Both Sides of the Table
DECEMBER 11, 2022
I started my first company in 1999 and was admittedly swept up in all of this: Magazine covers, fancy conferences, artificial valuations and easy money. During this era, from 2009–2015, most founders I knew were in it for building great & sustainable companies.
Both Sides of the Table
FEBRUARY 12, 2019
Between 1999–2005 the costs went down by 90% and between 2005–2010 they went down a further 90%. I launched my first startup in 1999 so I know the economics of launching from first-hand experience. The “A Round” of my startup in 1999 was $16.5 million and my A Round in 2005 was only $500,000 (and that’s all I ever raised).
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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. Other founders, “as a privately held company we don’t disclose our valuation.&# Me, “dude, I’m not a journalist. Investors own 25%, the founders own 75%.
Both Sides of the Table
NOVEMBER 29, 2014
This week I wrote about obsessive and competitive founders and how this forms the basis of what I look for when I invest. And that’s what differentiates founders and early employees. And it’s still less than I was paid at Accenture in 1999. So I did, in fact, invest in myself. They choose a different path.
Both Sides of the Table
AUGUST 28, 2009
I started my first company in 1999 in London at the height of the dot com craze. As the economy soured and people grew wary of buying Internet software (we were SaaS as early as 1999 – our buyers were certainly “early adopters&# ) and life grew more difficult. Reach out to the founders, not the staff. We were hot.
Both Sides of the Table
NOVEMBER 16, 2009
Before I started my first company in 1999 I worked for Andersen Consulting (now Accenture). When we started our next company, Koral, Ryan was a co-founder. This is part of my Startup Advice series. Suddenly it was star treatment and all sorts of promises about the future. Ryan is now in his 30’s (old fart).
Both Sides of the Table
JUNE 8, 2010
I also got the chance to hear from and meet the founder of About.com – Scott Kurnit – who gave a lively talk that challenged much startup conventional wisdom. Key take aways: the CEO has got to be committed to leading PR personally or it won’t be successful. And market your brand, not your personality.
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