Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 1, 2012

The first day of 2012 seems the perfect day to do so. So in 2012 you’ll see me a lot more often at the Launchpad LA offices. Happy 2012 to all of you. Occasionally on this blog I break away from industry commentary and write more broadly. One of the most important articles I read during the entire year was David Brook’s op-ed article on “ The Haimish Line.” ” In it Brooks talks about his recent trip to Africa with his 12-year-old son.

mentorship 266

mentorship pitching culture advice 266

abovethecrowd.com

DECEMBER 26, 2012

Jeff Bezos on Charlie Rose, November 16, 2012. Over the past several years, I have become a huge fan of Mark Armstrong’s web service, Longreads. For those of you that don’t know, Longreads is a Twitter handle ( @longreads ), and a web service ( www.longreads.com ) that points to the best long form content on the Internet. At its core, it’s an amazingly effective editorial and discovery engine.

financing 62

financing finance media advice 62

Gust

OCTOBER 16, 2012

September’s Startup Map showcases the latest trends in startup profiles created on Gust between September 1 st and September 30 th. Some of the entrepreneurs chose to keep their startup profiles private and therefore are labeled as unpublished in this month’s map, and were not included in the trends analysis. In September the US has once again shown the highest concentration of startups, even though there was a decline when compared to the month of August.

education 108

education development startup entrepreneurs 108

Gust

OCTOBER 16, 2012

The results of the 2012 survey are shown in the table below, with groups listed by median overall pre-revenue, pre-money valuation from the lowest to the highest. 2012 Valuation Survey. Here are comparisons with earlier surveys and with current data collected elsewhere : The pre-money valuation of pre-revenue companies in the 2012 survey (median = 2.75, average = 2.96) increased significantly over the data from the survey in 2011 (average = $2.1

energy 114

energy data collection angel capital networking 114

This is going to be BIG.

MAY 14, 2012

I'll bet you don't know where the Center of NY's Tech Community and Center of Creativity is. Give up? It's in the Financial District--right at 55 Broad Street. It says so right on their website. In fact, it is "well-known internationally as the original home of New York's technology community.". I'll bet you didn't know that--mostly because it never was. Back in the late 90's, a lot of money and real estate brokering went into trying to make it so, however.

coworking spaces 293

coworking spaces communities coworking accelerator 293

Gust

DECEMBER 19, 2012

For November 2012 we are noticing an interesting trend of product ready companies declining, while concept stage companies are rising. This trend is mostly led by a decrease in product ready internet web service companies in the US, Canada, Spain and the United Kingdom, and with an increase in concept stage companies in Spain, India, Brazil and the United States. The top four US states with the highest concentration of new startups are still California, New York, Florida and Texas.

startup 110

startup investing investment 110

This is going to be BIG.

NOVEMBER 26, 2012

I can't take credit for this meme, even though I've already invested in it.twice. Once with Docracy, once with a super cool company launching in the first quarter of 2013.). I was chatting with Thor Muller a couple of weeks ago about web trends--and he made a very insightful point as I talked about how I see more and more models around getting people to work together in different ways. He said that Flickr taught us all about social applications--and gave birth to Web 2.0

collaboration 298

collaboration media SaaS communities 298

This is going to be BIG.

FEBRUARY 2, 2012

University research is a big business for many schools. It certainly worked out pretty well when Stanford licensed the search technology that Larry and Sergei had been working on back to them at Google. They netted more on that deal than Fordham has in it's whole endowment (but still, go Rams!). On top of that, most of a school's major donors are likely to be entrepreneurs in some way. You just don't wind up with $25 million to name a dorm unless you've gotten equity upside in something.

innovation 273

innovation incubation education entrepreneurship 273

Gust

SEPTEMBER 19, 2012

We are delighted to present a special rate to attend DEMO in Santa Clara, California on October 1-3, 2012. Please apply the registration code ‘DF12ANL’ to receive 50% off the published rate. During the two-day conference, DEMO provides an environment for companies to secure venture funding, establish critical relationships, influence early adopters, and meet with top tier press.

ventures 92

ventures investing investment 92

This is going to be BIG.

