Stubbs Alderton & Markiles and the Preccelerator Program are proud to announce the launch of their Startup Superhero Video Series - featuring SA&M Attorneys, Preccelerator Mentors, and entrepreneurs on topics specific to entrepreneurship and lessons learned throughout the journey.

This week we're featuring Preccelerator Mentor and Board Member Peter Csathy, as he talks about the state of the digital media market.

Peter Csathy is a media/digital media/tech advisor, business development executive/dealmaker, strategist, entrepreneur/operator, venture capitalist/investor, and journalist who has consistently led and driven transformative innovation, expansion and enterprise value for both leading public and private companies (including via successful M&A exits and negotiated deals valued in excess of $4 billion). Career equally spans both traditional and digital media/technology (and with significant international experience). Deep senior level decision-maker and influencer contacts and relationships.

He is a recognized thought leader frequently featured in The Wall Street Journal, TechCrunch, Venturebeat, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, TheWrap, Billboard, CNBC, BBC, USA Today, Bloomberg, Forbes, Advertising Age, The Huffington Post, Wired, Fast Company and other leading publications/blogs; frequent moderator and guest speaker at leading industry conferences and events (including CES, NAB, Variety Summit, Digital Hollywood, Siemer Summit, Streaming Media); frequent guest columnist for leading media/digital media/tech publications (TechCrunch, Variety, Billboard, Venturebeat, VideoInk) and prolific blogger on own “Digital Media Update” blog; mentor in the Disney Accelerator and the Points of Light Civic Incubator; appointed to commission making recommendations to President Obama; board member and advisor to for-profits and non-profits.

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Transcript

Speaker: Peter Csathy. 

Moderator: Heidi Hubbeling 

 

Startup Superhero Series - The State of Digital Media 

Heidi: I would like you to tell us a little bit about Creative Media and what your background is. Tell us about what CREATV Media does as well as why you chose to join the Preccelerator as board member and what value you think the Preccelerator brings to companies? 

Peter: So, I started CREATV Media, a little over a year ago, as to be really a leading digital media focused business development, advisory and investment firm. What that means is that it kind of ties together this network I created. If people go to the website http://www.creatv.media, you’ll see that it is a team of really connected individuals. It’s meant to be a super network of people across traditional media, new media, technology so that we can bridge or bring opportunities for our clients and really identify where to go. Help facilitate these new opportunities, structure deals, get investment into those deals. Also, work with companies on an M&A front, where for larger companies (media as an example), we can identify potential areas of strategic investment. Then for those who are privately held companies they are looking to potentially have a strategic partner, that can eventually be an investment or M&A.  We frequently work with those companies to position themselves, tell their story, identify the partner structure deals. So that there’s ultimately a great result for them.  We do a lot of connecting. We do a lot of business development, identifying opportunities, and then a lot of market intelligence. I have great team of people on the consulting side, who with our unique access and relationships that we have - can get information and market intelligence that nobody else can get. We can bring that to light, to our clients, so that they are smarter and faster and better. That’s on the creative side.

On why I joined the Preccelerator? It’s just this great opportunity to support an organization, Stubbs, and what they are doing here to support entrepreneurs in the LA community.  Accelerators are always interesting because it’s a great place for entrepreneurs to come together and rub shoulders -  the community that comes with that, both within, but also from without when you have market leaders coming in to share their stories. Hopefully, I can bring mine and bring some wisdom of the things I did right and the things that my company did wrong and they can learn from that. Stubbs did a really great thing here because it’s a law firm doing something that is typically not done by law firms. Really being entrepreneurial, creating this space, bringing new opportunities, new mentors, a tremendous package of benefits, as well as this great office space here on Third Street Promenade. That’s a wonderful thing and when they asked me to join, how could I say no?  

Heidi: Now, you provide huge value to the companies with your expertise and your background in digital media. One of the perks in the perks package is consulting services and getting to have your ear, your introductions, and access to your network. What are some of the things in your background, that make you an ideal mentor here? Also, what’s your entrepreneurial story that has brought you to this place.    

Peter: It certainly hasn’t been a straight path which is part of the fun of it all. I started, many many years ago. I’ve been in the media and tech world for over 30 years, which is kind of hard to believe. I started as a media and entertainment lawyer, almost 30 years ago. From that point, I went into the studios. I was at New Line, Universal, Savoy and really transitioned from being a lawyer to a business person and negotiating deals - from a dollar to multi-billion-dollar international joint ventures.  In about 2000, I went to my first entrepreneurial company.  I became a real start-up guy initially where this one was a true start -up where we built up a series B close to $10M round, then moved it to the east coast, I stayed here, then was recruited to go down to San Diego, really the most innovative software, music, and services company at the time. Really the Spotify before Spotify -  so I was an entrepreneur there. We sold that company for $160 million dollars, and then I ran another company that we also sold. I have seen a lot of different things and for the past several years I have been an advisor because I built this network along the way and hopefully I have some war stories that I can bring to help these entrepreneurs.  

Heidi: And then your background is in digital media and technology. Through all your experience, what are your views on the state of digital media and tech market. How do you think LA as an ecosystem fits into where digital media is going? 

Peter: It is such an incredibly exciting time. I have been in the space for more than 30 years, I’ve never been more excited than I am today about just the different opportunities for companies big and small. You have the fundamental traditional media and entertainment business which is completely transitioning or transforming at the hands of technology.  I’ve seen both sides of that which is what makes it particularly fun. You see this transition happening and the media companies need to understand all these new technologies and new ways to engage and reach an audience and create content and monetize it. On the other hand, you have all these technology companies that are becoming media companies. Like the Googles, like Amazon, Facebook, very much these are media companies, they even call themselves media companies which is pretty incredible. All of this is happening at the same time and then you have innovation and it’s becoming a multi-platform world - where its traditional platform and then you have mobile of course which is the first screen. Live events are not going away so that’s another platform. VR, AR immersive platforms are also there, E-sports, and on and on and on. It’s just this really incredible and interesting time and LA is very much the hub of it. When it comes to certainly digital first media companies, absolutely here. When it comes to VR and AR so much of it is happening here. Drone technologies so much of it is happening here in Southern California. So, you have real money being poured into the LA, entrepreneurial community for the first time, really. You are seeing some great exits that flow out of that. Snap is one, where let’s not forget, Snaps right here. Snap of course just recently went public and that’s just one. Oculus of course, was acquired a couple years back and on and on and on.  

