Feld Thoughts

JULY 19, 2018

It has happened only one other time in my investing career – in 1999. In some cases, these rounds were with experienced founders who had previously had a success and could dictate terms. In this six month period, the need for an experienced founder vanished. For anyone that remembers 2000-2003, this obviously ended badly.

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Early Stage Seed Stage Valuation Finance 105

YoungUpstarts

APRIL 2, 2018

by Evgeny Glariantov , founder of FREED. Another important project was launched in 1999 at the UC Berkeley which has arguably become the most famous example of the volunteer computing model — the SETI@home program (if there’s a “@home” suffix in the name of a project it means that it involves exclusively home computers).

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Search Aggregator Distribution Framework 179

Feld Thoughts

FEBRUARY 9, 2016

I learned this lesson 127 times between 2000 and 2005. I started investing in 1994 and while there was some bumpiness in 1997 and again in 1999, the real pain happened between 2000 and 2005. I have two simple rules for founders in my head from this experience. You might have it in the bank already.

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Cap Table Down Round Liquidation Preference Founder 70

Feld Thoughts

JUNE 22, 2012

In the mid-1990s, a good friend of mine, Gene Kim (founder of Tripwire and author of When IT Fails: A Business Novel ) and I were in graduate school together in the Computer Science program at the University of Arizona. The same spreadsheet also predicted we’d see a music downloading service in 1999 or 2000.

Artificial Inteligence 182

Artificial Inteligence Technical Review Bandwidth Software Review 182

Agile VC

MAY 26, 2011

Many assume it was a cakewalk, based on the success LinkedIn has enjoyed over time and the current stature of our founder/CEO Reid Hoffman (now Chairman). Silicon Valley is still emerging from the tech bubble and massive downturn of late 2000-2002. This is my 2nd time trying this, first time was in 1999. Thanks Lee.

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Term Sheet Silicon Valley Technical Review Social Network 178

Feld Thoughts

MARCH 12, 2014

We learned this dynamic in the early 2000’s with our investment in ServiceMagic. We invested in the company in 1999 during the ascension of the Internet bubble. We loved the two founders, Michael Beaudoin and Rodney Rice, but knew very little about marketplace businesses or the home improvement category.

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Seattle Metrics Cofounder Finance 149

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 15, 2009

M y company had raised a seed round of capital in late 1999 even before either of us were full time in the company (ominous side note: on the way to pitch our seed investor, Delta Partners, a man walking right in front of me died of a massive heart attack making me late to the meeting. True story.) million were enormous.

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Founder Technical Review Startup Venture Capital 299

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2009

I had previously raised VC in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2005. Another called Parker Harris, the co-founder and CTO. I am very grateful to my friend Zoli Erdos for finding this retro posting for me at web.archive.org. I had kept a personal blog for more than a year and was new at keeping a professional blog.

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Venture Capital Term Sheet San Diego Viral 274

Ben's Blog

JANUARY 31, 2012

After raising our first round of funding for Loudcloud in 1999, we went to visit our new venture capital firm and meet their full team. That excitement took a sharp downhill turn when one of the top partners said to me, in front of my co-founders, “When are you going to get a real CEO?”. Marc and I discussed this often.

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Venture Capital Portfolio Cofounder Partner 78

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 San Francisco Deal Flow Atlanta 127

Scalable Startup

DECEMBER 15, 2011

when many vaporware and vapor-businesses crash or fade away they leave damage, possibly fueling the recession (remember 1999-2000? However, the fallout from all this will set us back a few years again … many misled, unsophisticated angels will get burned and sour to good investments (not sophisticated angels, they know the risk).

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Angel Investor Startup IPO Software Developers 24

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 2, 2009

If a company has reached a level of success, has been around for a few years and you believe the company has potential to break out into a much bigger company then you should let the founders take money off of the table. Founders however are asked to take low salaries and never really get back the time they worked for free.

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Founder Liquidation Preference Term Sheet Participating Preferred 329

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 28, 2011

When I built my first company starting in 1999 it cost $2.5 These two trends had a major impact on the computing industry from 2000-2005 but the effects weren’t yet felt by the VC industry. I will argue that LPs who invest in VC funds will also need to adjust a bit as well. The Emergence of “Open Cloud&# Infrastructure.

