View from Seed

APRIL 21, 2015

million raised, per CrunchBase): It was January of second semester of my second year, and Michelle [Zatlyn, Matt’s co-founder] and I were brainstorming different ideas to enter into the business plan competition. Prince: Business History. Clark: Competing through Social Networks. Tom Eisenmann.

Founder 120

Founder Las Vegas Entrepreneur Cofounder 120

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 27, 2012

Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of working with some of the best entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley and elsewhere. Follow up online with social networking to make contact, dig deeper, and maybe even line up a mentor. I’ve done business plan judging at local universities, and learned more than I contributed.

Entrepreneur 234

Entrepreneur Silicon Valley Social Network Networking 234

Steve Blank

MARCH 18, 2011

The signals are loud and clear : seed and late stage valuations are getting frothy and wacky, and hiring talent in Silicon Valley is the toughest it has been since the dot.com bubble. The Business Plan (Concept- Alpha-Beta - FCS ) became the playbook for startups. Carpe Diem. We’re now in the second Internet bubble.

Internet 334

Internet IPO Silicon Valley Agile 334

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2009

There was no viral social networking products back then like Twitter where people could easily discover your content. We have also been very busy with our next release, which is due out by December 11th (but I’ll save that for a different post). There is really no other place in the world like Silicon Valley.

Venture Capital 274

Venture Capital Term Sheet San Diego Viral 274

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 24, 2011

Back to VCs, Silicon Valley venture capital firms are still the most active. Here are some key action items that will give you some priority: Create an investment-grade business plan. Mass mailing your business plan to every VC in the book won’t get you any credibility or traction.

Venture Capital 233

Venture Capital Revenue Elevator Pitch Silicon Valley 233

Gust

JANUARY 19, 2014

Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of working with some of the best entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley and elsewhere. Follow up online with social networking to make contact, dig deeper, and maybe even line up a mentor. I’ve done business plan judging at local universities, and learned more than I contributed.

Entrepreneur 172

Entrepreneur Silicon Valley Social Network Restful 172

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2010

Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of working with some of the best entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley and elsewhere. Follow up online with social networking to make contact, dig deeper, and maybe even line up a mentor. I’ve done business plan judging at local universities, and learned more than I contributed.

Entrepreneur 240

Entrepreneur Silicon Valley Social Network Restful 240

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 3, 2009

While these objectives provide an illusion of progress, in reality they do little to validate the business plan hypotheses about customers and what they will buy. The plan calls for selling in volume the day Engineering is finished building the product. What plan says that? Customer Development Manifesto Part II [.]

Customer Development 215

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 215

Seeing Both Sides

NOVEMBER 15, 2010

While Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s decision to drop out of Harvard and move to Silicon Valley was a plot point in in the movie “The Social Network,” it looked like a watershed event to many in the local technology community.

Massachusetts 33

Massachusetts Silicon Valley Washington Boston 33

VC Cafe

JUNE 20, 2011

More and more incubators are popping up, students are participating in business plan competitions, and actively look to get involved with startups. 3) You don’t have to be in Silicon Valley to start a successful startup [or do you?]. 4) The concept of networking is new here. But that is now changing.

Spain 108

Spain Silicon Valley Brazil Europe 108

Gust

JANUARY 19, 2014

Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of working with some of the best entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley and elsewhere. Follow up online with social networking to make contact, dig deeper, and maybe even line up a mentor. I’ve done business plan judging at local universities, and learned more than I contributed.

Entrepreneur 70

Entrepreneur Silicon Valley Social Network Restful 70

www.drowningamerican.com

JUNE 22, 2012

The business plan was starting to look great and all the idea kinks were worked out. What We’re Doing: We’re currently setting the groundwork for an innovative educational web application that will eventually fuse with social networking. In the longer term we will compete with social networks and online advertising.

Sweat Equity 40

Sweat Equity Equity Hiring Technical Review 40

Duct Tape Marketing

SEPTEMBER 4, 2014

And if you want to succeed in business, you need to get good at developing relationships , no matter what word you use to describe that process. In other words, if you really want to go the distance with your business or career, you need to bring others with you. How to Create Your Relationship Plan. So how do you do that?

