thebarefootvc

MAY 8, 2012

This is also what I advise entrepreneurs when discussing dilution and valuation — think of the bigger picture and the end game of what you are looking to build — and who will help you get there.

Venture Capital 78

Venture Capital Syndicate Syndication Bandwidth 78

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 28, 2011

In this three-part series I will explore the ways that the Venture Capital industry has changed over the past 5 years that I would argue are a direct result of changes in the software industry, not the other way around. When I built my first company starting in 1999 it cost $2.5

Venture Capital 334

Venture Capital Software PHP Open Source 334

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 25, 2010

Either would be fine with startups, so long as they can easily change their valuation. When I was raising money in late 1999 I had an investment team in Germany (I was in the UK) suggest that they should get a lower valuation than others because they were ex McKinsey guys and had better access to industry. I chuckled.

Finance 286

Finance Term Sheet Technical Review Warrant 286

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.

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

Feld Thoughts

JULY 19, 2018

“Historically, the $10 million valuation mark has been somewhat of a ceiling for seed stage startups. But so far this year, we’ve seen that a number of companies, often times with nothing more than a team and a Powerpoint presentation, have had great success raising capital north of that $10 million level. .”

Early Stage 105

Early Stage Seed Stage Valuation Finance 105

Pascal's View

AUGUST 21, 2011

Welcome to the latest passionate debate over the ‘valuation bubble or not?’ question in venture capital. This time, the debate centers on the “favored few” Social Media venture backed companies that have brought tremendous windfalls to a select group of venture funds and management teams, both pre- and post-IPO.

Valuation 50

Valuation Social Media Media IPO 50

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 4, 2009

Let’s assume that the company raised it at a normal VC valuation, which means it gave up 33% of the company and thus $5 million / 33% = $15 million post-money valuation. It was 1999. They raised $5 million in their B round. Ventro was trading at $8 billion on sub $2 million of revenue. It was easy to do these calcs.

Stock Options 418

Stock Options Stock Liquidation Preference Option Pool 418

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. For example, Morse notes that neither C corporations nor venture capital funds structured as partnerships can, by law, be S corporation shareholders.

Fractional CTO 40

Fractional CTO Equity Iowa Technical Cofounder 40

finance.fortune.cnn.com

AUGUST 21, 2012

The information is based on part of a confidential year-end 2011 investment report distributed to investors in a fund-of-funds that made commitments between 1999 and 2001. Overall, the fund-of-funds is 97% called for 45 funds raised between 1999 and 2002. In parenthesis is the cumulative distribution divided by called capital.

Naming 49

Naming Term Sheet Private Equity Equity 49

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. million at a $15 million pre-money valuation. It was December 1999. Let me start with a story. Any deal.

Technical Review 301

Technical Review Term Sheet Due Diligence Venture Capital 301

The Equity Kicker

JUNE 17, 2015

Firstly this table comparing 1999 and 2014 on key bubble-related metrics. That makes sense, but it looks to me as if they have less valuation discipline than we normally see in either the public markets or in smaller venture rounds. The whole thing is well worth a read, but two slides stood out for me.

IPO 60

IPO Early Stage Valuation Metrics 60

thebarefootvc

DECEMBER 16, 2011

Discovery, in contrast to search, took center stage as Pinterest displayed hockey stick growth (and raised VC money near a $200M valuation in late 2011). Disruption in the Education Space: When I first started looking at education technology investments in 1999, very few VCs would go near the sector.

Technical Review 110

Technical Review India Mobile Hockey Stick 110

David Teten

FEBRUARY 6, 2013

David Teten, Partner, ff Venture Capital ; Chairman, HBS Alumni Angels of Greater New York. From the perspective of best practices, we will address questions such as: How to assess opportunities (idea, team, valuation). Karen Bantuveris, CEO of VolunteerSpot ( ff VC and angel-backed startup with 2.5m How to source great deals.

Private Equity 114

Private Equity North America Cofounder Angel Groups 114

This is going to be BIG.

