Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

But the biggest thing to know is this: Companies who are scaling quickly in revenue and with a high gross margin often should invest as much capital in growth as they can manage responsibly because when you find a product / market fit and your company is growing at a very fast scale you want to capture market share before competition sets in.

Burn Rate 383

Burn Rate Balance Sheet .Net Valuation 383

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

If you spent the 3 years perfecting some hugely differentiated technology IP that may also be different. Gross margins at 66% is fine (they’re selling through a reseller who takes a 33% margin) but their sales aren’t yet large enough to cover the costs of their IT development team + management + marketing + office costs, etc.

Startup 418

Startup Revenue Technical Review Flash 418

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 25, 2011

If you really want to do a product business then hire a professional manager for your services company, quit that job and focus 100% on your product company. You own the IP you create. My advice wasn’t to shut down all product / IP initiatives but rather to be clear on their purpose and how to monetize them.

Silicon Valley 332

Silicon Valley IP Dividend Finance 332

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 2, 2015

For a well-funded seed company I have controversially recommended hiring a great office manager that doubles as an administrative assistant. Legal threats from other IP holders? This is all about “leverage” which is the key to success. You really want to spend your time on that? Who is leading your patent filing program?

Operations 150

Operations Metrics Early Stage Non-Compete 150

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 7, 2011

I’m interested in the topic of “reputation management&# as espoused by Honestly.com. In the rare instances where I get a troll I’m able to delete their comment and block them by email address or IP address. If I have an opinion I’m both willing to share and willing to be challenged. I want to stay independent.

Social Network 287

Social Network Reputation IP Audience 287

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2015

If you have 8 senior managers in place and I don’t think you’ll need as many people I might accept an option pool of 8% unallocated. Of course investors care about controls (board, protective provisions, IP assignments, non-solicitation) but these are all pretty standard. Those are the big three.

Pre-Money Valuation 150

Pre-Money Valuation Option Pool Post-Money Valuation Dilution 150

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 10, 2010

He said that there remains a very healthy market for “data oriented&# software companies because the world is moving more toward measurability and software companies with differentiated IP often get a premium in the market. Is a super-simple online management and admin tool for real-world groups. TechCrunch. GroupSpaces.

IPO 242

IPO Venture Capital Private Placement Cofounder 242

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2010

My original post was directed at hiring managers. My view still stands – for many hiring managers a large factor in looking through resumes of somebody who is 30+ and has never worked somewhere for more than 18 months will be the job hopping element. I learned how to better run a product management process.

Venture Capital 285

Venture Capital Hiring Software Review Stock Options 285

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 6, 2010

And they’re easy to remember because they all begin with an M: management, market, money and above all else momentum. Management Team - This is really a sine qua non. Different VC’s have different calibration points on the continuum of management, product or product / market fit. What about Product / IP?

Early Stage 360

Early Stage Startup Venture Capital Seed Stage 360

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 5, 2011

It has the dual technology patrons and yet the consistent story I get is that they’re not actively out embracing the startup community, helping local successes emerge, getting comfortable with the symbiotic benefits of some employees going to startups that innovate at a different pace and then buying up local teams, talent & IP.

Seattle 317

Seattle Silicon Valley Technical Review Los Angeles 317

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 8, 2014

To interconnect these computers we needed IP-based telecommunications equipment build by the likes of Cisco Systems and Juniper Networks. Cincinnati has had the accelerator The Brandery for several years, which caters to the great strengths of design and brand management that are dominant in this city. Angels & Recycled Capital.

Silicon Valley 390

Silicon Valley Kansas City Startup Venture Capital 390

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 25, 2010

My co-founder and other management team members wanted us to hold off and see whether we could get the deal done at a higher price. If it’s a biz deal you might care about IP protection, revenue share, investment commitments to joint marketing – whatever. I was resolute. I’m not saying to throw in the towel and not negotiate points.

Technical Review 301

Technical Review Term Sheet Due Diligence Venture Capital 301

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 10, 2010

The start of the argument is that you need to separate using the Internet into “infrastructure & cloud services&# (basically the protocols of the Internet such as HTTP, TCP/IP, SMTP, etc. + Lock users into proprietary rights management, distribution or consumption models? Launch a closed iTunes / iTV? I choose open.

Web 300

Web HTML AJAX China 300

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 10, 2011

2) People/companies who are solving the merchant problem of managing the influx of location-based services, increasing sales and repeat business. TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) : network transfer protocol, basically it defines requirements for network communications. 3 things that excite Mark (1:18:06).

Angel Investor 302

Angel Investor Cofounder Southern California .Net 302