Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 20, 2012

Nail the business model. Leverage your customer conversations to predict and validate your business model. Don’t forget a viable financial model of costs, margins, customer acquisition, and break-even. Don’t forget a viable financial model of costs, margins, customer acquisition, and break-even.

Startup 296

Startup Angel Investor Technical Review Incubator 296

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 23, 2010

Every new startup I know dreams of being funded by an angel investor. Remember the old adage that “investors fund people, not ideas.” That’s why this item is so important, and is probably the biggest stumbling block I see in getting through the initial angel screening. Build an investor presentation and summary.

Angel Investor 224

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Technical Review Elevator Pitch 224

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 19, 2011

Nail the business model. Leverage your customer conversations to predict and validate your business model. Don’t forget a viable financial model of costs, margins, customer acquisition, and break-even. Don’t forget a viable financial model of costs, margins, customer acquisition, and break-even.

Startup 286

Startup Angel Investor Technical Review Incubator 286

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2011

Every new startup I know dreams of being funded by an angel investor. Remember the old adage that “investors fund people, not ideas.” That’s why this item is so important, and is probably the biggest stumbling block I see in getting through the initial angel screening. Build an investor presentation and summary.

Intellectual Property 249

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Technical Review Elevator Pitch 249

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 11, 2017

Too many startups have experienced early financial losses and technical glitches, like Groupon and the Zynga IPO a while back, which antagonized individual investors and startup executives as well. In addition, most ordinary investors are convinced that IPO rewards only go to insiders. Startup founders don’t fit in a public company.

IPO 218

IPO SEC Prospectus Technical Review 218

YoungUpstarts

JUNE 12, 2014

You will have to realign your financial thinking around opportunity costs for your business. It would be nice to take that well-deserved vacation, for instance, but the money might be better spent supporting your business. If you’re not a strong software developer, for example, hire someone or bring on a co-founder who is.

Angel Investor 275

Angel Investor Security Cofounder Salary 275

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 1, 2020

In very few specific cases, depending on the nature of the business, the business model might demand a considerable gestation period or extensive research and development. For these businesses, it is imperative to get funding from the start without which the company cannot be set up. Equity investors.

Startup 150

Startup Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Seed Stage 150

Gust

DECEMBER 16, 2012

ABC Shark Tank Angels via Elite Daily. Every new startup I know dreams of being funded early by one of the 318,000 active Angel investors in the USA alone. Remember the old adage that “investors fund people, not ideas.” Build an investor presentation and summary. Prepare an investment-grade business plan.

Angel Investor 179

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Elevator Pitch Angel Groups 179

Up and Running

JULY 2, 2014

Picking the right attorney in your startup is as important as picking the right business partner. You can’t underestimate the importance of selecting an attorney who “gets” your business model, your market opportunity, and most importantly, your fundraising and exit strategy. We were on a roll.

Technical Review 118

Technical Review Angel Investor Due Diligence Dilution 118

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 9, 2019

With the advent and popularity of crowdfunding platforms, including Kickstarter and IndieGoGo , as a winning alternative for funding your new venture, I find that many aspiring entrepreneurs are confused about the need to ever seek a professional angel investor. Compare the time frames and costs of alternatives.

Non-disclosure Agreement 299

Non-disclosure Agreement Angel Investor Bootstrapping SEC 299

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 11, 2022

After many years of working with angel investors seriously trying to find new ventures worthy of their hard-earned money, I find their frustration often exceeds that of entrepreneurs sincerely looking for financial help. Undefined business model or very low gross margins. Naïve expectations on funding terms and process.

Due Diligence 271

Due Diligence Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Preferred Stock 271

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 9, 2010

Due to the economy as well, traditional individual angel investors haven’t been able to fill the gap. It’s higher risk, but higher return, to pick the big winners early, before angels have set unreasonable valuations and restrictive terms. Technology costs are plummeting, meaning you can do more with less. Marty Zwilling.

Technical Review 215

Technical Review Early Stage Venture Capital Startup 215

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 27, 2016

There is an old saying in the startup investor community, “Smart investors invest in the team, not the idea.” As an angel investor, I’ve learned to believe in this approach, since I have seen great ideas go astray, due to poor execution and I have seen apparently marginal ideas make millions, managed by a savvy entrepreneur.

