Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 10, 2021

A while back I received a discouraging note from an entrepreneur with a patent and a medical software application who couldn’t find a dime of investment, and was grousing that seed funding just wasn’t available anymore. Too many people still believe the urban myth that you can sketch your idea on a napkin, and people will throw money at you.

Software Review 123

Software Review Seed Funding Funding Startup 123

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 30, 2023

Over my many years of mentoring aspiring entrepreneurs and business professionals, I often hear a desire to start a new business, with a big hesitation while waiting for that perfect idea and perfect alignment of the stars. So don’t wait for that “idea of the century” that no one has ever thought of before.

Technical Review 149

Technical Review Startup Entrepreneur Software Review 149

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 5, 2014

I told her that I believed America’s best asset – driven initially from software innovation mindset in the San Francisco Bay Area and media innovation driven from Los Angeles – was our willingness to accept failure. Who in the auto industry believed Tesla, a totally electric car, was a good idea? Working on it.

Technical Review 417

Technical Review Startup Software Review Course 417

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 26, 2013

His ideas to date hadn’t totally resonated and of course ideas matter, too. His message was that he realized he needed to move his girlfriend’s stuff into a storage facility due to apartment flooding. He had ideas. Within a few weeks he was an EIR in our offices in LA working on the idea. I felt bad.

UCSD 340

UCSD Startup Ideas Course 340

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 1, 2009

The product was rebuilt and launched as Salesforce Ideas (and if memory serves it was also called the Ideas Exchange). The idea was to create a systematized way of letting your users and customers have a say in what your future product features should be. What changed for us was Tim Barker arrived.

Organization 280

Organization Customer Custom Tips 280

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 16, 2013

When someone introduces me to an “idea person,” I automatically jump to the down-side conclusion that this person doesn’t do follow-up. Of course there are people who are great at getting things done, but haven’t had an original idea in their life. The idea time for most executives is in the shower, or during other non-work activities.

Ideas 110

Ideas Entrepreneur Startup Technical Review 110

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 17, 2013

A while back I received a discouraging note from an entrepreneur with a patent and a medical software application who couldn’t find a dime of investment, and was grousing that seed funding just wasn’t available anymore. Too many people still believe the urban myth that you can sketch your idea on a napkin, and people will throw money at you.

Software Review 106

Software Review Funding Startup Seed Funding 106

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 19, 2009

I spent nearly a decade building software for large companies and then advising companies on the same. So we discussed his ideas several times. I usually try to avoid getting stuck reviewing people’s PowerPoint decks (I get this request too often and frankly I’m already behind on my own work!) This was such a guy.

Entrepreneur 414

Entrepreneur Technical Review Slides CTO Coach 414

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 30, 2011

Nobody really knows whether or not the idea is yet going to be big, so I believe in not over capitalizing too early. If you’re creating truly innovative products, you often have no idea whether the proverbial dog will eat the dog food. Rinse & repeat. This benefits you, the entrepreneur. It takes options off of the table.

Development Team Review 374

Development Team Review Technical Review Startup Resource 374

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 6, 2013

They can read reviews, see pictures and even talk to the family before confirming. I typed in my brothers zip code and ton of houses popped up in his area and I was able to search out on a map view. I then clicked on reviews, looked at pictures and read the owners descriptions of what they were looking for. I registered.

Venture Capital 344

Venture Capital Technical Review Software Review San Diego 344

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 22, 2011

If you think you’re on to a really big idea and everybody else thinks so, too, then most likely it’s already conventional wisdom and you’re too late. When Marc Benioff declared “the end of software” industry insiders scoffed. If – and this is a big IF – you have other ideas.

Startup 418

Startup Yahoo Ideas Technical Review 418

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 10, 2012

A while back I received a discouraging note from an entrepreneur with a patent and a medical software application who couldn’t find a dime of investment, and was grousing that seed funding just wasn’t available anymore. Too many people still believe the urban myth that you can sketch your idea on a napkin, and people will throw money at you.

Seed Funding 100

Seed Funding Software Review Entrepreneur Funding 100

SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 1, 2010

And I tried to evaluate the idea and figure out: What did the founder really need here? For me to do either of these, I certainly need to really believe in the idea and it has to be something that won’t consume all of my time. How To Find A Programmer To Build Your Startup Idea Another option is sweat equity.

