Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2011

Every new startup I know dreams of being funded by an angel investor. The corporate entity lends itself best to the concept of “sharing” equity required by investors, and unincorporated entities don’t get funding. Remember the old adage that “investors fund people, not ideas.” Line up an experienced team.

Intellectual Property 249

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Technical Review Elevator Pitch 249

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 23, 2010

Every new startup I know dreams of being funded by an angel investor. The corporate entity lends itself best to the concept of “sharing” equity required by investors, and unincorporated entities don’t get funding. Remember the old adage that “investors fund people, not ideas.” Line up an experienced team.

Angel Investor 224

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Technical Review Elevator Pitch 224

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 4, 2020

Angel investors will perk up if you have a prototype or a few real customers, while venture capitalists will likely choose to wait until you have achieved several million in revenue or customer count. Here is where projections of cost, pricing, volumes and cash flow are critical.

Startup 337

Startup Preferred Stock Exit Strategy Equity 337

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. The corporate entity lends itself best to the concept of “sharing” equity required by investors, and unincorporated entities don’t get funding.

Angel Investor 179

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Elevator Pitch Angel Groups 179

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 22, 2019

You can extend this pool of funds by taking out a home equity line of credit. You can ask them to become equity investors in your business or you can ask them to extend a business loan. But this will cost you in terms of control. Angel Investors. Angel investors mainly benefit your business in two ways.

Finance 194

Finance Small Business Angel Investor Exit Strategy 194

Up and Running

JANUARY 2, 2013

I know what it’s like to pitch to investors – both angels and venture capitalists. I’ve raised close to $1 million from angel investors for my previous technology start-ups. Sometimes you only get 10 minutes to pitch your business opportunity to the investors (or less in some cases).

Hockey Stick 164

Hockey Stick Exit Strategy Technical Review Due Diligence 164

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 28, 2018

It won’t work, it costs time and money, and hurts your credibility when you need them later. Every entrepreneur needs help and support along the way, from developing the initial idea, to selling off the successful business (exit strategy). