Steve Blank

MARCH 17, 2020

But investors with grey hair can remember the nuclear winter after the past recessions of 2000 and 2008 and can offer some historical patterns of crashes and recovery to CEOs running early stage startups – some who weren’t born when the crash of 1987 hit, were 10 years old in the crash of 2000 and 18 in the last crash of 2008.

Burn Rate 436

Burn Rate Startup Valuation Sales Cycle 436

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2018

According to the International Business Innovation Association ( InBIA ), there are over 2,200 of these locations worldwide, and new online versions springing up all over the place, like Founders Space in Silicon Valley. Direct seed funding, for a share of the equity, and introductions to investors.

Incubator 218

Incubator Silicon Valley North America Small Business Administration 218

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2011

I recently spoke at the Founder Showcase at the request of Adeo Ressi. I know that most people who are close to them tend to deny their existence, as we saw in the great housing bubble of 2002-2007 and the dot com bubble of 1997-2000. I said that at the Founder Showcase, too. some founders lose their life savings.

Saudi Arabia 309

Saudi Arabia Valuation IPO Technical Review 309

ConversionXL

JANUARY 18, 2022

Jeff Bezos’s private space technology company Blue Origin was founded back in 2000. At a startup, this can be as simple as defining why the founder started the company in the first place. CXL’s founder, Peep Laja, has a specific “reason why” his company Wynter exists. In 2002, Elon Musk created Space X.

Marketing 109

Marketing Social Media Non-Compete Audience 109

K9 Ventures

SEPTEMBER 8, 2015

Manu Kumar is Founder and Chief Firestarter at K9 Ventures. Kumar was the Founder, President and CEO of SneakerLabs, a company which developed software and services for web-based customer interaction. We grew it to just under 20 people and were acquired at the height of the bubble in 2000.

San Francisco 48

San Francisco Early Stage Portfolio Software Engineering 48

crowdSPRING Blog

FEBRUARY 15, 2013

How do I find good technical co-founders? How Much Equity Do Your Employees Deserve? The Ultimate Photoshop Patterns Collection: 2000+ Patterns – [link]. Teaching the Support team how to fish | by Mig Reyes of 37signals – [link]. Quora – [link]. Venture Math 101 – [link]. Quora – [link].

Social Media 107

Social Media Small Business Design Media 107

This is going to be BIG.

AUGUST 29, 2016

Oh, and make someone from your 25 person Moldova tech team your co-founder. Don't forget to tell all your founder friends about our ultra-pre-pre-seed program. It doesn't pay to look at it any other way--and I think too many founders focus on the investor as the problem versus their pitch or their company. We love early."

Founder 76

Founder Moldova Cofounder Sales 76

socialmatchbox.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

The generally accepted hourly wage calculation used by the staffing industry is Annual Salary divided by 2000 Hours. If you sum up these costs and divide them by 2000 Hours then you are looking at $1.15 Founders seem to take for granted exactly how in demand a good programmer is. Another option is sweat equity.

Part-Time VPE 41

Part-Time VPE Sweat Equity DC Washington 41

This is going to be BIG.

JANUARY 6, 2019

I get 2000 things passing through my inbox in any given year, and I make about ten investments per year. How excited do you think I am if I’m only picking the top 10 out of 2000? Maybe it means giving extra equity to a standout hire that really takes your team to the next level. That’s because of the simple math of competition.

Equity 97

Equity Hiring Founder Customer 97

Austin Startup

AUGUST 20, 2017

They’re looking to be paid properly in the context of the overall salary structure, including cash, benefits, and equity, and to be paid commensurate with performance. Kalanick, former investor BFF turned highly disappointed by founder behavior. You must choose what and how to measure yourself as a founder and your company.

Technical Review 48

Technical Review Software Review Cap Table Securities and Exchange Commission 48

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 29, 2009

Just ask anybody who was trying to close funding the fateful week of September 11, 2001 or even March 2000. This came in part due to the huge influx of money into VC but also because hedge funds and private equity shops with no VC experience wanted part of the action.

Burn Rate 263

Burn Rate Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Private Equity 263

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 17, 2016

According to the National Business Incubator Association ( NBIA ), there are over 7,000 of these locations worldwide, and new online versions springing up all over the place, like Founders Space in Silicon Valley. Direct seed funding, for a share of the equity, and introductions to investors.

