Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 14, 2013

.” Here’s what I mean … Let’s start with what it takes for a journalist to want to write a story. Do I have an “angle” from which to write the story (first company to do X, company does biggest X, consumer behavior is doing X)? ” Of course not. They’re different. More strategic.

Marketing 389

Marketing Press Blogging Startup 389

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

If you know, VCs end up writing sizable checks into their own funds, which is important in better aligning interests. Therefore of course they need to be more selection when writing checks and can’t spread their bets across 75 deals. million round I might write $1.8 – 2.2 So What’s the Big Deal?

Venture Capital 356

Venture Capital Invest Course Technical Review 356

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2022

million, our Seed Funds mostly between $200–300 million and have delivered median ownerships of ~20% from the first check we write into a startup. Of course our execution against the strategy has had to change but the strategy has remained constant. By 2021 we had to write a $3.5m discipline & focus.

Venture Capital 416

Venture Capital Marketing Technical Review Seed Funding 416

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 2, 2010

As a founder, when you’ve been dealing with these kinds of objections for a couple of years it becomes natural and you easily handle objections on price, product & competition without much thought. You’re more expensive than competitors – “Of course we are. It is tacit knowledge.

Sales 289

Sales Startup Training Pricing 289

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2014

But of course it’s hard to advise people that they should do PR without a guide to how to do it on the cheap or how to do it at all. It’s why in this article I advise that people “market today not futures” because you don’t want your playbook in the hands of the competition. When to start PR?

Press 319

Press Startup Writing Training 319

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 26, 2013

I will add to this as I write more in the coming weeks on the topic. The funding rounds will also build customer confidence and they’ll help journalists feel air cover in writing your more important pieces when you brag about customers, traction, revenue or whatever. ” Funding IS the story. Funding is news.

Startup 355

Startup Funding News Press 355

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 3, 2013

Today’s higher education is responding by making more courses online and available to people outside of physical boundaries. In many ways I think general purpose writing & thinking skills are as valuable as math skills. We also spoke about technology systems in the perspective of global competition.

Venture Capital 403

Venture Capital Education Offshore Outsource Development 403

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 20, 2013

The reason for this is that the executives who founded the company have so much tacit knowledge of how to position their product relative to the competition that they can easily win campaigns when they’re involved. So I often work with teams to get them to codify the key things they do well that the competition does not.

Sales 336

Sales Startup Competition Customer 336

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 10, 2010

It’s an important film and the most important topic of our generation if we as a country want to remain competitive in a world that has globalized. It profiles one little girl who finished her course work at a private Christian school in her neighborhood but was unable to attend graduation because her mom got behind on payments.

Class 340

Class Education Technical Review Writing 340

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2011

2: As expected at least one person accused me of writing this post because I want to see lower valuations. As an early stage investor you’re often planning around 10x your investment at the time your write your first check so in this case you’d be going into your investment expecting an exit of $800 – $1.2

Startup 336

Startup Pricing Technical Review Marketing 336

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 9, 2017

Of course not. You’ll have less competition. Competition is good, but – if there are hundreds of businesses out there that already have gotten to and penetrated this niche – you’re going to find it hard to get through the marketing noise. Why Is niche marketing important? This is easy. – Dave.

Marketing 266

Marketing Advertising Resource Social Media 266

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 29, 2014

This week I wrote about obsessive and competitive founders and how this forms the basis of what I look for when I invest. My first response mentally was, “Of course!” Before you start writing your friends checks for their startups, get out your checkbook and bet on you. I had invested in myself for years.

Startup 409

Startup Invest Venture Capital Writing 409

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 22, 2014

So I thought I’d write about out with what I would look for in a VC knowing what I know now and why. It’s insanely competitive to get into our industry so most have degrees from institutions like Stanford, Harvard, Wharton and University of Chicago (blatant plug ;-). VCs, how to select a VC, etc.) Most VCs are book smart.

