Both Sides of the Table

JULY 16, 2010

LP’s who invest in funds are typically university endowments, public & private pension funds, insurance companies, large corporations and very high net worth individuals called “family offices.&# To give you an indication of how bad, for example, university endowments are suffering check out this chart. That’s OK.

LP 311

LP Technical Review Early Stage Silicon Valley 311

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 25, 2012

Money to build the business is the number one challenge for most startups. A large percentage of startups never apply to either. You need to explore more common and more productive approaches for getting your startup moving forward. Self-funding is the preferred source of cash for your startup – if you can do it.

Technical Review 257

Technical Review Bootstrapping Venture Capital Incubator 257

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 1, 2010

Money to build the business is the number one challenge for most startups. In reality, there are multiple more productive approaches you should explore in getting your startup moving forward. Yet, I find that startup founders often fixate on one or two sources, often to the detriment of their business. Startup incubators.

Technical Review 149

Technical Review Bootstrapping Startup Venture Capital 149

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 27, 2021

contributes more than $25 billion to fund 70,000 startups every year. In fact, there are a few key sites to help you find angels, including AngelList and Gust , but these don’t tell you very much about how angels work, and how to find the right ones for your startup. Early stage research and development won’t excite angels.

Search 317

Search Accredited Investor Angel Investor Venture Capital 317

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 19, 2017

The Basics The starting point — the 101 — is knowing the difference between gross burn and net burn. Gross burn is your cost base and net burn is the difference between your revenue and costs. GAAP Net Income, which at times isn’t a good reflection of cash burn). years of cash runway, which is too much for a startup.

Burn Rate 212

Burn Rate Startup .Net Venture Capital 212

Gust

JUNE 17, 2012

Money to build the business is the number one challenge for most startups. A large percentage of startups never apply to either. You need to explore more common and more productive approaches for getting your startup moving forward. Self-funding is the preferred source of cash for your startup – if you can do it.

Technical Review 164

Technical Review Bootstrapping Venture Capital Incubator 164

Gust

NOVEMBER 15, 2011

The Risk Factor Summation Method the fifth methodology for estimating the pre-money valuation of pre-revenue companies we have described in recent posts. The Risk Factor Summation Method, described by the Ohio TechAngels, considers a much broader set of factors in determining the pre-money valuation of pre-revenue companies.

Valuation 102

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Ohio Early Stage 102

YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 7, 2015

Net-net: Customers expect seamless experiences across all channels and devices. While apps excel at cultivating customer loyalty, the web remains the main engine driving mobile traffic and revenue, with the mobile web contributing 95% of traffic growth to retail sites, versus just 5% by apps. And tablet shoppers generate over 2.2

Mobile 100

Mobile Software Review eCommerce .Net 100

Austin Startup

DECEMBER 17, 2017

This the 21st installment of Startup Decision Making will conclude my writing until after the Holidays. I will always remember his pre-speech pep talk: “Dyer, your entire net worth rides on not screwing this up.” Hurricane Irma had a major negative revenue impact on one whose fall book of business was mostly in Florida.

Silicon Valley 48

Silicon Valley Atlanta Software Review Early Stage 48

David Teten

DECEMBER 16, 2015

The most common financial metrics ffVC asks companies to compare vs. budget are: Gross Revenue. Net Income (Loss). For early stage companies, the metrics that matter might typically center around activation, engagement and retention. Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR). Metrics for Certain Categories of Startups.

Metrics 60

Metrics Analytics Balance Sheet .Net 60

Duct Tape Marketing

NOVEMBER 2, 2023

02:06] Can you share your experience starting with an early-stage company (Hubspot) that eventually went public? [07:11] At the time when I was joining, I was running a startup of my own and making a living but not going anywhere. That's hundred grand annual revenue. And I did that for several years, about six years.

Metrics 75

Metrics Analytics Forecast Software Review 75

David Teten

AUGUST 21, 2019

Or should they look to one of the new wave of Revenue-Based Investors? Revenue-Based Investing (“RBI”) is a new form of VC financing, distinct from the preferred equity structure most VCs use. For more background, see Revenue-Based Investing: A New Option for Founders who Care About Control. But should they? Aligned incentives.

Revenue 60

Revenue Liquidation Preference Equity Cofounder 60

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 26, 2012

So what magic can the founders use to justify a $4M valuation (or even the $1M valuation) at this early stage? Here are the components and “rules of thumb” that I recommend to every startup: Place a fair market value on all physical assets (asset approach). Early customers and contracts in progress add value.