Heidi: Right, it’s very an exciting for LA and I think that it’s neat to see all the bourgeoning companies and how the ecosystem here is and how its growing and the neat ideas that are coming out of the space.  

Peter: It’s a really exciting time and now this community is not just able to not to retain the great talent, but actually really for the first time -  attract some of the top talent, both on the creative side, and also on the engineering side - which is great. It’s coming here and fueling innovation all the time. 

Heidi: Right - and I think there’s getting to be more investors that are seeing that this ecosystem is growing and that we really have some solid technology down here too. 

Peter: That’s why we created SAM Creative Ventures, we want to ourselves invest more and more into this tech world. We are primarily focused on LA, but not exclusively. We are going to be taking a very close look at entrepreneurs in this community.  

Heidi: Absolutely, providing a huge value to this ecosystem.  

 Peter: That’s the goal! 

 Heidi: Appreciate you being here and we will learn more about Creative Media and about Peter Csathy and another video upcoming, in the StartUp Superhero Series. Thanks for being here. 

Peter Csathy
www.creatv.media

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To learn more about the Preccelerator Program, contact Heidi Hubbeling at .

SA&M Preccelerator company Boomer is an e-commerce return platform that brings returns to your front door. The company’s goal is to eliminate the pain points in the return process where they hurt online shoppers the most. If you need clothing or accessories returned, you no longer have to leave your home. Instead, you can use Boomer Returns and a reliable person will be at your door within an hour to handle your returns for you. The company is founded by Patrick Bauer and Ben Grabow. Check out their new tutorial below:

To learn more about the Preccelerator® Progrmam, contact Heidi Hubbeling, COO at (310) 746-9803 or

 

 

Stubbs Alderton & Markiles and the Preccelerator Program are proud to announce the launch of their Startup Superhero Video Series - featuring SA&M Attorneys, Preccelerator Mentors, and entrepreneurs on topics specific to entrepreneurship and lessons learned throughout the journey.

This week we're featuring Preccelerator Mentor Christine Perakis as she chats about "Three Essential Strategies for Small Business Success."

Christine Perakis has been a lawyer, business adviser, entrepreneur, C-Suite executive, adj professor, and professional boat captain, navigating myriad transactions and businesses across 5 continents.  Her work, expertise and interests have taken her beyond a lucrative legal practice in the entertainment industry over a couple of decades. Christine has run or been a part of a management team in 10 businesses, growing, expanding and achieving results beyond the expectations of all involved. The most recent role being as a COO in a company that went from a 100% equity funded startup to a $10 million/year business in 4 years.

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Transcript

Heidi:  What are three mistakes that you see entrepreneurs make when they are first starting out?

Christine:   Well, when we get started, we’re coming up with an idea that we get so excited about. That we end up talking about the features of it way more, then we focus on the benefits to the client. We need to get inside the head of our ideal target audience and understand what is the number one problem they have that they don’t want and the number one result that they want and don’t have and then we can start talking to them. The second thing is to be aware we are on a buyer’s journey. Most of us don’t have a 50-million-dollar branding budget like some of the big brands that we know about and these days with all the information that comes out at us it takes 20-100 touch points to get people’s attention. So, we want to be able to first recognize that we are on a journey. Knowing that 99% of our target audience, are future buyers and less than 1% are now buyers. We want to take them along that journey, using something I call the conversion equation. You want to get their attention with an interrupt, engage with them, educate them and then be able to make an offer. The third thing is to think strategically. Most people will employ tactical marketing. They throw a bunch of tactics at the wall and hope that something sticks. Rather than, recognizing that if they think strategically their marketing is going to be more effective. So, they don’t want to do anything that isn’t something that their target audience wants.

Heidi: So, to achieve success what are the 5 main areas that a startup or an entrepreneur should focus on?

Christine:  Most of us are familiar with the 80/20 rule, Pareto’s law, right? 80% of our outcomes come from 20% of our efforts. So, that overwhelming job of a small business owner really can be reduced down to five basic steps. Something, I call the five-step profit formula.  Small business owners focus on lead generation, lead conversion, transactions, pricing and profitability.  They will achieve exponential results. They really only have to make incremental changes to get there. I have something I call the profit acceleration software that will show you, by plugging in some numbers, how small changes in these 5 areas only, will create exponential success.

Heidi:  All very important things, so what is one thing that every entrepreneur should know before they start their business?

Christine:  Well, I think Simon Sinek said it best in his book “Start with Why.”  Know your why. He knew that Steve Jobs, Wright Brothers and Martin Luther King had very little in common, but they understood one thing; which is people don’t engage with a product, service, movement, or an idea unless they know your why. We want to get people to invest in us, to buy from us, to work for us and follow us, we have to know our why.  You have sat in many rooms with investors as have I and you have heard time and time again we don’t invest in a product or service, we invest in the people. What they’re really investing is people who know their why. That’s how we get investors, our partners, with our clients, our customers, they want to know. They’ll buy from you if they really want to understand your why and your team. These days the millennial workforces are a growing resource that we have these days and they are committed to knowing their why. They don’t want to do anything without knowing they why. You have to enroll them in your why to get them to work hard for you and then they will. Finally, you need to know your why, most importantly because it gets you through the obstacles and challenges that come up in your business all the time. Keeping your eye on that outcome the benefit, the reason for being that you have and why you’re invested in doing. So, there’s that and when you’re in the early goal setting stages, creating your vision, you have your why as a corner stone for the goals that you create. Once you know that your subconscious can start working to achieve that outcome. The goals in it of themselves aren’t as meaningful as knowing that you’re going to get to where you need to go.

