Highlights for Entrepreneurs (10/17/24)

How's #LATechWeek going for you? I got to 2 events this week, both full of entrepreneurs, investors and others. If you're still looking for other events, here's a calendar:?https://lu.ma/latw? I'm off to NJ once again...High School reunion time! GO Dodgers!!

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, videosand 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

Check out my interview with Canvas Rebel?

Here are this week's links:

1)?How To Revamp Your Sales Messaging To Drive Conversion with Kirin Kalia (Online Oct 21)

- Kirin Kalia - A seasoned startup veteran and former journalist- ?an expert in helping founders refine their messaging and public-speaking skills to accelerate growth.

2)?Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center: GTM-Ready: How to Activate Momentum from Product-Market Fit (Online Oct 22)

- "You’ll walk away with practical insights to validate your assumptions about customer needs and create a compelling value proposition so that you can set yourself and your business up for optimal success at launch and beyond!"?

3)?Preccelerator presents Web3 is a Joke Crypto Roast Comedy Night (Live Stream Oct 24 Free Entry upon approved RSVP)

- The Crypto Comedy Roast Night is coming to Preccelerator in the heart of Santa Monica, promising a night filled with hilarious jabs, clever quips, and non-stop entertainment.?

4)?Women Founders Network: 2024 Fast Pitch Event (In Person UCLA Oct 29 $$)

- The top 10 finalists from our 2024 competition will be pitching to win $55,000 in cash grants + professional services.Join?300 people from the local startup community.?

5)?Trinet / Banc of California: Cash is King: Best Practices for Managing Startup Funds (Online Oct 30)

-?This virtual session will explore best practices in corporate cash management, tailored to the unique needs and challenges faced by high-growth companies.?

6)?Sutton Capital Partners: 2024 Recurring Revenue Conference (In Person Culver City Nov 7 $$)

- This is the #1 SaaS and Subscription conference ?in Southern California.? Join founders, thought leaders, investors and ?executives for this one day event.

7)?Hustle Fund: Phase One of Fundraising: Preparation (Article)

- fundraising isn't just about flashing a slick pitch deck and watching the money roll in. Nope. It's a 3-stage process that typically takes 3-6 months. (Also, check out their downloadable guide to Raising Millions)?

8)?Forbes: VC Math Explained To Founders: The High-Stakes Game Of Startup Funding (Article)

- If you're new to the concept of Venture Capital, this will show why you need to "go big or go home". VC firms need a few big winners to make the returns possible, so be sure you check off the right boxes to go the VC route. Otherwise, consider other forms of funding.?

9)?OnlyCFO: Cloud Unit Economics in 2024 (Article)

- CEO and operators must understand unit economics so they can make better long-term decisions based on what matters - maximizing future cash flow potential.?

10)?Founder Institute: The Power of Flexibility (Article)

- Test early, stay open to change, and don’t be afraid to pivot when necessary. Entrepreneurship is less about having the perfect plan from the start and more about being flexible enough to adapt to whatever challenges come your way.?

11)?SaaStr: 5 Metrics that Matter When Raising Your SaaS Series A and Series B Round with Christoph Janz of Point Nine Capital (Article)

-?The Essentials: KPI Sheet and Financial Plan; Cohort Analysis Metrics; Marketing and Lead Generation Metrics; Sales and Pipeline Metrics; AI?

SaaStr: Dear SaaStr: What Was the Moment You Knew You Had to Break Up With Your Co-founder? (Article)

- ?almost all founder conflict comes from asymmetric commitment - one founder putting out 100% and the other(s) less than 95%. If that happens...check this out

SaaStr: Dear SaaStr: When Will VCs Push You To Bring On an Outside / Professional CEO? (Article)

- "But I don’t know any VCs that don’t want to back a founder CEO if there’s any growth there and the founder remains all-in."

SaaStr: Dear SaaStr: We’ve Gotten a Good But Not Great Acquisition Offer. Should I Take It? (Article)

- "I’ve seen a second good one just never come again, or come too late, too many times."??

12)?Chris Neumann: What Happens After You Sign a Term Sheet? (Article)

-?the most common steps that occur between signing a term sheet and that sweet, sweet cash being deposited into your startup’s bank account

13)?NextView: The VC Meeting Map: What to Expect After a Successful First Pitch (Article)

- Written by a VC firm to give you the blow by blow on what the process looks like for pitch meetings with a typical VC firm?

14)?Linkedin / Peter James Walker Carta: Startups Fundraising Founders Activity (Article)

- The rule of thumb has been that funding rounds should last 18-24 months. Well now the data shows that needs to be expanded to approx 26 months. Strap in.?

15)?Silicon Beach Planning: From Startup to IPO: How Equity Compensation Evolves with Your Company’s Growth (Article)?

- Equity compensation is a key component to attracting, retaining, and rewarding top talent. As your company transitions,the nature and value of your equity compensation can undergo significant changes.

Musical Diversions:

Gentry Blue - Think I Might Be Crazy

Hinds - Boom Boom Back ft. Beck

MJ Lenderman - Joker Lips

Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 - Stand Well Well

Arc De Soleil - Strolling Sloth {Thanks for the tip, Jimmy}

Neal Morse & The Resonance - All the Rage (Thought they were doing Styx for a minute there}

This Week's Covers:

A Creedence Clearwater Three Pack -?

Ted Hawkins - Long As I Can See The Light

Social Distortion - Up Around The Bend

Mavis Staples + Jeff Tweedy - Wrote A Song For Everyone

In Memoriam (an occasional section, hopefully):?

Libby Titus - Love Has No Pride {RIP to the writer of this song, wife of Donald Fagen and mother of Amy Helm}

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.