Steve Blank

APRIL 11, 2013

The previous post described how China built its science and technology infrastructure. This post is about the how the Chinese government engineered technology clusters. Of all the Chinese government programs, the Torch Program is the one program that kick-started Chinese high-tech innovation and startups. Innovation Clusters.

Programming 287

Programming Technical Review SBIR China 287

View from Seed

JULY 31, 2014

And since we will continue to look proactively at new seed-stage tech startups over the next few years, the question becomes: What, then, will these companies look like? More interesting, however, is reflecting on what “rhymes” across multiple investments within our portfolio. Network Effect B2B. Step-Function Ad Tech.

Seed Stage 272

Seed Stage B2C Technical Review Disintermediation 272

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 22, 2024

In March 2022 I wrote a description of the Quantum Technology Ecosystem. Just as a reminder, Quantum technologies are used in three very different and distinct markets: Quantum Computing , Quantum Communications and Quantum Sensing and Metrology. Different technical approaches (superconducting, photonics, cold atoms, etc.)

Technical Review 267

Technical Review Illinois Algorithm Software Review 267

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 21, 2009

On the third Wednesday of every month I co-chair a meeting called the SoCal VCA (venture capital alliance), which represents participants from all of the top venture capital firms in Southern California as well as prominent members of the Tech Coast Angels (TCA). We feature a prominent speaker at every event.

Technical Review 241

Technical Review IPO Southern California Venture Capital 241

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 8, 2014

Portfolio company support & analysis. Portfolio community building. Industry reviews. So the “VC associate” is largely a launching pad job for exceedingly bright and hard-working young tech professionals. a top-down view on HR challenges at startups; and, obviously: a great network. Deal screening.

Jordan 365

Jordan Technical Review Portfolio Partner 365

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 23, 2012

I have been close to the tech & startup sectors for more than 20 years and I can’t think of a period in which I felt more optimistic about the innovation and value creation I see in front of us. The movie, “The Social Network” might have had more of an impact on creating future entrepreneurs than any other event of the past 5 years.

Venture Capital 347

Venture Capital Technical Review LP Mobile 347

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014

The frantic pace of technology cycles, the amount of tech news, the blogs, the conferences, the demo days, the announcements, the fundings, the IPOs. Anybody who has worked in venture can tell you that if you took every intro that came your way you’d simply spend all of your time in meetings reviewing new deals sent to you.

Technical Review 317

Technical Review Incubator IPO Email 317

VC Cafe

JANUARY 22, 2021

A few months ago, VC Cafe launched a series on startup engagement and outreach programs of large tech companies. Amazon Corporate Development – Notable acquisitions include Whole Foods ($13.7B), smart doorbell system Ring ($1.2B, 2018) and autonomous mobility technology Zoox ($1.2bn). AI startups in the Alexa Fund portfolio.

Technical Review 174

Technical Review Startup Venture Capital Incubator 174

The Startup Magazine

JANUARY 30, 2025

For several years, accelerator programs have been an integral part of the ecosystem for young businesses, particularly in the tech space. Participants are given instruction, connections, and a network on which to build and improve their young businesses. Alumni experience matters. If they arent, it may not be worth the time.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Due Diligence Silicon Valley Startup 78

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 29, 2010

If this isn’t you, we’d probably still have a look if you did something truly exception – probably at startup or tech firm. The chosen candidate will probably have worked for a very reputable firm that is either in technology, consulting, investment banking, media or a startup. Assisting on company due diligence.

Los Angeles 290

Los Angeles Technical Review Due Diligence Venture Capital 290

David Teten

FEBRUARY 2, 2012

By contrast, as a venture capitalist, I can report that almost all of our portfolio companies are desperate to hire talented software engineers, and eager to hire in a range of other roles. Organizations like Worldwide Investor Network and the US-Israel Business Council are helpful in this area.

Government 146

Government Technical Review New York Offshore 146

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 1, 2009

Consumer spending is 70% of the economy and will continue to be stretched – We can look all we want at tech innovation, VC funding cycles and hot M&A deals, but ultimately growth and therefore investment must be underpinned by revenue. Tags: Pitching VCs Start-up Advice VC Industry startup technology vc venture capital.

