Steve Blank

JANUARY 22, 2014

Dino Vendetti a VC at Bay Partners, moved up to Bend, Oregon on a mission to engineer Bend into a regional technology cluster. Today with every city, state and country trying to build out a technology cluster, following Dino’s progress can provide others with a roadmap of what’s worked and what has not. Tech investing is risky.

Early Stage 290

Early Stage Silicon Valley Oregon Technical Review 290

NZ Entrepreneur

AUGUST 4, 2021

That’s why it’s important for founders to understand that the clearer you can articulate the opportunity and its potential risks – and proposed mitigations – the better equipped investors will be to assess your business as a viable investment. Due diligence, information memorandums & data rooms.

Technical Review 61

Technical Review Software Review Founder Due Diligence 61

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 16, 2022

They couldn’t possibly understand the new social media culture, new technologies, or have the determination to beat their younger counterparts in the market. In fact, they are well-qualified overall, having worked with high technology and computers for at least 20 years, are highly educated, and highly motivated.

Advisory Board 368

Advisory Board Dividend Angel Investor Cofounder 368

David Teten

DECEMBER 12, 2017

VCs are at the forefront of technological disruption, funding many of the latest cutting edge productivity tools. Lisa Edgar, Managing Director at fund of funds Top Tier Capital Partners , observed: “It’s not surprising that venture capitalists are using software to help manage their business.

Early Stage 60

Early Stage Technical Review Software Review Venture Capital 60

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 1, 2014

So today I’m excited to announce that Upfront Ventures is leading an $8 million round with some amazing co-investors including Founder’s Fund, OATV, Lowercase, High Peaks, Collaborative Fund and many great angel investors. After 9 months it was time to raise seed capital and go test drive our new software and processes.

Technical Review 380

Technical Review Software Review Cofounder CTO Hire 380

View from Seed

DECEMBER 17, 2015

Editor’s Note: NextView recently kicked off a Boston-based workshop series on technical interviewing with Google. Saurya Velagapudi is a senior software engineer at Google, based in their Cambridge, Mass., I recently chatted with Saurya about how he approaches hiring engineers at Google and what founders can learn.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Engineer Software Review Founder 120

ReadWriteStart

AUGUST 28, 2012

But when it comes to core technical skills, more and more entrepreneurs are opting to partner with technical co-founders rather than hiring someone for an in-house position. How Innovative Is Your Technology? If you want to start a tech company, you must understand the space. You Need To Know Tech Basics.

Technical Review 131

Technical Review Cofounder Founder Software Review 131

The Equity Kicker

SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

We see this all the time at Forward Partners where we invest right from the idea stage and most of the companies get a first version of their product live for less than £30k (that generally includes founder salaries and time spent doing customer research).

Early Stage 119

Early Stage Development Team Review Technical Review Software Review 119

The Startup Magazine

NOVEMBER 28, 2018

The FUND Conference brings together over 100 startups to present their early-stage products and pitches in front of hundreds of investors and industry leaders. I work in technology where the dress code is relaxed, but an executive woman my age can wear neither a hoodie nor a stuffy suit.). Team Info: Founder: Dana Todd.

Technical Review 158

Technical Review Software Review Illinois Due Diligence 158

NZ Entrepreneur

SEPTEMBER 29, 2021

If we want to maintain and support sustainable economic growth while meeting the broader needs of society, we will need an economy underpinned by innovation and new technologies. Startup founders are our ambitious problem solvers. Suse Reynolds, Angel Association New Zealand. Underpinning this growth is good governance. Accountability.

Technical Review 89

Technical Review Software Review New Zealand Due Diligence 89

ReadWriteStart

JULY 12, 2019

There are plenty of entrepreneurs diligently working toward a better future. But in high-tech businesses, it’s crucial that the AI you build, promote, or invest in — is authentic. It shouldn’t be a surprise that the buzz surrounding AI/machine learning and early stage startups peaked in 2018.

Artificial Inteligence 132

Artificial Inteligence Technical Review Software Review Startup 132

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 31, 2020

by Roland Polzin , MBA and Co-founder of Wing AI. In addition, not everyone has the privilege of having a real personal assistant due to high costs. What is the Role of Technology? Due to advancements in technology, assistants are now becoming a common good — even for businesses — and are no longer limited to the high-earners.

