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On Funding?—?The Denominator Effect I recently wrote a post about funding for investors to think about having a diversified portfolio , which I called “shots on goal.” The thesis is that before investing in an early-stage startup it is close to impossible to know which of the deals you did will break out to the upside. It’s therefore important to have enough deals in your program to allow for the 15–20% of amazing deals to emerge.
Newport Beach-based Ankona Capital, a new, venture capital company founded by Josh Harmsen, Brian Mesic, Newth Morris, and Jared Smith, has raised $66M in its first, venture capital fund. The company says it invests between $5M to $10M in early, growth-stage B2B software companies which are already generating $5M to $15M in recurring revenues. Ankona says its portfolio companies already include several companies, including Canopy, Cordial, GoSite, SOCi, VideoAmp, and Zingle.
By definition, all of you entrepreneurs are leaders, by taking the initiative to start a new company. Yet I have learned over the years as a startup advisor that all business leaders are not the same. Some are great product leaders and innovative technologists, others are leaders in creating new business models , a few can assemble great teams , but only the rare exception can do all three.
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.
On Funding?—?Shots on Goal Being great as a startup technology investor of course requires a lot of things to come together: You need to have strong insights into where technology markets are heading and where value in the future will be created and sustained You need be perfect with your market timing. Being too early is the same as being wrong. Being too late and you back an “also ran” You also need to be right about the team.
A host of local startups have been instrumental in changing the way hungry customers shop for groceries, order takeout and sample food from multiple restaurants.
You know what a startup is, right? Or at least you have an idea of what a startup is like to work in? Long hours in co-working offices with CEOs fresh from university with big ideas and a lot of vague, nebulous chat about platforms. Don't forget the pizza parties and deskside beers funded by a seemingly endless stream of venture capitalist money, either.
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You know what a startup is, right? Or at least you have an idea of what a startup is like to work in? Long hours in co-working offices with CEOs fresh from university with big ideas and a lot of vague, nebulous chat about platforms. Don't forget the pizza parties and deskside beers funded by a seemingly endless stream of venture capitalist money, either.
Here’s one that most small company founders and CEO’s miss until it may be too late. What is the role of a chief financial officer in growing and protecting the company? How about co-strategist? I recently coached a CFO in a small company to urge the CEO to stop working upon the operational issues and focus upon the future, even if that meant a pivot to protect the business as the world was changing in that industry at an accelerated rate.
In the eyes of investors like me, to be an entrepreneur, it’s not enough to create an innovative solution – you need to convince me that you can build a profitable business. Investors expect a great return for their risk, so they look for people who can look beyond the technology and their own passion to see a customer need that perhaps even the rest of us haven’t yet envisioned.
Shopify has announced a new scheme for all of its App Store developers. Developers will not pay any commission on the first $1 million that they make in a given year. This scheme starts on August 1st of 2021. Before this scheme, Shopify used to charge 20% on every sale made through its service, but now, smaller businesses will take the whole value of the sale, with Shopify's cut of 15% only kicking in once the annual $1 million threshold has been passed.
Los Angeles-based MyLife, which operates a personal mindfulness and emotional wellness app for kids and adults, has linked with Travel + Leisure. According to the two, they will launch a new "mindfulness series" on the MyLife App called "Travel + Leisure's Mindful Travel Collection". The companies said the app will help travelers "take in everything a destination has to offer, combat jetlag, calm the mind to get them asleep on overnight flights or in new time zones, and to be able to live in the
As a long-time advisor to new entrepreneurs here in the USA, I’ve long been impressed with the number that come here from other countries, and the positive traits that most of these seem to bring with them. Logically, I would expect these non native-born entrepreneurs to be at a big disadvantage, having to learn the culture here, local idiosyncrasies, and new relationships.
Startup tech businesses used to land on the scene with big ideas about how their tech could change the world. Facebook, for example, decided in 2008 that its mission was to “help you connect and share with the people in your life.” The vision was grand and amorphous, with no clear indication of how or why Facebook would carry out its mission.
El Segundo-based Phase Four, which is developing thrusters for satellite propulsion, says it has launched one of its Maxwell engines into space. According to the startup, the engine was launched onboard a Capella Space SAR satellite which went into space on June 30th on a SpaceX launch. The company says the engine is its fourth delivered to space. The company is developing more efficient propulsion means for satellite positioning, using radio frequency (plasma) propulsion.
Entrepreneurs who require funding for their startup have long counted on self-accredited high net worth individuals (“angels”) to fill their needs, after friends and family, and before they qualify for institutional investments (“VCs”). The many crowd funding platforms on the Internet, led still by Kickstarter and IndieGoGo , were expected by many to put regular people in charge of funding new opportunities, and kill the need for angel groups.
Tuesday, June 29, 2021 -- Plug and Play Downtown Los Angeles Launch. Plug and Play has partnered with the LA Area Chamber, Alliance for SoCal Innovation and Downtown Center Business Improvement District to turn Downtown LA into the next urban innovation hub. Plug and Play will be opening their Los Angeles location at the TENTEN Wilshire building which innovated on the live, work, play all-in-one-place lifestyle.