Networking 68

Networking Social Network Silicon Valley Conversion 68

Sophia Perl of Wisdom

MAY 10, 2010

During my hay day of being an MBA student, I cranked out a bunch of business plans and entered in some competitions. In general, I wanted experience in vetting out business ideas, presenting ideas, and getting feedback from investors and peers. A good startup idea makes for a good business plan, not the other way around.

San Jose 58

San Jose San Francisco Silicon Valley Cofounder 58

Professor VC

DECEMBER 18, 2008

The last blogger in Silicon Valley. Some result from years of work and/or education while others are a result of trying to identify a unique solution to a consumer or business problem. We recently had our Neat Ideas Fair, which is my favorite annual event of our Silicon Valley Center for Entrepreneurship at SJSU.

San Jose 28

San Jose Silicon Valley Technical Review Angel Investor 28

Professor VC

NOVEMBER 19, 2009

The last blogger in Silicon Valley. While Silicon Valley covers a large amount of turf, it is very small. If you have a reputation for cutting corners, not treating employees or partners right, it will become very difficult to do business. ProfessorVC. Thursday, November 19, 2009. Can Entrepreneurship Be Taught?

San Jose 43

San Jose Silicon Valley Las Vegas Venture Capital 43

Professor VC

MAY 29, 2008

The last blogger in Silicon Valley. An entrepreneur will pitch their business plan to what they think is a group of angel investors and will get a number of follow-up calls afterwards, but they are pitches for services not investment interest. ProfessorVC. Thursday, May 29, 2008. What does it take to be an Angel Investor?

Angel Investor 28

Angel Investor Angel Groups Accredited Investor San Jose 28

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 1, 2010

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. No Business Plan Survives First Contact With A Customer – The 5.2 Build Your Own Silicon Valley? What truth?

Technical Review 175

Technical Review Technology Product CTO Hire 175

Business Plan Blog

DECEMBER 18, 2013

4) The Startup Conference - It is an annual conference that takes place in Silicon Valley. It is more of a social networking for raising equity. 3) Keiretsu Forum - Founded in 2000, it claims to be the largest angel investor network in the world. Similar to Startup Weekend, this is for growing as an entrepreneur.

North America 40

North America Angel Investor Accredited Investor Silicon Valley 40

Professor VC

AUGUST 26, 2011

The last blogger in Silicon Valley. To that last one, there is certainly some truth as the standard time vs. revenue chart in most business plans looks like this: Im not teaching Entrepreneurial Finance this semester for the first time since Fall 2007. Is the model consistent with the business plan?

Silicon Valley 35

Silicon Valley San Jose Hockey Stick Venture Capital 35

Professor VC

FEBRUARY 12, 2008

The last blogger in Silicon Valley. I first met Jeff about 8 years ago when he was finishing his first year at the Stanford GSB and was beginning to raise money for a business plan he developed for a secondary market ticket exchange. Don't Stop Believin' Is There Any Truth in "The Social Network"?

San Jose 31

San Jose Technical Review Venture Capital Angel Investor 31

Professor VC

FEBRUARY 26, 2010

The last blogger in Silicon Valley. My colleague, Anu Basu , Director of the Silicon Valley Center for Entrepreneurship at San Jose State , recently completed a paper on this topic, "Does Experience Matter? Don't Stop Believin' Is There Any Truth in "The Social Network"? ProfessorVC.

San Jose 28

San Jose Silicon Valley Venture Capital Angel Investor 28

Professor VC

OCTOBER 11, 2010

The last blogger in Silicon Valley. Is There Any Truth in "The Social Network"? Got around to seeing The Social Network this past weekend. I'd be happy to send you our business plan, exec summary, and ppt. Don't Stop Believin' Is There Any Truth in "The Social Network"?

Social Network 28

Social Network Networking Software Review San Jose 28

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 6, 2019

Start in a business domain you know well. Since there are no bellwethers like Apple or IBM in the startup arena, your best bet is to pick one in a business area you know well. Don’t be fooled by thinking that social networks are hot, so you should invest in the next startup you see in that realm.

Liquidity Event 224

Liquidity Event SEC Entrepreneur Accredited Investor 224

Professor VC

MAY 30, 2009

The last blogger in Silicon Valley. We held our annual business plan competition at San Jose State this month and first prize was $10,000. Ryan was actually working on another business plan for my class when he came to discuss this concept with me a few weeks before the business plan competition.