OCTOBER 12, 2011

I followed her writing and bought her AOL book back in 1999. Ironically enough, the second nudge she gave my career also had to do with AOL--ten years later when in 2009, she introduced me to Jon Brod who was forming AOL Ventures. Venture capital isn't a game or club any more than any other industry is.

Silicon Valley 112

Silicon Valley Cofounder Venture Capital Valuation 112

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 15, 2009

This is a story of one of the risks of venture capital. 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. True story.) 2 weeks later and we may never have raised any more VC.

Founder 299

Founder Technical Review Startup Venture Capital 299

Feld Thoughts

FEBRUARY 9, 2016

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 watched, participated, and suffered through every type of creative financing as companies were struggling to raise capital in this time frame. I learned this lesson 127 times between 2000 and 2005.

Cap Table 70

Cap Table Down Round Liquidation Preference Founder 70

This is going to be BIG.

NOVEMBER 7, 2011

Valuations. There are a ton of companies being funded at $500+ million valuations--seriously limiting exit opportunities. Many of the private companies like AirBnb, Dropbox, and Square and that have been rumored to have big valuations are real, growing businesses. Are their valuations justified?

Angel Investor 104

Angel Investor Valuation Startup Revenue 104

thebarefootvc

JULY 3, 2016

New York City : NYC is growing as a startup hub; yet early stage (seed, small A rounds) institutional capital has not kept up with the local growth. I remember the heady days of 1999 when everyone believed that there were new rules to investing. In fact, only 13% of VCs investing in the US are based in NYC. 2015EOY_FPV_v31.

North America 40

North America Early Stage New York City Portfolio 40

thebarefootvc

FEBRUARY 3, 2016

New York City : NYC is growing as a startup hub; yet early stage (seed, small A rounds) institutional capital has not kept up with the local growth. I remember the heady days of 1999 when everyone believed that there were new rules to investing. In fact, only 13% of VCs investing in the US are based in NYC.

North America 40

North America Early Stage New York City Portfolio 40

YoungUpstarts

APRIL 22, 2018

If you’re at the stage where you’re looking for outside investment to take your business to the next level, SaaStock boasts having over 200 representatives of venture capital funds in attendance. Founded in 1999, Etail was one of the first conferences devoted to e-commerce, and it remains one of the biggest. eTail East.

Las Vegas 124

Las Vegas Software Review Affiliate Cofounder 124

thebarefootvc

AUGUST 26, 2015

If you doubt that, take a look at the following chart I spotted on Twitter today: I’m long term bullish on technology which is why I run a venture fund. I’ve seen several cycles in the market since I first started venture investing in 1999, and I believe there has been no greater potential for wealth creation in the sector than there is now.

Marketing 40

Marketing Investment Bankers Valuation China 40

thebarefootvc

AUGUST 26, 2015

If you doubt that, take a look at the following chart I spotted on Twitter today: I’m long term bullish on technology which is why I run a venture fund. I’ve seen several cycles in the market since I first started venture investing in 1999, and I believe there has been no greater potential for wealth creation in the sector than there is now.

Marketing 40

Marketing Investment Bankers Valuation China 40

SoCal CTO

OCTOBER 5, 2010

Shortly after we sold Opsware to Hewlett-Packard, I had a conversation with the legendary venture capitalist Doug Leone of Sequoia Capital. Coworking Spaces - A VC : Venture Capital and Technology , September 2, 2010 I've never been much of a fan of incubators. Some have made the model work. It’s great advice.

Technology 191

Technology Product San Francisco CTO Hire 191

thebarefootvc

JULY 26, 2015

If you doubt that, take a look at the following chart I spotted on Twitter today: I’m long term bullish on technology which is why I run a venture fund. I’ve seen several cycles in the market since I first started venture investing in 1999, and I believe there has been no greater potential for wealth creation in the sector than there is now.

Marketing 40

Marketing Investment Bankers Valuation China 40

andrewchen.co

AUGUST 20, 2012

« Mobile app startups are failing like it’s 1999. -->. Even if most of those are “me-too” startups capitalizing on the trends in venture capital (social-mobile-local) without doing anything disruptive, the fact that it is easier to raise helps the startups that actually make a difference, as well.