Venture Capital 364

Venture Capital Coach Writing SaaS 364

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 30, 2018

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. Of course, unlike cars there is no direct comparison across each startup so these are just some general guidelines to try and even the information field.

Venture Capital 324

Venture Capital Pricing Startup Invest 324

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2013

For much of 2013 I watched the press write articles about how the YouTube “MCNs” (multi-channel networks) were doomed and tried to square that with the data I was watching at the one I invested in, Maker Studios, who has had one hell of a year. This revenue share comes after the YouTube split.

Networking 366

Networking Media Content Customer 366

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 17, 2014

I’ll try to get write-ups shortly but for now here is an overview of my interview with Nanea Reeves – President and COO of textPlus. I would of course welcome your feedback in the comments on the blog to add to this conversation or to disagree with any conclusions we may have had. Have a listen and see for yourself.

Technical Review 315

Technical Review Blogging RSS Organization 315

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 15, 2013

But of course we’re all a product of both of our parents – if we were fortunate enough to be raised by two individuals. I love competition. Or just write this off as incremental improvement. And of course my kids are always wonderful – at everything they do. Mom was an entrepreneur and a civic leader.

Course 407

Course Help Writing Blogging 407

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 19, 2010

I’m writing this post as part of my series with Advice on Raising Venture Capital but will file it under Sales Tips as well since it applies equally to both scenarios. tip: write it down when asked / parked). Let me write that down.&#. - Congratulations. Do you mind if I answer that a little later in the presentation?

Venture Capital 318

Venture Capital Startup Sales Writing 318

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2016

I answered in the same way I always do so I thought I’d just write it publicly. “I As a starting point I have to believe the founder has the attributes of an entrepreneur that matter most to me : Tenacity, resiliency, inspiration, perspiration, attention-to-detail, competitiveness, decisiveness, risk tolerance and integrity.

Invest 254

Invest Writing Pricing Metrics 254

TechEmpower

AUGUST 7, 2023

Increasing competitive advantage? This is a safe choice, of course - but is it the best choice? Please write us at blog@techempower.com ! What does it mean to be a CTO for a startup? What does the role demand? Should a startup CTO spend their time programming? Exploring new technologies? The answer is: it depends. It might be.

CTO Hire 260

CTO Hire Develop Development Fractional VPE 260

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 4, 2016

It’s hard enough building a valuable product or service in competitive global markets without spending time on unproductive tasks. I know some will read this as an indictment of all introductions and of course it’s not that. I find over-introducers are often motivated by their own self currency.

Innocal 255

Innocal Conference Help Study 255

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 16, 2014

Competition is fierce. Of course I ask more politely that than. I’ve seen you write a $10 million check before. I outlined here my views on “ proprietary dealflow.” ” Semil Shah wrote in this absolutely spot on post. ” That’s precisely it. I don’t blame him – that’s his job.

Venture Capital 333

Venture Capital Startup Technical Review Email 333

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 12, 2010

Content, of course, is the same!]. We both felt that the critical reasoning skills and writing skills were critical to our career development. Competition: Gilt Groupe , Ideeli , RueLaLa (sub of GSI Commerce) , OneKingsLane , department stores like Saks and Neiman Marcus. Targeting SMB’s (small & medium businesses).

Venture Capital 217

Venture Capital Capital Metrics Competition 217

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 21, 2010

When to get a lawyer - If you plan to be a venture or angel backed technology company (what I mostly write about) the best time to start meeting and getting to know lawyers is long before you ever start your company. I write about some of the lessons in my post on Startup Mistakes. But make it competitive.

Startup 318

Startup IP Southern California Entrepreneur 318

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 18, 2013

Of course you know Gangnam Style , which is now the most viewed video in history at 1.3 For those who still don’t know the origins, the Harlem Shake started as a small skit from a YouTuber named Filthy Frank (10 million views as of this writing) on January 30, 2013. Chart a different course. Gangnam Style Meets Torso TV.

