Up and Running

DECEMBER 9, 2014

Are you an entrepreneur or small business owner with questions about funding your small business? Bates: Good morning and welcome to our CEO panel, “How to Fine-Tune Your Small Business Finances From Funding to Growth” which I think is the direction that we would all like to be going. My name is John Bates.

Small Business 95

Small Business Finance Forecast Metrics 95

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 14, 2009

One of the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make is misunderstanding the role of venture capital investors. There’s lots of lore, emotion, and misconceptions of what VC’s do or don’t do for entrepreneurs. The IPO Bubble – August 1995 – March 2000 In August 1995 Netscape went public, and the world of start ups turned upside down.

Silicon Valley 217

Silicon Valley IPO Technical Review Venture Capital 217

Steve Blank

MARCH 31, 2014

I’m honored to be at a university noted for knowledge, and in a city with 2000 years of history – home of Gaudí one of the 20 th century’s greatest innovators. I like the guy because he’s credited with coining the word entrepreneur. Look at the valuations of companies like Tesla, Illumina, and Twitter. Now look around.

Private Equity 325

Private Equity Metrics China Intellectual Property 325

Steve Blank

JULY 15, 2010

The Golden Age for Entrepreneurs and VC’s. The two decades from 1979 when pension funds fueled the expansion of venture capital to 2000 when the dot-com bubble burst were the Golden Age for entrepreneurs and venture capital firms. During the decade between 1991 and 2000, nearly 2000 venture backed companies went public.

Venture Capital 297

Venture Capital IPO Liquidity Event Entrepreneur 297

Version One Ventures

OCTOBER 15, 2020

Up until late August, Lightning Labs had capped the channel capacity and payment size for users of their popular implementation of the network to ~$2000 USD and ~$500 respectively to better protect user funds with experimental software. . Use Case I: Payments and Finance . 1) Generalizable Payments . Conclusion: .

Networking 168

Networking Global OTC Security 168

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 27, 2014

We both agree that the later-stage valuations are being driven up to a point that feels irrationally priced [he uses b-round SaaS valuations as an example and I am willing to be even more broad based]. Video 1 is here : Late stage valuations are in a mini bubble. This can’t all be driven by increased company performance).

Valuation 309

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Later Stage Non-Compete 309

Ben's Blog

MAY 24, 2021

There are a number of trends concerning IPOs and capital formation to note: First, the raw number of IPOs has declined significantly: From 1980-2000, the US averaged roughly 300 IPOs per year; from 2001-2016, the average fell to 108 per year. 1999-2000 51.6% Time Period IPO Pop % Above IFR 1999-2000 51.6% 1999-2000 37.5%

SEC 36

SEC Accredited Investor IPO Technical Review 36

500hats.com

AUGUST 2, 2012

While a flood of new VCs came into existence during the late 90’s internet boom, many had difficulty raising new funds after the crashes of 2000-2001 and 2008 , and as a result significantly fewer fund managers exist now compared to a decade ago. Rise of Y Combinator, 1st Branded Entrepreneur Guild. and no, we didn’t.

Silicon Valley 74

Silicon Valley Early Stage Venture Capital Valuation 74

www.inc.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

Finance | Tuesdays. Entrepreneur news from reporter Eric Markowitz. Financing a Small Business. Financing A Small Business. Personal Finance. Jumpstart was one of Grahams first clients; it signed on shortly after he founded Arizona Bay, in 2000. Technology | Thursdays. Innovation | Fridays. Franchises.

Arizona 40

Arizona Equity Iowa Venture Capital 40

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 31, 2011

One of the most common questions that entrepreneurs who meet me for the first time like to ask is, “Do you miss being an entrepreneur? I thought I’d talk a bit about the differences I’ve experienced between being an entrepreneur & a VC – you know, from “both sides of the table.&#. On Being an Entrepreneur.

Entrepreneur 384

Entrepreneur Startup Salary Egypt 384

Feld Thoughts

FEBRUARY 9, 2016

And, rather than rational and helpful thoughts for entrepreneurs, it often brings out the schadenfreude in even the most talented people. We entrepreneurs have been spinning that line for decades in every boom cycle. I learned this lesson 127 times between 2000 and 2005. It’s simply not true. Or you might need to raise it.

Cap Table 70

Cap Table Down Round Liquidation Preference Founder 70

www.inc.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

Finance | Tuesdays. Entrepreneur news from reporter Eric Markowitz. Financing a Small Business. Financing A Small Business. Personal Finance. 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.

Fractional CTO 40

Fractional CTO Equity Iowa Technical Cofounder 40

Austin Startup

AUGUST 20, 2017

Keep the valuations consistent with company progress. Messy cap tables can come back to haunt you when you do a financing or sell the company. The bottom line is that the pedigree of your investors will have much to do with your ultimate valuation and with your enjoyment of the startup experience.

Technical Review 48

Technical Review Software Review Cap Table Securities and Exchange Commission 48

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2016

I’d like to explain as best I can my opinion on what is going on because most of what I hear from entrepreneurs is not only wrong but is reminiscent of what I heard in 1997-2000. ” “This will be great for VCs and bad for entrepreneurs.” Do Investors WANT Valuations to Drop? All of these are false.

Valuation 150

Valuation Down Round Startup Later Stage 150

Cracking the Code

NOVEMBER 13, 2008

The fact that SaaS valuations are being more affected by the downturn than the Nasdaq can be surprising given the supposed resiliency of the SaaS model (recurring revenues) but it translates the public investors belief that SMB software spend is going to be hit very hard by this recession. With this decline, the average EV/08 rev.

