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. I suspect those days will end soon, and 61% of LPs polled said they felt VCs were coming back to market too quickly.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Capital Marketing Seed Funding 150

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 19, 2017

The obvious slight he made that went largely unnoticed was the lack of Latino representation and it’s a big freaking market gap that is set to explode. Large groups that are cut out of traditional representation are precisely the groups that achieve breakout successes by getting around the system and giving the market what they want directly.

Media 269

Media Content Course Technical Review 269

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 19, 2015

That’s why I recommend that they find a co-founder who loves business challenges, including marketing and finance. I usually envision a 50-50 ownership split for their efforts, but every engineer believes the technology side deserves the majority share. Fabulous solutions require great technology.

Technical Review 101

Technical Review Patents Entrepreneur Customer 101

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2020

Marketing, recruiting, building data products & tools, event management, analyzing the portfolio, etc. For example, we’re now already well into our third growth fund that we started in 2015 (the first returned 2x cash in 3.5 And all the platform stuff.

Venture Capital 361

Venture Capital Startup Invest CitySearch 361

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 29, 2015

That means your marketing must now include shopping apps, location-based services and mobile wallets. Today’s customers ignore these sites in favor of ones with dynamic daily specials, promotions and positive reviews easily accessible on their mobile devices. Marty Zwilling First published on Entrepreneur.com on 8/19/2015.

Customer 103

Customer Custom Marketing Social Media 103

InfoChachkie

NOVEMBER 17, 2011

Len Short is truly an online marketing pioneer, heading up marketing at Charles Schwab, AOL and then (PRODUCT)RED. Before his career moved online, Len worked on major marketing campaigns for credit card companies and rolled out MCI’s highly successful “Friends and Family” marketing campaign.

Google 220

Google Technical Advisors Technical Review Equity 220

TechCrunch LA

APRIL 11, 2022

Its approach is also drastically different from most fertility service providers — it has savvy, intelligent marketing; a tech-enabled and fully virtual care facility; a focus on compassion; and ample customer education to help patients feel involved and understood. The company today has 12 outlets in 10 cities in the U.S.

Help 161

Help Startup Technical Review Education 161

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 7, 2015

Most technical entrepreneurs focus hard on building an innovative product, but forget that an elegant solution doesn’t automatically translate into a successful business. Defining the right business model requires the same diligence as designing the right product, but the approach and skills required are different.

Technical Review 108

Technical Review Pricing Startup Software Review 108

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 24, 2015

Professional investors and advisors, on the other hand, usually refuse to sign these agreements today due to the risk of litigation and administrative workload, and will walk away. Potential investors don’t need this data, except perhaps as part of a final due diligence after agreement on terms. Sharing trade secrets.

Ideas 106

Ideas Technical Review Patents Entrepreneur 106

TechCrunch LA

JANUARY 29, 2020

Kleiner Perkins , one of the most storied franchises in venture capital, has already invested much of the $600 million it raised last year and is now going back out to the market to raise its 19th fund, according to multiple sources. We went out to market to LPs. — Dan Primack (@danprimack) January 29, 2020. ”

IBM 164

IBM IBM Venture Capital Invest 164

Tech.Co

JULY 13, 2023

Initially pinned as a generative AI startup for Twitter when it first hit the headlines back in April, the xAI website seems to suggest that the new startup will remain separate from the social media platform, as well as Musk's collection of other technology companies.

Artificial Inteligence 106

Artificial Inteligence ChatGPT Generative AI Technical Review 106

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 3, 2015

And as I’ve written about before – building a personal brand is extremely important in today’s competitive job market. Lemkin (@jasonlk) January 31, 2015. I know it will be hard for you to believe in 2015 but in 2006 Palo Alto (where I lived) was kind of dead. Here’s how he did it. Some background.

SaaS 150

SaaS Venture Capital Conference Technical Review 150

InfoChachkie

JUNE 22, 2015

Facebook recently joined Google and Twitter by offering a click-to-call functionality in its ads, giving consumers an option to call businesses directly, versus emailing them or completing an online form - effectively making the plain old phone one of the most powerful on/offline marketing tools of the coming decade.

