Feld Thoughts

FEBRUARY 9, 2016

And, rather than rational and helpful thoughts for entrepreneurs, it often brings out the schadenfreude in even the most talented people. We entrepreneurs have been spinning that line for decades in every boom cycle. I learned this lesson 127 times between 2000 and 2005. It’s simply not true. Or you might need to raise it.

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Cap Table Down Round Liquidation Preference Founder 70

Jeff Hilimire

SEPTEMBER 30, 2023

Sometime in the summer of 1999, I received an email from Raj telling me to get ready to answer the phone because a guy he’d been talking to in Queenstown, NZ, was interested in us building a website for him. Raj and me in New Zealand in 1999 wearing our Sunday best. What can I say, none of us were finance majors.

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New Zealand Atlanta Charlotte Restful 36

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 23, 2012

The movie, “The Social Network” might have had more of an impact on creating future entrepreneurs than any other event of the past 5 years. 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. Thank you, Aaron Sorkin! The Funding Problem.

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Venture Capital Technical Review LP Mobile 347

ReadWriteStart

AUGUST 20, 2012

In 2000, venture capitalists poured a staggering $112.2 According to Dow Jones VentureSource Senior Manager of Corporate Communications Kim Gagliardi, 3,404 venture financing rounds were completed in 2011, down 47% from the 6,361 closed in 2000. That was up 29% over 2000 in just five years. It just doesn’t fit.

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Venture Capital Deal Flow Atlanta Incubator 66

The Equity Kicker

SEPTEMBER 26, 2012

But they choose to invest in local businesses because they will make better investment decisions when they know the entrepreneurs, their friends and advisors, and where they can have more frequent face to face contact post-investment.). Sometimes the companies simply struggle and grow as best they can with inadequate financing.

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Silicon Valley Cost Startup Boston 97

Ben's Blog

OCTOBER 8, 2013

If you are an entrepreneur, you have probably heard some crusty old CEO or investor say something like “cash is king.” I was a founder/CEO during the period when cash seemed more like a serf than a king in 1999 and 2000. There are many examples of companies that finance their way through massive profitless growth.

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Cofounder Finance Internet Founder 78

Pascal's View

AUGUST 28, 2010

v) “Since 1999, over 60% of IPOs have been VC-backed. billion, followed by finance, 19 deals, and healthcare, 17 deals. .” (iii) “Roughly 600,000 new businesses (that employ others) are started each year in the U.S.” . (iv) … Four of the twenty companies with the largest market capitalization in the U.S. (vi)

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Venture Capital America Initial Public Offering IPO 56

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 13, 2010

By 1999 we had grown into the largest independent consulting firm in the world. By 1999 it seemed like everybody was growing, though. I left Andersen Consulting in 1999 at the height of the market. Within a year, by late 2000 / early 2001 consulting firms were firing people en masse. I love that.

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Turkey Differentiation IP Technical Review 302

View from Seed

JUNE 17, 2015

My first startup job was as an early employee at PayPal, where I took a job at the end of ‘1999 and started a few months later in 2000. Last fall I saw a startup with it’s back against the wall, days from shutting down, pull off a new financing round and what looks to be a promising pivot.

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Startup Cofounder Seed Stage IPO 120

Ben's Blog

OCTOBER 8, 2013

If you are an entrepreneur, you have probably heard some crusty old CEO or investor say something like “cash is king.” I was a founder/CEO during the period when cash seemed more like a serf than a king in 1999 and 2000. There are many examples of companies that finance their way through massive profitless growth.

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Cofounder Internet Finance Founder 78

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 6, 2010

I freely admit this (along with nearly everything between 1999-2000) was a mistake. You also understand that there are future financing rounds and in tough times this can change the value equation of stocks. But I thought I should do a quick post on the topic. I prefer not to.

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Stock Options Stock Valuation Liquidation Preference 294

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 10, 2009

While that’s not true, it is a fact that entrepreneurs only have one word for “startup.” Handspring in a Existing Market As an example, imagine it’s October 1999 and you are Donna Dubinsky the CEO of a feisty new startup, Handspring, entering the billion dollar Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) market. End result?

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Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 203

Hearpreneur

SEPTEMBER 15, 2017

The original company name was Scene on TV (going back to 1999), and I expanded into movies, and the name was also confusing to people (Scene instead of Seen). I started a consulting firm called Global Marketing Resources, LLC in 2000 as source for additional income while I was a corporate executive. Photo Credit: Ajay Prasad.

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Naming Entrepreneur Green LLC 98

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 16, 2012

I raised money as an entrepreneur, like you, in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2005 for two different companies. I never suggest that entrepreneurs just randomly pitch VCs. You’ll never make a great entrepreneur. So your journey to fund raising begins by strengthening your relationships with other entrepreneurs.

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Developer Silicon Valley PR Las Vegas 366

online.wsj.com

JULY 11, 2012

Loading… Personal Finance. Personal Finance. Andreessen Horowitz is telling entrepreneurs it prefers situations where the founders have controlling stakes, reckoning that theyll be better able to resist outside distraction and focus on making great products. » More. Loading… Markets. » More.

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Silicon Valley Founder Software Review Technical Review 42

abovethecrowd.com

FEBRUARY 27, 2019

In 1999, Jack Ma created Alibaba , a Chinese-based B2B marketplace for connecting small and medium enterprise with potential export opportunities. In 2000, Eric Baker and Jeff Fluhr founded StubHub , a secondary ticket exchange marketplace. The company was acquired by ebay in January 2007.

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Internet Matching Vertical Hosting 88

Ben's Blog

MAY 24, 2021

There are a number of trends concerning IPOs and capital formation to note: First, the raw number of IPOs has declined significantly: From 1980-2000, the US averaged roughly 300 IPOs per year; from 2001-2016, the average fell to 108 per year. 1999-2000 51.6% Time Period IPO Pop % Above IFR 1999-2000 51.6%

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SEC Accredited Investor IPO Technical Review 36

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 17, 2017

Terrorism at scale can only occur when these organizations can move money around to finance people who make bombs, buy guns, train recruits and so forth. Ask yourself this — how did it go when a bunch of Internet companies when public in 1998–1999 with limited revenues or oversight? Regulation will come. It needs to come fast.

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Government Distribution Stock United States 280