SoCal CTO

APRIL 25, 2017

Here is the most recent version of an all too common email inquiry from a startup founder. The above email is SO BAD that I feel compelled to treat this email as a special case so maybe I can help other founders before they send this email. Homework I don't think that this founder has looked at my blog or my background.

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SoCal CTO

JANUARY 5, 2011

My 1,000th Post on This Blog - Tim Berry's Blog - Planning Startups Stories , July 21, 2010 HTML5 video markup, compatibility and playback - Niall Kennedy's Weblog , February 8, 2010 Your Product Needs a Soul - ArcticStartup , February 12, 2010 Product Friday: Monetizing Content is a Product Problem - This is going to be BIG.

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Startup Venture Capital Blogging CTO Coach 378

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 18, 2015

I used to love blogging. Blogging proved to be a great way to hone my ideas, have public conversations with people and as it turns out – build meaningful relationships through public dialog that spilled over into the real world. Somewhere along the way blogging changed. Fred Wilson said as much in his blog post today, too.

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Blogging Writing Startup Ideas 150

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 2, 2011

It’s apropos because there is so much noise these days with email, Twitter, Facebook, blogs, web shows, etc. I was thinking back to a few previous “insider baseball&# blog debates that raged for several weeks: AngelGate (aka Bin38 secret cabal), convertible debt vs. equity, bubble vs. not, and now the AngelList discussion.

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Email Blogging Venture Capital Writing 287

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 10, 2010

I get these frequently via Twitter, Facebook or email. I provided my email address and he sent me a 688 word email (e.g. I felt I had committed so I read and responded to the email. SHORT : Whether you know the person or not – if you’re asking for help, a favor or an intro – keep your email VERY short.

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JULY 14, 2015

I don’t know Ezra yet but since he’s taking the time to blog (which I hugesly respect) and share thoughts I thought I’d take him up on his challenge and also spill the beans on my secrets. On blogging I blog because I love it. Mostly I’m Blogging for the Hell of It, Not Blogging to Stay Relevant.

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Blogging Writing Startup Email 150

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2013

So what are Rob’s secret hacks that he didn’t spill in his blog post? . Email updates frequently. And as Rob points out – if you email members with short updates more frequently they are more up to speed when you do need them to weigh in. Make your emails actionable. That in itself is quite a challenge.

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Tips Email Venture Capital CTO Coach 365

SoCal CTO

JANUARY 13, 2010

Here’s the block that you see when you look at a blog enabled by Disqus (a third party commenting tool that can be embedded in blogs and other content): It allows you to authenticate yourself using Facebook Connect , Twitter Oauth (sign in with Twitter), OpenID , and Yahoo Browser-Based Authentication. Example What do I mean?

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Google Startup Yahoo Email 292

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 1, 2011

That was back when VCs weren’t so quick to respond to emails. I was thinking about all of this as I looked at the logs from my WordPress blog this evening. I started blogging 2 years ago. As with tonight I got my kids to bed, did some email, caught 30 minutes of the news then sat down to type. I did that?

Startup 391

Startup Blogging Venture Capital Writing 391

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 7, 2011

Commenting on topical blogs is a form of topical social networking in the same way that Quora is. It’s a highly engaged audience and the content generated from many of the blogs (not all) are highly valuable. If you use any standard commenting system on your blog or website you’re sub-optimizing engagement.

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Blogging Social Network Google Startup 287

SoCal CTO

OCTOBER 19, 2009

Value of Blogging I started the presentation talking about the value of blogging. Tom Peters No single thing in the last 15 years professionally has been more important in my life than blogging. But from a value perspective, it really comes down to the numbers I showed for my eLearning Technology blog. This is that post.

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Social Media Services Media Blogging 222

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 13, 2009

Arnold Waldstein , who stops by periodically on my blog and always leaves relevant comments, made the observation that, “if I want to connect with you, I’ll engage with you on this blog …from there, a follow on Twitter, a link on LinkedIn are closing the loop of connection rather that opening a cold door.&# This is so true.

