Austin Startup

AUGUST 20, 2017

Of all your hires, if you have commissioned sales people, those will give you the most problems if they’re not all given an equal chance to make their quotas and achieve their personal earnings goals. Keep the valuations consistent with company progress. You’ll just never create the sales momentum you need. Not really.

Technical Review 48

Technical Review Software Review Cap Table Securities and Exchange Commission 48

www.inc.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

Sales & Marketing | Wednesdays. SALES & MARKETING. Jumpstart was one of Grahams first clients; it signed on shortly after he founded Arizona Bay, in 2000. In the past few years, hundreds of small companies have been snatched up by private equity firms willing to agree to ever-rising valuations. Finance | Tuesdays.

Arizona 40

Arizona Equity Iowa Venture Capital 40

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.

Stock Options 294

Stock Options Stock Valuation Liquidation Preference 294

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. During the decade between 1991 and 2000, nearly 2000 venture backed companies went public. Here’s why. Take a look at the chart below. (It

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. How long will the downturn last?

Software Review 48

Software Review Technical Review Valuation Portfolio 48

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 17, 2011

A year ago I blogged about one of my most common mantras that applies to sales, biz dev & fund raising alike: “ Time is the Enemy of all Deals.&#. When times are really good for fund raising many teams delay to maximize their valuation. 5 million raised at a $9 million pre-money valuation or 35.7% 25% dilution).

Pre-Money Valuation 303

Pre-Money Valuation Dilution Valuation PR 303

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 23, 2012

Yes, it’s true that FOMO (fear of missing out) is driving some irrational behavior and valuations amongst uber competitive deals and well-financed VCs. In 1998 there were around 850 VC funds and by 2000 there were 2,300. By 2000 the total LP commitments had mushroomed to more than $100 billion. Bottom of the sales funnel.

Venture Capital 347

Venture Capital Technical Review LP Mobile 347

Berkonomics

SEPTEMBER 17, 2011

Within three months, we easily obtained $3 million of investment at a pre-money valuation of $30 million. Three months later, another investor company in the business offered to invest $3 million at a valuation of $60 million. million at a valuation of $80 million. Two months after that, a French game company offered $1.5

Liquidity Event 59

Liquidity Event Pre-Money Valuation Sales Valuation 59

David Teten

AUGUST 7, 2019

than comparable companies in the same sector that raised at a higher valuation. When you invest in a Momentum company, everyone immediately congratulates you on your wisdom, sales skill, and success. . In 2000, LPs invested $104b into 638 funds, but by 2003, LPs’ commitment rate had dropped to just $11b into 161 funds.

Venture Capital 60

Venture Capital Valuation Stock NDA 60

Feld Thoughts

FEBRUARY 9, 2016

I learned this lesson 127 times between 2000 and 2005. 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 suffered through the next financing after implementing a complex structure, or a sale of the company, or a liquidation.

Cap Table 70

Cap Table Down Round Liquidation Preference Founder 70

www.inc.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

Sales & Marketing | Wednesdays. SALES & MARKETING. As you think about how much equity to offer, have a reasonable valuation in mind thats been determined using professional advice. Copyright © 2000 inc.com. The Goods: Your Business Toolbox | Thursdays. Finance | Tuesdays. Innovation | Fridays. Email address: Home.

Fractional CTO 40

Fractional CTO Equity Iowa Technical Cofounder 40

Agile VC

JANUARY 21, 2015

Not every round of funding is closed at a “monster” valuation. But during the year 2000, we went through three different CEOs, fraud nearly killed the company, our revenue was negligible and unproven, and at our worst point, the company was burning well over $10 million a month — A MONTH!

Cofounder 188

Cofounder Seed Stage Employee PR 188

abovethecrowd.com

JULY 10, 2014

Financial models, especially valuation models, are interesting in that they can be particularly precise. While it may seem like a tough question to answer, I would argue that most practitioners of valuation analysis would state “not very high.” It is not my aim to specifically convince anyone that Uber is worth any specific valuation.

San Francisco 111

San Francisco San Jose Marketing Technical Review 111

View from Seed

JANUARY 20, 2015

Not every round of funding is closed at a “monster” valuation. But during the year 2000, we went through three different CEOs, fraud nearly killed the company, our revenue was negligible and unproven, and at our worst point, the company was burning well over $10 million a month — A MONTH!

Cofounder 120

Cofounder Startup Employee PR 120

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

OCTOBER 23, 2012

invested, IPO’ed in 2000 for $32/share — stock price now $2. But all that investment in growth and sales force didn’t have a long-term payback, and the actual value of the product to small businesses wasn’t as high as claimed, even though the simplest of customer development reveals this fact (ask any restauranteur).

IPO 240

IPO Flash Bootstrapping Private Equity 240

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 15, 2009

million which closed the first week of March 2000 – a week before the market crashed. This includes writing product specs, going on sales calls, handling customer complaints, building the financial model and a host of other activities that will ultimately owned by functional experts. I did all of the sales myself.

Founder 299

Founder Technical Review Startup Venture Capital 299

Up and Running

OCTOBER 17, 2017

Is it $2000, $3000, five, six, or seven clients per month? For instance, I never appreciated the work I put to build a landing page, calling and interviewing a few people, making the first sale, or even designing a logo, until I learned what the small milestones meant to the bigger ones. Identify the magic number.

