Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 12, 2023

Too many entrepreneurs tell me they are looking for an investor, and can’t differentiate between venture capital (VC) investors versus accredited angel investors. Angels are more likely to fund new entrepreneurs, and early-stage or seed rounds, while VCs tend to focus on entrepreneurs with a successful track record, and later stage rounds.

Angel Investor 246

Angel Investor IRR Venture Capital Valuation 246

David Teten

JANUARY 9, 2018

He looked at his resume, and asked just one question: “ What’s your edge? ” My friend got the job because his answer was differentiated, credible, and backed up by a history of investing success. It is unexciting and hard to prove, but in fact “We execute better” is a critical differentiator. This model certainly makes sense.

Venture Capital 60

Venture Capital Private Equity Silicon Valley Differentiation 60

David Teten

JANUARY 9, 2018

He looked at his resume, and asked just one question: “ What’s your edge? ” My friend got the job because his answer was differentiated, credible, and backed up by a history of investing success. It is unexciting and hard to prove, but in fact “We execute better” is a critical differentiator. This model certainly makes sense.

Venture Capital 60

Venture Capital Private Equity Silicon Valley Differentiation 60

Austin Startup

MAY 11, 2017

645 Ventures 645 Ventures makes deeply-researched investments in institutional Seed to Series A rounds for exceptional companies who demonstrate stellar early results in the areas of market validation, product differentiation, team strength, and brand narrative.

Private Equity 48

Private Equity Venture Capital Technical Review Seed Stage 48

Version One Ventures

APRIL 30, 2013

In the software space, it is commonly accepted that barriers to entry are no longer created by patents or by tech differentiation alone, but by superior traction in the marketplace. It feels like we are still in the early stage of the hardware revolution. For example, Softtech and True Ventures funded FitBit.

Venture Capital 128

Venture Capital Software Review Incubator Startup 128

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 13, 2020

Too many entrepreneurs tell me they are looking for an investor, and can’t differentiate between venture capital (VC) investors versus accredited angel investors. Angels are more likely to fund new entrepreneurs, and early-stage or seed rounds, while VCs tend to focus on entrepreneurs with a successful track record, and later stage rounds.

Angel Investor 314

Angel Investor Entrepreneur IRR Valuation 314

ConversionXL

MARCH 28, 2019

Product Hunt is a community-based website that allows makers and marketers to launch their products or services and get in touch with their first real users. The community can jump start products through votes and (honest) reviews, which are essential in the early stages of campaigns. Do you want to get press coverage?

Campaign 127

Campaign Product Technical Review Social Media 127

ConversionXL

JUNE 25, 2021

Develop a sales messaging guide to create consistency around how your team describes the product, showcases its benefits, and differentiates it from competitors. Points of differentiation. It’s common for new products or early-stage startups to lack sufficient quantitative data to see meaningful themes or patterns.

Product 96

Product Social Media Audience Software Review 96

Hunter Walker

MARCH 25, 2015

Since talent attracts talent, it’s not surprising Kirsten built a small community around her that also shines, notably Eurie Kim. At the time, no one was investing in early stage consumer companies — it wasn’t a “thing” yet. Firm founder Kirsten Green has an amazing analytical mind combined with empathy for the consumer.

Naming 48

Naming Technical Review Early Stage Green 48

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 4, 2013

It has become the largest art community on the web with huge pockets of global users who never had a website in which to express themselves amongst peers and also find ways to monetize their talents on a global basis. It’s why in early-stage teams I personally invest in strong teams not in strong product strategy.

Technical Review 401

Technical Review Startup Business Model Non-Compete 401

Duct Tape Marketing

JANUARY 25, 2023

7:30] Would you say self-publishing is seen as a differentiator for businesses? [11:42] And as a business, you know, a lot of your audience is small business owners or solopreneurs or early stage, you know, entrepreneurs. [2:25] Is self-publishing a more profitable way to publish today? [5:12]

Audience 88

Audience Revenue Distribution Differentiation 88

Up and Running

DECEMBER 17, 2020

Is it differentiated from other products in its competitive set? And one question that many startups overlook at the early stages of formulating their business plans: do you have a well-reasoned, effective, and budget-savvy marketing plan? Is there a well-defined, sustainable market for your product? What is inbound marketing?

Marketing 142

Marketing Technical Review SEO Hosting 142

View from Seed

JANUARY 11, 2021

billion across 2,288 deals in Q3, with deal count exceeding Q2’s at nearly every stage. . Early stage deal activity showed real resilience coming off of a slow Q2, with deal count at angel and seed stage in 2020 now about at par with the same period in 2019. Familiar loops offered invaluable, pre-seeded confidence.

