Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 26, 2020

There are two reasons to raise money: You have a killer idea that is only partially validated, that you think can get to $50M+ of revenue in 5 years with 80%+ gross margins (if margins are lower, you need a lot more revenue)and you need money to get to product-market fit, or. Not all startups need outside investment to grow.

Cofounder 429

Cofounder Seed Stage Valuation Metrics 429

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 26, 2012

Once you have a potential investor excited about your team, your product, and your company, the investor will inevitably ask “What is your company’s valuation?” How much is NewCo worth to investors at this point (pre-money valuation)? This is the most concrete valuation element, usually called the asset approach.

Valuation 270

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation NPV Intellectual Property 270

Steve Blank

MARCH 17, 2020

Next, take a look at your actual revenue each month – not forecast, but real revenue coming in each month. Subtract your monthly gross burn rate from your monthly revenue to get your net burn rate. All your assumptions about customers, sales cycle and most importantly, revenue, burn rate and runway are no longer true.

Burn Rate 436

Burn Rate Startup Valuation Sales Cycle 436

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 24, 2021

It has historically been the case that VCs would rather fund the promise of 100x in a company with almost no revenue than the reality of a company growing at 50% but doing $20+ million in sales. Case in point, Procore just went public and is trading at an $11 billion valuation. Instagram selling to Facebook. Maker Studios?—?sold

Venture Capital 363

Venture Capital LP Valuation Later Stage 363

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 25, 2012

Just don’t quit your day job before your new company is producing revenue. Use this approach before you have a real valuation, a real product, or any real customers. If you don't know any “high net worth” individuals, use your advisors to find them. Friends and family. Angel investors. Venture capital.

Technical Review 257

Technical Review Bootstrapping Venture Capital Incubator 257

Cracking the Code

JANUARY 22, 2009

Building Your SaaS Sales Compensation Plan. Compensating the sales force is a difficult task and the key is usually to keep things simple, so that each sales rep knows what he needs to optimize to make more money at the end of the quarter. 1 of MRR generates $12 of annual revenue, so $1 commission equals 1/12=8.3%

Software Review 91

Software Review Clawback Sales Salary 91

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 6, 2010

Once you have a potential investor excited about your team, your product, and your company, the investor will inevitably ask “What is your company’s valuation?” How much is NewCo worth to investors at this point (pre-money valuation)? This is the most concrete valuation element, usually called the asset approach.

Valuation 234

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation NPV Startup 234

Gust

NOVEMBER 18, 2012

Once you have a potential investor excited about your team, your product, and your company, the investor will inevitably ask “What is your company’s valuation?” How much is NewCo worth to investors at this point (pre-money valuation)? This is the most concrete valuation element, usually called the asset approach.

Valuation 187

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation NPV Intellectual Property 187

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 16, 2011

Just don’t quit your day job before your new company is producing revenue. Use this approach before you have a real valuation, a real product, or any real customers. If you don't know any “high net worth” individuals, use your advisors to find them. Friends and family. Angel investors. Venture capital.

Technical Review 233

Technical Review Bootstrapping Startup Venture Capital 233

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). Better yet, the valuation of your enterprise is often higher than if the same investment were taken from a professional investor.

Private Equity 118

Private Equity Valuation Cap Table Accredited Investor 118

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 17, 2020

There is an exemption from the requirements that these investors be accredited with net worth or income minimums to qualify legally to invest in your company. Your principal focus may be on the valuation of the company before the investment is made, which determines the amount of the company you will retain after the investment.

Equity 62

Equity Finance Liquidity Event Angel Groups 62

ConversionXL

OCTOBER 22, 2018

To get marketing a seat at the table and prove that it can drive revenue and pipeline, we’ve become borderline obsessed with numbers. To reframe marketing as an investment rather than a cost center, we must connect all the dots to revenue—but it’s hard to do without the right tools and models to get started. form fills).

B2B 131

B2B Marketing Analytics Campaign 131

The Startup Magazine

APRIL 24, 2020

Whether you’re interested in selling a website you built from scratch, or want to sell your Amazon-based B2C brand, there are many different baseline factors that go into determining an appropriate website valuation number. While it’s true that valuations can get quite technical, the basics are relatively easy to understand.

eCommerce 91

eCommerce Valuation B2C Revenue 91

David Teten

DECEMBER 3, 2019

I previously posted a detailed presentation with sales technology tools useful for B2B sales. Many VC funds rely on general-purpose CRM and sales funnel solutions like Copper , Pipedrive, Salesforce , Streak , and ZenDesk. Lighter Capital, a Revenue Based Investing VC, offers a Cost of Capital Calculator. 7) Negotiate .