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Venture Capital Software PHP Open Source 334

ConversionXL

MARCH 19, 2020

The HBR study contrasts Office Depot and Staples during the 2000 recession: Office Depot cut 6% of its workforce, but it couldn’t reduce operating costs significantly. At the same time, the company contained its operating costs and came out of the recession stronger, bigger, and more profitable than it had been in 1999. Image source ).

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Marketing Campaign Non-Compete Lean 121

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. Additionally, a lot of people today work in startups or want to work in startups or want to be founders, which overall is a great thing.

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Startup Cofounder Seed Stage IPO 120

www.inc.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

Before Roving Software could receive its first round of financing from professional investors, in early 1999, he had to put all the stock arrangements in writing. The offering to a consultant may affect your securities compliance in later offerings and will certainly add to further dilution to founders," Durkin says. Select Services.

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Fractional CTO Equity Iowa Technical Cofounder 40

Feld Thoughts

JULY 31, 2014

The collapse of the Internet bubble was not kind to us and by 2005 it was clear that our second fund – raised in 1999 – was a disaster, and our third fund – raised in 2000 – was off to a very rocky start. In early 2006, my partners at Mobius and I decided not to raise another fund.

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LP Advisory Board Venture Capital Early Stage 155

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 6, 2010

I freely admit this (along with nearly everything between 1999-2000) was a mistake. That said, don’t complicate the topic – If you’re the founder of a company you likely know a lot about things like Liquidation Preferences and how they affect value allocations when the company is sold. And that would be nice.

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Stock Options Stock Valuation Liquidation Preference 294

Ben's Blog

OCTOBER 8, 2013

I was a founder/CEO during the period when cash seemed more like a serf than a king in 1999 and 2000. Still, when Marc Andreessen, my co-founder and chairman of the board, said we should start generating cash, something told me that he was right. It was the era of “go big or go home.” I grew my company and I grew it fast.

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Cofounder Finance Internet Founder 78

Ben's Blog

OCTOBER 8, 2013

I was a founder/CEO during the period when cash seemed more like a serf than a king in 1999 and 2000. Still, when Marc Andreessen, my co-founder and chairman of the board, said we should start generating cash, something told me that he was right. It was the era of “go big or go home.” I grew my company and I grew it fast.

Cofounder 78

Cofounder Internet Finance Founder 78

Seeing Both Sides

AUGUST 3, 2012

With over $1 billion in revenue, 2000 employees and a market capitalization of over $6 billion, Akamai has become a role model for scalable start-ups. The first year of revenue (1999) was $4 million – a remarkable achievement. But the second year (2000) was simply astounding: nearly $90 million! Gross Profit. $(60).

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Distribution Lean Massachusetts Cofounder 49

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 13, 2009

My Story: The public coming out for my first company, BuildOnline, was in early 2000. million … yes that was seed in 1999!) I sat next to Irwin Jacobs (founder of Qualcomm) on a bus ride. And if you’re not careful you might start to believe your own hype. and were ready to take off the covers and tell the world.

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South Africa Europe Disintermediation Poland 310

Hearpreneur

OCTOBER 1, 2016

We built some early ecommerce sites around 1999 and back office order processing systems using visual basic for applications (VBA). My co-founders and I started eVestment for two primary reasons. . #8 – Almost By Mistake. Photo Credit: Marcus Miller. It may sound a little cliched but I started my business almost by mistake.

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Entrepreneur Non-Compete LLC Social Media 48

Ben's Blog

JULY 16, 2013

3/31/1999: 49.7. 3/31/2000: 73.4. In June of 2000, I raised money at an $820M post-money valuation. Down rounds are bad and hit founders disproportionately hard, but they are not as bad as bankruptcy. One would be wrong: 3/31/1995: 21.0. 3/29/1996: 22.3. 3/31/1997: 23.3. 3/31/1998: 30.8. 3/30/2001: 26.3. 3/29/2002: 82.5.

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Down Round Marketing Preferred Stock Post-Money Valuation 78

Up and Running

APRIL 4, 2014

The 1999 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade even featured a balloon created in its image. million ad featured in the 2000 Superbowl. The sock puppet’s most notable appearance was in an eyebrow-raising $1.2 And…the company was out of business later that year. What Went Wrong? The committee didn’t like any of them.

