Both Sides of the Table
AUGUST 17, 2009
This is part of my ongoing series “Start-up Lessons.&# If you want to subscribe to my RSS feed please click here or to get my blog by email click here. In the Beginning … This is a very important post to me because I find myself giving this advice all the time and if you don’t follow [.]. Tags: Start-up Advice startup.
socalTECH
AUGUST 26, 2009
In what might be some new competition for Santa Monica-based Rubicon Project , the high profile ad optimization firm headed by Frank Addante, search engine giant Google told its advertisers late Wednesday that it will begin to offer similar capabilities in its AdSense program. Google said it will open its door to third party advertising networks, allowing the ads in those networks to compete with AdWords advertisers for ad space on publishers.
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SoCal Tech Calendar
AUGUST 28, 2009
Thursday, September 3, 2009 -- Firsty Networking Event. OCTANe. Join the OCTANe community the first Thursday of every month for happy hour networking. They're called "Firsties" (first + Thursday + thirsty), and OC finally has a watering hole. See [link] (more).
Both Sides of the Table
AUGUST 17, 2009
This is part of my ongoing series “ Start-up Lessons. &# If you want to subscribe to my RSS feed please click here or to get my blog by email click here. In the Beginning … This is a very important post to me because I find myself giving this advice all the time and if you don’t follow the basic advice here you can cause yourself much heartache down the line – even if your company ultimately becomes über successful.
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Both Sides of the Table
AUGUST 28, 2009
This is part of my ongoing series Startup Lessons Building companies is hard work. I started my first company in 1999 in London at the height of the dot com craze. We also had facilities in Dublin, Ireland where our company was initially founded. We went through the euphoria of massive exposure at the time of our [.]. Tags: Start-up Advice.
Both Sides of the Table
AUGUST 28, 2009
This is part of my ongoing series Startup Lessons. Building companies is hard work. I started my first company in 1999 in London at the height of the dot com craze. We also had facilities in Dublin, Ireland where our company was initially founded. We went through the euphoria of massive exposure at the time of our launch due to an article that ran in the Financial Times.
Southern California Tech Central brings together the best content for technical professionals in Southern California from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
Both Sides of the Table
AUGUST 8, 2009
This is part of my ongoing series “Pitching a VC&# – the outline is here. You’ve pitched several angels and VC’s. Everybody seems to like you but nobody seems to be getting out their checkbooks. Most of them are telling you that they just need to see a bit of traction before they’d be prepared to invest. Your friends and advisers tell you that this means you need revenue because in this economy VC’s will only fund businesses with revenue.
Both Sides of the Table
AUGUST 14, 2009
This is part of my ongoing series Pitching a VC. Last night I attended a DealMaker Media (whom I love because they always host such great discussions) panel on raising angel money moderated by Dan Gould and with panelists Rob Hayes (First Round Capital, more seed or A round than angel), Scot Sangster (with OrganicStartup and [.]. Tags: Pitching VCs Start-up Advice.
Both Sides of the Table
AUGUST 25, 2009
This is part of my blog series “Pitching a VC.&#. I’ve sat through a lot of VC pitches and having been CEO of an enterprise software firm for many years I’ve also sat through many customer meetings with sales teams. There is one classic mistake that I see across both types of meetings – “the tell & [.]. Tags: Pitching VCs Start-up Advice startup technology vc venture capital.
Both Sides of the Table
AUGUST 4, 2009
There is much confusion on how to use the Twitter @ sign – even amongst daily Twitter users. So as part of my ongoing series Twitter Insights , I wanted to cover how the @ actually works (even experienced users may be surprised by some of the points). The basics: 1. When you use the @username (e.g. @msuster for me) the message you write appears in my @msuster inbox on Twitter.com and on any of the desktop or mobile clients.
Both Sides of the Table
AUGUST 25, 2009
This is part of my blog series “ Pitching a VC.&#. I’ve sat through a lot of VC pitches and having been CEO of an enterprise software firm for many years I’ve also sat through many customer meetings with sales teams. There is one classic mistake that I see across both types of meetings – “the tell & sell&# presentation.
Both Sides of the Table
AUGUST 18, 2009
This is part of my ongoing series, “Startup Lessons.&#. Yesterday I wrote a blog post (here) in which I urged people to not have too many founders. Best case scenario in my mind is just 1, but at most I recommend 2. I knew this topic would be controversial because when I tell people this [.]. Tags: Start-up Advice.
