Remove 1999 Remove Entrepreneur Remove Technical Review Remove Valuation
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Praying to the God of Valuation

Both Sides of the Table

Something happened in the past 7 years in the startup and venture capital world that I hadn’t experienced since the late 90’s — we all began praying to the God of Valuation. And then in the late 90’s money crept in, swept in to town by public markets, instant wealth and an absurd sky-rocketing of valuations based on no reasonable metrics.

Valuation 466
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Time is the Enemy of All Deals

Both Sides of the Table

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.

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What is the Right Burn Rate at a Startup Company?

Both Sides of the Table

by Michael Woolf that is worth any startup founder reading to get a sense of perspective on the reality warp that is startup world during a frothy market such as 1997-1999, 2005-2007 or 2012-2014. Valuation. I wanted to call out special attention to valuation in this debate. You really need to subtract the final month.

Burn Rate 383
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Startup Founders Should Flip Burgers

Both Sides of the Table

But some companies have entrepreneurs that seem talented on paper, are in a space that seems interesting to investors and are able to raise venture capital early in the company’s existence. I always encourage young entrepreneurs now to flip burgers for as long as they can. He was to head up UK operations. We raised just $500k.

Founder 299
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US Economic Risks (Sept 2010): Impact on Investors & Entrepreneurs

Both Sides of the Table

My advice to entrepreneurs was and is “ when the hors d’oeuvres tray is being passed take two ” (e.g. So I agreed to offer my current thinking on the economy and what it portends for the VC industry & fund raising for entrepreneurs. While not 1999 all over again but I am observing first-hand the signs of funding frenzy.

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Revisiting Paul Graham’s “High Resolution” Financing

Both Sides of the Table

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. I agree on all points.

Finance 286
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Stock Market Drops. Then It Rallies. What Happens Next for Funding?

Both Sides of the Table

Valuations were enormous relative to progress in companies. Companies with less than $2 million in revenue were asking for $50-60 million valuations and getting them. I spent my days meeting companies, figuring out what areas of the market interested me and trying to get a sense for how VCs thought about fair valuations.

Stock 305