Artificial Inteligence 214

Artificial Inteligence Mali Management Technical Review 214

ReadWriteStart

AUGUST 28, 2012

But when it comes to core technical skills, more and more entrepreneurs are opting to partner with technical co-founders rather than hiring someone for an in-house position. How Innovative Is Your Technology? If you want to start a tech company, you must understand the space. Laura Roeder , LKR 2.

Technical Review 79

Technical Review Cofounder Founder Software Review 79

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 18, 2020

They couldn’t possibly understand the new social media culture, new technologies, or have the determination to beat their younger counterparts in the market. In fact, they are well-qualified overall, having worked with high technology and computers for at least 20 years, are highly educated, and highly motivated.

Advisory Board 312

Advisory Board Startup Dividend Angel Investor 312

Gust

DECEMBER 22, 2011

Tech startups are at the other extreme. It’s possible to have a company with literally millions of customers (users) that employs only a handful of people, working in a small rented office, with hardware and software costing in the tens of thousands rather than millions of dollars. Instagram is a textbook example.)

Intellectual Property 149

Intellectual Property Technical Review Software Review IP 149

The Startup Magazine

OCTOBER 22, 2021

In preparing to write his acclaimed book David and Goliath , Malcolm Gladwell recalls an encounter with a software programming legend named Vivek Ranadivé. In the seconds, moments, weeks, and months after a felt loss, founders have the precious chance to monitor the movement of their thoughts.

Early Stage 158

Early Stage Technical Review Software Review Algorithm 158

SoCal CTO

JANUARY 26, 2010

I’ve been having discussions with several people recently about the role of the CTO (Chief Technology Officer) in very early stage companies. However, I’ve now begun questioning how and what an early-stage / startup CTO should be. I’ll address the specifics of what this Founder Developer Gap looks like below.

CTO 225

CTO Fractional CTO CTO Hire Technical Review 225

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 19, 2012

I was talking with an early-stage founder who has a product vision and wants to get it built. He is not a technical person, but is somewhat web savvy. Founder : Ummm. Founder : Umm. And in the case of defining mobile/web/software, there is even more variability in terms of form and format.

Developer 354

Developer Technical Review Fractional CTO Software Review 354

SoCal CTO

JULY 23, 2012

This leads to a set of questions: What is the role of a CTO in the early stages of a company, and does that role change later on as both the company and that individual matures? I've previously addressed the role of a CTO in early-stages in my post Startup CTO or Developer. What are the biggest areas of technical risk?

CTO Hire 231

CTO Hire Technical Review Developer Software Review 231

Steve Blank

MAY 19, 2015

But over time code/hardware written/built to validate hypotheses and find early customers can become unwieldy, difficult to maintain and incapable of scaling. These shortcuts add up and become what is called technical debt. This work adds no features visible to a user but makes the code stable and understandable.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Salary Early Stage Software Review 120

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

Nearly every successful tech startup I’ve observed over the past 20 years has gone through a similar growth pattern: Innovate, systematize then scale operations. As an early-stage VC I love this phase. As a startup in this phase you often raise capital, get press, hire staff and everything feels possible.

Operations 286

Operations New York City Technical Review Startup 286

Austin Startup

NOVEMBER 17, 2020

I led the seed round not long ago for an Austin-based SaaS company that had all of the qualities I look for in a software investment?—?a a founding team with deep domain expertise, novel technology, and rabid early adopters. The startup founder had a notable coastal VC firm that they really wanted in the round.

Austin 63

Austin Technical Review Software Review Early Stage 63

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 14, 2012

So many tech startups begin the same way: One founder, one dream and a plan to make it happen. Rachel Blankstein has launched two tech startups, including her current business Comparz , a website where independent users review web-based software. So what does it actually take to build a kickass startup team?

Technical Review 159

Technical Review CTO Hire Software Review Startup 159

View from Seed

APRIL 27, 2020

Founders do not have this luxury. Most founders are going through hell right now, and that is not going away any time soon. For investors and founders, the next several years are going to be very different. Pre-seeds will be tougher as investors gravitate more towards proven founders or folks within their existing networks.

Cofounder 194

Cofounder Software Review Portfolio Technical Review 194

VC Cafe

NOVEMBER 2, 2019

When you start with an honest and diligent effort to determine the truth of your situation, the right decisions often become self-evident.” — Jim Collins , author of Good to Great. Benchmarks are typically specific to stage/business model/geo. Software as a Service (Saas) benchmarks. Benchmarks for deep tech startups.

