Recently, I was on the phone with a large multinational corporate investor discussing the applications for robotics in the energy market. He expressed his frustration about the lack of products to inspect and repair active oil and gas pipelines, citing too many catastrophic accidents. His point was further endorsed by a Huffington Post article that reported in […]
5 Keys To Growing What You Have Planted as a Startup
Have you noticed that more companies beg you to participate in their business today? It started with an email survey on your last stay at their hotel, but now includes requests for online product reviews, to social media input on the design of future products. They do it because engaged customers become loyal advocates and […]
The Weekly Notable Startup Funding Report: 6/24/19
Notable startup fundings for the week ending 6/22/19 featuring funding details for Expel, SmartRent, Bubble, and much much more.
How To Be A Business Leader As Well As Thought Leader
By definition, most entrepreneurs are thought leaders. They have the ability to recognize a market need, the skills to design and implement a solution, and the drive to start a business from that solution. It all comes from within themselves. A business leader does the same thing and more, through the people around them. Most […]
The New ABCs of Startup Investing: Part 3
We’ve made it — the last installment of our primer on startup investing for the non-startup-investor. We’ve covered the [b]asic plumbing, and we’ve covered [c]onstrained focus. That means we’ve earned the right to press our advantage with the most powerful force in private-market investing, [a]lignment. It ain’t Over till it’s Over First, we meet. Then we invest. And […]
The LA TechWatch Startup Daily Funding Report: 6/20/2019
The latest venture capital, seed, pre-seed, and angel deals for LA startups for 6/20/2019 featuring funding details for Ryde, RealtyMogul, and much more.
Growth Isn’t Always Good
We’re so damn distracted by “growth” that we rarely ask ourselves what it is about growth that even matters. You know who cares about growth? Our investors. The media. Our sewing circles of other Founders. You know who cares about quality? Our team. Our customers. Our partners. You know, the people that we should be […]
5 Key Attributes That Foretell Startup Survival
Every startup wants to be a predictable success, yet so few ever achieve this enviable position. In reality, getting there is not a random walk, and requires an understanding of the stages that every business must navigate and the organizational characteristics necessary at each stage. Les McKeown, in his book from a while back, “Predictable […]
Sunbit Raises $26M to Help People Across The Credit Spectrum Make In Store Purchases
Credit cards have traditionally been the only option when it came to paying for services that required some form of financing but that’s in the process of changing now that Sunbit has shaken up the status-quo through its fintech platform that transforms the process of financing in-store purchases. Sunbit looks out for the consumer by […]
Why Founder CEOs Get Replaced
Raising money, particularly in a VC round with outsiders planning to join a startup’s Board of Directors, is often a founder’s first real introduction to corporate governance. A Board of Directors – the head governing body of a classically structured startup – approves all of a company’s most important decisions (including hiring/firing executives). Boards have […]
7 Societal Changes That Invite New Venture Innovation
A look at specific facts on demographic changes over the past few years, and what they mean for some of the major business segments out there today.