Technical Review 269

Technical Review Stock Hawaii Early Stage 269

Version One Ventures

DECEMBER 18, 2013

We made 3 new investments: Figure 1 , a photo-sharing network for medical professionals; Upverter , a cloud-based hardware engineering platform; and one unannounced investment. These new investments bring the total number of portfolio companies to 14. News portfolio review' Boris & Angela.

Technical Review 153

Technical Review Silicon Valley Portfolio B2B 153

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2010

If I’m interested I get to spend more time with them, if I’m not I don’t have to – A few companies per month come in that have fascinating business ideas that warrant my spending more time trying to understand their people, company, technology and market. I get paid to network – I love meeting people.

Technical Review 312

Technical Review Due Diligence Spain Warrant 312

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 9, 2011

I thought about things I never had to as an entrepreneur: check size, ownership percentage, deal stage, portfolio construction and risk. Let’s review all of our existing investments. When the market tanked they had the “triage problem&# – which portfolio companies to save, which to kill. Cut where needed.

Stock 305

Stock Technical Review Marketing Greece 305

NZ Entrepreneur

MAY 31, 2021

Andrew Chen shares his takeaways from the second instalment on Portfolio Management, held in Wellington on 13 May 2021. Participants heard about both the theory and reality of portfolio management from three different experiences: Marcel van den Assum provided the angel investor perspective, having invested in over 50 companies over 15 years.

Portfolio 97

Portfolio New Zealand Management Technical Review 97

View from Seed

DECEMBER 17, 2015

Editor’s Note: NextView recently kicked off a Boston-based workshop series on technical interviewing with Google. Portfolio companies can contact us to learn more.) For the company, he’s led multiple tech teams focused on products like voice and image search, Google Search for iOS, Google Glass, and Android Wear.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Engineer Software Review Founder 120

This is going to be BIG.

FEBRUARY 18, 2019

When you back women and you’re trying to encourage the expansion of their network and the building of their personal brand, you cannot help but review all of your own actions after listening to the compounding emotional effects of their professional experiences. There is strength and support in numbers.

Venture Capital 165

Venture Capital Portfolio Cofounder Seed Stage 165

David Teten

MARCH 28, 2012

Best Practices in Venture Capital Portfolio Company Value Creation. In addition, in light of increasing competition in the startup funding space, a methodology for helping portfolio companies consistently is a strong competitive advantage. I’ve also posted this at Betabeat.). View more presentations from David Teten.

Portfolio 144

Portfolio Private Equity Venture Capital Early Stage 144

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 13, 2011

As a member of one of these local organizations, I use Angelsoft on the investor side to review business plans, deal flow, and help orchestrate presenters at monthly meetings of the local organization. New England Investment Network. Keiretsu Forum.

Angel Investor 255

Angel Investor North America South America Accredited Investor 255

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 20, 2011

One example is that they introduced a program where their founders can pool together shares from their company and exchange them for a small portfolio of other First Round Capital companies. In the early 80’s he left academia to work on venture capital investing with Jim Simons, Renaissance Technologies. and Half.com.

Pre-Money Valuation 284

Pre-Money Valuation Technical Review Cofounder Cram Down 284

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 19, 2011

That was 1994, and now, almost 20 years later, QR code technology is experiencing a revival — but not in the automotive industry. The possibilities for their use are endless, and many translate into the college classroom , offering a fun and exciting way for students to use technology for learning. Link to book reviews.

Software Review 262

Software Review Technical Review Mobile Video 262

Steve Blank

APRIL 11, 2013

The previous post described how China built its science and technology infrastructure. This post is about the how the Chinese government engineered technology clusters. Of all the Chinese government programs, the Torch Program is the one program that kick-started Chinese high-tech innovation and startups. Innovation Clusters.

Programming 179

Programming Technical Review SBIR China 179

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 12, 2019

The reality is that as a result of two major trends the costs of starting a technology startup went down massively. So What Impact Did the Drop in Tech Founding Costs Have on VC? The skills and networks inherent in making the early bet are consistent with the funds that play in this category.

Venture Capital 328

Venture Capital Technical Review Seed Stage IPO 328

David Teten

DECEMBER 8, 2010

Expert networks have been in the news a lot for the past few weeks, due to the SEC’s attempt to look for insider trading amongst hedge funds, following on their Galleon investigation (Raj Rajaratnam of Galleon is in the photo shown). Investors have always sought out primary research; expert networks just make it easier.