Heidi:  Absolutely, the “why me” and the “why now” - also knowing why this is the right time in the market. Both of those are so important for young companies before they get started.

Christine:  That’s right it’s not about widgets. It’s about what you’re going to get for yourself and what they are going to get for themselves.

Heidi: Well, thank you very much it was great to have you here.

Christine Perakis
www.christineperakis.com

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To learn more about the Preccelerator Program, contact Heidi Hubbeling at .

[vc_row type="in_container" full_screen_row_position="middle" scene_position="center" text_color="dark" text_align="left" overlay_strength="0.3" shape_divider_position="bottom"][vc_column column_padding="no-extra-padding" column_padding_position="all" background_color_opacity="1" background_hover_color_opacity="1" column_shadow="none" column_border_radius="none" width="1/1" tablet_text_alignment="default" phone_text_alignment="default" column_border_width="none" column_border_style="solid"][vc_column_text] The Preccelerator® Program, a Santa Monica, California-based accelerator program for early- stage startup companies in the digital media and technology space, announced today that it has added its eighth class of companies featuring four innovative startups.

In 2012 Stubbs Alderton & Markiles launched the first-of-its- kind Preccelerator® Program to provide select start-ups with co-working space, mentorship, sophisticated legal services, curriculum and access to a strategic perks portfolio with the objective of helping grow a founder’s idea from business concept to a funded company. Over the past five years, 34 companies have graduated the Program, of which 20 have received funding totaling over $9M.

Preccelerator® Program Class 8 companies include:

Boomer Returns – Boomer is an ecommerce return platform that brings returns to your front door. The company's goal is to eliminate the pain points in the return process where they hurt online shoppers the most. If you need clothing or accessories returned, you no longer have to leave your home. Instead, you can use Boomer and a reliable person will be at your door within an hour to handle your returns for you. The company is founded by Pat Bauer and Ben Grabow.

Best Food Trucks - Best Food Trucks (BFT) is the largest food truck platform in the U.S., with over 500 trucks booking lots nationwide. BFT is reinventing the office lunch experience, by providing business parks & office buildings with all the logistics of setting up food trucks, booking, and (coming soon) the ability to skip the line and order ahead from your phone. The company is founded by Matt Geller and Kevin Davis.

Lumenus – Lumenus is an IoT safety company, building a Hardware/Software platform using the Internet of Things to provide real-time safety alerts and create actionable insights for both consumers (bike/run/motorcycle) as well as industrial usage (high-risk vocational workers). They license their technology out to existing companies to scale the operation across industries and use-cases. They are currently in production with Timbuk2 on a backpack ‘Powered by Lumenus’ launching Spring 2018. The company is founded by Jeremy Wall.

BluAtom VR – BluAtom VR is a provider of a next-generation motion and haptic game controllers for virtual and augmented reality entertainment and training applications — It effectively turns any player’s body into a game controller. The BluAtom system comes with a wireless motion vest, hand controller and network hub to detect as well as enhance the user’s movements for a more natural and immersive virtual reality experience. The system is plug and play, no special device driver is required. The BluAtom VR founding team are Steve Kearsley,  Dean ShipleyFarzad AhmadkhanlouSean Sharifian, and Mark Thimmig and Sean Lee.

For more information about the Preccelerator® Program, visit www.preccelerator.com.

About Stubbs Alderton & Markiles, LLP

Stubbs Alderton & Markiles, LLP is a Southern California-based business law firm with robust corporate, public securities, mergers and acquisitions, entertainment, intellectual property, brand protection and business litigation practice groups focusing on the representation of, among others, venture- backed emerging growth companies, middle market public companies, large technology companies, entertainment and digital media companies, investors, venture capital funds, investment bankers and underwriters. The firm’s clients represent a broad range of industries with a concentration in the technology, entertainment, videogame, apparel and medical device sectors. The firm’s mission is to provide technically excellent legal services in a consistent, highly-responsive and service-oriented manner with an entrepreneurial and practical business perspective. These principles are the hallmarks of the firm. For more information, visit https://stubbsalderton.com.

About the Preccelerator® Program

The Preccelerator® is a novel platform offered to select start-up companies out of the Stubbs Alderton & Markiles, LLP Santa Monica office that provides interim office space, sophisticated legal services, education,  networking, mentorship and $250,000 in usable perks from Google Cloud for Startups, Amazon Web Services, and HubSpot among others, with the objective of helping grow a founder’s idea from business concept to funded startup. The program also retains more than 50 active strategic mentors providing free office hours and discounted services, and provides over 50-plus educational workshops and networking events each year. The Program expanded in 2017 to accept a greater number of companies in more formalized classes, depending upon where the companies are in their evolutionary growth, expand benefits to accepted companies, and will look to make strategic investments backed by strategic angel investors. To apply to the Preccelerator, visit www.preccelerator.com/application.

Contact:

Heidi Hubbeling
Chief Operating Officer, Preccelerator® Program

310-746-9803[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Stubbs Alderton & Markiles and the Preccelerator Program are proud to announce the launch of their Startup Superhero Video Series - featuring SA&M Attorneys, Preccelerator Mentors, and entrepreneurs on topics specific to entrepreneurship and lessons learned throughout the journey.

