Feld Thoughts

JUNE 2, 2010

I’m on an Acela train between Boston and New York (listening to Boston’s More Than A Feeling – how recursive) on my way to the TechStars Boston 2010 Investor / Demo day. It sounds like Angel Boot Camp rocked. Don Dodge also has a great post up titled How to be an Angel Investor…and make money.

Angel Investor 167

Angel Investor Boston Due Diligence Cofounder 167

Professor VC

SEPTEMBER 16, 2010

Are DEMOs days numbered? Has DEMO lost its luster and relevance in 2010? DEMO has always been one of my favorite tech conferences. You can always check out the current and prior product demos at the DEMO site. It was the 15th anniversary and they made a big deal branding the event as Demo@15. Steve Bennet.

Technical Review 38

Technical Review San Jose Angel Investor Silicon Valley 38

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 25, 2010

Paul Graham’s assertion that “any startup founder can tell you the most common question they hear from investors is not about the founders or the product, but “who else is investing?&# Investors who commit early deserve to have a lower price. But that’s what great angels do.

Finance 286

Finance Term Sheet Technical Review Warrant 286

The Startup Magazine

FEBRUARY 24, 2021

But how do you go about finding startup investors? There are multiple types of investors and each one is different. Angel investors. In many cities with a startup scene, there are angel investors. They are high net worth individuals who are also accredited investors. Personal investors.

Accredited Investor 90

Accredited Investor Angel Investor Initial Public Offering Due Diligence 90

A Crowded Space

SEPTEMBER 18, 2015

Incubators and accelerators are breeding grounds of hype - they put lists of companies out there and have a demo day to display their wares. Any time you have Techcrunch publishing articles like, “ Our 9 Favorite Startups From Y Combinator Summer 2015 Demo Day 2” , you’re going to get some hyped companies. Why does hype occur?

San Diego 60

San Diego Software Review San Francisco Silicon Valley 60

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 13, 2019

The first rule is to separate your advisors from your investors. Perhaps a close personal friend can be both (the earliest stage and first tier investors should be “friends and family”). But for angel investors and venture capital investors, just remember that investors are not on your team (yet).

Elevator Pitch 214

Elevator Pitch Angel Investor Venture Capital Business Plan 214

Duct Tape Marketing

APRIL 6, 2022

Steve is the CEO of Founders Space, one of the world’s leading startup accelerators with over 50 partners in 22 countries. Founders Space was ranked the #1 incubator for overseas startups by Forbes and Entrepreneur Magazines. 18:05] How does the Founder Space operate? [20:21] He's the CEO of founders space.

San Francisco 97

San Francisco Technical Review Incubator Silicon Valley 97

YoungUpstarts

MAY 1, 2020

by Ash Rust , founder and managing partner of Sterling Road. When raising your pre-seed round (usually $250,000 to $750,000), you’ll want to focus your outreach on active angel investors and the new generation of small fund managers, often called micro venture capitalists, whose fund sizes are usually less than $100 million.

Early Stage 154

Early Stage Security Angel Investor Lead Investor 154

Austin Startup

MARCH 4, 2019

It’s a robust ecosystem so I’m only listing the ones we’ve done the most deals with here but Capital Factory is the most active early stage investor in Texas so this is a good sampling. Get ready to experience hands-on, cutting edge technology demos (and some wild future science stuff you never thought was possible). don’t worry ?—?we’ve

Silicon Valley 50

Silicon Valley Technical Review Texas Venture Capital 50

Feld Thoughts

NOVEMBER 18, 2013

They decide to go out and raise money on a convertible note – several angel investors have signaled interest in participating in the note and they don’t feel ready to pitch VCs yet. Fundraising goes better than expected and they quickly find themselves with a $750k round consisting of several VCs and a bunch of angels.

Burn Rate 152

Burn Rate Equity Software Review Early Stage 152

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 13, 2011

So very few investors want Business Plans any more. And I would rather, even before the executive summary, have something to play with (a demo)…” It falls in the category of show don’t tell. So I was an Angel investor from 1994 to 1996. and one of the founders of Oblong, John Underkoffler, was an MIT Medialab PHd.,

Technical Review 288

Technical Review Venture Capital Silicon Valley Software Review 288

Feld Thoughts

OCTOBER 19, 2010

I’ve known and worked with Andy since 1995 (I was on the board of his first company – Abuzz – which was acquired in 1999 by the New York Times) and am awed by the amazing things he’s doing in Seattle these days, including Founder’s Co-op , RevenueLoan , and of course TechStars Seattle.

