TechEmpower

JULY 31, 2023

These two questions/answers can help define the early proof points for your company. Start by building just enough of your product to get early CAC and CLV signals (they won’t be perfect). Please write us at blog@techempower.com ! cto , infotech , innovation , product , project , saas

Metrics 260

Metrics Startup Slides Technical Review 260

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 11, 2022

I started my first company in 1999 and was admittedly swept up in all of this: Magazine covers, fancy conferences, artificial valuations and easy money. Sure, we built SaaS products before the term even existed but at 31 it was hard to delineate reality from what all of the monied people around us were telling us what we were worth.

Venture Capital 466

Venture Capital Startup Marketing Pricing 466

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. I often answer the same way … * “First, yes, nearly every corner of our market is over-valued. By definition?—?I’m dot-com bonanza.

Venture Capital 471

Venture Capital Writing Invest Pricing 471

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 30, 2010

Burstly, a Santa Monica based company, provides an open and free ad management platform that helps mobile application developers better monetize their inventory. As I naturally get asked all the time why we invested in Company A or Company B, I thought I’d just put forth my thesis in writing. I like that.

Mobile 282

Mobile Invest Companies Company 282

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2011

That great productivity drain that we somehow all buy into. So I ask you – if you’re being reactive to somebody else’s emails are you really being as productive in your company as you could be? You’re writing a freaking blog post! I spend tons of time each day on portfolio company issues.

Email 314

Email Product Startup Writing 314

socalTECH

AUGUST 24, 2021

Gardena-based toy maker Educational Insights said this morning that it has launched a new product, a "coding robot" which is designed to help kids learn how to write their own software. According to the company, its new robot, Artie Max, helps kids learn five coding languages (Blockly, Snap!,

Education 113

Education Gardena JavaScript Writing 113

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 31, 2020

I was chairman of a company that, for twelve years never took a dollar of outside investment. The company was funded entirely by grants from the National Institute of Health, amounting to millions of non-dilutive dollars in all. The effort to write a grant request is not trivial. No dilution to shareholders or the founders.

Equity 156

Equity Writing Education Research 156

Tech.Co

DECEMBER 29, 2023

Bobbie One startup that's proved to have the formula for success this year is Bobbie – the first infant formula to be certified as organic by the USDA, and the fastest-growing product of its kind to enter the US market since the 1980s. Organic milk formula product Bobbie. million site visits in October alone. Gumroad homepage.

Startup 199

Startup Generative AI Newsletter Tool 199

TechCrunch LA

JANUARY 24, 2019

Google worked with the company to open source the system, which Google and Imageworks have scaled to up to 150,000 cores. “While on-premise render farms are still in heavy use, the scalability and the security that the cloud offers provides studios with the tools needed to adapt to today’s fast-paced, global production schedules.”

Google 261

Google Tool Los Angeles Entertainment 261

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 12, 2010

I recently wrote a post about avoiding the “ Deferred Life Plan &# and some related thoughts about personal productivity that came from Tim Ferriss’s book, The Four Hour Workweek. I would love to say that I’m the productivity guru. Tim Ferriss gave this extra emphasis in his book.

Product 280

Product Startup Email Technical Review 280

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 9, 2013

One of the most common complaints I hear from entrepreneurs is that they are overwhelmed by the workload and stress of starting their company. Write it down, but even then, keep it to the top ten priority items or less. Don’t let it lead to anger and frustration, or loss of productivity. Keep a written to-do list.

Companies 96

Companies Company Startup Entrepreneur 96

socalTECH

JANUARY 8, 2020

in a funding round, according to the company. The company is led by CEO Malte Kramer. Luxury Presence says it also offers up services for lead generation, managed SEO, managed Instagram, copy writing, and video production. READ MORE>>.

Services 100

Services Marketing SEO Writing 100

Berkonomics

MARCH 5, 2020

In the creation of a young company, there are five principal risks to be addressed by the entrepreneur. First: Product risk. . Is the product or service possible to produce at all, let alone economically enough to. Are you ahead or behind the market with your product or service? Why five risks? Second: Market risk. .

Outsource Development 156

Outsource Development Ideas Resource Patents 156

Jason Nazar

MARCH 22, 2011

I recently hosted a panel at the Twiistup Conference about LA tech companies. I have some pretty specific thoughts on the differences between companies in the two cities, as I wrote about in my previous post A Tale of Two Tech Cities. Challenge #1 – Tech Companies are Not Typically Started by Technologists.

Companies 111

Companies Company Startup Twiistup 111

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 24, 2018

Fountain Valley-based HyperX , which makes products for the videogaming market, said today that it has rolled out two new solid state disks (SSDs) specifically aimed at videogamers. The new drives not only feature very fast data transfer speeds (550MB/s read and 480MB/s write), but include RGB lighting effects. READ MORE>>.

Writing 113

Writing Marketing Technology Product 113

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 29, 2023

The critical success factors for a product business are well known, starting with selling every unit with a gross margin of 50 percent or more, building a patent and other intellectual property, and continuous product improvement. Low cost and low margin products can be winners, if the volume is high enough.

Startup 111

Startup Training Services Writing 111

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 19, 2012

The result is a host of hiring mistakes that sink many young companies, or take years to fix. Resumes won’t give you the positive conclusion, but they can highlight negatives, like job gaps, bad writing, and minimal experience. “He In this litigious society, reference checks are more productive if you also listen to what is not said.

Companies 94

Companies Company Startup Statistics 94

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. That company was Invoca, which just announced a $20 million fund raise led by Accel. At the time I pointed out: “If I had realized exits almost certainly it would be because I invested in a company that failed.

