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In our industry we always talk about funding big ideas or funding things with more meaning. It’s something Yves Sisteron & I have been talking about for years at Upfront Ventures. Today we’re proud to talk more about Grove Labs – we really hope you’ll quickly check out this innovative product and we think many of you will be as impressed with Grove as we have been.
At least, that would be the title if somebody made a kids movie out of it. It just seemed like a fitting title for a company built around narrative by a founder who used to write stories for a living. It's a story that just hit a milestone--a $4mm round of venture funding that I'm ecstatic to say Brooklyn Bridge Ventures just led. I'm joined by Lerer Hippeau Ventures, Red Sea Ventures, NucleasHG, the founders of Seamless, a host of extremely helpful angels, and a CircleUp syndicate led by my fri
Many members of my immediate family are entrepreneurs, and several of us have a long history within EO. I, myself, have been an EO Los Angeles member for 11 years; my brother Bejan has been an EO Chicago member for six years; my brother Cameron was an EO San Francisco member for six years. Even my sister and brother-in-law are YPO members in Zurich.
Founded in 2002, the Australian software maker Atlassian is an exceptional company in many regards. But foremost, Atlassian is one of the best examples of flywheel SaaS companies yet. Atlassian counts 1600 employees and sells five products JIRA (bug tracking software), Confluence (project management), HipChat (internal chat/collaboration), BitBucket (code repository) and JIRA Service Desk (help desk software.
AI adoption is reshaping sales and marketing. But is it delivering real results? We surveyed 1,000+ GTM professionals to find out. The data is clear: AI users report 47% higher productivity and an average of 12 hours saved per week. But leaders say mainstream AI tools still fall short on accuracy and business impact. Download the full report today to see how AI is being used — and where go-to-market professionals think there are gaps and opportunities.
I'm going to tell you a secret. I have a very simple, 4-word strategic plan (devised it a few years ago). Here it is. Do fewer things, better. This has made my life -- and my work, dramatically better. Here's how I execute on my strategic plan: 1. Decide on what matters the most. 2. Say no to everything else. 3. When something falls in the gray area, re-read #2.
Jason Rappaport, Founder and CEO of Squareknot, has raised $1.3 million to date — his first $500,000 round came after a single email, pitch, and lunch. We sat down with Jason as he shared what his fundraising journey was like, the startup lessons he learned, and his advice to fellow founders. Here is what he had to say: HK: Tell me a Read more >.
Jason Rappaport, Founder and CEO of Squareknot, has raised $1.3 million to date — his first $500,000 round came after a single email, pitch, and lunch. We sat down with Jason as he shared what his fundraising journey was like, the startup lessons he learned, and his advice to fellow founders. Here is what he had to say: HK: Tell me a Read more >.
I’m often asked about the differences between being at a VC and being an entrepreneur and whether I prefer one or the other. The biggest difference I cite is that Venture Capital often feels like an “individual sport” while startups are a “team sport.” The reason is that at a VC you have a group of partners who often have different focus areas of excellence, each pursues deals in their respective field, each makes investments and sits on boards and each spends their
"Square, the payment technology company founded and led by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, this evening raised $243 million by pricing its initial public offering at $9 per share, which would imply an market value of around $2.9 billion. It is a major disappointment for the San Francisco-based company." Can we just all let that sink in for a second? A "major disappointment".
I think the biggest lie an entrepreneur can tell themselves is that work and family are separate. Trying to separate out my family from my work would be like trying to separate my spirit from my body. If I am the captain of my journey, then they are my ship. They are with me through the storms and the sunshine. My son Jacob provides insight and wisdom to me when my business is facing difficult issues – this is priceless.
Last week, a friend asked me what I thought the future of software would be. At some point, all the workflow processes that still conducted on paper and pencil will be digitized, all of the tasks completed in Excel will be optimized, and the majority of limitations of traditional software will be overcome. It’s not to say that software innovation in its current form will continue to exist for decades, but what is the fundamental shift that resets the ecosystem like the cloud did in the ear
Large enterprises face unique challenges in optimizing their Business Intelligence (BI) output due to the sheer scale and complexity of their operations. Unlike smaller organizations, where basic BI features and simple dashboards might suffice, enterprises must manage vast amounts of data from diverse sources. What are the top modern BI use cases for enterprise businesses to help you get a leg up on the competition?
This one is attributed to Rod Adair, the famous oil and gas fire suppressing expert. And boy, does it apply to most of us and our offerings. “Quality” products and services should not be positioned as “cheap,” or your potential customers will question your message from the start, and will be more critical of the delivered product than if offered as one or the other, but not both.
How to Make Your Gust Account Stand Out to Investors Before you read any further, I want you to know that I’ve personally used Gust to raise money for my first tech startup. I know a lot of other entrepreneurs who use or have used Gust to seek funds, but their profiles don’t always get attention from investors. Below are. Read more >. The post Trying to Raise Money?
A month ago I announced the /now page movement , where many personal websites are adding a “/now” page to answer the question, “What are you focused on now?”. At the time, only ten websites had a /now page. Now there are over 280. It’s incredible. People are saying it helps them prioritize and focus. Greg Albritton emailed to say he made a list of everyone with a /now page.
When I first started in venture capital, back in 2001, I used to fund funds. I worked for an institutional investor that invested in both venture capital funds and later stage growth deals. My job was to figure out why certain firms were winning and why they might continue to win. Part of this, of course, involves looking into the past. Why someone did well previously is the first clue to figuring out whether or not that would be sustainable--but it isn't necessarily predictive.
