Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 11, 2020

Direct seed funding, for a share of the equity, and introductions to investors. Assuming 60 companies are accepted in a specific batch, that would mean around 2000 companies applied. An incubator won’t help you if the market opportunity is small, the competitors are large, or your solution doesn’t address a real need.

Incubator 398

Incubator Silicon Valley North America Startup 398

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 12, 2011

He’s thoughtful about markets, investors, products and is always very well reasoned in his arguments. I commented that this concept may be what has led to the market being overweight in music and restaurant/bar apps, as a lot of young founders have gravitated toward these spaces.

Technical Review 281

Technical Review Artificial Inteligence Cofounder API 281

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. Think about this; 7 years ago Nokia owned 50% of the handset market. Its worldwide market share of Smartphones has dwindled to 5%. Now look around.

Private Equity 325

Private Equity Metrics China Intellectual Property 325

The Equity Kicker

MARCH 11, 2016

Yesterday Stuart McKnight/Ascendant Corporate Finance published their regular report on activity in the UK venture market. As you can see from the chart above, 534 investments were made in the UK (above £0.5m) beating the previous high of 463, which was set back in 2000 at the height of the dotcom bubble madness.

Ireland 60

Ireland Finance Marketing Venture Capital 60

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 12, 2010

In the VC & Private Equity world there’s a small number, too, with one of the most respected being PEHub. But there are also going to be those companies that require capex and growth equity (Zynga, Facebook, etc). Losses will come a few years from now and take steam out of the market. Dan also agrees with this.

Seed Stage 232

Seed Stage Valuation Private Equity Venture Capital 232

Steve Blank

MARCH 17, 2020

This math works in a normal market…. Unfortunately, it’s no longer a normal market. If you are selling to businesses (a B-to-B market) have your customers’ sales dropped? If it’s just three-months, (looking more unlikely by the day) then an immediate freeze on variable spending (hires, marketing, travel, etc.)

Burn Rate 436

Burn Rate Startup Valuation Sales Cycle 436

Agile VC

OCTOBER 23, 2012

And even if they wanted the index return, there is essentially no way to buy (or sell) a broad-based basket of VC funds in the way you can trade the S&P 500 or Russell 2000 or other public equity index. better than the market average), rather than trying to achieve an index return within the VC asset class.

LP 176

LP Accredited Investor Carried Interest Portfolio 176

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2011

They have seen one side of a market where many of us have seen the ebb and flow multiple times. Still, market amnesia by ordinarily rational actors always surprises me. 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.

Saudi Arabia 309

Saudi Arabia Valuation IPO Technical Review 309

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 14, 2009

To do this they have to accomplish five things; 1) get deal flow – via networking and legwork, they identify likely industries, companies and teams with the potential for rapid growth (less than 10 years), 2) evaluate those companies and teams on the basis of technology, market opportunity, and team.

Silicon Valley 217

Silicon Valley IPO Technical Review Venture Capital 217

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. . But that’s a discussion for another time ?? . 2) Gaming . At least not yet.

Networking 168

Networking Global OTC Security 168

Growthink Blog

FEBRUARY 11, 2013

Last week, my column received quite a reaction as I pointed out how much of a disaster the public equity markets have been these past 14 years. annually from 1982 to 2000 to 1.8% from 2000 - 2013, there is simply less money to go around. Give up on the public markets. Find market inefficiencies. Do it Right.

Equity 66

Equity .Net Portfolio Hosting 66

Growthink Blog

FEBRUARY 13, 2014

We’re hosting a webinar today at 4 pm PT about equity investing in 2014, and you’re invited to attend. annually from 1982 to 2000 to 1.8% from 2000 - 2014, there is simply less money to go around. Give up on the public markets. Find market inefficiencies. To register, click here: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/638414410

Equity 63

Equity .Net Portfolio Hosting 63

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2018

Direct seed funding, for a share of the equity, and introductions to investors. Assuming 60 companies are accepted in a specific batch, that would mean around 2000 companies applied. An incubator won’t help you if the market opportunity is small, the competitors are large, or your solution doesn’t address a real need.

