TechCrunch LA

FEBRUARY 3, 2021

Grocery delivery startup Good Eggs is announcing that it has raised $100 million in new funding, and that it’s planning to launch in Southern California in either the summer or fall of this year. It seems, however, that the company has found plenty of opportunity for growth while remaining focused on the San Francisco Bay Area.

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Southern California Orange County San Diego Commerce 318

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

If you’re funding the same stuff as everybody else and if you started your activities when the clues were obvious you’re much less likely to drive enormous returns. When Fred Wilson funded Twitter I guarantee you it wasn’t obvious that it was a billion dollar idea. Venture Capital is a tricky industry. Far from it.

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Funding Technical Review Ideas Startup 362

socalTECH

JUNE 6, 2019

According to an unconfirmed report on Wednesday, Santa Monica-based on-demand scooter rental startup Bird is in the midst of talks to acquire another, on-demand scooter company, Scoot. According to the report, Scoot was last valued at around $71M, and had raised $47M in total funding. READ MORE>>.

Report 113

Report Santa Monica Demand Competition 113

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 10, 2023

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. A sample of three views is adequate.

Technical Review 138

Technical Review Startup Innocal Offshore 138

TechEmpower

AUGUST 7, 2023

What does the role demand? Increasing competitive advantage? The role of a CTO varies as the company matures. Getting something to market and getting funding override any other concerns. And you certainly don’t want to be the company that spends time and money building something you could have picked up off the shelf.

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CTO Hire Develop Development Fractional VPE 260

Tech.Co

FEBRUARY 16, 2024

As inflation rates spiral and consumer demand takes a hit, business owners are forced to be more mindful of their bottom lines than ever. Read on to find a financing option that suits you, whatever your business's specialism, needs, and financial profile, or jump to a specific funding type below.

Technical Review 191

Technical Review Software Review Startup Competition 191

TechCrunch LA

DECEMBER 8, 2020

Today, a startup that is doing this in the specific area of distressed property is announcing a round of growth funding to ramp up its team and expand its business. The funding is being led by QED Investors; Founders Fund, Susa Ventures, Navitas Capital, and Prudence Holdings also participated. million Series A also led by QED.

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Sales Demand San Diego Funding 282

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2018

The most important advice I could give you before you set out in fund raising mode is to understand that fund-raising a sales & marketing process and needs to be managed. an investment in your company. Somehow many first-time founders equate “sales” with something that is beneath them. This is where most founders err.

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Venture Capital Funding Startup Sales 332

socalTECH

MAY 19, 2015

On-demand, delivery startup Schlep and Fetch (www.schlepandfetch.com) wants to be the place you contact first to get practically anything delivered for you, whether that's a food order or something you forgot to pick up from home. Fetch and Schlep just raised a round of funding from the Pasadena Angels and the Tech Coast Angels.

Demand 100

Demand Tech Coast Angels Startup Pasadena Angels 100

TechCrunch LA

AUGUST 9, 2022

The funding, a Series C, will be used to continue expanding Boulevard’s product and engineering teams and to build out more tools targeting an ever-wider set of users in the bigger wellness and beauty sector (those product additions are typically big — it most recently added a whole new payments feature). Focusing on the U.S.

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Help Startup UCLA Tool 195

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 28, 2018

My friend Michael Broukhim, founder & co-CEO of FabFitFun and I recently had a catch-up meeting for 3-miles on the Santa Monica “Bird Trail” No company has ever elicited so many questions by friends, colleagues, entrepreneurs, fellow VCs and journalists as has Bird, the company that pioneered the electronic scooter as a service market.

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Santa Monica Funding Startup Course 256

Tech.Co

DECEMBER 29, 2023

As investors continue pouring funding into artificial intelligence and consumer habits shift, many AI and subscription model startups have been enjoying rapid growth. Source: runwayml.com In June, Runway raised $141 million in funding, nudging its market valuation to an envy-inducing $1.5 Organic milk formula product Bobbie.

