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'Everybody has a blog these days and there is much advice to be had. Many startups now go through accelerators and have mentors passing through each day with advice – usually it’s conflicting. WTF? There are bootcamps, startup classes, video interviews – the sources are now endless. What is a founder to do? There are some smart if not somewhat cerebral bloggers I read who say that you shouldn’t take any startup advice at all because it’s too generalized to be useful
'A version of this article previously appeared in The Wall Street Journal. Balance is one of the most important aspects of skiing. A solid foundation formed by two strong legs is key, especially at a competative level. Balance is also an extremely important factor among a founding startup team. Although it is difficult, balance can be achieved on one leg.
'In the Los Angeles startup world, there are lots of high profile, buzzy companies which have lots of attention and funding--but which haven''t earned a dime of revenue. However, this town is also full of very profitable, growing, and revenue generating companies-- which have for the most part been below the radar. We spoke with one of those companies-- El Segundo-based ConsumerTrack (www.consumertrack.com)--which is a $30M, bootstrapped an online marketing company which is driving millions of c
'Sean Ellis, the marketing guru behind DropBox and other successes, advises clients that “The most important question on a survey is, ‘How would you feel if you could no longer use this product?’” He goes on to quantify the response. If more than forty percent of the respondents say they would be “very disappointed,” the product should go viral and be a great success.
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.
'We all want to save money. Here’s some clever methods to do so: When signing up for a trial or a demo, NEVER buy right away. Wait for the email that says “Join today and save with this coupon” or “We miss you. Come back…” Sign up and quit. You’ll almost be guaranteed a “come back and try us for half off” email.
'One of the toughest decisions for a startup is how to price their product or service. The alternatives range from giving it away for free, to pricing based on costs, to charging what the market will bear (premium pricing). The implications of the decision you make are huge, defining your brand image, your funding requirements, and your long-term business viability.
'Last Wednesday I had coffee with an old friend and former colleague. We haven’t worked together in a while and were reminiscing about the old days. I miss the old days when we used to be locked in battle together on the issues affecting our company. Seeing him again also reminded me of one of my first big lessons as a VC – knowing when giving in is more important than being right.
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'Last Wednesday I had coffee with an old friend and former colleague. We haven’t worked together in a while and were reminiscing about the old days. I miss the old days when we used to be locked in battle together on the issues affecting our company. Seeing him again also reminded me of one of my first big lessons as a VC – knowing when giving in is more important than being right.
'A version of this article previously appeared on Forbes. Amazon''s Founder, Jeff Bezos has had an incredible entrepreneurial career. He has gone from simply selling books online to offering consumers tens of thousands of products. Not satisfied with conquering the online retail world, Amazon then productized access to its infrastructure, ushering in the era of the public cloud.
'Los Angeles has been in the midst of a technology boom over the last few years, with many of high profile startups growing in the area. However, one of the biggest beneficiaries of that boom-- TaskUs (www.taskus.com) has been far lower profile--but has grown from only five employees three years ago, to over a thousand employees today who are helping behind the scenes to power those startups.
'Over the years, as I managed my several computer companies as CEO or executive chairman, I made the decision to go to market with a brand new product that had never before been exposed to my customer’s marketplace. In each case, after overwhelming publicity, certainly noticed by a great number of potential decision makers, and after record-breaking sessions at industry trade shows to introduce these to the potential buyers, the products failed in the marketplace.
'A month ago I spoke at the Silicon Beach Fest in Santa Monica in front of LA’s community of emerging entrepreneurs, innovators and disrupters. In speaking with Michael Carney, the West Coast editor of PandoDaily, who hosted my fireside chat, two things emerged—a strategy for how to build a company: the ‘find out’ and the ‘roll out’. THE ‘FIND OUT’ When you’re looking to disrupt any industry—advertising, yogurt, VoIP technology, or whatever—begin with learning everything you can.
'There is an old saying that good lawyers run away from risk, while good businessmen run towards risk. Entrepreneurs see “no risk” as meaning “no reward.” In reality, all risks are not the same. Many risks can be managed or calculated to improve growth or provide a competitive edge, while others, like skipping quality checks to save money, are recipes for failure.
'Just back from vacation and also some work travel and want to get back to blogging so expect a few posts over the next couple weeks. During my absence I posted a couple new episodes of Bothsides TV recently. 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.
'A version of this article previously appeared on Forbes. Bill Grundfest, Founder of the Comedy Cellar, Golden Globe winner and three time Emmy nominee, recently spoke to an audience of entrepreneurial students as part of UC Santa Barbara''s Distinguished Lecture Series. Mr. Grundfest has a nose for comedic talent, discovering and the launching the career of many notable comedians, including Steven Wright, Bill Maher, Ray Romano and Jon Stewart.
'For our profile today, we had a chat with Jonathan David , the CEO of Los Angeles-based Tapstone (www.tapstone.com), a company providing media buying and optimization. We spoke with Jonathan about the company and where it fits into the advertising market. What is Tapstone all about? Jonathan David: We''re essentially a media buying and optimization platform.
'Let’s focus not upon the process of marketing and positioning, but on you. How should you become the best marketer you can be, even if you are a first time entrepreneur or a seasoned CEO? There’s an answer for that. The title of this insight helps us find a formula: LALA. Berkonomics books available at www.berkus.com. Listen! The first rule of marketing and positioning is to listen to the marketplace.
'The word, “Hacker” automatically instills a sense of fear and mistrust in most people. You might imagine some dark, shadowy nefarious character in a black hat, trenchcoat and possibly donning a Guy Fawkes mask. Or there’s always the popular mid-90s flick featuring phreaks on roller-blades rampaging through metropolitan New York. Whatever your perception may be, an estimated 15,000 attendees showed up for this year’s DefCon 22 , an annual event with talks, contests, vendo
'We all know at least one entrepreneur who always gets things done, and appears unstoppable in his quest. All of you probably know many others who talk incessantly about their great ideas, but never seem to even get started, or they give up at the first obstacle. What are the attributes that make an entrepreneur unstoppable, and is it possible for people to learn to be unstoppable?