This week we're featuring Preccelerator Mentor Chris Bechtel of Growth Engine Labs as he chats about "Driving Growth for Early-Stage Startups."  Chris is a growth consultant, start-up advisor, customer acquisition and sales coach, former SaaS CEO, and marketing executive. Chris brings 20 years of sales and marketing expertise, specializing in demand generation, marketing automation, pipeline optimization, content marketing, and sales technologies. Chris has extensive experience in B2B, internet and SaaS technologies working with start-ups, growth stage organizations and brands to maximize the results of their digital marketing, PR and revenue generation activities through the use of content and technology.

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Transcript

Heidi: What do you think is the most important thing for driving growth for early stage companies?

 Chris: I think really, the most important thing is really the market. Being in the right section of the market, really focused on customer needs. I think that most start-ups, start with a hypothesis. It usually comes from personal experience, but people often forget there’s many potential buyers of that start-up’s initial idea. There’s a problem, there’s a pain that needs to be solved and think sort of the biggest barrier is not really focusing on the right growth segment within that market. So, I think first and foremost it’s about making sure you’re in a strong market, where the customer’s segments under served. I think then it’s really about that focus. It’s really about focusing on the right section of the market, really understanding who you are marketing to and that’s really going to dictate the value proposition to use and what channels you use to acquire them.

 Heidi: Going back to barriers, talk about the most common barrier to early stage success.

 Chris: I think really the same it’s about focus. With every entrepreneur, it’s both a blessing and a curse to have that creative mind. To be able to come up with unique solutions to common problems. But, then the barrier often comes from overthinking and questioning all those ideas and then not actually being able to focus because essentially every start-up is a hypothesis and then when it comes to marketing that hypothesis those are also a set of hypotheses. The key is focusing and prioritizing a series of tests.

 Heidi: For early stage start-up, how do you find the right people to surround them with to provide attraction and growth.

 Chris: I think that’s a great question, and one that often many founders struggle with.  In terms, of how do I have a co-founder, who’s my initial founding team?  A lot of it starts with what’s the stage that you’re in? What kinds of people? Do you have people, you know, if you’re already at product market fit and you need people to scale? You will need people who have had experience really scaling. In the early days, you needed people who could do many things and are willing to do many things and are able to then also focus on those core things and get us to the next stage of validating product market fit and identifying the actual acquisition channels that are going to help us get to that next stage. Hopefully get some more capital to start scaling.

Heidi: Finally, what’s your favorite thing about being a mentor here at the Preccelerator? What drove you to join us?

 Chris: Well, first of all it’s a great community. There’s great people here and I just really love helping people. That’s why I do what I do I think and helping people get clarity. Because people have so much passion, but it’s hard, it’s really, really hard. So, I love the joy in people’s face when they sort of get clarity, at least what I’m supposed to focus on for the next week or two and get unstuck. I think that’s really what I enjoy the most about being here at Stubbs.

 Heidi: Yeah, community and that sense of empathy, among advisors, mentors, and other entrepreneurs that are advising. It’s been really important and greatly beneficial. Thank you for being here.

Chris Bechtel
Growth Engine Labs

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To learn more about the Preccelerator Program, contact Heidi Hubbeling at .

Stubbs Alderton & Markiles and the Preccelerator Program are proud to announce the launch of their Startup Superhero Video Series - featuring SA&M Attorneys, Preccelerator Mentors, and entrepreneurs on topics specific to entrepreneurship and lessons learned throughout the journey.

This week we're featuring Preccelerator Mentor Jonathan Tavss of Kaleidoko, Inc. as he chats about "Utilizing Mentorship." Jonathan Tavss is an award-winning entrepreneur, marketer, strategist, and content creator with more than two decades of experience leading content creation, distribution, product development and global marketing for international entertainment studios, Media firms, CPG brands and service corporations.

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Transcript

Heidi: Jonathan, what do you see being the most important benefit to the Preccelerator companies in regards to mentorship? 

Jonathan: I guess the one that just sticks out the most is connections. Right?  It gives you resources that you might not otherwise have. What I have seen, are the companies that really succeed, are the ones that take advantage. It’s almost like a secret thing, the fact that there’s so many mentors here, there’s so many people that you can call upon. That in and of itself is something that people aren’t used to.  A. having the people to talk to and, B. knowing what to ask of them. It’s interesting because in success you will have a lot of people coming in wanting to be an advisor. Can I be on your board? Wanting to do all that kind of stuff and in this secure environment you can work with different advisors on different things, even advisors that do similar things to each other, to really get a sense of how you are going to work best with them.

Heidi: With your personal background, with your professional background what perspectives do you bring as a mentor 

Jonathan: I think it really is tied to what Kaleidoko is all about, which is to brand holistically. How you position, but it’s not just about the marketing. It’s how you set up your company to be able to deal with change that is constant. With Kaleidoko we usually work with later stage companies and so it’s a matter of going in and seeing what fundamental bricks were not placed as they were rushed to deliver to clients’ needs. We go in with that fresh look we really fill in those bricks. What I deal with for these participating companies is to help them be mindful of those fundamental pieces that you need to be able to set up for your company so that you can be successful moving forward into the future. 

Heidi: If you could give one piece of advice to the companies based on your breath of experience, what would that be? 

Jonathan: I think it would be to have your eye’s wide open all the time. As a founder you’re really heads down, running that sprint to get to where you’re trying to go. You have got to keep your eyes open to see what’s happening culturally, what’s happening technologically. Mentors, advisors, board members, or employees will come up with different ideas. So, it’s a matter of really capturing that. Also, something that I find interesting; there’s a lot of companies out there that set off to do a certain thing and as they were developing that certain thing. They found, this pot of gold, that they were just creating to help them deliver, what they thought was a value, but the real value is over here. So, not that you’re trying to go right, left, all over the place. What you want to be doing is to be able to keep your eyes open. What is that IP? What is that certain thing that might be a different direction, but that might be your real winner?

