Both Sides of the Table
MAY 27, 2016
I was speaking recently to the team at NuOrder , an LA-based company we’re an investor in about “realism in startups” — an impromptu talk I have given to any of our portfolio companies who ask. During the Q&A I was asked about how I make investment decisions in early-stage businesses. I was asked again in an LP meeting later in the week and then again at a founder breakfast gathering we hosted yesterday.
This is going to be BIG.
MAY 16, 2016
It's very easy to think that there is a clear cut difference between the really great ideas and the really bad ones. You believe that no matter when you get pitched, you'll usually do a good job of telling the difference between the two. Sure, most of the really low chance of success stuff--things in unworkably small markets, unprepared founders, or ideas that lack a clear user value proposition--falls away pretty quickly.
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Entrepreneurs' Organization
MAY 3, 2016
This article was written by EO Vancouver member, Calvin Johnson. I’ve been an EO member for 15 years, but it wasn’t until 2014 that I became involved with the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA). I had served many roles previously on the BC Children’s Hospital Board, but I wanted to transition into something that engaged young entrepreneurs – and I found one.
Startup Lawyer
MAY 18, 2016
I previously wrote that accelerator documents should be easy. At the time, I thought accelerator documents should be easy primarily because of the potential adverse selection problem for the accelerator. In other words, the more difficult the terms or onboarding process (including the investment documents), the more likely the best startups would choose a different … Continue reading → The post Accelerator Investments Should Be Convertible Equity appeared first on Startup Lawyer.
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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 The tech market offers a wealth of technologies tailored for management, planning, and forecasting, replacing outdated pen-and-paper methods.
Tomasz Tunguz
MAY 9, 2016
Half of innovation is invention. Creating an elegant, disruptive, and new experience is one of the greatest attractions of founding a company. A product that can change the way people view the world and interact with it – who doesn’t want to build that? Most start ups have no problem focusing time and attention on iterating, improving and perfecting product.
Startup Catalyst Brief brings together the best content for the entrepreneurial ecosystem from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
Both Sides of the Table
MAY 28, 2016
I’ve been online for nearly 30 years (yes, there was CompuServe and Prodigy before the www), blogging for 10 and using social media tools since the earliest days. I love to watch networks evolve, see how crowds gather and communicate and curate and share. Twitter was the most unique social sharing platform that had emerged in my experience because it unintentionally innovated on a constraint of 140 characters (initially so that it could send messages as SMS, which it self had a size constraint).
This is going to be BIG.
MAY 22, 2016
There's no possible way I can get up to speed on what a founder knows about their industry, plan, goals, or team, in just a few hours or even days. Hell, I could spend weeks on it and, hopefully, it wouldn't make a difference. You should know way more about this than I ever could. That's why the consistent theme among the very worst pitches I take are the ones where the entrepreneur asks me what I think--about everything.
Entrepreneurs' Organization
MAY 27, 2016
Giving back to the next generation of entrepreneurs has never been more rewarding. Just ask EO Philippines, who from 31 March to 3 April, held their MyEO Next Gen Bootcamp 2.0—entitled “Bizwars”—in Makati. In all, 43 participants representing two chapters (EO Philippines and EO Perth) came together to teach teenagers the importance of personal leadership, collaboration, innovation and nurturing the entrepreneurial spirit.
Startup Lawyer
MAY 16, 2016
Tech Wildcatters, the original Dallas accelerator, is hosting their first pitch day of 2016 on May 26th at the House of Blues in Dallas. Here’s the streamlined agenda: 12:45pm — Accredited Investor Preview 1:30pm — Doors Open to General Public 2:15pm — Program/Pitches 3:30pm — Happy Hour It’s free to attend, but be sure to register … Continue reading → The post Tech Wildcatters Pitch Day May 2016 appeared first on Startup Lawyer.
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Outdated or absent analytics won’t cut it in today’s data-driven applications – not for your end users, your development team, or your business. That’s what drove the five companies in this e-book to change their approach to analytics. Download this e-book to learn about the unique problems each company faced and how they achieved huge returns beyond expectation by embedding analytics into applications.
Tomasz Tunguz
MAY 22, 2016
To thrive, venture capital firms must perform three things well: raise capital from limited partners, source companies to invest in, and pick the best opportunities. Historically, each of these three activities has been highly centralized in a small partnership often perched on Sand Hill Road. But new networks are changing this. The latest called DAO attempts to decentralize all three at once.
Berkonomics
MAY 12, 2016
Dave’s Note: Our special guest author this week is Kelly Graham from Decision Toolbox, Inc. You’ll enjoy her take on one of the basic issues of our business-personal lives… By Kelly Graham. Finding work–life balance is one of the most abused clichés in business today. Why? Because there is no such thing as work–life balance in corporate America today.
Both Sides of the Table
MAY 19, 2016
I’ve spoken before about our desire at Upfront Ventures to fund really big ideas that solve hard problems, are science led and if successful will both have a positive effect on people’s lives as well as make great financial returns. We’re not Pollyannaish about this. We believe that it is incrementally harder to differentiate on simple Internet products or mobile apps and while great companies are built doing this, our goal as a fund is to try and fund things that can be 100x returns if they wor
This is going to be BIG.
MAY 18, 2016
Amazon is opening up retail locations. Think about that. The very behemoth that made bricks and mortar into dirty words thinks it's important to have a physical presence in a storefront. Makes you think about everyone trying to turn their digital presence into just another location, but in the cloud. Competing with Amazon online is a loser's bet that smart retailers can't afford to make.
