Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 6, 2013

PM’s are underrated in Silicon Valley these days. Equally – a great VP Finance can be leveraged well to take on finance, legal, HR and much of the operational tasks. For the wrong reasons. PMs are a vital part of a tech startup. Engineering is critical but it is not everything. Limit the number of VCs.

Cofounder 388

Cofounder Early Stage Startup Silicon Valley 388

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 30, 2014

I also got the insights of her biggest champion from within Andreessen Horowitz, Margit Wennmachers , who talked me through when she first met Meredith, how she’s grown, the maturity of Meredith to interact with Silicon Valley’s good & great and be nonplussed about it.

Technical Review 418

Technical Review Software Review Due Diligence CTO Hire 418

SoCal CTO

JANUARY 5, 2011

November 23, 2010 Entrepreneurs, Using Outsourcing to Obtain Capital Efficiency Needs to be Thought Through to be Effective - Robert Ochtel , June 7, 2010 Teen Entrepreneur, Brian Wong, Youngest Founder to Receive Angel Funding - teenentrepreneurblog.com , October 28, 2010 Build Your Own Silicon Valley?

Silicon Valley 378

Silicon Valley Startup Term Sheet Venture Capital 378

Steve Blank

DECEMBER 7, 2009

I was out and about in Silicon Valley doing what I would now call Customer Discovery trying to understand how marketing departments in large corporations worked. I remember presenting our ideas for Marketing Automation to one VP of Marketing in a large Silicon Valley company. Order Here. To Order Outside of the U.S.

Silicon Valley 261

Silicon Valley Non-disclosure Agreement NDA Startup 261

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 3, 2012

But it was early 2009 and not many companies were getting new financings at all so I thought they should take the deal. But my other VC partner had a smaller fund and raising price would have a big impact on his ability to finance the company. So it reminds me of a recent deal in Silicon Valley from 18 months ago or so.

Term Sheet 356

Term Sheet Silicon Valley Reputation Partner 356

Steve Blank

APRIL 14, 2013

But for the last decade “innovation” in Chinese software meant something different than it did in Silicon Valley. Entrepreneurs in Beijing were knowledgeable about Silicon Valley, entrepreneurship and the state of software and tools available for two reasons. Of course “copy” is too strong a word. Management 101.

China 328

China Silicon Valley Non-Compete Intellectual Property 328

View from Seed

APRIL 14, 2020

With greater perceived risk to follow-on financing rounds, having a co-investor that can share the load of a second seed or a small series B round will be more attractive. This may be positive in some ways, but I think will hurt some of the interest in super innovative deep tech projects due to high perceived downstream financing risk.

Early Stage 374

Early Stage Software Review Technical Review Due Diligence 374

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 16, 2010

The best and most consistent funds in Silicon Valley (e.g. But my conversations in the private corridors on Sand Hill Road in Silicon Valley is that many fund sizes will be smaller going forward. You’ll have to find alternate ways of financing your dreams and that’s OK. Others will, too.

LP 311

LP Technical Review Early Stage Silicon Valley 311

Feld Thoughts

JULY 22, 2011

They suggested we call this “Finance Fridays&# to bookend Fred’s MBA Monday’s – I checked with Fred to see if he was ok with this and his response was “Hell yes. He will be entering Chicago Booth to complete this MBA with a focus on entrepreneurship and finance in the Fall 2011. The more the merrier.&#.

Finance 136

Finance Congo Chicago Cambodia 136

Steve Blank

MAY 9, 2017

I’ve seen the Valley grow from Sunnyvale to Santa Clara to today where it stretches from San Jose to South of Market in San Francisco. I’ve watched the Valley go from Microwave Valley – to Defense Valley – to Silicon Valley to Internet Valley. So how did this happen? Where is it going?

Restful 249

Restful Silicon Valley San Jose Puerto Rico 249

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 13, 2011

There was a lot of consumer internet activity again…resurgence of things, but it was still mysterious, venture capital was still kind of closed, 1st time entrepreneurs had a lot of questions that were unanswered, and there was still some sort of hand waiving around all the financing stuff and so we took it on….”.

Technical Review 288

Technical Review Venture Capital Silicon Valley Software Review 288

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 2, 2017

I still have to tell some entrepreneurs that even with the best idea, they have to move to Silicon Valley to find the investors they need, or they need to move to the U.S. Also, investors from the super-hubs (Silicon Valley, New York, or Boston), won’t assume anyone outside their domain has the savvy and resources to make it happen.