Mobile 100

Mobile Technical Review Google Tool 100

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 23, 2015

That’s why they insist on spending a day with your team as part of the due diligence process. There is no rule that marketing needs to report to the founder, or that every startup needs a chief operating officer. Technology can be used to facilitate customer support and sales, as well as enhance your product.

Entrepreneur 102

Entrepreneur Technical Review Mentor Training 102

InfoChachkie

NOVEMBER 23, 2015

Twilio has now raised around $235 million, including a July 2015 round totaling $130 million. Despite our business model reservations, we were sufficiently intrigued by Jeff and the opportunity to seek technical and market feedback from a VoIP expert. Tech Diligence - Consider The Source.

Venture Capital 100

Venture Capital Technical Review Software Review Southern California 100

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 19, 2015

Or they get sidetracked by a technical glitch due to poor preparation. Equally bad is a full tutorial on your new disruptive technology. Investors are more interested in your solution and your business, rather than your technology. According to Gartner, the opportunity is 100 million by 2015, with 12% compounded growth.”

Slides 105

Slides Technical Review Startup Research 105

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 1, 2020

We're here to help them solve the problem of compliance and retail policy enforcement, and to understand what people are saying about their products next to their buy buttons, what kind of reviews they are getting, and to understand other things that influence sales. We provide analytics on the velocity of sales across their channels.

Artificial Inteligence 140

Artificial Inteligence Startup Commerce Sales 140

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2015

As a model, think high-quality marketing collateral, with text and graphics in columns and sidebars, but focused on the value of your business, rather than selling your product. Skip the fuzzy marketing terms, such as "easier to use," "lower cost" and "disruptive technology."

Summary 101

Summary Patents Technical Review Competition 101

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 30, 2013

Or they get sidetracked by a technical glitch due to poor preparation. Equally bad is an extended pitch on your new disruptive technology. Investors are more interested in your solution and your business, rather than your technology. According to Gartner, the opportunity is 100 million by 2015, with 12% compounded growth.”

Angel 102

Angel Funding Slides Technical Review 102

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 19, 2015

The rate of new entrepreneurs increased about 10 percent, from 280 out of 100,000 adults in the 2014 Startup Activity Index, to 310 out of 100,000 adults in the 2015 Index. The world is a now single market, both homogeneous and heterogeneous. Most now routinely buy startups for new technology and new products.

Startup 108

Startup Social Media Entrepreneur Satisfaction 108

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 21, 2015

The best startup founders are ready and able to roll up their sleeves and jump into any issue and contribute, whether it's business related or technical, no matter how much expertise team members may possess. Able to adapt or pivot the business to respond to the market. The best founders know how to pull the best out of others.

Startup 102

Startup Technical Review Paramount Entrepreneur 102

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 12, 2015

Thus founders seeking funding for a good cause or a new technology often seize on grants from universities, government agencies and philanthropic organizations as free money to solve their problems. After months of preparation, you should expect another six to nine months for reviews and funding cycles. Technology is not enough.

Pricing 100

Pricing Equity Technical Review Research 100

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 7, 2016

Companies that do this best become market leaders. As a result, Google has become a verb, and the company is a tech giant with record growth rates and a revenue of $74.5 billion in 2015. Smart entrepreneurs architect a value chain that includes customers, partners and vendors, based on market dynamics.

Ideas 59

Ideas Technical Review Google Startup 59

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 22, 2012

Or they get sidetracked by a technical glitch due to poor preparation. Equally bad is an extended pitch on your new disruptive technology. Investors are more interested in your solution and your business, rather than your technology. According to Gartner, the opportunity is 100 million by 2015, with 12% compounded growth.”

Tips 97

Tips Slides Technical Review Startup 97

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 28, 2015

Too many entrepreneurs look for that one magic bullet -- an exciting new technology, perhaps, or their own determination to make the world a better place -- to override any shortcomings in their startup model. A large and growing market opportunity. A focus on a specific market segment. A focus on a specific market segment.

