Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 12, 2018

The problem is that professional investors (angels and venture capital) want a proven business model before they invest, ready to scale, rather than early projections and product development. Apply for contests and business grants. Only one-third make it past their tenth anniversary.

Intellectual Property 134

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 134

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 1, 2017

The problem is that professional investors (angels and venture capitalists) want a proven business model before they invest, ready to scale, rather than the more risky research and development efforts. Apply for contests and business grants. The good news is that the cost for new startups is at an all-time low.

Product Development 177

Product Development Cost Developer Product 177

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 22, 2018

One of the reasons that we won this firm’s business was our willingness to work with their team to add features to our platform and devote resources to ensure that it met their current expectations, while soliciting their feedback for further product enhancements.

Iowa 113

Iowa Investment Bankers Cloud Software Review 113

www.xconomy.com

JUNE 9, 2012

New San Diego VC Firm Emerges as ‘The Moneyball of Venture Capital’. Here’s some big news for San Diego’s innovation economy: There’s a new venture capital firm in town—and its investment methodology represents a fundamentally different approach to the conventional business model for venture investing.

San Diego 40

San Diego Venture Capital Technical Review San Francisco 40

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 8, 2015

According to a classic Gompers and Lerner study, the challenge is very real, with a majority of new ventures that don't attract investors failing within the first three years. My first advice for new entrepreneurs is to pick a domain, such as online web sites and smart phone apps, that doesn’t have the sky-high up-front development costs.

Entrepreneur 120

Entrepreneur Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 120

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2009

On December 3rd Brad Feld wrote a one paragraph blog post titled “ Raising Venture Capital &# in which he linked to my blog. The Original Post (after the jump): Venture Capital, By Mark Suster (December 2nd, 2006). I don’t plan to write the authoritative venture capital blog, just some anecdotes.

Venture Capital 274

Venture Capital Term Sheet San Diego Viral 274

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 23, 2012

Many observers of the venture capital industry have questioned whether its best days are behind it. Looking ahead at the next decade I am excited by what I believe will be viewed as one of the best and most rational investment periods for venture capital due to seven discrete factors: 1. Today we’re online 3.1

Venture Capital 347

Venture Capital Technical Review LP Mobile 347

BeyondVC

MARCH 18, 2018

We are thrilled to announce our investment in Snyk, which is a developer-first security solution that helps companies use open source code and stay secure. in open source world where much of it is third party code. Dev first business model with budget from security? —?we Snyk investor deck late 2015 short from Ed Sim.

Open Source 60

Open Source Security Cofounder Software Review 60

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 14, 2009

Over the same 30 years, Venture Capital firms have honed their skills and strategies to match Wall Streets needs to achieve liquidity for their portfolio companies. One of the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make is misunderstanding the role of venture capital investors. What Do VC’s Do?

Silicon Valley 217

Silicon Valley IPO Technical Review Venture Capital 217

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 19, 2017

Background: Justin Klemm’s analytics and website uptime startup, Ghost Inspector , wants to revolutionize the way businesses manage their ecommerce funnels. The attorneys went back and forth with little founder involvement until the documents were finalized, at which point they were then circulated for a final review and signed.

Private Equity 94

Private Equity Pre-Money Valuation Equity Startup 94

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2011

I spoke about how Amazon Web Services deserves far more credit for the last 5 years of innovation than it gets credit for and how I believe they spawned the micro-VC category. It’s like people arguing that there’s a beautiful beach house in 2006 that represents great long-term value due to scarcity of similar property.

Saudi Arabia 309

Saudi Arabia Valuation IPO Technical Review 309

SoCal CTO

MARCH 22, 2007

Open Source Business Models, speakers for Web 2.0 We have been using LinkedIn for both sourcing recruits and reviewing backgrounds for recruits. ► January (5) Los Angeles Web Developer Startup CTO or Developer When to Use Facebook Connect – Twitter Oauth – Goo. event I did last fall.

Technical Cofounder 150

Technical Cofounder Southern California Los Angeles CTO Hire 150

ReadWriteStart

SEPTEMBER 10, 2010

And EVEN if you ARE an experienced entrepreneur, all but just a few VCs still want to see customer validation, business model validation and traction, before they will invest. Why not go further, develop more valuation, customer experience, and really, deeply validate the business? Next comes the topic of angels. Kir Devries.