NOVEMBER 19, 2012

As we prepare for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, I think a lot about the future of the physical retail landscape. As I walk around my neighborhood in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, I count every storefront whose products or services could be better delivered over the internet. The count is unfortunately high. Pretty much anywhere you buy items that aren't food, you could probably get them cheaper on the web, with a wider selection. Left and right, small retailers are closing their doors.

real estate 314

real estate coworking spaces coworking education 314

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 20, 2012

Every so often I find myself caught up in a really hectic 3-4 week schedule where it seems like I float endlessly betweens meetings. Pitches. Intros. Board Meetings. Conferences. And I get flooded with legal docs, end-of-quarter financial administration, recruiting, whatever. I get sucked up in “Do” mode. Startups Are for Doers. Now, I’m pretty on the record that being an entrepreneur is about being great at The Do. With an emphasis on the “D” in JFDI.

entrepreneurs 321

entrepreneurs creativity advice venture capital 321

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 23, 2012

But in 2012 a visit to any major college in America will show you the massive increase in aspirations of our young talent to become the next Mark Zuckerberg and build a future Facebook. So it is unsurprising that an over-funding environment and the commensurate returns hangover would have lasted until about – well – 2012. Fast forward to 2012 and none of these conditions hold. As of January 2012 consumers were watching 4 BILLION video views per day on YouTube.

venture capital 288

venture capital capital ventures disruption 288

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 22, 2012

I think I’ve read Paul Graham’s post on “ Startup = Growth ” three or four times now. And of course on Twitter I’ve seen the Tweets, ReTweets and superlatives on what a great post it is. Viewing the article through the lens of a venture capitalist there’s much to agree with under the mantra of “growth!” ” And when you read the article carefully it allows for a period of discovery in your business. For example.

culture 315

culture startup venture capital advice 315

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 27, 2012

This article originally appeared on TechCrunch. Recently I wrote a post arguing to make the definition of a Startup more inclusive than that to which Silicon Valley, fueled by Venture Capital return profiles, would sometimes like to attach to the word. Today I’d like to talk about what startup communities outside of Silicon Valley look like, how they emerge and what makes them take hold.

communities 309

communities startup mentorship advice 309

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 4, 2012

I recently wrote about the 12 tips to building successful startup communities. After a recent discussion I had with Steve Blank it made me remember that I had left off one of the most critical factors – a culture of failure. I remember this lesson well. I lived in London from 1997-2005 and for 6 of those years ran my startup based out of London. At this time I can tell you that the Brits definitely didn’t have a culture of failure.

culture 290

culture communities startup education 290

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 17, 2012

For me Silicon Beach doesn’t quite encapsulate the wonderful, dynamic, creative, large, thriving community that is the 13 million proud Angelinos any more than Silicon Alley captures the bustling 2012 community of New York City. Brad Feld visited Los Angeles this past week. I always enjoy spending time with Brad as the antidote to the eco chamber.

communities 255

communities startup creativity advice 255

This is going to be BIG.

SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

Tweet. Note: I led First Round's investment in Docracy in 2011, but I do not have any financial ties to the company and will not benefit or suffer, other than emotionally, based on the outcome of that investment. Docracy, born out of Techcrunch Disrupt's 2011 Hackathon, just brought legal negotiations into the cloud with their new Super Signing feature release.

collaboration 290

collaboration frameworks communities construction 290

This is going to be BIG.

AUGUST 22, 2012

You have a million things to get done at your startup, yet you only have a handful of people to do them. How are you ever going to get it done? Who should you hire? What should be the makeup of a founding team? What is the Minimum Viable Team, if you will, for a startup? To make life simpler, I'll take a page from George Carlin, who masterfully widdled down the Ten Commandments down to two simple rules. I can break down all the things a startup needs to do into three ideal people.

creativity 318

creativity financing finance collaboration 318

This is going to be BIG.

