 8, 2014

Over the past 4 years LA’s tech fundings have growing at a 30% compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) which is > 4 times the US average VC CAGR (7%). Both are massively funding other LA tech companies through what Fred Wilson once defined as “recycled capital.” In the last month alone (ie not captures in the $1.5

Entrepreneur 376

Entrepreneur Snapchat Startup Google 376

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 14, 2014

The net is that if I see a website business plan today with a projected development cost greater than $200K, I suspect the founder must be including some fancy perks, or they don’t understand the market dynamics of website applications today. Life is more fun that way.

Startup 100

Startup Commerce Sites Blogging 100

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 17, 2016

Of course, you can’t predict everything, but writing down what you know will identify existing problems sooner, and allow other team members to help. I recommend that you buffer your initial requests for funding by 25%, and then add a line of credit, to cover contingencies and minimize the chance for negative surprises.

Startup 64

Startup Sales Layoffs Slides 64

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 15, 2013

First you have to find the current owner, using Domain Tools , or other lookup functions available on the net. Get the agreement in writing as quickly as possible. The faster you fund the account the better chance you have of the seller not being able to back out. Negotiate for the name.

Startup 87

Startup Pricing Tips .Net 87

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 16, 2010

The net is that if I see a website business plan today with a projected development cost greater than $200K, I suspect the founder must be including some fancy perks, or they don’t understand the market dynamics of e-commerce today. Life is more fun that way. Grab your shopping basket. Marty Zwilling.

Commerce 88

Commerce Startup Sites Tool 88

socalTECH

JULY 13, 2009

GRP has just recently closed on a new $200M fund, and Mark has been one of the more active venture capitalists in the Los Angeles area in recent months. In 2000, we set up our second fund--worth almost $400M--and for that vintage year, that fund is one of the top tier performing funds in the entire country.

GRP Partners 157

GRP Partners Southern California Santa Barbara Rustic Canyon 157

Tech Zulu Event

APRIL 23, 2013

As an employee of the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets from 1999-2003 and of the Indianapolis Pacers from 2003-2008, I learned first-hand from the likes of Rod Thorn, Byron Scott, Jason Kidd and Larry Bird about the importance of leading by example and keys to assembling a championship-caliber team. Have you raised any funding yet?

Social Network 92

Social Network Networking Training Summary 92

InfoChachkie

NOVEMBER 23, 2015

For a high-volume seed fund that adds many portfolio companies every year (such as our friends at 500 Startups who invest in over 100 distinct companies annually), the cost of a bad affirmative decision (a false positive) is quite low, since it accounts for a relatively small portion of their total fund. Unicornless. com> 4/25/08.

Venture Capital 100

Venture Capital Technical Review Software Review Southern California 100

TechCrunch LA

FEBRUARY 6, 2022

The company’s stock tanked by more than 26 percent, representing a $230 billion reduction in market cap and a $31 billion drop in Zuckerberg’s personal net worth. I’ve been writing quite a bit about crypto lately, and this week I dug into a particularly interesting facet of the industry called DAOs.

Marketing 246

Marketing Newsletter Technical Review News 246

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 17, 2020

In most cases, these applicants for equity funding must be rooted in technology to apply to this limited discussion. There is an exemption from the requirements that these investors be accredited with net worth or income minimums to qualify legally to invest in your company. Angel investment groups or funds. Accelerators.

Equity 156

Equity Technical Review Class Organization 156

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 17, 2009

This is part of my ongoing series “ Pitching a VC “ There’s a great meme developing this morning on the need to simplify funding terms and documents. This was pre Venture Hacks so not a lot of help on terms on the Net. The best series was done by Brad Feld on his blog here. I have this mentality, too.

Funding 252

Funding Venture Capital Startup Blogging 252

Tech Zulu Event

NOVEMBER 7, 2013

We also want to create more capital for women entrepreneurs to increase the chances of being funded and connected to a bigger network. We get a lot more emails from women entrepreneurs who say they are a high net worth in their community and we should come and help boost the number of angel investors in their companies.

Mentor 84

Mentor Invest Entrepreneur Startup 84

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 27, 2009

Everyone wants to read a PDF, but few want to write or change them. Dipanshu Sharpa: My third company raised a ton of money from venture funds--$26M--and I what I didn't want to do is to raise a lot of money and have lots of people. A good comparison of the software is to a PDF reader. The awareness of the company took off.

Startup 100

Startup Software Review Technical Review Software 100

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 10, 2015

As I write these words I already imagine my next deposition in which I’m asked to read this out loud. I angel funded a company 5 years ago. Because no VCs would fund them with a pending lawsuit of this nature. I funded a company where the CEO stepped down. *. Lawsuits. Lawsuits are becoming so prevalent these days.

Startup 150

Startup IP Writing Ideas 150

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 29, 2009

My firm GRP Partners recently funded a young LA based company named Ad.Ly Banner or AdSense style ads placed either at the top of the page or down the right hand side (often called a skyscraper) would only net Twitter money for users that log into Twitter.com. Advertising has driven the majority of Internet innovation. I used to.

Ideas 286

Ideas Advertising Google Technical Review 286