Venture Capital 350

Venture Capital Cofounder Early Stage Seed Stage 350

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 29, 2017

Upfront VI is our latest core fund and is $400 million to invest in early stage entrepreneurs. LPs (the people who invest in VC firms) have clearly voted in favor of LA with the creation of 15+ new early-stage venture firms and the continued growth is size and team of the great larger firms that are well established.

Los Angeles 287

Los Angeles Las Vegas Venture Capital San Francisco 287

VC Cafe

APRIL 27, 2011

10 things VCs can do to differentiate themselves and provide more value to potential investments – based on feedback from dozens of entrepreneurs. Despite the VC’s obvious disadvantage in the early stages, marketing and differentiation of venture capital funds is limited today. Have nothing to tweet about?

Venture Capital 90

Venture Capital Differentiation Incubator Angel Investor 90

David Teten

SEPTEMBER 5, 2014

I was excited to see that GLG (formerly Gerson Lehrman Group), the industry leader, is now offering a professional network service geared to the needs of the startup community: GLG Share. Prabhdeep Singh: We become their learning partner and they become part of a special and vast community of professionals.

New York 114

New York Technical Review Networking Advisory Board 114

Women Entrepreneurs Can

JANUARY 12, 2024

Crafting a Unique Menu Your menu is where you get to shine and differentiate your sandwich shop from the competition. Local advertisements, partnerships with nearby businesses, and community events can build a strong local presence. Keep a close eye on your expenses, especially in the early stages.

Early Stage 52

Early Stage Differentiation Social Media Cost 52

Up and Running

MAY 23, 2016

Step 3: Brand and differentiate yourself. Whether you’re looking to stand out in an already-crowded marketplace, or to simply be a memorable company, figuring out how to brand and differentiate yourself is key. However, we have been able to differentiate [ourselves] and also excel by making enterprise software fun and enjoyable.

Software Review 74

Software Review Software Delaware Forecast 74

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 2, 2014

Too many entrepreneurs tell me they are looking for an investor, and can’t differentiate between venture capital (VC) investors versus accredited Angel investors. Angels are more likely to fund new entrepreneurs, and early-stage or seed rounds, while VCs tend to focus on entrepreneurs with a successful track record, and later stage rounds.

Angel Investor 266

Angel Investor Entrepreneur Venture Capital IRR 266

Reid Hoffman

AUGUST 17, 2021

But the key is to ensure your product has a strong differentiator, which is exactly how Ramaswamy and his Neeva co-founders positioned the search engine company when it launched last year. If they are taking on problems that the other company is really, really, really good at, then they better have a strong differentiating thing.

Cofounder 69

Cofounder Differentiation Search Advertising 69

Reid Hoffman

AUGUST 17, 2021

But the key is to ensure your product has a strong differentiator, which is exactly how Ramaswamy and his Neeva co-founders positioned the search engine company when it launched last year. If they are taking on problems that the other company is really, really, really good at, then they better have a strong differentiating thing.

Cofounder 69

Cofounder Differentiation Search Advertising 69

David Cohen

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014

If accepted, you get to come have dinner with the most active angel investors in our community an in informal no-BS setting. Open Angel Forum is always a great fit for companies that already have some early commitments to their rounds, and t amplifies this nicely to other active investors in the community.

Cofounder 111

Cofounder Angel Investor Early Stage Community 111

Austin Startup

JANUARY 2, 2021

As a result, he thought that many people in Silicon Valley aren’t as invested in the community or focused on making it better for their children and their neighbors. A great job is the start, but also a great home, a great neighborhood, a great community they feel a part of. How different that is than the feeling in Austin right now!

Silicon Valley 100

Silicon Valley Austin Texas Raleigh 100

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 5, 2016

Too many entrepreneurs tell me they are looking for an investor, and can’t differentiate between venture capital (VC) investors versus accredited Angel investors. Angels are more likely to fund new entrepreneurs, and early-stage or seed rounds, while VCs tend to focus on entrepreneurs with a successful track record, and later stage rounds.

Angel Investor 120

Angel Investor IRR Valuation Startup 120

mashable.com

JUNE 11, 2013

simply arent crucial to success or failure, and for an early stage startup that means they were wastes of time — you could have done 10x more with that same amount of time and resources." — Jonathan Wegener , Founder, Timehop and ExitStrategy. Others can help provide feedback on your differentiation or competition.