Richard Branson, the founder of space tourism company Virgin Galactic--which was started in Mojave--is planning to launch himself into space, just nine days before Amazon's Jeff Bezos. According to Virgin Galactic, Branson hopes to fly into space this month on the next test flight of Virgin Galactic's spaceship. Virgin Galactic said Branson will be one of six people on board the launch from New Mexico, currently aimed at happening on July 11th.
The entrepreneurs I see are always talking about “disruptive innovation” ideas, but the plans I read are more often linear extensions of a current hot offering, like one more social network with the best of Facebook and Twitter, one more dating site dimension, or another “must-have” accessory for smartphones. Perhaps hard questions need to come before ideas, rather than after.
Enterprises trying to manage their own network often face challenges related to unreliable service, a lack of in-house expertise, and time-consuming maintenance. Local managed network services providers (MNSP) understand the communities they serve and their clients’ individual problems, promoting their business objectives by providing network solutions they can depend on. .
nThrive, the healthcare revenue cycle management software developer which is owned by Santa Monica-based private equity investor Clearlake Capital, has both a new CEO and CFO, the companies said today. nThrive said it has named Hemant Goel as Ceo, and James Evans as CFO of the newly acquired company. Clearlake made an investment and carved out nThrive earlier this year.
Palms-based location marketing software company MomentFeed Inc. has been acquired by Berlin-based software company Uberall, the companies announced June 15.
Michael Vilardo, Jonathan Quiros and Felix Ruano felt Zoom school wasn’t up to par with the needs of the 15 million-plus high school students in the United States. So, the trio created Emile Learning Inc., a virtual learning platform that Quiros calls a “master class for high school education.
San Diego-based Accel Robotics, which develops automated checkout systems designed for retail stores, claims it is seeing growth and success at its first rollout of "Valet Market", an automated store its has deployed ata a luxury, San Diego apartment building. The company--which opened the store on Jun 11th--says that so far over two thirds of the building's 679 units have downloaded its apps, and about one third of all of its transactions being done by deliveries to residents' door.
Los Angeles-based FightCamp, which develops an interactive, at-home training system for boxing and kickboxing, said on Wednesday that it has raised $90 in a venture capital funding round. The funding was led by NEA and Connect Ventures, and also included angel investors like Iikka Paananen (Supercell), Fritz Lanman (ClassPass), Usher, and Katheryn Winnick, as well as boxers Mike Tyson, Floyd Mayweather, Georges St-Pierre, and Francis Ngannou.
Los Angeles-based ServiceTitan, which provides software used by contractors and the trades to manage their business, has acquired another company, Aspire Software, which develops software for the commercial landscaping business. Financial details of the acquisition were not announced. Aspire Software is based in St. Louis, Missouri. According to ServiceTitan, the acquisition came alongside a new, $200M investment from private equity investor Thoma Bravo.
Santa Monica-based Quizizz, a developer of software which gamifies teaching with quizzes and interactive lessons, said on Wednesday that it has raised $31.5M in its Series B funding round. The funding was led by Tiger Global Management, and also included Nexus Venture Partners, GSV Ventures, Eight Roads Ventures, plus Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang. According to Quizziz, its product is now being used in over 120 countries, and at more than 80 percent of U.S.
Carlsbad-based DCN Dx, which provides point-of-care diagnostics development, products, and educational programming, said this morning that it has acquired IVD Vision, a developer of custom instruments and software for diagnostics systems. Financial details of the acquisition were not announced. DCN Dx said the deal will expand its point-of-care diagnostics development services capabilities and product portfolio.
Newport Beach-based Kadenwood, a company which owns a number of CBD health and wellness brands, says it has raised $50M in its Series B fundraising. The company said the funding was a combination of cash and "media value". The funding came from The Craftory and Arcadian Capital Management, along with others. The company said those news funds will go to "normalize CBD" in health and wellness products, via scaling, strategic partners, and acquisitions.
Westlake Village-based warehouse robotics developer inVia Robotics says it has signed agreements with more than 10 companies who are providing technology solutions in warehouses, creating its own channel partner network. According to the company, the move will supplement its direct selling initiatives. New partners of the company include Argon Consulting, Atlantic Packaging, Conveyor Logistics, Innovation-Matrix, Midland Packaging, Pregis, Ryuu, STG Chile, and Storage Solutions Inc, among others
Los Angeles-based Retina, a startup that is using artificial intelligence for predicting customer lifetime value, said on Tuesday tht it has raised $8M in a Series A funding round. The funding came from Alpha Intelligence Capital and Vertical Venture Partners. As part of the funding, Udah Sandhu, General Partner at AI Capital Partners, joins the company's board with the funding.
San Diego-based fintech startup FutureProof, a new startup whic says it is developing financial technology to enable asset managers, banks, and insurance-sector institutions to quantify and manage the financial impacts of climate change, has raised $3M in a funding round. The funding was led by Innovation Endeavors, and also included MS&AD Ventures and Blackhorn Ventures.
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