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Software Review Analytics Private Equity 78

Gust

JUNE 17, 2012

Just don’t quit your day job before your new company is producing revenue. Use this approach before you have a real valuation, a real product, or any real customers. If you don’t know any “high net worth” individuals, use your advisors to find them. Friends and family. Angel investors. Venture capital.

Technical Review 164

Technical Review Bootstrapping Venture Capital Incubator 164

Austin Startup

OCTOBER 15, 2017

Will his digital presence measurably affect sales of his newest book What Unites Us ? What seems to be the best way to create customers and revenue may result in a business model that is out of vogue with the investment world and shortchanges you on enterprise valuation. What happens to his digital property when he passes?

Technical Review 48

Technical Review Software Review Nevada Silicon Valley 48

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 1, 2010

Just don’t quit your day job before your new company is producing revenue. Use this approach before you have a real valuation, a real product, or any real customers. If you don't know any “high net worth” individuals, use your advisors to find them. Friends and family. Angel investors. Venture capital.

Technical Review 149

Technical Review Bootstrapping Startup Venture Capital 149

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 19, 2017

That is, how much should your company be willing to lose in cash every month as you make investments in staff and equipment that funds technology, sales, marketing and management. The Basics The starting point — the 101 — is knowing the difference between gross burn and net burn. You start from the basics, which is if you raise $2.5

Burn Rate 212

Burn Rate Startup .Net Venture Capital 212

ConversionXL

AUGUST 11, 2021

A sponsorship strategy should cover five areas: Assets Audience data Asset valuation Activations Market identification. Sponsors will have different reasons for backing your project: sales, lead generation, brand awareness, product launches , corporate social responsibility, etc. Asset valuation. Audience data.

Audience 139

Audience Social Media Email Ruby 139

Duct Tape Marketing

FEBRUARY 3, 2022

John Jantsch (00:00): This episode of the duct tape marketing podcast is brought to you by the sales podcast, hosted by will Barron brought to you by the HubSpot podcast network. Look, if you work in sales, wanna learn how to sell or just peek at the latest sales news. What does your sales and marketing team look like?

Entrepreneur 79

Entrepreneur Technical Review Cofounder Valuation 79

The Next Web

FEBRUARY 27, 2014

One of the questions I get, more often than not, is what is the appropriate valuation of my business. multiple interested investors competing for the deal, and driving up your valuation in the process). Never have an investor think they are the only investor pursuing your business, as that will hurt your valuation.

Valuation 167

Valuation Forecast Seed Stage .Net 167

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2011

Once you have a potential investor excited about your team, your product, and your company, the investor will inevitably ask “What is your company’s valuation?” How much is NewCo worth to investors at this point (pre-money valuation)? This is the most concrete valuation element, usually called the asset approach.

Pre-Money Valuation 246

Pre-Money Valuation Valuation NPV Intellectual Property 246

Agile VC

NOVEMBER 9, 2015

There’s been ample coverage in the popular press of course highlighting everything from the company’s revenue growth, lack of profitability, and the well-publicized fact that founder/CEO Jack Dorsey is also CEO of Twitter so would theoretically be running two public companies simultaneously. Revenue Composition. Starbucks Deal.

IPO 165

IPO .Net Revenue Acquisition 165

Tim Keane

MARCH 9, 2011

How to prepare a sales forecast for a business plan » March 09, 2011. Example one: Sustainable net operating income with some growth in a stable market.    If plenty of cash flow regardless of plan for sale/retention of business: Senior bank debt based on cash flow coverage and new assets. 

Finance 83

Finance Bootstrapping Startup Equity 83

Up and Running

AUGUST 29, 2014

A study co-sponsored by Crawford International and HR.com in Palo Alto, California in 2006 found that “companies that create adaptive corporate cultures outperform companies with non-adaptive cultures by a factor of 900 to 1 as measured by long term net income and stock price growth.” Are sales growing or shrinking?