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Startup Blogging Social Network Networking 276

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 9, 2014

I have blogged about some of the downside consequences of the changes and the private information I have says the consequences are much worse than is reported in the press since few people publicly talk about. Does he blog about venture capital and try to advise entrepreneurs? Is this investor on AngelList? You betcha. Speaks on CNBC.

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Venture Capital Seed Funding Email Blogging 352

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 12, 2013

I see it on email even more. Brunson’s short and to-the-point blog post, “ It’s Called Networking, Not Using.” ” In it he talked about how he gets daily emails asking for intros to Oprah (he does a lot of work with her) and his advice. It’s why I wrote the blog post on 50 Coffee Meetings.

Venture Capital 407

Venture Capital Press GRP Partners Blogging 407

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 21, 2010

Finally, a lot of people asking me about typos on my blog. The idea is that in a world in which companies need to deal with customer support requests from Twitter, Facebook, email, phone, IM, etc. Collaboration in business starts and ends with email. In business you spend your life in email. Enter Xobni. It sucked.

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Venture Capital Capital Email Blogging 265

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 23, 2010

Take AVC.com, the blog by Fred Wilson. He wrote a blog post that always stuck with me about how there are regulars on his blog who hang out there a bit like “Cheers&# just having a chat with a metaphorical beer in hand. I picked questions that I had already covered in depth on my blog and answered them in shorter form.

Blogging 301

Blogging SEO Startup Writing 301

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 7, 2013

When I first started writing this blog several years ago I had less followers than you have right now. But the realist in me knew I couldn’t write daily nor could I convince you to think to check out my blog with regularity. .” From this I learned the best times to post and how frequently to Tweet a blog post.

Writing 326

Writing Buzzfeed Social Media Blogging 326

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 2, 2010

After a few days of controversial blog posts I thought I’d try something more light hearted today. Fred Wilson once wrote about the topic of how to introduce two people who don’t know each other via email. From his blog posting on “ Why Am I passing ?&#. I like that. Sometimes I forget to ask.

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Email Startup Blogging Invest 255

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 17, 2019

Having read his latest op-ed on email I know why I erred towards the side of of not loving his book as much as some did. Apparently he’s an “organizational psychologist professor and thinks that it’s rude not to answer email. I also surmise that perhaps organizational psychologists don’t get as much unsolicited emails as some of us do.

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Email Writing Conference Mobile 250

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 3, 2010

I CERTAINLY opened myself up to attack by writing my original blog post about job hoppers with some incendiary language and tone. But the comments on my own blog were so much more balanced with people taking both sides of the debate. For anyone who attacked me on my blog but used their actual names I left their comments.

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News Tips Blogging Writing 258

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 19, 2010

That means most of us are getting derailed from our work four times each hour, maybe more if you work in a high email traffic office.&#. He also write a nice post on limiting email and managing on the important / urgent matrix from the perspective on a recovering ex investment banker.

Product 301

Product Writing Email Tool 301

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 11, 2011

I’ll write a post on how to give feedback to employees and then I’ll get emails from people telling me they forwarded it to their whole team. Offer the ability to react / comment - In the blogging world it’s clear that having a good comment system like Disqus is critical. Good comment community = viral blog.

Buzzfeed 354

Buzzfeed Content Tips Blogging 354

socalTECH

JANUARY 3, 2011

To start off the year, we are publishing our first interview for the season with Jamie Siminoff , the CEO of Los Angeles-based Unsubscribe.com , an online service which helps you unsubscribe from unwanted newsletters and email lists. What lots of people do instead, is they use the spam button or delete button in their email platform.

Newsletter 216

Newsletter Startup CTO Hire Blogging 216

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 12, 2017

As executives we’re all seemingly accessible at any moment to anybody via email, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or Text. People expect blog posts, Tweets, panels, speeches. It’s why sometimes I respond to emails in 5 minutes at other times I go dark for a week at a time. The modern world is daunting.

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Activity Blogging Email Startup 297

InfoChachkie

DECEMBER 22, 2011

I began publishing my blog in 2008. I was hesitant to use my own name, as I did not want my blog to be perceived as a self-promotional vanity project. In addition, my role as Partner at Rincon Venture Partners provided me with a business reason to invest additional time and effort into my humble blog. I was not disappointed.

