Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 9, 2021

In my view, the most effective entrepreneurs are those with a background of an array of real-life experiences, both positive and negative, as well as good academic and coaching activities. Don’t forget business writing and communication. Get involved in startup-business incubator activities with peers at school.

Entrepreneur 149

Entrepreneur Tips Writing Coach 149

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 12, 2017

Only those with maniacal focus on results and a willingness not to engage in every activity achieve extraordinary results. I think of activities as a funnel. Recruiting, business development, shipping product, writing blog posts, networking … it’s all the same. The modern world is filled with constant distractions.

Activity 297

Activity Blogging Email Startup 297

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 24, 2014

As a result I didn’t write my first venture capital check until March 2009 – exactly 5 years ago. I divided success into the phases of venture capital and 18 months into writing my first check here was my view (details on each in the link above). 5 years ago. Sourcing high-quality leads : 9/10. The monkey on my back.

Venture Capital 387

Venture Capital Downey Writing Press 387

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

I’m over-paying for every check I write into the VC ecosystem and valuations are being pushed up to absurd levels and many of these valuations and companies won’t hold in the long term. If you’re going to play in the big leagues you need to be writing checks from a $700 million?—?$1 Are we in a bubble?” By definition?—?I’m of the fund.

Venture Capital 471

Venture Capital Writing Invest Pricing 471

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 6, 2023

Unfortunately, many of the business professionals I meet these days in my mentoring and consulting activities feel perennially stressed and out of control, versus calm and satisfied with their position. Find an activity to clear your head and refocus on the positives. Intentionally schedule at least one enjoyable activity every day.

Demand 103

Demand Activity Email Mentor 103

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 1, 2023

Yet from my own years of experience in the startup community, here are ten common steps that have worked for other entrepreneurs: Write a "job description" for that ideal partner. Take a hard look at your own business strengths and weaknesses, and write down what partner skills and experiences would best complement yours.

Startup 99

Startup High Tech Entrepreneur Writing 99

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 31, 2023

I was most impressed with the steps he outlined for turning ideas into goals into results, which I paraphrase here for aspiring entrepreneurs: Write down your goals or your dreams. Writing something down is the first step toward moving forward and making it real. List items to achieve the goal, and network now.

Writing 92

Writing Ideas Startup Entrepreneur 92

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 27, 2022

The challenge is to adequately define leadership in terms of everyday activities. Thus I’m always looking for more practical guidance on the right activities to be perceived as a business leader. These authors bring a wealth of experience in this domain from their workshops, writing, and lecturing on business leadership worldwide.

Startup 133

Startup Activity Mentor Writing 133

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 15, 2022

As with many startup activities, you only have one chance for a great first impression. Communication and writing skills are required. In additional to strong journalistic writing and storytelling, you need business acumen, strategic thinking and planning, and the ability to do the right research.

Social Media 126

Social Media Media Startup Platform 126

socalTECH

AUGUST 30, 2016

The TCA said, if a TCA member had participated in all of its 305 investments, with a $25,000 investment in each of the companies in those investments (a total investment of $7.7M), that member would have received $12M in cash liquidity, have taken $2M in tax deductible write-downs, and still have $4.1M in active investments.

Tech Coast Angels 133

Tech Coast Angels Angel Truecar Southern California 133

TechCrunch LA

OCTOBER 16, 2019

The organization, active in the Bay Area and New York City, is announcing new chapters in Los Angeles and Boston this week, as well as a new director of engagement, Domonique Fines, formerly of Y Combinator, and a new chief of staff, Jack Dorsey’s former chief of staff at Square, Alicia Burt. “We

Venture Capital 184

Venture Capital Ideas Los Angeles Tool 184

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 26, 2022

Most business advisors I know will say that writing a business plan is the first step to starting your own business, but I believe that a better first step is to do a self-analysis of your real drivers, strengths, and assumptions before committing to this lifestyle.

Social Media 105

Social Media Writing Ideas Resource 105

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2020

You probably already know the key challenges to complete each step, but it helps to write them down, review them with peers, and have a written list to update as you learn more. Prioritize the activities and execution within each step. Stop talking and writing, and start executing the plan. So don’t give up your dreams.

