November, 2015

article thumbnail

Founders from MIT With a Plan to Change How We Grow and Eat Food

Both Sides of the Table

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.

founder 363
article thumbnail

The Fantastical, Stupendous, Wonkariffic Tale of How Ample Hills Creamery Raised a $4 Million Venture Capital Round

This is going to be BIG.

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

Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Trending Sources

article thumbnail

“A TotalE Family Affair” by Jamie Douraghy

Entrepreneurs' Organization

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.

article thumbnail

Accelerate Your Startup: Tuning the Engine

For Entrepreneurs

This article was originally published as part of a series of posts on GigaOm. As a VC and five-time entrepreneur, I frequently see two common mistakes being made by startups: Companies spend too much attempting to grow the business when it’s not ready for such growth; or Companies don’t spend enough money when the business.

article thumbnail

15 Modern Use Cases for Enterprise Business Intelligence

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?

article thumbnail

Benchmarking Atlassian's S-1 - How 7 Key SaaS Metrics Stack Up

Tomasz Tunguz

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.

SaaS 47

More Trending

article thumbnail

Does a VCs Culture Really Matter? The Upfront Story

Both Sides of the Table

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

culture 339
article thumbnail

Disappointed Billions are the Best Thing Ever

This is going to be BIG.

"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".

article thumbnail

TotalE Family Reflection by Lisa Cini

Entrepreneurs' Organization

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.

article thumbnail

Accelerate Your Startup: It’s Time to Floor It

For Entrepreneurs

This article was originally published as part of a series of posts on GigaOm. In my two previous blog posts, I’ve discussed the first two of three key phases in a startup life cycle: finding a product/market fit, then determining a repeatable and scalable sales model. Once you’ve determined that the sales funnel process you’ve designed.

article thumbnail

How Top Tech CFOs Solve Annual Planning’s Biggest Challenges

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.

article thumbnail

The Next Major Technology to Shape SaaS

Tomasz Tunguz

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

article thumbnail

Ask A Founder: Startup Lessons Learned from Squareknot’s Jason Rappaport

Gust

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 >.

founder 182
article thumbnail

Good, cheap, fast. Pick any two.

Berkonomics

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.

article thumbnail

Why do you win?

This is going to be BIG.

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.

article thumbnail

Your Fractional Finance and Accounting Team

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.

article thumbnail

How My Son Taught Me the Meaning of Charity

Entrepreneurs' Organization

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?”.

culture 130
article thumbnail

Accelerate Your Startup: Adding Gas to the Tank

For Entrepreneurs

This article was originally published as part of a series of posts on GigaOm. Different phases of a startup’s lifecycle require different approaches to spending. In my previous post, I talked about the first phase: finding product/market fit. I described how entrepreneurs should have a laser-like focus on finding it, and why they should conserve cash.

article thumbnail

How Much Cash Should Your SaaS Startup Burn?

Tomasz Tunguz

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.

SaaS 44
article thumbnail

Trying to Raise Money? Thinking About Gust for Startup Fundraising?

Gust

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?

startup 148
article thumbnail

Digitalization: 5 Tech Updates That Will Help You Survive The Recession & Thrive

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.

article thumbnail

How is your corporate and personal credibility?

Berkonomics

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.

83
article thumbnail

Subway Thumbing

This is going to be BIG.

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.

ventures 268
article thumbnail

EO24: Ending in 30 Minutes!

Entrepreneurs' Organization

— #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

article thumbnail

How Startups Can Build a Recruiting Machine (Webinar)

For Entrepreneurs

The competition for hiring the best top talent in startups has never been higher. The best people are almost never on the market, so it’s imperative to develop recruiting processes to find and sell passive candidates. It may take months or years of relationship building with these candidates to find the right moment when they are open.

startup 103
article thumbnail

PE Mastery: CAPTARGET's Playbook for Quality Lead Flow

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.

article thumbnail

The Tech Press Cycle and Unicorns

Tomasz Tunguz

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.

article thumbnail

Starting a startup as CTO / Head of Product

Gust

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.

startup 123
article thumbnail

Your customers are telling you “Wiw Wiw Wiw!”

Berkonomics

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.’.

media 71
article thumbnail

nownownow.com

Derek Sivers

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.

support 56
article thumbnail

How to Stay Competitive in the Evolving State of Martech

Marketing technology is essential for B2B marketers to stay competitive in a rapidly changing digital landscape — and with 53% of marketers experiencing legacy technology issues and limitations, they’re researching innovations to expand and refine their technology stacks. To help practitioners keep up with the rapidly evolving martech landscape, this special report will discuss: How practitioners are integrating technologies and systems to encourage information-sharing between departments and pr