Technical Review 134

Technical Review Intellectual Property Due Diligence Angel Investor 134

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 29, 2022

Too many startups have experienced early financial losses and technical glitches, like Uber and the Zynga IPO a while back, which antagonized individual investors and startup executives as well. In addition, most ordinary investors are convinced that IPO rewards only go to insiders. Startup founders don’t fit in a public company.

IPO 245

IPO SEC Prospectus Startup 245

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 1, 2015

Too many startups have experienced early financial losses and technical glitches, like King Digital Entertainment and the Facebook IPO a while back, which antagonized individual investors and startup executives as well. In addition, most ordinary investors are convinced that IPO rewards only go to insiders.

IPO 120

IPO SEC Prospectus Startup 120

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 14, 2020

After many years of working with angel investors seriously trying to find new ventures worthy of their hard-earned money, I find their frustration often exceeds that of entrepreneurs sincerely looking for financial help. Undefined business model or very low gross margins. Naïve expectations on funding terms and process.

Due Diligence 308

Due Diligence Intellectual Property Preferred Stock Seed Stage 308

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 25, 2016

Lately I’ve been having to say things I thought I’d never have to remind people, like, “getting to positive gross margin in several territories is a very low bar to claim success” or “profitable excluding marketing costs” is not actually a real thing. But not doing basic research makes no sense.

Startup 150

Startup Seed Money DC Software Review 150

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 19, 2017

Seeking that funding prior to launching a viable product, however, would have virtually ensured that Klemm would largely cede control of the company to PE investors. By contrast, obtaining a pre-money valuation of $5 million for a business with a new viable product and even very minimal sales is somewhat reasonable.

Private Equity 94

Private Equity Pre-Money Valuation Equity Startup 94

Austin Startup

FEBRUARY 13, 2019

But every startup’s journey towards getting to the Series A point is certainly unique in its own way, and when I reflect on what it took to reach this goal, there were four key strategies, related to raising funds and seeking out investors, that really set us up for successes and helped us get there not just faster, but smarter.

Strategic Investors 49

Strategic Investors Austin Angel Investor Bootstrapping 49

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 31, 2014

However, in meeting some of the sports startups one of the things that struck me is that most of the founders who said they wanted to grow big hadn’t given much thought about how they would go about building size and scale. For example, many of the Australian sports tech business models shared common elements.

Global 335

Global Australia Silicon Valley China 335

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 9, 2018

In fact, research by Fundable shows that less than one percent of all startups are funded by venture capital and angel investors. Bootstrapping allows you to maintain full control of your startup strategy, retain maximum equity, and avoid the time delay and energy spent to attract outside investors.

Incubator 180

Incubator Angel Investor Dilution Equity 180

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 24, 2016

Here is my list, based on my own experience as a startup advisor, talking to other angel investors, and derived from the lean startup principles of venture advisor and entrepreneur Eric Ries : Strip the solution down to a focus on a key feature. Switch to a more attractive and lucrative business model.

Angel Investor 143

Angel Investor Dilution Matching Business Model 143

Gust

JANUARY 4, 2012

Many thanks to David Rose , Ilana Grossman , Justin Stanwix , and the whole Gust team for making the Gust Blog such a valuable platform and resource for entrepreneurs and angel investors. I’m proud to contribute to the effort and always enjoy reading what the other authors have to say.

Intellectual Property 143

Intellectual Property IP Startup United States 143

VC Cafe

FEBRUARY 27, 2024

A founder asked me what makes a $2M round “pre-seed”? What’s the difference between an angel round and pre-seed round and why do I believe we’ll see more pre-seed rounds taking place in 2024? At the risk of sounding cliche, there’s never been a better time to be a startup founder.

Valuation 186

Valuation Software Review Generative AI Technical Review 186

ReadWriteStart

FEBRUARY 18, 2020

When starting a business, it’s typical to look for venture capital, angel investors, and even co-founders to help get the company up and running. While funding is necessary for almost all businesses, seeking it out yourself isn’t necessarily the right path for everyone.

