Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 15, 2023

The simple answer is that with all the staging of TV lights and billionaire investors, it’s nothing like Silicon Valley. All handshakes in investor forums, or on the show, are subject to follow-on due diligence reviews. Yet the process is eerily realistic, and every entrepreneur can glean some important lessons.

Entrepreneur 279

Entrepreneur Due Diligence Angel Investor Silicon Valley 279

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 9, 2014

So here is a rational hedge strategy I recommend, and see playing out every day in Silicon Valley and other startup hubs. Once you find a startup that seems like a good fit, it’s still important to do some of your own due diligence.

Technical Review 250

Technical Review Stock Options Due Diligence Silicon Valley 250

Feld Thoughts

AUGUST 25, 2015

Some were Silicon Valley early stage companies, such as Apple, Quantum, and Masstor Systems. As dollars flowed into the industry, cooperation was replaced by competition, to the detriment of deal flow, due diligence, ability to add value and, of course, returns. Silicon Valley firms also did many non-tech deals.

Venture Capital 70

Venture Capital SBIC Technical Review Silicon Valley 70

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

I don’t have an MBA and I don’t live in Silicon Valley. They are professionals with full-time jobs, who often don’t have time for due diligence (and may not even know how to do it) and often make decisions through trusted referrals or based on gut feelings (more on gut feelings later). I’m not your average angel.

Angel Investor 159

Angel Investor Technical Review Software Review Accredited Investor 159

David Teten

MAY 16, 2017

Pantheon: “ Private equity fund manager due diligence and selection “ Weathergage’s Annual Meeting. Denis Tse: Fund Management Craftsmanship: An LP’s Food for Thought for Emerging VC General Partners. Sapphire Ventures’ Top 10 tips for pitching an LP . Lindel Eakman on joining Foundry Group.

Private Equity 60

Private Equity Venture Capital Technical Review Equity 60

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 14, 2020

The simple answer is that with all the staging of TV lights and billionaire investors, it’s nothing like Silicon Valley. All handshakes in investor forums, or on the show, are subject to follow-on due diligence reviews. Yet the process is eerily realistic, and every entrepreneur can glean some important lessons.

Due Diligence 317

Due Diligence Angel Investor Silicon Valley Green 317

Steve Blank

MARCH 19, 2009

When I went through their financials as part of my due diligence I realized that if they ditched their low margin disk drive products, it wouldn’t take much to make them a profitable company. Steve Blanks 30 years of Silicon Valley startup advice. Order Here. To Order Outside of the U.S. Now In Print!

Silicon Valley 146

Silicon Valley Software Review Technical Review RSS 146

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 18, 2015

So here is a rational hedge strategy I recommend, and see playing out every day in Silicon Valley and other startup hubs. Once you find a startup that seems like a good fit, it’s still important to do some of your own due diligence.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Entrepreneur Stock Options Due Diligence 120

Steve Blank

JULY 7, 2009

Steve Blanks 30 years of Silicon Valley startup advice. luck… and as one of Steve Blank’s posts today mentioned, you can’t test hypotheses from within your building. to make sense of the unstructured feedback received from customers. Reply Leave a Reply Click here to cancel reply. Order Here. Now In Print!

Customer Development 124

Customer Development Developer Silicon Valley Customer 124

The Next Web

SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

Thomas Clayton has started and run numerous high-tech startups in Silicon Valley. The process of raising money in Asia is very different from raising money in Silicon Valley and, frankly, it’s not nearly as easy. Set your expectations – VCs in Asia are different from the Valley.

Asia 132

Asia Silicon Valley India Term Sheet 132

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 13, 2011

So I was on the front line of this very aggressive rollup and I got involved in helping with the technical due diligence…”. “As So having spent a lot of time thinking about this Silicon Valley is a thing in and of itself. So everybody goes through this phase of we want to be the next Silicon Valley.

Technical Review 288

Technical Review Venture Capital Silicon Valley Software Review 288

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 5, 2014

The beauty of Silicon Valley and the ethos it has driven in all of us is acceptance of failure and a profound respect for those who at least try. But I can tell you from my experience in due diligence that many who have actually seen the company’s plans have changed their minds and now believe. Time will tell.

Technical Review 417

Technical Review South Korea San Francisco Software Review 417

Steve Blank

DECEMBER 7, 2009

I was out and about in Silicon Valley doing what I would now call Customer Discovery trying to understand how marketing departments in large corporations worked. I remember presenting our ideas for Marketing Automation to one VP of Marketing in a large Silicon Valley company. It’s just a story about what happened to me.

