Both Sides of the Table

JULY 22, 2010

Back in 1999 when I first raised venture capital I had zero knowledge of what a fair term sheet looked like or how to value my company. And for some strange reason entrepreneurs didn’t share this information. I’ve started from day one trying to build total transparency into my process with entrepreneurs.

Valuation 405

Valuation Liquidation Preference Pre-Money Valuation Term Sheet 405

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2009

I had previously raised VC in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2005. On December 3rd Brad Feld wrote a one paragraph blog post titled “ Raising Venture Capital &# in which he linked to my blog. The Original Post (after the jump): Venture Capital, By Mark Suster (December 2nd, 2006). Thus is venture capital.

Venture Capital 274

Venture Capital Term Sheet San Diego Viral 274

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 23, 2012

Many observers of the venture capital industry have questioned whether its best days are behind it. Looking ahead at the next decade I am excited by what I believe will be viewed as one of the best and most rational investment periods for venture capital due to seven discrete factors: 1. Thank you, Aaron Sorkin!

Venture Capital 347

Venture Capital Technical Review LP Mobile 347

David Teten

SEPTEMBER 16, 2014

That’s a sizeable amount, especially in comparison to the US venture capital industry, which similarly invests over $20 billion annually. In 2013, 298,800 angels invested in 70,730 entrepreneurial ventures, according to the 2013 Angel Market Analysis by the Center for Venture Research at the University of New Hampshire.

Angel Investor 114

Angel Investor Technical Review Venture Capital Pre-Money Valuation 114

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

Feld Thoughts

APRIL 21, 2014

We were in the middle of fundraising for Softbank Venture Capital (which became Mobius Venture Capital.) In 1999 we filed an S-1 to take Sage Networks public. If you are an entrepreneur, ignore the pontification and go build your business. ” I remember a moment in time in 1997.

Stock 140

Stock Internet SEC Italy 140

ReadWriteStart

AUGUST 20, 2012

Today’s venture capital deal flow to innovative new companies looks a lot like a fat man trying to squeeze into a slim Italian suit. In 2000, venture capitalists poured a staggering $112.2 In 2000, venture capitalists poured a staggering $112.2 Today, venture capital deal flow has slowed to a relative trickle, just $28.4

Venture Capital 127

Venture Capital San Francisco Deal Flow Atlanta 127

Pascal's View

AUGUST 28, 2010

6) The most efficient fuel for this IPO engine is venture capital. v) “Since 1999, over 60% of IPOs have been VC-backed. This is an extraordinary percentage considering that only 1/16 th of 1% of all companies are VC-backed.” “… it is highly unlikely that a company that does not take venture capital ends up going public.

Venture Capital 56

Venture Capital America Initial Public Offering IPO 56

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 8, 2010

Greycroft is Alan’s venture capital firm that recently raised its second fund ($130 million) with offices in both New York and LA. I’ve been to similar events with First Round Capital and True Ventures. Entrepreneurs always walk away with new relationships, knowledge, deal discussions and enthusiasm.

PR 279

PR Technical Review Portfolio Customer Development 279

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 2, 2010

This is part of my series on Understanding Venture Capital. I’m writing this post to explain to entrepreneurs what you should be thinking about in terms of the VC’s you approach and the size and stage of their funds. You can ask around to startup lawyers and other entrepreneurs who know these things.

Venture Capital 269

Venture Capital Balance Sheet Early Stage Software Review 269

Pascal's View

SEPTEMBER 5, 2010

My contributions to this undergraduate textbook, Venture Capital: Theory & Practice , are the result of two important collaborations. Venture Capital started in China in 1985, when the first government-sponsored venture capital firm was established. Venture Capital is a popular buzzword in China.

Venture Capital 44

Venture Capital China Technical Review Due Diligence 44

thebarefootvc

AUGUST 13, 2013

Larger companies such as IBM and SAP that had enterprise-wide deployments would offer some solutions around these pain points, but entrepreneurs claimed that these were not sufficient, and that the emergence of the Web and server technology made some of the legacy software inefficient, inadequate and obsolete.

