Agile VC

APRIL 17, 2011

Kayak was started here in my backyard of Boston… co-founder & CTO Paul English and the product/engineering team is based here in Concord MA. Co-founder & CEO Steve Hafner and the business team are based in Norwalk, CT. Led by General Catalyst with participation by co-founders Steve Hafner & Paul English.

Pre-Money Valuation 113

Pre-Money Valuation Liquidation Preference Dividend Common Stock 113

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 20, 2011

They have totally changed the way you run a VC firm, investing heavily in systems & events for their founders that are pushing the boundaries of the way our industry works. The discussion with Howard Morgan starts off by acknowledging Josh Kopelman as a co-founder of First Round Capital. I'm a huge fan of this innovation.

Pre-Money Valuation 284

Pre-Money Valuation Technical Review Cofounder Cram Down 284

VC Cafe

SEPTEMBER 15, 2020

I’ve always been a fan of startup resources lists and had a dedicated page on VC Cafe since the blog’s inception in 2005. You may have stumbled on LinkedIn posts enticing people (mainly startup founders) to leave a comment if they would like to get a copy of a document/list/database. Sales, Marketing and customer success.

Venture Capital 131

Venture Capital Incubator Database eCommerce 131

Version One Ventures

AUGUST 7, 2019

While we adjust valuation on a quarterly basis, I took the June 30 values for each year (since June 30 2019 is the latest data we have). There are many examples of start-ups where the founders don’t give up, pushing hard until they finally figured out something magically or until the market is ready for their product.

Valuation 137

Valuation Cofounder Portfolio Founder 137

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 23, 2017

by Joe Duncan, founder of Duncan Capital LP. PC and mobile interfaces dynamically display portfolio valuations and exposures, along with system-generated investment recommendations tailored to a specific client’s financial goals and risk appetite. At least for investment banks the answer is not so clear cut.

Technical Review 131

Technical Review Artificial Inteligence Software Review IPO 131

Agile VC

MAY 26, 2011

Many assume it was a cakewalk, based on the success LinkedIn has enjoyed over time and the current stature of our founder/CEO Reid Hoffman (now Chairman). Yes… he was a very successful PayPal exec and previously co-founder & VP Product of SocialNet. It was a pretty good valuation for the time. It was a $4.7M

Term Sheet 178

Term Sheet Silicon Valley Technical Review Social Network 178

Gust

NOVEMBER 4, 2011

Entrepreneurs and investors who have spent any time dealing with convertible debt seed financing transactions are likely to have encountered the subject of valuation caps. Valuation caps can come into play in settings other than seed-stage convertible note financing rounds. Read on for a fuller explanation.

Valuation 98

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Merger Vesting 98

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 have two simple rules for founders in my head from this experience. You might have it in the bank already.

Cap Table 70

Cap Table Down Round Liquidation Preference Founder 70

Altgate

DECEMBER 16, 2010

@altgate Startups, Venture Capital & Everything In Between Skip to content Home Furqan Nazeeri (fn@altgate.com) ← Pre-Money Valuation vs Number of Founders Where Do Tech VCs Invest? But first, let’s look at pre-money valuation by liquidation preference. and 2X had an average pre-money valuation of $8.6

Liquidation Preference 39

Liquidation Preference Pre-Money Valuation Term Sheet Valuation 39

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2013

For starters let me use “CEO” as a proxy to include her “inner circle” which might mean co-founders or might just mean senior execs of the business. The Mind of the Founder. We funded one in 2005 and lost a lot of money. The mind of a founder is wired differently than most people. Sorry, brah.”

Startup 417

Startup Dilution San Diego Stock Options 417

500hats.com

AUGUST 2, 2012

A few years before all this scandalous VC behavior occurred, in 2005 Paul Graham ) started Y Combinator. YC now runs 2 programs per year, with over 80 companies in the current batch, and is highly respected both by VCs and entrepreneurs all over the world (and their valuations reflect that as well). and no, we didn’t.

Silicon Valley 74

Silicon Valley Early Stage Venture Capital Valuation 74

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 28, 2011

The trend of funding anything from the first $25k to funding $50 million at a billion+ valuation is unlikely to last as the skills and style to be effective at all stages are diverse enough to warrant focus. These two trends had a major impact on the computing industry from 2000-2005 but the effects weren’t yet felt by the VC industry.

Venture Capital 334

Venture Capital Software PHP Open Source 334

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2015

Let me take you back just 10 years ago to 2005 in Silicon Valley where I returned after 11 years of living in Europe. Firms like Baseline, Felicis, ff Ventures, Founder Collective, Freestyle, HomeBrew, IA Ventures, K9, Lowercase, NextView, Resolute, Rincon, Crosscut and the countless other great firms we all now know didn’t exist.