Gearing up for 2025 annual planning? Our latest eBook from the Operators Guild is your ultimate guide. Discover real-world solutions and best practices shared by top CFOs, drawn directly from discussions within OG’s vibrant online community. Learn from senior executives at high-growth tech startups as they outline financial planning strategies, align CEO and board goals, and coordinate budgets across departments.
The following story was written by James Breeze, CEO of Objective Experience and an EO At-Large member in the Asia Pacific region: “Dad! I want to start a charity!”. You can imagine my surprise hearing this from my seven year old son, Ben, while he was sitting at my desk watching videos on YouTube. “I want to help poor kids in Bali.”. Not quite sure if he knew what he was saying, I asked, “What is a charity, Ben?”.
As the temperament of the fundraising market shifts, particularly in the later stages, the question of how much a startup should burn will become increasingly important. We’re living in a historic period of very inexpensive venture capital. These cheap dollars have fueled spectacular companies with record-setting growth rates. In such an environment, growth at almost any cost is handsomely rewarded.
A friend of mine recently told me his story of how his very career rests on his credibility with his major supplier–partners. He stated that everything rides upon his credibility when he declares that he can produce a quality product on time, especially when his competition has faltered attempting to do so. There’s little news in that statement. Until you hear of the stories of those who destroyed a good thing with one badly executed promise, or one lie, or one slip in quality or delivery.
After less than a year, Glassbreakers is now a team of 10, we have thousands of active users on our free product, we’ve expanded into enterprises with paying customers and raised over a million in seed funding. After a few of my Glassbreaker matches inquired, I started to reflect on what it’s like to build a startup. Read more >. The post Starting a startup as CTO / Head of Product appeared first on The Gust Blog.
Mighty Financial specializes in supporting the financial aspirations of small businesses and entrepreneurs. With our comprehensive bookkeeping and precise accounting expertise with decades of experience across diverse financial roles, our team offers tailor-made services ranging from essential bookkeeping to strategic fractional CFO support, catered specifically to the unique challenges of technology companies, startups, and SMEs.
I had a bunch of topics teed up now that I’m back in LA after 2 weeks of constant travel. I felt excited to write because it’s a cathartic outlet for me and saves me from doing email. But no words would come out this weekend. After watching the terrorist activities in Beirut and Paris and blog post seemed trite. It’s terrible that a group of Islamic extremists is having some success in perverting the Muslim religion in an attempt to divide the rational world of moderate people.
On Sunday I wound up leaving my car by the office because of the NYC Marathon. Last night I took it home, so this morning I find myself on the subway in a rare occurence. It's unfortunate because today is an absolutely perfect day to bike. Luckily I have to be in the city later so I'll have a chance to ride. For now, I'm subway thumbing. Lately, I've been a little stuck for things to write about.
— #EO24 virtual learning program offers business insights from U.S.-based and internationally recognized entrepreneurs — EO is celebrating Global Entrepreneurship Week ( GEW ) by presenting EO24. This annual EO event will offer an in-depth perspective from four keynote speakers, ranging from podcast extraordinaire, John Lee Dumas, and Geek Squad founder, Robert Stephens, to merger and acquisitions expert, Andrew Sherman, and Jordan Daykin, the youngest entrepreneur to successfully wi
Just 25 months ago, Aileen Lee coined the term unicorn in her post Welcome to the Unicorn Club and last week the Economist declared these Unicorns “ Gored.” Over the span of those two years, the Unicorn press cycle has swung from euphoric apotheosis to bleak nadir. The rise and fall of unicorns in the press isn’t a unique phenomenon.
Lack of digitalization decreases business competitiveness. To thrive, embracing modern solutions becomes essential. The approach to digitalization often aligns with a company's business model. This shift not only boosts productivity but also automates processes and improves security. The tech market offers a wealth of technologies tailored for management, planning, and forecasting, replacing outdated pen-and-paper methods.
Customer empowerment is moving so fast nowadays that many of us are running to just catch up. Yet if we don’t or can’t, it is a sure thing that someone else will. Blame the Internet for this rise in customer expectations. But don’t close your eyes to the fact that your customers have grown to expect your products or services in the form of…. ‘WHAT I want, WHEN I want, and WHERE I want.’.
Entrepreneurs’ Organization to Host Live Video Chats with Renowned Business Owners during Global Entrepreneurship Week. — #EO24 virtual learning program offers business insights from U.S.-based and internationally recognized entrepreneurs — Alexandria, Virginia, USA (17 November 2015) – The Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) is celebrating Global Entrepreneurship Week ( GEW ) by presenting EO24 , a virtual and interactive learning event to debut on Wednesday, 18 November, at 8 p.m.
Sanjay Nasta, CEO of MicroAssist, Inc. and EO Austin member, began his company by delivering classroom training computer software; since then, MicroAssist has begun working with outreach organizations to educate audiences on larger social, cultural and health issues. We spoke with Mr. Nasta about his company’s outreach and how it has impacted his entrepreneurial experience.
By Andy Bailey, an EO Nashville member and Chief Acceleration Officer of NationLink Wireless. As business owners, we don’t like to spend money on things that cost more than they return. Our company is no different, and we have found some creative ways to make “stuff” that we already spend money on work even harder for us. These things didn’t cost much, but they greatly improved our business.
CAPTARGET presents a masterclass in M&A deal sourcing. Learn to cast a wide net, embracing seller self-identification. Consistency is the linchpin: keep the origination process steady for a reliable flow of opportunities. Diversify your tactics, employing various tools and vendors. Tech matters! Understand DNS settings, domain authority, and brand presence for optimal outreach.
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