Writing 139

Writing Startup Summary Activity 139

TechCrunch LA

JULY 2, 2020

As Mucker Capital co-founder Hsu writes, “There are far more great companies than there are venture dollars here in LA. How do you think COVID-19 will change entrepreneurial activity in Los Angeles? Investors in other cities should continue to see LA as an underserved ecosystem with huge opportunities.”

Los Angeles 277

Los Angeles Venture Capital Capital Invest 277

SoCal Tech Calendar

OCTOBER 31, 2016

In addition to his investing efforts, Brad has been active with several non-profit organizations and currently is chair of the National Center for Women and Information Technology (link is external), co-chair of Startup Colorado (link is external), and on the board of Path Forward (link is external).

Venture Capital 100

Venture Capital Writing Blogging Activity 100

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 5, 2022

I have found that introducing fun and creative activities is a great way to inspire people to share a few details about themselves. When was the last time you took the time to hand-write a note to someone in your team, or a related team, on a job well done, or for giving you a helping hand? It doesn’t have to be that way.

Startup 119

Startup Technical Review Activity Social Media 119

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 16, 2020

Able to balance right-brain and left-brain activities. Great entrepreneurs seek out critical customers and industry experts, and actively listen, but are not afraid to trust their own judgment as well. Overall, the entrepreneur mentality is a state of mind that enjoys the activities and requirements of starting a business.

Startup 171

Startup Entrepreneur Activity Ideas 171

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 22, 2023

If the plan requires many steps and many details, it helps to write down the plan to make sure it is clear and complete before starting. Stefan and I both believe that the key to appreciating any activity is to engage in outcome-focused behavior , as opposed to activity-focused behavior.

Coach 110

Coach Satisfaction Activity Startup 110

socalTECH

APRIL 24, 2013

The startup''s service revolves around finding music that helps users concentrate on work, studying, or other intensive activities, with the idea that the right kind of music can help extend the concentration of users. The company claims its service helps increase attention span up to 400 percent while working, studying, writing and reading.

Study 145

Study Writing Mobile Services 145

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 17, 2021

Yet from my own years of experience in the startup community, here are ten common steps that have worked for other entrepreneurs: Write a "job description" for that ideal partner. Take a hard look at your own business strengths and weaknesses, and write down what partner skills and experiences would best complement yours.

Startup 126

Startup High Tech Entrepreneur Writing 126

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 13, 2020

I was most impressed with the steps he outlined for turning ideas into goals into results, which I paraphrase here for aspiring entrepreneurs: Write down your goals or your dreams. Writing something down is the first step toward moving forward and making it real. List items to achieve the goal, and network now.

Ideas 121

Ideas Writing Startup Entrepreneur 121

Berkonomics

AUGUST 2, 2017

By smoothing the utility’s signal into a very sensitive AC current wave (sine wave), my sensitive equipment and energy star certified electronics are actively protected for the first time. Do you want to wait until that day to reform, and later write your own love letter to a battery backup? But enough gushing about the features.

Software Review 266

Software Review Screening Writing Activity 266

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 29, 2020

It’s hard to convert an idea into a business, and it’s also hard to get back into the groove with all the distractions of other activities and your “real job.” It’s better to write 100 lines of new code every day, recognizing that you will have to iterate to perfection, rather than expecting a week of work to happen all in one night.

Startup 173

Startup Writing Blogging Ideas 173

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 12, 2023

Able to balance right-brain and left-brain activities. Great entrepreneurs seek out critical customers and industry experts, and actively listen, but are not afraid to trust their own judgment as well. Overall, the entrepreneur mentality is a state of mind that enjoys the activities and requirements of starting a business.

Entrepreneur 70

Entrepreneur Startup Activity Ideas 70

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 16, 2017

Every tech or major news journal in the country is preparing to write their Snap, Inc (creators of Snapchat, Spectacles, etc) stories and many of them seem to want a “How does it feel to have missed this investment story.” Of course that was a wrong narrative for both companies. Mostly kidding. Any other angle is just sour grapes.