Heidi: One last question. What is your favorite thing about being a mentor at the Preccelerator. What does it give to you?

Jonathan: I got involved because I really wanted to find a way to give back. Being that I am also a university professor you know I have always just been of the "how can I help other people" mindset. This was just a great opportunity to be able to do so and meet a lot of really great people. Both on the company side and the mentor side. There’s some really strong participants all over the place. That’s why I was really excited to be a part of it.

Heidi: Very much appreciate you.

Jonathan: Thanks.

Jonathan Tavss
Kaleidoko, Inc.
www.kaleidoko.com 

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To learn more about the Preccelerator Program, contact Heidi Hubbeling at .

SA&M Preccelerator Company nēdl, an app that allows radio listeners to use speech recognition to eliminate the need to go station-to-station to find specific news, sports, talk and music, has been named among the 12 finalists for the PILOT Innovation Challenge. PILOT is an innovation initiative of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB). The PILOT Innovation Challenge recognizes creative ideas that leverage technological advances in the production, distribution and display of engaging content.

To read the full press release visit here.

About nēdl  
nēdl
 uses proprietary Speech Recognition to let you search within 100,000+ live news, sports, talk, and music broadcast streams to find what you want and listen to the stream or add your unique voice to the global real-time database for instant discovery. Visit www.findnedl.com

To learn more about the Preccelerator® Program, contact Heidi Hubbeling, COO at (310) 746-9803 or

 

Stubbs Alderton & Markiles and the Preccelerator Program are proud to announce the launch of their Startup Superhero Video Series - featuring SA&M Attorneys, Preccelerator Mentors, and entrepreneurs on topics specific to entrepreneurship and lessons learned throughout the journey.

This week we're featuring SA&M Managing Partner Scott Alderton as he chats about "How to Position Your Company for Financing."  Scott is the Co-Chair of the Venture Capital & Emerging Growth practice at Stubbs Alderton, General Partner of SAM CREATV Ventures, and a thought leader in the startup financing space.

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Transcript

Heidi: Tell me a little bit about your practice and experience and what you love most about working with emerging growth companies?

Scott: Sure, I have been doing this for a long time. My practice is broad-ranging. Early on in my career, I was more of a corporate & securities lawyer doing traditional SEC type of work with larger companies. As this thing called the “Internet” began to develop in the '90s, it looked like it was interesting, I transitioned my practice to being more of a technology and venture capital lawyer. I really like working with companies all along their evolutionary path, but I really like working with early-stage companies. They have diverse, wide-ranging needs, they typically don’t have the resources that large companies have. I feel like I can play a vital role as an advisor even more-so than a lawyer. The lawyering part is the easy job to me, the advising part is really the fun part.

Heidi: Let’s talk a little bit about emerging growth companies and how they approach financing. What are some of the things an early stage company should be thinking about when they are going for funding. If they are really early, how do they attract investors?

Scott: I think it's really a couple of things. The first thing that every company needs to do is to decide what its vision is and what kind of company it's going to be. Venture capital is not right for every company and there’s lots of different ways to fund your businesses. The overwhelming majority of businesses do not get funded with venture capital. Venture capital is a way of financing a business through its growth stage. When it has a proven product, when it's found its market and when it now needs to scale and grow. That’s when venture capital comes in and helps a company do that, but to get to that point is challenging. First you need to decide; am I a company that is going to require venture capital and am I company that is going to address a large scaling market, be disruptive, grow to be very large? That’s a venture fundable business.  Through the early stage, the second thing you need to figure out is  - how am I going to get to the point where professional investors are going to be interested in me? Professional investors are not going to be interested in every company like I said they are going to be interested in companies where they can apply their capital, grow and scale the business.

Heidi: As far as some of the tips that you would give to them, for them to actually attract investors - where do they look for them? Are warm introductions the best thing? What are some of the tactics?

Scott: First of all, don’t look too early. Understand that if you are really going out and seeking traditional, professional investment that you are going to have to have some metrics. You’re going to have to have at least a MVP of a product, you’re going to find a market where that product is being accepted. You are growing and scaling a business in that market. Whether its users or customers - whatever it is - you have to get to that stage first. How do you get to that stage? Well, you get to that stage by raising money from friends and family, from people who know you. From people that are going to invest in you, because you’re the entrepreneur. They believe in you. Relatives, friends, strategic business partners. A second way to look at that is for people who ultimately will be interested in your product, even though you have no metrics or proof of your product today. They will invest in you because they want your product to hit the market. Might be a strategic investment. Figure out a way - come hook or crook-  to raise that initial capital to where you can develop your product. Find a market place and the other doors will open.

Heidi: From a legal and business stand-point, how do they best position themselves?

Scott: Early stage companies by necessity cut corners, right? You don’t have resources. You’re boot strapping. You’re making promises that you can’t fully document. You can’t always afford lawyers or professional advisers and that’s fine. Do not second guess any of that. You got to where you are, but when you reach that point where you are now ready to go out and find professional capital, it's important to look internally first. That you look at yourself, do the same kind of diligence with yourself that an investor is going to do on you. That way there are no surprises. Figure out capital issues and fix them. Figure out your employment issues and fix them. Figure out your commercial contracts that you have done on a whim and fix them. So that investors don’t look at you and think good concept, but I am not going to take all this risk.

Heidi: There’s another topic that startups tend to think a lot about but aren't typically fully  educated on - how should they approach valuation and dilution?

