VC Cafe

FEBRUARY 27, 2024

Fresh data from 15,000+ SAFEs signed last year (source: Carta ) Technology makes it possible to do more with less – LLMs, generative AI have are rapidly changing the game with all kinds of automations, from coding to content creation. We’d like to see that the relevant functions are covered (who’s writing code?

Valuation 186

Valuation Software Review Generative AI Technical Review 186

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2022

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Bartering technically means exchanging goods or services as a substitute for money.

Intellectual Property 341

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 341

Steve Blank

JANUARY 22, 2014

Dino Vendetti a VC at Bay Partners, moved up to Bend, Oregon on a mission to engineer Bend into a regional technology cluster. Today with every city, state and country trying to build out a technology cluster, following Dino’s progress can provide others with a roadmap of what’s worked and what has not. Tech investing is risky.

Early Stage 292

Early Stage Silicon Valley Oregon Technical Review 292

The Startup Magazine

FEBRUARY 8, 2022

Heralding a new era of digital transformation, technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) are being infused exponentially into the world around us. Most notably, the ground-breaking development and rapid global distribution of mRNA vaccines highlighted the speed and scale of technological advances to outsmart humanity’s most dire threats.

Artificial Inteligence 144

Artificial Inteligence Technical Review Global Technology 144

David Teten

DECEMBER 12, 2017

VCs are at the forefront of technological disruption, funding many of the latest cutting edge productivity tools. Lisa Edgar, Managing Director at fund of funds Top Tier Capital Partners , observed: “It’s not surprising that venture capitalists are using software to help manage their business. How do VCs originate investments?

Early Stage 60

Early Stage Technical Review Software Review Venture Capital 60

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 4, 2022

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Bartering technically means exchanging goods or services as a substitute for money.

Intellectual Property 261

Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator Bootstrapping 261

The Startup Magazine

OCTOBER 11, 2021

You might have a project idea for your start-up but you are unsure of how to implement its technical side. The Raspberry Pi includes 26 GPIO Pins which are useful for embedded projects and interfacing software. The Raspberry Pi includes 26 GPIO Pins which are useful for embedded projects and interfacing software.

Software Review 143

Software Review Developer Technical Review Customer 143

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 16, 2022

They couldn’t possibly understand the new social media culture, new technologies, or have the determination to beat their younger counterparts in the market. In fact, they are well-qualified overall, having worked with high technology and computers for at least 20 years, are highly educated, and highly motivated.

Advisory Board 368

Advisory Board Dividend Angel Investor Cofounder 368

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 1, 2014

We pride ourselves on being early-stage (thus the name, Upfront) but in this case it’s as early as it gets. He spent a few months building out the software because just taking stuff from people isn’t that difficult. Tech Market Analysis Upfront Ventures makespace' Full on burger flipping mode.

Technical Review 380

Technical Review Software Review Cofounder CTO Hire 380

The Equity Kicker

SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

Both of these schemes use the tax code to make it more attractive for high-net-worth individuals to invest in startups. That has resulted in a number of policies designed to stimulate startup activity of which the most important is the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and it’s younger brother the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS).

Early Stage 119

Early Stage Development Team Review Technical Review Software Review 119

ReadWriteStart

JULY 12, 2019

There are plenty of entrepreneurs diligently working toward a better future. But in high-tech businesses, it’s crucial that the AI you build, promote, or invest in — is authentic. It shouldn’t be a surprise that the buzz surrounding AI/machine learning and early stage startups peaked in 2018.

Artificial Inteligence 132

Artificial Inteligence Technical Review Software Review Startup 132

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 6, 2019

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Bartering technically means exchanging goods or services as a substitute for money.

Finance 320

Finance Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 320

The Startup Magazine

NOVEMBER 28, 2018

The FUND Conference brings together over 100 startups to present their early-stage products and pitches in front of hundreds of investors and industry leaders. I work in technology where the dress code is relaxed, but an executive woman my age can wear neither a hoodie nor a stuffy suit.). If so, how? Fantastic points.

