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Is the Lean Startup Dead?

Steve Blank

And while the “first mover advantage” was the rallying cry of the last bubble, today’s is: “Massive capital infusion can own the entire market.” Jeff Katzenberg has a great track record – head of the studio at Paramount, chairman of Disney Studios, co-founder of DreamWorks and now chairman of NewTV.

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Hear how the Lean Startup began — and helped one company find success: Episode 2 on Sirius XM Channel 111: Eric Ries and Jon Sebastiani

Steve Blank

Jon Sebastiani , founder and CEO of KRAVE Jerky , a company that got its start in my class at Berkeley back in 2011 and was recently acquired by Hershey. Eric Ries co-founded Catalyst Recruiting while attending Yale, and continued his entrepreneurial career as a Senior Software Engineer at There.com. Taking My Class.

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Congratulations to Upwork

A Crowded Space

I remember when I made that first flight out to San Francisco from Boston to meet the team in 2004, the company was down to its last $20K in the bank. Very shortly after I joined, Greg Gretsch (now my partner at Jackson Square Ventures) co-led oDesk’s Series A along with Venky Ganesan (partner at Menlo Ventures and lead investor in Rev.com).

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This Week in VC: Michael Montgomery (President, Montgomery & Co.)

Both Sides of the Table

This episode of This Week in Venture Capital featured Michael Montgomery, president of Montgomery & Co. If you don’t know Montgomery & Co it is one of the premier technology & media focused investment banks in the country (and as Michael corrected me they also have a strong Healthcare / Med tech practice).

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This Week in VC with @VCMike Hirshland of Polaris Ventures

Both Sides of the Table

This lasted from about 2001-2004. Since then Mike his built his career by investing in early-stage companies (seed or series A), which is remarkable given that Polaris Ventures is a $1 billion fund. And Mike believes that entrepreneurs often need less capital to get started these days. Founded 2007 in Boulder, CO.

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Seizing the Moment: Why Experts Believe Now is the Golden Opportunity for Investing in Israel

VC Cafe

Since I’ve started writing about Israeli startups in 2004, there has never been any event like October 7 and the war that followed. Juan Delgado-Moreira, co-CEO of Hamilton Lane, a $900 billion asset management company, said in an interview last week : “Now is the best time to invest in Israel. The list goes on and on.

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How to Avoid Being Part of 90% of Failed Companies

ReadWriteStart

According to a study by CB Insights (2017), a software that gathers essential data from investors, companies and industries, more than 70% of startups do not exceed the first stage of venture capital investment. The rounds were conducted from 2008 to 2010, starting from seed capital. Why do so many companies fail? Losing focus.