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Newsletter Blogging Santa Barbara Content 205

socalTECH

MARCH 18, 2014

near real-time automated intelligence gathering systems that scour public and private data sources like websites, blogs, social media and email to unearth information businesses can use for competitive advantage. Bitvore, led by Jeff Curie, said that it has developed a.

Software 227

Software IBM IBM Social Media 227

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 22, 2013

Anyway, as I winnowed my way through the comments section of my blog post on relationships I realized my own wife has posted a response! Don’t email him unless you have to. Most startup execs are barraged with hundreds of emails and they spend hours trying to reach the elusive Zero Inbox nirvana.

Tips 418

Tips Startup Email Blogging 418

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 14, 2009

I wanted to also post the series here to have it as a resource on my blog for future entrepreneurs who stop by. The moderator asked the question, “if an entrepreneur writes an email to a VC and doesn’t hear back what should they do?&# This VC responded, “Move on. I once had a debate with a prominent VC on a panel.

Entrepreneur 338

Entrepreneur Startup Venture Capital Google 338

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 12, 2010

Unfortunately my wife reads my blog and she’d log in and add comments to dispel this rumor (she keeps me honest. Like you, I struggle to return everybody’s emails because I get too many. When added to my volume of Facebook messages, LinkedIn requests, blog comments and Tweets my head is definitely below water.

Product 280

Product Startup Email Technical Review 280

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 16, 2010

I have Twitter chats, respond to blog comments, trade emails, respond to comments on This Week in VC. I remember! &# You’re the guy who built the Twitter plug-in for blogs. I speak at conferences where I might meet 75-100 people and have conversations. I do dinners too often as my waistline can attest. I remember.

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Venture Capital Blogging Conference Email 288

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 29, 2009

Just notice how many VC emails you get after your TechCrunch article or after you were on stage at TC50. In another post I’ll talk about how PR has changed dramatically in the past 10 years or you can just read Brian Solis’s blog or buy his book on the subject. How could he have turned this into a positive?

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Venture Capital Press News Startup 291

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 9, 2012

I told him only 2 weeks ago when we were in London together that I wanted to write a blog post that has been in my head for 2 years. Dave is terrible with email. He’s so bad that his email auto-responder tells you he likely won’t email you back. He doesn’t email you. I’ve been told so. Not the Dave I know.

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Startup Venture Capital Email Writing 309

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 24, 2011

On this blog I’m often trying to combine lessons for entrepreneurs and market commentary. I received a couple of emails from my friends and colleagues vigorously defending GroupMe. Then an email came in from somebody I know that made it clear to me what was wrong and what my internal compass had been trying to tell me.

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Email Writing Blogging Competition 270

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 7, 2009

Then I get people sending me Twitter comments, blog comments and tons & tons of email intros. Be energetic, be very brief, get my contact details (if I don’t have a card ask politely whether you can have my email address to send me a pitch deck) and by all means make sure you follow up. 80% of the people never do.

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Startup Conference Email Venture Capital 322

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 27, 2013

Last year I wrote a blog post on entrepreneurs with a chip on their shoulders. My friend Seth Levine covered this well in his blog post on “ Handling Rejection ” which you should also read. But even if a VC is nasty a rant email back isn’t the right way to channel your frustration. And it’s everywhere.

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Startup Press Blogging Entrepreneur 371

InfoChachkie

JUNE 23, 2014

Absent a human gatekeeper, you can capture a busy individual''s attention by crafting a compelling and pithy email subject line, voicemail message, Tweet, Quora or Facebook message. This can be a blog article that helped you make a particular decision or a link in a Tweet that you found helpful. Sue.Who@acme.com).

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Networking Software Review Email Press 241

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 27, 2011

In case you missed all the kerfuffle this weekend, I posted this blog post originally on TechCrunch. This is a blog post I really didn’t want to write. Shervin Pishevar, another person who I respect wrote the following on Twitter, “ Saying you don’t like @AngelList is like saying you don’t like Email.

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Venture Capital Writing Blogging Startup 267