Silicon Valley 149

Silicon Valley Las Vegas Arizona Montana 149

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 14, 2009

We could for example, find warning signs in popular literature about e.g. finance suggesting rapid maturation in bond trading. Steve Blanks 30 years of Silicon Valley startup advice. I think that one of the good themes of this blog is that years != “dog years&# in deep industries. Warning sign? At best. ~ Order Here.

Silicon Valley 237

Silicon Valley IPO Technical Review Venture Capital 237

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 8, 2014

billion 2013 figure) have been massive financings at Honest Company ($70mm), JustFab ($85mm), ZipRecruiter ($63mm) and lord only knows how much SnapChat has actually accumulated. Many people don’t realize that the majority of the monetization of the Internet originated in Los Angeles but was perfected in Silicon Valley.

Los Angeles 376

Los Angeles Silicon Valley Entrepreneur Seattle 376

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 5, 2014

Last week a company we enthusiastically backed, uBeam , led by a very special entrepreneur, 25-year-old Meredith Perry , announced a $10 million round of financing. The beauty of Silicon Valley and the ethos it has driven in all of us is acceptance of failure and a profound respect for those who at least try.

Technical Review 417

Technical Review South Korea San Francisco Software Review 417

Steve Blank

APRIL 11, 2013

Examples are Hollywood for movies, Milan for fashion, New York for finance and today, Silicon Valley for technology entrepreneurship. It has become China’s Silicon Valley. The early clusters occurred by happenstance of geography or history. This was the area I visited in this trip to China.) Venture Guiding Fund.

Programming 179

Programming Technical Review SBIR China 179

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2011

2 preamble issues having read the comments on TC today: 1: I know that the prices of startup companies is much great in Silicon Valley than in smaller towns / less tech focused areas in the US and the US prices higher than many foreign markets. This article originally appeared on TechCrunch. I acknowledged this in the article.

Pre-Money Valuation 336

Pre-Money Valuation Valuation Silicon Valley Stock 336

Steve Blank

APRIL 14, 2013

But for the last decade “innovation” in Chinese software meant something different than it did in Silicon Valley. Entrepreneurs in Beijing were knowledgeable about Silicon Valley, entrepreneurship and the state of software and tools available for two reasons. Of course “copy” is too strong a word. Management 101.

China 220

China Silicon Valley Non-Compete Intellectual Property 220

Steve Blank

JANUARY 21, 2015

I was struck by something that had been slowly percolating through my head during my entire week – there are a higher percentage of women on the founding teams of New York City startups than in Silicon Valley. Companies that get started and built in Silicon Valley have historically focused on core technology.

Silicon Valley 120

Silicon Valley New York City New York Venture Capital 120

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

JANUARY 4, 2018

The Silicon Valley-oriented technology press outlets don’t cover us because we’re not in San Francisco, even though we’re more successful than most of the startups they cover. This week we closed $250M in financing from Silver Lake , the premier technology private equity firm.

Engineer 152

Engineer Revenue San Francisco Security 152

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 16, 2015

I still have to tell some entrepreneurs that even with the best idea, they have to move to Silicon Valley to find the investors they need, or they need to move to the U.S. Also, investors from the super-hubs (Silicon Valley, New York, or Boston), won’t assume anyone outside their domain has the savvy and resources to make it happen.

Las Vegas 120

Las Vegas Silicon Valley Phoenix Montana 120

YoungUpstarts

APRIL 7, 2016

For aspiring entrepreneurs, it’s hard to resist the allure of Silicon Valley. You’d be forgiven for thinking that any budding entrepreneur should only look at setting up in Silicon Valley to be successful. Photo credit: Canada flag from Shutterstock. By Raj Narayanaswamy, cofounder and Co-CEO, Replicon. While the U.S.

Canada 100

Canada Silicon Valley San Francisco Technical Cofounder 100

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 6, 2014

And somebody who isn’t thinking necessarily thinking about how to maximize their ownership in your next round of financing. when to build out our offices in Silicon Valley, New York & Los Angeles. Experience. Relationships. Founder’s perspective. In the Growth Years. how to build an initial sales organization.

Technical Review 325

Technical Review Early Stage Software Review Los Angeles 325

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 16, 2010

As I’ve highlighted I believe we’re in a unique period similar to 2005-08 where the biggest tech firms of Silicon Valley (and some media companies) are scooping up small software companies as “talent acquisitions&# versus accretive revenue / profit generators. Companies ultimately go through multiple rounds.

Cap Table 283

Cap Table Angel Investor Liquidation Preference Dilution 283

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 15, 2017

Their finances are also heavily regulated – insurers have to keep a set amount of cash liquid (to write the big checks) and diversify their assets according to specific rules (so they can have enough cash available for even bigger checks). They require the most money to operate and have to fill out the most complicated forms to get licensed.