Incubator 218

Incubator Silicon Valley North America Small Business Administration 218

The Startup Magazine

FEBRUARY 6, 2020

Pension funding was above market using aggressive actuarial assumptions. s form of no-holds-barred capitalism, our financial markets were slow to adopt the idea, with the trend really only taking hold during the heady securitization period of the mid-2000’ s. municipal bond market. Ironically, given the U.S.’s

Private Equity 130

Private Equity New York City Chicago Investment Bankers 130

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. But any entrepreneurs raising capital should keep in mind that this opening of the markets could possibly be temporary. Why did the VC markets freeze so quickly? Market downturn – We all know that investors move in herds.

Burn Rate 263

Burn Rate Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Private Equity 263

socialmatchbox.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

These days sales, marketing and PR people seem to grow on trees. If they charge well above the market average then they are usually either greedy or motivated to do something on their own that you are basically funding. You are probably wondering how do I know if they are asking for more than the market rate or not?

Part-Time VPE 41

Part-Time VPE Sweat Equity DC Washington 41

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

K9 Ventures

SEPTEMBER 8, 2015

2) New market (less common form, examples are Lyft and eShares) and 3) New business model (least common, non-K9 portfolio examples are PriceLine and SolarCity). At K9 we focus on the first two, either core new technologies and technology platforms or new markets. New Technology or New Market, meaning no “me too” ideas.

San Francisco 48

San Francisco Early Stage Portfolio Software Engineering 48

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 remember vividly one year, I think it was 2012, when a placement agent (industry jargon for a broker that helps raise private equity and venture funds) had surveyed 83 LPs.

Private Equity 92

Private Equity Venture Capital Equity Europe 92

The Startup Magazine

SEPTEMBER 2, 2021

In 2021, the startup landscape looks much different than it did in 2000. To stay competitive and capture market share, you need to be progressive with your strategies too – or get left behind quickly by your competitors. Employee ownership gives these entrepreneurs this autonomy as well as equity in the startup!

Startup 127

Startup Social Media Global Incubator 127

Pascal's View

AUGUST 28, 2010

… Four of the twenty companies with the largest market capitalization in the U.S.—Microsft, Private-equity and venture capital firms have been hard hit too. capital markets for listed equities have been in systemic decline since 1997, while every other major international equity market has been growing.

Venture Capital 56

Venture Capital America Initial Public Offering IPO 56

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 19, 2012

Remember that equity investments are not like loans with interest. But since the Internet bubble burst in the year 2000, the IPO rate has declined every year until 2010, and is now at about 15%. There may be a natural catastrophe, like 9/11, or the market you counted on could implode. Initial Public Offering (IPO).

Exit Strategy 241

Exit Strategy Initial Public Offering IPO Startup 241

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. Are they consistent with your founding team, are they competitive in the market, and will they not create precedents that you’ll regret in the next round of hiring?

Technical Review 48

Technical Review Software Review Cap Table Securities and Exchange Commission 48

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 17, 2016

Direct seed funding, for a share of the equity, and introductions to investors. Assuming 60 companies are accepted in a specific batch, that would mean around 2000 companies applied. An incubator won’t help you if the market opportunity is small, the competitors are large, or your solution doesn’t address a real need.

Incubator 120

Incubator Silicon Valley Startup Small Business Administration 120

The Equity Kicker

MAY 7, 2013

These firms have had a significant impact on growth over the last 20 years through the bubbles and crashes they create – e.g. the Long-Term Capital Management crash of 1998, the Dot-Com crash of 2000, and the housing meltdown of 2008.

Development Team Review 94

Development Team Review Business Plan Agile Operations 94

500hats.com

AUGUST 2, 2012

While institutional LPs know big changes are happening, most focus too much on 1) increasing/decreasing fund size or 2) marketing + branding as the major trends. Or, as my friend Marc Andreessen might say, Software Eats the Private Equity World. This is a long piece, so if you’re not a fan of inside baseball, skip it.

