Software company Ticketfly has closed a Series D financing round, raising $50 million. The round was led by Riverwood Capital, a globally-focused private equity firm that invests in fast-growing, late-stage technology companies. Ticketfly plans to use the funds to accelerate development of its cloud-based live events platform, including new products and services for its existing client  Continue Reading »

Coupa Software, a cloud-based invoice management platform, acquired InvoiceSmash on Monday for an undisclosed sum. CEO Mark Burch founded the Sydney, Australia-based InvoiceSmash in 2012 as a cloud-based accounts payable and e-invoicing platform. Burch will join Coupa’s product management organization effective immediately. As part of the acquisition, the five members of the InvoiceSmash team will also join  Continue Reading »

What’s going on in the public markets? What are all these so-called “unicorns”? What’s going on in venture capital? “This time is different.” It is different. Because it’s always different… And one big reason is mobile. Read the full post here. hausarbeit schreiben lassen hausarbeit-agentur.com

At the 22nd annual BCTIA Awards last night in Vancouver, BuildDirect CEO Jeff Booth was awarded “Person of the Year”. Booth, whose voice typically rises no higher than a whisper, received the largest applause in an evening filled with them when he credited his wife Kelly with being his most fervent ally. But many other  Continue Reading »

We’ve been talking about the disruptive impact of digital forever. Time to stop talking. Here’s why. As we all know, digital has already reset the social contract with the consumer and end user. Marketing and customer service relationships have migrated from real-time contact with human agents typically at a designated site of the vendor’s choice  Continue Reading »

Say hello to the latest cloud company to take an investment at a valuation of more than $1 billion. Coupa Software, a cloud startup that aims to help companies manage and control their spending, has closed an $80 million investment round. Investment firm T. Rowe Price led the round along with Iconiq Capital, the investment  Continue Reading »

Business software giant CA Technologies is buying Boulder-based Rally Software Development Corp. in a $480 million deal announced Wednesday. New York City-based CA (Nasdaq: CA) said Rally agreed to be acquired for $19.50 per share, which would total about $480 million. The deal is scheduled to close this fall, in CA’s second fiscal quarter. Rally shares soared on news  Continue Reading »

Katherine Barr of Wildcat Venture Partners would like to invite you to an intimate dinner for visionaries who have become leaders in their fields, changed the game, and inspired others to follow their own, unique paths. Event Link: 25at25.splashthat.com Date: Thursday May 21, 2015 Time: 5:00pm Location: Twenty Five Lusk   Speakers: Tina Perry Executive Vice President, Business  Continue Reading »

Entrepreneurs are commonly described as: competitive, evangelizing, risk taking, nimble, scrappy, and visionary. However, there is a broader skillset and mindset that entrepreneurs require to be successful. I’m going to share eight mistakes entrepreneurs make that aren’t often talked about publicly. My hope is that I can help you to avoid at least some of  Continue Reading »

This post is the sixth in a series of posts that will eventually become a book. I am looking to improve the text by incorporating readers’ feedback before I go to print. Find out more about this project or start from the beginning. Read the previous chapter in this series The Transformation Zone is reserved  Continue Reading »

Money is tricky for small businesses—which is to say that it tends to be tight. Pretty much everything about money—securing it, managing it, spending it—requires some kind of special tool, and that tool had better be effective, easy to use, and cheap, or else the company is going to find itself in trouble fast. That’s  Continue Reading »

The apparel industry is dominated by huge chains and major labels, but startups are making a name of their own by offering unique products and filling a void. Want a pair of shoes with a pump in the sole that keeps your feet cool? Or a dress that is custom made to your exact measurements  Continue Reading »

It’s baseball season again, so what better than a blog with a baseball theme? I ran across a piece a while back about how Joe Torre, the famous and very successful former New York Yankees manager, led his team. Many consider him a genius at managing and motivating – particularly difficult and notable in a  Continue Reading »

Andy Puddicombe spent 10 years studying to become an ordained Tibetan monk and is now the successful co-founder of the meditation app Headspace. In his TED talk, he says: “I think the present moment is so underrated. It sounds so ordinary, but we spend so little time in the present that it is anything but ordinary. Our mind  Continue Reading »

