Progress in Pasadena, Part II
The Pasadena Innovation Council organized a great tech executive meeting in Pasadena on Friday. A group of 20 or so local entrepreneurs gathered at Jones’ coffee to meet, share stories, and talk over new ventures. This is another good step toward pulling together the tech community in the greater Pasadena area. It was a great … Read more
New Tech Center Emerging in Pasadena?
Pasadena may be the best tech story never told. Somehow the home of IdeaLab, OpenX, CalTech, Art Center College of Design, and JPL doesn’t have much of a reputation as a innovation hub. A number of tech companies, such as Bluebeam and Materia, are quietly building powerful businesses, and many startups are in Old Town. … Read more
Angels to the Rescue
One of my favorite Dave Berkus quotes is: “Never, never, never run out of money.” But inevitably, it happens to some startups. What then? Your VCs and lenders will likely impose onerous terms, and your ownership will get badly diluted. The one group of investors you can count on to support you in a … Read more
Storytelling and Startup Fundraising
Every startup has an elevator pitch, but what comes next? Do potential investors’ eyes glaze over when you get beyond the quick, punchy one liner and try to REALLY describe your company? Successful fundraisers tell a complete, engaging story and close the deal. Last week, the WSJ ran a great article on the value of college … Read more
SwingBySwing: Making Golf More Social
There are days when I feel like we’ve gotten a bit carried away with social media. You get bombarded with Facebook requests–P&G wants me to “like” their consumer products, as if Tide is my best pal. You can’t go to a website without getting hit with requests to do something on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, … Read more
They Just Didn’t Get It: VC Rejection
A billion dollar established market. Incumbent companies so despised by consumers that they are routinely sued over the poor quality of their offerings. A dynamic founder who has proven he can run lean and get the job done. A young VC liked the idea and took it to his partner meeting. What could go wrong? … Read more
Crowdfunding SEO Advice From AngelList
I was lucky enough to be at LaunchPad LA last night to hear Dustin Dolginow from Atlas Ventures/AngelList.co coach the incoming class on how best to use AngelList to fund their companies. Much of the advice was basic–have your elevator pitch down, raise enough $$ for 18 months runway, etc. Then Dustin shifted to “crowdfunding SEO” — … Read more
The Odd Couple: Angels and Accelerators
At a recent accelerator event on the West Side, a friendly young founder told me that he had been coached by his mentor not to talk to Angel groups. As a Pasadena Angel, I wanted to be shocked, but I wasn’t. The Angel funding process can be arduous. But as a community, we have to … Read more
Rally Raises $4.4 Million via Crowdfunding
If you’re interested in crowdfunding, you need to read this PandoPost: Rally Funding. Ok, so they cheated a little. They already had major VCs in the deal. It’s still a huge step for crowdfunding. The money is in…now the real fun begins. Track this one.
Exploring the YouTube Ecosystem at YT Access 2012
John Greathouse of Rincon Ventures told me the YouTube ecosystem was “the Wild West.” That was the understatement of the week, as I learned by attending YouTube’s Premium Partner conference, YouTube Access 2012. The event was last week in New York. It’s a huge ecosystem–YouTube has 800 million users, and 72 hours of content is uploaded every … Read more