Scott: I think that people get hung up on valuation because they have some number set in their mind or they have some experience that they talk about with other entrepreneurs. They think they either have to hang on to a certain percentage of their business or it’s not appropriate to give a certain amount at a certain round. You have to come into a financial transaction with an open mind and understand not just what you’re selling and what you have to give up for that. Also, where you are going and where that money is going to take you? I see entrepreneurs being penny wise and a pound foolish all the time. They think they don’t want to be significantly diluted. They end up throwing a wrench in the negotiation  or they loose a financing deal because they want to hang on to a few points of equity. In reality that money is going to take them so far that they are going to be vast and more valuable. Its a simple proposition of - there’s a pie and you want a piece of that pie. It's much better to own a smaller piece of a gigantic pie than it is to own a big piece of a small pie.

Heidi: Appreciate you for being here and I’m sure we will have you back for other topics some time soon.

Scott: Thanks, looking forward to it.

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To learn more about our Venture Capital & Emerging Growth Practice, contact Scott Alderton at .

What an exciting evening it was!  4 talented entrepreneurs gave their 5 minute pitches to a crowd of over 100 people at the May 18, 2017 Preccelerator Demo Day.  The evening was topped off by the motivating presentation on "Fearless Media" by SAM CREATV Ventures Partner Peter Csathy.  In case you missed it, check out the video!

About the Preccelerator Program
The Preccelerator® Program is a platform offered to select start-up companies out of the Santa Monica office of Stubbs Alderton & Markiles, LLP that provides interim office space, sophisticated legal services, mentorship and access to a strategic perks portfolio with the objective of helping you grow your idea from business concept to funded startup. The Preccelerator® Program provides these benefits to as many as 10 promising young startups in separate growth tracks.

For more information about the Preccelerator, contact Heidi Hubbeling, COO at .

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SAM accelerator program for early stage companies, The Preccelerator Program, announces its new class of five digital media & tech startups

The Preccelerator Program, a Santa Monica, CA-based accelerator program for early-stage startup companies in the digital media and technology space, announced today that it has added its sixth class of companies featuring five innovative startups.

In 2012 Stubbs Alderton & Markiles launched the first-of-its-kind Preccelerator Program to provide select start-ups with co-working space, mentorship, sophisticated legal services, and access to a strategic perks portfolio with the objective of helping grow a founder’s idea from business concept to a funded company. Over the past five years, 22 companies have graduated the Program, of which 16 have received funding totaling over $8M.

Preccelerator Program Class 6 companies include:

Animate Objects - Animate Objects (AO), an augmented reality and virtual reality development company,  is excited to announce the launch of ARGO, the gamified Augmented Reality (AR) location platform. ARGO adds AR enhanced infotainment, commerce, and analytics that drive engagement and commerce at “Destination Venues” like theme parks, resort, shopping malls, as well as in-the-wild. Guests are engaged and incentivized while site operators use ARGO’s real-time dashboard to manage, monitor and analyze their properties and visitors.

RentSpree - Most apartment searches involve numerous resources, multiple applications, and too many added fees. Rather than spending massive amounts of time and money applying for individual Los Angeles apartment rentals with separate companies, they’ve created a streamlined system. Simply fill out one application, pay an inexpensive application fee, and receive a soft credit check, sparing you unnecessary damage to your budget and credit score. Best of all, their one-stop application allows you to spend more time exploring your favorite listings, and gives our renters a distinct advantage in a competitive market.

Tapp That App -  At Tapp That App they’re passionate about finding great apps, but they know it can be difficult. They’ve set out to solve the problem of mobile app discovery by combining social networks with app marketplaces. By doing so, they allow users to satisfy their curiosity and developers to take part in one of the most powerful purchase motivators around: seeing the apps their friends and influencers are using.

Ca$het -  CA$Het is a multi-services platform (MSP) that allows users to identify, curate, and monetize products in movies and TV shows.  We believe that the entertainment industry creates tremendous value by associating characters and products on screen.  The emotional impact created when actors and products interact has been impossible to monetize due to a lack of a suitable mechanism and marketplace.  We aim to change that through our platform. CA$Het provides a mechanism to quickly and accurately identify on screen products while simultaneously creating the marketplace where they can be purchased. (Coming Soon!)

Swoppit - With recycled fashion now “white hot”, Swoppit offers Generation Z women 15-24 the perfect social marketplace. Here, they swap fashion with friends. Swoppit provides Gen-Zers a terrific way to both expand their community and gain access to a far wider selection of style. It’s an easy, fun experience that doesn’t pollute the market. For Gen-Zers, looks count, opinions matter and Swoppit offers them the chance to refresh their closet whenever they like.  Swoppit has been founded by a 16-year-old Gen-Zer that understands the market and is driven to make it a success. (Coming Soon!)

For more information about the Preccelerator® Program, visit www.preccelerator.com

About Stubbs Alderton & Markiles, LLP

Stubbs Alderton & Markiles, LLP is a Southern California based business law firm with robust corporate, public securities, mergers and acquisitions, entertainment, intellectual property, brand protection and business litigation practice groups focusing on the representation of, among others, venture backed emerging growth companies, middle market public companies, large technology companies, entertainment and digital media companies, investors, venture capital funds, investment bankers and underwriters. The firm’s clients represent a broad range of industries with a concentration in the technology, entertainment, videogame, apparel and medical device sectors. The firm’s mission is to provide technically excellent legal services in a consistent, highly-responsive and service-oriented manner with an entrepreneurial and practical business perspective. These principles are the hallmarks of the firm. For more information, visit https://stubbsalderton.com.

About the Preccelerator® Program

The Preccelerator is a novel platform offered to select start-up companies out of the Stubbs Alderton & Markiles, LLP Santa Monica office that provides interim office space, sophisticated legal services, education, networking, mentorship and $250,000 in usable perks from Google Cloud for Startups, Amazon Web Services, and HubSpot among others, with the objective of helping grow a founder’s idea from business concept to funded startup. The program also retains more than 50 active strategic mentors providing free office hours and discounted services, and provides over 50+ educational workshops and networking events each year. The Program expanded in 2017 to accept a greater number of companies in more formalized classes, depending upon where the companies are in their evolutionary growth, expand benefits to accepted companies, and will look to make strategic investments backed by strategic angel investors. To apply to the Preccelerator, visit www.preccelerator.com/application.