Snapchat 214

Snapchat Invest Technical Review Dollar Shave Club 214

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 13, 2021

Actively share info with entrepreneur peers. These activities may be low-risk, but they teach volumes about the entrepreneur mindset, as well as the challenges and potential satisfaction. Write a business plan for your first startup. Find your level of passion early.

Satisfaction 135

Satisfaction Entrepreneur Startup Mentor 135

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 28, 2018

In my view, the most effective entrepreneurs are those with a background of an array of real-life experiences, both positive and negative, as well as good academic and coaching activities. Don’t forget business writing and communication. Get involved in startup-business incubator activities with peers at school.

Startup 97

Startup Writing Coach Incubator 97

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 16, 2023

Successful entrepreneurs often start with a “random” idea, but they quickly focus their efforts and follow a “system” to organize their startup and maximize the clout of their activities. If you can’t write it down, you probably don’t understand it. What we all need is trusted advisors who can help us decipher the clutter.

Social Media 94

Social Media Media Ideas Writing 94

TechCrunch LA

FEBRUARY 13, 2020

“We actively recruit for our portfolio companies which enables us to meet a large swath of highly technical people,” the firm writes in its pitch deck. Oculus, Snap, Tinder and others. “We use this pool to win deals, make our companies more valuable, and find future hard tech founders.

Los Angeles 126

Los Angeles Artificial Inteligence Invest Angel 126

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 2, 2022

Millennials have come a long way in business since I started writing about them over ten years ago. Activate a broader awareness of real-world drivers. They started out as that spoiled generation of kids, born between about 1982 and 2004, who had everything, and could care less about business. Their success is now vital to our success.

Mentor 134

Mentor Coach Guide Startup 134

Xconomy

MAY 31, 2016

The new Microsoft Ventures will seek investments that fall outside the commercial deals that the company has done more frequently in the past, writes Nagraj Kashyap, corporate vice president of Microsoft Ventures, in a blog post announcing the new effort. That forms one end of the company’s spectrum of startup activities.

Funding 62

Funding Artificial Inteligence Cloud Computing Writing 62

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 9, 2013

Every time I think to write a post about this I figure the most recent board meeting I’ve attended will think it’s about them so I don’t bother. So I’m going to write a series of board meetings posts unrelated to anybody or maybe an amalgamation of them all. Ineffecient Board Meeting.

Writing 337

Writing Venture Capital Help SaaS 337

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2014

In that article I talked about how PR drives: recruiting, employee retention, biz dev deals, funding and even M&A and that often “attribution” to your PR activities is unknown. As the CEO you need to realize that doing PR is part of the piechart of activities called “your job.” I have no money?

Press 319

Press Startup Writing Training 319

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 25, 2021

Productive group activity. If you want to be heard, write down the message and deliver it in a positive tone. Under the pressure of a difficult problem, or if you are stuck on something, nothing innovative is likely to emerge. Do something fun to shift your thoughts back to the positive. In teams, people feed off each other.

Ideas 161

Ideas Study Writing Activity 161

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 25, 2014

PR is an insanely valuable activity in early-stage companies. Of course you need a new angle to get a journalist interested because they don’t simply want to write what everybody else has covered. In the write up of our success I was quoted as saying, “If I had $1 dollar left to spend on marketing I would put it to PR.”

Press 415

Press Google Course Writing 415

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 25, 2013

Talking about how to inspire moms to get their children engaged with iPads and physical activity sets customized for their kids and based in part on their digital lives. She helps write press releases. When you think about physical stickers and activity books every parent can understand. Showing me designs.

Startup 398

Startup Design Downey Activity 398

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 9, 2021

Here are some techniques I espouse from Jan and others for conquering procrastination: Plan your daily activities in advance. Write down the real deadline. I haven’t met an entrepreneur yet who can honestly say they haven’t felt this challenge. Make whatever it is you’re avoiding the very first task you do on a given day.

Startup 130

Startup Entrepreneur Writing Examples 130