Cloud 115

Cloud Silicon Valley Incubator Finance 115

Steve Blank

DECEMBER 7, 2009

Our business model changed as we realized that to become a large company, we needed to automate more than just a few marketers. As we were out looking for our Series B round, our company had gotten the attention of “name of big VC firm here” who wanted a play in enterprise software. Are These Your Slides?

Silicon Valley 225

Silicon Valley Non-disclosure Agreement NDA Startup 225

Up and Running

MAY 23, 2016

Since the term “cloud computing” was coined in 1996—at least as we have come to understand its meaning—the software as a service industry has exploded. The one-page pitch format is also more suitable for SaaS businesses that are constantly testing new ideas. I started UpKeep after seeing and using traditional enterprise software.

Software Review 74

Software Review Software Delaware Forecast 74

www.inc.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

Internet and Online Business. Business Software. Dave Graham Business Venture Capital Private Equity GlobalLogic Inc. Venture Capital Firms. Arizona Bay, after all, had built the IT infrastructure and Web applications that Jumpstart needed to hit it big. Human Resources (HR). TECHNOLOGY.

Arizona 40

Arizona Equity Iowa Venture Capital 40

Up and Running

MAY 28, 2015

We recently had Tim Berry, Palo Alto Software founder and business planning expert, present our Bplans audience with his latest advice on lean business planning. I’m the CEO of Palo Alto Software. A lot of people have asked about the software. Look for something in your business. This is Sabrina.

Lean 60

Lean Business Plan Video Software Review 60

www.forentrepreneurs.com

FEBRUARY 2, 2010

Business Model I would like to propose that in addition to team, product, and market, there is actually a fourth, equally important, core element of startups, which is the need for a viable business model. However there is a lot of value in looking at these same metrics for all other businesses.

Acquisition 103

Acquisition Cost Customer Entrepreneur 103

Pascal's View

SEPTEMBER 7, 2009

Unfortunately, Mr. Slywotzky makes an important assertion about venture capital that is incorrect. business model is broken. business model that drives job growth in emerging growth companies is IPOs. But from 2000 to the end of 2007, the rate plunged to 900,000 a year. The pipeline is dry because the U.S.

IPO 38

IPO Venture Capital America Marketing 38

Professor VC

MARCH 10, 2009

In other parts of the country, this is business as usual: Identify a customer need Build a product Sell the product In the valley, the knee jerk reaction is to start with the powerpoint deck and look for the venture capital drug. Jon Fisher purposely avoided raising venture capital in his ventures.

Bootstrapping 28

Bootstrapping San Jose Silicon Valley Software Review 28

David Teten

DECEMBER 12, 2017

As a globally focused LP in early stage VC funds, we at Blue Future Partners have observed a growing trend of firms investing substantially in software tools, whether developing proprietary solutions or adopting off the shelf tools. But what tools are they using themselves to automate their own processes?

Early Stage 60

Early Stage Technical Review Software Review Venture Capital 60

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 1, 2010

The United States is now a debtor nation to China and that the bill is about to come due. Five Reasons You Haven’t Launched - Software By Rob , November 10, 2010 Photo by stevendepolo. These are probably the two sites where I've posted the most reviews. This Thanksgiving it might seem that there’s a lot less to be thankful for.

Technical Review 175

Technical Review Technology Product CTO Hire 175

Duct Tape Marketing

JULY 26, 2018

Rand Fishkin: I think it’s a company that is striving for rapid growth and seeking to find a scalable, repeatable business model that works. John Jantsch: Isn’t that every business? If you raise venture capital versus getting a bank loan, you are no less or more of an entrepreneur.

Silicon Valley 33

Silicon Valley SEO Startup Technical Review 33

online.wsj.com

SEPTEMBER 23, 2012

Small Business. Computer Software. Media & Marketing. More Industries. Accounting. Advertising. Broadcasting & Entertainment. Computer Hardware. Consumer Products. Defense & Aerospace. Financial Services & Insurance. Food & Tobacco. Hospitality. Industrial Goods & Services. Marketing & Strategy. Media Agencies. Metals & Mining.

Venture Capital 107

Venture Capital Software Review Rhode Island North Dakota 107

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 1, 2011

——— I’m getting ready to go overseas to teach , and I’ve spent the last week reviewing several countries’ ambitious attempts to kick-start entrepreneurship. In Silicon Valley the equivalent is the journeyman coder or web designer who loves the technology, and takes coding and U/I jobs because it’s a passion.