Account based marketing is the next big thing in B2B marketing. In this short but fact-filled talk, Jon Miller will explain how ABM is different from traditional demand generation, and will share best practices for understanding target accounts, orchestrating integrated account plans, and proving the impact of your ABM efforts. Event Link: cmoluncheon.splashthat.com Date: Thursday,  Continue Reading »

I was asked to help address the tech/startup gender bias question a couple of times recently at SxSW in Austin. The first opportunity was as a panelist for a session covering fundraising for startups, as part of the Women in EdTech track during SxSWedu.  The second was as part of an impromptu panel at SxSW Interactive during  Continue Reading »

When it comes to hiring a key member of your executive team, hiring a recruiter can seem expensive initially. However, do not underestimate the value of having a professional recruiter who will cast the net wide to give you exposure to various types of executive candidates, to be responsible for moving the process forward efficiently,  Continue Reading »

Mark Twain is often associated with the quote, “If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter.” It was in fact Pascal who most likely first coined that phrase, but the point remains. It’s hard and takes time and effort to communicate concisely, whether a short memo, a letter or a business plan  Continue Reading »

The first topic of conversation at one of Silicon Valley’s most exclusive dinners is usually the table. Made of a deep brown walnut, the table isn’t oval or square but a distinctive asymmetrical rounded triangle inspired by the French designer Jean-Marie Massaud. It’s been custom-built for its hosts, Benchmark Capital, which uses it for partnership  Continue Reading »

has taken root in the U. S. and UK markets as a platform where small businesses can quickly apply for and receive working capital loans — with Kabbage making fast decisions about eligibility through a mix of smart algorithms and online and offline data sources. Now the startup is growing its business on two fronts. It’s kicking off  Continue Reading »

After years of over-hyped upstarts and relative stasis, the Canadian ticket sales market may just be getting the shake-up customers have been waiting for. In its latest move to bolster its Canadian market share, event ticketing company Ticketfly Inc. announced the purchase of the MRG Group’s in-house ticketing service, Northern Tickets. The deal adds a  Continue Reading »

SXSW is a crazy week of panels, parties, and networking. In the thick of it, Neon teamed up with Mohr Davidow Ventures and their other partners, Wildcat Venture Partners, Comerica Bank, Connectup, BottleRock Napa Valley, Silvercar, and Escalate Capital, to throw a great party at SXSW on Monday. Here are some of our favorite snaps from the event. Auerdem war ich  Continue Reading »

Entrepreneurs have always embraced innovation and change, and reinventing oneself as an entrepreneurial leader will be critical over the next handful of years. Here are the secrets to setting yourself up for success: 1. Leverage Flexibility In Your Workforce The U. S. workforce is becoming much more fluid, driven by the rise of an “on  Continue Reading »

Twitter emerged with a splash at South by Southwest in 2007, unleashing an ever-growing barrage of tweets, posts, photos, and other social media interactions. People Pattern, an Austin startup, is fittingly staging its coming out party at this year’s SXSW. The company is developing software that mines the oceans of information embedded in social media  Continue Reading »

There is plenty of discussion about how to build a valuable and sustaining business. Yet, I don’t often see much coverage of the building blocks that really matter; the elements that are more behaviors or philosophies on how to run a thriving startup business, elements that need to be woven right into the fabric of the  Continue Reading »

This is the 2nd installment about startup planning and execution based on the concept of “Ready, Aim, Fire” – a time-tested, tried-and-true adage that applies as much to the subject at hand as to shooting a gun or a bow and arrow or playing golf. In Part 1, the focus was on perhaps the most common failure  Continue Reading »

Thoughtfully selecting and effectively working with your investor board members and independent board members (who are not typically investors in the business but asked to join the board to add value in a particular area of expertise) are incredibly important skills for entrepreneurs that are rarely discussed and can have a major impact on your  Continue Reading »