Technical Review 183

Technical Review Los Angeles San Francisco Artificial Inteligence 183

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 10, 2010

years in LA (early 90’s) many of my friends left to start companies in Silicon Valley. My first corporate job was at First Interstate Bank where I worked in Corporate Finance. I learned much and had great experiences. I used it as my “live now&# vehicle. We were high tech at the very start of the boom.

France 295

France Spain Technical Review Hungary 295

ReadWriteStart

OCTOBER 6, 2011

She is a Silicon Valley entrepreneur and strategy consultant. Our community has successfully established a culture of bootstrapping as a counterforce to the compulsive rush to financing that entrepreneurs often mistakenly engage in, only to be rejected over and again by investors.

Silicon Valley 118

Silicon Valley India San Francisco Entrepreneur 118

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 24, 2017

To turn your company’s stock into cash, you engaged a top-notch investment bank (Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs) and/or their Silicon Valley compatriots (Hambrecht & Quist, Montgomery Securities, Robertson Stephens). A 20th century VC was likely to have an MBA or finance background. 4. Founder-friendly VCs.

Founder 281

Founder Technical Review CTO Hire IPO 281

Mucker Lab

AUGUST 27, 2014

As an entrepreneur himself, founding and operating printed circuit board factories in Taiwan, my father was debating between two places to immigrate to and build his next new venture: Los Angeles (“The Valley” aka San Fernando Valley) and Santa Clara (“Silicon Valley”).

Los Angeles 138

Los Angeles Southern California Silicon Valley Technical Review 138

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2019

A-round venture capital firms will almost certainly make it a requirement that they get a board seat upon financing. If you are a super hot commodity then you may possible retain some board control through the B-round of financing with a 3–2 structure where the 2 is one seat for the A investor and one for the B investor.

Venture Capital 236

Venture Capital Startup Angel Investor Silicon Valley 236

David Teten

JULY 29, 2011

Franklin Bi became passionate about venture capital and entrepreneurship after he spent a summer in Silicon Valley, working on an information services startup focused on innovation management. in Economics, with concentrations in Finance, Management, and Entrepreneurship, and will be returning to J.P. Franklin Bi.

Software Review 133

Software Review Venture Capital New Jersey Silicon Valley 133

Startup Lessons Learned

JANUARY 10, 2011

This week, the startup tribe from Harvard Business School is making their annual trek to Silicon Valley. It’s a common refrain around Silicon Valley to disparage the role of MBA’s in entrepreneurship. The course does not examine financing options or the composition of founding teams. I’ll be honest.

Silicon Valley 167

Silicon Valley San Francisco Lean Investment Bankers 167

ReadWriteStart

APRIL 5, 2023

Even some of the most prominent startup household names in Silicon Valley saw their demise last year — and everyone entrepreneur and startup face this fear. In recent months, Silicon Valley has featured quite a bit in the news, as some high-profile household tech companies have been laying off droves of employees.

South Africa 136

South Africa New York City San Francisco Silicon Valley 136

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 12, 2018

Yes, you have to figure out how to finance inventory and sure, it’s harder to iterate products when it involved physical production?—?but That was probably one step further away from the Silicon Valley ethos than even Shark Tank! but greatness is never easy and the spoils go to those who solve harder problems. He was dogmatic.

Security 247

Security Los Angeles Silicon Valley Video 247

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 9, 2011

Finance where needed. I show charts on housing, structural unemployment, home equity re-financings that we spent meaning less spending power post crash, new housing sales, debt-to-income ratios, public-sector job problems that will cause crises in cities and states across the US. We need some visibility. Cut where needed. Fawk, man.

Stock 305

Stock Technical Review Marketing Greece 305

YoungUpstarts

APRIL 7, 2016

Moreover, startups don’t necessarily face the same issues other business models do – although finances may plague more than less – with trouble-shooting having now entered unchartered territory. Right now, Silicon Valley has a highly creative pool of talent, but there is a blaringly obvious missing link between creativity and business.

Seed Stage 100

Seed Stage Silicon Valley Incubator Asia 100

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 16, 2016

Finance – an invoicing process, a billing process, a risk management process. Based in Silicon Valley, Progressly helps companies document, collaborate and analyze business processes — all in one central place. Some examples may include: Automotive – managing parts and/or suppliers. Banking – customer onboarding, credit check.

Silicon Valley 100

Silicon Valley Cofounder Software Review Technical Review 100