Silicon Valley 225

Silicon Valley Non-disclosure Agreement NDA Startup 225

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 25, 2010

It’s hard for angels to assess whether or not to invest because they often have day jobs and can’t commit to the kind of due diligence that most VCs go through. Or put another way – angels look for social proof from other angels.

Silicon Valley 293

Silicon Valley Technical Review Southern California Angel Investor 293

Hippoland

AUGUST 17, 2016

In contrast, if you do an equity round, you have to complete the entire round and go through the full due diligence process before anyone wires you money. This should be basically free. I think my total legal bill for getting my seed round done for LaunchBit was something like < $3000. This process can take a couple of months.

Equity 48

Equity Convertible Security Silicon Valley Technical Review 48

Agile VC

MAY 26, 2011

Silicon Valley is still emerging from the tech bubble and massive downturn of late 2000-2002. Online social networking is a concept still being evangelized even in Silicon Valley… Friendster is in private beta (wasn’t until Oct 2003 they received Google acquisition offer which they turned down for Kleiner/Benchmark round).

Term Sheet 178

Term Sheet Silicon Valley Technical Review Social Network 178

ithacaVC

SEPTEMBER 8, 2016

But over our months of due diligence the understanding grows. Silicon Valley, which is 50 square miles, has created more wealth than any place in human history. It reminded me of one of my personal themes in investing: “if you don’t understand the technology then don’t invest.”

Technical Review 40

Technical Review Software Review Due Diligence Silicon Valley 40

ithacaVC

SEPTEMBER 8, 2016

But over our months of due diligence the understanding grows. Silicon Valley, which is 50 square miles, has created more wealth than any place in human history. It reminded me of one of my personal themes in investing: “if you don’t understand the technology then don’t invest.”

Technical Review 40

Technical Review Software Review Due Diligence Silicon Valley 40

Hippoland

AUGUST 21, 2016

3) Do due diligence on your prospective investors This leads me to my next point - if you are not familiar with a particular investor, it’s important to do due diligence on him/her. Just providing dollars at the early stages of a round is helpful to jumpstart fundraising traction.

Technical Review 48

Technical Review Due Diligence Silicon Valley Portfolio 48

Reid Hoffman

MARCH 27, 2014

The Innovation Culture of Silicon Valley. To me, what’s most interesting about this story is the light it sheds on the clash of values between Icahn’s Wall Street world and the culture of Silicon Valley. The reality of Silicon Valley is that innovation takes time. It’s since been corrected.).

Silicon Valley 57

Silicon Valley Software Review Stock Due Diligence 57

Pascal's View

OCTOBER 11, 2013

But I am coming to the Museum to talk about the leading of edge of startup financing in the digital age and about real time investment risk management in the new Wild West– crowd-funded Silicon Valley post the lifting of the ban on General Solicitation. I look forward to a lively discussion on November 8 at 12:30 PM.

New York 31

New York Technical Review Angel Investor Finance 31

Seeing Both Sides

APRIL 28, 2011

But if you are a competent engineer, sales executive, online marketer or general manager in Silicon Valley, NYC, Boston or other start-up hotspots, the unemployment rate is 0%. CNN recently reported that 40% of the 130,000 job openings in Silicon Valley are for software engineers. 4) Quarterbacking the Selling Process.

Hiring 44

Hiring Software Review Due Diligence Silicon Valley 44

David Teten

AUGUST 19, 2019

Additionally, Feenix typically needs fewer financial covenants and can provide quicker turnaround for due diligence with the benefit of transparency they receive by tracking credit card sales activity. After completion of the relevant pre-funding program, FFCP will review company funding applications and conduct due diligence.

Revenue 60

Revenue Technical Review Software Review Equity 60

Lightspeed Venture Partners

OCTOBER 7, 2012

I’ve been writing up reviews of this season’s Shark Tank pitches from a silicon valley VCs perspective. Doing the research to form your own view of a company’s prospects is called due diligence. This time I’ll break down week four of this season. BACK 9 DIPS.

Technical Review 110

Technical Review Technical Cofounder Valuation Pre-Money Valuation 110

Startup Lessons Learned

MARCH 13, 2015

It was part Silicon Valley insider and part marketing huckster. Several investors are already in due diligence." Mostly we read business books designed for established enterprise and tried to read through the lines to find ways to apply their wisdom to startups.