JANUARY 17, 2012

Tweet. I am ecstatic to announce the creation of Brooklyn Bridge Ventures --my new seed investment fund. It is the first venture capital fund based in Brooklyn--the city’s most exciting and creative borough. It is home to cool startups like Etsy, Makerbot, Pontiflex, HowAboutWe, Energyhub, and Loosecubes. Gilt Groupe maintains a significant presence there, as does scores of creative agencies and design firms.

ventures 280

ventures creativity communities board 280

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 9, 2012

It’s Wednesday late afternoon. I’m aboard Delta flight 1833 from Cincinnati (actually, Northern Kentucky for what it’s worth) to Los Angeles. I had a very enjoyable day in Cincinnati meeting many local entrepreneurs, angels and accelerators. I was here to see one of our LPs (limited partners are the people who invest money in VC funds) called Fort Washington.

advice 299

advice accelerator collaboration entrepreneurs 299

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 5, 2012

For the past three years I have been pounding the table as loud as I can about the future opportunities in digital video. The concise guide is here. My narrative has stayed pretty simple: People in the US watch 5.3 hours of TV per day. People read for less than 30 minutes. You will not fundamentally change consumers media consumption habits. So you tell me what the future of the Internet will be? Ah, but the CPMs on YouTube are so low! And investing in content companies won’t return money!

networking 306

networking media innovation entrepreneurs 306

This is going to be BIG.

FEBRUARY 21, 2012

Since I launched my fund , I've gotten around 50 offers to work with me. For some reason, everyone wants to be a VC. Instead of responding, I decided to sit on them. The way I figure it, how someone approaches me is indicative of how they'd approach an entrepreneur. Since the best entrepreneurs are busy running their business and get pinged by VCs all the time, you're not going to wind up getting a deal if all you do is e-mail once, give up, and walk away. So what happened?

creativity 293

creativity pitching communities entrepreneurs 293

This is going to be BIG.

JUNE 26, 2012

I always get asked how to get into VC and so I think a lot about what it takes to do the job well. I'm way early in my career, so I won't say I've perfected anything yet, but after 8 years on the investing side and 3 in startups, I've come up at least one thing: Be open. In venture capital, you say "no" a lot. When you say no a lot, you get good at it. It comes off the tongue fast and in lots of different ways. It is your default response.

pitching 314

pitching creativity entrepreneurs energy 314

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 5, 2012

This article originally appeared on TechCrunch. It is election season. So it’s tempting to think this is going to be a partisan post – it is not. I use George Bush vs. Al Gore as allegory and I’ve been using it with entrepreneurs for years to sink in a simple point about how to communicate with the market. I use it because I believe in the power of visual and memorable stories to sink into the consciousness.

entrepreneurs 303

entrepreneurs pitching startup advice 303

This is going to be BIG.

MAY 7, 2012

On Saturday morning, I stepped onto continental Europe for the first time in just over 20 years. I hadn't been here since I was 12, when I did a week long exchange program in Italy. I'll admit to not being particularly well travelled--I've never lived outside the five boroughs. I don't know any other languages. It's not that I don't like new places--I've just spent a lot of time diving pretty deep into my own city and going all in on a career based off of being rooted in NYC.

creativity 236

creativity opportunity culture pitching 236

This is going to be BIG.

SEPTEMBER 30, 2012

The other day, I noticed an eye-catching headline: "Internet Funding Boom Ends as Fast as It Began". It was from the Wall Street Journal--a publication I count on for emphasizing quality journalism over empty linkbaity headlines above hollow stories. Perhaps I need to rethink that. How else can you explain this headline matching a story about a professional social network still trying to explore revenues raising $17mm on an $80mm valuation?

ventures 266

ventures disruption pitching innovation 266

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 17, 2012

And a heartfelt thank you to my VC friends, lawyers and portfolio executives who have spent their personal time counseling me in 2012. I got a call Sunday from a business colleague while I was sitting in the lounge at LAX waiting for yet another delayed flight. This colleague is a lawyer with whom I work on a deal and have done so for a couple of years. By all accounts I now consider him a friend.

startup 299

startup real estate board advice 299

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 29, 2012

Nate Redmond is the managing partner of Rustic Canyon Partners – he’s probably one of the youngest managing partners of a major fund you’ll meet. And no wonder, lately he and his partners are on a tear, investing out of their $200+ million VC fund. They recently exited their investment in Gaikai for $380 million while their rival OnLive (who had raised > $200 million) just went through bankruptcy. Not bad, hey? And they had another recent $100+ million exit of Savings.com.

incubation 240

incubation frameworks culture consulting 240

This is going to be BIG.

