Up and Running

DECEMBER 9, 2014

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. I’m here with some really phenomenal CEOs who are going to talk to us today about small business finances from funding to growth.

Small Business 95

Small Business Finance Forecast Metrics 95

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 14, 2009

Five Quarters of Profitability During the 1980’s and through the mid 1990’s startups going public had to do something that most companies today never heard of – they had to show a track record of increasing revenue and consistent profitability. There was now a public market for companies with no revenue, no profit and big claims.

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. Companies horde cash and squeeze the most revenue and margin from the money they use. Look at the valuations of companies like Tesla, Illumina, and Twitter.

Private Equity 325

Private Equity Metrics China Intellectual Property 325

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]. Most of those industries are fee-based and are competing on revenue growth. I don’t totally agree with that view.

Valuation 309

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Later Stage Non-Compete 309

www.inc.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

Finance | Tuesdays. 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. And his vendors ended up with nothing when his company, OpenAuto.com , went out of business, in 2000.

Arizona 40

Arizona Equity Iowa Venture Capital 40

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

Ben's Blog

JUNE 18, 2011

If they have, then we should be able to see some evidence that the dominant public technology companies are moving towards bubble valuations. Apple’s valuation is now a case for business historians to discuss because I don’t think there are modern precedents. In the last bubble, the S&P hit 44x in January 2000.

Technical Review 76

Technical Review Software Review Valuation Internet 76

Steve Blank

JULY 15, 2010

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. Until 1995 startups going public typically had a track record of revenue and profits. Number of Venture Backed Liquidity Events 1991-2000.

Venture Capital 297

Venture Capital IPO Liquidity Event Entrepreneur 297

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

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

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

OCTOBER 23, 2012

invested, IPO’ed in 2000 for $32/share — stock price now $2. After I sold Smart Bear, that division has increased revenue and profit every year, for five years, even through the 2008/2009 economic disaster. Freeloader — On $3m invested, sold for $38m in 1996 — shut down in 1997. Support.com — On 2.5m

IPO 240

IPO Flash Bootstrapping Private Equity 240

The Equity Kicker

AUGUST 25, 2015

I saw that in 2000 and then again in 2008. When the macro economic climate is tough less money flows into venture funds and startups, so fewer deals get done, valuations are lower and more companies fail. Making things worse still, consumers and enterprises have less money to spend and startups find it harder to grow revenues.

Valuation 60

Valuation Startup Stock Portfolio 60

abovethecrowd.com

JULY 10, 2014

On June 18, Aswath Damodaran , a finance professor at NYU’s Stern School of Business, published an article on FiveThirtyEight titled “ Uber Isn’t Worth $17 Billion. Financial models, especially valuation models, are interesting in that they can be particularly precise. billion, far short of the value recently determined by the market.

San Francisco 111

San Francisco San Jose Marketing Technical Review 111

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. I have been talking about my concerns about valuations for the past couple of years because, well, they’ve been rising very rapidly the past two years!

Valuation 150

Valuation Down Round Startup Later Stage 150

David Teten

AUGUST 7, 2019

LTV / CAC, revenue growth, etc.) than comparable companies in the same sector that raised at a higher valuation. In 2000, LPs invested $104b into 638 funds, but by 2003, LPs’ commitment rate had dropped to just $11b into 161 funds. THEREFORE: we don’t need to be valuation-sensitive. Weaker negotiating posture.

Venture Capital 60

Venture Capital Valuation Stock NDA 60

Ben's Blog

JULY 16, 2013

You probably thought that valuations would be roughly the same as they were the last time you raised money. Perhaps you are caught in the “Series A crunch” or perhaps you are a consumer company and expected that you would be valued on users rather than revenue like the last time. 3/31/2000: 73.4. But they most certainly are not.

Down Round 78

Down Round Marketing Preferred Stock Post-Money Valuation 78

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 11, 2010

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. Let’s assume that the $2 million buys 25% of your company, which is the norm in an equity financing. add a buffer.

Venture Capital 319

Venture Capital Startup Silicon Valley Warrant 319

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

Ben's Blog

JULY 16, 2013

You probably thought that valuations would be roughly the same as they were the last time you raised money. Perhaps you are caught in the “Series A crunch” or perhaps you are a consumer company and expected that you would be valued on users rather than revenue like the last time. 3/31/2000: 73.4 But they most certainly are not.

Marketing 46

Marketing Preferred Stock Post-Money Valuation Down Round 46

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