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CAPTARGET presents a masterclass in M&A deal sourcing. Learn to cast a wide net, embracing seller self-identification. Consistency is the linchpin: keep the origination process steady for a reliable flow of opportunities. Diversify your tactics, employing various tools and vendors. Tech matters! Understand DNS settings, domain authority, and brand presence for optimal outreach.
Entrepreneurs' Organization
MAY 26, 2016
Last year, the GSEA experienced record-setting global participation, which culminated with 42 students representing 37 countries at the 2015 GSEA Finals in Washington, DC. On the final day of that event, our beloved Chairman-Elect (at the time) Gilberto Crombe delivered a speech during the event’s final award gala that would set the precedent for the next year, promising “…in 2016 EO GSEA will have 50 students representing 50 countries at GSEA Finals in Bangkok at GLC.
Surdna Foundation
MAY 6, 2016
Since the end of the Great Recession, almost 12 million jobs have been created — but most have been in low-wageoccupations and at places like strip malls and fast-food restaurants. Average wages for working Americans have dropped 23 percent. It’s become clear that job creation does not equate to lasting economic change. In order to reverse the troubling trends we’re seeing, we no longer find it defensible to focus on job creation alone.
Tomasz Tunguz
MAY 30, 2016
We each know that focus is the most effective way to work, but hearing the mantra to focus doesn’t help narrow our scope. What’s the best way to focus? Start with the premise that everything is noise and then work to find the exceptionally valuable or important things for each day and for each project. That’s the thesis of a book called Essentialism.
Berkonomics
MAY 5, 2016
Another leadership development bit? Yup. But if you have no time or are impatient, here are the three levels: visionary, strategic and tactical. Skip or stay, but think about your balance in leadership either way. As a leader, you have to worry over issues from mundane to strategic, constantly reordering your priorities to accommodate competing needs.
Advertiser: ZoomInfo
Marketing technology is essential for B2B marketers to stay competitive in a rapidly changing digital landscape — and with 53% of marketers experiencing legacy technology issues and limitations, they’re researching innovations to expand and refine their technology stacks. To help practitioners keep up with the rapidly evolving martech landscape, this special report will discuss: How practitioners are integrating technologies and systems to encourage information-sharing between departments and pr
Both Sides of the Table
MAY 13, 2016
In case you missed it, the press yesterday ran several stories questioning the viability of a wireless charging company I invested in… Continue reading on Both Sides of the Table »
This is going to be BIG.
MAY 31, 2016
Most of life isn't clear victories or losses. It's something in the middle. It moves forward, or sometimes sits still, but, for most of us, it's never really that terrible or fantastic. And even when it is terrible, it's not the end of the world, and when it's fantastic it's not exactly perfect. That's why it's really hard to see someone's truest self.
Entrepreneurs' Organization
MAY 26, 2016
This article was originally published on Inc.com. Kim Ades is an EO Accelerator participant from Toronto and the president and founder of Frame of Mind Coaching , helping clients reach new levels of success in both their professional and personal lives. EO Accelerator, a program run by the Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) , enables early stage entrepreneurs to catapult their companies and empowers them with tools for aggressive business growth.
For Entrepreneurs
MAY 12, 2016
As every SaaS entrepreneur knows, churn is one of the single most important metrics in determining the day to day health of the business. Acquiring new customers is time and capital intensive, and this growth is meaningless if those customers do not stay. Despite the importance of this metric, measuring, tracking and benchmarking churn often.
Speaker: Wayne Spivak - President and Chief Financial Officer of SBA * Consulting LTD, Industry Writer, and Public Speaker
The old adages that "cash is king" and "you can’t spend profits" still hold true today. But however well-known these sayings might be, it requires a change in mindset to properly implement a cash flow management system that predicts your business's runaway as accurately as possible. Key to this new mindset is understanding the difference between the Statement of Cash Flows, a historical look at the source and uses of cash, and the Cash Flow Statement, which uses transaction history and forward-l
Tomasz Tunguz
MAY 3, 2016
In the past week, Oracle acquired two vertical SaaS companies. OPower is an Arlington Virginia based company that employs approximately 600 people. The company analyzes utility consumption patterns and helps homeowners reduce their energy consumption. Textura provides collaboration tools for the construction industry and is based in Illinois. Oracle paid $663 million, net of cash for Textura and $532 million for OPower.
Berkonomics
MAY 19, 2016
Sometimes you need to hire a specialist already trained in a single narrow task. But for most of us, we’d do far better hiring someone who has proven from past experience to be a “jack of all trades” able to fill many positions, do many tasks, learn and perform in many situations. You’d be going against the grain of advice by many who state that trained, experienced new hires will benefit the organization, raise the level of enterprise expertise, and fit in and contribute immediately.
Both Sides of the Table
MAY 4, 2016
It’s safe to say that all eyes globally are on the United States right now with an election that feels more like a script of House of Cards… Continue reading on Both Sides of the Table »
This is going to be BIG.
MAY 1, 2016
Some firms prefer to lead. Others never do. At some firms, principals can lead deals. At others, only partners can. At some firms, everyone is called a partner. Who can lead a deal then? ¯_(ツ)_/¯ Sometimes, it depends on the size of the deal. Above a certain amount, more partners need to get involved. Some funds aren't funds at all. They're family offices.
Speaker: P. Andrew Sjogren, Sr. Product Marketing Manager at Very Good Security, Matt Doka, Co-Founder and CTO of Fivestars, and Steve Andrews, President & CEO of the Western Bankers Association
PCI compliance can feel challenging and sometimes the result feels like you are optimizing more for security and compliance than you are for business outcomes. The key is to take the right strategy to PCI compliance that gets you both. In this webinar, we have a great set of panelists who will take you through how Zero Data strategies can be used as part of a well-rounded compliance and security approach, and get you to market much sooner by also allowing for payment optimization.
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