The Startup Magazine

JULY 7, 2022

The world relies on technology more and more every day. As a result, we utilize technology in practically everything we do. When considering gaining technological skills, it’s a good idea to think about which ones will be in high demand in the future. Technology is a broad profession with several fascinating career paths.

Technical Review 158

Technical Review Artificial Inteligence Cloud Software Review 158

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 1, 2011

None of that can compare with being the CEO of a startup facing a rapidly diminishing bank account, your best engineer quitting, working until 10pm and rushing to the airport and catching a redeye for a “ Hail Mary ” close of a customer, with your board demanding you do it faster. Startups are hard. People skills. People skills.

Venture Capital 334

Venture Capital Early Stage Technical Review Startup 334

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 7, 2014

I spend a lot of time with startups and thus hear many companies talk about their approach to sales and their interactions with customers. The entrepreneurs in whom you invest don’t see the bird’s eye view of your portfolio or the industry more broadly. Startup Lessons' The press don’t get your financials.

Software Review 341

Software Review Customer Technical Review LP 341

VC Cafe

JANUARY 22, 2021

A few months ago, VC Cafe launched a series on startup engagement and outreach programs of large tech companies. After covering Google startup outreach and support (from first hand experience), today I’m happy to add Amazon and AWS, by looking into the variety of ways startups can engage with the commerce and cloud giant.

Technical Review 174

Technical Review Startup Venture Capital Incubator 174

Version One Ventures

JANUARY 4, 2021

We’ve seen our startup companies find new ways to keep moving forward. Pienza , a Seattle based B2B startup studio led by Bizible founder Aaron Bird, raised $5.1M. . For a second consecutive year , Jobber was named one of the fastest-growing companies in North America on Deloitte’s 2020 Technology Fast 500. . Jam raised a $3.5M

Portfolio 148

Portfolio Technical Review Securities and Exchange Commission North America 148

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

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. Recent Investment Themes. BUSINESS-FOCUSED (B2B).

Seed Stage 272

Seed Stage B2C Technical Review Disintermediation 272

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 number of startups being created has increased by an order of magnitude. Thank you, Aaron Sorkin! Today’s Normalization.

Venture Capital 347

Venture Capital Technical Review LP Mobile 347

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 15, 2022

Successful startups seem to follow similar paths to greatness, and unfortunately all too often that path leads them back down the hill much faster than they went up. By definition, most startups begin as a result of some innovation in product, process, or service. Consider MySpace and Webvan. Geographic expansion.

Dilution 355

Dilution Startup Merger Flash 355

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

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

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2014

On August 26th I had an equally effusive intro from Ynon Kreiz, also a friend, trusted source and also the CEO of portfolio company Maker Studios. International team with development in a country known for building great games and tech companies plus leadership in our home court of LA, one of the monetization capitals of the country.

Technical Review 373

Technical Review North America Los Angeles Cofounder 373

TechEmpower

DECEMBER 11, 2023

This vast pool of talent showcases a wide range of experience and portfolios, quality of work, and inquisitiveness. Are specific technologies or platforms involved in your project? Here's what to consider Experience and Portfolio: What type of projects has the company completed? In 2023, there were approximately 26.3

Software Development 297

Software Development Software Developers Software Review Software 297

The Startup Magazine

JANUARY 30, 2025

By Gayle Jennings OByrne Though interest rates have gone down slightly, ongoing market volatility means that funding for startups is still difficult. For several years, accelerator programs have been an integral part of the ecosystem for young businesses, particularly in the tech space. Alumni experience matters.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Due Diligence Silicon Valley Startup 78

ReadWriteStart

OCTOBER 20, 2023

New startups are created every day – each with fresh ideas and solutions. However, the reality is stark: up to 90% of startups fail, with the average failure rate for the first year standing at 10%. The key lies in having a groundbreaking idea and understanding the broader tech landscape and the forces shaping it.

Technical Review 137

Technical Review Startup Silicon Valley Agile 137

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 27, 2014

I always advise software startups to file patents to protect their “secret sauce” from competitors, and to increase their valuation. The good news is that a patent can scare off or at least delay competitors, and as a “rule of thumb” patents can add up to $1M to your startup valuation for investors or M&A exits (merger and acquisition).

Software Review 250

Software Review Software Technical Review Intellectual Property 250

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 21, 2013

I recently wrote a blog post in which I pointed out that many investors & advisors discourage enterprise startups from having a professional services (PS) business and I think this is a big mistake. I think it’s important for enterprise startups to layer in professional services into your revenue stream. rollout support.

Software Review 321

Software Review Software IP Technical Review 321

Steve Blank

JANUARY 22, 2014

Dino Vendetti a VC at Bay Partners, moved up to Bend, Oregon on a mission to engineer Bend into a regional technology cluster. Today with every city, state and country trying to build out a technology cluster, following Dino’s progress can provide others with a roadmap of what’s worked and what has not. Tech investing is risky.

Early Stage 295

Early Stage Silicon Valley Oregon Technical Review 295

VC Cafe

MARCH 1, 2024

Most startups equate the process of fundraising to dating – founders have to typically kiss a lot of frogs until the find the right fit. It’s been a while since they’ve updated their RFS list and it captures all the buzzword’s of today’s tech world: AI, defence tech, climate, spatial computing, etc.

Artificial Inteligence 176

Artificial Inteligence Technical Review Software Review Generative AI 176

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 29, 2010

At the highest level we’re looking for somebody really intelligent, digitally native, financially numerate and interested in startups. If this isn’t you, we’d probably still have a look if you did something truly exception – probably at startup or tech firm. Are we elitist? It was nearly identical.

