Highlights for Entrepreneurs (03/21/24)

Well tomorrow is a big day for me...not that big actually, birthdays aren't really that special at this age! But I was glad to get a home baked cake last week when I visited with my daughter! I'm heading out again for a bit, so my publication schedule?may vary but my goal is to still issue something each week to keep you informed and entertained!

I know that you are very busy, but I hope you enjoy the curated information and the?music selections?in the newsletter.?Get in touch if you have any feedback,?sources or other interested?readers - feel free to forward!??If you hear of any?upcoming events, please pass them along too! If the links speak to you, consider subscribing to the source! If you find a link particularly interesting, let me know so I can look for more like it.

Have a great week,?be safe and healthy...?and take some time to care for yourself!?Here are this?week's resources for you to check out.?

Paul?

1)?Hubspot For Startup: Supercharging Your Fundraising Process & Investor Outreach (Webcast Mar 26)

- Prepare for your next fundraising round, find the right investors, and create a repeatable fundraising process to manage and expand your investor pipeline

2)?Sequoia: How Startups Build Investor Confidence with a Smart Total Rewards Strategy (Webcast Mar 26)

- ?key factors for startups when developing a successful total rewards strategy

3)?AILA: LA Founders & Investors: (In Person Culver City Mar 27)

- "... an evening of connection and inspiration at a fireside chat with a local entrepreneur and investor."

4)?AI LA: Hosted By AI LA Contact the Host Report Event LA Founders & Investors (In person Culver City Mar 27 $$)

- Join us for an evening of connection and inspiration at a fireside chat with a local entrepreneur and investor.

5)?Startup Grind: March SG-MB event - Useclassify, Hoppn, Redro.ai and more (In Person Manhattan Beach Mar 28)?

- Unique to StartupGrind-Manhattan Beach, the 2024 series of events focuses on seasoned local professionals here in the South Bay and hosts multiple new executives sharing their latest ventures.?The event will start with a short roundtable of these ?local executives sharing their latest launches.

6)?Founders Network: The Journey to $100M: Lori Torres’ Startup Tips for Scaling and Selling (Webcast Apr 9)

- Learn how Lori scaled Parcel Pending, reaching thousands of customers and expanding its presence across North America. Gain insights into the process and considerations that led to the acquisition of Parcel Pending by Neopost for a reported $100 million

7)?Accelerate Techstars: Meet with and learn from Managing Directors, Accelerator Investment Teams, and the Techstars Pipeline Team (Calendar of Upcoming Events)

- A calendar of events for upcoming Techstars events including Meet and Greets, and their Fundraising series?

8)??These articles all approach market size and TAM differently, so please skim each one and dive in as needed.

(a)?First Round: How to Know if Your Idea’s the Right One — A Founder’s Guide for Successful Early-Stage Customer Discovery (Article)

- "Jeanette Mellinger, BetterUp's Head of UXR and former Head of UXR for Uber Eats, unpacks her approachable three-step playbook for early-stage customer discovery so founders can build something users really want."??Don't just stop at the "Mom Test"!

(b)?Pitching Angels: How to Get Investors Excited About Your Market Opportunity (Article)

- "..we’re a lot more likely to invest in founders who impress us with their industry knowledge and detailed planning for how to bring their product to market than inflated claims of huge opportunities that are little more than hot air."

(c)?Mostly Metrics: Your "TAM" is Why I Have Trust Issues (Article)

-??"..the TAM a company quotes is often nothing more than a farce - a big number on a page, either lacking in analytical credibility or real world applicability."

9) A couple of videos from Founder Institute

Founder Institute: Expert Tips on How to Go From Idea to Startup (Video) ?

- "Looking to start your own technology company but unsure where to begin?... In this video, we dived into the complete startup journey with our speakers, Elitza Stoilova, Olga Filipova, Liza Rodewald, and Diane Bailey."

Founder Institute: Funding for Women Entrepreneurs with Kalsoom Lakhani (Video)

- Kalsoom Lakhani, founder of i2i Ventures, dives deep into the gender funding gap. We discussed why this disparity exists, the challenges women face, and learn actionable strategies to overcome them

10)?The Saas CFO: The 4 Key SaaS Finance Data Sources (Article)?

- Even CEOs at startups should be all over these metrics and understanding how they're calculated and where the data is found

11)?Saastr: Four Simple Tips to Increase Pricing. Without Angering Your Customers. (Article)?

- These are actionable, and they do seem simple...with some will on your part!

12)?Pitching Angels: What Stage Founder Are You? (Article)

- A key to being a successful CEO is knowing the best company stage you fit in in that role. If you're not skilled at your stage, then get help to figure it out. Good advice within!

13)?Founders Network: VCs vs. Angel Investors: Which is Right for You (Article)

- For new entrepreneurs or those who need a refresher on this early stage startup topic

14)?Benchmarkit: The Paradox of SaaS Metrics and Benchmarks (Article/Analysis)

- Be thoughtful about your metrics and KPI's: ".. it is critical to take a more comprehensive approach using a holistic, integrated metrics framework and approach to using metrics that reflects the reality of enterprise value being created and calculated based upon multiple variables."

15)?Hustle Fund: Metrics every founder should report to their VC, and why | Ep 45 | Uncapped Notes (Video)

- On this episode of Uncapped Notes, Eric and Janel discuss the metrics that matter the most to investors, define each one, and explain why these are so important to investors & venture capital firms.

Musical Diversions:

Mark Knopfler’s Guitar Heroes – Going Home (Theme From Local Hero)

Mark Knopfler Releases Charity Single With 60 Rock Legends; great song as done originally or this update

The Black Keys with Beck - This Is Nowhere

Bit of a different sound to my ears; maybe the Beck influence

Ryan Adams - I Was Here

The Steel Wheels - Wait On You

Bruce Springsteen - Protection

A Born in the USA outtake - released as a cover by Donna Summer

This Week's Cover:

The Bangles - Hazy Shade of Winter

Where the Bangles take a calm Paul Simon song and take it in whole 'nother direction

___________________

Paul G. Shapiro, CPA

Startup Consultant

Santa Monica, CA

#StartupLeadership?#startupadvice?#startupfunding??#vcfunding?#Startups?#StartupEquity