Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 18, 2021

If your startup is great enough to get a term sheet from angel investors or a venture capitalist, the next step for the investor is to complete the dreaded due diligence process. Some startups do nothing to prepare for the due diligence process, assuming the people and business plan documents will speak for themselves.

Technical Review 152

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Summary 152

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 29, 2012

If your startup is great enough to get a term sheet from angel investors or a venture capitalist, the next step for the investor is to complete the dreaded due diligence process. Some startups do nothing to prepare for the due diligence process, assuming the people and business plan documents will speak for themselves.

Technical Review 98

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Training 98

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 11, 2020

Struggling entrepreneurs are often so happy to get a funding offer that they neglect the recommended reverse due diligence on the investors. Taking on equity investors to fund your company is much like getting married – it is a long-term relationship that has to work at all levels. It’s no fun for either side.

Technical Review 124

Technical Review Funding Innocal Offshore 124

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 28, 2010

If your startup is great enough to get a term sheet from angel investors or a venture capitalist, the next step for the investor is to complete the dreaded due diligence process. Some startups do nothing to prepare for the due diligence process, assuming the people and business plan documents will speak for themselves.

Technical Review 91

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Summary 91

SoCal CTO

MARCH 9, 2010

In my post, Technology Roles in Startups , I described some of the different ways I engage with startup companies such as CTO Founder , CTO , Part-Time CTO , Acting CTO , Consultant, Advisor and Advisory Board Member. Now, most often technical advisors are part of a broader advisory board. In Why assemble an advisory board?

CTO Coach 150

CTO Coach Technical Review Technology CTO Hire 150

socalTECH

JUNE 12, 2012

Santa Barbara, one of Southern California's technology centers, has a unique problem: how do you scale out your technology staff, despite intense competition from the firm's large number of technology companies, expensive cost-of-living, limited real estate, and a fairly long trek from the rest of the region for commuters?

Santa Barbara 145

Santa Barbara Technical Review Southern California Competition 145

InfoChachkie

APRIL 21, 2011

Part I of this series describes the 360-review that I conducted at a growing, dynamic SaaS business which has recently graduated from the startup stage and entered the early-growth phase. One of the most compelling conclusions I drew from the reviews is that both Founders need delegate more of their day-to-day tasks.

Technical Review 182

Technical Review Software Review Startup Outsource 182

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

Struggling entrepreneurs are often so happy to get a funding offer that they neglect the recommended reverse due diligence on the investors. Taking on equity investors to fund your company is much like getting married – it is a long-term relationship that has to work at all levels. It’s no fun for either side. Marty Zwilling.

Technical Review 103

Technical Review Innocal Offshore Entrepreneur 103

socalTECH

JANUARY 7, 2013

Southern California's Most Popular Tech Stories. LaunchpadLA Opens Up Spring Applications. Broadcom Powering New Mac Wireless. Surf Air Gets First Aircraft. In our features section: Interview with Blair Harrison of Frequency. 9 Ways socalTECH Can Help You With Your New Year's Resolutions. How to find a startup mentor.

Southern California 168

Southern California Technical Review SoCal San Diego 168

Tech.Co

JANUARY 3, 2020

However, as a business owner, you know that resting on your laurels can be dangerous, which is why staying up to date with the latest business technology is a necessity. Companies of all shapes and sizes are now taking advantage of digital resources to help run everything from daily tasks to tedious data analysis.

Technical Review 91

Technical Review Software Review Social Media Platform 91

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 11, 2011

I often hear the qualms of business-smart but non-technical entrepreneurs, wondering if they really have a chance in this high-technology marketplace. I tell them that if their idea or solution is technology intensive, they clearly need technology strength on the team. Outsource your technical requirements.

Technical Review 94

Technical Review Entrepreneur Outsource Development Outsource 94

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 27, 2016

Struggling entrepreneurs are often so happy to get a funding offer that they neglect the recommended reverse due diligence on the investors. Taking on equity investors to fund your company is much like getting married – it is a long-term relationship that has to work at all levels. It’s no fun for either side.

