SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 20, 2011

One of the readers asked my opinion around sharing your startup concept: My first question has always been - how do you protect your idea while shopping around for feedback, partners, developers, etc.? As Chris Dixon says in Why you shouldn’t keep your startup idea secret. Lots of thoughts here. " Ummm.

NDA 198

NDA Stealth Intellectual Property Non-disclosure Agreement 198

Steve Blank

JUNE 26, 2014

The Lean LaunchPad class uses the three “ Lean Startup ” principles: Alexander Osterwalders “ business model canvas ” to frame hypotheses. Finally we move to the left side of the canvas to teach the supporting elements of Resources, Partners, Activities and Costs. Your potential exit partners are also a customer.

Intellectual Property 283

Intellectual Property Lean IP Open Source 283

The Startup Magazine

APRIL 2, 2020

Entrepreneurship is the dream of many people who want to bring big ideas to life and turn startup ventures into massive industry powerhouses. Intellectual property (IP) is often among the most valuable assets for a company, even if it doesn’t seem that way on the surface. But it’s also about business paperwork.

Software Review 113

Software Review Intellectual Property Limited Liability Company IP 113

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 9, 2018

You race back to the office to tell everybody how well it went and you wait for the follow-up call to have a partners’ meeting or talk about term sheets or at least dip into due diligence. That way when my partners in are in …. there is a reason for us to re-engage because they never met that partner before. What do I do now?

Software Review 381

Software Review Churn Rate Due Diligence New York 381

YoungUpstarts

MAY 19, 2016

Think of a tech startup the same way. Startup stardom is the new American Dream. Fifty percent of all startups flame out after four years. Another common issue among tech startups I work with is improper compliance with state and federal tax regulations. Ideally, tech startup founders stay on till the very end.

Technical Review 103

Technical Review Burn Rate Intellectual Property IP 103

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 21, 2010

If you’re a startup and you don’t have a close relationship with a few law firms you’re really missing one of the most important relationships that any entrepreneur can have. I write about some of the lessons in my post on Startup Mistakes. Shame about not getting it in legal writing that you owned the original IP.

Southern California 318

Southern California Silicon Valley IP Stock Options 318

Austin Startup

FEBRUARY 7, 2019

The Forrest Four-Cast: February 7, 2019 Fifty diverse startups will aim to impress a panel of judges and a live audience with their skills, creativity and innovation at SXSW Pitch Presented by Cyndx. Our ecosystem crowdsources up to $4 trillion dollars of orphan and dormant IP, which becomes the center of the collaboration environment.

Intellectual Property 48

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Malta 48

ConversionXL

MARCH 17, 2021

At the time we were planning a workshop for B2B tech startups from the IMEC accelerator (Ghent, Belgium) and had a chance to interview many of the companies that had signed up. And while this was a good start, a significant position of these companies were early-stage startups. Use IP-identification to better serve your customers.

B2B 150

B2B Sales Cycle Belgium IP 150

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 28, 2015

by John Vrionis, partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners. This article highlights their advice on issues ranging from financing to patent trolls: While startups may believe lawyers are too costly, working with one early on avoids potentially serious problems later. Lightspeed is in the business of encouraging entrepreneurship.

Convertible Security 100

Convertible Security IP Technical Review Software Review 100

YoungUpstarts

JUNE 27, 2017

Even so, it’s difficult (and perhaps impossible) to operate a small business or startup and not negotiate agreements with employees, vendors, customers, and others. They do their best to impress us with their complex payment processes and rarely forget to mention that they are a large company and we’re a tiny startup.

Employee 127

Employee Partner Non-Compete IP 127

VC Cafe

JULY 21, 2022

Investment bank Drake Star Partners published a report on the gaming investment and M&A activity in the first half of 2022. We are in the experimentation stage, where brands, IP, communities, are testing the waters for relevancy, connection with the younger fans, and new income potential. How many people play games in 2022?

Forecast 190

Forecast IP Mobile Acquisition 190

Steve Blank

MAY 29, 2011

He set up Blackbox.vc, a seed accelerator for technology startups (and one of the tour stops for entrepreneurs from around the world.) They went to work gathering deep knowledege of what makes successful Internet startups. Max and his partners interviewed and analyzed over 650 early-stage Internet startups.

Technical Cofounder 333

Technical Cofounder Early Stage Startup Silicon Valley 333

VC Cafe

AUGUST 2, 2022

As an early stage investor in the world of gaming and metaverse technology at Remagine Ventures, I find these companies have the potential to set the agenda, become the potential platforms for developers building in this space and future acquirers/consolidators of startups building the next generation of the Internet. Here we go! Epic Games.