Los Angeles 290

Los Angeles Technical Review Due Diligence Venture Capital 290

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

There were many moments in each space when pioneers were funding startups and the press hadn’t written much about them and if you were a typical investor you were still funding the last trend while some VCs were trailblazing into new categories. Almost nobody believed and now look at it. Online education. 6SensorLabs.

Technical Review 362

Technical Review America United States Partner 362

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 13, 2011

My initial desire to blog came from something that’s always been my approach to investing – I’m a nerd and I love to play with the technology and part of my approach has really been to understand things both at a user level and at a reasonably deep tentacle level. So I think the hardest role to fill in a startup is a Product Management role.

Technical Review 288

Technical Review Venture Capital Silicon Valley Software Review 288

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. Building Startups for Basecamp. Invest influencers and tech people to salon’s to have discussions about topics of interest. It’s exhausting. Lines, Not Dots.

Technical Review 317

Technical Review Incubator IPO Email 317

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.”. It’s a very important concept for me because in a startup you are constantly under pressure and have way too many distractions. Commitment & urgency are key drivers of success in startup businesses.

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?”.

Startup 306

Startup New York City Valuation Distribution 306

VC Cafe

FEBRUARY 9, 2022

As you may already know, I’ve always been a fan of startup landscapes. This edition includes maps of Israeli startups building the Metaverse, Insurtech, Martitime tech, Proptech and Contech, Digital Health, Smart Logistics and Supply Chain, Sports Tech and ecommerce. Metaverse tech. Maritime Tech.

Israel 210

Israel Technical Review eCommerce Startup 210

Version One Ventures

DECEMBER 18, 2014

And similar to before, they join our portfolio that is dominated by SaaS (i.e. Our other portfolio companies have also done well growing their businesses, enabling 11 of them to raise new rounds. The post Our 2014 in review appeared first on Version One. Just like last year , 2014 has been busy and eventful here at Version One.

Artificial Inteligence 159

Artificial Inteligence Technical Review Portfolio Seattle 159

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 9, 2010

Every early-stage startup should explore this new funding alternative. I conclude that the genesis of this trend seems to come from several forces, including the following: Less investment capital available due to the recession. Due to the economy as well, traditional individual angel investors haven’t been able to fill the gap.

Technical Review 215

Technical Review Early Stage Venture Capital Startup 215

VC Cafe

SEPTEMBER 2, 2022

The time spent on reviewing decks went down compared to 2021. This may vary from fund to fund, but in general here is the top level criteria VCs would use to check initial fit: Stage – is the startup raising a round which is within the range of the fund (pre seed, seed, series A, early stage, growth, etc.).

Technical Review 166

Technical Review Early Stage Cofounder Portfolio 166

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

According to the Angel Capital Association: Angels (private money) invest in 55,000 startups each year versus 1,500 companies by VC (venture capital) funding. Angels invest in one out of every forty deals they review (2.5%) versus the one out of 400 by VC’s (0.25%). 16 Tips on Raising Startup Funding from Unlikely Angels.

Angel Investor 159

Angel Investor Technical Review Software Review Accredited Investor 159

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 25, 2010

This is an updated post from my ongoing series on Startup Advice that I learned from founding two companies. . China is indelibly an important part of the future of the global technology system. I’m dropping everything non-portfolio related in the next few weeks and setting my sights on righting my wrong. I HATE LOSING.

China 333

China Silicon Valley Software Review Technical Review 333

The Startup Magazine

FEBRUARY 11, 2022

On the other side of the spectrum, the idea of finding a unicorn has attracted many investors toward the much riskier venture capital and emerging technologies. Over the past decade, advancing technologies and social consciousness have been causing unprecedented and exciting shifts in every sector of the economy, not just the tertiary.

Private Equity 165

Private Equity Equity Technical Review Software Review 165

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 28, 2021

Entrepreneurs who require funding for their startup have long counted on self-accredited high net worth individuals (“angels”) to fill their needs, after friends and family, and before they qualify for institutional investments (“VCs”). Thus investing in startups should always be approached as a low odds game.

Angel Investor 361

Angel Investor Accredited Investor IRR Angel Groups 361

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. As the former CEO of an Israeli startup with a (modest) US and UK presence, this is an obvious way to create more jobs here.

Government 146

Government Technical Review New York Offshore 146

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 8, 2009

But many Series A firms tell people they have a “revenue rule&# and then you look at their portfolio and see many exceptions. They get positive product reviews on TechCrunch, GigaOm or Paidcontent.org. It’s marketing 101 for tech companies in terms of how you market to customers. They hire key staff.

Technical Review 309

Technical Review Term Sheet Venture Capital Revenue 309

VC Cafe

FEBRUARY 27, 2023

For the past 10 years, with interest rates near zero, VC investors plowed record amounts into tech startups and enjoyed a seemingly ‘easy’ investing environment. Prices went up from round to round, and startups were encouraged to grow, grow, grow, and not to worry about profitability.

Venture Capital 215

Venture Capital Technical Review LP Institutional Investors 215

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 25, 2010

This is an updated post from my ongoing series on Startup Advice that I learned from founding two companies. . China is indelibly an important part of the future of the global technology system. I’m dropping everything non-portfolio related in the next few weeks and setting my sights on righting my wrong. I HATE LOSING.

China 328

China Silicon Valley Software Review Technical Review 328