Tag: Tech
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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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“I need to be in that.” That’s the first thing I thought when I saw Melengo present at a demo day last October. Well, I just made it happen! Melengo makes it easy to develop an apparel line, get financing, and get the products made. You can go from a…
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+ Apparel, Clothing Design, Design, Fashion, Finance, Investing, Manufacturing, Startups, Tech, 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 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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“What’s your vision for this company?” That’s usually the first question I ask founders. Some are incredible at answering it — but others struggle. Let me show you how to do this like a pro… One Clear Sentence You should be able to get the vision for your company down…
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+ Angel Investing, Entrepreneur, Finance, Investing, Small Business, Startups, Tech, VC, Venture Capital+
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Three years in, this angel investing thing is starting to make sense. It’s like the optometrist — what’s better, #1 or #2? Investing, Optometrist Style Let’s say I meet 3 companies in a day — Startups 1, 2 and 3. 2 is better than 1. But when I compare 2…
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Some angels rip $50k, $250k or more into a startup. I never do that. Here’s why… I want to build a big portfolio of investments. Three years in, I have 29 companies and I’m headed to 100. I also want to put aside half the cash I have earmarked for…
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+ Angel, Angel Investing, Entrepreneurs, Finance, Founders, Investing, Money, Startups, Tech, VC, Venture Capital+
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Founders might have to do 50 meetings to get a check. But you can make those meetings 10X better and up your odds of raising money by changing how you answer investor questions. Picture Francis sitting on Zoom. I have a list of 8 questions I want to ask the…
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