Contact:
Heidi Hubbeling
Chief Operating Officer, Preccelerator® Program

310-746-9803

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On behalf of Stubbs Alderton & Markiles thank you to everyone who attended the "Networking for Capital" event with Executive Director of LAVA, Len Lanzi. To those that were unable to make it, the full video from the event can be viewed below.

For more about the Preccelerator® Program or to subscribe to our mailing list for events, contact Heidi Hubbeling, COO at (310) 746-9803 or

Peter Csathy to join Board of Directors of Preccelerator®, lead its investment strategy, and oversee anticipated investments

Stubbs Alderton & Markiles and CREATV Media Announce Strategic Alliance to Provide Comprehensive Service Offering to Digital Media and Technology Companies

SANTA MONICA, CA – JANUARY 24, 2017 – Stubbs Alderton & Markiles, LLP, a leading Southern California business, technology and digital media law firm, today announced that it will expand its successful early stage accelerator, the Preccelerator®, to accept a larger group of digital media and technology companies, significantly expand benefits to incoming startups, and look to make strategic investments in these companies and others.  Peter Csathy, Chairman of CREATV Media, a leading digital media strategic advisory and business development firm, will join the Board of Directors of the Preccelerator to lead its investment strategy and oversee anticipated investments.

“By partnering with Peter, we will grow the firm’s industry leading Preccelerator® into a full-service platform that not only mentors young companies, but also provides smart venture capital and paths to strategic business development and consulting via CREATV Media,” said Scott Alderton, Chairman of the Preccelerator and Managing Partner of Stubbs Alderton & Markiles, LLP. “While the Preccelerator has seen a lot of success, we want to continue to foster the growth of our early stage companies.  By adding more companies, formalizing our class structure, expanding benefits and providing initial seed capital, we will give them a greater shot at success.  With Peter’s vast experience and industry leadership, he will lead the investment strategy for these companies.”

To date, the Preccelerator Program has graduated five classes with the majority of the twenty-two companies being accepted into larger accelerator programs and incubators or successfully raising their seed funding round. Stubbs Alderton & Markiles launched the first-of-its kind program to provide select start-ups with co-working space, education, networking, mentorship and sophisticated legal services, with the objective of helping grow a founder’s idea from business concept to a funded company. To apply to the Preccelerator, visit www.preccelerator.com/application.

“Stubbs Alderton’s reputation, entrepreneurial approach and shared vision in growing today’s digital media and technology market, what I call “Media 2.0”, is one of the many reasons we made this happen,” said Peter Csathy, Chairman of CREATV Media.  “We deeply believe the growing convergence of content and technology is a worldwide addressable market that requires leading business and legal advisors who think “outside the box”, are deeply connected, move at entrepreneurial speed, and provide access to respected thought leaders and ultimately to smart capital.  We aim to bring all of this to our collective client base, and to build CREATV Media and the Preccelerator as launchpad platforms for the world’s next digital media and technology stars.”

The partnership will also look to expand the overall service offering to clients – making available CREATV Media’s deep network of relationships and suite of business development and strategic advisory services and Stubbs Alderton’s deeply-rooted and expanding scope of legal services, led by Greg Akselrud, Chairman of the firm’s Internet, Digital Media and Entertainment practice, and Scott Alderton, Chairman of the Firm’s Venture Capital and Emerging Growth practice.

Stubbs Alderton also announced that Greg Akselrud would join the Board of Directors of the Preccelerator, that Louis Wharton, a law firm partner and current Director of the Preccelerator, would be appointed to President of the Preccelerator, and that Heidi Hubbeling, the law firm’s Director of Marketing and current Director of Operations for the Preccelerator, would be appointed to Chief Operating Officer of the Preccelerator.

About Stubbs Alderton & Markiles, LLP

Stubbs Alderton & Markiles, LLP is a Southern California based business law firm with robust corporate, public securities, mergers and acquisitions, entertainment, intellectual property, brand protection and business litigation practice groups focusing on the representation of, among others, venture backed emerging growth companies, middle market public companies, large technology companies, entertainment and digital media companies, investors, venture capital funds, investment bankers and underwriters. The firm’s clients represent a broad range of industries with a concentration in the technology, entertainment, videogame, apparel and medical device sectors. The firm’s mission is to provide technically excellent legal services in a consistent, highly-responsive and service-oriented manner with an entrepreneurial and practical business perspective. These principles are the hallmarks of the firm. For more information, visit https://stubbsalderton.com.

About the Preccelerator® Program

The Preccelerator® is a novel platform offered to select start-up companies out of the Stubbs Alderton & Markiles, LLP Santa Monica office that provides interim office space, sophisticated legal services, education, networking, mentorship and $250,000 in usable perks from Google Cloud for Startups, Amazon Web Services, and HubSpot among others, with the objective of helping grow a founder’s idea from business concept to funded startup. The program also retains more than 50 active strategic mentors providing free office hours and discounted services, and provides over 50+ educational workshops and networking events each year. The expanded program will accept a greater number of companies in more formalized classes, depending upon where the companies are in their evolutionary growth, expand benefits to accepted companies, and will look to make strategic investments backed by strategic angel investors. To apply to the Preccelerator, visit www.preccelerator.com/application.

