JumpStart Blog

Angel Investing: 10 Key Facts To Know

Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Posted By Lynn-Ann Gries

Angel investments differ from other investments in a very important way: Investors—whether acting individually or as part of a group—are putting their own hard-earned money into a company, in hopes of receiving a return on investment.

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How Women Entrepreneurs Succeed in the Midwest

Monday, January 28, 2013
Posted By Lynn-Ann Gries

Lately, it seems like women tech entrepreneurs and their companies have a higher profile than ever.

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With Organized Angels on Their Side, Can Start-ups Really Start Up Anywhere in the Country?

Friday, June 15, 2012
Posted By Lynn-Ann Gries

Raise your hand if you realized the Midwest has become a hotbed of angel group activity—and a well-respected resource of nationally respected investment knowledge.

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Former Fly-over State Lands Venture Capitalists with Fund of Funds

Friday, February 24, 2012
Posted By Lynn-Ann Gries

It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of the Ohio Capital Fund (OCF), a fund of funds helping to spur venture investment in the State of Ohio.

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A 'B2B' Gold Rush?

Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Posted By Lynn-Ann Gries

Investors rekindled their love for consumer Internet companies this year, including those with online search, entertainment, and social media offerings, causing some to begin worrying about the dreaded "B" words. You know, words like "boom," "bubble," and perhaps the scariest of all ... "bust."

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Women Entrepreneurs: It's Your Time

Monday, November 07, 2011
Posted By Lynn-Ann Gries

I am a venture investor and a former investment banker. I'm also a woman. At my first job, there were equal numbers of male and female trainees...

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Cleantech Startups are Expensive, but Worth It

Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Posted By Lynn-Ann Gries

The NVCA recently released its Q2 data and invited me to participate in their quarterly press call. I was asked for my opinion on, among other things, the health of the cleantech sector.

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A Little Something for Everyone

Monday, July 18, 2011
Posted By Lynn-Ann Gries

Cool, innovative new programs to kick start entrepreneurship and fund new companies are popping up across the nation. Northeast Ohio might not be home to a Y-Combinator, TechStars or AlphaLab, but we have a lot of diverse funding (and mentoring) sources right here.

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Websites Connect Startups With Investors, But Won't Replace The Real Thing

Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Posted By Lynn-Ann Gries

To help fill the gap in funding, online platforms have emerged in recent years to connect entrepreneurs with investors. These Internet-age "yentas" extend entrepreneurs' reach and enable them to access resources well beyond their geography.

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Are We (Finally) Heading to the Emerald City?

Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Posted By Lynn-Ann Gries

I just read the National Venture Capital Association’s report on the national M&A and IPO activity for 2010. In summary, 2010 had 72 venture-backed IPOs for the year and over 400 M&A deals, representing a total value of over $25 billion. While we’re not quite back to 2007 levels, we’re sure heading in the right direction.

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What Changes Do You Want to See in VC?

Monday, July 19, 2010
Posted By Lynn-Ann Gries

As you point out, big funds are not necessarily the most successful funds. I'd like to see venture turn back to its roots of smaller funds, managed by a handful of close-knit partners who have relevant backgrounds in the industries in which they are investing. Smaller funds mean smaller management fees

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Entrepreneurs: We've Got 7 Questions for You

Friday, March 19, 2010
Posted By Lynn-Ann Gries

Every once in a while you happen upon a blog post that sums up everything you've been thinking in an especially neat and tidy fashion. Here is one of those posts written by David Shen, formerly with Yahoo and Apple and now a venture investor. In it he shares seven questions that he typically asks when he meets an entrepreneur,

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Midwesterners: Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

Friday, February 26, 2010
Posted By Lynn-Ann Gries

Last month the Brookings Institute published a report, authored by Frank Samuel, called "Turning up the Heat: How Venture Capital Can Help Fuel the Economic Transformation of the Great Lakes Region." The 54 page report makes the case for increasing the amount of pure venture capital in the Great Lakes region as well as the amount of funding for those organizations that essentially "prime the pump" for VCs.

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Demystifying the World of Venture Capital via Blogs and Twitter

Friday, January 15, 2010
Posted By Lynn-Ann Gries

Last week, Jeff Bussgang has a very interesting post on peHUB: Why Do VCs Blog (and Tweet)? As you know, JumpStart is blogging and tweeting too - for many of the same reasons Jeff mentions. It's great to hear the perspectives of other VCs as the industry continues to change. I shared a few of my thoughts on the topic too:

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The Twelve Blogs of Christmas

Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Posted By Lynn-Ann Gries

There are a bunch of great blogs out there that discuss entrepreneurship and early-stage venture investing. These blogs have great original content and, most often, link to other great blogs and relevant content. Inevitably, while reading, I find myself far away from the original blog post I started on via click-through after click-through. I encourage anyone who is thinking of starting a business or raising capital from angels or VCs to spend a day or two (or twelve!) trolling through the following blogs. You will learn a ton about the industry, how VCs think, what they look for, etc. The bloggers I've chosen below keep their content fresh, timely, and relevant. Enjoy.

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by Lynn-Ann Gries

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