Pricing 100

Pricing Technical Review Entrepreneur Startup 100

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 29, 2011

Or they get sidetracked by a technical glitch due to poor preparation. Equally bad is an extended pitch on your new disruptive technology. Investors are more interested in your solution and your business, rather than your technology. According to Gartner, the opportunity is 100 million by 2015, with 12% compounded growth.”

Slides 95

Slides Technical Review Startup Research 95

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 27, 2015

I have personally used this approach in leading startups as well as large organizations, in highly technical roles as well as business development and marketing. Marty Zwilling First published on Entrepreneur.com on 4/17/2015. But it only works if you observe the following principles: Never hide from your team.

Product 99

Product Mentor Startup Technical Review 99

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 14, 2015

Gerber memorialized this concept many years ago in his classic book E-Myth , which postulates that most startups are initiated by entrepreneurs with technical skills, rather than business skills, resulting in a high failure rate. In fact, both customers and investors often avoid the perceived high risk of innovative technology pitches.

Technical Review 60

Technical Review Startup Social Media Competition 60

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 2, 2017

Anne Fulton: Fuel50 is a career pathing startup, part of the HR technology landscape. We're a disruptor, the third wave in human resources technology. Anne Fulton: I've always been a technology lover, although I'm an organizational psychologist by training. What is Fuel50? The whole space has been neglected.

Help 100

Help Southern California Startup Technical Review 100

Tech Zulu Event

JANUARY 8, 2015

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) marks what new technology to see and expect at the beginning of each year. Here are some of the fun and the weird highlights found at CES 2015. Bitcoin’s booth wasn’t a surprise to see at CES due to the huge noise it made in 2014 only seems fitting we find them here. Creative Audio.

Software Review 40

Software Review Entertainment Technical Review .Net 40

Tech Zulu Event

JANUARY 22, 2016

Social networking continues to be a superior force in marketing, especially Facebook. billion in 2015 alone. Costs for advertising on Facebook are increasing, due to high demand, and their profits continue to soar. Top 3 Important Facebook Marketing Trends to Watch and Emulate. That was $15.5

Marketing 40

Marketing Social Media Social Network Technical Review 40

socalTECH

OCTOBER 29, 2015

The easiest way to look at it, from the tech perspective, is that we are very similar to LendingClub. Brett and I sat down, and said, how can we take a tech approach and create a positive impact on the existing real estate industry, particularly in the mortgage and real estate finance industry. So, what is PeerStreet?

Southern California 100

Southern California Google Technical Review Manhattan Beach 100

Xconomy

NOVEMBER 13, 2016

View the Slideshow A little more than a year ago, amid a resurgence in San Diego’s software sector, Xconomy identified a baker’s dozen of local tech companies to watch in 2016. I met with Seed San Diego partners Taner Halicioglu and Eric Gasser, who also reviewed the companies and provided their feedback. I widened my net this year.

San Diego 40

San Diego Technical Review Artificial Inteligence Startup 40

socalTECH

JULY 27, 2015

There's been a huge debate over the future of Adobe's Flash raging over the last month, as both Google and Mozilla disabled Flash due to security holes and other issues. Where do you fit into the mobile ad market? All of digital advertising today uses Flash as a foundation technology. It certainly has challenges.

Hollywood 100

Hollywood HTML Software Review Advertising 100

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 27, 2016

Crowdfunding is the hot new vehicle for raising money to support your entrepreneurial efforts, with over 1,250 website platforms around the world to help you, according to a 2015 industry report. Project your costs as diligently as your revenues. Several crowdfunding successes have failed as a business.

Technical Review 58

Technical Review Platform Entrepreneur Funding 58

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 21, 2015

A fixed mindset is when entrepreneurs believe their abilities and market are fixed, and the challenge is to make the best of the hand already dealt. Develop market insights and a growth vision far beyond today. Market change is opportunity. Replace “push” marketing with value-added “pull” marketing.

Startup 55

Startup Entrepreneur Technical Review Customer 55

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 2, 2016

For example, I have known several sincere technology entrepreneurs who were so busy adding and updating features for their product to satisfy early adopter requests, that they ended up with a bloated, hard to use, late to market and expensive solution which really satisfied no one in their primary market demographic.

Customer 65

Customer Custom Startup Satisfaction 65