Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 24, 2021

The Founder needs to remember that meetings up to this point have been primarily off-site, with staged demos, and managed personally by the CEO or a small team. Make sure everyone accurately posts their role with your startup on social media profiles, resumes, and references. Visit reference customers, partners, and vendors.

Technical Review 379

Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Bankruptcy 379

The Startup Magazine

SEPTEMBER 14, 2021

As part of The Startup Magazine’s Female Founder Interview series , we interviewed Adriana Rozo-Angulo, founder of international consulting firm MAS Connections and author of The Buoyant Business: How Simplicity Can Keep Organizations Afloat in a Stormy Economy. Adriana Rozo-Angulo, President & Co-Founder, MAS Connections.

Founder 111

Founder Cofounder Social Media Software Review 111

TechEmpower

JULY 31, 2023

When talking to startup founders or other innovators, we always ask questions to better understand their business as a core. channels (search, social, viral, new media), cost-efficient distribution We often reference Dave’s work when talking to innovators. Conclusion Startup metrics are an invaluable tool for founders and innovators.

Metrics 260

Metrics Startup Retention Acquisition 260

View from Seed

MAY 11, 2016

Investors love the idea of backing second-time founders, especially if they have had success in their last company. etc… In addition, first-time founders I speak to often talk about how much they have learned and how they resolve to do things differently and better the next time. Is there a sophomore slump to avoid?

Founder 159

Founder Cofounder CTO Hire Early Stage 159

SoCal CTO

AUGUST 4, 2011

Almost every day I'm talking to early stage startup founders (see Free Startup CTO Consulting Sessions ) about what they plan to do. Many of these founders have talked with several developers or development firms about their plans. Refer a friend? I tend to ask a lot of questions, challenge aspects, make suggestions.

Developer 396

Developer Founder Viral Oauth 396

SoCal CTO

AUGUST 4, 2011

Almost every day I'm talking to early stage startup founders (see Free Startup CTO Consulting Sessions ) about what they plan to do. Many of these founders have talked with several developers or development firms about their plans. Refer a friend? I tend to ask a lot of questions, challenge aspects, make suggestions.

Developer 384

Developer Founder Viral Oauth 384

View from Seed

APRIL 14, 2020

VCs are always founder focused no matter the market environment. But in a FOMO world, more investors are willing to take a chance on a founder that they don’t know, but seems to match some of the heuristics of other high quality founders. This gets really challenging if it remains difficult to meet in person or to travel.

Early Stage 374

Early Stage Software Review Technical Review Due Diligence 374

TechEmpower

NOVEMBER 13, 2023

Maybe those references to TFA sound like bragging, or he thinks “passion for numbers” sounds silly. Happy customers mean happy CEOs and founders - and that’s what makes us happy. Are you a founder or CEO or head of product? And if this description doesn’t resonate with Mark, he can ask for a new one, while providing feedback.

Generative AI 295

Generative AI Artificial Inteligence Houston America 295

View from Seed

MARCH 11, 2020

When a founder is raising money, he/she should expect that any serious investor will conduct some level of due diligence before getting to yes. They tend to have some sort of framework in their mind with a hierarchy of conviction and hierarchy of pain they are willing to put founders through.

Technical Review 279

Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Seed Stage 279

NZ Entrepreneur

JANUARY 20, 2022

Having spent close on a decade working in and reporting on our small but burgeoning startup ecosystem, and a decade before that “building my chops” in other various entrepreneurial endeavours, I am familiar with the toll that entrepreneurship can exact on founder mental health. If your business is a success you are a success.

New Zealand 109

New Zealand Founder Technical Cofounder Kenya 109

VC Cafe

JUNE 26, 2023

I referred to this in my post on incumbents vs. upstarts. We’re moving away from the 10 blue links (and sometimes 10 blue ads) and moving into something different. where rather than sift through noise to find an answer, users will generate a specific result to match their needs. Finally, there’s competition.

Generative AI 174

Generative AI Search ChatGPT Technical Review 174

The Next Web

JANUARY 22, 2014

Our report last week on the salaries that startup founders pay themselves stirred up a lot of discussion here on The Next Web, Hacker News , Twitter and beyond. Startup revenue and founder salary. The closest tie between founder salary and another datapoint was found in revenue. Founder age and salary.

