Both Sides of the Table
MARCH 17, 2011
This post originally ran on TechCrunch. Startups. We know the mantra: Team matters. Is this philosophy exaggerated? Overrated? Cliché? No. Team is the only thing that matters. Whatever you’re working on now, the half-life of innovation is so rapid now that your product will soon be out-of-date. Your existence is irrelevant unless you continue rapid innovation.
SoCal CTO
MARCH 3, 2011
I talk to roughly 2 or 3 new startups every week who need advice from an experienced CTO. Many of the founders of these companies are surprised to learn that I'm willing to review what they are doing (maybe an hour) and get on the phone for an hour with them and provide free advice. Generally I can provide quite a bit of help in that brief time. And I try my best to point them to resources that can help them longer term.
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InfoChachkie
MARCH 21, 2011
I was recently working at my kitchen table while my adolescent son was watching the History Channel’s reality TV show Pawn Stars. The show caught my attention, as a litany of extremely unsophisticated individuals sold their family heirlooms and other.
socalTECH
MARCH 16, 2011
Woodland Hills-based ReachLocal , the provider of Internet advertising services to small and medium sized businesses, said Wednesday afternoon that it will participate in Facebook's Deals test in San Diego. Facebook said this week that it would be testing out a Groupon-style deals in San Francisco, San Diego, Dallas, and Austin this week. ReachLocal said it will use its existing presence in San Diego to source deals from local businesses for Facebook.
Advertiser: Aggregage
Office leases are one of companies’ largest expenses, and if your whole team is working from home with no clear end in sight, you may be wondering what to do about your lease.
Berkonomics
MARCH 28, 2011
Every entrepreneur has that moment of truth – the one that marks the decision to take the path to entrepreneurship or the path to job security with a larger employer. And down the road a bit, most of us face another when deciding whether or not to go for growth, requiring new investment and increased risks. My moment of self-confrontation came many years ago when deciding whether to leave behind the relative comfort of a good income from my one person operation or hire my first employee to allo
Tech Coast Venture Network
MARCH 9, 2011
'A new study released by the Kauffman Foundation this week shows that the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) has the highest number of entrepreneurs per 100,000 people, of the top fifteen largest MSAs. According to the study of entrepreneurial activity in the United States, LA-Long Beach-Santa Ana had 620 entrepreneurs for every 100,000 people, beating out such areas as New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island (360 per 100,000), San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont (5
Southern California Tech Central brings together the best content for technical professionals in Southern California from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
SoCal CTO
MARCH 3, 2011
I talk to roughly 2 or 3 new startups every week who need advice from an experienced CTO. Many of the founders of these companies are surprised to learn that I'm willing to review what they are doing (maybe an hour) and get on the phone for an hour with them and provide free advice. Generally I can provide quite a bit of help in that brief time. And I try my best to point them to resources that can help them longer term.
InfoChachkie
MARCH 31, 2011
Guy Kawasaki’s The Art of the Start, addresses a number of valuable startup issues, including fundraising, partnering, branding and beyond. In addition to these foundational startup issues, Guy also briefly discusses how to properly design a corporate T-shirt. When I.
socalTECH
MARCH 4, 2011
E-commerce giant Amazon.com has told the California Board of Equalization that it would cut ties to its California affiliates, if any of four bills looking to force Internet retailers to collect sales tax are passed. According to Amazon it would be "compelled to end its advertising relationships" with over 10,000 California-based participants in Amazon Associates, its affiliate program, if any of those new tax collection bills are passed.
Berkonomics
MARCH 21, 2011
This insight is one that is so important to the continued health of a growing company that it cannot be overstated. First, let’s be sure we know what is short in term and what is long in term. Long term debt is taken on for the acquisition of fixed assets such as equipment, cars, facilities and acquisitions of companies or their assets. Short term debt is often composed of accounts payable to the trade or employees for expenses, payroll liabilities, accrued but unpaid vacations, customer dep
Startup Professionals Musings
MARCH 12, 2011
At some point in their life, hopefully everyone strives to be the best in their chosen profession. Most people think that being the best requires more intelligence, more training, and more experience. In reality, in business or even in sports, the evidence is conclusive that it is as much about how you think, as what you do. I saw this illustrated well recently in a sports excellence book called “ Training Camp: What the Best Do Better Than Everyone Else ”, by Jon Gordon.
