Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 17, 2011

So I thought I’d write a post about how I drive my personal creativity. (A It’s why I always work hard to find images for my blog posts & why all of my keynote presentations are visual rather than bullet points with words. When I write a blog post I often see the words before I write them.

Writing 356

Writing Startup Ideas Summary 356

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 1, 2010

You’ll get sales information from your VP of Sales, marketing information from your VP Marketing, tech information from your CTO and so on. Similarly I liked to keep myself apprised of the technical decisions we were making. As a content management system we had lots of write activities and went with Postgres.

Startup 308

Startup CTO Coach Technical Review CTO Hire 308

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2010

If I’m interested I get to spend more time with them, if I’m not I don’t have to – A few companies per month come in that have fascinating business ideas that warrant my spending more time trying to understand their people, company, technology and market. I’ll write about that in a couple of weeks.

Venture Capital 312

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Entrepreneur 312

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2011

I’m still planning to write some in depth pieces on the topic but I thought, “given that this is about how video will consume the Internet over the next 5 years, what better way to exemplify this than with a 10-minute video.” I believe that for any innovation to take place you need a variety of factors to be present.

GRP Partners 371

GRP Partners Content Technical Review Press 371

InfoChachkie

APRIL 25, 2011

The short version of my review is: “Enchanting? At the beginning of the index, Guy writes, “I hope Robert Cialdini checks this index.” Guy utilizes a pragmatic, hands-on approach, which provides readers with tools to enhance their persuasion capabilities, rather than simply presenting them a non-actionable narrative.

Technical Review 279

Technical Review Blogging Class Entrepreneur 279

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 15, 2009

We hired a head of technology, a head of customer service, a head of marketing, a head of strategy (which no startup should ever hire) a CFO and, ugh, 33 developers. From then on I was forced to do detailed sales calls, get intimately involved with product management decisions and even make minute technical operation decisions.

Startup 299

Startup Venture Capital Technical Review Training 299

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 13, 2011

Huge thank you to Steve De Long for the write up. My initial desire to blog came from something that’s always been my approach to investing – I’m a nerd and I love to play with the technology and part of my approach has really been to understand things both at a user level and at a reasonably deep tentacle level. Brad on blogging.

Venture Capital 288

Venture Capital Startup Technical Review Software Review 288

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

Most sophisticated investors ignore them, focusing their attention on an entrepreneur's pitch and presentation materials, financial forecast and executive summary. Too Techie - Tone down emphasis on the technology underlying your venture; an interested investor will perform tech diligence at the appropriate time.

Venture Capital 211

Venture Capital Summary Technical Review Template 211

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 18, 2010

It also applies to other parts of my life such as presentations. I’m a pretty natural public speaker so I can write my presentation the day before and do just fine. So things that have to be done early get done early, but only at the last possible moment that the early task is due. Internally I was a wreck.

Slides 374

Slides Email Entrepreneur Startup 374

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 1, 2010

I continue to collect great content that is the intersection of startups, products, online and technology. aka: An Open Letter to the Next Big Social Network) - 500 Hats , November 1, 2010 I've held off writing this post for a long time, because I couldn't quite get my head around all the issues. but: Something is Still Missing.

Technical Review 175

Technical Review Startup Product Technology 175

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 8, 2019

Responding to Elizabeth Warren’s call to regulate and break up some of the nation’s largest technology companies, the venture capitalists that invest in technology companies are advising the presidential hopeful to move slowly and not break anything. This is not a new model, and it makes no sense,” says Narasin.

Technical Review 144

Technical Review Startup Chief Technology Officer Social Media 144

TechEmpower

FEBRUARY 10, 2016

Often this situation is characterized as a “good problem to have” until you’re the technical person who needs to solve the problem—and quickly. Well, there are a number of technical reasons for applications suffering performance issues. Performance in your technology selection process. So, why does this happen?

Web 200

Web Technical Advisors Framework Technical Review 200

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. 5 companies presented and all were talented. We’ll see.

