Highlights for Entrepreneurs (09/26/24)

Today I leave for Idaho for the?100 mile bike ride?for the 2024?Breakthrough T1D (formerly JDRF) Ride to Cure Diabetes.??My goal is to raise?$30,000?once more for?Type 1 diabetes research (I've raised almost $26,000 to date!)?If you'd like to lend your support, here's the link:?Click here: No donation is too small and every dollar truly makes a difference.?Thanks to everyone who has already donated!

It was exciting to see the University of Delaware recognized by the WSJ as a?"Best College":?The 2025 Best Colleges in the U.S.: Princeton, Babson and Stanford Take the Top 3 Spots?Go Blue Hens!

This week's newsletter has an abundance of events and articles, including a preview of LA#TechWeek so that you can try to RSVP for events that may fill up before the event.? Please look them over now.

More events are being added to the calendar at #LATechWeek starting Oct 13.?More LA#TechWeek events Oct 13 to 20?I've also listed a few below, and will continue for a few weeks.

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?and thank you again for reading, subscribing and sharing! Welcome to all the new and recent subscribers! If someone forwarded this to you, please reply to me to subscribe (or subscribe on LI)

Best,

Paul

Check out my interview with Canvas Rebel?

1)?Mucker: Annual Financial Planning Best Practices for Startups (Zoom Oct 2)

-?Debbie Rosler, fractional CFO with Burkland, will review best practices for building a startup annual financial plan

2)?Preccelerator: Founders' Meetup Group - Meet and Greet (In Person Santa Monica Oct 7)

- "Whether you are a seasoned entrepreneur or just starting out, this event offers a unique opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals, gain valuable advice, and expand your professional network."

3)?Plug In Ventures: Pitch Competition 2024 (Applications due Oct 10)

-?Are you a visionary entrepreneur with a groundbreaking startup idea? Founders will deliver pitches in front of judges, competing for cash grants and the opportunity to be a finalist for Plug In Ventures' startup-focused programs.

4)?Found LA & Grid 110: The Community Business Accelerator (Applications open Sep 23 - Oct 21)

-?"a 16-week intensive program designed to empower and elevate LA-based businesses serving the local community. This accelerator provides hands-on support to companies that are not just driven by profit but also by a shared mission to serve their communities—whether through job creation, equitable access to resources, or any other way of pouring back into local LA neighborhoods."

5)?These events are part of?LA?#TechWeek?- a week of events hosted by VCs and startups to bring together the tech ecosystem

Bioscience LA Week: (Registration and Info Oct 15 - 18)

- The week’s events are designed to ignite conversations, spark innovation, and build connections that will fuel the next wave of breakthroughs and establish the greater Los Angeles area as an enviable, global, bioscience mega-hub.

Preccelerator: LA #TechWeek Preccelerator Demo Day (In Person Santa Monica Oct 15)

- Come for live demos, engage in thought-provoking discussions, and be part of shaping the future.

We Are LA Tech: Female Founder Showcase LA #TechWeek (In Person Los Angeles Oct 15) RSVP Required - "Join us at a magical venue full of creativity and connectivity.?You'll be meeting leading female founders in LA demoing their awesome startups. Speaker line up moderated by Espree Devora."

1AM Gaming Presents: Demystifying Gaming Startups for Future Founders #LATechWeek (In Person Los Angeles Oct 16 RSVP Required)

- " an evening of food, drink, fun conversation and an insightful panel discussion with game industry luminaries pulling back the curtain on the gaming startup ecosystem."

Preccelerator: LA #TechWeek Investor 360: VC Fireside Chat (In Person Santa Monica Oct 17)

- Join us for an exclusive fireside chat with a renowned venture capitalist (TBA), as they share their insights on the latest trends in startup funding, the evolving landscape of innovation, and the future of entrepreneurship.

Emerging LA: AI Founder Dinner #LATechWeek (In Person Santa Monica Oct 17 RSVP/Approval Required)

- ?This will be a highly curated private event and attendees will be hand-selected mix of founders, investors, and leaders in AI.