MARCH 21, 2012

The other day I want to go see Jiro Dreams of Sushi --a documentary about an 86 year old sushi chef working out of a 10 seat restaurant in a Ginza subway station. Oh, did I mention that the restaurant is rated 3 stars by the Michelin folks? This guy is like a throwback to another era. He doesn't feel as if he's gotten to the pinnacle of his craft yet. Forget Gladwell's 10,000 hours. This is a guy that has been making sushi for 75 years and he doesn't feel like he's quite gotten there yet.

coworking spaces 289

coworking spaces coworking incubation startup 289

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 15, 2012

My Blackberry died today. Or maybe yesterday, I don’t know. It seems so long ago that we had to start hiding our Blackberry’s in our pockets to avoid always being chastised. If you were caught sending out an email on your Blackberry you had to quickly whip out your iPhone to show that – wait! – I have one of these, too. It is stunning to think about the blind spots that market leaders can develop.

disruption 313

disruption consulting culture media 313

This is going to be BIG.

AUGUST 20, 2012

Most entrepreneurs aren't qualified for their jobs--including about 100% of the first timers. Many times, they get backed just because they're smart people working in an interesting area. Sure, they had a demo or a prototype or something, but investors know the product will change. What they're really betting on is your ability to learn--and that starts with your willingness to admit the following: "I don't know what to do.".

pitching 321

pitching consulting creativity energy 321

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2012

Sam is the managing director of Launchpad LA and we were about to pick our 2012 class of entrepreneurs. Tracy DiNunzio isn’t your typical Silicon Valley startup founder. She’s a painter and a self-proclaimed Bohemian. She did her first tech startup after the age of 30. And she didn’t start her company in Northern California. Tracy built her company, Recycled Media , out of necessity. She hasn’t raised any venture capital.

entrepreneurs 298

entrepreneurs peer-to-peer startup advice 298

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 10, 2012

Like many I read the headlines about Pinterest moving from Palo Alto to San Francisco and thought about the trend it portends. For those not familiar with the local geography, Palo Alto is the north end of what most consider “Silicon Valley” although nobody local calls it that. Palo Also is about 35 miles south of San Francisco. Palo Alto is home to Stanford. It is the birthplace of Hewlett Packard. And Facebook. It is adjacent to Mountain View, home to Google.

technology 263

technology incubation energy ventures 263

This is going to be BIG.

DECEMBER 13, 2012

One of the aspects of running a venture fund that I am most excited about is turning over rocks that other VCs might not. I'm less likely to get excited about the next big photo sharing app coming out of YC, and more into going "where no VC has gone before.". Whatever I do, it needs to be in big enough spaces. What are the biggest opportunities? To be really basic about it, everyone on the planet eats, sleeps, and poops--so you could start there.

investing 277

investing investment ecology communities 277

This is going to be BIG.

MAY 31, 2012

I'm watching CNBC right now and they're featuring two top stories: Facebook's 30% drop since the IPO and SpaceX completing the first commercial space supply mission. Could it be that the future of innovation lies in driving mankind forward and not getting people to click more ads? Does the Facebook IPO mark the end of our eight year infatuation with social networking that began with Flickr and del.icio.us?

creativity 235

creativity innovation sustainability education 235

This is going to be BIG.

APRIL 23, 2012

I'll show up generally anywhere I get invited to speak. I love public speaking, teaching and generally being helpful. I'm often the last one to leave an event, held back by the most persistant of entrepreneurs trying to squeeze as much advice as they can out of me. It's totally fine--except when I really really have to go (as opposed to when I just said I really had to go, ten minutes ago). But the truth is, you probably shouldn't listen to me. I mean, what do I know?

advice 328

advice startup construction strategy 328

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 9, 2012

My pal Dave has blogger Tourette’s. He has it on stage, too, at conferences. He can’t help himself: He’s Dave. My pal Dave has problems. Not the ones you’d imagine. His biggest problems are with language, colors, fonts and spacing. Not much more. I think he could say “no” a bit more. I’ve told him that if a vet just clipped his wings a little bit I think it would be good for his health. He is tireless and works his arse off.

incubation 259

incubation data analysis health entrepreneurs 259