Gust

JUNE 15, 2014

With limited time, I’ve learned to focus only on key issues, and delegate the rest.”. “I “Exceeding customer expectations is my competitive advantage.”. “I I select vendors carefully, and manage them well, to keep my costs down.”. I recognize that financial projections are commitments, so I don’t take them lightly.”.

Entrepreneur 174

Entrepreneur Bootstrapping Employee Restful 174

Gust

JANUARY 19, 2014

It’s an unfortunate artifact of our educational system that young people spend a dozen years focused more on memorizing facts than the learning process, and then thinking that they will have all they need to know for the rest of their lives by the time they graduate.

Entrepreneur 172

Entrepreneur Silicon Valley Social Network Restful 172

Gust

JANUARY 15, 2013

The view is always better from the eyes of a head standing up above the rest of the crowd. . One group that doesn’t lose, in this scenario, is the subset of startups funded in 2012 that have launched successfully and are doing well. What do you think? .

Due Diligence 119

Due Diligence Startup Angel Investor Early Stage 119

Gust

FEBRUARY 1, 2014

For the rest of us, LinkedIn can offer a good substitute. In fact, the first thing that Ron Conway does after making an investment is to give the new portfolio company a large binder containing the names of every person Ron knows in the industry, with the offer to make whatever introductions are needed.

Angel Investor 148

Angel Investor Startup IPO Early Stage 148

Gust

MARCH 16, 2014

While most employees would see their vesting rest when the “Series A” round closes, a Founder might retain some percent of their shares. These have less to do with the type of stock and more to do with who the person is and how strategic they are to the organization. Stock dilution control.

Stock 175

Stock Vesting Common Stock Founder Vesting 175

Gust

NOVEMBER 11, 2012

When you start a business, you need to have the frame of mind that this is what you want to do for the rest of your life. You will always come across people that will criticize you, no matter how great or valuable your product or service may be. Motivated yet patient.

Entrepreneur 189

Entrepreneur Restful Startup Business Plan 189

Gust

SEPTEMBER 27, 2014

There are 450+ back episodes online, and it’s safe to say that if you listen to it regularly, within a few months you will know more about what makes angel investors tick than do 98% of the rest of the world…including other angels! Create your Gust profile to show off your venture in the best possible light.

Angel Groups 159

Angel Groups Elevator Pitch Software Review Deal Flow 159

Gust

NOVEMBER 28, 2011

What are investors looking for in the CEO and the rest of the top executives? Often I find that experienced investors flip to the management page of a business plan, even before they read the product description. That’s how important the people are. Been there, done that, and won.

Startup 147

Startup Bootstrapping Social Network Internet 147

Gust

JULY 19, 2012

In each of the groups, there will probably be the usual breakdown of the industry leader, the significant #2, and the rest of the pack. My personal guess is that the early stage funding world will likely trifurcate (or even quadricate, if that’s a word) into several distinct groups.

Accredited Investor 144

Accredited Investor SEC Equity Early Stage 144

Gust

JANUARY 22, 2014

Above is a screen shot I just took of my Gust investor dashboard.

Angel Investor 150

Angel Investor Angel Groups Accredited Investor Early Stage 150

Gust

JULY 3, 2012

In getting up to speed, there’s also no substitute for reading the work of commentators whose grasp of the subject matter is detailed enough to make a thorough, reasoned analysis (notably Techdirt’s Mike Masnick — himself a lawyer — in this example).

Intellectual Property 163

Intellectual Property Social Bookmarking IP Term Sheet 163

Gust

AUGUST 5, 2012

Rest assured that potential investors will ask for names, and place some calls. Convince investors that your team is experienced in starting a new business, and have great expertise in the selected business domain. Include Advisory Board members and key industry people connections. Funding requirements.

Business Plan 182

Business Plan Sweat Equity Exit Strategy Intellectual Property 182

Gust

JANUARY 19, 2014

It’s an unfortunate artifact of our educational system that young people spend a dozen years focused more on memorizing facts than the learning process, and then thinking that they will have all they need to know for the rest of their lives by the time they graduate.

Entrepreneur 70

Entrepreneur Silicon Valley Social Network Restful 70

Gust

DECEMBER 29, 2013

It also means knowing when to delegate, when to rest, and reserving time for effective communication with your team. It takes practice and effort to focus on the most important things first. In business, “most important” means time to market, customer service, low cost, and beating your competitors.

Startup 183

Startup Intellectual Property LLC Burn Rate 183

Gust

JANUARY 22, 2014

Above is a screen shot I just took of my Gust investor dashboard.

Angel Investor 89

Angel Investor Angel Groups Accredited Investor Early Stage 89

Gust

MARCH 6, 2023

Combining the strengths, insights, experiences, talents, connections, and resources of a few people often gives a new business a greater chance of success than resting entirely on the shoulders of even a highly talented single individual.

Restful 91

Restful 91

Gust

NOVEMBER 4, 2011

Never missing an opportunity for a good war story, I’d like to revisit one high-profile transaction, the $650 million acquisition of MySpace by Fox Interactive Media in 2005, on which I spent many sleepless nights along with the rest of the deal team.

Valuation 98

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Merger Vesting 98

Gust

SEPTEMBER 13, 2011

I give Mark Zuckerberg tremendous credit for that accomplishment, together with Sheryl Sandberg and the rest of Facebook’s senior team. Compare notes with the rest of the team, and with external experts if possible, to see what you might be missing. Nigerian money transfer scam) or out of simple malice or mischief.

Startup 98

Startup Silicon Valley Reputation Community 98

Gust

OCTOBER 2, 2012

It was about a “hit” business, meaning a business in which you had to have a lot of products in play to get one of the big hits that paid for the rest of the disappointments. The publishers that survived did so on by riding a big hit that paid for all the rest. . Video games in the early 1980s were such a business. .

Restful 119

Restful Stock Video Founder 119

Gust

OCTOBER 3, 2011

They will likely make their first investment about half of what they’re prepared to put in, with the rest coming in one or more follow-on rounds if you execute successfully on your plan. From +/- $1.5m

Finance 70

Finance Venture Capital Intellectual Property Early Stage 70