Feld Thoughts

JANUARY 29, 2015

For a short time I was connected into GE via their acquisition of AmeriData (I still have my GE business card with the “ meatball logo ” on it.) The opportunity cost for the big company is tiny while the opportunity cost, and often the direct costs, for the small company is enormous.

Venture Capital 70

Venture Capital Reputation Affiliate Conversion 70

Feld Thoughts

JUNE 10, 2013

. “In 2011, Apple and Google spent more money on patent litigation and defensive patent acquisitions than on research and development. Rampant patent litigation is impeding innovation and ultimately increasing the costs of gadgets for consumers, according to legal experts and industry observers.

New Hampshire 140

New Hampshire Intellectual Property United States Boston 140

Feld Thoughts

JANUARY 25, 2015

Sure, every now and then something magical happens (very high price point, very low cost of customer acquisition, zero churn), but that’s a serious edge case. You want to do an acquisition, but the seller wants some cash. It’s simple math – give it a shot if you want. I could come up with 100 more items.

Finance 70

Finance Bootstrapping Acquisition Revenue 70

Feld Thoughts

MARCH 10, 2012

Instead of articulating a powerful story about low customer acquisition costs with minimal downstream churn, he lead with “the worst problem with the business is our high churn rate.” And, more importantly, it was making him gunshy. ” I see this all the time.

Churn Rate 135

Churn Rate Finance Acquisition Conversion 135

Feld Thoughts

APRIL 21, 2014

We had to grind through a refiling of our S-1 which cost us a month. No one was interested in Internet stocks, let alone one that was being tortured by the SEC for accounting disclosure on a bunch of acquisitions of tiny companies. We finally hit the road with the intention of going public by the end of April.

Stock 140

Stock Internet SEC Italy 140

Feld Thoughts

MAY 5, 2016

I was visiting the company post acquisition and wandering down the main hallway with the founder of the company we had just acquired. While I learned a ton of finance lessons from the experience, I also learned a lot a leadership lessons. Your wall is dingy is one of them. ” We eventually both started laughing.

Cofounder 70

Cofounder Founder Equity Acquisition 70

Feld Thoughts

FEBRUARY 9, 2016

One of my favorite lines in buried in the middle: “I’ve heard enough companies say “we simply can’t cut costs or it will hurt the long-term potential of the business” to get a wry smile. Pragmatic cost cuts are always possible and often productive.” It’s simply not true.

Cap Table 70

Cap Table Down Round Liquidation Preference Founder 70