Salary 152

Salary Founder Entrepreneur Burn Rate 152

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 8, 2022

For example, TOMS shoes inspired everyone by highlighting and effectively communicating a higher purpose from founder Blake Mycoskie of helping the needy by donating a pair of shoes for every pair sold.

Technical Review 357

Technical Review Green Social Media Lean 357

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 19, 2020

People refers to the management and employees that are currently employed by the business. Processes refers to operating procedures and employee handbooks. Proprietary refers to any intellectual proprietary such as brands, patents, trademarks, databases, processes, or contracts that are transferable.

Exit Strategy 246

Exit Strategy Intellectual Property Valuation Metrics 246

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2020

and of course a relentless pursuit of helping founders succeed. So mostly we just had to listen to customer feedback from founders, VCs and LPs. She made the right decisions not joining back then because that founder empathy is the “++” that makes a difference in this business. So why now?

Partner 361

Partner Management Cofounder San Francisco 361

K9 Ventures

MARCH 20, 2017

Of all the advice I have given founders over the years, one of the most important ones is to make sure they do reference checks on their prospective investors. When founders do their homework on investors, they make informed choices about who they will be working with for many many years to come.

Founder 99

Founder Dilution Partner Curation 99

View from Seed

APRIL 27, 2020

Founders do not have this luxury. Most founders are going through hell right now, and that is not going away any time soon. For investors and founders, the next several years are going to be very different. Pre-seeds will be tougher as investors gravitate more towards proven founders or folks within their existing networks.

Cofounder 194

Cofounder Software Review Portfolio Technical Review 194

Up and Running

JUNE 12, 2014

There’s absolutely nothing shameful about asking your customers to refer a friend or two if they’re happy with what you provide. According to David Prochaska, Founder and CEO of ePoint Digital , developing relationships within your local community is the best way to get your first customer. Ask your current customers for referrals.

Founder 142

Founder Marketing Startup Software Review 142

VC Cafe

SEPTEMBER 29, 2022

Frontline Ventures conducted a survey of 206 global startup founders , revealing which factors are the most important to pre-seed and seed founders when choosing between VCs. Understanding of the sector is the most important factor for founders when choosing a VC in seed/pre-seed.

Founder 88

Founder Early Stage Partner Networking 88

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 14, 2010

I was recently speaking with some founders about their fund raising process. How do you then reference check your VC to be sure that you’ve chosen a good firm and partner? Get a reference list - Most entrepreneurs do almost no reference checks or at least do them very informally. Don’t let that be you.

Term Sheet 298

Term Sheet Venture Capital Stealth Cofounder 298

VC Cafe

JANUARY 30, 2023

” – Andrew Carnegie As a founder, one of the key tasks in raising capital is to effectively communicate the value of your company to investors. In my experience as a seed venture investor, founders that had a full and tidy data room not only came across as more professional, but actually accelerated the process of DD and legal.

Technical Review 103

Technical Review Due Diligence Cap Table Startup 103

Version One Ventures

APRIL 25, 2017

The most effective strategy I’ve seen is for founders to push investors to call their customers in order to understand the value of the product. So whenever an investor voiced a concern about the category, Outreach simply asked that investor to call a few customer references. Or, investors lost money in your category before.

Customer 130

Customer Vertical Stock Portfolio 130

ConversionXL

FEBRUARY 3, 2022

GrowthHackers founder and former Head of Growth at Dropbox, Sean Ellis , coined the term: “A growth hacker is a person whose true north is growth. In his course on Growth Mindset (part of CXL’s Growth Marketing Minidegree ), WeTheFuture.org founder John McBride describes three key components of a successful growth marketer: 1.

Retention 113

Retention Marketing Acquisition Channel 113

The Startup Magazine

OCTOBER 22, 2021

In the seconds, moments, weeks, and months after a felt loss, founders have the precious chance to monitor the movement of their thoughts. A team’s adaptability refers to their ability to evolve across challenges, through trials, and after errors. Do they have a habit to dwell, lose confidence or lose sleep?

Early Stage 136

Early Stage Technical Review Software Review Algorithm 136

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 8, 2010

How do you then reference check your VC to be sure that you’ve chosen a good firm and partner? First, I would say that most entrepreneurs do almost no reference checks or at least do them very informally. You’d be surprised how many ex-founders and ex-CEO’s you can find this way. Happy reference checking.