About CREATV Media

CREATV Media is a leading digital media and technology focused advisory, consulting and business development firm with offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, New York City, Austin and Germany.  The firm’s clients span the digital media and tech ecosystems – from the most innovative startups, to the most storied media companies and brands.  The firm uses proven, proprietary methodologies – together with exclusive insights, access and market intelligence – to accelerate Media 2.0-related opportunities and transformational growth.  The firm also frequently works with buyers and sellers to maximize M&A – positioning them to achieve the best possible outcomes, identifying potential targets and connecting them to key decision-makers, helping to structure and diligence potential transactions, and advising them every step of the way both pre and post transaction.  The firm also organizes, programs and leads customized workshops, live events, pilot programs and start-up innovation labs and demo days.  The firm’s ethos of fearless innovation is best summed up by its slogan “Media. Unboxed.”  For more information, visit CREATV Media.

____________________

Contact:

Stubbs Alderton & Markiles, LLP
Heidi Hubbeling
(310) 746-9803

CREATV Media
Andrea Nunn
(323) 363-9932

 

Congratulations to Preccelerator Program company Ballerz World for their feature in Black Enterprise this week, discussing how the desire to pursue their passions—basketball and art—led them to technology and entrepreneurship.  Founded by Navy veterans Kyle E. Cox and Nicholas Damuth, Ballerz World is the single largest marketplace that is dedicated to all things basketball.

They help their worldwide users find basketball courts, as well as connect and play basketball with one another using their geo-location technology and over 12,000 pre-loaded basketball courts in every country, all while providing their users an opportunity to view and share content, in addition to buying discounted basketball gear via the in-app store portal. Download the Ballerz World app here. 

To read the full article click here. 

For more information about the Preccelerator Program, contact Heidi Hubbeling at (310) 746-9803 or .

SAM Client Hyperator VR Innovation Labs, a Santa Monica Virtual Reality company, announces the launch of their first VR games on Steam.  Hyperator’s first VR game is Star Kingdom: The Elements. Players learn how to control and wield elemental energy and magic based on their astrological alignment the day they were born.  Players must keep their planets illuminated and protected from the dark fog.

Their second launch is timely for this holiday season.  Holiday Simulator - Wacky Sleigh Ride tests your skills to see if you have what it takes to deliver all the presents before the sun comes up.  Choose between tossing presents or lumps of coal in this comedic journey in the north pole.  It was launched on the Steam network for the HTC Vive and the Oculus Rift.  The game will be released on the Oculus store, just in time for the holiday season.

You can find all Hyperator games on Steam here.

Behind every great startup is a great team.  SAM Preccelerator graduates, Charlie Trinh and Jude Belanger, the founders of Hyperator VR Innovation Lab, have been recognized by the CA state senator Ben Allen for their contribution to the enhancement of the LA tech community.  Every second Saturday of each month, they host a Premium Virtual Reality event at Expert Dojo in Santa Monica where users can test Hyperator’s VR games, and those of other developers.  Also, they have a Virtual Reality Apprenticeship Program that lowers the barrier to entry for new virtual reality programmers.  The Premium Virtual Reality events and Apprenticeship Program can be found on Eventbrite.  For more information about Hyperator VR, visit www.hyperator.com

Congratulations to SAM Preccelerator® Program's company Napkin Finance for being featured in a PopSugar article this week. The article, entitled "American Hustle: How the Next President Will Affect Your Finances" uses Napkin Finance's easy to understand charts to explain how the upcoming election results will affect your personal finances.

To view the full article click here.
To learn more about Napkin Finance click here.

For more about the Preccelerator Program, contact HeidiHubbeling, Director at (310) 746-9803 or

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SAM Preccelerator® Program company BallParq, a web-based platform for building startup financial models for entrepreneurs, universities and incubators, has launched a Crowdfunder campaign with the mission of raising $300,000. To view their campaign, visit https://www.crowdfunder.com/ballparq/invest

Ballparq is a web-based platform that lets entrepreneurs create engaging financial model through an easy-to-use interactive process. The entrepreneur is able to demonstrate financial sophistication by telling the story of their business from the bottom up.

For more information about BallParq, contact founder Carey Chico at .  To learn more about the Preccelerator® Program, contact Heidi Hubbeling at or (310) 746-9803.

 

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Napkin Finance provided by CardBlanc, Inc

Congratulations to SAM Preccelerator® Program company Napkin Finance, a subsidiary of CardBlanc. Napkin Finance has teamed up with the White House to promote financial literacy among students and young adults, and assist them with preparing for college and Federal Student Aid.  This is part of President Obama and the First Lady's Reach Higher, Better Make Room and National College Signing Day initiatives.

The White House just released the Fact Sheet "Celebrating Progress in Expanding College Opportunity for Every Student on College Signing Day."  In regards to Napkin Finance it states, "Napkin Finance breaks down financial concepts in a simple, engaging, and visual way in 30 seconds or less. Most importantly, it teaches teens and young adults how to make smart money decisions and build a lifetime of financial well-being. For the First Lady’s Better Make Room initiative, Napkin Finance has created a course with “napkins” that prepare students for the financial challenges of a college education. The Better Make Room collaboration with Napkin Finance will inspire and empower teens to fill out the FAFSA, learn more about options for paying for college, understand how student loans work, and encourage ongoing engagement with the Reach Higher platform."

To read the full Fact Sheet, click here.

To learn more about Napkin Finance visit: http://www.napkinfinance.com

For more information about the Preccelerator® Program, contact Heidi Hubbeling at or (310) 746-9803.

 

Stubbs Alderton & Markiles, LLP is one of the leading start-up law firms in Southern California. We pioneered a fixed fee start-up package making the formation and organization of your start-up as seamless as possible. Our Preccelerator Program is a platform offered to select start-up companies out of our Santa Monica office that provides interim office space and sophisticated legal services, with the objective of helping you grow your idea from business concept to funded startup. The Preccelerator Program provides free co-working space and other perks for 5-6 promising young startups.

The perks include:

For more information about the Preccelerator Program, visit https://stubbsalderton.com/preccelerator or contact Heidi Hubbeling at (310) 746-9803 or

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