Seattle 107

Seattle Angel Investor Cofounder New York 107

Rob Go

SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

Large Tech Meetups: Web Innovators Group : Quarterly Demo-Style meetup in Cambridge draws over 1000 members of the startup community each time. Founder Dialogues : Eric Paley plays talk show host on this recurring fireside chat style event with Boston area founders. David Hauser – Co-founder of Grasshopper ( blog , @dh ).

Boston 56

Boston Technical Review Community CTO Hire 56

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 8, 2017

The first rule is to separate your advisors from your investors. Perhaps a close personal friend can be both (the earliest stage and first tier investors should be “friends and family”). But for angel investors and venture capital investors, just remember that investors are not on your team (yet).

Elevator Pitch 151

Elevator Pitch Angel Investor Venture Capital Business Plan 151

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 25, 2014

The first rule is to separate your advisors from your investors. Perhaps a close personal friend can be both (the earliest stage and first tier investors should be “friends and family”). But for Angel investors and venture capital investors, just remember that investors are not on your team (yet).

Elevator Pitch 268

Elevator Pitch Venture Capital Startup Angel Investor 268

Steve Blank

JULY 1, 2014

Investors sitting through Incubator or Accelerator demo days have three metrics to judge fledgling startups – 1) great looking product demos, 2) compelling PowerPoint slides, and 3) a world-class team. Other than “I’ll know it when I see it”, there’s no formal way for an investor to assess project maturity or quantify risks.

Sacramento 306

Sacramento Framework Customer Development Lean 306

Austin Startup

FEBRUARY 5, 2018

Half of these startups will demo their talents on Saturday, March 10, and the remaining 25 on Sunday, March 11. Our Chairman and co-founder Alex Allegue pitched Pawame in the global finals of last year’s Harvard Business School New Venture Competition, Pawame having already won the Africa category. The founders?—?Alex

Africa 48

Africa Kenya Startup CTO Hire 48

Feld Thoughts

MAY 9, 2018

I’ve been friends with Alex Iskold for over a dozen years (I was an angel investor in GetGlue, which USV funded.). Some of my favorites include: 30 Questions Investors Will Ask Founders. 11 Questions Founders Need to Ask Investors. Founders, Beware of Happy Ears. 7 Calendar Tips for Startups.

Startup 77

Startup Angel Investor Portfolio Metrics 77

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 22, 2017

In my activities as an angel investor, and my work with new ventures seeking investment, I find the “due diligence” stage to be fraught with the most risk. Usually this stage only really starts after an investor has expressed serious interest, or already informally agreed to invest.

Due Diligence 148

Due Diligence Bankruptcy Angel Investor Stock 148

Berkonomics

AUGUST 3, 2023

Some businesses require very little capital and the founder can self-finance the enterprise and retain 100% of its ownership and control from ignition through liquidity event (startup through sale). Several are well-known and professional investors pay special attention to their graduates.

Private Equity 118

Private Equity Valuation Cap Table Accredited Investor 118

The Startup Lawyer

MARCH 8, 2010

The selected startups will get up to $25,000 in seed funding, intensive top-notch mentorship, and the opportunity to pitch to angel investors, venture capitalists and corporate dev teams at their biannual “Demo Day”. Applications for the first 12-week accelerator “bootcamp” are due March 19.

Technical Review 40

Technical Review Dallas Seed Capital Angel Investor 40

The Startup Lawyer

MARCH 8, 2010

The selected startups will get up to $25,000 in seed funding, intensive top-notch mentorship, and the opportunity to pitch to angel investors, venture capitalists and corporate dev teams at their biannual “Demo Day”. Applications for the first 12-week accelerator “bootcamp” are due March 19.

Technical Review 40

Technical Review Dallas Seed Capital Angel Investor 40

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 25, 2012

The first rule is to separate your advisors from your investors. Perhaps a close personal friend can be both (the earliest stage and first tier investors should be “friends and family”). But for Angel investors and venture capital investors, just remember that investors are not on your team (yet).

Elevator Pitch 236

Elevator Pitch Entrepreneur Angel Investor Venture Capital 236

Rob Go

SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

So without further delay: Large Tech Meetups: Web Innovators Group : Quarterly Demo-Style meetup in Cambridge draws over 1000 members of the startup community each time. Founder Dialogues : Eric Paley plays talk show host on this recurring fireside chat style event that has featured Boston’s BEST founders. The Grand-daddy.