SAN MATEO, CALIF. — Coupa Software, the leader in cloud-based spend management, announced today that it has been chosen by AlwaysOn as a. OnCloud’s Top 100 companies are selected for their ability to rise to the challenge of bringing the world’s businesses and enterprises into the cloud. Ich besitze im rahmen meines beruflichen werdegangs umfassende  Continue Reading »

Ready!  Aim!  Fire! It’s a very old, tried and true adage.  This legendarily accepted process of operations works universally whether shooting a gun, a bow and arrow, playing golf, or leading a team to achieve an objective.  Prepare or ready yourself for the intended action; take aim on the objective and goals; and then fire,  Continue Reading »

Be authentic. Figure out your values and who you are, and be true to both. Trying to be who you aren’t will impede your company and your career progress. Dare to follow a path unique to you. Take risks and be curious. Build specific skill sets and gain unique experiences each step along your career  Continue Reading »

Early stage venture is a lot about the entrepreneur–who that person is and what she or he is capable of. As an investor, my filter has become quite honed in terms of what to look for in the best entrepreneurs. On a recent trip to Ireland, I participated in a guided hike of the rugged  Continue Reading »

VC still has the email that introduced her to LendingClub. She might want to print out that email and have it framed in gold after the return on her investment in the San Francisco online lender soared more than 120-fold in its Wall Street debut on Thursday. “People thought I was crazy at the time,”  Continue Reading »

Imagine choosing a restaurant without checking Yelp. Or booking a hotel without first consulting TripAdvisor. Or finding a renovator without Angie’s List. Everything is now subject to trackable, user-based reviews, even you (just ask your Uber driver). Event Link: everyonesacriticbookparty.splashthat.com Date: Tuesday December 9, 2014 Time: 5:30pm Location: Mohr Davidow Ventures   Speaker: Bill Tancer Master  Continue Reading »

Mohr Davidow Ventures, Forerunner Ventures and Porter Gale invite you to an intimate dinner for women visionaries who have led the pack, changed the game, and inspired others to chart their own course. Success in technology today is driven by leaders who approach solutions creatively and manage compassionately while motivating others. Event Link: womeninleadership.splashthat.com Date:  Continue Reading »

on Wednesday filed for an initial public offering, a deal that’s likely to be closely watched as online nonbank lenders continue to gain market share from traditional banks. Usa, afrika, asien, europa ghostwriter agentur waren meine ziele. The number of shares and price range is yet to be determined, the San Francisco company said in  Continue Reading »

Why Neon picked MDV to lead our recent investment One afternoon in April, I was having a coffee with Bill Ericson, our General Partner from Mohr Davidow Ventures. As I updated him on the results from recent pilots, customers in our pipeline, and the stack of upcoming industry events where Neon was scheduled to present,  Continue Reading »

Mohr Davidow Ventures, in conjunction with Tesla Motors, hopes you will join us at our Technical Leader Summer Hangout, an afternoon of supercharged networking and test drives of Tesla’s famed Model S sedan. Event Link: technicalleadersummerhangout.splashthat.com Date: Tuesday June 24, 2014 Time: 2:00pm Location: Mohr Davidow Ventures   Guest: Tesla Motors   Hashtag: #MohrDavidowMeets Studying music  Continue Reading »

April 18, 2013: In a casino, the term “rake” refers to the commission that the house earns for operating a poker game. With each hand, a small percentage of the pot is scraped off by the dealer, which in essence becomes the “revenue” for the casino. While casinos use the term “rake,” a plethora of  Continue Reading »

February 25, 2015: [An edited version of the following blog post originally appeared in a modified form in the pages of the weekend edition of the Financial Times last Saturday.] Every successful technology company raises money throughout its lifecycle, perhaps starting with a seed investment and progressing through Series A, B, C, late-stage investments, and,  Continue Reading »

“ Don’t you know that you are a shooting star, And all the world will love you just as long, As long as you are.” — Paul Rodgers, Shooting Star With the IPO market now blown wide-open, and the media completely infatuated with frothy trades in the bubbly late stage private market, it is common  Continue Reading »

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