IP 206

IP Cofounder Valuation Acquisition 206

BeyondVC

MAY 16, 2012

Lately questions about Intellectual Property or IP have been cropping up left and right. Eliot Durbin (my partner at BOLDstart Ventures) and I had a long discussion this morning in preparation for his panel today about IP and patents. Do startups really think patents are going to make or break their business?

Intellectual Property 119

Intellectual Property IP Balance Sheet Startup 119

VC Cafe

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

Toya is a female-led studio partnering with the biggest platforms in the gaming industry to develop and promote games that reflect equal opportunities, diverse characters, and more dynamic storylines across the gender spectrum. It takes a LOT of courage to say no to potential revenue, especially in the very early stages of a startup.

Technical Review 178

Technical Review South Korea Due Diligence IP 178

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 3, 2019

For startups and larger enterprises, engaging in fundraising rounds is often key to growing a company. Even if businesses don’t formally merge or acquire another company, it makes sense to partner with other enterprises for the provision of some service, goods, or to engage in an entirely new venture. IP Management.

Intellectual Property 101

Intellectual Property IP Software Review Security 101

BeyondVC

MAY 16, 2012

Lately questions about Intellectual Property or IP have been cropping up left and right. Eliot Durbin (my partner at BOLDstart Ventures) and I had a long discussion this morning in preparation for his panel today about IP and patents. Do startups really think patents are going to make or break their business?

Intellectual Property 119

Intellectual Property IP Balance Sheet Startup 119

YoungUpstarts

JUNE 1, 2019

by Bruce Cleveland, Founding Partner at Wildcat Venture Partners and author of “ Traversing the Traction Gap “. This is the second in a three-part series that aims to help you understand the Traction Gap Framework® – a step-by-step approach that startup teams can use to go from ideation to preparing to scale. Go-to-Product.

Cleveland 110

Cleveland Marketing Framework Early Stage 110

Haystack

DECEMBER 29, 2018

It’s that time of year, time to look back and reflect on the most significant storylines in the tech, startup, and VC world. And, with that warning, I offer to you, the big stories in the startup and investing ecosystem of 2018, written in ascending order of importance and magnitude…. 6/ Venture Capital In Expansion Phase.

Technical Review 165

Technical Review Venture Capital Russia China 165

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 7, 2015

I love how open Danielle has been throughout the development of her startup Mattermark including honest reflections of when she has changed her opinion. All of my partners at Upfront do. We fund 10-12 companies per year at Upfront where I’m a partner. That’s what it feels like.”. The right ones are invaluable additions.

Cap Table 150

Cap Table Silicon Valley Cofounder Startup 150

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 17, 2013

I’ve written a lot about recruiting and hiring at startups including my controversial post on whom not to hire and my rapid response to the flame war. ” “There’s no way we’re going to partner in this area. Sales & Marketing Advice Startup Advice' It’s too strategic. He’s insane.

Sales Cycle 375

Sales Cycle Sales Technical Review Campaign 375

YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 14, 2016

by Jeff Stark, Audit Partner at Sensiba San Filippo. In the current economic landscape, it’s common for startups and businesses to seek a buyout or acquisition — in fact, it’s frequently the goal from the start. Jeff Stark is an Audit Partner at Sensiba San Filippo.

Acquisition 100

Acquisition Intellectual Property Technical Review Due Diligence 100

ReadWriteStart

APRIL 10, 2012

Those are the first three items on every tech startup's checklist (more or less). Much farther down the list - if it's there at all - is the security plan the startup needs to protect its brilliant idea from theft. Most startups take the obvious measures: Be careful who you hire. A fridge full of Red Bull. That needs to change.

IP 121

IP Security Intellectual Property Startup 121

Steve Blank

DECEMBER 7, 2009

Posted on December 7, 2009 by steveblank In my 21 years of startups, I had my ideas “stolen” twice. The initial hypothesis for Epiphany (from my much smarter partner Ben ) was that as departments in the enterprise (manufacturing, finance, customer support sales) became automated, the marketing department would eventually get its turn.

Silicon Valley 232

Silicon Valley Non-disclosure Agreement NDA Startup 232

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 20, 2019

by Lu Zhang, founder and managing partner of Fusion Fund. In the startup world, opportunities are fleeting, and obstacles are ubiquitous. You could have a compelling pitch and a proven track record of success, but if you’re an agtech startup and the VCs you’re talking to specialize in healthcare, you won’t get anywhere.