Technical Review 155

Technical Review Software Review Illinois Due Diligence 155

NZ Entrepreneur

SEPTEMBER 29, 2021

If we want to maintain and support sustainable economic growth while meeting the broader needs of society, we will need an economy underpinned by innovation and new technologies. Agenda items will focus on key metrics illustrating value creation, particularly in software as a service companies. This equity will vest over 2-3 years.

Technical Review 88

Technical Review Software Review New Zealand Due Diligence 88

NZ Entrepreneur

AUGUST 4, 2021

Again, use this as an opportunity to pique their interest – and ultimately, land follow-up meetings or enter due diligence. Due diligence, information memorandums & data rooms. Now that you’ve got investors undergoing due diligence, you must secure a lead investor. Lead investors and term sheets.

Technical Review 61

Technical Review Software Review Founder Due Diligence 61

The Startup Magazine

JANUARY 26, 2022

It’s not just the hardware product design process and all of what this entails – from developing and testing a prototype, to engineering the mechanics, electronics and software, to setting the product up for manufacturing. certified test equipment and test environment) results available for governing agency review.

Design 137

Design Development Team Review Product Technical Review 137

Steve Blank

DECEMBER 3, 2020

We just held our fifteenth session of our new national security class Technology, Innovation and Modern War. Joe Felter , Raj Shah and I designed a class to examine the new military systems, operational concepts and doctrines that will emerge from 21st century technologies – Space, Cyber, AI & Machine Learning and Autonomy.

Technical Review 271

Technical Review Technology China Taiwan 271

The Startup Magazine

MAY 30, 2022

In the early stages of your new e-commerce venture, the expense of various small business shipping choices can add up quickly. When customers receive a product in an awful state or broken, they ask for a refund and leave a negative review. Other times, delivery delays can occur due to unforeseen factors.

Small Business 138

Small Business Software Review Technical Review Early Stage 138

View from Seed

DECEMBER 17, 2015

Editor’s Note: NextView recently kicked off a Boston-based workshop series on technical interviewing with Google. Saurya Velagapudi is a senior software engineer at Google, based in their Cambridge, Mass., We also talked about how he’d want to be interviewed if approached by a non-technical startup founder. (I’ve

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Engineer Software Review Founder 120

ReadWriteStart

AUGUST 28, 2012

But when it comes to core technical skills, more and more entrepreneurs are opting to partner with technical co-founders rather than hiring someone for an in-house position. How Innovative Is Your Technology? If you want to start a tech company, you must understand the space. You Need To Know Tech Basics.

Technical Review 131

Technical Review Cofounder Founder Software Review 131

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 31, 2020

In addition, not everyone has the privilege of having a real personal assistant due to high costs. What is the Role of Technology? Due to advancements in technology, assistants are now becoming a common good — even for businesses — and are no longer limited to the high-earners. Humans & Technology Side-by-Side.

Artificial Inteligence 214

Artificial Inteligence Mali Management Technical Review 214

Gust

DECEMBER 22, 2011

Tech startups are at the other extreme. It’s possible to have a company with literally millions of customers (users) that employs only a handful of people, working in a small rented office, with hardware and software costing in the tens of thousands rather than millions of dollars. Instagram is a textbook example.)

Intellectual Property 149

Intellectual Property Technical Review Software Review IP 149

Steve Blank

MAY 19, 2015

But over time code/hardware written/built to validate hypotheses and find early customers can become unwieldy, difficult to maintain and incapable of scaling. These shortcuts add up and become what is called technical debt. This work adds no features visible to a user but makes the code stable and understandable.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Salary Early Stage Software Review 120

SoCal CTO

JANUARY 26, 2010

I’ve been having discussions with several people recently about the role of the CTO (Chief Technology Officer) in very early stage companies. However, I’ve now begun questioning how and what an early-stage / startup CTO should be. What are the biggest areas of technical risk? What technologies will we use?

CTO 225

CTO Fractional CTO CTO Hire Technical Review 225

NZ Entrepreneur

MAY 31, 2021

The Angel Association of New Zealand ( AANZ ) is co-hosting with New Zealand Growth Capital Partners ( NZGCP ) a series of workshops on early-stage investment. Jason Graham from Movac provided an early-stage venture capital fund perspective, detailing 35 investments made across 5 funds and 22 years.

