Both Sides of the Table

MAY 4, 2015

Amazon. It is a household name. It has become so synonymous with Internet companies that the French have invented a disdainful term including Amazon: “les GAFA,” which they refer to as Google-Apple-Facebook-Amazon to talk about American dominance of the Internet. Try to imagine if you *didn’t* already know Amazon and the company walking into VC meetings telling people they were going to disrupt the selling of all goods starting with books but then extending into electronics, ap

real estate 364

real estate startup disruption incumbents 364

This is going to be BIG.

MAY 13, 2015

Brooklyn Bridge Ventures recently joined Lerer Hippeau Ventures, Crosslink Capital, and KarpReilly in Hungryroot 's $2mm seed round. The NYC based company makes ready-to-cook meals comprised of 100% organic, fresh-cut vegetable noodles paired with all-natural chef-designed sauces, toppings and optional pre-roasted proteins--and they're delicious. The food has become a staple of my diet, which wasn't the case after trying various food delivery services out on the market.

investing 386

investing investment enablement strategy 386

Onevest

MAY 14, 2015

By Tim Houghten What really makes for an effective, and lasting co-founder relationship? Is the magical pixie dust that gives co-founder relationships wings really all about eHarmony style data matching? Or like a successful, and long-lived “celebrity marriage,” is it the result of a strong pre-nup, regular date nights, and a lot of patience and willingness to forgive?

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Gust

MAY 26, 2015

At Hyde Park Angels, we evaluate startups based on quantifiable metrics related to traction, market size, and more. But that’s not all we consider. In fact, sometimes the most important factors in determining whether we should invest are qualitative. While these can vary from deal to deal, there are a few that remain the same. Understanding of the Pain Read more >.

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strategy

abovethecrowd.com

MAY 3, 2015

Like many of those that had the distinct pleasure of knowing Dave “Goldie” Goldberg, I was shocked and in disbelief when I received the tragic news this past Saturday. I first spent time with Dave when he joined us as an EIR at Benchmark back in 2007, and over the years, we had become good friends. I clearly had become quite accustomed to seeing Dave, because when I realized I would not have a chance to hang with him again it hit me like a ton of bricks.

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Both Sides of the Table

MAY 10, 2015

*. Lawsuits. I’m so tired of the nature of the legal system in the United States where bullying, intimidation and mobster-like shake-downs are becoming prevalent. As I write these words I already imagine my next deposition in which I’m asked to read this out loud. Lawsuits are becoming so prevalent these days. Even when I’m not the one being sued I find myself being dragged into deposition after deposition and my blog (along with all my emails) are being served as evidence.

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startup advice board founder 352

This is going to be BIG.

MAY 14, 2015

A little more than a year ago, I got a note from Brian Fitzgerald, a Product Manager I met while I was at First Round. He was "taking time with family" to figure out what's next. Most people take that to mean that they'll stop spending as much time with their family and go on to work at another startup or be a founder themselves. Brian, on the other hand, doubled down on family and decided to work on the side project he started with his wife Meg.

disruption 373

disruption education opportunity communities 373

Onevest

MAY 7, 2015

By Tim Houghten Every serious angel investor and startup founder needs to be in the San Fran stadium on July 18 th , 2015. Those that show up will experience an event that could dramatically alter their startup, and startup investing performance. # Challenge Accepted On July 18 th , 2015 the AT&T Park stadium in San Francisco will be hosting the Spartan Race.

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Gust

MAY 15, 2015

Entrepreneurs seem genuinely surprised to find that investors in Peoria or Little Rock are not willing to invest in startup companies at Silicon Valley prices. After all, they just read in TechCrunch that investors funded a company similar to theirs at an $8 million pre-money valuation! The valuation of startup companies shouldn’t be impacted by location, should they?

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startup

Unvalidated Learnings

MAY 26, 2015

Last week I had the chance to attend the first edition of the on-demand conference organised in San Francisco by Semil Shah , Pascal Levy Garboua and Tradecraft , and here are 10 things I learned: 1. San Francisco is currently an extraordinary open-air lab for the on-demand economy : hundreds of startups, investors and service providers are competing for a piece of the action?

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Guy Kawasaki

MAY 20, 2015

Doctors conduct postmortems to figure why people died. They do this to solve a crime, prevent the death of others, and satisfy curiosity. However, once somebody dies, it’s too late to help him. Entrepreneurs and their investors also often analyze why a product, service, or company died—especially if it’s someone else’s company. And, as in the case of dead people, a postmortem is too late to do much good for a defunct product, service, or company.

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startup entrepreneurs entrepreneurship 75

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 20, 2015

Anybody who reads the blog regularly will know that I’m long video. I’ve made 5 investments in the sector and I hope to make 5 more. Between the US & Europe alone the video sector is worth around $500 billion. And TV / Film / Video Games / Virtual Reality / Augmented Reality and frankly the Internet will all merge. Western countries watch > 5 hours of TV per day.

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startup mix-use creativity communities 339

This is going to be BIG.

