Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 30, 2016

Amongst the most often asked questions I get from founders is, “How much money should I raise?” Reflexively founders want to raise as much money as they can because they figure it will give them more resources, better chances of competing and a longer runways before they have to do the often painful job of asking, yet again, for money. Every time you ask for money you’re faced with the possible of feeling literally and figuratively like a failure.

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This is going to be BIG.

JUNE 5, 2016

but you do need a team. And if you happen to find someone amazing you want to partner up with, that's fantastic. Just don't go picking someone who really doesn't compliment you just because it's some kind of VC rule. I've heard a lot of VCs tell founders they need co-founders--and that they wouldn't look at a business at a very early stage without a co-founder.

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Entrepreneurs' Organization

JUNE 22, 2016

EO interviewed EO New Delhi member, Jai Dhar Gupta, to learn how he’s using entrepreneurship to tackle air pollution. . How did you take advantage of a health scare and turn it into a successful business? EO was the root cause of my awakening. I signed up for the half-marathon at the EO Global Leadership Conference in Athens, Greece, in 2014, and I started training on the streets of Delhi.

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Berkonomics

JUNE 9, 2016

This story has been making the rounds lately, and I confess that our research cannot find the source. So, with thanks to whomever created this great little parable, here it is: “Every day, a small Ant arrived at work early and started work immediately, she produced a lot and she was happy. The boss, a lion, was surprised to see that the ant was working without supervision.

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Gust

JUNE 14, 2016

In some ways, it is now difficult to imagine a world without accelerators. Many of the globe’s most well-known and disruptive startups were propelled from the hallways of legendary accelerators such as Y Combinator, TechStars, and 500 Startups. AirBnb, Dropbox, Zenefits, Stripe, DigitalOcean, Heroku, Optimizely, Intercom, Reddit, and hundreds of other startup success stories were all briskly brought to life.

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Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 16, 2016

Computer Vison Startup Nanit If you follow me on Snapchat ( msuster ) you might already know that I’ve been looking at and investing in a number of companies in the computer vision space. My thesis is that it will become a major I/O computing metaphor or as this field is sometimes referred to HCI ( human-computer interaction ). Today I am so excited to announce our latest investment in the category —  Nanit  — which is a smart baby monitor.

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This is going to be BIG.

JUNE 21, 2016

I met with a family office investor yesterday and we were talking about his family's interest in diversifying their investments into early stage companies. They mostly participated in real estate transactions--an asset class where actual due diligence is conducted, deals take months, even years to close, and assets are sometimes held for decades. It's an asset class built on relationships.

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Entrepreneurs' Organization

JUNE 1, 2016

Photo: Praveen (left), with founder of ShareShed, Daniel DuBois , an EO GSEA finalist. The sharing economy is reinventing the way people think, act and play while affecting nearly every industry. We’re witnessing a generational shift toward people collecting memories over stuff. Praveen Varshney, a long-time EO Vancouver member and investor in Lyft, Guiides.com, ShareShed and other sharing-economy companies, is capitalizing on this new movement while helping the environment through support

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Berkonomics

JUNE 23, 2016

Dave’s note: Here comes my favorite “tell-it-like-it-is” CEO, Kim Shepherd, with another of her “crazy” (meaning excellent) ideas to pry innovative ideas from associates. Does the headline grab your attention? Read on… By Kim Shepherd. What can your department or company buy if it had an extra million dollars? The quick answer is: a whole slew of great ideas.

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For Entrepreneurs

JUNE 1, 2016

This article is part of our series “Pitching to Investors” that shares real examples and practical advice from the Matrix General Partners on creating your pitch deck. The intro to the series is here: Five Ways to Nail Your Pitch and Win Over Investors. Our goal of this series is to help entrepreneurs nail their.

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Tomasz Tunguz

JUNE 15, 2016

As a SaaS startup scales from finding initial product market fit to building its go to market organization, one of the most important goals in building that go to market organization is developing a multifaceted marketing team. Marketing’s role in SaaS sales has expanded to the success of SaaS companies as customers prefer to educate themselves more than they have in the past.

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Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2016

The funding environment for tech startups is an ever shifting ground as we go through predictable shifts that go hand-in-hand with the slowing of the overall market. The most important shift I would characterize as the market moving from “high conviction” and thus strong follow-ons to “limited conviction” and lots of gamesmanship / games of chicken … at your expense.