Silicon Valley 74

Silicon Valley Early Stage Venture Capital Valuation 74

Pascal's View

MAY 13, 2011

ii. Bubble period 1996-2000 totals $243.6 years in 2007- the longest gestation period since 1991: What has driven these changes to the capital markets and are they permanent or temporary? This is a good example of technology driven market change being accelerated by new securities regulations). 80% of IPO’s <$50MM.

Equity 31

Equity Securities and Exchange Commission IPO Marketing 31

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 5, 2011

Remember that equity investments are not like loans with interest. But since the Internet bubble burst in the year 2000, the IPO rate has declined every year until 2010, and is now at about 15%. There may be a natural catastrophe, like 9/11, or the market you counted on could implode. Initial Public Offering (IPO).

Exit Strategy 231

Exit Strategy Initial Public Offering Startup IPO 231

rapidrollout.wordpress.com

JANUARY 15, 2011

And finally, you may be able to avoid diluting your equity. Preserve your equity by using a consulting CTO to ramp up your company before securing early-stage financing and hiring a permanent technology partner. Though after the dotcom collapse of 2000-2001, there are many more than there were! Why are consulting CTOs so scarce?

Fractional CTO 40

Fractional CTO CTO CTO Hire Fractional VPE 40

finance.fortune.cnn.com

AUGUST 21, 2012

Term Sheet The latest on private equity, M&A, deals and movements — from Wall Street to Silicon Valley. Almost all of them would be characterized as venture capital, with a few exceptions for funds managed by The Blackstone Group ( BX ), Providence Equity Partners and Spectrum Equity Investors. Market Movers.

Naming 49

Naming Term Sheet Private Equity Equity 49

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

OCTOBER 23, 2012

invested, IPO’ed in 2000 for $32/share — stock price now $2. OneBox.com — On $60m invested, sold for $850m 18 months after launch to J2 just before market crash — score! After all, before the house of cards inevitably tumbles, private equity investors get a tidy return. Support.com — On 2.5m

IPO 240

IPO Flash Bootstrapping Private Equity 240

David Teten

MAY 16, 2011

Kupietzky held a variety of management roles in marketing, sales and product management at world-class technology companies: Digital Insight (Intuit), Loudcloud/Opsware (Hewlett-Packard) and Siebel Systems (Oracle). Mr. Geleerd has been a member of YPO since 2000. He began his career as a consultant with McKinsey & Co.

Naming 122

Naming Government Intellectual Property LLC 122

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

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 11, 2010

But there are also problems / risks: - the funding environment might change dramatically – there may never be a next round (see: March 2000, September 11, 2001 and September 2008). - there may be major competitive changes in the market that makes your next funding round hard (e.g. Who started this meme? Should you take it?

Venture Capital 319

Venture Capital Startup Silicon Valley Warrant 319

Growthink Blog

APRIL 2, 2014

Don’t you just love these booming markets? in the 1st quarter - the largest number of new issuers since 2000 -raising a total of 11.1 Private Equity. Private equity firms did 850 deals, representing investments of greater than $152 billion (Pitchbook), up 11%. Venture Capital.

Private Equity 69

Private Equity Merger IPO Initial Public Offering 69

Gust

OCTOBER 25, 2011

Assume you have the right factors to get angel investment: experienced team, good product-market fit, growth potential, defensibility, and a reasonable shot at a successful exit. It was not a great business decision, at that time (2000); but it was what I wanted and it felt good. Have you considered the tradeoffs?

Cofounder 133

Cofounder Angel Investor Equity Software 133

The Equity Kicker

JANUARY 15, 2016

As you can see from the chart above even though the $11.3bn invested in Q4 was 32% less than the $16.6bn invested in Q3 it was still higher than all bar five quarters since the 2000 bubble burst. As I said yesterday, private markets react slowly.

Valuation 60

Valuation Cloud Finance Startup 60