Incubator 120

Incubator Silicon Valley Startup Small Business Administration 120

500hats.com

AUGUST 2, 2012

Or, as my friend Marc Andreessen might say, Software Eats the Private Equity World. 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.

Silicon Valley 74

Silicon Valley Early Stage Venture Capital Valuation 74

rapidrollout.wordpress.com

JANUARY 15, 2011

Who Uses a Consulting CTO I’m going to focus on the needs of the founders of startup companies: Founders of startups use a consulting CTO when they have business vision but limited knowledge of the technology needed to launch their company. And finally, you may be able to avoid diluting your equity.

Fractional CTO 40

Fractional CTO CTO CTO Hire Fractional VPE 40

David Teten

APRIL 1, 2011

I hope that you can join us Monday night, April 4, midtown NYC, at a panel on “Innovation in Private Company Liquidity-Online Merger Markets, Social Media, Secondary Markets, Non-US Markets, Private Equity, and the Disappearing IPO” The program is sponsored by the HBS Club of New York and the HBS Angels of NY.

Private Equity 68

Private Equity Merger IPO Equity 68

Feld Thoughts

MAY 5, 2016

We had just acquired a company (I don’t remember which one or in which city) sometime in 2000. I was visiting the company post acquisition and wandering down the main hallway with the founder of the company we had just acquired. Founder: “You told me the wall needed to be painted.” ” Brad: “I did?”

Cofounder 70

Cofounder Founder Equity Acquisition 70

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 2, 2009

If a company has reached a level of success, has been around for a few years and you believe the company has potential to break out into a much bigger company then you should let the founders take money off of the table. Founders however are asked to take low salaries and never really get back the time they worked for free.

Founder 329

Founder Liquidation Preference Term Sheet Participating Preferred 329

Austin Startup

MARCH 7, 2021

It seems like every day there is a new headline about an exceptional startup founder, investor, or corporate headquarters moving to Texas. Today, startup founders focus on the fundamental challenges of our time with energy, life sciences and industrial technologies dominating Houston’s tech scene. Joe Lonsdale. Drew Houston.

Texas 90

Texas San Antonio Houston Dallas 90

www.huffingtonpost.com

MAY 10, 2011

I was lucky to sign on as advisor and investor the founder of a very high-profile consumer Internet site who happens to also be a former engineer, who I will call Richard. Size of Opportunity - market size, revenue or usage, exit outcome and their ability to get equity early are all important.

CTO 43

CTO CTO Hire PHP Cofounder 43

VC Cafe

AUGUST 3, 2011

Yair Goldfinger’s Dotomi sold to ValueClick for $295 million, of which $162 million are in cash and the rest will be paid in ValueClick equity. Yair Goldfinger, co-founder and CTO of Dotomi and a prominent Israeli angel investor, founded Dotomi back in 2000, following the acquisition of ICQ by AOL.

Angel Investor 87

Angel Investor Chicago Retention Cofounder 87

Gust

OCTOBER 25, 2011

I’m an angel investor now, but I also had a small piece of co-founder equity in a software company that went public, and whole ownership of a software company that grew and prospered but remained private. It was not a great business decision, at that time (2000); but it was what I wanted and it felt good.

Cofounder 133

Cofounder Angel Investor Equity Software 133

VC Adventure

NOVEMBER 15, 2016

At Pledge 1% our mission is to encourage entrepreneurs and companies to give back to their communities through the donation of equity, product, profit and time to non-profits. Since 2000, Springboard Enterprises has served as a resource hub of influencers, investors and innovators engaged in helping women build big businesses.

Equity 48

Equity Community Programming Global 48

Spencer Fry

APRIL 17, 2017

Long story short, it’s just not 2000's anymore. As a bootstrapped startup, the only accountability you have is to yourself and to your co-founder if you have one. How much and at what terms, is up to the deal you strike with your investors, but you can’t take money without giving away equity. Having great accountability.

Bootstrapping 63

Bootstrapping Cap Table Liquidation Preference Cofounder 63

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. . Although it is early days, we’re starting to see some positive data for our own portfolio.

Portfolio 84

Portfolio LP Venture Capital Partner 84

Austin Startup

MARCH 6, 2019

Eneyo, Edward Madongorere and Marcus Carey discuss the difficulties founders of color face while fundraising at Capital Factory’s Black in Tech Summit. We're excited to be working with @theohubs to forge the path towards true diversity, equity and inclusion this @sxsw. Preston James, Marcus Stroud, Ugwem I.