Government 335

Government Silicon Valley Startup Venture Capital 335

venturebeat.com

MARCH 8, 2011

Or it might mean you have enough customers to have “proved&# you have a viable business model, so now you can raise money with sensible terms. If your project is really on the side, you have no business doing business at work. If your project is really on the side, you have no business doing business at work.

Software Review 41

Software Review Startup Technical Review Mobile 41

SoCal CTO

JULY 13, 2010

10 Ways To Be Your Own Boss - A VC : Venture Capital and Technology , June 18, 2010 The folks at Behance and Cool Hunting asked me to talk at their 99% Conference a couple months ago. had two occasions recently to review products which had clear market leadership. Running a business is not an easy job. Surprised?).

Cofounder 175

Cofounder Technical Cofounder Term Sheet Startup 175

Up and Running

OCTOBER 21, 2014

‘Starting a business’ really only comes down to figuring out your business idea ; doing your paperwork; and sorting out the money. Given the number of funding resources available today, you shouldn’t have too much of a problem getting that initial start-up cash, especially if you focus on a lean business model or MVP route to market.

Elevator Pitch 166

Elevator Pitch Software Review SBA Business Plan 166

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

MARCH 11, 2014

Jason: Okay, so that’s a very small company in which the CEO is pulling out the credit card for meeting software because even people with a hundred people, the CEO is not the person pulling out a credit card for the meeting software. But if I look at my signups, most signups come from small businesses. Jason: Okay.

Technical Cofounder 220

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Software Review Management 220

abovethecrowd.com

APRIL 17, 2013

A high rake will allow you to achieve larger revenues faster, but it will eventually represent a strategic red flag – a pricing umbrella that can be exploited by others in the ecosystem, perhaps by someone with a more disruptive business model. This is one of my favorite marketplace business model “tweaks.”

Europe 101

Europe Social Network Technical Review IPO 101

www.chubbybrain.com

SEPTEMBER 28, 2011

Also worth a read after you review these startup failure post-mortems. If you are an entrepreneur seeking funding, try our free Funding Recommendation Engine to identify a list of angels, venture capital and state grant programs that best match your business. You should sign up for our newsletter here. It’s free.

Software Review 79

Software Review Startup Technical Review Vesting 79

crowdSPRING Blog

APRIL 26, 2013

These posts and videos are about logo design , web design , startups, entrepreneurship, small business, leadership, social media, marketing, and more! “So many folks in the venture capital business are sheep that just want to follow the herd. Photoshop CS6 Cheat Sheet | Web Design Ledger – [link].

Social Media 90

Social Media Small Business Design Media 90

Cracking the Code

OCTOBER 10, 2008

Cracking The Code. Thoughts from a Venture Capitalist on Software, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Cloud Computing, Internet and more. Save Asia for post-IPO Single instance, multi-tenant, single datacenter - Have only one version of the code in production. Labels: SaaS , sales and marketing , software.

Software Review 48

Software Review North America Europe Metrics 48

philipsmith.typepad.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

While there have been times in the last dozen or so years, usually during times of venture capital excess, that cash to founders, early-stage executives and other key employees has matched regular market compensation (still with the upside of the equity), this is not true in the vast majority in the start-up game. New Business Models.

Silicon Valley 40

Silicon Valley Equity Technical Review Recapitalization 40

techcrunch.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

It is the first in a series of posts he’s writing about the decisions a young entrepreneur needs to make when she/he is first starting a business. The timing is perfect, there is more than a little overlap with Vivek Wadhwa’s guest post on venture capital earlier today. Johnny Good post. What did you do again?

Technical Review 84

Technical Review Cofounder Technical Cofounder Software Review 84

bhargreaves.com

MARCH 7, 2010

But for every entrepreneur who has seriously considered the pluses and minuses of working with a dev shop in the context of the specificities of their business model, there are five who are hiring a dev shop because (a) they are lazy, (b) they don’t know any better, or (c) all of the above. Sometimes, it just makes sense.

Hiring 40

Hiring Technical Review Agile Software Review 40

infochachkie.com

DECEMBER 5, 2011

The lowercase “c” was eventually capitalized after nearly 10 years, due to the awkward representation of the small “c” when the company was discussed in newspapers and magazines. The diligent marketing person was devastated, as this was not a meaning they had contemplated.

Naming 40

Naming Technical Review Product Product Name 40