Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 17, 2022

Venture capitalists (VCs) have long been seen as the top of the pyramid for startup funding sources, but in fact angel investors now fund over twice as many companies, according to a classic Crunchbase article. The cost of entry for tech startups continues to go down. Super angels have greater scope to match talent with a startup.

Angel Investor 342

Angel Investor Venture Capital Silicon Valley Portfolio 342

Feld Thoughts

OCTOBER 7, 2013

This check is for The Community Foundation and for the Entrepreneurs Foundation of Colorado (EFCO) and results from a gift of 24,793 shares of common stock from Rally at the time of its first financing that represented approximately 1% of the equity of the company. I remember numerous conversations with Ryan about this.

Community 182

Community Colorado Common Stock Equity 182

Startup Lessons Learned

NOVEMBER 19, 2012

Guest post by Sarah Milstein, co-host of The Lean Startup Conference. At a party in NYC recently, I was challenged by a VC to name the biggest company currently using Lean Startup practices. I think he expected me to describe a medium-sized startup or maybe some small, old-school media organization.

Lean 167

Lean Saudi Arabia Startup Technical Review 167

Agile VC

DECEMBER 4, 2014

As a result, one of the trickier things co-founders tackle is determining the equity split amongst the founding group of individuals. Across both the startups I’ve personally been involved in (PayPal and LinkedIn) and the startups in which I’ve been an investor, I’ve seen a broad range of co-founder equity splits.

Cofounder 255

Cofounder Equity Founder Sweat Equity 255

Steve Blank

MARCH 4, 2014

In the last few years we’ve recognized that a startup is not a smaller version of a large company. We’re now learning that companies are not larger versions of startups. But paradoxically, in spite of all their seemingly endless resources, innovation inside of an existing company is much harder than inside a startup.

IRR 335

IRR Startup Business Model Agile 335

Steve Blank

MARCH 31, 2014

Just look at the disruptive challenges that businesses face today– globalization, China as a manufacturer, China as a consumer, the Internet, and a steady stream of new startups. Perhaps that’s because where established companies might see risks or threats, startups see opportunity. We legalized robbing the corporate treasury.

Private Equity 325

Private Equity Metrics China Intellectual Property 325

Gust

OCTOBER 29, 2014

On October 1st, 2014, after more than two years of partnership and development, Gust proudly joined the Mayor of the City of New York and IBM in announcing the launch of Digital.NYC , NYC’s new official hub for tech and startups. Most of the profiles of startups and investors are provided by Gust.

Early Stage 133

Early Stage Technical Review New York Deal Flow 133

Agile VC

DECEMBER 4, 2014

As a result, one of the trickier things co-founders tackle is determining the equity split amongst the founding group of individuals. Across both the startups I’ve personally been involved in (PayPal and LinkedIn) and the startups in which I’ve been an investor, I’ve seen a broad range of co-founder equity splits.

Cofounder 173

Cofounder Equity Founder Sweat Equity 173

Agile VC

SEPTEMBER 15, 2011

AGILEVC My idle thoughts on tech startups. Startup IPO Market: A Fickle Mistress. But if you read the whole article you glean more insight… the entire public equity markets have sunk in the last 3-4 months. What will happen for the startup IPO market? How to Evaluate Firms for a Seed VC. September 15, 2011.

IPO 100

IPO Marketing Silicon Valley Technical Review 100

Steve Blank

JUNE 12, 2020

All the teams used the Mission Model Canvas , (videos here ) Customer Development and Agile Engineering to build Minimal Viable Products, but all of their journeys were unique. I observed that teaching case studies and/or how to write a business plan as a capstone entrepreneurship class didn’t match the hands-on chaos of a startup.

Oakland 301

Oakland Asia Lean Video 301

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 27, 2014

Venture capitalists (VCs) have long been seen as the top of the pyramid for startup funding sources, but in fact angel investors now fund over 60 times as many companies, according the Center for Venture Research. The cost of entry for tech startups continues to go down. Super Angels have greater scope to match talent with a startup.

Angel Investor 260

Angel Investor Silicon Valley Startup Portfolio 260

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2013

You may know how much to pay in cash or equity for your new VP Engineering. The Agile Board. Startup Advice' And you can often throw in a separate action like approving stock-option grants, getting approval for CAPEX spend, discussing fund raising timing – whatever. Always seek input. Board Meetings. Meeting Dynamics.

