Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 24, 2021

For the elite startups and entrepreneurs who manage to attract the investor they dream of, and survive the term sheet negotiation, there is still one more hurdle before the money is in the bank. This is the mysterious and dreaded due diligence process, which can kill the whole deal.

Technical Review 151

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Invest 151

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 9, 2013

I researched the pricing of the car at TrueCar – not because we’re an investor – but because it gives you complete price transparency over what other people in your area paid for a car. “Invoice price” is an equally meaningless marketing tool. It got me thinking about the tech industry.

Conference 398

Conference Technical Review Truecar Software Review 398

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 28, 2010

If your startup is great enough to get a term sheet from angel investors or a venture capitalist, the next step for the investor is to complete the dreaded due diligence process. Some startups do nothing to prepare for the due diligence process, assuming the people and business plan documents will speak for themselves.

Technical Review 91

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Summary 91

InfoChachkie

MAY 19, 2011

This series describes how entrepreneurs can craft company-changing agreements with BDCs, while avoiding Kiss of Death contract provisions. In Part II of this series, I suggest that entrepreneurs seek agreements in which “what is good for the goose is good for the gander.” Agree to Bundling Without a Minimum Price.

Outsource Development 193

Outsource Development IP Technical Review Entrepreneur 193

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2010

I pointed to several Economist articles I had read that mapped historical prices of real estate for 400 years and how on average property values grow at no more 1.5% above inflation yet in many markets in the US & Europe prices were rising at 10-25% per year. And it’s driving up prices beyond their inherent value.

Invest 299

Invest Angel Technical Review Venture Capital 299

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 4, 2013

What price? Because entrepreneurs often went to lawyers at their earliest stages to get their company registration done. Entrepreneurial lawyers like Don Lee , Dave Young or Ted Wang are good at sussing out which entrepreneurs are high potential. I tapped my friends at big tech companies (Salesforce, Google, Oracle).

Startup 361

Startup Venture Capital Pricing Technical Review 361

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2011

2 preamble issues having read the comments on TC today: 1: I know that the prices of startup companies is much great in Silicon Valley than in smaller towns / less tech focused areas in the US and the US prices higher than many foreign markets. You can be pissed off, but I don’t set prices. That’s stupid.

Startup 336

Startup Pricing Technical Review Marketing 336

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 4, 2013

What price? Because entrepreneurs often went to lawyers at their earliest stages to get their company registration done. Entrepreneurial lawyers like Don Lee , Dave Young or Ted Wang are good at sussing out which entrepreneurs are high potential. I tapped my friends at big tech companies (Salesforce, Google, Oracle).

Venture Capital 347

Venture Capital Startup Pricing Invest 347

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 6, 2023

For the elite startups and entrepreneurs who manage to attract the investor they dream of, and survive the term sheet negotiation, there is still one more hurdle before the money is in the bank. This is the mysterious and dreaded due diligence process, which can kill the whole deal.

Technical Review 118

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Invest 118

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 8, 2014

Industry reviews. So the “VC associate” is largely a launching pad job for exceedingly bright and hard-working young tech professionals. a really wide angle view of the tech industry since you see so many concepts / so many pitches and REAL data points on how startups perform financially. Deal screening.

Help 365

Help Invest Venture Capital Technical Review 365

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 18, 2021

If your startup is great enough to get a term sheet from angel investors or a venture capitalist, the next step for the investor is to complete the dreaded due diligence process. Some startups do nothing to prepare for the due diligence process, assuming the people and business plan documents will speak for themselves.

Technical Review 152

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Summary 152

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 25, 2010

As I’m generally a believer in ‘pricing rounds’ I initially didn’t agree with the premise of the post. Not that they’re “such a bad idea&# but more that there are inherent problems for entrepreneurs in the process of raising angel money that need to be addressed. Photo credit: D. rings true to me.

Venture Capital 286

Venture Capital Pricing Technical Review Startup 286

socalTECH

APRIL 17, 2013

the online business credit company headed by serial tech entrepreneur Jeff Stibel, is looking to make its technology avialable to traditional publishers looking to go online, the firm said last week. Pricing and details on the new platform were not announced. Los Angeles-based Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corp. ,

Technical Review 124

Technical Review Technology Social Media Platform 124

TechCrunch LA

MAY 20, 2021

Construction tech startups are poised to shake up a $1.3-trillion-dollar As more people spent time at home last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the startup saw its contract revenue spike by 5x, Wu says. Eano, she said, offers competitive and transparent pricing so that homeowners aren’t surprised as a remodeling project goes on.