Seed Stage 51

Seed Stage Early Stage Mobile Seed Money 51

Feld Thoughts

FEBRUARY 28, 2023

The boom years of 1998 (79 IPOs), 1999 (175 IPOs), and 2000 (142 IPOs) are long gone. Since the attractiveness of investments is also largely related to exit channels, this aspect affects the availability of capital and company valuation at every stage. BAND) and the Bundesverband Deutsche Startups e.V.

Germany 165

Germany Liquidation Preference Option Pool Advisory Board 165

abovethecrowd.com

APRIL 20, 2016

In February of last year, Fortune magazine writers Erin Griffith and Dan Primack declared 2015 “ The Age of the Unicorns ” noting — “Fortune counts more than 80 startups that have been valued at $1 billion or more by venture capitalists.” As a result, most firms have independent internal groups that periodically analyze valuations.

IPO 40

IPO Term Sheet Silicon Valley Valuation 40

BeyondVC

DECEMBER 20, 2004

Getting back to the data on software IPOs, during 1998-1999, the companies that went public received around $30.0mm of VC funding, were 5 years old, were not EBITDA positive, and had an average IPO value around $375mm (includes comps like ISS, Micromuse, Art, Interwoven, Vignette, Informatica).

IPO 60

IPO SEC Valuation Revenue 60

VC Cafe

JANUARY 20, 2014

Last year, the VC industry partied like its 1999. New data from research firm Pitchbook makes it official: valuations are at an all-time high. Across all investment stages, median pre-money valuations last year rose dramatically. Some of the frenzy is driven by Wall Street. Now the cost of entry to the Party is rising.

Venture Capital 155

Venture Capital Pre-Money Valuation IPO 155

Seeing Both Sides

MAY 26, 2009

billion, as the company has successfully “grown into its valuation” and become the leading in the content delivery market).   At $20-30 billion per year, the venture capital industry as a whole remains a “drop in the bucket” in terms of capital deployed relative to the over trillion dollars sitting in private equity firms. 

Private Equity 20

Private Equity Boston Massachusetts IPO 20

Professor VC

DECEMBER 8, 2015

Often times those involve trading within a venture capital portfolio or between two venture firms portfolios. But what about the case where both companies are well capitalized and doing well? It takes time for the business to catch up to these market expectations and valuation. Most never make it there.

Merger 28

Merger LP IPO Redemption 28

SoCal CTO

JANUARY 5, 2011

Both Sides of the Table , July 22, 2010 An updated Digital Trends presentation - Jeff Hilimire , June 2, 2010 I do what I hate - Jessica Mah , January 7, 2010 Startup Equity Allocation - charliecrystle.com , January 11, 2010 When good investment decisions end up backing more women CEOs: Conversation with Cameron Lester at Azure Capital.

Silicon Valley 378

Silicon Valley Startup Term Sheet Venture Capital 378

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 9, 2011

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

Stock Technical Review Marketing Greece 305

Seeing Both Sides

SEPTEMBER 15, 2015

Only a handful of so-called unicorns — companies that have achieved a valuation of over $1 billion in the last 10 years — come from Israel, and only one Israeli firm, Teva, ranks in the world’s 500 largest companies by market capitalization. That’s the good news. The bad news is that Israeli startups are struggling to scale.

Cofounder 20

Cofounder Technical Review United States 20

Austin Startup

MAY 3, 2017

Staying private  — The average age of a technology company before it goes public is 11 years, as opposed to an average life of four years back in 1999. Through the series of funding rounds, companies do not need to go through an IPO to obtain capital or a higher valuation. Imagine that. The single horn doesn’t exist.

Texas 48

Texas Startup Silicon Valley Bootstrapping 48

Ben's Blog

MAY 24, 2021

billion multi-stage venture capital firm focused on IT-related investments… I also serve on various investment committees, including for the St. Jude Children’s Cancer Hospital and the Stanford Medical Center, and teach entrepreneurship and venture capital at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. 1999-2000 51.6%

SEC 36

SEC Accredited Investor IPO Technical Review 36