CTO Hire 241

CTO Hire CTO Coach Equity Develop 241

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 9, 2011

A while back I received a discouraging note from an entrepreneur with a patent and a medical software application who couldn’t find a dime of investment, and was grousing that seed funding just wasn’t available anymore. Too many people still believe the urban myth that you can sketch your idea on a napkin, and people will throw money at you.

Software Review 98

Software Review Funding Seed Funding Startup 98

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 15, 2010

When someone introduces me to an “idea person,” I automatically jump to the down-side conclusion that this person doesn’t do follow-up. Of course there are people who are great at getting things done, but haven’t had an original idea in their life. The idea time for most executives is in the shower, or during other non-work activities.

Ideas 95

Ideas Entrepreneur Startup Technical Review 95

socalTECH

JUNE 4, 2014

However, Egg Baby--the title from newly funded Nix Hydra (www.nixhydra.com)--seems to have cracked the code for how to get new, young, female consumers to become game players. Most of the reviews rant about how cute the game is, so they probably like that too. Lina Chen: Number one, we learned to code and made a prototype ourselves.

Software Review 113

Software Review Startup Mobile HTML 113

socalTECH

MARCH 1, 2011

It really provides the most relevant reviews, because when you're looking for reviews, you want them from someone very similar to you. Johnson: It's different from a traditional white label because if you look at a normal white label, you're just taking the functionality and you're just taking the software.

Content 242

Content Software Review Technical Review Sites 242

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 3, 2010

Yesterday I received a discouraging note from an entrepreneur with a patent and a medical software application who couldn’t find a dime of investment, and was grousing that seed funding just wasn’t available anymore. Too many people still believe the urban myth that you can sketch your idea on a napkin, and people will throw money at you.

Software Review 95

Software Review Startup Seed Funding Funding 95

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 27, 2012

. “In order to create a successful new company, you have to find an idea that. (1) How many ideas like that are left? ” He gives a nice little 6-minute video interview on Bloomberg reinforcing these ideas. We once thought Microsoft was a monopoly on the Internet due to IE. Where David is Totally Right.

Technical Review 299

Technical Review Venture Capital Yammer Google 299

socalTECH

AUGUST 1, 2014

George Collado: It''s employee management software. It''s too cumbersome, and most of the products are 360 reviews, corporate management type products, which are too expensive. In an industry which has a turnover ratio of about nine months, most companies do these one year reviews which don''t make any sense.

Help 223

Help Hermosa Beach Technical Review Redondo Beach 223

socalTECH

APRIL 26, 2011

We're not talking publicly about that yet, but the idea is to get away from the annual review, away from the quarterly review, and give everyone within and outside a company the ability to recognize people, up and down the chain, for doing great things in the workplace. Beyond that, it's really about real time recognition.

Startup 216

Startup Technical Review Software Review Platform 216

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 16, 2012

An explanation of PublishThis and its content curation software. Santa Barbara's Phone Halo pitches the idea of its GPS/Bluetooth wallet tracking device in this (kinda campy) video. Los Angeles MiniTime debuted its service this week to help families find reviews and information for their family vacation.

Technical Review 157

Technical Review Santa Barbara Software Review Activision 157

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 27, 2014

As noted on the label, each bottle of beer, "includes the full length album" in the form of a download code displayed under each cork. What was the original genesis of the idea? Brian Thompson: "I wish I could take credit for the idea, but the band approached us. Greathouse: OK, it''s a cool idea, but was it profitable?

Marketing 187

Marketing Software Review Startup Ideas 187

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 14, 2011

Dat Do: We produce valuation software that solves a lot of complex valuation issues for privately held companies, backed by venture capital and private equity. I came up with the idea, mentioning it to the PwC partners a few years ago. Who would be purchasing the software? What does your company do? How to price it.

Software Review 193

Software Review Startup Venture Capital Software 193

TechCrunch LA

SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

Fast forward to almost exactly one year later, and a lot has changed for the payments and software startup. Since its 2017 inception, SpotOn has been focused on providing software and payments technology to SMBs with an emphasis on restaurants and retail businesses.