Technical Review 63

Technical Review Innocal Offshore Entrepreneur 63

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 21, 2013

This article originally appeared on TechCrunch. it's all in this article if you want the details]. So when I meet with GRP portfolio companies that do enterprise sales I try to emphasize the following: 1. In the Ad Tech world PS revenue often means providing “media services” as a value-add to using your product.

Software Review 321

Software Review Software Services Company 321

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 25, 2021

According to an old Harvard Business Review article, many people in history, famous for their inventions, like Thomas Edison, were entrepreneurs who only later were remembered as inventors of the products they commercialized. Of course it helps to have innovative technologies before you start building a business.

Technical Review 156

Technical Review Funding Patents Ideas 156

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 20, 2014

A version of this article previously appeared in Forbes. Instead of a traditional business school''s case study and textbook approach, UCSB''s Technology Management Program (TMP) emphasizes experiential learning. If you haven''t already subscribed yet, subscribe now for free weekly JohnGreathouse.com articles! Organic Academia.

Santa Barbara 258

Santa Barbara Technical Review Startup Venture Capital 258

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 31, 2012

I often hear the qualms of business-smart but non-technical entrepreneurs, wondering if they really have a chance in this high-technology marketplace. I tell them that if their idea or solution is technology intensive, they clearly need technology strength on the team. Outsource your technical requirements.

Technical Review 92

Technical Review Technology Startup Outsource Development 92

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 5, 2014

Last week a company we enthusiastically backed, uBeam , led by a very special entrepreneur, 25-year-old Meredith Perry , announced a $10 million round of financing. uBeam’s tech does work and I have safely seen it demo’d in the real life many times. It’s just being driven by people working on it and being ambitious ” .

Technical Review 417

Technical Review Startup Software Review Course 417

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

But what IS the right amount of burn for a company? Burn rate in case you don’t know is the amount of money a company is either spending (gross) or losing (net) per month. (it Conversely if you’re burning $600,000 per month (yes, some companies do) then you only have 5 months of cash left. Gross Burn vs. Net Burn.

Startup 383

Startup Company Companies .Net 383

InfoChachkie

FEBRUARY 11, 2013

A version of this article previously appeared on Forbes. Because of the rapid pace with which Venture Capitalists review investment opportunities, they must employ pattern matching techniques which include identifying common fundraising deal breakers. Breaking The Deal Breakers.

Technical Review 264

Technical Review Entrepreneur IP RSS 264

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 21, 2023

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. Skip the acronyms, history of the company, and the colorful autobiography.

Slides 147

Slides Funding Technical Review Startup 147

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 13, 2012

The New York Times recently ran an article titled, “ Tech Companies Leave Phone Calls Behind.” But this article missed the real trend. Tech Companies most certainly do take calls. Of course tech companies with free products don’t want to take a phone call from end users.

Mobile 311

Mobile Technical Review Google Screening 311

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 23, 2021

Gates’ call is being met by startups and public companies hailing from everywhere from Amsterdam to Tel Aviv, London to Los Angeles, and Berkeley to… um… Chicago. The company aims to have its first product approved by European regulators by 2023 and notching commercial sales by 2025.

Chief Technology Officer 261

Chief Technology Officer Technical Review Software Review Product 261

InfoChachkie

FEBRUARY 4, 2013

A version of this article previously appeared on Forbes. If you haven't already subscribed yet, subscribe now for free weekly Infochachkie articles! If you haven't already subscribed yet, subscribe now for free weekly Infochachkie articles! Venture Capital is a game of pattern matching. Hairy Pattern Matching. Know Thy Pattern.

Technical Review 244

Technical Review Startup Venture Capital RSS 244

InfoChachkie

JUNE 4, 2018

A version of this article previously appeared in Forbes. We began the exercise by asking each venture to select two executives, one technical and the other non-technical, to cover Techstar’s pitch rubric (shown below), in 90-seconds. I was invited to lead a Techstars LA workshop, focused on honing their elevator pitches.

Technical Review 133

Technical Review Entrepreneur Class Examples 133

TechCrunch LA

APRIL 12, 2018

seems like an unlikely place to grow one of the next billion-dollar startups in the booming Los Angeles tech ecosystem. The company is ServiceTitan, and its market… is air conditioners. The city of Glendale, Calif. “Silicon Beach” this ain’t.