Boston 71

Boston Technical Review Community Cofounder 71

Austin Startup

APRIL 27, 2019

this post is all about the resilience required to keep going as an entrepreneur, not as an angel investor. Bob Fabbio was the founder and CEO of eRelevance and he was the man in the arena here?—?and For all of us Austin fans, I’m talking about Cotter Cunningham, the founder and CEO of RetailMeNot. But I digress?—?this

B2C 51

B2C Austin Cofounder IPO 51

Diego Basch

MARCH 14, 2013

Whether I like it or not I’m an angel investor , even though I prefer a different label. I like to be able to take public transportation and have meetings with founders, sometimes spontaneously. I recently attended a Demo Day for a well-known incubator.

San Francisco 55

San Francisco Startup Silicon Valley Seed Stage 55

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 18, 2014

If the deal is from out of your geography and/or out of your focus area or a deal is being referred by a well-know investor who normally co-invests with similar syndicates – at least ask yourself, “Why am I so lucky to be getting this call.” I avoid Demo Days like the plague and have publicly said so. End of story.

Cofounder 337

Cofounder Syndicate Syndication Angel Investor 337

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 9, 2011

The first rule is to separate your advisors from your investors. Perhaps a close personal friend can be both (the earliest stage and first tier investors should be “friends and family”). But for angel investors and venture capital investors, just remember that investors are not on your team (yet).

Elevator Pitch 239

Elevator Pitch Angel Investor Venture Capital Business Plan 239

Austin Startup

NOVEMBER 26, 2017

Longhorn Startup Demo Day 2015 with Venture Capitalist Mike Maples Mellie Price and I are looking for the student entrepreneurs at UT Austin who are building real startups. You can get free cash, course credit, and connections to Austin’s top entrepreneurs and angel investors if you are one of the 10 teams selected for the class.

Angel Investor 48

Angel Investor Affiliate Austin Programming 48

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

AUGUST 16, 2010

The real reason they're pissed is that VCs are increasingly unnecessary to get companies started , both because of inexpensive technology and marketing channels and because there are enough angel investors that founders don't have to sell the entire farm for ridiculous amounts of cash they don't really need.

Exit Strategy 246

Exit Strategy Angel Investor Finance Incubator 246

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2014

Don’t even get me started on Demo Days. You could spent 20 days / year at Demo Days now. You have to strike a balance between the commitment you have to each and every entrepreneur but also to your own reputation in the market not to be over-selling the performance of companies to downstream investors. Motives matter.

Cofounder 374

Cofounder Syndicate Syndication Early Stage 374

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 29, 2016

Yet they tend to ignore this problem, and move on quickly to professional investors. They don’t realize that most Angel investors and venture capitalists will also decline to be first, if you have no commitment from friends and family. Demos and prototypes are key. Demonstrate your own financial commitment and progress.

Elevator Pitch 151

Elevator Pitch Exit Strategy Angel Investor Equity 151

Feld Thoughts

JULY 13, 2010

In case you aren’t familiar with the Open Angel Forum , the organization is dedicated to providing entrepreneurs with access to the angel investor community based solely on merit and without any fees. The first Open Angel Forum in Boulder was dynamite. Apply here to attend as an angel investor.

Angel Investor 100

Angel Investor Hosting Community Email 100

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 12, 2010

The first rule is to separate your advisors from your investors. Perhaps a close personal friend can be both (the earliest stage and first tier investors should be “friends and family”). But for angel investors and venture capital investors, just remember that investors are not on your team (yet).

Elevator Pitch 217

Elevator Pitch Entrepreneur Angel Investor Venture Capital 217

Growthink Blog

JANUARY 29, 2014

This blog post was written by Mary Juetten, founder of Traklight.com, a site that provides inventors, creators, and small businesses with integrated software tools to identify and protect intellectual property. Perhaps you are hiring a company for custom work, or are talking to potential co-founders, angel investors, or venture capitalists.

NDA 124

NDA Intellectual Property Non-disclosure Agreement Angel Investor 124

YoungUpstarts

MARCH 27, 2017

The accelerator usually provides an initial investment and the program culminates in a Demo Day, where startups pitch their company to a room full of investors. The most successful mentor relationships are sustained because the startup founders were proactive in building them. Look At Success Stories.

Programming 100

Programming Startup Angel Investor Equity 100

YoungUpstarts

MARCH 31, 2013

The startup last week announced that it landed a S$696K (US$560K) seed funding round led by TNF Ventures through the Technology Incubation Scheme under the Singapore’s National Research Foundation (NRF) and supported by Singapore angel investors Ben Ball and Ben Chew, validating TribeHired ‘s concept.

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Singapore Malaysia Incubator Angel Investor 137