Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 24, 2014

Working with early-stage teams : coaching, mentoring, setting strategy, rolling up sleeves: 9/10. I divided success into the phases of venture capital and 18 months into writing my first check here was my view (details on each in the link above). Sourcing high-quality leads : 9/10.

Los Angeles 387

Los Angeles Intellectual Property LP Venture Capital 387

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 31, 2010

As a very early-stage startup person you’re used to rigorous prioritization. PR – Some companies are excellent at PR and others don’t put much effort into it at all. I think PR is an incredibly important activity for technology companies and most companies aren’t very good at it.

Sales 286

Sales PR Forecast Technical Review 286

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 11, 2014

” Sean is somebody widely respected in Silicon Valley (although he now lives in SoCal) for having helped many early-stage companies go through major growth periods by quantitatively testing features with audiences to help diagnose what led to growth. But I still believe Sean Ellis was right.

Technical Review 384

Technical Review Hockey Stick SEM Channel 384

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 30, 2011

Over funding often produces bad behavior in early-stage companies. You hire people too fast, you over build your products, you try to force market adoption and you do PR blitzes before your product is really ready for prime time. That’s falling prey to the “ mythical man month &# line of thinking.

Development Team Review 374

Development Team Review Technical Review Bulgaria Lean 374

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2015

I need to give credit for the topic to PR Malloy who Tweeted me this question. msuster looking for an inspired post on when an exclusivity deal (w/ major industry player) works (cons as well) for an early stage tech co. — PR Malloy (@diddly_do_indy) June 13, 2015. ” Here’s what I mean.

PR 150

PR Early Stage Software Naming 150

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 21, 2010

They want to lock in future clients at an early stage. For a very small fee they can get your Delaware C corp registration, make sure that you have IP protection and ensure you didn’t make an early bumbling mistakes that you’ll pay for dearly in the next 7-10 years of hard work. Our lives are intertwined.

Southern California 318

Southern California Silicon Valley IP Stock Options 318

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 3, 2014

Nor do they exist in the investors of early-stage companies. It’s the easiest way to justify losing deals, put pressure on your to build the features they want and they always believe a competitors PR more than the reality they see inside your business. My first startup was no different. Talk personally to customers.

Sales 382

Sales Startup Technical Review Matching 382

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 26, 2010

One of the large parts of the burn was PR, Marketing and attending conferences. When the CEO of an early-stage startup tells me that they plan to hire a COO I’m usually not interested in the next meeting. As I said, there are VCs who are fooled by all this but it doesn’t equal success.

Entrepreneur 286

Entrepreneur CTO Hire Cofounder Early Stage 286

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 4, 2011

Because it can be hard to define or agree company objectives at an early stage I believe most people avoid them. Usually you have a catch-all bucket for “direct” or similar that often came through PR or word-of-mouth. If you change your company objectives or measurements later that’s fine.

Metrics 346

Metrics Startup Acquisition SEM 346

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 1, 2010

A good early-stage CEO needs to be accessible, to be accountable for producing results and should be establishing the cultural norms of the company through direct leadership at all levels. We all like to think of startups as “non hierarchic&# organizations and to some extent that should be true.

CTO Hire 308

CTO Hire Management Technical Review Part-Time VPE 308

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 5, 2011

Nor do they exist in the investors of early-stage companies. It’s the easiest way to justify losing deals, put pressure on your to build the features they want and they always believe a competitors PR more than the reality they see inside your business. My first startup was no different. Talk personally to customers.

Sales 316

Sales Technical Review Matching Hiring 316

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 29, 2009

Handling PR with VCs. He had pitched me in the past and I told him that for a variety of reasons his company was too early stage for me but that I would happily keep track of their progress. To update me on your PR? Just notice how many VC emails you get after your TechCrunch article or after you were on stage at TC50.

PR 291

PR Bankruptcy Venture Capital Acquisition 291

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 26, 2013

Understanding “The Funding Angle” I sit at enough board meetings to hear conflicting advice given to entrepreneurs about how to handle PR and announcements at startups. In stead of doing my typical big long post with 10 PR tips (like I did there), I’m going to break them up into individual (I hope more digestible) chunks.

Startup 355

Startup PR Dividend Merger 355

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 25, 2014

I’ve been having this PR discussion with three separate portfolio companies at once so I thought I’d just publish my thoughts more broadly. I have written many times about PR so if you want a deep dive on the “how” of PR you may enjoy reading some of these posts. PR pays dividends in Biz Dev.