'Over the years, I’ve built several larger companies. Each has had its share of success. After my last company hit its peak and inevitably came to an end, I’ve decided to no longer put all my eggs in a single basket. As a result, I now am involved in several ventures. At first, I formed 7DFour Marketing. We help companies find customers and revenue.
'A version of this article previously appeared on Forbes. Kurt Kutay, Founder and CEO of Wildland Adventures , believes that "luxury adventure travel" does not have to be an oxymoron. In fact, for the past 27-years, he has specialized in bringing exotic travel destinations to those of us who are healthy and active but whose competitive sporting days are long behind us.
'If you run a distributed, restaurant or hospitality business, how do you manage your business? It turns out, it''s not so easy. However, Redondo Beach-based StaffRanker (www.staffranker.com) has rolled out a system to help those companies better manage what is a notoriously difficult segment of the labor market, which has a lot of turnover and which just doesn''t match existing, corporate performance management systems.
'Ninety percent of all traffic on the Internet is in video form. Yes, most of that is from NetFlix and YouTube and others delivering entertainment content. But an increasing amount is now coming from web sites and YouTube videos created by companies looking for an edge in their marketing efforts. The average time spent on a static website, one without videos linked to the home page, is under a minute.
'GoPro brought the world a simple unique first person point of view videos to YouTube and other online video sites. The smartphone brought a lot of Instagram and Vine feeds to the world of social media. Videos are obviously in the hands of the everyday person, but the tech that they use put a limit on what can be done. VSN Mobil presents photographers and videographers a new way to capture images and videos with the V.360, a camera that captures 360-degrees.
'People are always asking me for an inside tip on Internet sites that will be “the next big thing.” Those are hard, since someone has to invent something innovative, but I do have some views on other ideas whose time has come and gone. In some cases, these are concepts that have already been done too many times, and the space is crowded. In others, the concept has been tried too many times, or no one has yet succeeded in making any money.
'We all want to save money. Here’s some clever methods to do so: When signing up for a trial or a demo, NEVER buy right away. Wait for the email that says “Join today and save with this coupon” or “We miss you. Come back…” Sign up and quit. You’ll almost be guaranteed a “come back and try us for half off” email.
'In the latest, venture-backed startup to expand its services to Los Angeles, Fresh Nation , a startup offering up delivery services from local farmers markets, has opened up shop here. According to the startup--which is venture backed by Lightspeed Venture Partners and Lerer Ventures--it will begin delivering food from local farmers markets six days a week in the Los Angeles area.
'Hearing the news about Robin Wililams' death this past week hit me like a dump truck. It felt like losing a family member. I grew up watching "Mork & Mindy" and remember as a kid being so amused by his "nanu nanu's", and inspired by other characters that he played over the years like Good Morning Vietnam, Dead Poet's Society, and Good Will Hunting.
'In just one day the Skully AR-1 was able to nab funding of over $900,000 and counting on Indiegogo and they still have a month left! Absolutely crushing their goal of $250,000. For those who may not be familiar with the Skully AR-1, its a motorcycle helmet with heads up display, review camera and GPS navigation. Voice commands let you keep a grip on the handlebars, and smartphone pairing gets the headgear online.
'Too many entrepreneurs tell me they are looking for an investor, and can’t differentiate between venture capital (VC) investors versus accredited Angel investors. They argue that the color of the money is the same from either source. They fail to realize that the considerations are quite different for each, which can make or break their investment efforts, and ultimately their startup.
'Over the years, I’ve built several larger companies. Each has had its share of success. After my last company hit its peak and inevitably came to an end, I’ve decided to no longer put all my eggs in a single basket. As a result, I now am involved in several ventures. At first, I formed 7DFour Marketing. We help companies find customers and revenue.
'The surge of technology, advertising, and media companies flocking to Silicon Beach has meant a huge win for real estate investors, particularly in Playa Vista, according to a report today. Early investors in transforming Playa Vist--which is now home to operations of YouTube, Google, 72AndSunny, Microsoft, and many others--into a center for the technology, advertising and media industry, have apparently been rewarded handsomely, according to the WSJ.
'Santa Monica-based GoCoin , the Bitcoin payment software developer headed by Steve Beauregard, said last week that it has added a new feature which lets merchants bill customers via email and SMS. GoCoin said the new feature makes it easier for merchants to accept digital currency payments from customers. The new feature allows merchants to request BitCoin and other digital currency payments via either an email or text, directly from a dashboard or an API.
'El Segundo-based technology catalog retailer PCM said late last week that it has sold the land to its retail store in Santa Monica to the Regents of the University of California, for $20.2M. According to PCM, the deal includes two parcels of land, including a 32,5000 square foot portion of land and another adjacent 9,750 square foot property. The two properties are currently being used as the retail storefront for MacMall.
'Los Angeles-based Wi-Fi and small cell network provider Boingo Wireless reports that it has been selected fro the new, World Trade Center in New York City. According to Boingo, it has just signed an agreement with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (Port Authority) to design, install, and operate a cellular and Wi-Fi network system in the new World Trade Center.
'Santa MOnica-based Demand Media made a surprise move this morning, saying it has appointed former Ticketmaster CEO Sean Moriarty as its new CEO--and also acquiring Moriarty''s startup, Saatchi Art. According to Demand Media, it paid $17M for Saatchi Art, in a mix of cash and stock, in a deal which will add revenues of $0.5M to $1M per quarter to the company.
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