Cofounder 111

Cofounder Technical Review Startup Software Review 111

Venture Chronicles

MAY 26, 2010

This is the “tastes great, less filling&# debate that recurs on a regular basis in the venture capital and entrepreneur communities. The law of accelerating returns kicks in when companies and markets go through these stages, simply put, the more you have the more you get. If you raise $10m for a company that is valued at $3.5m

Lean 40

Lean Early Stage Valuation Startup 40

Austin Startup

FEBRUARY 24, 2019

If you are genuinely passionate about it, that will shine through and you will immediately be differentiated from the many sales people that attend these events. Opportunity cost is very real for any stage company, but it is critical for an early-stage one. Finding what to name our category for enterprise sales?—?the

Software Review 48

Software Review Sales Cofounder Analytics 48

David Teten

JUNE 1, 2011

Riverside defines proprietary as any sale less than ~3 buyers involved Kinderhook looks for the “broken” auctions that didn’t get the right attention of the PE community. Question : How do generalist PE funds differentiate and get in the advisers list? Question : How do PE funds differentiate in the LOI phase?

Private Equity 122

Private Equity Deal Flow Equity Developer 122

www.women2.org

MARCH 8, 2012

A warm intro from a friend or participating in events and communities that specifically frame “finding a co-founder” (not just “startup happy hour”), you will — and I did — have better results. They are building more functionality into the site, a great community resource! Community Service.

Cofounder 47

Cofounder Technical Review San Francisco Founder 47

Duct Tape Marketing

JANUARY 4, 2023

And let me just cla, let me just jump really quick cuz this is like one of the hottest contested things in our community, I would say. Kind of diehard SEO community. And that's true and that's still very much a core of our community. Andrew Warden (01:14): Show. Great, thanks so much. So good to be here. And beyond.

SEO 86

SEO Audience Channel Campaign 86

Duct Tape Marketing

SEPTEMBER 22, 2022

And let me just clarify, let me just jump really quick, cuz this is like one of the hottest contested things in our community, I would say. Kind of die hard SEO community. And that's still very much a core of our community, but you know, now gosh, 14 years later, we're 55 plus tools. Andrew Warden (01:14): Great. Thanks so much.

SEO 84

SEO Channel Campaign Audience 84

David Teten

JANUARY 13, 2015

I know we romanticize the LGBT entrepreneur making an app for the LGBT community, but too many of our ideas are “ghettoized” and not seen as “big ideas”. For early-stage founders, I suggest AngelList and Crunchbase. For later-stage companies, I suggest the Association for Corporate Growth online community, Axial , and Preqin.

Venture Capital 60

Venture Capital Advisory Board Greece Cofounder 60

Up and Running

DECEMBER 16, 2014

” The book is the inspiration for today’s webinar, and if you enjoy her PR tips for early-stage and established entrepreneurs, I’d really encourage you to check out her book, which is on shelves now. Also, what differentiates that is critical. For early-stage entrepreneurs, yes, you’re getting out there.

Public Relations 117

Public Relations Small Business PR Entrepreneur 117

Austin Startup

DECEMBER 12, 2017

Perot Jain , one of the most active early stage venture firms in Texas, is joining DivInc and The DEC to support our $100,000 Dallas Diversity & Inclusion Challenge and help us get the word out as far and wide as possible! Perot Jain, LP is an early stage venture capital firm founded by Ross Perot Jr. Ross Perot, Jr.,

Dallas 48

Dallas San Antonio Houston Texas 48

Hearpreneur

JULY 10, 2015

I add other differentiators by podcasting and creating expert-sourced ebooks or videos. 8) Give Back to my Community. My business model is different because I give back to my community by manufacturing my product in my home town. Also, a third of the profits of each ZippedMe sold is given back to women in my community.

Entrepreneur 48

Entrepreneur Software Review Technical Review Small Business 48

YoungUpstarts

JANUARY 17, 2016

How they think and feel; their sense of community; and their appetite to share their opinions are all creating new paradigms for how any business, regardless of size, connects with its customers. However, if you do make the investment and differentiate your business with great customer service, you can tap into this huge market opportunity.

Customer 100

Customer Singapore Advisory Board Asia 100

Up and Running

DECEMBER 20, 2017

It doesn’t matter if you’re starting your cannabis business in Washington, Colorado, or Maine; you should start by building authentic relationships with your local cannabis community.” Funding and differentiating your service or brand will definitely help. ” Know the rules (and follow them!).

Las Vegas 144

Las Vegas District of Columbia Colorado North America 144