Bootstrapping 145

Bootstrapping Startup Cofounder Angel Investor 145

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 15, 2008

My belief is that these lean startups will achieve dramatically lower development costs, faster time to market, and higher quality products in the years to come. Whether they also lead to dramatically higher returns for investors is a question Im looking forward to studying. July 15, 2009 11:18 PM markmontgomery said.

Lean 168

Lean San Francisco Startup Continuous Deployment 168

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 11, 2013

Too many startups have experienced financial and technical glitches in recent rollouts, like the Facebook IPO, which antagonize individual investors and startup company executives as well. In addition, most ordinary investors are convinced that all the IPO rewards today somehow only go to insiders. Going public is an expensive process.

IPO 242

IPO SEC Prospectus Startup 242

Scalable Startup

DECEMBER 15, 2011

Here are the justifications and logic process for so many claiming they have a startup before they really do, and in many cases actually getting some funding: people feel like they might as well start their own business since nobody is hiring. the barriers are now very low for actually forming a business, as is the cost.

Angel Investor 24

Angel Investor Startup IPO Software Developers 24

Transformify

JULY 23, 2018

When speaking of startups’ funding, most founders first consider VC or Angel Investor funding. The good news is that startups from all sectors of the economy can apply and leverage on novel combinations of existing business models and technologies. However, it is not necessarily the only option.

Intellectual Property 66

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Dilution Startup 66

Up and Running

MAY 28, 2015

We recently had Tim Berry, Palo Alto Software founder and business planning expert, present our Bplans audience with his latest advice on lean business planning. We’re business owners, we aren’t all getting angel investment, so one of the principles of the lean business plan is you do what you’re going to use.

Lean 60

Lean Business Plan Video Software Review 60

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 1, 2016

After many years of working with angel investors seriously trying to find new ventures worthy of their hard-earned money, I find their frustration often exceeds that of entrepreneurs sincerely looking for financial help. Undefined business model or very low gross margins. Naïve expectations on funding terms and process.

Due Diligence 120

Due Diligence Intellectual Property Preferred Stock Seed Stage 120

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 25, 2016

As an active angel investor, here are some key ones I have seen, with some guidance on how to improve your odds. Poorly written or missing business plan. If you recently sold your last startup for $800 million, you probably don’t need a business plan at all to get money for your next startup.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Accredited Investor Angel Investor Reputation 120

Growthink Blog

MAY 23, 2011

Through connections, or through a chance meeting at a networking or social event, an angel investor hears the entrepreneur's story, likes them and their technology, and on the spot, writes a check to provide the company with its first outside financing. Venture capitalists Have Very Different Objectives than Angel Investors.

Angel Investor 112

Angel Investor Venture Capital Sweat Equity Cram Down 112

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 14, 2015

Image via Flickr by Side Wages Some entrepreneurs forget that they need an innovative business model along with an innovative solution to have a successful startup. Inventors alone, or business gurus alone, generally fail. It really takes a complementary pair of founders to improve the odds.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Startup Angel Investor Social Media 120

SoCal CTO

JULY 13, 2010

One of the highlights of my trip was a startup dinner which included Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, the founders of 37signals. The sunk costs trap. Creating Incremental Strategic Value - Ask the Angels , June 17, 2010 We can easily overlook the level of demand pull when we are assessing strategic value. Now I have.

Cofounder 175

Cofounder Technical Cofounder Term Sheet Startup 175

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 11, 2016

And not keep investors informed about changes to your business model can have serious consequences. How to recognize when it’s time to pull the plug on your startup idea, and why founders can’t operate afford to operate in a vacuum were the focus on today’s Entrepreneurs are Everywhere radio show. Dan Miller.

Columbus 245

Columbus Entrepreneur Ohio Cofounder 245

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 26, 2016

For startups and high-growth businesses, as you scale and encounter new milestones and obstacles, you will be faced with the question of how to finance and plan for that growth. Luckily for founders, the ways in which you can finance your startup are varied based on your business model, your preference, your goals, and timeline, and so on.

Covenant 60

Covenant Institutional Investors Balance Sheet Warrant 60