MAY 11, 2015

I have no idea. I just know what I do--and what I saw partners at other firms I've worked at do. That's one thing you have to realize about venture capital. Every single firm is different. How a partner at a firm spends their time is a function of the number of deals they do, the stage of the company, and their own personal style. As a single GP (a firm with one investment decision making professional), I get asked a lot of questions about how I manage my time considering the number of investmen

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financing

Onevest

MAY 19, 2015

By Tim Houghten For 1000 Angels , the private investor network that connect startups with investors, deal flow is critical. Only with sufficient deal flow can investors uncover the best startup investments, and stay diversified. No one want capital sitting idle, especially not in today’s miserly low interest rate environment. A Forbes study of deal pipeline for VCs and angel investor groups shows they review 87 investment opportunities before committing to 1, on average.

coworking spaces 116

coworking spaces coworking startup pitching 116

Gust

MAY 14, 2015

This is a grim fairy tale about a mythical company and its mythical founder. While I concocted this story, I did so by drawing upon my sixteen years of experience as a venture capitalist, plus the fourteen years I spent before that as an entrepreneur. I’m going to use some pretty simple math and some pretty basic terms to create Read more >. The post How to Build a Unicorn From Scratch – and Walk Away with Nothing. appeared first on The Gust Blog.

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entrepreneurs ventures founder investment 143

Tomasz Tunguz

MAY 12, 2015

At the Gainsight Pulse conference yesterday, I moderated a panel with Boaz Maor, VP of customer success at Mashery and Mike McKee, SVP of customer success and services at Rapid7. During the panel, both men described their path to building substantial customer success organizations at their respective companies. Boaz’s team numbers 60 people, and Mike’s exceeds 160.

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board accelerator investing investment 40

Berkonomics

MAY 7, 2015

This is like a Hans Christian Anderson parable, but aimed at you and your business… There are big fish and small fish, potential customers, all swimming in the sea that is your potential marketplace. You, the lonely fisherman, have to weave a net to catch your fish. Should your net be large and bulky, requiring more effort and expense to weave? Or should it be small and delicate, to catch those fish that would otherwise fall through the net?

entrepreneurs 94

entrepreneurs opportunity support 94

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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.

technology

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 2, 2015

What I love about my job is getting to see teams of super-early-stage companies develop ideas that while raw have potential to make an impact on the market. I love the enthusiasm, the boundless energy and the sense of possibility that comes from having an idea that hasn’t yet been beat up in the marketplace of competing ideas, customer contracts, VC skepticism, jaded journalists or fickle consumers who are on the The New, New Thing.

board 338

board energy financing finance 338

This is going to be BIG.

MAY 5, 2015

In my effort to rewrite the deck for my next fund, I've been spending a lot of time reflecting on what it is that I try to do. A lot of people can say they work hard, or work smart, but that doesn't leave me off where I think I'm setting my goals. I've been trying to figure out if there's any differentiation in how I do my job versus how other people might assume it gets done.

venture capital 393

venture capital capital pitching ventures 393

Onevest

MAY 29, 2015

By: Michael Whitehouse As seen on 1000 Angels , private investor network connecting startups with investors, a business model is the one of the most important aspects of a startup when considering investment. There are many different business models out there, but within startup investment there are four which have proven to be effective for others in the project.

investing 124

investing investment startup opportunity 124

Gust

MAY 4, 2015

Crowdfunding is the practice of raising money for a project or venture from a large number of people utilizing an Internet website or platform. Funding from each individual can be quite small, $10 or less, although some projects have much higher minimums. Projects include films, musical recordings, new companies, products, inventions, personal causes and many others.

ventures 135

ventures investment investing startup 135

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Tomasz Tunguz

MAY 13, 2015

Ariba went public in 1999 three years after having been founded. In its first year of selling, the company generated $800,000 in revenue. Then it ramped. $8 million, then $45 million, then $274M. In a three-year period, the company had grown 33x and achieved an astounding CAGR of 224% over the same period. Ariba shares increased 300% on its first day of trading at IPO, valuing the company at $6 billion.

sustainability 44

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Berkonomics

MAY 14, 2015

It is all about execution. Waiting over a year to see results is too long, since your chance of mid-course correction is greatly reduced. To make the point, Harvard’s Robert Kaplan believes that less than 10% of corporate strategies are effectively executed. Ouch! If that is true, we are tolerant bunch. We carefully plan in long, dedicated sessions each year or so, then draw up a series of goals, strategies, tactics, objectives, targets, or whatever we want to name them.

strategy 75

strategy 75

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 6, 2015

As an active investor in the Los Angeles technology market we’re always seeking to better understand the data and trends of why our market has grown so rapidly since 2009. We look for pockets of excellence where we may have skills that aren’t native in other markets or where our home town may have some unique skills or talents. Everybody now knows that LA produced SnapChat, Tinder and Maker Studios.

VC 307

VC opportunity media innovation 307

This is going to be BIG.

MAY 26, 2015

We glamorize the life of a founder--the big picture idea person who creates something big out of nothing. They lead a team with vision and bold thinking, guiding a ship from the helm. Right? That certainly seems to be what people believe--because I can't tell you how many founders are surprised when they find out how much of the job is. well. Mind-numbingly tedious.

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