Seed Stage 150

Seed Stage Silicon Valley Syndicate Syndication 150

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 14, 2010

Chris Dixon made the point that he thinks investors should look for the founders to have the domain knowledge rather than them having domain knowledge themselves. But I prefer a certain naive optimism in founders but I can’t see that this extends to angel investors. Let’s call these cards 1996-99 and 2005-08.

Angel Investor 152

Angel Investor Cap Table Early Stage Deal Flow 152

Cracking the Code

MARCH 23, 2007

Geoffrey Arone , the founder of FLock, who is now an Entrepreneur-In-Residence in our Menlo Park office, mentioned this company to me and I thought it was worth writting a post about it. Detailed SaaS Spreadsheet (Valuation and CAC benchmark). SaaS 13 Index Valuation. Friday, March 23, 2007. My Investments. CornerstoneOnDemand.

Software Review 48

Software Review Viral Media Marketing 48

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2010

Chris Dixon made the point that he thinks investors should look for the founders to have the domain knowledge rather than them having domain knowledge themselves. But while I prefer a certain naive optimism in founders I can’t see the logic that this extends to angel investors.

Angel Investor 284

Angel Investor Early Stage Cap Table Deal Flow 284

Software By Rob

JANUARY 8, 2019

To catch you up, here’s a brief summary of TinySeed: TinySeed is a remote accelerator designed for SaaS founders seeking mentorship from world-class experts, community with other talented founders, and enough funding to live for a year. Previously On.TinySeed. This was the moment we knew we were onto something.

Early Stage 46

Early Stage Valuation Seed Capital Revenue 46

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 14, 2010

Many companies that are raising B or C venture capital rounds right now raised their initial money in 2005-2008. management, founders, angel investors) get any money. Talk openly about valuation and what they’ll accept so you know what you’re dealing with. It is 2010. But pass they will. Brain damage. Reputation.

Venture Capital 289

Venture Capital Liquidation Preference Common Stock Dividend 289

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. 3/31/2005: 22.8. And those are big companies with real earnings, so you can imagine how a private company’s valuation might fluctuate. In June of 2000, I raised money at an $820M post-money valuation. Things change.

Down Round 78

Down Round Marketing Preferred Stock Post-Money Valuation 78

Altgate

DECEMBER 11, 2008

Have a founders agreement. If you can’t afford this then make very simple, clear, plain English, written, signed agreements with you “co-founders”. If you can’t afford this then make very simple, clear, plain English, written, signed agreements with you “co-founders”. Keep them simple, and keep physical copies. Good advice.

Founder 28

Founder Intellectual Property Colorado Boston 28

The Equity Kicker

JULY 8, 2019

The watershed moment in entrepreneurship becoming more science than art as probably Eric Ries’s publication of The Lean Startup in 2011 (although some would argue for Steve Blank’s Four Steps to the Epiphany in 2005). Our companies are 4x more likely to reach Series A, with a 55% higher valuation, 26% faster and with founder equity 2.3x

Portfolio 84

Portfolio LP Venture Capital Partner 84

genylabs.typepad.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

Member since 01/2005. I wont bother going into details on start-up financing terms ( see this post for an overview of typical VC terms) except to say if you dont know and understand: the firms cap table and valuation. what rights and preferences the founders and the other investors have. September 2011. August 2011. April 2011.

Equity 40

Equity Technical Review San Jose Stock 40

Altgate

OCTOBER 18, 2010

@altgate Startups, Venture Capital & Everything In Between Skip to content Home Furqan Nazeeri (fn@altgate.com) ← Startup Executive Compensation Scorecard Pre-Money Valuation vs Number of Founders → No one wants to tell you your baby is ugly Posted on October 18, 2010 by admin No one wants to tell you your baby is ugly.

Pre-Money Valuation 59

Pre-Money Valuation Venture Capital Valuation Lean 59

Jeff Hilimire

APRIL 10, 2012

So the question is, why did Zuck pay double the valuation for Instagram? It’s not like when Yahoo bought Flickr in 2005. Yesterday Facebook bought Instagram for a billion dollars. Last week, Instagram received funding that valued the company at $500 million. Mobile and photos. Instagram, like Path, is a mobile-only network.

Acquisition 55

Acquisition Valuation Mobile Networking 55

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 1, 2009

style euphoria that swept the Valley beginning in 2005. With First Round Capital, Sequoia and Founders Fund obviously a lot of respected investors think highly of its potential. The growth and $1 billion valuation of Twitter and its impact on business – The Big Thaw discussion would obviously not be complete without discussing Twitter.