Venture Capital 387

Venture Capital Downey Writing Press 387

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 3, 2020

The critical success factors for a product business are well known, starting with selling every unit with a gross margin of 50 percent or more, building a patent and other intellectual property, and continuous product improvement. Low cost and low margin products can be winners, if the volume is high enough.

Startup 174

Startup Training Services Writing 174

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 19, 2019

While the management of a startup company deals with the day-to-day decision-making within the company (strategy, budgets, goals, tasks, compensation) ultimately the Board of Directors has the legal governing responsibilities for these things. Equally it could vote to increase the stock option plan to 99% of the company.

Startup 204

Startup Writing Framework Summary 204

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 25, 2013

On my most important ones I spend as much time figuring out what to cut out as I do putting into the writing of it. Many people write email without a “call to action” or reason they’re writing the email. Write to one person at a time. This is critical and was the reason I sat down to write this post.

Email 415

Email Writing Software Review Startup 415

TechCrunch LA

JULY 14, 2021

In terms of actual experience — and I had the chance to experience one of the shows (pictured above) before writing this — FlyMachine has done their best to recreate the experience of shouting over the tunes to talk with your buddies nearby. Are virtual concerts here to stay?

Platform 310

Platform Los Angeles Startup Venture Capital 310

TechCrunch LA

JULY 2, 2020

In the past year, it’s seen one of the most profitable venture-backed exits of any tech ecosystem (with the $4 billion sale of Honey to PayPal) and investors are minting billion-dollar companies in the region at a torrid pace. 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

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. In Gabe’s post he explained why TechMeme was having editors write headlines. I should know.

Writing 326

Writing Buzzfeed Social Media Blogging 326

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2014

Yesterday I wrote a post about The Silent Benefits of PR in which I pointed out that most young companies I encounter don’t fully grasp the benefits of PR because they are less measurable than product milestones or customer acquisition analyses (like CAC/LTV). It super charges a business that is closer to product delivery.

Press 319

Press Startup Writing Training 319

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2016

I was speaking recently to the team at NuOrder , an LA-based company we’re an investor in about “realism in startups” — an impromptu talk I have given to any of our portfolio companies who ask. I answered in the same way I always do so I thought I’d just write it publicly. “I I work with a few computer vision companies.

Invest 254

Invest Writing Pricing Metrics 254

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 21, 2020

Topics we covered: B2B Companies You haven’t seen the full extent to how the correction is going to affect you. I pointed out that throughout history building companies has always taken time and we as a market have put an urgency to rush growth rates. A seed company hasn’t ramped up its cost base. Harry posed these questions.

Venture Capital 263

Venture Capital Marketing Startup Writing 263

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 17, 2019

I had just left Salesforce.com where I was VP, Products, after they had acquired my second startup. As I was trying to figure out the role I wanted to play in the VC world I decided I wanted to focus on businesses that were building deeply technical products to solve problems for business users. Over the past 2.5

Venture Capital 223

Venture Capital IP Startup Google 223

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 26, 2013

I will add to this as I write more in the coming weeks on the topic. You may have gotten some articles that covered your product launch or may have gotten into industry rags but this might be your first time on TechCrunch, AllThingsD, PandoDaily, GigaOm, Business Insider or the equivalent. But trust me on this.

Startup 355

Startup Funding News Press 355

Tech Zulu Event

JANUARY 30, 2012

Months of submissions and the amazing help from our judges , the Spotlight is shinning down on awesome companies that were born right out of Southern California. And now without further ado I present the Spotlight: LA Tech Winter Companies: Spotlight Companies. We write and create our own content for the game.

CalTech 91

CalTech Companies Company Idealab 91

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 10, 2017

will proceed to give you a 20-minute dissertation on their latest health symptoms, the latest company problem, and the sad state of the world in general. Let me assure you, every startup faces more challenges than any other business – unproven product, new processes, new management, and unpredictable customers. Marty Zwilling.

Startup 61

Startup Product Mentor Satisfaction 61

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 21, 2013

The biggest excuse most startup founders mention is too much to do building a product, mapping strategy, investors, etc. I know that finding time is hard, and good writing is simply not what most people do. More and more, employees work for people they respect, rather than companies. Cultivate early customers.

Blogging 104

Blogging Product Startup Writing 104

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 11, 2023

As a business advisor and advocate for entrepreneurs, I find myself almost always talking and writing about change. With a bit of humor, he provides some serious guidelines for struggling career professionals looking to move up, and new entrepreneurs looking to build a company. Productive networking traffic does not happen by default.

Startup 106

Startup Writing Entrepreneur Screening 106

Berkonomics

MARCH 14, 2019

Of course, we are speaking of increased valuation of your company when we speak of “wealth.” First: Product risk. . Is the product or service possible to produce at all, let alone economically enough to compete in the marketplace? So, let’s examine them and mitigate them. Make you wealthy someday. The carrot and the stick.

Outsource Development 120

Outsource Development Ideas Resource Patents 120

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. You can’t really succeed in life if you are not happy.

Social Media 105

Social Media Writing Ideas Resource 105

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 20, 2012

Why is it that most of the business plans I see are really product plans? I define a product plan as a detailed description of your product or service, with a bit of business thrown in at the end. A business plan is a detailed description of your business, with a bit of product description thrown in near the front.

Product 92

Product Outsource Development Competition High Tech 92

socalTECH

MARCH 14, 2019

Western Digital , the mass storage products developer which has a significant presence in Irvine, said this morning that it has rolled out a new, NVMe version of its solid state disk drives (SSDs). According to Western Digital, its new WD Blue NVMe SSD have sequential read speeds of up to 1,700 MB/s, and write speeds of 1,450 MB/s.

Writing 113

Writing Product Develop Development 113