Both Sides of the Table

JULY 25, 2011

tl;dr version: If you’re an entrepreneur or VC or will be working in this industry - buy this. When I first started as a startup CEO in 1999 there were no guides on raising venture capital. Founders don’t often think about “primary&# stock vs, “fully diluted&# stock in terms of voting rights.

Liquidation Preference 304

Liquidation Preference Term Sheet Cap Table Participating Preferred 304

Feld Thoughts

JANUARY 7, 2015

When I saw the proposal, I immediately thought of the web consulting rollups of 1999. We were bought for a more reasonable 1x revenue (and about 4x pre-tax income) when the value of the AmeriData stock, options, and cash we took out were factored in. I’m a big fan of coding schools. Do you remember US Web, iXL, Scient, and Viant?

Stock Options 70

Stock Options Cofounder Revenue Hosting 70

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 26, 2020

Shelves in stores are still not fully stocked. As president of ABBA, which he founded in 1999, he serves as an advisor to business buyers and sellers throughout the nation. As an expert source he has been written about and featured in The Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur magazine, CNN Money, USA Today, CEOWORLD, and Forbes.

Small Business 208

Small Business Due Diligence Small Business Administration Operations 208

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 25, 2010

Not that they’re “such a bad idea&# but more that there are inherent problems for entrepreneurs in the process of raising angel money that need to be addressed. This leads to the problem of “herding cats&# for entrepreneurs raising angel money. Here’s where I feel common ground : 1.

Finance 286

Finance Term Sheet Technical Review Warrant 286

Up and Running

MAY 20, 2019

There’s a famous scene in the cult-classic 1999 movie “ Office Space “ where the main character, Peter, is confronted by his boss, Bill. Perhaps it represents what drove you to become an entrepreneur in the first place. Give each a name and a stock photo. As the name suggests, the personas should feel personal.

Business Plan 92

Business Plan Angel Investor Partner Naming 92

Feld Thoughts

AUGUST 5, 2011

I’m procrastinating so I thought I’d write one of my periodic public service announcement for entrepreneurs. This one is more specific than “ignore the macro economy&# – instead, it’s “ignore the Dow and the stock market and get back to work on your business.&#. Down – cranky.

Stock 155

Stock Entrepreneur Chicago Finance 155

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 26, 2018

According to Investor's Business Daily , even though IPOs in 2018 through July were up nearly 39 percent from last year, the total of 115 companies so far is still nowhere near the rate required to match the yearly total of 486 hit way back in 1999. Most startup founders voluntarily exit or are pushed out, and the fun is gone.

Exit Strategy 128

Exit Strategy IPO Initial Public Offering SEC 128

www.inc.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

Entrepreneur news from reporter Eric Markowitz. 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. Any stock grants you issue have to qualify for exemption under state and federal securities laws. Newsletters.

Fractional CTO 40

Fractional CTO Equity Iowa Technical Cofounder 40

Growthink Blog

MARCH 14, 2010

The general misery that the public markets have subjected us all to over the past 12 years - with the Dow Jones, the S & P, and the NASDAQ all trading lower today than they were in 1999, begs the question - how does stock market performance affect startup investing returns? You can't day-trade startups as you can public stocks.

Stock 75

Stock Private Equity Marketing Startup 75

Seeing Both Sides

APRIL 10, 2011

Amidst all the recent talk of boom vs. bubble , there is a hue and cry that the current environment may smack of 1999. Let’s not forget that Time Magazine featured Alan Greenspan, Rob Rubin and Larry Summers on the cover in February 1999 with the headline: “The Committee to Save the World.” The point here isn’t to be Pollyannaish.

IPO 48

IPO IRR Brazil Government 48

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 4, 2009

I often have career discussions with entrepreneurs – both young and more mature – whether they should join company “X&# or not. OK, you would own 0.25% of the stock. Now … these are stock options and not restricted stock so you’ll likely be taxed at a long-term capital gains rate.

Stock Options 418

Stock Options Stock Liquidation Preference Option Pool 418

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 16, 2011

Usually a small company can sell about 20 percent of its stock in an IPO. The timing of an IPO is driven heavily by the state of the economy in general and the stock market in particular, in concert with your profitability. In 1999, there were 486 IPOs nationwide; just 10 years later, in 2009, there were only 63.