Medusa - Mother Of All Ai: #LATechWeek (In Person Los Angeles Oct 18 RSVP Required)

- witness the unveiling of Medusa AI, the groundbreaking technology that's set to revolutionize the world of artificial intelligence. This is also a happy hour for like minded tech and AI?enthusiasts to mingle and connect.?

We Are LA Tech: Podcast Panel and Brunch: "LA Tech Community Builders" LA #TechWeek (In Person Los Angeles Oct 20 RSVP Required)

- "Topic is “LA Tech Community Builders” and live podcast panelists are leading community builders in Los Angeles tech across all industries moderated by Espree Devora."?

6)?Yair Reem: Five Steps to Nail Your Pitch Deck — Part I (Article)

- An oldie but goodie;?build your deck with one goal in mind: Grab the investors’ attention, and fast

7)?Benchmark It: Marketing Performance Metrics (Blog post and Conference)

- The framework includes Marketing metrics that measure both outcomes and the efficiency of those outcomes, providing a Marketing performance metrics foundation that investors, CEOs, and CFOs can all support.

8)?Kirsten Barrie / Expert Dojo: Financial Modeling Essentials for Startups: Unlocking Investor Confidence (Article)

- ?without a robust financial model, you can’t produce an accurate business plan or financial projections—or even demonstrate the investor’s potential return.

9)?Elizabeth Yin / Hustle Fund: The art of startup hiring (Article)

- "The primary struggle isn’t competing with established companies on salary. It’s finding individuals who embody the entrepreneurial spirit necessary to thrive in a startup environment."

10)?Cris Cafiero & Calvin Croskey: How to Refresh Your Salary Structure (Article)

-? "Having a process in place that regularly re-evaluates compensation practices - your largest expense as a company - keeps startups & its employees focused on the broader mission of the organization."

11)?CNBC: This popular interview question ‘trips a lot of people up,’ says hiring expert—the best way to answer it (Article)

- ?“Tell me about yourself.” REad about how to best answer this, or also get insight as an interviewer

12)?a16z: The Three Most Common Challenges with Freemium—And How to Fix Them (Article)

-? "There are a number of levers you can pull to adjust your free tier offering: changes to feature access, rate limiting, or seat maximums, or setting time limits on features and storage. Before you decide which lever to pull, you need to figure out what you’re solving for."

13)?Dear Stage2: How to Launch and Iterate Your Pricing Model (Q&A)

- "when it comes to pricing you have to get your value metric right."?

14)?Kurtis Hanni / Frameworks & Finance: 5 Pricing Strategies and how to avoid a JCPenney-like pricing disaster (Article)

- "Consider your options BEFORE you make a change and be mentally prepared to respond to customer requests."

15)?Dear Stage2: A Data-Driven Approach to GTM Expansion (Q&A)

-?"the complexity of taking a winning formula and adapting it for a new segment needs to be carefully planned"?

Musical Diversions?:

Boot Juice - "Take Me There" live in studio at Rosa Mortem {Reminds me of Lake Street Dive, a bit}

Pearl Charles - Does This Song Sound Familiar?

Embla and the Karidotters - Bluebird

Margo Price & Billy Strings - Too Stoned to Cry {Has the bones of a future classic, maybe?}

Pure Reason Revolution - Betrayal?

Sugarloaf - Green-Eyed Lady (Blast from the Past; sounds like an extended version. I love this song!)

This Week's Cover:

The Doobie Brothers with Peter Frampton - Let It Rain (Eric Clapton Cover) {4 lead guitars!}?

In Memoriam (an occasional section, hopefully)?

The Electric Flag - Killing Floor {In memory of their vocalist Nick Gravenites}

Highlights Newsletter Soundtrack?All of 2024 music picks on Spotify

I know that you are very busy, but I hope you have time to enjoy the curated information and the?music selections?in this 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.

Paul G. Shapiro, CPA?(Retired)

Startup Consultant

Santa Monica, CA