Advisory Board 70

Advisory Board Cloud Venture Capital Vertical 70

ReadWriteStart

AUGUST 20, 2012

Today’s venture capital deal flow to innovative new companies looks a lot like a fat man trying to squeeze into a slim Italian suit. In 2000, venture capitalists poured a staggering $112.2 In 2000, venture capitalists poured a staggering $112.2 Today, venture capital deal flow has slowed to a relative trickle, just $28.4

Venture Capital 66

Venture Capital Deal Flow Atlanta Incubator 66

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2010

In 1999 I was in Japan doing a strategy project for the board of directors of Sony. Tags: Entrepreneur Advice Start-up Advice Startup Advice. Numbers are important. I’d rather make decisions with uncertain numbers than no numbers. But you have to understand how to interpret your numbers.

Investment Bankers 415

Investment Bankers Mobile Software Review Japan 415

The Startup Magazine

JANUARY 8, 2019

This year, The Startup Magazine is proud to sponsor the entrepreneurship and venture capital conference, SeedCon, run by the Chicago Booth business school. Investors and Entrepreneurs. Each year, SeedCon brings together hundreds of investors, founders, entrepreneurs and students from across Chicago and the country.

Chicago 102

Chicago Venture Capital Cofounder Incubator 102

crowdSPRING Blog

SEPTEMBER 6, 2012

The video above shows Billie Holiday (one of my favorite singers) singing “Strange Fruit”, a song that Time manazine named, in 1999, the “song of the century” The song is a protest against racism. Are you an entrepreneur or small business owner – [link]. More Vacation is the Secret Sauce – [link].

Social Media 92

Social Media Small Business Design Media 92

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

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. On the other hand, exits at lower prices are easier with these providers of capital.

Burn Rate 383

Burn Rate Balance Sheet .Net Valuation 383

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. – entrepreneurs never seem to focus on anything other than ownership percentage. Drag along rights?

Liquidation Preference 304

Liquidation Preference Term Sheet Cap Table Participating Preferred 304

Growthink Blog

MAY 10, 2010

I've been working with entrepreneurs for more than 10 years, and by far the biggest question I get asked is. How can I raise venture capital?" Like it or not, much of our success as entrepreneurs depends on our ability to secure enough funding. For every 10,000 entrepreneurs who try, only a handful succeed.

Venture Capital 59

Venture Capital Term Sheet Business Plan Finance 59

Ben's Blog

JANUARY 31, 2012

The two most obvious are: Why did such a new venture capital firm raise so much money? How did such a new venture capital firm raise so much money? 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.

Venture Capital 78

Venture Capital Portfolio Cofounder Partner 78

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2010

I kept pointing to the artificial gains in the Nasdaq in 1999 and said, “just because you bought in Feb ’99 and sold in Sept ’99 for a large gain doesn’t meant the asset was correctly priced.&# My message to everybody at the time, “Sell! At dinner parties I was wrong for several years but I stuck to my guns.

Florida 299

Florida Technical Review San Antonio Los Angeles 299

The Equity Kicker

MARCH 5, 2018

It’s the biggest European gathering of venture capital fund managers, private equity fund managers and LPs, the institutions that invest in both types of funds. I’ve been going off and on for the last ten years and the good news is that the tide is definitely turning in favour of European venture.

Private Equity 92

Private Equity Venture Capital Equity Europe 92

Pascal's View

JULY 1, 2014

The disgraced former directors of Tyco International (vintage 1999) , seemingly highly trustworthy and accomplished men and women, also come to mind.

Government 62

Government Technical Review Venture Capital Leadership 62

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 16, 2009

Filed under: Customer Development , Customer Development Manifesto , Market Types « “Lessons Learned” – A New Type of Venture Capital Pitch Closure » 21 Responses Tweets that mention Times Square Strategy Session – Web Startups and Customer Development « Steve Blank -- Topsy.com , on November 16, 2009 at 7:20 am Said: [.]