Small Business 87

Small Business CPA Government North America 87

abovethecrowd.com

JUNE 2, 2021

Would that help retention and NPS (Net Promote Score)? The punchline of Chris’ argument is in the highlighted box, where he argues Procore is better off (having done an IPO and “as a result” of choosing the IPO), because Procore ended up with a valuation the day after the IPO of 20.5X Would they be loyal? Damn straight it would.

IPO 82

IPO Customer Matching Silicon Valley 82

Up and Running

OCTOBER 3, 2018

Financial Summary: Explain your business model, startup costs, revenues, and liabilities to the company. Tailor your marketing and sales plan to attract more people like your ideal customer. Components of this section include: Your marketing and sales plan. Marketing and sales plan. Number of visits per sale.

El Paso 61

El Paso Business Plan Technical Review Forecast 61

David Teten

AUGUST 6, 2015

financial statement summaries, valuation analysis, ratio analysis, etc.) A model that shows X% growth over time with no embedded correlation to sales/marketing is a huge red flag. A more mature organization may project future revenues based on their actual sales pipeline, with a probability adjusted percentage based on stage.

Balance Sheet 60

Balance Sheet Software Review Forecast Acquisition 60

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 12, 2010

That’s because a company’s value is a composite of all of the quantitative and qualitative factors that comprise a company: revenues, expenses, risks, growth prospects, quality of the management team, competitive advantages, strength of the intellectual property, and so forth. In business, one important measure is the value of the company.

Intellectual Property 223

Intellectual Property .Net Valuation Distribution 223

The Next Web

DECEMBER 16, 2012

Once you decide to get your site in shape for a sale , it’s important to value it properly. That’s given us insight into which valuation methods are good, helping site owners clinch that all-important deal, and which fall short, leaving sites unsold and their owners disappointed. Common methodologies. Asset approach.

Valuation 128

Valuation NPV Net Present Value IRR 128

Up and Running

AUGUST 19, 2014

An angel investor is a high net worth individual who invests their own money into startup companies in the hopes of gaining a return on their money. Below you’ll hear tips from angels who come from all walks of life—from an angel by day, comedian by night, to a sales recruiter and trainer angel. Tweet This Tip. “I’m

Angel Investor 161

Angel Investor Technical Review Due Diligence Startup 161

Cracking the Code

JULY 6, 2007

I was surprised today when I went through the NetSuite IPO filling (S1) to see that it looked very much like any Enterprise software document - not a single mention of churn or % of recurring revenues. The reason for this difference, from an investor perspective, is that the SaaS model provides far clearer visibility into future revenues.

Software Review 66

Software Review Metrics Valuation Technical Review 66

Agile VC

AUGUST 9, 2012

We also know lots of valid reasons why the company could be valued at far less than it once was including: Stalled Growth – revenue essentially flat over the last 4 quarters. The “value” case goes like this: A) Valuation Net of Cash – Zynga’s market cap sits at around $2.2-2.3B as of this post.

Stock 160

Stock LBO .Net Valuation 160

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

JUNE 27, 2011

ME: Sure, but maybe that competitor would further validate and grow the market, which could increase your sales and make you even more attractive to a buyer! “Net net,&# some people say. They know there’s a minimum valuation, under which you’re not interested. That’s post-tax, post earn-out.

Sales 235

Sales Term Sheet Stock Deal Structure 235

Cracking the Code

OCTOBER 10, 2008

Only after reaching $1M in CMRR should you consider hiring European sales and services execs behind customer demand. Be prepared to cross the desert - SaaS requires R&D and sales expense up front for a multi-year stream of revenue, so it demands enough investment capital to fund 4+ years of runway. at 11:09 AM. Great list!

Software Review 48

Software Review North America Europe Metrics 48

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). Better yet, the valuation of your enterprise is often higher than if the same investment were taken from a professional investor.

Private Equity 106

Private Equity Valuation Cap Table Accredited Investor 106

abovethecrowd.com

APRIL 20, 2016

One key to this population growth has been the remarkable ease of the Unicorn fundraising process: Pick a new valuation well above your last one, put together a presentation deck, solicit offers, and watch the hundreds of million of dollars flow into your bank account. By January of 2016, that number had ballooned to 229.

IPO 40

IPO Term Sheet Silicon Valley Valuation 40