IPO 223

IPO Social Media Media Exit Strategy 223

Agile VC

MAY 26, 2011

I also joke with Reid Hoffman that this was back in the days before he was “Reid” Reid’s an incredible entrepreneur, startup investor, and human being. And obviously all the liq prefs went away in the IPO when pref stock converted to common. This is my 2nd time trying this, first time was in 1999.

Term Sheet 178

Term Sheet Silicon Valley Technical Review Social Network 178

Growthink Blog

AUGUST 29, 2010

stock market performance and the drumbeat of negativity that passes as business reporting these days has been the massive growth in U.S. By way of anecdote, from the time Dave Lavinsky and I founded Growthink in 1999 through 2008, more than 95% of our firm’s clients and investors were U.S. entrepreneurs targeting U.S.

Small Business 81

Small Business South Korea Uruguay South Africa 81

Pascal's View

AUGUST 12, 2009

In Silicon Valley, Boston, Austin, and other innovation centers across the country, entrepreneurs and their backers (who are not limited to venture capitalists) are all keenly aware that Washington’s addiction to enacting hasty, one-size-fits–all financial regulation will continue to have far-reaching unintended negative consequences for the U.S.

Silicon Valley 28

Silicon Valley IPO Merger Sweat Equity 28

Feld Thoughts

JUNE 6, 2014

As exits have been flowing nicely again the past few years, many of the entrepreneurs I work with have experienced their first big exit. After the dust settled and I had sold all the stock I’d received, I’d made somewhere between $1m and $2m after tax. ” You now can do whatever you want with the rest of your life.

Alaska 166

Alaska Widget Colorado Angel Investor 166

Growthink Blog

FEBRUARY 25, 2013

So much of the challenge that both entrepreneurs and investors face in earning return on time and capital is driven by the low growth rate of the economy as a whole. annually for the period 1982-1999, has since 2000 slowed to a mere 1.8%. Not coincidentally, in that same period stock market returns have declined dramatically.

South Korea 87

South Korea Brazil Mexico India 87

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. Bryce is a bit like the entrepreneurs I search for. In other words, in a strong market even turkeys can fly. I love that.

Turkey 302

Turkey Differentiation IP Technical Review 302

Growthink Blog

JULY 30, 2012

public stock market long-term woes would be comical if they weren’t so tragic. We are now well-beyond 13 long years of ZERO public market returns, with major indices (Dow, S & P, and NASDAQ) trading, on an inflation adjusted basis, much lower than they were in July 1999. For the U.S. So what to do?

Brazil 74

Brazil Angel Investor India China 74

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 23, 2012

There are obvious reasons the industry has had less-than-desirable returns, including: massive over-funding of the sector, huge increases in inexperienced venture capitalists that took a decade to peter out, and the massive correction in the value of the public stock markets that closed many exit opportunities for half a decade.

Venture Capital 347

Venture Capital Technical Review LP Mobile 347

thebarefootvc

AUGUST 26, 2015

After a tumultuous week in global markets, today the US stock market ended higher on the session. After the market downturn on Monday I set several limit orders – primarily on tech holdings that I wanted to increase positions in – in my personal account and went back to meeting with entrepreneurs.

Marketing 40

Marketing Investment Bankers Valuation Down Round 40

thebarefootvc

AUGUST 26, 2015

After a tumultuous week in global markets, today the US stock market ended higher on the session. After the market downturn on Monday I set several limit orders – primarily on tech holdings that I wanted to increase positions in – in my personal account and went back to meeting with entrepreneurs.

Marketing 40

Marketing Investment Bankers Valuation Down Round 40

thebarefootvc

JULY 26, 2015

After a tumultuous week in global markets, today the US stock market ended higher on the session. After the market downturn on Monday I set several limit orders – primarily on tech holdings that I wanted to increase positions in – in my personal account and went back to meeting with entrepreneurs.

Marketing 40

Marketing Investment Bankers Valuation China 40

Feld Thoughts

FEBRUARY 9, 2016

Once again, as we find ourselves in the middle of a significant public market correction, especially around technology stocks, there’s an enormous amount of noise in the system, as there always is. And, rather than rational and helpful thoughts for entrepreneurs, it often brings out the schadenfreude in even the most talented people.