Technical Review 185

Technical Review Startup Venture Capital Software Review 185

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 7, 2021

Some pundits argue that the E-Myth principle is now outdated, due to the instant access to information via the Internet, pervasive networking via social media, and courses on entrepreneurship at all levels of education. The Technician’s Perspective envisions the business in parts, constructed from the bottom up, based on technical tasks.

Technical Review 136

Technical Review Startup Social Media Satisfaction 136

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 7, 2014

In case you don’t know – as VCs we have have 2 sets of customers: LPs (limited partners) who invest money in our funds and entrepreneurs (who we in turn give money to and help support them in building businesses we hope will be valuable). Who else is going to tell a VC if he got a bad reference from an entrepreneur or fellow VC?

Customer 341

Customer Custom Venture Capital Software Review 341

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 9, 2011

My partnership was pretty bearish and scratched our heads a bit at price tags. I thought about things I never had to as an entrepreneur: check size, ownership percentage, deal stage, portfolio construction and risk. The following is a 2-week graph of the end-of-week price of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) in Autumn 2008.

Marketing 305

Marketing Venture Capital Funding Technical Review 305

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2011

This was an audience of mostly first-time entrepreneurs. It is great for entrepreneurs and great for VCs. So here is what I have been telling entrepreneurs privately for the past 6 months. But that doesn’t mean that people are paying rational prices as investors based on intrinsic value. I believe that.

Pricing 309

Pricing Marketing Startup Venture Capital 309

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 11, 2014

There’s an article making the rounds in tech circles titled “ Growth Hacking is Bull ” written by Muhammad Saleem. And if there is a term for that which helps entrepreneurs stay focused on these good and true objectives then I’m all for it. I’d like to make the case that the article is wrong.

Technical Review 384

Technical Review SEM SEO Marketing 384

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 6, 2021

A closer analysis often indicates the cause to be a lack of diligence in handling common business finances. I’m sure all you accountants will agree that fixing the mistakes listed here does not require rocket science, but I’ve seen them so often that to be forewarned is to be forearmed: Failing to factor in fixed costs when pricing.

Technical Review 151

Technical Review Startup Summary Pricing 151

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

” I mention journalists here because they perpetuate the myth that focusing on profits is ALWAYS the right answer and then I hear many entrepreneurs (and certainly many “normals”) repeating the same mantra. Exec Summary: Most companies (98+%) in the world (even tech startups) should be very profit focused.

Startup 418

Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 418

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 12, 2014

Prorata rights are one of the most important rights of a private market technology investors and yet are seldom fully understood. New investors sometimes want early investors to put in money to “prove” they have confidence in the new price. Because tech companies are getting bigger more quickly than at any time in history.

Guide 336

Guide Venture Capital Startup Writing 336

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 5, 2011

I’m an entrepreneur at heart so I’m always inspired when I hear stories about innovation. Seattle should be the envy of any non Silicon Valley tech community in the country. It really wouldn’t take much to turn a great technology ecosystem into a truly electric one. This article originally ran on TechCrunch.

Venture Capital 317

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Press 317

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 28, 2013

A closer analysis often indicates the cause to be a lack of diligence in handling common business finances. I’m sure all you accountants will agree that fixing the mistakes listed here does not require rocket science, but I’ve seen them so often that to be forewarned is to be forearmed: Failing to factor in fixed costs when pricing.

Technical Review 100

Technical Review Entrepreneur Summary Pricing 100

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 3, 2010

There is a telltale sign of an inexperienced startup entrepreneur. I’m doing due diligence on a company of another entrepreneur in LA whose company was apparently doing very well. I know, I know … technically they can be structured as mergers. Want to cut prices and go for market share?

Technical Review 276

Technical Review Startup Press Pricing 276

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 8, 2010

The founders felt that having a legitimate site for content would discourage Silicon Valley VC’s from funding entrepreneurs to create the next big TV killer. To say that the tech elite were cynical of Hulu’s launch would be an understatement , but by the time it launched just a few months later it was getting great reviews.