Both Sides of the Table
AUGUST 15, 2009
This is part of my ongoing series on Start-up Lessons that I learned from founding two companies. I HATE LOSING. I hate it. I really, really, really hate it. It chaps my hide. It rips at my core. I don’t get over it easily. I lose sleep. I fucking hate losing. It’s not so much the [.]. Tags: Start-up Advice.
Both Sides of the Table
AUGUST 17, 2009
This is part of my ongoing series “Pitching a VC“ There’s a great meme developing this morning on the need to simplify funding terms and documents. The meme was kicked off by Chris Dixon with this post saying that term sheets need to be simplified and align investor / founder interests. That prompted Fred Wilson’s blog [.].
Both Sides of the Table
AUGUST 17, 2009
This is part of my ongoing series “ Pitching a VC “ There’s a great meme developing this morning on the need to simplify funding terms and documents. The meme was kicked off by Chris Dixon with this post saying that term sheets need to be simplified and align investor / founder interests. That prompted Fred Wilson’s blog post appealing to the industry to make these simplified term sheets standard.
Both Sides of the Table
AUGUST 18, 2009
This is part of my ongoing series, “ Startup Lessons.&#. Yesterday I wrote a blog post ( here ) in which I urged people to not have too many founders. Best case scenario in my mind is just 1, but at most I recommend 2. I knew this topic would be controversial because when I tell people this in person it always elicits shock. To be clear – it is not about being stingy with or hoarding equity – it is about having a prenuptial agreement.
Both Sides of the Table
AUGUST 2, 2009
This post is part of my ongoing series Twitter 101 for all those that still “don’t get” Twitter. I’m now moving from the 101 basics into the business applications. I think we all know by now that a conversation is happening on Twitter and that this extends to talking about brands. Twitter is the new CRM (customer relationship management) channel. The volume of Tweets is enormous and growing at a rapid pace so tools are emerging to help brands manage this information.
Both Sides of the Table
AUGUST 3, 2009
ExpenseBay Wins Showoff. Twiistup 6 has come to an end. It proved to be a great transitional year. Out is the “cocktail only&# Twiistup and in is the new format of a conference that should take its rightful place on the national technology calendar. I believe that Twiistup is now a platform from which to grow and highlight what is uniquely LA.
Both Sides of the Table
AUGUST 10, 2009
How do your friends, colleagues or admirers find you on Twitter? One of the obvious ways is to click on “Find People&# on Twitter and search for your name. But one of the oversights for many people is that they list their Twitter handle as their name making them very hard to find in Twitter [.]. Tags: Social Media social networking Twitter.
Both Sides of the Table
AUGUST 3, 2009
When Twitter first became popular with niche crowds in 2007 it seemed to take hold initially with bloggers. People had been steadily blogging for 2-3 years and this crowd seemed to bifurcate. On the one hand were the blogs that “blew up&# and became real businesses like TechCrunch, GigaOm or TalkingPointsMemo. On the other hand were everybody else including those that tried to make a full time of it like Robert Scoble as well as those that did it as a side job like VCs, CEO’s and
Both Sides of the Table
AUGUST 10, 2009
How do your friends, colleagues or admirers find you on Twitter? One of the obvious ways is to click on “Find People&# on Twitter and search for your name. . But one of the oversights for many people is that they list their Twitter handle as their name making them very hard to find in Twitter Search. (e.g. if I listed msuster as my name rather than Mark Suster).
Both Sides of the Table
AUGUST 3, 2009
I recently appeared on Fox Business News covering the topic of raising Venture Capital. If you’re in the market or thinking about VC in the future the following video may be of interest to you – click here to view. Video is about 7 minutes. If you want to learn more about “Pitching a VC&# make sure to check out the entire series here.
Both Sides of the Table
AUGUST 11, 2009
I run a monthly meeting called the VCA that represents the majority of Southern California venture capital firms. My goal is to bring in informative speakers who stretch our collectively thinking on topics that will influence our investment strategies and use it as a way for us to share our experiences in ways that I [.]. Tags: SoCal Stuff Start-up Advice VC Industry.