Cap Table 70

Cap Table Down Round Liquidation Preference Founder 70

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 25, 2010

A reminder that it is important for all entrepreneurs is to remember to be careful about “deal drift.” 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.

Technical Review 301

Technical Review Term Sheet Due Diligence Venture Capital 301

This is going to be BIG.

NOVEMBER 7, 2011

Every investor and entrepreneur knows there is something scary about the current startup economy. More entrepreneurs get to try out their ideas with smaller amounts of capital, but the bar remains the same to get to the bigger rounds. stock market." It's actually a great situation for the ecosystem.

Angel Investor 104

Angel Investor Valuation Startup Revenue 104

Seeing Both Sides

AUGUST 3, 2012

Facebook and Google would be obvious choices for this, but so much has been written about each of them and they represent such special business models, I worried that it would be both hard for entrepreneurs to relate and hard for me to develop new insights. The first year of revenue (1999) was $4 million – a remarkable achievement.

Distribution 49

Distribution Lean Massachusetts Cofounder 49

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2010

I was paid less in salary in 2004 than I was paid at the job I quit in 1999 (a job I had held 8+ years). I learned how to retain employees when stock options were no longer a real currency. Tags: Entrepreneur Advice Start-up Advice Startup Advice. I learned how to better run a product management process.

Venture Capital 285

Venture Capital Hiring Software Review Stock Options 285

ReadWriteStart

AUGUST 26, 2022

Suppose you trace the history of Netflix, which we’ve invested in since 1999 and are still one of the largest shareholders. The churn rate increased, and then the stock plummeted by 70 percent. I’ll give you two examples to bring this to life. . I love using specific companies in our portfolio for a while now.

Partner 132

Partner Cofounder Retention Acquisition 132

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 31, 2010

TechCrunch Europe ran an article in November of last year that European startups need to work as hard as those in Silicon Valley and I echoed the sentiment in my post about the need for entrepreneurs to be maniacal about their businesses if one wants to work in the hyper competitive tech world. We were based in London.

Entrepreneur 308

Entrepreneur Silicon Valley San Diego Non-Compete 308

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). .&#

Sweat Equity 28

Sweat Equity Private Equity IPO Venture Capital 28

SoCal CTO

OCTOBER 5, 2010

Why Every Entrepreneur Should Write and 9 Tips To Get Started - OnStartups , September 27, 2010 "The best part of blogging is the people you will meet"- Hugh MacLeod repeating wisdom from Loic Lemeur to me at the Big Pink at 2 am in South Beach after the Future of Web Apps 2008. Advisory Board. He's awesome.

Technology 191

Technology Product San Francisco CTO Hire 191

online.wsj.com

JULY 11, 2012

Virtual Stock Exchange. Stock Quotes. 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. and Groupon Inc., —has naturally won support from entrepreneurs.

Silicon Valley 42

Silicon Valley Founder Software Review Technical Review 42

abovethecrowd.com

APRIL 20, 2016

The same thing happened to many Internet stocks. Many modern entrepreneurs have limited exposure to the notion of failure or layoffs because it has been so long since these things were common in the industry. In 1999, record valuations coexisted with record IPOs and shareholder liquidity. Entrepreneurs/Founders/CEOs.

IPO 40

IPO Term Sheet Valuation Silicon Valley 40

Duct Tape Marketing

OCTOBER 27, 2022

Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, you know, any of these visionaries and entrepreneurs here in America, if you ask 10 people for their opinion on Jeff Bezos, which I've done over the last three years of doing the research for my new book, you get 10 different opinions. So I didn't put a lot of stock into that. John Jantsch (16:10): Yeah.

Seattle 63

Seattle Silicon Valley Conversion Naming 63

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 9, 2011

I thought about things I never had to as an entrepreneur: check size, ownership percentage, deal stage, portfolio construction and risk. So when the market started showing good signs (iPhone, Facebook, Zynga, Twitter, stock market growth) it was happy days again. Risks of these two factors to the stock market. M&A returned.

Stock 305

Stock Technical Review Marketing Greece 305

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 10, 2010

I had a really fun 20-minute interview with Howard Lindzon of Stock Twits as part of a 5-part series on whether the web is dead. My first company was a SaaS software company started in 1999. Mark Zuckerberg (despite all criticisms he gets) has proved to be the most nimble and decisive entrepreneur of this generation.

Web 300

Web HTML AJAX China 300