Hulu 292

Hulu Technical Review Content Advertising 292

InfoChachkie

MARCH 18, 2013

There are a variety of factors entrepreneurs should consider when evaluating a potential early-stage investor. In such instances, take their money and work diligently to convert them into a disengaged investor. Painfully Diligent Investors. Four Common Angel Archetypes. The Beauty Of Low Expectations.

Angel 217

Angel Technical Review RSS Entrepreneur 217

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 16, 2010

But VC is an “illiquid asset&# so funds didn’t disappear quickly - In 2000/01 the stock market quickly adjusted punishing investors in the NASDAQ and in individual public technology stocks. It takes less to start a business these days – We all know that it takes less to start a technology company these days.

Venture Capital 311

Venture Capital Startup Seed Funding Rustic Canyon 311

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 27, 2013

Wouldn’t we be a bit hypocritical if we talked with entrepreneurs about innovation and change but we weren’t willing to take it on ourselves? Why should investors know all the tricks of the trade while first-time entrepreneurs operated at a disadvantage? What’s up with that? And there’s much more of this to come.

Funding 343

Funding Santa Monica Venture Capital Startup 343

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 13, 2009

Surely a savvy, modern-day entrepreneur can utilize online tools to leverage young peoples’ collective energy and fervor. . Other entry-level experiences for budding entrepreneurs included selling items marketed in comic book ads. If you haven’t already subscribed yet, subscribe now for. free weekly Infochachkie articles!

Web 2.0 222

Web 2.0 Web Sales Outsource Development 222

InfoChachkie

MAY 5, 2011

Just as Batman repeatedly avoids Poison Ivy’s kiss of death, so too must entrepreneurs avoid the Kiss of Death provisions which BDCs attempt to include in their agreements. Agree to Bundling Without a Minimum Price. As noted in Roping in the Legal Eagles , successful entrepreneurs are generally not litigious. Oh, but you scoff.

Outsource Development 244

Outsource Development Entrepreneur Resource Press 244

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

AngelList 101 : As you know, AngelList is a platform where angels can invest in semi-screened tech deals. It should help some entrepreneurs to better access early-stage capital and should allow some angel investors better access to deal flow. They will have to negotiate price and terms. So What’s the Big Deal?

Venture Capital 356

Venture Capital Invest Course Technical Review 356

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 30, 2021

Most technical entrepreneurs focus hard on building an innovative product, but forget that an elegant solution doesn’t automatically translate into a successful business. Defining the right business model requires the same diligence as designing the right product, but the approach and skills required are different.

Product 159

Product Technical Review Pricing Software Review 159

InfoChachkie

MAY 9, 2011

This series describes how entrepreneurs can craft company-changing agreements with BDCs, while avoiding Kiss of Death contract provisions. Entrepreneurs should never agree to the following provisions when negotiating with a BDC, no matter how lucrative the potential relationship. Agree to Bundling Without a Minimum Price.

Outsource Development 170

Outsource Development Entrepreneur Press Technical Review 170

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 16, 2010

Bill Gates once famously said that people tend to overestimate the impact of technology in the 1-year timeframe and underestimate its impact in the 10-year timeframe. I tend not to go into heat when I hear the latest buzz on the tech blogs about the latest gadgets. And the starting price for WW is $18 / month … DailyBurn is free.

Technical Review 278

Technical Review Software Review Startup SoCal 278

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 29, 2010

We received so much positive feedback from our This Week in Venture Capital show walking through valuation calculations & term sheets that we decided to do a Q&A show this week to address topics that entrepreneurs want to learn about. on the entrepreneur side of the table) when I raised at too high of a price.

Venture Capital 282

Venture Capital Capital Startup Pricing 282

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 20, 2012

A closer analysis often indicates the cause to be a lack of diligence in handling common business finances. I’m sure all you accountants will agree that fixing the mistakes listed here does not require rocket science, but I’ve seen them so often that to be forewarned is to be forearmed: Failing to factor in fixed costs when pricing.

Technical Review 109

Technical Review Startup Entrepreneur Summary 109