Technical Review 296

Technical Review Software Review Invest Acquisition 296

socalTECH

OCTOBER 31, 2011

What's the idea behind Urbandig? When I had this idea in 2004, there was no iPhone, and smart phones didn't play well. They came down to Los Angeles, and we brainstormed ideas, and basically--in 24 hours-- we revitalized my original idea, but for the iPhone. Mike Macadaan: It's actually a thesis I have had since 2004.

Guide 203

Guide Software Review Twiistup Technical Review 203

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 17, 2018

You get to have interesting conversations with founders and review business plans and then see how these businesses evolve over the years. Usually a terrible idea as runway extension. You wouldn't build a single point of failure in your code - shouldn't in your company. Things happen, people tire, sometimes tragedies.

Software Review 242

Software Review Technical Review Pricing Metrics 242

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 29, 2015

El Segundo-based iRise said Tuesday that it has rolled out a new service, which will help companies turn their ideas into software prototypes in less than 48 hours. iRise says its consultants will review documentation, contact the client, and then create an interactive prototype for review in the cloud. READ MORE>>.

El Segundo 100

El Segundo Services Software Review Ideas 100

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 13, 2011

A deep dive into the Foundry Group investment philosophy including an interesting discussion of their investing Themes. “… our lens is: Internet Software Companies anywhere in the U.S. If you are outside internet software we are not going to invest. Was it David Cohen’ Idea? So if you are outside the U.S.

Venture Capital 288

Venture Capital Startup Technical Review Software Review 288

InfoChachkie

AUGUST 10, 2010

PTO examiners consider a very narrow set of criteria which does not include the commercial efficacy of an idea. There is a common misconception that an idea can be protected by documenting it, placing it in an envelope and then mailing it to yourself. Patent examiners generally ask for clarification during the review process.

IP 256

IP Patents Company Companies 256

socalTECH

JUNE 21, 2013

We also liked the idea that people would get repaid. How''d you come up with the idea for the site? I kind of fell into it, after a period of diligence on the idea, and realizing it was a big opportunity. Those aren''t the kinds of companies where equity makes sense, or where an investor would want to own equity.

Startup 247

Startup Software Review Entrepreneur Equity 247

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 5, 2010

This was in large part due to the marketing efforts of Jason that created a great top end of the funnel (100+ companies applied) and the herculean efforts of Tyler Crowley who spent days going through all of the submissions and serving up 5 very interesting companies. The second event was in Boulder.

Angel 254

Angel Technical Review Software Review Platform 254

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 28, 2012

I loved the idea of “mobile first” but something always bothered me. But on the other hand if you have a product with a very high gross margin (software, virtual goods, etc.) Try reading a bunch of reviews, checking 5 different restaurants to try and compare the differences. Try writing long reviews of a restaurant.

Web 334

Web Mobile Startup Software Review 334

InfoChachkie

DECEMBER 5, 2011

In 1983 he founded MicroSolutions, a personal computer software reseller and system integrator, headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Through diligent preparation and dogged perseverance, entrepreneurs avoid foolhardy risks. Ideas are worthless, unless they are coupled with effective execution. EVERYONE has ideas.

Tips 274

Tips Startup Entrepreneur Ideas 274

Tech Zulu Event

MARCH 7, 2013

With travel on the hackers’ brains and technology at their fingertips, these geeks are going to get knee deep in some code! The following is a list of the weekend’s agenda: Saturday: 10AM - Kickoff event with breakfast, networking, and developer dating which leads into idea pitches and team formation. Speakers listed below.

Software Review 79

Software Review Technical Review Ideas Conference 79

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 1, 2010

It makes no sense to meet in August or December due to travel schedules of most investors. For the record, this is not a secret, coded messages to companies for which I am on the board! Feel free to have color coding for each member with companies for which you think they might be able to help with intros.

Startup 301

Startup Venture Capital Software Review Email 301

SoCal CTO

JULY 23, 2012

What existing systems will we leverage, what programming languages, software development methodologies, web application frameworks, revision control systems, etc.? What do we need to do to make sure we can survive technical due diligence by investors and partners? What are the biggest areas of technical risk? Accounting?

CTO Coach 231

CTO Coach CTO Hire Outsource Development Develop 231