Words of Wisdom:
- “Smiling at success, laughing at failure: Dave Berkus at TEDxOccidentalCollege” a video from a Chairman Emeritus of Tech Coast Angels
- Interview of Dave Berkus on “What it takes to be an entrepreneur…” : A video from the Frank Peters Show
- Bill Payne’s “Definitive Guide to Raising Money from Angels”
- Advice from TCA Member Dave Friedman and Mark Skaist of Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth on “Checklist to avoid 4 major legal bumps in the night for startups”
- Blog post by Ben Horowitz (the Horowitz of Andreessen Horowitz) on the distinction between Angels and Venture Capitalists, and when each is most appropriate.
- Y-Combinator 2020 Series A Guide which is a distillation of everything they know about successfully raising an A. It includes insights learned from watching hundreds of founders succeed in raising, and in watching dozens fail.
- Venture Capital Blogs:
- Mark Suster’s “Both Sides of the Table” has how-to articles that are relevant for entrepreneurs and Angel Investors.
- Fred Wilson’s “AVC”
- An article reviewing these and 15 other VC blogs
Advice on Presentations:
- “Perfect Pitching and the Message Map”: A podcast interview with TCA Chariman David Friedman giving his expert tips on the message map for creating the perfect business pitch.
- “How to do a fast pitch; Tips from Don Kasle”: a 17 minute video from Don Kasle, Chairman Emeritus of Tech Coast Angels
- Presentation Guide: 19 page presentation from Tech Coast Angels on tips for what you should cover, how the deck should look, and what should be in supplemental slides
- Presentation Tips from Keiretsu Forum
Being Knowledegable About Term Sheets:
- Model Preferred Equity Term Sheet from Tech Coast Angels and Pasadena Angels
- TCA sample term sheet for preferred equity
- TCA sample term sheet for convertible note
- TCA term sheet definitions
- Presentation Materials on “The Great Convertible Note Debate – What Angels Need to Know” at the 2016 Angel Capital Association Summit by John Huston (Ohio TechAngels, David Sorin (McCarter & English) and Annarie Lyles (Jumpstart New Jersey Angel Network
Books on Entrepreneurship:
- The Startup Checklist: 25 Steps to a Scalable, High-Growth Business by David Rose. This book provides the concrete steps about the ins and outs of startup execution, management, legal issues, and practical processes throughout the launch and growth phases, and how to avoid the critical missteps that threaten the foundation of your business
- Tomorrow Toolkit, a 20,000 word, 20-chapter ebook free from Technical.ly offers best practices from startup leaders in cities around the country on starting and scaling a young company in today’s highly collaborative startup environment.
- You Are Not Them: The Authentic Entrepreneur’s Way by Sid Mohasseb, former President TCA-Orange County
- Dream Toolbox: Building an Entrepreneurial Mind and Financial Abundance by Kenneth C. Aldrich, TCA member
- StreetSavvy Business: A way to prevent corporate mediocrity, by David Friedman TCA member
List of Sources of Early Stage Capital in Southern California
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- Here is a list of known firms and individuals with a home base or whose investment focus includes Southern California. The list includes Accelerators, Angels, Corporate VCs, Family Offices, Hedge Funds, Seed Funds and Traditional VCs.
Resources available on other websites:
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- Angel Capital Association resources page: ACA is the North American professional association of active accredited investors provides unparalleled access to trending ideas and professional knowledge to help improve returns and promote effective public policies for angels and startups. Although not a funding source, ACA provides entrepreneurs an inside view into how angels think.
- Small Business Development Center (SBDC): The Small Business Development Center (Orange County and Inland Empire) offers one-on-one consulting in areas such as identifying capital, startup assistance, commercializing new technologies, marketing products/services and management.
- Octane’s Launchpad SBDC: Octane’s Launchpad Small Business Development Center (Orange County) provides business guidance and creates access to capital growth resources through its network of investors, companies, subject matter advisors, and academics.
- Central Texas Angels Network resources page
- New York Angels resources page