Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2012

Many entrepreneurs still dream of “going public,” making billions of dollars, and playing with the big boys. Even though the Initial Public Offering (IPO) alternative for a successful startup seems to be coming back into vogue, it is relatively rare. IPOs in 2008, the market was up to a still trivial 159 in 2011.

Exit Strategy 239

Exit Strategy IPO Investment Bankers Entrepreneur 239

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2020

As an advisor to new hardware entrepreneurs, I often hear the myth that a business plan is no longer required to find an investor, if your idea is good enough. What you don’t realize is these famous investors only deal with entrepreneurs who sold their last company for a $100M dollars or more.

Business Plan 423

Business Plan Product Intellectual Property Elevator Pitch 423

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 27, 2016

The last thing a new entrepreneur wants to think about for a new startup is how it will end. Yet one of the first things a potential equity investor asks about is your exit strategy. Here are three important reasons for the question: Good investment paybacks normally require an exit event.

Equity 120

Equity Exit Strategy Private Equity Startup 120

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 3, 2021

Based on my own years of experience in startups and big business, and more recently as an angel investor, I often cringe when I see one of you entrepreneurs missing a cue that I have seen work for many before you. A passionate entrepreneur I met a while back had found that a certain algae could be grown cheaply, and could end world hunger.

Exit Strategy 406

Exit Strategy Merger Angel Investor IPO 406

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2013

How do you as an entrepreneur with a new idea get to be one of those choices? That means there are far more entrepreneurs looking for money than there are investors, and entrepreneur entitlement is not a realistic expectation. Exit strategy. No exit strategy means no return to investors.

Cram Down 269

Cram Down Angel Investor Intellectual Property Venture Capital 269

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 19, 2012

Entrepreneurs love the art of the start. So here are the most common exit strategies and considerations these days for planning purposes: Merger & Acquisition (M&A). Initial Public Offering (IPO). Even lifetime entrepreneurs can decide that enough is enough. To some, an exit strategy sounds negative.

Exit Strategy 241

Exit Strategy Initial Public Offering IPO Startup 241

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2013

Many entrepreneurs still dream of “going public,” making billions of dollars, and playing with the big boys. Even though the Initial Public Offering (IPO) alternative for a successful startup seems to be coming back, it is relatively rare. IPOs in 2008, the market was up to a still trivial 128 in 2012 (compared to 675 in 1996).

IPO 224

IPO Founder Exit Strategy Investment Bankers 224

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 3, 2015

The visibility of Google, Facebook and a few others continues to propagate the myth that the ultimate objective of every entrepreneur should be to take their startups public via an initial public offering at the earliest opportunity. Facebook, for example, ended up raising almost $16 billion through its IPO.

IPO 120

IPO Initial Public Offering Entrepreneur Private Equity 120

YoungUpstarts

MAY 6, 2019

These people exist and they are called ‘Serial entrepreneurs.’. Serial entrepreneurs are those who understand the complete concept of a startup lifecycle and benefit from that. Is there an exit strategy? Further Customer Acquisition. You need to improve your customer acquisition process. Acquisition.

Startup 113

Startup Technical Cofounder Merger Early Stage 113

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 14, 2009

One of the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make is misunderstanding the role of venture capital investors. There’s lots of lore, emotion, and misconceptions of what VC’s do or don’t do for entrepreneurs. On top of all this it was considered very bad form not to have at least four additional consecutive quarters of profits after an IPO.)

Silicon Valley 225

Silicon Valley IPO Technical Review Venture Capital 225

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 5, 2011

Many entrepreneurs still dream of “going public,” making billions of dollars, and playing with the big boys. Even though the Initial Public Offering (IPO) alternative for a successful startup seems to be coming back into vogue, it is still extremely rare. companies made the IPO transition in 2009, out of thousands of startups.

Exit Strategy 235

Exit Strategy IPO Investment Bankers Entrepreneur 235

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 16, 2011

It has been at least a decade since going public via an Initial Public Offering (IPO) has been considered a credible exit strategy for startups. Usually a small company can sell about 20 percent of its stock in an IPO. In 1999, there were 486 IPOs nationwide; just 10 years later, in 2009, there were only 63.

IPO 223

IPO Social Media Media Exit Strategy 223

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 13, 2020

For example, every investor I know can tell you about meeting a passionate entrepreneur who is pitching a great technology innovation, but has not done the financial homework on making it a good business. Thus the investor can’t visualize any return on investment (ROI), so the entrepreneur gets no money, and a good opportunity is lost to all.

Liquidity Event 308

Liquidity Event Forecast Exit Strategy Bootstrapping 308

The Next Web

DECEMBER 22, 2016

The ultimate goal of any startup is an exit. Exit strategies fall mainly into two camps: IPO, or get acquired. Acquisitions can tell us a lot about the state of the startup world. There is of course always the third option of failing entirely, but that’s certainly the least desirable path.