Glendale 271

Glendale Los Angeles Startup Technical Review 271

TechCrunch LA

FEBRUARY 27, 2019

Andrew Erskine has developed his legal career along with the rise of the tech startup scene in Los Angeles. Today, as a partner at Orrick in its Santa Monica office, he works with companies large and small in the area and beyond. Eric Eldon: H ow did you get involved with tech companies and startups? The Interview.

Technical Review 141

Technical Review Startup Los Angeles Santa Monica 141

InfoChachkie

FEBRUARY 25, 2013

A version of this article previously appeared on Forbes. Tech entrepreneurs' consternation with MBAs does not rise to the level of loathing. Rather, entrepreneurs' frustrations are often due to an incongruence between an MBA's expectations versus the value they can deliver to a startup.

Entrepreneur 279

Entrepreneur Technical Review Case Study Class 279

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 20, 2014

A version of this article previously appeared on Forbes. If you haven''t already subscribed yet, subscribe now for free weekly JohnGreathouse.com articles! If an article has numerous social shares (i.e., For instance, Yelp calls out establishments which attempt to manipulate their reviews. What a bargain.

Social Media 274

Social Media Media Technical Review Software Review 274

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 11, 2014

There’s an article making the rounds in tech circles titled “ Growth Hacking is Bull ” written by Muhammad Saleem. I’d like to make the case that the article is wrong. Growth hacking is a mentality that a company needs to be committed to. I’d strongly encourage you to read it.

Technical Review 384

Technical Review SEM SEO Marketing 384

InfoChachkie

JULY 7, 2016

A version of this article previously appeared in Forbes. If you haven't already subscribed yet, subscribe now for free weekly JohnGreathouse.com articles! Note: I invest almost exclusively in b-to-b software companies. In turn, we receive unfiltered, frank feedback regarding the company’s product, team and value prop.

Venture Capital 176

Venture Capital Product Software Review Technical Review 176

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 20, 2019

But people are still begging for more technology or laws, often to protect them from themselves. No real investor or venture capital firm asks for money from the company they are intending to invest in. Don’t count on ever passing due diligence, or even getting that deposit back. Off-shore unsolicited investor offers.

Technical Review 91

Technical Review Funding Email Entrepreneur 91

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 7, 2019

Partially due to the economy, but also due to longer, healthier lives and changes in job tenure, Boomers are now expected to stay in the labor force longer, and according to a USNews article, will likely dominate the labor market by 2024. Here are some indicative entrepreneurial facts from recent Kauffman studies and others.

Startup 119

Startup Technical Review Technical Support Entrepreneur 119

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 13, 2014

Mid-level or even top executives who “grew up” in large companies often look with envy at startups, and dream of how easy it must be running a small organization, where you can see the whole picture and it appears you have total control. The job of a big-company executive is very different from the job of a small-company executive.

Startup 103

Startup Company Companies Training 103

InfoChachkie

AUGUST 10, 2010

However, to a Big Dumb Company (BDC), a startup’s IP is a thing of beauty. free weekly Infochachkie articles! As such, they are hesitant to acquire a company which has not sought formal protection of their IP for two reasons. Yet, it does nothing to help you execute your business model. The second reason is more subtle.

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IP Patents Company Companies 256

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.” To be fair to TigerText they build a company focused on the healthcare industry and HIPAA compliance.

Snapchat 214

Snapchat Invest Technical Review Dollar Shave Club 214

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 25, 2023

Equity is stock, but private company stock has no market value until the company goes public or is sold or merged with another company. Most entrepreneurs like the startup role, but not the big-company role. IPO – public company initial public stock offering. Position the company as a cash cow to fund spinoffs.

Technical Review 105

Technical Review Equity Invest Startup 105

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 3, 2013

A version of this article previously appeared on PandoDaily. If you haven''t already subscribed yet, subscribe now for free weekly JohnGreathouse.com articles! Positioning pitches, one-line descriptions of a company''s value proposition and relative placement within its ecosystem, are the first step in achieving such balance.

Product 208

Product Yammer Technical Review Google 208