Software Review 48

Software Review Technical Review Valuation Portfolio 48

The Equity Kicker

AUGUST 25, 2015

On the one hand you have the ‘entrepreneurs should just do their thing and not pay attention to the markets’ folk and then on the other hand there are plenty of observers saying that a bubble has burst. I saw that in 2000 and then again in 2008. There’s a lot of contradictory advice out there at the moment.

Valuation 60

Valuation Startup Stock Portfolio 60

The Equity Kicker

MARCH 21, 2017

However, that’s a cyclical dysfunction which hit notable peaks in 2000 and 2015 and which needs to be understood as an unfortunate part of a larger system which overall has been an incredibly positive force for good. Recognise that the system is imperfect, but not broken. Some unicorns are bad, but lots are good.

San Francisco 90

San Francisco Cap Table Angel Investor Valuation 90

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 6, 2010

I freely admit this (along with nearly everything between 1999-2000) was a mistake. We set our sites on our IPO price and then worked back to our current valuation and showed potential employees what we thought they could earn (with all legal caveats) if the company was successful. rounds and still be competitive. I prefer not to.

Stock Options 294

Stock Options Stock Valuation Liquidation Preference 294

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 22, 2011

One of the most common questions that entrepreneurs who meet me for the first time like to ask is, “Do you miss being an entrepreneur? I thought I’d talk a bit about the differences I’ve experienced between being an entrepreneur & a VC – you know, from “both sides of the table.&#. On Being an Entrepreneur.

Entrepreneur 176

Entrepreneur Startup Salary Egypt 176

The Equity Kicker

APRIL 22, 2016

I won’t add to the volume of good posts saying that he’s right to point out that the unicorn financing market is entering a dangerous period where all manner of pressures and biases will cause people to behave badly and mistakenly put off adjusting to the new reality in late stage funding.

Burn Rate 60

Burn Rate IPO Valuation Mobile 60

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 11, 2010

I’ve seen too many entrepreneurs try to do things on the cheap. I know the standard line, “I want to do a small round now and raise a larger round later when we get A,B,C deal done and I can raise at a higher valuation.&# If it works you’re a hero. But the lower end also has risks. Should you take it? add a buffer.

Venture Capital 319

Venture Capital Startup Silicon Valley Warrant 319

The Equity Kicker

JULY 8, 2019

From around 2000, and perhaps coinciding with the need to work harder to win deals as opportunities dried up after the internet bubble burst, individual partners at VC firms began adding ‘helping CEOs win’ to their job descriptions. . This trend accelerated through the emergence of VC and operator blogging in the early 2000s. .

Portfolio 84

Portfolio LP Venture Capital Partner 84

David Teten

AUGUST 7, 2019

Likely signs of a Momentum investment: the round is oversubscribed and the entrepreneur has more negotiating leverage than VCs during the closing process. . than comparable companies in the same sector that raised at a higher valuation. THEREFORE: we don’t need to be valuation-sensitive. LTV / CAC, revenue growth, etc.)

Venture Capital 60

Venture Capital Valuation Stock NDA 60

Agile VC

NOVEMBER 13, 2012

Sarah also points to the vast global wealth that has to get allocated somewhere as well as a small bump in long term average returns, now that the generally terrible performance of funds from the 2000-2002 time frame (after the tech bubble of the late 90s crashed) no longer factor in to 10 year returns.

LP 154

LP Portfolio Venture Capital IRR 154

ReadWriteStart

SEPTEMBER 25, 2012

To learn about the impact of properly timing a trend - or of missing one - we asked 8 successful young entrepreneurs from the Young Entrepreneur Council ( YEC ) for their experiences. As an example, my company SitePoint tried selling eBooks back in 2000 and no one bought into it. Missed Opportunities Open New Doors.

Social Media 152

Social Media Flash Business Model Startup 152

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

OCTOBER 23, 2012

Witness, for example, this terrific Fast Company article on Bill Nguyen , serial entrepreneur who’s seventh startup “Color” famously raised $41m for a new mobile app before it even launched. invested, IPO’ed in 2000 for $32/share — stock price now $2. The launch, by the way, was a failure.

IPO 240

IPO Flash Bootstrapping Private Equity 240

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 17, 2017

I believe the massive valuation increases in cryptocurrencies we’ve witnessed of late are not based on any fundamentals other than speculation and a drive for a quick profit by many who have gained from the market hype. Why would pouring hundreds of millions into even earlier stage startups with even less or no oversight be a good idea?

Government 280

Government Distribution Stock United States 280

David Teten

NOVEMBER 15, 2013

Each new investor tends to raise valuations and lower returns for all the other competitive investors. This is the psychology that drives VCs to load up a company with more capital, rationalizing that $5m at a $20m pre-money valuation is little different than $10m at a $40m pre-money valuation. Photo credit: JD Hancock.

Management 114

Management Pre-Money Valuation Venture Capital New Hampshire 114

ReadWriteStart

SEPTEMBER 25, 2012

To learn about the impact of properly timing a trend - or of missing one - we asked 8 successful young entrepreneurs from the Young Entrepreneur Council ( YEC ) for their experiences. As an example, my company SitePoint tried selling eBooks back in 2000 and no one bought into it. Missed Opportunities Open New Doors.

Social Media 103

Social Media Flash Business Model Startup 103

www.paulgraham.com

APRIL 28, 2010

One answer to that is obvious: because you need money to live on.Its a fine idea in principle to finance your startup with its ownrevenues, but you cant create instant customers. A startup with a couple founders in their early twenties can haveexpenses so low that they could be profitable onas little as $2000 per month.

Bootstrapping 77

Bootstrapping Term Sheet Founder Startup 77