Both Sides of the Table
MARCH 30, 2011
This post originally appeared on TechCrunch. I’m a very big proponent of the “lean startup movement&# as espoused by Steve Blank & Eric Ries. The part of the movement that resonates the most with me (in my words) is that entrepreneurs should keep their capital expenditures really low while they’re experimenting with their product and determining whether there is a large market for what they do.
Jason Nazar
MARCH 22, 2011
I recently hosted a panel at the Twiistup Conference about LA tech companies. I asked the panelists ( David Travers , Brian Norgard , Fouad ElNaggar , & Demian Sellfors ) about the specific challenges that we face down here in Los Angeles as opposed to Silicon Valley. 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.
InfoChachkie
MARCH 28, 2011
I had lunch earlier yesterday with Mark Suster, General Partner at GRP Partners, blogger extraordinaire and overall cool dude. I am writing this entry at 4:00 AM. Mark’s kindness and insights moved me to roll out of bed, fire up.
socalTECH
MARCH 7, 2011
Recently, we ran into Edo Cohen , CEO of Los Angeles-based Seevolution (www.seevolution.com), a firm developing web site heat map tracking software. We talked with Edo about what his firm is up to. What is Seevolution all about? Edo Cohen: Seevolution is a real time analytics and heat map company for web sites and web applications. It will show you in real time, live, what people are clicking on, what people are looking at, and what they are paying attention to, and how far down a web site peopl
Berkonomics
MARCH 14, 2011
I am constantly surprised when speaking with entrepreneurs and CEO’s who act puzzled and a bit flustered when I ask, “So what is your mantra? Tell me about your company in ten words or less.” Almost every one begins a long explanation of their business that is nearly impossible to follow, let alone recall a few moments later. And each lost an opportunity to tell their story in a memorable way that has power and boosts their enterprise value in the minds of the listener.
Startup Professionals Musings
MARCH 1, 2011
Business success begins in the mind of the startup founder and his team. A winning startup is a team of entrepreneurs who build and run the business as an extension of who they are, rather than some extrapolation of the Google or Facebook model. It’s not so easy to fake the important attributes when the going gets rough. So before you risk it all by jumping into a startup, do a reality check on your own mind to see if you can find a majority of the following attributes, summarized from the book
Both Sides of the Table
MARCH 27, 2011
This post originally ran on TechCrunch. Blogs. We all read them to get a sense of what is going on in the world, peeling back layers of the old world in which media was too scripted. By definition, you read blogs. But should you actually write one if you’re a startup, an industry figure (lawyer, banker) or VC? Absofuckinglutely. This is a post to help you figure out why you should write and what you should talk about. 1.
Tech Zulu Event
MARCH 20, 2011
This weeks TZ Startup Hot Seat features the team at Daqri. Brian Mullins and team agreed to answer our questions and tell us why Daqri will change the Augmented Reality space. Visit TechZulu for full story.
InfoChachkie
MARCH 1, 2011
With a few exceptions at the end of their career, the Beatles did not include songs that had previously been released as a single on their UK albums. According to George Martin, The Beatles’ Producer, “At the time, I didn’t want to shortchange the public. Assuming the fans had bought the single, I figured they wouldn’t want to hear it again on the album.”.
socalTECH
MARCH 23, 2011
Are the days of Girls Scouts knocking at your door selling cookies on their way out? Proving that iPhone mobile applications are now fully mainstream, the Girls Scouts of the USA, the organization which oversees Girls Scouts in the US, said today that it has released the Official Girl Scouts of the USA Cookie Finder for the iPhone or iPod touch. The group said that the free app allows users to find their way to the nearest cookie sale nearby, with dates of the start and end of local cookie sales
Frank Addante
MARCH 29, 2011
I did a presentation yesterday at the Digital Publishing Summit in Deer Valley, Utah. Instead of doing a pitch about the Rubicon Project, I chose to take the opportunity to lead a discussion for the industry about focusing on the right competitor. I think it came as a bit of a shock to the room; but I felt like we really needed to elevate the conversation.
Startup Professionals Musings
MARCH 26, 2011
Every startup founder knows implicitly that startup success is a long hard road. Yet we always dream that we are the exception to the rule. So once in a while it’s good to look at some facts to temper our imagination. I was reading an article written by marketing guru Seth Godin a while back where he mentions that “it takes about six years of hard work to become an overnight success”.
Both Sides of the Table
MARCH 11, 2011
Last night I had the great privilege to interview Bill Gross , one of the Internet’s true pioneers. To say he has had an impact on the web would be an understatement. His impact has even helped a small country gain admission to the United Nations. All of that are in this week’s episode of This Week in VC. Summary notes, as always, provide below.