Technical Review 278

Technical Review Software Review Startup SoCal 278

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 13, 2014

I wrote a version of this post four years ago but given the hectic nature of today’s tech markets I thought it was worth revisiting and updating. A couple of years ago an entrepreneur had requested a meeting with me to present his business. Canceling meetings is a part of modern day life. Let me give you an example.

Conference 369

Conference Startup Century City Email 369

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 19, 2013

“Scope creep” (or feature creep) is an insidious disease that kills more good startups than any other, especially high-tech ones, and yet most founders (who may be the cause) never even see it happening. Define milestones for cost review and sign-off. Change requests must be visibly reviewed by executives frequently.

Technical Review 110

Technical Review Startup Software Review High Tech 110

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 25, 2009

I write this post as a warning to pick your VC’s carefully. He also had experience in setting up tech development centers in India. I personally ruled out Pakistan due to the perception that our staff would feel less safe there. I came back and presented a very detailed analysis to the board.

Venture Capital 297

Venture Capital Startup Technical Review Entrepreneur 297

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 14, 2015

“Scope creep” (or feature creep) is an insidious disease that kills more new business solutions than any other, especially high-tech ones, and yet most founders (who may be the cause) never even see it happening. Define milestones for cost review and sign-off. Change requests must be visibly reviewed by executives frequently.

Technical Review 104

Technical Review Product Software Review High Tech 104

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 18, 2012

Here are some key ones they look for: Talks and writes well. Can concisely explain the unique, compelling value of the proposed venture in written terms and in oral presentations (elevator pitch), recognizing that some investors rely more on one than the other. The technology or product may be at an embryonic stage.

Entrepreneur 117

Entrepreneur Technical Review Course Patents 117

Tech.Co

DECEMBER 29, 2023

Verifying Looking for regular tech news straight to your inbox? Founded in 2020 by two former Meta executives, Tome is a business-focused storytelling and presentation tool that leverages generative AI. Writesonic Writesonic is an AI writing tool designed to help writers overcome writers block and level up their skills.

Startup 195

Startup Generative AI Newsletter Tool 195

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 6, 2011

“Scope creep” (or feature creep) is an insidious disease that kills more good startups than any other, especially high-tech ones, and yet most founders (who may be the cause) never even see it happening. Define milestones for cost review and sign-off. Change requests must be visibly reviewed by executives frequently.

Technical Review 96

Technical Review Startup Software Review High Tech 96

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2013

Here are some key ones they look for: Talks and writes well. Can concisely explain the unique, compelling value of the proposed venture in written terms and in oral presentations (elevator pitch), recognizing that some investors rely more on one than the other. The technology or product may be at an embryonic stage.

Technical Review 109

Technical Review Entrepreneur Course Patents 109

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2010

I’m writing this post to make sure you’re all on that same playing field. Fortunately I was mostly a technology consultant, which meant that I coded computers, designed databases and planned system integration projects. He said, literally, I sh*t you not, “well, my report was due and I didn’t have much time.

Statistics 415

Statistics Startup Report Research 415

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 5, 2010

I recently spoke at Caltech at the Caltech / MIT Enterprise Forum on “the future of social networking,&# the 30-minute video is here and the PowerPoint presentation is here on DocStoc ). Social Networks: Past, Present & Future. The Present Era. emerge and are there any lessons to be gained about the future?

Social Network 318

Social Network Networking Web 2.0 Startup 318

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 27, 2010

Here are some key ones they look for: Talks and writes well. Can concisely explain the unique, compelling value of the proposed venture in written terms and in oral presentations (elevator pitch), recognizing that some investors rely more on one than the other. The technology or product may be at an embryonic stage.

Entrepreneur 96

Entrepreneur Angel Technical Review Course 96

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 29, 2009

High burn-rates fueled by over investment – One of the most damning things that happened to the start-up markets in 97-00 and 05-08 was the overfunding of technology companies. This came in part due to the huge influx of money into VC but also because hedge funds and private equity shops with no VC experience wanted part of the action.

