tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762542884225318540.post3200721458033545733..comments2023-11-10T00:17:01.290-08:00Comments on Startupalooza/iBreakfast: "Are You Fundable?" at Ultralight StartUpsStartupaloozahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08427519043978605400noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762542884225318540.post-13357163492009474512013-02-15T09:42:03.197-08:002013-02-15T09:42:03.197-08:00While I do occasionally invest in Start-Ups my fun...While I do occasionally invest in Start-Ups my function is to direct great deals to investors. You could look up Violin Systems (expected to go public with $2 bn valuation), Pond5 ($1m NY Angel deal) Partsearch (Idealabs $0-65 million). These were all deals that originated at our forum. There are plenty more.<br /><br />When you have looked at as many deals as I have. you see patterns - some obvious, many hidden. "Are You Fundable?" tells you what they are how ton use that to improve your funding chances and if necessary, find better alternatives. <br /><br />Or you could argue. <br /><br />Nothing like a good argument to get people thinking!<br /><br />PS as for names: Amazon, YAHOO, Zappos, YELP actually mean something. Minteye means nothing....until you associate it with a hardcandy often given out at restaurants. Embrace it - or find a name that tells people what you do. <br /><br />(How do I know this? Look for Advertising Age, ADWEEK, a seminal book on Cigarette Branding and my association with the founder of the focus group on my bio......) <br />Startupaloozahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08427519043978605400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762542884225318540.post-59956382683988605612013-02-13T08:41:06.158-08:002013-02-13T08:41:06.158-08:00Alan--
First, I said nothing about hating critiqu...Alan--<br /><br />First, I said nothing about hating critiques. I was merely pointing at the source of the critique, which is one man's opinion, and from what I can see, that man (you) seem to have no credentials of experience as an investor. If I am incorrect here, and I may very well be, my apologies in advance, and please point me to the investments you've made. The fact that you spend time critiquing the name of a company, and then spend additional time defending or joking (sorry for not having a sense of humor that would allow me to ascertain which) seems rediculous to me. How about a critique of companies using names such as-- Amazon, YAHOO, Zappos, YELP, or numerous others??? Can you offer any witticisms for name choice here?<br /><br />Forgive me for noticing how you generalize on the whole population of investors with statements that begin with, "Investors don't like.........". It really doesn't matter what follows, as one (in this case you) cannot generalize about an entire population of any group, and certainly not a group as diverse as investors. As for "who I can do well with" again, let's leave it up to each investor to decide. another of your generalizations that "liscensing approaches" are hard to get a return from is just your opinion, expressed as a generalized truth, which it is, of course, NOT.<br /><br />Finally, introducing reality TV, ala Shark Tank, which is an entertainment product whose revenue model is based on acquiring an audience to which to sell to advertisers, as a proxy for real word Angel investing is as far from a valid analogy as I could possibly think of.<br /><br />So to briefly summarize, you seem to lack the experience and credentials as an investor to speak for that community, you tend to generalize and then apply your generalizations to a specific (in this case our conversation about my company), and you introduce false equivalencies, as in Shark Tank = Angel Investing.<br /><br />If your response to this posting is as flawed as your previous one was, I wil have to decline further participation in this debate.<br /><br />Regards,<br /><br />Larrylhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07340103319627051986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762542884225318540.post-88670864770836376502013-02-12T14:22:40.139-08:002013-02-12T14:22:40.139-08:00If Wrigley's merged with Bausch & Lomb the...If Wrigley's merged with Bausch & Lomb then "Minteye" would be a great name for their first product. <br />But for the product that's supposed to knock out Captcha? I don't know. On the other hand the product does kind of resemble the swirly design on those red mints with the white coating you get at restaurants. Perhaps that's what they were thinking.<br /><br />I never said I don't like that you are over 50. I love that. What I said is that investors get mighty leery at that age and unlike me, will never tell you that. At the very least, they will expect you to arrive with a package of relationships and deals in place commensurate with your years of experience in the field. <br /><br />As for the licensing approach, I don't have a problem with that but investors generally shy away from it because it is hard for them to get a return of and they don't see an exit. You could do well but not them. <br /><br />In general, they prefer to finance the building of a growth enterprise they can sell. They never like funding a company whose fate is in the hands of a third party sales department. Kevin O'Leary on TV's "Shark Tank" would love your deal but consider what he would offer you - $50,000 for 60% of the company, or a direct royalty on each sale with just a few pennies down. In other words, not the kind of deal you are currently looking for. <br /><br />To finance a licensing deal you probably need a special kind of deal structure and a special kind of Ad tech investor. Or a strategic partner who has the channel and just needs your product.<br /><br />If you don't like the critique - and it comes with plenty of helpful advice - then you are not going to have much fun on your journey through the funding process. <br /><br />The worst part is - they probably won't tell you any of this - just a bunch of maybe's.<br /><br />So, if you hate critics, maybe you should force them on to a chain gang where they have to launch a start-up. <br /><br />Oh wait, I just did that. <br /><br />Stay tuned.Startupaloozahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08427519043978605400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762542884225318540.post-1610591607369977002013-02-12T10:45:41.895-08:002013-02-12T10:45:41.895-08:00Alan--
So you don't like the name of my compa...Alan--<br /><br />So you don't like the name of my company. You don't like that I am over 50. And you got it wrong, that our business model is to license the product to (only)ad networks, and that somehow, to you, this is similar to affiliate networks? For the record, our business model is to license our products (we have 5 under development) to large publishers that have their own sales teams, and to large e-commerce companies (that also have their own sales teams), and to ad networks (but NOT only to ad networks).<br /><br />To paraphrase an old quote, Those who can do (start-ups), and those who can't critique. <br /><br />Regards,<br /><br />Larry Levine, VP Strategic Partnerships, minteye.comlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07340103319627051986noreply@blogger.com