Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 4, 2011

Having a set of metrics that you watch & that you feel are the key drivers of your success helps keep clarity. And the more public you can make your goals for these key metrics the better. You will likely have multiple sets of metrics you keep depending on the company’s stage, one’s function in the company and level.

Metrics 346

Metrics Startup Acquisition SEM 346

Agile VC

MAY 26, 2011

A lot of people ask me what it was like raising the Series A round for LinkedIn back in 2003. I thought I’d revisit it and share the story… First, you have to rewind mentally to early 2003. Ok, now you have the context for early 2003. He provided our initial seed funding to launch the website publicly on May 5, 2003.

Term Sheet 178

Term Sheet Silicon Valley Technical Review Social Network 178

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 14, 2009

Tech acquisitions went crazy at the same time the IPO market did. The Rise of Mergers and Acquisitions -– March 2003 -2008 After the dot.com bubble collapsed, the IPO market (and most tech M&A deals) shutdown for technology companies. And some companies didn’t even have to go public to get liquid. So what’s left?

Silicon Valley 217

Silicon Valley IPO Technical Review Venture Capital 217

Gust

NOVEMBER 4, 2011

Never missing an opportunity for a good war story, I’d like to revisit one high-profile transaction, the $650 million acquisition of MySpace by Fox Interactive Media in 2005, on which I spent many sleepless nights along with the rest of the deal team. Read on for a fuller explanation. Intermix and its advisors weren’t fools.

Valuation 98

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Merger Vesting 98

SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 5, 2009

I grew up in Los Angeles and went to undergrad at UC Santa Barbara, graduating in 2003 with Honors in Economics. Any thoughts on my recent post Startup Metrics ? The Startup Metrics post is a good example of what I call “holocognics.” Startup Metrics discusses what a Startup needs to consider before “going live.”

Los Angeles 150

Los Angeles Southern California Startup SEO 150

Startup Company Lawyer

FEBRUARY 21, 2010

Due to aggregate liquidation preferences that may exceed the acquisition price in an M&A deal, common stock may be rendered worthless. This was particularly common from 2001 to 2003, after the dot-com crash when companies had raised a large amount of venture financing at high valuations. Vesting.

Retention 31

Retention Liquidation Preference Employee Common Stock 31

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 31, 2010

So I decided to run the London Marathon in April 2003, just 3 weeks before my son was born. April 29th, 2003 my first son was born. Except that after the acquisition Salesforce.com required that I commute more than an hour each way from Palo Alto to San Francisco. By the time of my wedding in July 2002 I was super fit.

Entrepreneur 308

Entrepreneur Silicon Valley San Diego Non-Compete 308