IPO 255

IPO Investment Bankers Venture Capital Marketing 255

This is going to be BIG.

DECEMBER 26, 2011

It feels a lot like NYC as a whole did back in 2005--a handful of relatively disconnected folks, a few marquee companies and a whole lot of pent up interest in doing something impactful in the local community. Android Backlash.

Technology 116

Technology Valuation Community Restful 116

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 13, 2012

The founders sold the two year old company to eBay in 2005 for $2.6 While each situation is unique, a pattern you may be noticing here is that founders of unprofitable startups tend to fare better when their businesses are sold. . - Highly profitable. This startup offered free peer to peer on-line phone service. Unprofitable.

IPO 162

IPO Exit Strategy San Francisco Startup 162

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. 3/31/2005: 22.8 And those are big companies with real earnings, so you can imagine how a private company’s valuation might fluctuate. In June of 2000, I raised money at an $820M post-money valuation. Things change.

Marketing 46

Marketing Preferred Stock Post-Money Valuation Down Round 46

Professor VC

FEBRUARY 12, 2015

When I pulled out the May 30, 2005 issue with Real Estate Gold Rush on the cover and posting the question "Inside the hot-money work of housing speculators, condo-flippers, and get-rich-quick schemers. I''m not about to compare the current state of private company valuations to the real estate bubble or even the dot-com bubble.

Las Vegas 28

Las Vegas IPO Pre-Money Valuation Valuation 28

www.paulgraham.com

APRIL 28, 2010

November 2005 Venture funding works like gears. I think it would help founders to understand funding better—notjust the mechanics of it, but what investors are thinking. And if trouble withinvestors is one of the biggest threats to a startup, managing themis one of the most important skills founders need to learn.

Technical Review 76

Technical Review Startup Software Review Angel Investor 76

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 26, 2020

What most founders don’t realize is: Every stage of a startup requires a different set of metrics and milestones and founder skills. Knowing these will help a founder position her pitch to get investors’ attention. Founders need to keep their eye on the prize — not just the next funding round. Step 5: Series, C, D….

Cofounder 429

Cofounder Seed Stage Valuation Metrics 429

Bryce Dot VC

SEPTEMBER 28, 2015

What that meant is that six companies a year could achieve a hundred million in revenue or a billion in valuation. Back in 2005 we started a venture firm called OATV, O’Reilly Alpha Tech Ventures, myself, my partner Tim O’Reilly, and my partner Mark Jacobson. That founder has now raised almost $200M in funding. or someone else.

Venture Capital 40

Venture Capital Valuation Los Angeles Chicago 40

www.paulgraham.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

Single Founder Have you ever noticed how few successful startups were founded byjust one person? Even companies you think of as having one founder,like Oracle, usually turn out to have more. Whats wrong with having one founder? It probably means the founder couldnt talk anyof his friends into starting the company with him.

Startup 108

Startup Software Review Hiring Detroit 108

Altgate

DECEMBER 11, 2008

@altgate Startups, Venture Capital & Everything In Between Skip to content Home Furqan Nazeeri (fn@altgate.com) ← Great Startup Event In Boston A Squeeze On Boston Venture Valuations → White Collar Crime Spree Posted on December 11, 2008 by fnazeeri What is going on with the rash of “white collar&# crime? Bernie Madoff.

SEC 28

SEC Boston Nashville Illinois 28

Altgate

DECEMBER 18, 2008

Then your other preferred investors will get their preference (let’s assume they have $12MM at 1x invested in two rounds at a $17MM post-money valuation which would make the “current&# round flat). But non-management employees and founders will be thrown table scraps and crushed down. What’s the alternative?

Liquidation Preference 31

Liquidation Preference Venture Capital Post-Money Valuation Participating Preferred 31

www.paulgraham.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

March 2005 (This essay is derived from a talk at the Harvard ComputerSociety.) And since a startup thatsucceeds ordinarily makes its founders rich, that implies gettingrich is doable too. Ideally you want between two and four founders. But you dont want so many founders that the company starts to looklike a group photo.

Startup 105

Startup Cofounder Software Stock 105

The Next Web

SEPTEMBER 24, 2013

A fortnight ago, Boris interviewed Reed Hastings on his business lessons and experience, but now I’m shaking it up with a look at a 26-year-old founder who is disrupting the mobile and social networking spaces: Kik CEO and founder Ted Livingston. I went to university in Waterloo in 2005 for engineering.

Entrepreneur 167

Entrepreneur CTO Hire Startup Mobile 167