Customer Development 219

Customer Development Web Developer Customer 219

Seeing Both Sides

APRIL 10, 2011

The average venture capital fund raised between 1995 and 1997 returned more than 50% per year. Amidst all the recent talk of boom vs. bubble , there is a hue and cry that the current environment may smack of 1999. But what if it’s actually more akin to 1996?

IPO 48

IPO IRR Brazil Government 48

Feld Thoughts

JULY 31, 2014

I know many entrepreneurs who feel that VCs have played them, gamed them, deceived them, or bullshitted them. But this doesn’t only happen to entrepreneurs. The prior fund that I had co-founded – Mobius Venture Capital – had blown up after having a very successful first fund in 1997.

LP 155

LP Advisory Board Venture Capital Early Stage 155

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.

IPO 28

IPO Silicon Valley Merger Sweat Equity 28

ReadWriteStart

MAY 2, 2012

“When we did our first survey there was competition between VCs, angels, superangels and incubators,” says Ted Hollifield, a corporate partner in Dorsey & Whitney’s venture capital practice. Angels were swooping in and entrepreneurs, a lot of whom had soured on the VC model, welcomed them with open hands. from 75.8%

San Francisco 115

San Francisco Silicon Valley Incubator Startup 115

Pascal's View

SEPTEMBER 4, 2013

I’ve written about board governance challenges for startups since 1999, publishing one book, a series of three white papers, and many articles and blog posts on this topic. With this new video series, I updated and expanded fourteen years of collaborative work and have structured the content to focus on the entrepreneur’s perspective.

Video 33

Video Entrepreneur Venture Capital Government 33

David Teten

APRIL 16, 2012

ff Venture Capital is creating a new, spin-off business from an existing company, and we need a team to take the reins. CEO: Ideally a successful serial entrepreneur who has taken a startup from Series A all the way to an exit. Since 1999, our partners have made over 150 investments in over 55 companies.

Cofounder 133

Cofounder New York Venture Capital B2C 133

thebarefootvc

DECEMBER 31, 2017

Once I started my venture capital career in 1999 after being on Wall Street and an entrepreneur, no one was going to come in the way of my doing what I loved and knew I was good at. Ones that struggled to raise venture capital funding when most VC’s thought that the business models of the internet could not be displaced.

Kenya 45

Kenya Venture Capital United States Internet 45

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. I refer to this moment as when you find that you have life changing money in your bank account, which I like to call “f**k you money.”

Alaska 166

Alaska Widget Colorado Angel Investor 166

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 16, 2011

But before you jump on the bandwagon, you should consider the advice I saw recently from the maven of venture capital, William H. In 1999, there were 486 IPOs nationwide; just 10 years later, in 2009, there were only 63. Draper III, in his new book titled “ The Startup Game.” The market is moving back up, but slowly.

IPO 223

IPO Social Media Media Exit Strategy 223

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. Small Business Success | Mondays and Thursdays. The Goods: Your Business Toolbox | Thursdays. Finance | Tuesdays. Newsletters.

Fractional CTO 40

Fractional CTO Equity Iowa Technical Cofounder 40

Feld Thoughts

NOVEMBER 24, 2016

I eventually co-founded SoftBank Technology Partners (which became Mobius Venture Capital) and SoftBank (the corporation) became a 50% LP in Flatiron with Chase. In 2002 Jerry retired from venture capital and went on his own personal journey for meaning. We made more investments together. Work does not have to destroy us.

Non-Compete 70

Non-Compete LP Venture Capital Affiliate 70

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. It was 1999. Tags: Entrepreneur Advice Startup Advice. This is part of my Startup Advice series. I usually pull the old trick of answering a question with a question.

Stock Options 418

Stock Options Stock Liquidation Preference Option Pool 418

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 23, 2009

Eighty some pages later I realized that a) I had some great war stories as a good marketeer and failed CEO, b) I’d have to pay my wife and kids to read them, c) the three of them were probably the entire total available market, and d) when I looked at what I had done and what other entrepreneurs had done at their startups, that there was a pattern.

Redemption 126

Redemption Silicon Valley RSS California 126