Both Sides of the Table
AUGUST 11, 2009
I run a monthly meeting called the VCA that represents the majority of Southern California venture capital firms. My goal is to bring in informative speakers who stretch our collectively thinking on topics that will influence our investment strategies and use it as a way for us to share our experiences in ways that I hope benefit the Southern California technology ecosystem.
socalTECH
AUGUST 10, 2009
Our interview this morning is with Babette Pepaj , CEO and founder of BakeSpace (www.bakespace.com), a local Los Angeles startup focused on social networking around food. We caught up with Babette to get the story behind the site, and how the site helped her escape from the world of reality television. What is BakeSpace? Babette Pepaj: BakeSpace is a food social network and recipe swap.
socalTECH
AUGUST 25, 2009
Santa Monica-based The Search Agency , a provider of search engine optimization, search engine marketing, and other related online marketing services, has signed on Los Angeles antivirus software company CyberDefender as a customer. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. According to CyberDefender, The Search Agency will manage the company's search marketing campaigns, including search engine marketing and search engine optimization.
socalTECH
AUGUST 20, 2009
Santa Monica-based Edmunds.com , which offers an online site for automotive information and analysis, has taken a close look at GM's new online eBay store for its autos, and concludes that buyers will be better off making an offer than accepting the "Buy It Now" price on the site. Edmunds.com estimates that "Buy It Now" prices are, on average, two percent higher than the average market price on vehicles purchase on the market.
socalTECH
AUGUST 11, 2009
San Diego-based Covario , a provider of search engine marketing and SEO automation software, said Tuesday that the firm has launched a new services arm, focused on agency services. The firm said that it has created its own, SEO delivery team to compliment the firm's technology offerings. Covario's software automates much of the SEO work that traditional agencies have provided.
socalTECH
AUGUST 17, 2009
San Diego-based The Active Network , which operates a network of web sites and related products for community service and sports organizations, said today that it has launched a new program focused on "eco-friendly" practices in endurance racing. The company said the effort, which looks to encourage environmentally friendly practices with race organizations, is being launched in conjunction with Athletes for a Fit Planet.
socalTECH
AUGUST 12, 2009
One of the continuing problems in the startup and venture market today is the issue of exit opportunities for companies, and in particular the problem of liquidity for founders. One company, Startup Exchange (www.startupexchange.com) is taking an interesting angle on the problem, with a financial fund which allows startup founders to put some of their stock into a pool of other companies--providing them with more opportunities for some liquidity, and a little bit of diversification.
socalTECH
AUGUST 21, 2009
A new effort by Facebook to expand their "Gift Shop" application to third party developers has roped in San Diego-based RealGifts as one of its first partners, according to reports this week. Facebook is apparently expanding its "Gift Shop" application--which allowed users on the social network to buy each other virtual gifts--to include products from American Greetings Interactive, GreetBeatz, Someecards, and Real Gifts.
socalTECH
AUGUST 31, 2009
For today's interview, we thought we'd catch up with Hamet Watt , who was most recently founder of NextMedium , and is now an EIR at True Ventures (www.trueventures.com). Hamet is now helping True Ventures look at investments in Southern California, and we thought it would be worthwhile to talk to him about the firm's new interest here, his role, plus his insights into where the advertising industry is now.
socalTECH
AUGUST 24, 2009
Los Angeles-based mobileStorm , the email marketing and digital marketing provider headed by Jared Reitzin, has revamped the company's offerings. The firm said that it now will offer two different product packages for its customers, including "Go", targeted at marketers looking for mobile, email, and SMS marketing tools, and "Pro", with marketing tools aimed at large businesses.
socalTECH
AUGUST 18, 2009
In the recent surge in interest in the clean technology and energy investment area, we're constantly surprised by the number of startups in the area focused on some aspect of the industry. Recently, we learned about Solarmer Energy , a spinout of UCLA, which is developing flexible solar panels, and caught up with Woolas Hsieh , President and Founder of the firm and Dina Lozofsky , VP, Corporate Development at the firm to hear more about its emerging technology.
socalTECH
AUGUST 27, 2009
There's a new twist on the neverending battle against viruses and malware today: researchers at computer security software firm Symantec are reporting that they there is now publicly available source code, which hacks the Skype Voice-over-IP software to record audio from any Skype call in progress on a users' computer, and transmit them to an attacker.
socalTECH
AUGUST 10, 2009
A report released today by online measurement service comScore is reporting that U.S. online retail spending was roughly flat from last year, totaling $30.2 billion, down about 1 percent versus the same quarter last year. The results were about the same as Q1, when ecommerce sales were also approximately the same as Q1 of 2008, but were better than the 3 percent drop online sites saw in Q4 of 2008.
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