Advisory Board 365

Advisory Board CTO Hire Fractional CTO Los Angeles 365

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 1, 2021

Make sure your hiring practices include diversity, inclusion, and equity. Practice your agility. I recently saw that many companies were slow in adopting pandemic required virtual workplaces, plexiglass barriers, and restaurant tables outside. Some of these companies no longer exist.

Agile 321

Agile Differentiation Lead Generation Social Media 321

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 8, 2019

In my other role of business advisor, I see examples often of startups that may have taken success for granted too early. You may start with prototype products, but you need rock-solid processes for successful growth and agility. Build your brand equity and relationships with customers. Initial success breeds complacency.

Angel Investor 220

Angel Investor Equity Leadership Demand 220

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 11, 2020

Maybe you are more comfortable going slow, with limited resources, or aiming high and giving up equity. Commitment, tenacity, and agility are key in this stage. Landing investments and backing requires a new level of confidence, communication, and risk. The test – iterate and pivot, based on market feedback.

Entrepreneur 348

Entrepreneur Silicon Valley Incubator Merger 348

Steve Blank

JUNE 11, 2009

Posted on June 11, 2009 by steveblank When my students ask me about whether they should be a founder or cofounder of a startup I ask them to take a walk around the block and ask themselves: Are you comfortable with: Chaos – startups are disorganized Uncertainty – startups never go per plan Are you: Resilient – at times you will fail – badly.

Cofounder 219

Cofounder Founder Silicon Valley Technical Cofounder 219

Startup Lessons Learned

MAY 14, 2009

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Thursday, May 14, 2009 The Lean Startup Workshop - now an OReilly Master Class My rate of posting has been much lower lately, and this is mostly due to preparations for the upcoming Lean Startup Workshop on May 29. I joined a financial services tech startup in 1999. You can click here to learn more.

Lean 60

Lean San Francisco Continuous Deployment Software Review 60

ReadWriteStart

MAY 30, 2022

The Proud Owners of a Startup. Today, as the proud owner of a startup, you’re probably much better at managing your money. Sometime in your future, an investor will offer you money in return for equity. It might take the experience of growing and exiting two or even three startups before you know how to do that. .

Bootstrapping 147

Bootstrapping Startup Equity Silicon Valley 147

Altgate

SEPTEMBER 16, 2010

We tried to provide a framework for startups to think about what activities should be outsourced and why. What kind of startup outsources everything? Well, you’re right, most don’t, but one example of a startup that does is PlentyOfFish. Also, most startup attorneys will do deferred payment plans.

Software Review 65

Software Review Offshore Startup Boston 65

This is going to be BIG.

MARCH 1, 2010

Here’s my best attempt to shed some light on the most common misconceptions about building a company here in NYC: Misconception #1: There’s no money in NYC for startups… and the money that’s here isn’t smart or experienced money. Much of the equity investment that goes on happens through people you’d never think of.

New York City 113

New York City New York Startup Burn Rate 113

Agile VC

OCTOBER 23, 2012

And even if they wanted the index return, there is essentially no way to buy (or sell) a broad-based basket of VC funds in the way you can trade the S&P 500 or Russell 2000 or other public equity index. Startup outcomes are a power law distribution rather than a standard distribution. What about fund of funds (FoF), you ask?

LP 176

LP Accredited Investor Carried Interest Portfolio 176

femgineer.com

JULY 18, 2010

HOME About the Femgineer Speaking Engagements Reading List Recruiting Startup Engineers With the startup market taking off, there is always a clamor to find good engineers, developers, and designers. Sweat equity or salary? You won’t find us going out to the normal startup networking events or partying all night.

Engineer 41

Engineer Software Review Startup Technical Review 41

The Equity Kicker

MAY 7, 2013

When our companies started switching from ‘waterfall’ to ‘agile’ development methodologies we went from having detailed pictures of how products were going to evolve (albeit with delivery risk) to little visibility of what new features would emerge and when. Startup general interest' Just less than before.

Development Team Review 94

Development Team Review Business Plan Agile Operations 94

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 9, 2015

In fact, there is plenty of evidence that too much money can undermine a startup more quickly than squeezing pennies. Yet many entrepreneurs rely on expensive outside services and outside money, rather than do the networking for a co-founder or two who have the right skills to work for equity. A desire to roll out on a massive scale.

Bootstrapping 120

Bootstrapping Cofounder Equity Agile 120

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 26, 2013

The program pays scientists $50,000 to attend the program and takes no equity. The NSF I-Corps uses everything we know about building Lean Startups and Evidence-based Entrepreneurship to connect innovation to entrepreneurship. Currently there are 11 U.S.