Entrepreneur 60

Entrepreneur San Jose Technical Review China 60

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 25, 2022

It seems to be part of the “fail fast, fail often” mantra often heard in Silicon Valley. Underestimate the importance of due diligence. Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs seem to prefer to fail their way to the top, rather than do some research and learn from the successes and mistakes of others.

Technical Review 250

Technical Review Advisory Board Due Diligence Silicon Valley 250

ReadWriteStart

NOVEMBER 28, 2012

My company, Imprint Energy, was part of Plug and Play’s accelerator in Silicon Valley. Do Your Due Diligence. They’re the ones who are always willing to help and make a difference in your business. – Ben Lang , EpicLaunch. Match Startup Needs To Accelerator Offerings.

Technical Review 60

Technical Review Chile Startup Due Diligence 60

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 11, 2016

The simple answer is that with all the staging of TV lights and billionaire investors, it’s nothing like Silicon Valley. All handshakes in investor forums, or on the show, are subject to follow-on due diligence reviews. Yet the process is eerily realistic, and every entrepreneur can glean some important lessons.

Founder 120

Founder Due Diligence Angel Investor Silicon Valley 120

Seeing Both Sides

FEBRUARY 28, 2012

Conduct extensive due diligence on the team, the product and the market opportunity. We had an interesting dialog about the various start-up ecosystems - Silicon Valley, Boston , NYC - and how long it takes to build that ecosystem. education). When evaluating whether you want to join a company, think like an investor.

Technical Review 47

Technical Review Due Diligence Silicon Valley Boston 47

Professor VC

JANUARY 27, 2011

The last blogger in Silicon Valley. How Much Diligence is Due.Or Ive addressed the due diligence question in previous posts, but this came up again in a debate we were having at a recent meeting of the Sand Hill Angels. ProfessorVC. Thursday, January 27, 2011. are investors better just rolling the dice.

Technical Review 31

Technical Review Due Diligence Silicon Valley San Jose 31

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 10, 2015

The simple answer is that with all the staging of TV lights and billionaire investors, it’s nothing like Silicon Valley. All handshakes in investor forums, or on the show, are subject to follow-on due diligence reviews. Yet the process is eerily realistic, and every entrepreneur can glean some important lessons.

Entrepreneur 120

Entrepreneur Due Diligence Angel Investor Silicon Valley 120

ReadWriteStart

NOVEMBER 2, 2010

The recommendation engine is based on the research from CB Insights and as such offers a "reverse due diligence," so that startups can glean insights about where best to aim their funding pitches. One of the most surprising results, perhaps, is the location of entrepreneurs, with New York beating Silicon Valley.

Silicon Valley 118

Silicon Valley Due Diligence New York Angel Investor 118

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 30, 2020

It seems to be part of the “fail fast, fail often” mantra often heard in Silicon Valley. Underestimate the importance of due diligence. Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs seem to prefer to fail their way to the top, rather than do some research and learn from the successes and mistakes of others.

Technical Review 314

Technical Review Advisory Board Due Diligence Silicon Valley 314

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 3, 2015

In all cases, due diligence is recommended on every potential investor and angel group before spending money you don’t have, looking for money you need. Other well-positioned groups outside the ACA, such as Keiretsu Forum in Silicon Valley , charge up to $1,500. There are just too many scams.

Cost 120

Cost Angel Groups Due Diligence Silicon Valley 120

Pascal's View

SEPTEMBER 5, 2010

This textbook combines the strength of my Silicon Valley experiences as a venture capitalist and Mannie’s research as a professor, and it will help strengthen Chinese college-education programs in this particular field.

Venture Capital 44

Venture Capital China Technical Review Due Diligence 44

VC Adventure

SEPTEMBER 10, 2010

The adjunct to this point is that while relatively few entrepreneurs methodically do it, it’s important to perform due diligence on the investors you’re talking with, just as they’ll be performing due diligence on you.

Technical Review 60

Technical Review Due Diligence Venture Capital IPO 60

Berkonomics

JANUARY 10, 2019

And because you need their money, the temptation is to listen a bit too well, and take all of the advice thrown at you during your presentations and during due diligence and finally from the vantage point of a board seat. After several months on the board, he spoke up. “I I don’t like the niche we’re in.

Due Diligence 54

Due Diligence Silicon Valley Angel Investor Restful 54