Valuation 270

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation NPV Intellectual Property 270

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 1, 2016

While there is much discussion about VCs starting to pull back on their investments into startups, the LPs we surveyed don’t expect to slow the pace of investment into VC funds themselves – at least for the foreseeable future. That’s money that fuels our startup ecosystems.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital LP Silicon Valley Marketing 150

BeyondVC

JANUARY 3, 2019

For the more advanced enterprises who have migrated to the cloud, this will be a year of net new technology and building applications. Along these lines, we are starting to hear serverless more and more from the Fortune 500 and see this trend reflected in the sales pipeline at iopipe which has gone from mostly startups to larger companies.

Stealth 79

Stealth Advisory Board Cloud Virginia 79

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 16, 2015

But many have no insight or connections to the ethereal angel investment community, which actually funds more startups then all other venture sources combined (over $25 billion annually). Each has met legal securities minimums for net worth and professionalism, to reduce the risk to entrepreneurs. Most share expertise as well as money.

Angel Investor 120

Angel Investor Accredited Investor Venture Capital Startup 120

Version One Ventures

JULY 22, 2014

At the same time, funding opportunities have expanded for early-stage start-ups. While the top of the funnel has grown with all the angel and early-stage activity, the bottom of the funnel is still roughly the same size (about 10-20 billion dollar companies/year). But this boom landscape might change soon.

Finance 167

Finance Seed Money Bootstrapping Angel Investor 167

Venture Chronicles

MAY 26, 2010

Back in March, Ben Horowitz of Andreessen Horowitz wrote a post called The Case For The Fat Startup, where he outlined some of the reasons why a fledging company might want to consider taking a large amount of funding — a strategy that contrasts with the ‘lean startup’ model that has become common in Silicon Valley.

Lean 40

Lean Early Stage Valuation Startup 40

Berkonomics

AUGUST 3, 2023

Some businesses require very little capital and the founder can self-finance the enterprise and retain 100% of its ownership and control from ignition through liquidity event (startup through sale). And even with the significant cost of credit card debt, many entrepreneurs aggressively use existing cards to finance a startup.

Private Equity 118

Private Equity Valuation Cap Table Accredited Investor 118

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 6, 2010

So what magic can the founders use to justify a $4M valuation (or even the $1M valuation) at this early stage? Here are the components and “rules of thumb” that I recommend to every startup: Place a fair market value on all physical assets (asset approach). Early customers and contracts in progress add value.

Valuation 234

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation NPV Startup 234

Gust

NOVEMBER 18, 2012

So what magic can the founders use to justify a $4M valuation (or even the $1M valuation) at this early stage? Here are the components and “rules of thumb” that I recommend to every startup: Place a fair market value on all physical assets (asset approach). Early customers and contracts in progress add value.

Valuation 187

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation NPV Intellectual Property 187

SoCal CTO

MARCH 22, 2007

I have to say that it has netted far more than I would have thought. Technology Advisor Technology Roles in Startups Pricing Customer Acquisition Sunk Costs and More -. ► February (2) CTO Founders / Cofounders Part-Time Startup CTO? . ► February (2) CTO Founders / Cofounders Part-Time Startup CTO?

Technical Cofounder 150

Technical Cofounder Southern California Los Angeles CTO Hire 150

Startup Lessons Learned

NOVEMBER 17, 2008

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Monday, November 17, 2008 The four kinds of work, and how to get them done: part one Ive written before about some of the advantages startups have when they are very small, like the benefits of having a pathetically small number of customers. A "startup within the startup" feeling is a good thing.

San Francisco 88

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment DC 88

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2011

So what magic can the founders use to justify a $4M valuation (or even the $1M valuation) at this early stage? Here are the components and “rules of thumb” that I recommend to every startup: Place a fair market value on all physical assets (asset approach). Early customers and contracts in progress add value.

Pre-Money Valuation 246

Pre-Money Valuation Valuation NPV Intellectual Property 246

Startup Lessons Learned

OCTOBER 23, 2013

Guest post by Lisa Regan, writer for The Lean Startup Conference. Analytics spark more questions and discussion than almost any other aspect of the Lean Startup method. It provides a basic introduction to analytics as they apply to Lean Startup, including sections on what metrics to use and how to interpret them.