Networking 122

Networking Private Equity SEC Software Review 122

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 8, 2010

We’re here for Greycroft’s CEO Summit – a gathering of the CEO’s of their portfolio companies with guest speakers covering topics including how to build your team, PR, customer development, etc. The Greycroft event was a 10 out of 10 so I’ve diligently taken notes. We learned this weekend that it was named after his East Hampton home.

PR 279

PR Technical Review Portfolio Customer Development 279

Version One Ventures

OCTOBER 18, 2012

“Traction is the new IP ” sums up perfectly how the technology space has evolved over the past decade due to the nature of the web. Barriers to entry are no longer created by patents or by tech differentiation alone, but by superior traction in the marketplace. Let’s take my own portfolio as an example.

IP 163

IP Technical Review B2C Social Network 163

David Teten

DECEMBER 3, 2019

When I met my now-wife, I realized that any technology that can find me a spouse is a killer app. But, most of use raise capital and source deals the same way people looked for dates 20 years ago: by networking at conferences (or bars). . I previously posted a detailed presentation with sales technology tools useful for B2B sales.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Software Review Analytics Private Equity 78

VC Cafe

JULY 5, 2010

The workshop discussions centered on a series of Harvard Business School case studies, and related reading materials, pertaining to four companies: R&R, ProfitLogic (a Battery portfolio company), E-Ink and Celtel International. For Battery, the ROI for the Workshop will be difficult to quantify.

Software Review 116

Software Review Technical Review Community Due Diligence 116

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

Angels invest in one out of every forty deals they review (2.5%) versus the one out of 400 by VC’s (0.25%). They are professionals with full-time jobs, who often don’t have time for due diligence (and may not even know how to do it) and often make decisions through trusted referrals or based on gut feelings (more on gut feelings later).

Angel Investor 159

Angel Investor Technical Review Software Review Accredited Investor 159

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 14, 2009

Posted on September 14, 2009 by steveblank Over the last 30 years Wall Street’s appetite for technology stocks have changed radically – swinging between unbridled enthusiasm to believing they’re all toxic. Tech acquisitions went crazy at the same time the IPO market did. 3) invest in and take equity stakes in exchange for capital.

Silicon Valley 237

Silicon Valley IPO Technical Review Venture Capital 237

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 4, 2011

One of the things I discuss the most with the portfolio companies I’m involved with is that “you manage what you measure.”. Only one guy in the room knew – their tech lead. He told me in some combinations of device / OS / network they are crashing 4 times per 100. The biggest limitation we tech consumers have is our time.

Metrics 346

Metrics Startup Acquisition SEM 346

Steve Blank

JUNE 27, 2017

This article originally appeared in the Harvard Business Review. As more and more companies face disruption from globalization, new technology, and startups that have more capital than the incumbents, the continuing cry from Wall Street investors is, “Why can’t companies be as innovative as startups?”. to stifle competition.).

Startup 306

Startup New York City Valuation Distribution 306

View from Seed

MAY 24, 2021

You are a native of NYC tech with a strong network. You have 4-6 years of professional experience as a technology operator, founder, or investor in New York. You know the ecosystem and have a network that is additive to the rest of the team. All applications will be reviewed confidentially. Who Are We Looking For.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Software Review Seed Stage Cofounder 120

VC Cafe

JULY 5, 2010

investors the opportunity to participate in the Israeli high-tech market. based Angel capital with early stage technology companies in Israel, and do so in a way that substantially mitigates the risk of seed stage investing. Janvest: First, JANVEST is a combination of best practices from leading Angel networks and VC funds.

Israel 106

Israel Technical Review Software Review Seed Stage 106

VC Cafe

MARCH 1, 2024

In addition, founders thinking about starting a company can be overwhelmed by choice, as there are so many problems to tackle with technology, but it could be comforting to know that investors are interested in those areas in the first place.

Artificial Inteligence 176

Artificial Inteligence Technical Review Software Review Generative AI 176

Gust

OCTOBER 20, 2011

Active angels invest in a diversified portfolio of 10 or more companies, usually spreading their investments over a few years. In the end, such a portfolio might yield the angel investor a total return on investment of 25% per year or more. A local network of angels is critical to achieving a diversified portfolio.

Valuation 146

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Intellectual Property Technical Review 146