Venture Capital 263

Venture Capital Startup Invest Funding 263

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 24, 2019

I have been writing a series on how startup boards get selected, who sits on them and what to avoid. This is often management’s fault because a long-deck plus financials that arrive the night before a board meeting don’t allow for directors to properly review them. Put your electronics away and be present Yes, it is obvious.

Startup 251

Startup Help Technical Review Writing 251

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 27, 2019

How Most Board Meeting Prep Works I’ve been sitting on tech boards for two decades so I have some experience with what goes wrong. No board member will truly read and be thoughtful about the entire deck and no team can get through the entire presentation in the meeting. You can write this as a narrative in 3–5 key bullet points.

Startup 226

Startup Slides Metrics News 226

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 14, 2012

“Scope creep” (or feature creep) is an insidious disease that kills more good startups than any other, especially high-tech ones, and yet most founders (who may be the cause) never even see it happening. Define milestones for cost review and sign-off. Change requests must be visibly reviewed by executives frequently.

Technical Review 75

Technical Review Startup Software Review High Tech 75

Tech Zulu Event

NOVEMBER 6, 2013

TechZulu caught up with co-founder Calvin Schemanski chat about their upcoming launch, their product and why Long reviews suck. myfab5 is a platform that reinvents the restaurant review. Unlike typical review sites, our platform does not use star ratings or long reviews. What is myfab5?

Software Review 79

Software Review Technical Review Writing Startup 79

socalTECH

OCTOBER 11, 2010

The reason for that, is in my opinion, the majority of the innovations that have improved our nation in the past 150 years have been due to technology and engineering innovations. They'll even help them with presentation skills. Here, the mentors come and focus on what the innovators want to do.

Competition 154

Competition Southern California Mentor USC 154

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 1, 2016

We All Know That Dollars into Venture Have Gone Up … As a starting point, we know that the dollars into venture have steadily rebounded to pre great-recession levels, with just under $30 billion committed to US technology venture capital in 2015. The full presentation can be downloaded on SlideShare or viewed below.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Capital Marketing Seed Funding 150

socalTECH

MAY 18, 2010

Al Eisaian: IconApps is built around simplifying people's lives through mobile technology. As of the last four months, we've had about 200,000 plus downloads, a bunch of great write ups, and a lot of mom bloggers who have been reviewing the app and writing stories on it.

Mobile 168

Mobile .Net Pasadena Software Review 168

SoCal CTO

OCTOBER 11, 2010

This month’s big question is Examples of Big Impact from Technology and I’ve taken it as an opportunity to go back and look at the elements of different projects that I’ve worked on over the years that have had a big impact. We always present why this is important and ask some questions around it.

Satisfaction 167

Satisfaction Examples Course Technical Review 167

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 17, 2017

He eventually founded and sold consumer health firm ViSalus to a public company and is now back making investments, in technology companies, as a venture capitalist here at Los Angeles-based HashtagOne (www.hashtagone.com). As a result, I really saw Visalus as a technology company. What's the theme of your investments?

Venture Capital 100

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Technical Review Software Review 100

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 1, 2010

This insidious disease kills more good startups than any other, especially high-tech ones, and yet most founders (who may be the cause) never even see it happening. Define milestones for cost review and sign-off. The market changes, executives learn new things, customers demand changes, and technology changes.

Technical Review 51

Technical Review Software Review High Tech Writing 51

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 14, 2010

Entrepreneurs tend to write business plans that are difficult to read, heavy on technology, and give little thought to the business model and commercialization strategy. Supporting detail should be included in an appendix, where the reviewer may read it if desired. Repetition will kill an otherwise acceptable business plan.

Funding 106

Funding Startup Entrepreneur Activity 106

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2019

Thus, I’m more impressed with entrepreneurs who ask me to review their implementation plan, rather than listen again to their idea. Some dreams sound great, but may not yet be viable or proven with today’s technology. Writing down key parameters will force you solidify the specifics, and mentally commit to them.

Ideas 94

Ideas Slides Technical Review Patents 94