Acquisition 60

Acquisition Exit Strategy IPO Web 60

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2016

Despite the fact that the number of IPOs (Initial Public Offerings) for startups have continued to decrease, I still hear it touted often as the preferred exit strategy. In fact, IPOs are down again this year, with just 31 companies going public in the U.S. Everyone dreams of becoming a billionaire overnight.

IPO 120

IPO Initial Public Offering SEC Stock Options 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 5, 2011

Entrepreneurs love the art of the start. So here are the most common exit strategies and considerations these days for planning purposes: Merger & Acquisition (M&A). Initial Public Offering (IPO). Even lifetime entrepreneurs can decide that enough is enough. To some, an exit strategy sounds negative.

Exit Strategy 231

Exit Strategy Initial Public Offering Startup IPO 231

The Startup Magazine

APRIL 2, 2021

Investors and entrepreneurs are very excited about the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) model as an exit strategy for private companies. The SPAC model gives entrepreneurs a faster, easier path to reaching the investing public. Burgundy Technology Acquisition. Northern Genesis Acquisition Corp.

AJAX 107

AJAX Early Stage Acquisition Merger 107

Up and Running

JUNE 16, 2014

Starups.co, a company founded with the intention of connecting entrepreneurs and investors, advises business owners on what will attract an investors attention. This is where the ‘exit strategy’ comes in. An exit strategy is not your plan for when the business fails, but rather, your strategy for returning money to investors.

Exit Strategy 91

Exit Strategy Advisory Board Business Plan Portfolio 91

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 17, 2014

Most entrepreneurs struggle with financial projections, not wanting to commit to numbers they can’t deliver, and having no clue what investors might consider reasonable. Most entrepreneurs, with no experience, believe that they can make good money with lower margins than competitors. Gross margins greater than 50%. Marty Zwilling.

Liquidity Event 249

Liquidity Event Equity Venture Capital Merger 249

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 28, 2013

Most entrepreneurs struggle with financial projections, not wanting to commit to numbers they can’t deliver, and having no clue what investors might consider reasonable. Most entrepreneurs, with no experience, believe that they can make good money with lower margins than competitors. Gross margins greater than 50%. Marty Zwilling.

Liquidity Event 243

Liquidity Event Startup Equity Venture Capital 243

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 13, 2012

For years, the most desirable exit strategy for startup companies was to go public through an initial public offering. However, for many successful entrepreneurs, weighing all of the personal and financial issues that go into this decision can be gut-wrenching. Each one can provide valuable lessons to the entrepreneur.

IPO 162

IPO Exit Strategy San Francisco Startup 162

Gust

AUGUST 10, 2014

Most entrepreneurs struggle with financial projections, not wanting to commit to numbers they cant deliver, and having no clue what investors might consider reasonable. Most entrepreneurs, with no experience, believe that they can make good money with lower margins than competitors. Image via pixabay.com. Build a path to 10x return.

Liquidity Event 176

Liquidity Event Equity Venture Capital Merger 176

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 13, 2016

Entrepreneurs who are looking to attract investors need to develop and pitch a plan -- preferably written -- that answers every potential investor question about your startup before it is asked. Technically, this is your exit strategy, usually a merger and acquisition (M&A) or initial public stock offering (IPO).

Sweat Equity 120

Sweat Equity Advisory Board Liquidity Event Startup 120

David Teten

JUNE 17, 2015

But the bad news: according to CB Insights , the average time for VCs to exit via M&A is 5 years, and via IPO is 7 years. Of course, there’s a very long tail; some of your biggest winners may take 10-20 years to IPO or exit. Roach; also see Expected Returns to Stock Investments by Angel Investors in Groups.).

Angel Investor 60

Angel Investor Angel Groups Liquidity Event IPO 60

Pascal's View

AUGUST 22, 2009

On Monday, August 10, Barron’s ran a story “Does the IPO Market Shun Smaller Companies?”, This practice has created “ a near oligopolistic hold on tech IPOs ” by these large investment banks. The IPO chasm that exists today is the result of the death of the sub $50 million IPO. jobs today.

IPO 40

IPO Merger Institutional Investors Venture Capital 40

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. Depending on the circumstances, they can shape the fundamentals of an exit, redistribute value among stakeholders, or even kill a deal altogether.

Valuation 98

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Merger Vesting 98

BeyondVC

DECEMBER 23, 2003

As with any smart executive who cares about the value of equity, the question I am often asked is, “What is your exit strategy.” In other words, these good exits usually happen when your company is approached by a potential buyer-i.e., What does this all mean?

Exit Strategy 68

Exit Strategy Balance Sheet IPO Valuation 68