San Jose 28

San Jose Angel Investor Silicon Valley Bootstrapping 28

Professor VC

JUNE 20, 2011

The last blogger in Silicon Valley. had mixed emotions when I read the the press release on the recent funding of iControl Networks. Now that iControl has raised over $100M, this got me thinking back to our original business plan. Don't Stop Believin' Is There Any Truth in "The Social Network"?

San Jose 28

San Jose Angel Investor Term Sheet Venture Capital 28

Professor VC

JANUARY 20, 2009

The last blogger in Silicon Valley. Evaluate Business and Financing Needs - We initially went out seeking $10 million in financing, but listened to the prospective investors and watched the market. Don't Stop Believin' Is There Any Truth in "The Social Network"? ProfessorVC. Steve Bennet.

Venture Capital 28

Venture Capital Silicon Valley San Jose Bootstrapping 28

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 16, 2017

Start in a business domain you know well. Since there are no bellwethers like Apple or IBM in the startup arena, your best bet is to pick one in a business area you know well. Don’t be fooled by thinking that social networks are hot, so you should invest in the next startup you see in that realm.

Liquidity Event 184

Liquidity Event SEC Accredited Investor Angel Investor 184

Professor VC

SEPTEMBER 26, 2008

The last blogger in Silicon Valley. As I am quoted in the article, it is easy to pick holes in a business plan. Don't Stop Believin' Is There Any Truth in "The Social Network"? ProfessorVC. Friday, September 26, 2008. CFOs - More Guardian, Less Angel? ► January. (1). ► 2010. (7).

Angel Groups 28

Angel Groups San Jose Early Stage Angel Investor 28

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 10, 2015

I’d encourage you to watch this quick 3-minute video with some views on what I call “ The Co-Founder Mythology ” that is perpetuated in Silicon Valley. I often speak about co-founder fighting and how this ends in lawsuits but this has become much more prevalent. Lawsuits are particularly common amongst co-founders.

Vesting 150

Vesting Cofounder IP Stock Options 150

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 1, 2013

Start in a business domain you know well. Since there are no bellwethers like Apple or IBM in the startup arena, your best bet is to pick one in a business area you know well. Don’t be fooled by thinking that social networks are hot, so you should invest in the next startup you see in that realm.

Accredited Investor 219

Accredited Investor Liquidity Event SEC Stock 219

maplebutter.com

JANUARY 8, 2013

No investor cares about a business plan. If you’re not into business plans, as an investor, how would you decide if a startup is worth investing in (if you do in fact invest in startups)? . I have 2 options: set up a new startup or share my idea with google (or maybe another big silicon valley’s company).

Technical Review 44

Technical Review Startup Cofounder Software Review 44

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 24, 2012

Start in a business domain you know well. Since there are no bellwethers like Apple or IBM in the startup arena, your best bet is to pick one in a business area you know well. Don’t be fooled by thinking that social networks are hot, so you should invest in the next startup you see in that realm.

Portfolio 228

Portfolio Accredited Investor Liquidity Event SEC 228

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 14, 2010

To me, this indicates that venture capitalists (VCs) are looking for business, but they are clearly moving away from early-stage (pre-revenue) deals. Back to VCs, Silicon Valley venture capital firms are still the most active. Mass mailing your business plan to every VC in the book won’t get you any credibility or traction.

Venture Capital 123

Venture Capital Elevator Pitch Silicon Valley Massachusetts 123

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 6, 2015

Start in a business domain you know well. Since there are no bellwethers like Apple or IBM in the startup arena, your best bet is to pick one in a business area you know well. Don’t be fooled by thinking that social networks are hot, so you should invest in the next startup you see in that realm.

Accredited Investor 120

Accredited Investor Liquidity Event SEC Entrepreneur 120

Startup Lessons Learned

MARCH 13, 2009

Figuring this out takes time, and few entrepreneurs have the patience to wait it out, because the business plan does such a good job of explaining what customers are going to think. The problem is that customers dont read your business plan. If you dont know what the right positioning is for your company, do not launch.

San Francisco 168

San Francisco PR Lean Early Stage 168

Duct Tape Marketing

MARCH 1, 2018

There’s a running joke in Silicon Valley, “What do you called a failed entrepreneur?” John Jantsch: You bet. John Jantsch: So we started talking about an idea, and I will say there are millions and millions of great ideas. I think that failure gets a bad rap. ” The answer is, “Experienced.”

Lean 64

Lean Social Media Bootstrapping Business Model 64