Technical Review 106

Technical Review Due Diligence Early Stage Differentiation 106

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 17, 2019

I had just left Salesforce.com where I was VP, Products, after they had acquired my second startup. The first check I wrote was just over 10 years ago into a company called Invoca who just announced a new $56 million in funding led by Scott Hilleboe at HIG Growth Partners. Defensible IP becomes insanely valuable?—?particularly

IP 223

IP Intellectual Property IRR Cofounder 223

David Teten

MARCH 14, 2018

My Partners at HOF Capital are younger than I am, which means that we have a half-century horizon for the franchise we are building. – Build out low-cost force multipliers such as scouts , Advisors, Entrepreneurs in Residence, Venture Partners, and so on. So we think about scaling a lot.

Private Equity 60

Private Equity Venture Capital Equity Cofounder 60

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 5, 2010

A caller dialed in to ask us questions about his startup. He was from South America but living in Switzerland and had launched a startup while holding down a day job at a consulting firm (McKinsey if memory serves). He and his partner told me about this new idea over the course of nearly a year. He wanted to raise angel money.

Entrepreneur 293

Entrepreneur CTO Hire Salary South America 293

ReadWriteStart

AUGUST 9, 2019

You also have a partner in recovery: Generally, the burden can shift to your cloud provider. If your cloud servers go offline because of a disaster, then you might need to repoint your systems to new IP addresses temporarily. The cloud can handle the heavy lifting when it comes to recovering data or limiting downtime.

Cloud 115

Cloud Developer Azure Technical Review 115

David Teten

JANUARY 19, 2021

(co-written with Jamie Finney, Founding Partner at Greater Colorado Venture Fund. More and more startups are pursuing Revenue-Based VCs , but “RBI” doesn’t fit everyone. Capacity Capital, Greater Colorado Venture Fund, Indie.VC, Reformation Partners, UP Fund, Versatile VC. Of the Inc. 5000 companies, only 6.5% return cap.

Cofounder 78

Cofounder Technical Review Equity Dividend 78

www.frozennorth.org

SEPTEMBER 16, 2011

Stealth Mode Startup. If youve read my Cult of the NDA article (which, by the way, remains one of the most-read articles on this blog), then you know that I think good luck and good execution are far more important to success in a startup than a Really Big Idea. Last Updated: Aug 07, 2008 03:29 PM. Friday - May 27, 2005 at 09:21 AM in.

Stealth 40

Stealth IP NDA Startup 40

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 25, 2014

Since 2005 startup accelerators have provided cohorts of startups with mentoring, pitch practice and product focus. What’s been missing for everyone is: a common language for investors to communicate objectives to startups. a language corporate innovation groups can use to communicate to business units and finance.

Incubator 312

Incubator Intellectual Property Startup Lean 312

Agile VC

MARCH 13, 2012

AGILEVC My idle thoughts on tech startups. CEO Scott Thompson alluded to their plan a couple weeks ago but the IP lawsuit itself was only official late afternoon yesterday (and now public). ’s claims of IP infringement or offer a litigator’s perspective of Yahoo!’s How To Think About The Future.

IP 100

IP IPO Social Network Silicon Valley 100

Tim Keane

SEPTEMBER 28, 2011

Startups and angels: Along the way to success. " We all have heard/repeated the investment mantra about "big, growing markets" with "unfair advantage IP" position.   And then the partners come calling.   And then the partners come calling. Funding startups. Startup ideas.

Technical Cofounder 68

Technical Cofounder Wisconsin Cofounder IP 68

Hunter Walker

MARCH 6, 2021

You will never be able to take the brand risks, the legal risks, or the partnerships risks that a true startup can. Many quarters and dollars later, the Western CEO leaves with some China experience and the Chinese partner keeps the IP, money, business… You cannot fight the nature of the beast, this is China. It’s just not true.

China 135

China Chad Acquisition Cofounder 135

mashable.com

OCTOBER 16, 2010

During a presentation at Startup School at Stanford University earlier today, the prolific investor discussed the state of startup funding with a packed auditorium of students and entrepreneurs. These investors usually raise a smaller fund and make investments into startups that range in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Angel Investor 84

Angel Investor Venture Capital Social Media Technical Review 84

mashable.com

OCTOBER 16, 2010

During a presentation at Startup School at Stanford University earlier today, the prolific investor discussed the state of startup funding with a packed auditorium of students and entrepreneurs. These investors usually raise a smaller fund and make investments into startups that range in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Angel Investor 83

Angel Investor Venture Capital Technical Review Social Media 83