Tag: Entrepreneur
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“It was the biggest mistake I made as an investor.” I was chatting with a fellow angel a while back. He shared with me something he learned the hard way: keep the checks small. But year after year, angels keep getting this wrong. Here’s why… How Angels Fail Take a…
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+ Angel, Angel Investing, Entrepreneur, Finance, Investing, Money, Silicon Valle, Silicon Valley, Startups, Tech, VC+
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I saw an incredible startup at a demo day yesterday. When I contacted the founder after, she offered to add me to the investor update. This is genius. But very few founders do it. Got Dat Drip Startups use drip marketing to get customers all the time. This involves e-mail…
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+ Angel Investing, Entrepreneur, Finance, Investing, Silicon Valley, Startups, Tech, VC, Venture Capital+
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I’m seeing a pattern among my most successful investments. They’re raising a lot less money. How It Works Here’s how it usually goes: The raises after pre-seed/seed are tiny, selling just a couple percent of the company each time. That’s a huge change from how it’s been done in the…
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They were raising $5 million at a $30 million post-money valuation. I loved the founder and the product was innovative, but I had to pass. Here’s why… “ProductPreview” connects brands with consumers to give feedback on products before their release. ”ProductPreview” is a composite, not a real startup, and the…
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+ Entrepreneur, Finance, Founders, Investing, Money, Small Business, Startups, Tech, VC, Venture Capital+
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Lately, I’m seeing a ton of startups with no CTO. Instead, they have a team of engineers with minimal equity. This is a mistake. Here’s why… Incentives Matter Startups have to ship new features fast. That’s how they make customers happy and beat competitors. Who do you think will do…
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They were raising $1.5 million on an $8 million post SAFE. They had a cool product and a dedicated founder, but I passed. Here’s why… “DoorTrack” is a platform for real estate investors. ***”DoorTrack” is a composite, not a real startup, and the name is made up.*** But it shows…
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They were raising $400,000 on a $4 million post-money SAFE. The product was awesome, but I passed. Here’s why… “FallDetector” is a device to prevent falls in the elderly. ***”FallDetector” is a composite, not a real startup, and the name is made up.*** But it shows why even growing companies…
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They were raising $1.7 million at a $20 million cap SAFE. I passed. Here’s why… “PaintBetter” is an app that teaches you how to paint. ***”PaintBetter” is a composite, not a real startup, and the name is made up.*** But it illustrates why even some startups with really cool products…
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+ Entrepreneur, Finance, Investing, Money, Silicon Valley, Small Business, Startups, Venture Capital+
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I invest in companies with $200k to $500k ARR. So why am I meeting startups that just launched? I think of investing as a conveyor belt. Each day, I put a few more startups on it. In time, they’ll be ready for checkout! Shopping at the Startup Store I try…
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+ Entrepreneur, Finance, Investing, Money, Silicon Valley, Small Business, Startups, VC, Venture Capital+
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They were raising $1 million at a $10 million valuation. I passed. Here’s why. ReadMate helps kids learn how to read. ReadMate is a composite, not a real startup. But it shows why some consumer startups get funded, and others don’t. A Wonderful Mission ReadMate has guided stories that get…
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Tremendous 