PR 415

PR Early Stage Dividend Acquisition 415

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 3, 2016

Both firms were able to establish themselves as clear market leaders in early-stage finance even though they were effectively startups 10 years ago in their own right because they did things a different way. We can help portfolio companies with announcements, PR strategies, crisis management and so forth.

Portfolio 150

Portfolio PR Partner Early Stage 150

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 21, 2010

As startup entrepreneurs we all want to work with them because having their name as reference clients makes it so much easier for marketing, PR, selling to other customers, fund raising and even recruiting. Having a few high-potential individuals determines your success trajectory more in the early stages. Same with PBW’s.

Warrant 298

Warrant Dilution Startup Stock Options 298

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 3, 2009

We had an excellent opening panel on early-stage investing with Dave McClure (Founders Fund – NorCal), Brad Feld (Foundry Group, Boulder) and Andy Sack (Founders Co-Op, Seattle). From this crowd of 12 I believe you’ll see 4-5 companies with the potential to rise to prominence.

Silicon Valley 228

Silicon Valley Cofounder Hawaii Semantic 228

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 17, 2011

million and you’re an early stage business this is probably a fair deal. When competitors raise money and you don’t the following happens (assuming all else equal on product development, which I know is not always the case): they have a PR advantage both in terms of perceived momentum and also money to spend on it.

Pre-Money Valuation 303

Pre-Money Valuation Dilution Valuation PR 303

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 16, 2012

And trust me, if you’re early stage you DO want to meet Bryce. He’s awesome for early-stage entrepreneurs. Meet early. So make sure you have a solid PR strategy. Understanding PR & Crisis Management. How to Work with PR Firms. Not so much. It’s human nature.

Developer 366

Developer Silicon Valley PR Las Vegas 366

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 1, 2010

Most early stage startups having monthly board meetings. Quarterly is too few for an early stage business. It’s the kind of thing you’d give to your PR company if you could afford one. Running the “Agile&# Board. I normally recommend 8 meetings per year. You can do calls if need be.

Software Review 301

Software Review Early Stage Agile Partner 301

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 13, 2010

He’s got a strong point-of-view on how OATV wants to invest, is willing to be proudly different from the rest , and is sticking to his plan despite the bull market that has been especially strong in his part of the market: early-stage investing. Avoid the latest fads, trends or PR announcements.

Turkey 302

Turkey Differentiation IP Technical Review 302

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 7, 2016

From Aspiration to Hero For companies that do have that moment of success where everything seems to come together: funding, hiring, customers, PR, product releases and so forth — you have a “hero” moment where you feel invincible. Maybe it’s the system, maybe it’s me — but either way what could I do differently to change outcomes?

Churn Rate 150

Churn Rate Vesting Dilution Europe 150

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 1, 2011

Consider Usher a hard-working early-stage VC. Only after you’ve done all this can you consider whether or not it makes sense to pay for any marketing such as SEM, PR, trade show expenditure, etc. And he has acted as a personal mentor for Justin ever since. You can appeal to your audience directly and build support.

Entrepreneur 398

Entrepreneur Atlanta Audience SEM 398

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 5, 2011

Chris Devore & Andy Sack have created Founder’s Coop with the goal of funding, incubating & launching more early-stage ventures in Seattle. Not to mention every major agency, many PR firms, etc. I see this emerging in Seattle and the passion of “a few key individuals&# who can help shift the game.

Seattle 317

Seattle Silicon Valley Technical Review Los Angeles 317

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 29, 2011

With new micro VC entrants into to early-stage investing plus increased competition from angels, incubators and the like – traditional VCs have taken notice. So VCs spent a couple of years experimenting with earlier-stage investing, which is OK. The Explosion in Early-Stage Innovation. There are also others.

Venture Capital 296

Venture Capital Software LP Early Stage 296

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 25, 2010

I’ve offered to fund an early stage company where I promised cash in bank in less than 30 days. But I sometime see people get bogged down in PR releases, cancelation clauses, minimum guarantees, whatever. I’ve offered to fund an early stage company where I promised cash in bank in less than 30 days.

Technical Review 301

Technical Review Term Sheet Due Diligence Venture Capital 301