Lean 262

Lean Washington Incubator Agile 262

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 27, 2012

Free: Startup Tools. If you’re building a startup, the Startup Tools tab on the top of this page has curated links to hundreds of startup resources. Specific links are: A list of startup tools is here. Market research tools to help you figure out the size of the opportunity your startup is pursuing, are here.

Open Source 335

Open Source Silicon Valley Lean Customer Development 335

Startup Lessons Learned

OCTOBER 5, 2010

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Tuesday, October 5, 2010 The Lean Startup Bundle People often ask me if they can buy "Lean Startup in a box" from me. Startups run into this problem all the time: not every possible way of making money is equally useful. People want to get started with Lean Startup but arent exactly how.

Lean 153

Lean San Francisco Startup Continuous Deployment 153

Steve Blank

JULY 2, 2015

military can work together – for access to advanced technology and to learn how to move with agility, speed and urgency. — — — — In this second segment, Takashi Tsutsumi and Masato Iino talk about how they brought the Lean Startup to Japan. The focus of our first segment is how Silicon Valley and the U.S.

Channel 120

Channel Japan Bosnia Silicon Valley 120

Up and Running

JUNE 23, 2015

However, these can be difficult to obtain and ship, and this is exactly where social enterprise startup Maternova has made—and continues to make—inspirational strides. While Meg was deeply involved in the nuance of the maternal health crisis worldwide, Allyson had in-depth experience building successful startup companies.

Cofounder 60

Cofounder Sweat Equity Social Media Business Model 60

The Startup Lawyer

MARCH 17, 2012

Outsourcing your startup’s early technical development to a dev shop is like riding an elephant in a horseback polo match. You’re on a big beast, but your lack of agility will prevent you from scoring. Most of these early “partnerships” never work, regardless of how the startup compensates the dev shop.

Cofounder 92

Cofounder Vesting Equity Agile 92

VC Cafe

SEPTEMBER 26, 2022

The past year was a wild ride for startups and founders, giving a whole new meaning to the ”rollercoaster” aspect of being an entrepreneur. A combination of competition for top talent and an effort to bring employees back to the office drove startups in Israel to throw extravagant parties and all-inclusive retreats abroad.

Founder 187

Founder Startup Valuation Pre-Money Valuation 187

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 6, 2011

The Lean Startup Book is done. If you've been waiting for a comprehensive account of the Lean Startup and how it can help you achieve dramatically better business results, this is it. Some are from obscure startups who you haven't heard of -- yet. Here's the description you'll find on the book jacket itself: Most startups fail.

Lean 167

Lean Startup Metrics Private Equity 167

blog.simeonov.com

FEBRUARY 22, 2010

I have been thinking a lot recently about how to apply agile development principles to investing and key aspects of startup development such as team building. Both stem from the agile principle of delaying decisions until the last responsible moment. The first post is about agile startup fundraising.

Founder 44

Founder Vesting Agile Startup 44

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 13, 2013

The real reason to build an MVP is to do early tests of key Startup Metrics for the business. Equity-Only CTO and Equity-Only Developers Technology Roles in Startups Want to Know the Difference Between a CTO and a VP Engineering? I'm always happy to try to help startups figure out how to go after creating their MVP.

Technical Cofounder 338

Technical Cofounder Technical Review CTO Hire Fractional CTO 338

Steve Blank

JUNE 2, 2011

A revolution has taken hold as customer development and agile engineering reinvent the Startup process. It’s time to ask why startup board governance has failed to keep pace with innovation. Board meetings that guide startups haven’t changed since the early 1900’s. It’s time for a change. Silicon Valley, New York).

Silicon Valley 281

Silicon Valley Business Model Early Stage Venture Capital 281

SoCal CTO

APRIL 28, 2014

This is something I’ve explored several times already in my blog: Startup Founder Developer Gap Startup CTO or Developer Technical Advisors – Why Every Startup Needs Them Bottom line - for most startups, what they really need is a technical advisor or part-time CTO along with some development resources. Great question.

Technical Cofounder 280

Technical Cofounder Developer Fractional CTO CTO Hire 280

The Equity Kicker

JUNE 21, 2012

Going through the list of 13 companies I found 4-5 that are consistent with my hypothesis ( Agile Diagnosis , Cardiio , Care At Hand , Sessions , Sano Intelligence ) which I take as evidence that the timing for this market may well be now. Agile Diagnosis - web and mobile app for doctors to improve speed and accuracy of diagnosis.

Agile 98

Agile Valuation Mobile Startup 98