Ben's Blog

JULY 16, 2013

You probably thought that valuations would be roughly the same as they were the last time you raised money. 3/31/1998: 30.8. 3/31/1999: 49.7. And those are big companies with real earnings, so you can imagine how a private company’s valuation might fluctuate. But they most certainly are not. 3/29/1996: 22.3.

Down Round 78

Down Round Marketing Preferred Stock Post-Money Valuation 78

finance.fortune.cnn.com

AUGUST 21, 2012

FORTUNE -- Its no secret that venture capitalists were hit hard by last decades dotcom bust, considering that median returns for 1998-2001 vintage funds are all underwater. The information is based on part of a confidential year-end 2011 investment report distributed to investors in a fund-of-funds that made commitments between 1999 and 2001.

Naming 49

Naming Term Sheet Private Equity Equity 49

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 23, 2012

Yes, it’s true that FOMO (fear of missing out) is driving some irrational behavior and valuations amongst uber competitive deals and well-financed VCs. In 1998 there were around 850 VC funds and by 2000 there were 2,300. In 1998 it was 150 million, 1999 250 million and by 2000 it had crossed 350 million.

Venture Capital 347

Venture Capital Technical Review LP Mobile 347

Sophia Perl of Wisdom

OCTOBER 16, 2011

In 1999, 80% of the portfolio went out of business with him commenting, “Thank G*d we invested in Google” SV Angel investing priority is 1) idea, 2) people, then 3) market size. For $3-5M company valuations, they usually own 1-2% of the company and when there is liquidity (e.g., They invest an average of $50K-$200K.

Silicon Valley 53

Silicon Valley Angel Investor Portfolio IPO 53

Ben's Blog

JULY 16, 2013

You probably thought that valuations would be roughly the same as they were the last time you raised money. 3/31/1998: 30.8 3/31/1999: 49.7 And those are big companies with real earnings, so you can imagine how a private company’s valuation might fluctuate. In June of 2000, I raised money at an $820M post-money valuation.

Marketing 46

Marketing Preferred Stock Post-Money Valuation Down Round 46

Seeing Both Sides

AUGUST 3, 2012

Incorporated in 1998 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the company’s network of over 100,000 globally distributed servers provides an infrastructure layer that accelerates the distribution and delivery of content, media and applications. The first year of revenue (1999) was $4 million – a remarkable achievement. Akamai: The Present.

Distribution 49

Distribution Lean Massachusetts Cofounder 49

BeyondVC

DECEMBER 20, 2004

Companies pre-1998 that went public received on average about $20mm of venture funding, were 6 years old, were EBITDA postive, and had a pre-IPO value of around $170mm (includes companies such as Peoplesoft, Intuit, Mercury, Documentum, Checkpoint, and Veritas). received its first round of funding between 1999 and 2000.

IPO 60

IPO SEC Valuation Revenue 60