Analytics 167

Analytics Lean Widget Metrics 167

YoungUpstarts

SEPTEMBER 7, 2014

For most startups, one of the most exciting and frustrating phases is deciding how to price their offering for their first paying customer. Pricing is especially tricky for enterprise startups because there’s very little data available, and new entrepreneurs often price their product or service way below its value. Revenue Growth.

Metrics 219

Metrics Churn Rate Startup Acquisition 219

Hippoland

DECEMBER 4, 2016

Roughly speaking, there are 4 stages of early stage investing based on traction: Pre-seed: < $100k net revenue run rate Seed: $100k-$500k net revenue run rate Post-seed: $500k-$2M net revenue run rate Series A: $2M+ net revenue run rate Note: Your ability to raise is NOT just about your traction.

Silicon Valley 48

Silicon Valley .Net Revenue Later Stage 48

The Equity Kicker

JANUARY 10, 2020

Nic Brisbourne is Managing Partner at Forward Partners, the UK’s leading early-stage VC, currently supporting the UK’s next generation of AI, e-commerce and marketplace businesses. I think we differ a little from the rest of the industry, though, particularly with our focus on early stage companies.

Partner 68

Partner Early Stage Portfolio Metrics 68

Early Growth Financial Services

JUNE 24, 2015

Or maybe VC funding is an option, but you don’t want to part with a large chunk of your startup equity. Angel investors should absolutely be considered as a startup funding option. You haven’t reached critical mass to attract VCs. While some angels won’t … Continue reading →

Angel Investor 28

Angel Investor Early Stage Startup Equity 28

Up and Running

MAY 9, 2016

Census Bureau, in 2014, the construction industry as a whole generated $960 billion in annual revenue, and according to the U.S. Throughout this startup guide, we’ll discuss each in more detail. There may be times, in the early stages of your business, where that’s what you have to do to pay the bills.

SBA 60

SBA Demand Forecast Balance Sheet 60

ConversionXL

SEPTEMBER 28, 2017

Macro conversions are the primary goal of your website, to convert user traffic into revenue. On the other side of the coin, micro conversions are actions a user completes that are either on the path to revenue-generating macro conversions or not directly related to revenue-generation at all. 1) Revenue per visitor.

Metrics 121

Metrics Acquisition Conversion Revenue 121

This is going to be BIG.

JULY 8, 2013

On top of that, anytime I talk to anyone who wants to get involved in startups but isn''t sure what they want to do, inevitably, I hear, "And then I was thinking maybe I should look into venture capital, too.". That''s kind of like what it''s like being on board with these companies after you make an early stage investment.

Venture Capital 167

Venture Capital Early Stage Portfolio Private Equity 167

Berkonomics

JUNE 8, 2017

Some businesses require very little capital and the founder can self-finance the enterprise and retain 100% of its ownership and control from ignition through liquidity event (startup through sale). And even with the significant cost of credit card debt, many entrepreneurs aggressively use existing cards to finance a startup.

Private Equity 106

Private Equity Valuation Cap Table Accredited Investor 106

Hippoland

AUGUST 16, 2018

Especially at the early stages. But outcome-differentiation is probably lacking – people who use Mailchimp use it to increase revenue by selling more products / services via their emails. Or, a lot of investors call themselves “early stage” investors and aren’t good fits for pre-seed companies.

Sales Cycle 54

Sales Cycle Differentiation Early Stage Bootstrapping 54

Up and Running

MAY 15, 2018

Innovative products and business models are the foundations of a promising startup. However, you’ll also need a steady flow of funds, especially in the early stages, to turn those ideas into reality. Your business model must show the potential to increase the revenue with minimal expenditure in the coming months or years.

SBA 84

SBA Angel Investor Technical Review Startup 84

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

I mean, it’s easy to talk to very little bands and just say I feel like the amount of revenue for you is very little. And that’s really important for an early stage start-up to be able to move as fast as possible etc., In this episode, we share three more interviews from our AZ Disruptors meeting last fall.

Cofounder 199

Cofounder Technical Review Chicago Technical Cofounder 199

Hippoland

AUGUST 16, 2018

Especially at the early stages. But outcome-differentiation is probably lacking – people who use Mailchimp use it to increase revenue by selling more products / services via their emails. Or, a lot of investors call themselves “early stage” investors and aren’t good fits for pre-seed companies.

Sales Cycle 48

Sales Cycle Differentiation Early Stage Bootstrapping 48