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Sales IPO Texas Advertising 126

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 25, 2010

When I was raising money for my first company we had closed a seed round in 1999 and were working on our A round. We had many term sheets (it was 1999 and we had a pulse) and we were deciding which one to take. It was December 1999. We moved into the legal process and final due diligence in January and February of 2000.

Technical Review 301

Technical Review Term Sheet Due Diligence Venture Capital 301

Hearpreneur

JANUARY 7, 2017

I soon found that yoga taught me 2000-year-old strategies, to be more present with my kids, be more patient with my family and feel more calm and energized at the same time! I am the founder/coach of Never Settle Coaching, LLC a coaching business. My oldest son, Coby Joshua, was born with Down syndrome in 1999.

Entrepreneur 91

Entrepreneur LLC Cofounder Green 91

Campus Entrepreneurship

MARCH 19, 2012

I was at the University of Chicago when a bunch distinguished professors created UNext.com during the late 1990s — BIG BUST just like the startup I joined in 1999). Michael Moe, co-founder of the investment-advisory firm GSV Asset Management, said the first ed-tech wave had been based mostly on euphoria that anything digital would work.

Indiana 54

Indiana Cofounder Chicago Venture Capital 54

online.wsj.com

JULY 11, 2012

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. One of its champions includes Jason Goldberg, the co-founder and CEO of online design retailer Fab.com Inc., Stock Quotes.

Silicon Valley 42

Silicon Valley Founder Software Review Technical Review 42

Ben's Blog

JULY 16, 2013

3/31/1999: 49.7 3/31/2000: 73.4 In June of 2000, I raised money at an $820M post-money valuation. Down rounds are bad and hit founders disproportionately hard, but they are not as bad as bankruptcy. One would be wrong: 3/31/1995: 21.0 3/29/1996: 22.3 3/31/1997: 23.3 3/31/1998: 30.8 3/30/2001: 26.3 3/29/2002: 82.5

Marketing 46

Marketing Preferred Stock Post-Money Valuation Down Round 46

Altgate

MAY 1, 2009

I’m a visual person so here’s how I see it: Entrepreneurs start companies and the founders (“F&# in my chart) invest capital which they grow with sweat equity and then limited partners (“LPs&# ) invest capital via VCs which in turn grows the pie to the eventual “exit&# (which comes in the form of M&A or IPOs). .&#

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Sweat Equity Private Equity IPO Venture Capital 28

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. You need to build genuine relationships with these portfolio startup founders as well as trust with them and the rest will follow. It’s just a part of your ongoing activities as a founder.

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Developer Silicon Valley PR Las Vegas 366

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 97

Reid Hoffman

MAY 16, 2020

It was 1999. To put everything I’d learned through my SocialNet experience into another shot on goal as a founder. Then, in 2000, after five crazy years where founders could attract millions in venture capital based on little more than a good URL, the dot-com bubble burst. Like I said earlier, relationships matter.

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Silicon Valley Internet Networking Salary 69

Duct Tape Marketing

OCTOBER 27, 2022

And a lot of experts and a lot of CEOs and company founders tell me that those shareholder letters were models of simplicity, which kinda led me in that direction. Think of it as a mantra in 1998, in a second shareholder letter, or 1999 Yeah. (20:43): And that, to me, that is simple as the new superpower. (07:36):

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Seattle Silicon Valley Conversion Naming 63

SVPG

SEPTEMBER 30, 2016

But back in 1999, a then very young Netflix based in Los Gatos with less than 20 employees, was on the edge of going bust. They had a couple experienced co-founders, including the now legendary Reed Hastings, but the problem was that they were stuck at about 300,000 customers. The title is not important; the work they do is.

Product 60

Product Technical Review Software Review Engineer 60

VC Cafe

OCTOBER 18, 2011

He worked his way up the corporate ladder; in 1998 he became VP of the Digital TV platform strategy, which did not pan out, and in 1999 he found an opportunity in Microsoft Internet (MSN) international. At the beginning of the year 2000, there were 133 venture capital firms in Israel, today there are less than 30.

Venture Capital 100

Venture Capital New Zealand Startup 100