South Africa 49

South Africa Venture Capital Austin Africa 49

The Equity Kicker

FEBRUARY 12, 2016

Startup founders should expect that it will take seven or more years to exit their company. If I think back over the sixteen years I’ve been investing in startups the market for private company investing was tough from 2000-2004, from 2008-2011 and is getting tough again now.

Startup 60

Startup Metrics Valuation Operations 60

Hunter Walker

APRIL 10, 2014

most of my peers from the early 2000 days of angel investing are now VC’s (Reid Hoffman, Peter Thiel, Josh Kopelman, Jeff Clavier, Mike Maples, Dave Whorton, etc). The Andreessen and Founders Fund investment in AltSchool is public. Dentists from the Midwest, tech CEOs, Facebook engineers, VC’s and private equity partners.

Syndicate 121

Syndicate Syndication Hiring Cofounder 121

Agile VC

JULY 19, 2012

Back in the 2000-2001 timeframe, a flood of LP capital was coming into the VC asset class given the strong returns of the mid-late 90s tech boom/bubble. For example FRC launched a founders equity exchange fund and various programmatic forms of knowledge sharing like list serves, CEO summits, conferences, etc.

Cofounder 193

Cofounder Limited Partner Early Stage LP 193

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.

San Francisco 90

San Francisco Cap Table Angel Investor Valuation 90

David Teten

AUGUST 7, 2019

Likely signs of a Value investment: the company has challenges in filling out the round; the investors have more negotiating leverage than the founders during the closing process; the company has significantly better metrics (e.g. LTV / CAC, revenue growth, etc.) Requires less analysis. But VC is historically and consistently cyclical.

Venture Capital 60

Venture Capital Valuation Stock NDA 60

Altgate

APRIL 28, 2012

Since 2000, I’ve been collecting information about startups, including how much founders, their lieutenants, and their employees get paid. The big difference is in equity: Startup CEOs who are not founders get 6.2 times as much equity as the lowest-paid member of their team. Founders make more than everyone else.

Silicon Valley 50

Silicon Valley Vesting New York City Equity 50

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 31, 2011

One investor played chicken with me by threatening not to approve my next-round financing unless I gave him more equity. If you became a principal or a new partner in 2000/01 you had a good salary but as it turns out you were very unlikely to see a large upside “carry” return for quite some time. Nobody really talks about this.

Entrepreneur 384

Entrepreneur Startup Salary Egypt 384

www.noamwasserman.com

MARCH 26, 2012

Since 2000, I’ve been collecting information about startups, including how much founders, their lieutenants, and their employees get paid. The big difference is in equity: Startup CEOs who are not founders get 6.2 times as much equity as the lowest-paid member of their team. Founders make more than everyone else.

Silicon Valley 40

Silicon Valley Vesting New York City Equity 40

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 8, 2010

Before I get into the details for founders, let me talk about options-hungry employees. Productive Programming - Gabriel Weinberg , August 31, 2010 BIG disclaimer: I'm not formally trained in computer science (aside from two classes at MIT in 2000) and I haven't worked closely with that many programmers or teams (maybe 10 or so).

Startup 191

Startup CTO Hire Cofounder Venture Capital 191

The Equity Kicker

AUGUST 25, 2015

I saw that in 2000 and then again in 2008. I remember this most clearly from 2000 when I was in a fund that was investing heavily pre and post crash and the VC adjustment took 8-9 months. But at same time market crashes changes things for startups. It takes time for the impact of crashes to be fully felt in the startup market though.

Valuation 60

Valuation Startup Stock Portfolio 60

David Teten

JANUARY 28, 2013

AngelList co-founder Naval Ravikant concludes , “The real winners here are going to be the seed funds and early stage VCs that can write a $1 million to $2 million check. All exits occurred between 1990 and 2007—the vast majority after 2000. Second, all investments are equity instead of debt.

IRR 114

IRR Angel Investor Angel Groups Cofounder 114

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 15, 2010

But when the finally convert the debt to equity the round gets filed with the SEC and thus journalists often pick up on it. Invidi is based in New York and founded in 2000. Swipely – Blippy competitor founded by TellMe founder, Angus Davis, in Fall 2009. They also avoid Reg D.

Stealth 285

Stealth SEC Advertising Accredited Investor 285