Highlights for Entrepreneurs (10/10/24)
Paul Shapiro
CPA (retired), Startup Advisor (CFO and Controller for early stage tech and internet companies); Highlights for Entrepreneurs newsletter
The Newsletter is a little later than usual, because earlier today, I had the pleasure of speaking to the Youth Entrepreneurship Association at Santa Monica High School. I got to tell the students about my career and lessons learned. I really enjoyed the time and think the club is a wonderful idea. Honestly, I don't know if it connected with the club members, but I hope to get some feedback. If you know me, you know that public speaking is not something I relish. Youth Entrepreneurship Association
Next week is #LATechWeek. I hope you'll check out the calendar and check out one or more of the many many events included.
Thank you for checking out my newsletter. As someone who enjoys sharing information with friends and colleagues, I started this as a way to help early stage founders find out about events, videos and articles that help serve as a guide and a reference. Even if you're not a founder, the content could be engaging for you. I hope you agree.
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
See last week's newsletter (or this link:https://lu.ma/latw) for more #TechWeekLA events. I've listed a few below, but there are too many to include.
- a full day of learning specifically tailored for founders of early stage companies! We'll cover growth strategies, in-depth discussions with founders, deep-dive tactics for building and scaling startups, and more.
- The speaker, Paul Johnson, partner at Procopio, will highlight and discuss of a number of case stories which illustrate frequent missteps made by entrepreneurs and start ups.
- Join an “LA Tech Community Builders” Sunday brunch and live podcast fireside chat with Tyler Denk,?co-founder of beehiiv, which will air on the WeAreLATech Podcast.
- Learn great tips to boost your business from zero to hero with creative ad strategies! Shane Williams, will share his insights and tips on how to stand out in a crowded market, reach your target audience, and maximize your advertising budget
- It is much, much better to own 10% of a billion-dollar company than 100% of a $10 million business. Understand how dilution works in the evolution of a VC backed startup
- Looking at the past history of the internet and how startups have continually challenged the tech incumbency to look at how this translates to AI technology companies
- If you've worked at (or managed) a startup then you know about The Grind!? Your culture should feel like a sports team, where you know what you need to achieve, train for high performance, support each other, and share the rewards.
- This may only serve as a curiosity, but it is a methodical approach to calculating your startup valuation as an exercise
- Median valuations were up across most stages save Series C; Round sizes were a little more volatile but rose in Seed, Series A and Series C; The overall picture seems relatively unchanged: VCs are being picky about the companies they invest in but are willing to buy equity at robust prices for the right startup.
领英推荐
- With an investment ecosystem increasingly less inclined towards startups with an elongated and risky road to profitability, it’s wise for businesses to take a pragmatic and market-centric approach.
- Using multiple scenarios at various confidence levels will help you zero in on your revenue forecast
- In order for Toast to make their numbers, they needed to get very efficient with their sales process
- By refining your approach to each step, listening to your prospects, and always striving to provide value, you’ll position yourself not just as a salesperson but as a trusted partner who helps your clients achieve their goals.
- ?Elizabeth knows that most startups fail because they run out of money. So developing an effective and repeatable process for acquiring customers is crucial.
- ?This blog is meant to summarize a lot of research to help founders, employees, and contractors understand how five types of startup equity are used to compensate workers
15)?Frameworks & Finance / Kurtis Hanni: How you're sabotaging your business (and how to stop) (Article)
- Do you ever consider Sunk Costs in your financial decision-making? Read this to understand how to learn to ignore these costs and base your decisions on future actions only??
Musical Diversions:
This Week's Cover:
In Memoriam (an occasional section, hopefully)?
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)