Tech Zulu Event
MARCH 7, 2011
Spotlight: LA Tech was a huge success as Efren posted last week. For those that missed it, there is a full rebroadcast on Techzulu.com. Each startup did a great job pitching their dreams an vision, but we want to dig a little deeper. This segment we will call the TZ Startup Hot Seat and first to get grilled is Cliff Elion with You Rock Guitar. Visit TechZulu for full story.
InfoChachkie
MARCH 16, 2011
Messenger: Ryan Rifkin, Co-Founder & VP of Operations, Burstly, Co-Founder & Sr. Director of Partnerships at TagWorld/Flux (sold to Viacom) Value Prop Twitter Style: Burstly is: “A monetization platform for iOS and Android app developers” If you haven’t already subscribed.
socalTECH
MARCH 8, 2011
A new study released by the Kauffman Foundation this week shows that the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) has the highest number of entrepreneurs per 100,000 people, of the top fifteen largest MSAs. According to the study of entrepreneurial activity in the United States, LA-Long Beach-Santa Ana had 620 entrepreneurs for every 100,000 people, beating out such areas as New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island (360 per 100,000), San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont (550
Jason Nazar
MARCH 28, 2011
DocStoc – Entrepreneur (3/23/11) from OC Creative Media on Vimeo. Here was a recent video interview I did for Entrepreneur Magazine. Its a short clip talking about Docstoc and my philosophy on how to break out of the pack by focusing on the “most important items&#. Its a common mantra I preach to our team. There is an incredibly small number of items we work on that actually drive the great deal of our progress, we all know this as the Pareto Principle or the 80-20 Rule.
Startup Professionals Musings
MARCH 30, 2011
Founders almost always cite lack of money as the reason for failure, but if you look deeper, I believe the reason is more often about dysfunctional people and leadership. Sometimes it comes right back to the founder, in terms of a malaise often called “Founder’s Syndrome.” A few years ago I was intimately involved with a promising startup that taught me about this issue.
Both Sides of the Table
MARCH 1, 2011
This is an interview you’re not going to want to miss, I promise. Mike is a no BS guy, has all the attributes I look for in a founder and says things like, openly shares knowledge and opines without a filter including this one, “whoever invented uncapped convertible debt should be spanked!&# Love it. Mike Yavonditte is the founder of the “super hot&# Hashable , a startup out of NYC that has been described as a “ Mint.com for Social Capital ” Mike sold his previous company, Quigo , t
Tech Zulu Event
MARCH 18, 2011
Interested in joining TechZulu's growing editorial team? Read on to learn more about openings and how to apply. Visit TechZulu for full story.
InfoChachkie
MARCH 24, 2011
Messenger: Dan Engel, Co-Founder and CEO, SaaSy, Co-Founder and CEO, FastSpring, former Marketing Manager at Google, VP of Market Development at Picasa Value Prop Twitter Style: SaaSy is: “the 1st all-in-one payment & subscription management service designed for SaaS, Web.
socalTECH
MARCH 2, 2011
Santa Monica-based Cornerstone OnDemand , which develops online learning and talent management software, said Wednesday morning that it expects its IPO to price between $9.00 and $11.00 per share. The firm is looking to list on the NASDAQ Global Market as CSOD. Cornerstone OnDemand is selling 10.5 million shares of its stock, raising around $105M in the offering.
Both Sides of the Table
MARCH 22, 2011
The most common questions I’ve gotten over the past week have been a variant of: Was SXSW worth it? Was it just one big party? Should I go next year? Why do your eyes still look so bloodshot? (And I’ve learned a new term, I arrived home with SxSARS). As you may know I outlined my rules for maximum impact at events / conferences before SXSW began.
Both Sides of the Table
MARCH 6, 2011
I was hanging out the other day with my buddy Jody Sherman, founder & CEO of EcoMom. I was an angel investor in his company, made a bunch of calls on his behalf and then I personally sent it out on AngelList. Through this process he raised $2 million. When I described to people why I initially invested my calls went something like this, “He’s taken kicks to the face for nearly 2 years and is still standing.
Both Sides of the Table
MARCH 13, 2011
This post originally appeared on TechCrunch. For the next four days if you’re in the tech industry you’re going to hear a non-stop stream of information about SXSW. It’s the time of year when many new startups are struggling to rise above all the noise and be heard. And when everybody is shouting it becomes overwhelming. I’m actually in Austin at the moment.
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