Portfolio 81

Portfolio New Zealand Management Technical Review 81

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 30, 2019

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Bartering technically means exchanging goods or services as a substitute for money.

Intellectual Property 219

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 219

SoCal CTO

JULY 23, 2012

This leads to a set of questions: What is the role of a CTO in the early stages of a company, and does that role change later on as both the company and that individual matures? I've previously addressed the role of a CTO in early-stages in my post Startup CTO or Developer. What are the biggest areas of technical risk?

CTO Hire 231

CTO Hire Technical Review Developer Software Review 231

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 18, 2020

They couldn’t possibly understand the new social media culture, new technologies, or have the determination to beat their younger counterparts in the market. In fact, they are well-qualified overall, having worked with high technology and computers for at least 20 years, are highly educated, and highly motivated.

Advisory Board 312

Advisory Board Startup Dividend Angel Investor 312

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 12, 2019

Indeed, Silicon Valley was born as a center for weapon systems development and its software and silicon helped end the Cold War. One of the unintended consequences was that many of the academics went off to found a wave of startups selling their technology to the military. America’s adversaries understand this.

Government 313

Government Artificial Inteligence Silicon Valley North Korea 313

The Startup Magazine

JANUARY 15, 2018

MDR LAB is a startup accelerator for tech start-ups in the legal space. Open to early stage and growth technology start-ups, applications are welcome from companies at concept through to revenue-generating stage, as long as the product or service is applicable to the legal industry. Previous Successes.

Technical Review 83

Technical Review Startup Early Stage 83

The Startup Magazine

OCTOBER 22, 2021

In preparing to write his acclaimed book David and Goliath , Malcolm Gladwell recalls an encounter with a software programming legend named Vivek Ranadivé. How is the company culture, in its early stages, set up to process a setback ? Likewise, how does the team grapple with an undesirable outcome? About Zain Jaffer.

Early Stage 138

Early Stage Technical Review Software Review Algorithm 138

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 19, 2012

I was talking with an early-stage founder who has a product vision and wants to get it built. He is not a technical person, but is somewhat web savvy. It's the same as when I've created financial models and then have it reviewed by a hard-core CFO, sophisticated investor or similar kind of expert. I know how it feels.

Developer 354

Developer Technical Review Fractional CTO Software Review 354

Austin Startup

NOVEMBER 17, 2020

I led the seed round not long ago for an Austin-based SaaS company that had all of the qualities I look for in a software investment?—?a a founding team with deep domain expertise, novel technology, and rabid early adopters. The startup founder had a notable coastal VC firm that they really wanted in the round.

Austin 63

Austin Technical Review Software Review Early Stage 63

ConversionXL

JANUARY 28, 2021

Instead, we’ll be covering the core use cases that customer data platforms address and explore whether Segment or Mparticle ultimately deserves a spot in your tech stack. The average business already has 17 unique technology applications housing customer data. G2 Reviewer. The Rise of CDPs. Use cases for CDP’s.

Technical Review 86

Technical Review Software Review Analytics Technical Cofounder 86

ReadWriteStart

AUGUST 28, 2012

But when it comes to core technical skills, more and more entrepreneurs are opting to partner with technical co-founders rather than hiring someone for an in-house position. How Innovative Is Your Technology? If you want to start a tech company, you must understand the space. Laura Roeder , LKR 2.

Technical Review 79

Technical Review Cofounder Founder Software Review 79

Haystack

NOVEMBER 25, 2018

It’s that time of year, where I — as a committee of one judge, me — select one startup in the tech ecosystem that “broke out” and has the makings of an even larger outcome should things continue to go right. It’s entirely possible the trend lifts these companies in due time, as well.

Technical Review 127

Technical Review Open Source Software Review Venture Capital 127

VC Cafe

NOVEMBER 2, 2019

When you start with an honest and diligent effort to determine the truth of your situation, the right decisions often become self-evident.” — Jim Collins , author of Good to Great. Benchmarks are typically specific to stage/business model/geo. Software as a Service (Saas) benchmarks. Benchmarks for deep tech startups.

B2C 141

B2C Technical Review Startup Retention 141