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Startup Generative AI Newsletter Tool 206

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 20, 2013

Crowdfunder , the Los Angeles startup led by CHance Barnett, has launched another crowdfunding event aimed at the local industry, saying Wednesday that it has launched CROWDIMPACT LA , a pitching competition which will award $20,000 in a top prize to a winning social enterprise company.

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Startup Competition Demand Los Angeles 215

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 20, 2019

The feature illustrates how Postmates, one of the earlier entrants to the billion-dollar food delivery wars , is trying to remain competitive by appealing to price-sensitive customers. For now, the company’s party feature will only be offered in a handful of the nearly 3,000 U.S. cities in which it currently operates.

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Orange County Long Beach San Diego Los Angeles 200

socalTECH

MARCH 12, 2015

There''s been a major, market battle in Los Angeles over the last few years, between on-demand ride services such as Lyft and Uber , not to mention local taxi and transportation companies. One of the players in the battle--Lyft--has just raised $530M more, from Japanese e-commerce company Rakuten.

Demand 100

Demand Commerce Competition Mobile 100

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 7, 2022

After many years in business, working in large companies as well as startups, I’m no longer surprised at why mature and successful companies struggle with introducing innovative new ventures as the market and environment changes. Commit a source of internal or external seed funding. Entrepreneurs crave more ownership.

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Incubator Seed Funding Metrics Customer 143

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 29, 2023

In my view, this focus on the wrong skill set is the primary reason why over half of new businesses fail in the first five years, and only one out of a hundred startups get their requested funding from professional investors. They demand interactive relationships with you, and depend on the relationships you have with their friends.

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Startup Sales Entrepreneur Customer 154

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2018

On the other hand, everyone is doing it, so that means more competition, and the market and technology are changing faster than ever before. Those that do it right also have the unprecedented opportunity to join the elite ranks of 250 unicorns (relatively new companies with a current valuation of over $1 billion).

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Funding Social Media Slides Platform 73

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 23, 2021

Some investors seem to focus wholly on the strengths of the management team, or a sustainable competitive advantage, and in reality these are the core attributes for every funding equation. While these may be necessary for funding, they may not be sufficient to make your startup the great success embodied in your vision.

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Education Customer Custom Sales 151

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 3, 2023

Most technical entrepreneurs I know demand the discipline of a product specification or plan, and then assume that their great product will drive a great business. Opportunity segmentation and competitive environment. Executives, marketing & sales, financial projections, and funding. Provide details on the business model.

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Product Summary Activity Entrepreneur 112

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 16, 2022

Most startups and investors I know don’t have unlimited funds, so the first question they should ask and do ask today, is “When is your company going to be profitable (self-sustaining)?” Of course, growth is implied in that equation, and is also required for maintaining a sustainable competitive advantage.

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Platform Snapchat Startup Course 118

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2022

found in polling more than 700 professionals at companies nationwide, that 58 percent had participated in an office romance, and almost three-quarters of those who’ve had relationships said they’d be willing to engage in another one. Can be a competitive advantage. Competition over salary, promotions, and position.

Startup 119

Startup Course Competition Social Media 119

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 20, 2014

A decent showing, but well below a number of larger schools, as the ranking is based on the number of graduates who secured VC funding. Unlike most university programs that are over architected and underfunded, the TMP evolved organically, based on the demands of its students and input from the local community. Organic Academia.

Santa Barbara 258

Santa Barbara Technical Review Startup Venture Capital 258

socalTECH

JANUARY 28, 2019

We spoke with founder and CEO Luke Fox to learn more about the company, and its technology. How did the company start? What were doing in 2019, is scaling the company. That really got me involved in drones, and got started developing our own drones, and eventually, create a company to sell those drones.

Startup 187

Startup Technical Review Technology Competition 187

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 29, 2022

Smart entrepreneurs are now starting to look at this option again, as well as the challenges of running a public company. Last year was quite a year for IPOs, largely influenced by the significant rise in the number of special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) who went public, despite almost uniformly negative returns.