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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. It was from a top college endowment that was taking a look at the next fund of a widely known VC who had backed him. The truth of the matter is that their experience with this VC hadn't lived up to the hype. The VC firm was growing quickly, having raised two funds in just a few years, each quite larger than the previous one.

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financing

Entrepreneurs' Organization

JUNE 27, 2016

This article was originally published in the Entrepreneurs’ Organization column on Inc.com. Matt Levin, an Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) member from Austin, is the Managing Broker & Principal of Equitable Commercial Realty , a full service commercial real estate leasing, sales and management firm. We asked Matt about some of the advantages and disadvantages of having a creative office space for your company.

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Berkonomics

JUNE 30, 2016

Here is a variation of the “tree falls in the forest” question. In past insights, we’ve looked at leadership skills, ways to enhance effectiveness, and how to develop creative ideas that motivate and propel your organization to greatness. Here is the ultimate question for a leader…. You’ve heard the old saying that you can lead by fear or lead because people want to follow.

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For Entrepreneurs

JUNE 15, 2016

I recently sat down with Bill Macaitis. I’ve been a big fan of Bill’s since we brought him in as CMO at Zendesk. He has since gone on to be CMO at Slack. In an age where product gets most of the attention, Bill is the kind of marketer founders crave. He knows exactly what.

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Tomasz Tunguz

JUNE 9, 2016

Which are the ripest areas for startups to disrupt using machine learning? At the core, machine learning/artificial intelligence relies on two key ingredients: advanced algorithms and data sets to train those algorithms. Novel algorithms are increasingly making their way into the public domain in the form of open-source libraries. So, the key differentiator for startups and ultimately long-term competitive advantage is access to proprietary data sets.

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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

JUNE 23, 2016

Kobie Fuller, Partner at Upfront Ventures We set out to build a venture capital firm that would not only be a beacon for the rapidly growing LA tech ecosystem but also one that would compete and collaborate nationally with the best firms in the country. To do that you need to have the most talented partners and operating staff because entrepreneurs (and venture capital funds) have choices about whom they will work with and the best deals go to the best firms.

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This is going to be BIG.

JUNE 26, 2016

A lot of founders who pitch me tell me that they're the only ones doing something. They're in the same ballpark as a major player, doing something just one tiny bit off from what they are, and they expect this company to get their lunch eaten over the next seven years while an IPO-sized company is grown right under their noses. So, the people who work at your competition.

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Entrepreneurs' Organization

JUNE 20, 2016

From 22-24 June, the Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) , the world’s most influential community of entrepreneurs, will be a leading participant in the Global Entrepreneurship Summit 2016 (GES) , an event that showcases, connects and educates inspiring entrepreneurs and investors from around the world to address the world’s most difficult challenges.

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Berkonomics

JUNE 2, 2016

Over the years I have counseled entrepreneurs to think of a “no” response in terms of “yes, but…” There is always another way to say “no” that leaves the door open for creative thinking. Well, almost always. Sometimes, you just have to suck it up and say “NO” with strong conviction. It usually happens after several attempts to find a “yes, but” solution to a problem or issue that just can’t be resolved.

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Gust

JUNE 22, 2016

Gust announces acquisitions of Sharewave and Preferred Return; creates the most robust and affordable equity management solution for early-stage startups. June 22, 2016 – NEW YORK, NY – Gust, the global service provider powering the entrepreneurial ecosystem, announced today the launch of a comprehensive equity management platform, Gust Equity Management.

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Tomasz Tunguz

JUNE 6, 2016

When is the right time to increase sales headcount for a SaaS startup? It is one of the most strategic decisions for early-stage business to make given the amount of effort and expense involved in building, managing and scaling a sales team. While there is no single absolute sign, neither qualitative nor quantitative, these are some of the signals I have found indicate it might be a good time to scale sales.

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Surdna Foundation

JUNE 17, 2016

According to a new report by the Economic Policy Institute, finds that income inequality has risen in every state since the 1970s and in many states is up in the post–Great Recession era. In 24 states, the top 1 percent captured at least half of all income growth between 2009 and 2013, and in 15 of those states, the top 1 percent captured all income growth.

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This is going to be BIG.

JUNE 12, 2016

Cue the news cycle again. Mass shooting. Guns. Terrorism. Blame. It's all hate. Are you for more of it or against all of it? Cue up all of the anti-gun, anti-muslim rhetoric. Let's find out if the shooter ever knew anyone from the Middle East. Let's trace the NRA money. Let's make some laws. Ban the guns. Ban the muslims. These aren't the causes--they're the outlets and the catalysts.

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