Startup 380

Startup Media Content Platform 380

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 5, 2011

Of course I have. He listed all of the product releases that were up coming, the customers that were in the pipeline and where he saw his competition moving. I don’t write about LA but I write from LA. This article originally ran on TechCrunch. I’m in Seattle this week. Can’t list them all.

Venture Capital 317

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Press 317

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

I find it amusing when a journalist writes an article about a prominent startup (either privately held or preparing for an IPO) and decries that, “They’re not even profitable!” of course there are MUCH more sophisticated financial tools than either of these, but PEG is a short-hand many people use].

Startup 418

Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 418

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 6, 2018

But if there is nothing wrong with you then please don’t let early rejections alter your course. Of course you need to have answers to all of the hard questions that you know you can anticipate about your business? Sure, you need to learn what the common theme of the no’s are and be willing to make adjustments to your pitch.

Funding 236

Funding Venture Capital Startup Entrepreneur 236

InfoChachkie

JULY 23, 2012

They basically said, ‘Anybody who is a developer, come hang out here at Trada and we’ll give you coffee and food and a desk and Internet and you can plant here… and of course, some of those people (became) optimizers. We write blogs, we do music videos, we show up, we engage with people…we love our product. Write Your Own Playbook.

Marketing 233

Marketing Blogging Startup Venture Capital 233

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2019

Of course it happens all the time?—?especially This is the norm and unless you have a hugely competitive round it’s not worth fighting. This is not true in the majority of cases but rather when you have competition in your round and feel confident in using your leverage. What happens at the A-round of venture capital?

Startup 236

Startup Venture Capital Tips Capital 236

InfoChachkie

AUGUST 10, 2010

Patents held by startups generally have a limited ability to reduce competition. Unlike an unregistered copyright, which you gain automatically by expressing an idea in written form, you cannot gain intellectual property protection by simply being the first person to describe an idea in writing. Know Thou Prior Art.

IP 256

IP Patents Company Companies 256

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 15, 2011

If you are talented, of course, you can get funded in any region with enough venture capital and obviously in markets outside of the Valley it is easier to get noticed and get access. That’s convenience when your VC is hoping to write the next $20 million check. And of course you have Hollywood. In our regions?

Venture Capital 313

Venture Capital Southern California Google Startup 313

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 14, 2012

…” I’ll write soon on my views of why I believe Instagram took off as a social network and what I think comes next. The first being a competitive acquisition offer from a fierce competitor. Well, of course you should use your “impending” valuation to get as high of a price as you can.

Venture Capital 316

Venture Capital Pricing Social Network Acquisition 316

Berkonomics

MAY 29, 2014

Included in a business plan are financials, competitive landscape, marketing plans, and projected sales to name a few. If you don’t know these things, how are you going to course-correct if things go differently than forecast? By analyzing your business objectively in the plan, you can address problems before they escalate.

Startup 166

Startup Guide Help Mentor 166

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 21, 2013

Of course, there's no law saying you have to go to college to start a business. Many colleges offer courses on entrepreneurship, to help you think like one. More important are standard business, finance, and economics courses. Supplement course work with practical experience. An MBA is helpful, but not required.

Entrepreneur 105

Entrepreneur Startup Course Education 105

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 6, 2011

Of course, there's no law saying you have to go to college to start a business. Many colleges offer courses on entrepreneurship, to help you think like one. More important are standard business, finance, and economics courses. Supplement course work with practical experience. An MBA is helpful, but not required.

Entrepreneur 105

Entrepreneur Startup Course Education 105

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 31, 2010

TechCrunch Europe ran an article in November of last year that European startups need to work as hard as those in Silicon Valley and I echoed the sentiment in my post about the need for entrepreneurs to be maniacal about their businesses if one wants to work in the hyper competitive tech world. Our first big institutional round was $16.5

Entrepreneur 308

Entrepreneur Startup Venture Capital Conference 308