Venture Capital 288

Venture Capital Term Sheet Cofounder Partner 288

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 12, 2020

Management needs to keep behavior principles in mind and reference them every day. As the founder of MKB Conseil & Coaching in Geneva, Switzerland, and Excellent Executive Coaching, LLC, in Las Vegas, Nevada, she has developed a network of international clients, experts and scholar-practitioners.

Las Vegas 264

Las Vegas Leadership Switzerland Software Review 264

The Startup Magazine

JULY 1, 2020

Here’s another from The Startup Magazine Founder Series. What I mean here refers to limited growth or promotion opportunities. The post Founder Interview: Peter Agarwal Innovates with Green Lighting Solutions appeared first on The Startup Magazine. I saw his success; I always wanted to build mine from the ground up.

Green 180

Green Founder Distribution Business Model 180

YoungUpstarts

JULY 31, 2019

by Anish Sebastian and Juan Pablo Segura, co-founders of Babyscripts. Founders need seed capital to get their operations up and running, and to begin generating revenue. When founders are wrong (which happens often), that initial seed round runs out quickly, requiring another round of funding — typically referred to as a bridge round.

Cofounder 127

Cofounder Burn Rate Technical Cofounder Seed Capital 127

This is going to be BIG.

JANUARY 18, 2024

I’m talking about what someone I know recently referred to as “dentists”. Some of these folks are founders and CEOs, but not at high-growth tech startups. Role When I was a lowly Analyst at Union Square Ventures, I had so many ideas for the founders we worked with. I’m not talking about active angels. Perhaps they inherited it.

.Net 88

.Net Cap Table Startup Technical Review 88

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 16, 2013

This refers to the human tendency to select and interpret available information in a way that confirms pre-existing hopes and beliefs. The new founder who hears positive reviews from three out of four friends may assume that 75 percent of the general population will react similarly. Overconfidence or illusion of control.

Founder 235

Founder Management Startup Entrepreneur 235

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 31, 2021

This refers to the human tendency to select and interpret available information in a way that confirms pre-existing hopes and beliefs. The new founder who hears positive reviews from three out of four friends may assume that 75 percent of the general population will react similarly. Overconfidence or illusion of control.

Startup 373

Startup Founder Entrepreneur Cost 373

View from Seed

FEBRUARY 4, 2021

I know many VC’s that are amazing partners to founders in thick and thin. But their reputation with founders that pitch them is mixed. Time is an investor’s scarce resources, and by definition, that time needs to be split between supporting existing portfolio companies and meeting with new founders.

Founder 280

Founder Lead Investor Portfolio Reputation 280

Austin Startup

MARCH 31, 2019

you better make sure you really check their references. I made very few edits to the original post, mostly in the area of readability and grammar (not in substance of content): I’m shocked that more startups, including their Boards and investors, don’t thoroughly check references. and dangerous. I couldn’t see any other alternative?

Advisory Board 48

Advisory Board Cofounder Hiring Partner 48

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 11, 2023

The term “seed financing” refers to the stage of funding that comes from first equity. Founders often prefer to approach syndicates ahead of an angel network due to the speed with which they might receive funding. When considered, “seed funding” describes the initial sums of funds a startup raises.

Seed Stage 127

Seed Stage Technical Review Early Stage Due Diligence 127

Hunter Walker

OCTOBER 29, 2022

I LOVE doing reference checks — on founders we are hoping to support and key hires into their teams. Don’t incorrectly write off the ‘candidate supplied references’ thinking that it’s worthless to speak with people who have been prepped or likely to be positive. Are they aligned with what their on-sheet reference told you?

Hiring 58

Hiring Naming Channel Leadership 58

This is going to be BIG.

JUNE 10, 2016

A friend of mine running a very successful company found himself conflicted over an upcoming reference call. Reference calls to potential limited partners seemingly have no upside to founders. It's not for you, but for the next founder down the line who winds up with them. There is a downside, however.

Cap Table 60

Cap Table Limited Partner LP Reputation 60

Up and Running

JULY 28, 2022

A business structure refers to how an organization is structured as recognized in a given jurisdiction. Develop a founders agreement. A founders’ agreement is a legal contract defining and governing the relationship between cofounders. The whole point is to avoid business disputes that may come up between the founders.

Small Business 167

Small Business Intellectual Property Cofounder Software Review 167