Cofounder 125

Cofounder Revenue Valuation Design 125

Agile VC

JANUARY 21, 2015

Not every round of funding is closed at a “monster” valuation. But during the year 2000, we went through three different CEOs, fraud nearly killed the company, our revenue was negligible and unproven, and at our worst point, the company was burning well over $10 million a month — A MONTH!

Cofounder 100

Cofounder Seed Stage Employee PR 100

finance.fortune.cnn.com

AUGUST 21, 2012

Accel Partners VII (2000): 122% (97%). ARCH Venture Fund V (2000): 41% (11%). Commonwealth Capital Ventures III (2000): 110% (56%). HIG Venture Partners (2000): 44% (22%). Insight Venture Partners IV (2000): 169% (119%). Lightspeed Venture Partners VI (2000): 112% (80%). Onset Ventures IV (2000): 31% (4%).

Naming 49

Naming Term Sheet Private Equity Equity 49

Austin Startup

JULY 23, 2010

But even Walmart (the epitome of brick and mortar) changes prices on some items daily, based upon sales and competitive intelligence. The cash looks good on the balance sheet, and venture investors want to pile on money at low valuations before the valuation increases by 10x as a public stock. An item’s price is the price.

Balance Sheet 67

Balance Sheet Private Equity LP IPO 67

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 31, 2011

Mostly you read about fundings, product releases, big valuations, and M&A. My SVP of Sales & Marketing quit 30 minutes before an important board meeting. There are many VCs who have been made partner since 2000 and haven’t previously had an exit of their own. I’m not trying to be negative.

Entrepreneur 384

Entrepreneur Startup Salary Egypt 384

ReadWriteStart

SEPTEMBER 25, 2012

Many business models that failed in the early 2000s are now incredibly successful because now, the timing is right, the technology is here, and it’s easier than ever before to achieve scale. As an example, my company SitePoint tried selling eBooks back in 2000 and no one bought into it. Matt Mickiewicz , Flippa and 99designs.

Social Media 152

Social Media Flash Business Model Startup 152

ReadWriteStart

SEPTEMBER 25, 2012

Many business models that failed in the early 2000s are now incredibly successful because now, the timing is right, the technology is here, and it’s easier than ever before to achieve scale. As an example, my company SitePoint tried selling eBooks back in 2000 and no one bought into it. Matt Mickiewicz , Flippa and 99designs.

Social Media 103

Social Media Flash Business Model Startup 103

ConversionXL

FEBRUARY 15, 2018

Later on, we’ll dive into research that shows how this type of imagery can increase your sales. Some of the leading ecommerce retailers of luxury goods such as SSENSE, and Mr Porter only have sales about twice per year. We once had a client that would have sales bi-weekly, and this created a huge issue.

eCommerce 125

eCommerce Conversion Sales Technical Review 125

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 25, 2010

million at a $15 million pre-money valuation. We moved into the legal process and final due diligence in January and February of 2000. Morgan Stanley had proposed a higher valuation to let them in. Our final closure was the first week of March 2000. VC, sales, biz dev, M&A or otherwise. Yes, this was stupid.

Technical Review 301

Technical Review Term Sheet Due Diligence Venture Capital 301

Seeing Both Sides

AUGUST 3, 2012

With over $1 billion in revenue, 2000 employees and a market capitalization of over $6 billion, Akamai has become a role model for scalable start-ups. They didn’t raise their Series B until they proved some of the initial hypotheses around market adoption and were ready to scale the sales efforts, as described below. Gross Profit. $(60).

Distribution 49

Distribution Lean Massachusetts Cofounder 49

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 22, 2011

Mostly you read about fundings, product releases, big valuations, and M&A. My SVP of Sales & Marketing quit 30 minutes before an important board meeting. There are many VCs who have been made partner since 2000 and haven’t previously had an exit of their own. I’m not trying to be negative.

Entrepreneur 176

Entrepreneur Startup Salary Egypt 176

Altgate

MARCH 8, 2009

Growth stage investors are usually the Series B or C investors who come in when the product is in the market but there is little or no revenue and the team is probably in the 20-something range with the goal to ramp it up to 40-50 employees with the new money, build out a sales team, etc. But some will be saved. Also, the $1.5

Later Stage 34

Later Stage Early Stage Venture Capital Portfolio 34

www.paulgraham.com

APRIL 28, 2010

It willtake time to grow your sales to that point, and its hard to predict,till you try, how long it will take. 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. Whatever youmake, you have to sell a certain amount to break even.

Bootstrapping 77

Bootstrapping Term Sheet Founder Startup 77

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

VC Cafe

AUGUST 15, 2011

The program is geared to medium to large companies with sales of between 20 and 200 million shekels and annual exports of at least 10% of sales that are interested in establishing themselves in the Indian or Chinese market for the long run. The company has plants in Israel and the US, and sales offices in the US, Japan, and Europe.

China 90

China Cofounder India 90

Up and Running

DECEMBER 9, 2014

Bates: Josh, it reminds me of when I was doing web sites back in the day in 2000 and 1998 and instead of going and being able to buy a shopping cart you had to code the shopping cart from scratch. One of the things that we’ve done fundamentally I think it creates this difference is that we focus on sales. Bates: You know Josh—.

Small Business 95

Small Business Finance Forecast Metrics 95