B2C 141

B2C Technical Review Startup Retention 141

Haystack

NOVEMBER 25, 2018

It’s that time of year, where I — as a committee of one judge, me — select one startup in the tech ecosystem that “broke out” and has the makings of an even larger outcome should things continue to go right. It’s entirely possible the trend lifts these companies in due time, as well.

Technical Review 127

Technical Review Open Source Software Review Venture Capital 127

Reid Hoffman

AUGUST 6, 2020

The term “early-stage” covers a lot of territory in venture investing, from incubating a brand-new idea, to investing in a Series A. WHAT METRICS SHOULD A FOUNDER SHOW TO RAISE A SERIES A FROM A VC FIRM LIKE GREYLOCK? ONCE A COMPANY HAS YOUR ATTENTION, WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS IN THE DILIGENCE PROCESS?

Technical Review 69

Technical Review Seed Stage Software Review Early Stage 69

ConversionXL

JANUARY 28, 2021

Instead, we’ll be covering the core use cases that customer data platforms address and explore whether Segment or Mparticle ultimately deserves a spot in your tech stack. David Raab Founder at CDP Institute. The average business already has 17 unique technology applications housing customer data. G2 Reviewer.

Technical Review 86

Technical Review Software Review Analytics Technical Cofounder 86

VC Cafe

APRIL 26, 2023

More and more, people are experimenting with these new technologies that enable anyone to write better, brainstorm, invent, craft and get inspired with text, images, video, voice, music and more. At Remagine Ventures we started investing in the generative AI space very early back in 2019.

Generative AI 78

Generative AI Artificial Inteligence ChatGPT 78

Up and Running

JULY 28, 2022

Still, you can use accounting software or work with a tax professional. Innovation can be a product, design, or a process of doing things to solve a technical problem. Develop a founders agreement. A founders’ agreement is a legal contract defining and governing the relationship between cofounders.

Small Business 167

Small Business Intellectual Property Cofounder Software Review 167

David Teten

MARCH 18, 2021

(co-written with Stephane Nasser , co-founder of OpenVC , an open-source initiative to collect and analyze all VC theses.). OpenVC is a new, open-source initiative to collect and analyze all publicly available VC theses, to help founders more efficiently find the right investors, and vice-versa. of venture capital deals.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Cofounder Venture Capital Deal Flow 78

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 15, 2009

When you’re an early-stage startup that hasn’t raised any institutional money you end up doing almost every job function of the company yourself. We hired a head of technology, a head of customer service, a head of marketing, a head of strategy (which no startup should ever hire) a CFO and, ugh, 33 developers.

Founder 299

Founder Technical Review Startup Venture Capital 299

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 27, 2012

By now you probably know that David Sacks , co-founder of PayPal and founder of both Geni & Yammer made some observations on Facebook that Silicon Valley “as we know it” was coming to an end. We once thought Microsoft was a monopoly on the Internet due to IE. Where David is Totally Right. Laughable now.

Silicon Valley 299

Silicon Valley Technical Review Early Stage Cofounder 299

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 6, 2014

When you first start your company and raise initial venture capital your board probably consists of 1-3 founders and 1-2 VCs. Most experienced VCs won’t push you to give up founder control at this stage of the business nor should they. Reviewing financial & operational performance. Founder’s perspective.

Technical Review 325

Technical Review Early Stage Software Review Los Angeles 325

Steve Blank

AUGUST 29, 2011

More than 90% of startups fail, due primarily to self-destruction rather than competition. After 50 years of technology entrepreneurship it’s still an art. They believe that they can crack the code of innovation and turn entrepreneurship into a science if they had hard data rather than speculation of why startups succeed or fail.

Software Review 296

Software Review Early Stage Technical Review Startup 296

David Teten

SEPTEMBER 23, 2017

VCs tout themselves as frontier technology investors, but most are using the same infrastructure tools they have used for the past 20+ years: Excel and recent college grads searching Google. According to Knowledge.VC , under 5% of US VCs have a full-time team member focused on technology. . But we’re doing it slowly.

Private Equity 60

Private Equity Venture Capital Equity Technical Review 60

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 4, 2018

It occurred to me that although we mentioned our new thematic approach when we raised our last fund in 2017, we haven’t really shared a broader manifesto about how we are approaching the early stage market. It’s been an interesting several years in the early stage venture eco-system, and the sands have shifted considerably.

North America 120

North America Seed Stage Early Stage Lead Investor 120