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Startup Report IBM IBM 98

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2019

Do you need a board when you first start you company? Time based as in “a guaranteed right for 12 months, which can be renewed by mutual board consent” and event based “a guaranteed right until the company has raised $x million from new investors.” This is the norm and unless you have a hugely competitive round it’s not worth fighting.

Startup 236

Startup Venture Capital Tips Capital 236

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 31, 2020

Most technical entrepreneurs I know demand the discipline of a product specification or plan, and then assume that their great product will drive a great business. Opportunity segmentation and competitive environment. Executives, marketing & sales, financial projections, and funding. Provide details on the business model.

Entrepreneur 124

Entrepreneur Startup Summary Product 124

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 30, 2018

One of the hardest things about the fund-raising process for entrepreneurs is that you’re trying to raise money from people who have “asymmetric information.” I thought I’d write a post about how to talk about valuation at a startup and give you some sense of what might be on the mind of the person considering funding you.

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Venture Capital Pricing Startup Invest 324

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 6, 2020

In my view, this focus on the wrong skill set is the primary reason why over half of new businesses fail in the first five years, and only one out of a hundred startups get their requested funding from professional investors. They demand interactive relationships with you, and depend on the relationships you have with their friends.

Entrepreneur 134

Entrepreneur Startup Sales Customer 134

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 6, 2021

Most entrepreneurs start their company with the highest of ideals, and wouldn’t dream of building one with a culture of indifference or downright unethical behavior. Yet all too many succumb to the pressures of survival, driven by demanding investors or a cutthroat competitive environment. Big bad investor interference.

Startup 128

Startup Social Media Organization Entrepreneur 128

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 3, 2021

I often hear about efforts that have been stalled for several years, pending more funding, economic change, or other priorities. Every startup demands logical changes along the way. Postulate competitive reactions and your responses. Show that you have to ability to move the ball forward.

Entrepreneur 162

Entrepreneur Social Media Examples Metrics 162

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 31, 2021

Tech companies have spent the past decade or more developing innovations that can be applied to old-world industries like agriculture, construction, energy, education, manufacturing and transportation and logistics. As with most of Biden’s big infrastructure initiatives, there are startups tackling these issues.

Startup 229

Startup Technical Review Invest Research 229

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 17, 2011

A year ago I blogged about one of my most common mantras that applies to sales, biz dev & fund raising alike: “ Time is the Enemy of all Deals.&#. When times are really good for fund raising many teams delay to maximize their valuation. Sometimes this pays off, other times it doesn’t. How long is the window open?

Help 303

Help Startup Competition Framework 303

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 12, 2014

These tensions seep out in some angels or seed funds publicly or semi-privately deriding later-stage VCs for their “bad” behavior. Prorata investments rights given investors the right to invest in your future fund-raising rounds and maintain their ownership % in your company as your company grows and raises more capital.

Guide 336

Guide Venture Capital Startup Writing 336

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 30, 2014

As I’ve written about recently, at Upfront Ventures we started talking a couple of years ago about wanting to fund stuff with more meaning. I think this is a combination of being realists as venture capitalists that outsized returns in our funds must come from taking on bigger, more impactful projects that can move markets.

Technical Review 418

Technical Review Software Review CTO Hire IP 418

socalTECH

DECEMBER 17, 2008

Santa Monica-based Demand Media has released traffic statistics for its LIVESTRONG.COM web site, its joint venture with cyclist Lance Armstrong, saying that the site now has more than 4 million monthly visits and over 650,000 registered members. Demand Media also said that more than 4,300 groups have formed on the site. READ MORE>>

Santa Monica 100

Santa Monica Statistics Demand Sites 100

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

To grow faster businesses need resources in today’s financial period to fund growth that may not come for 6 months to a year. You have to understand whether they’re likely to yield revenue growth in the near term OR whether you have access to cheap enough capital to fund your losses until your investments pay off.

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Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 418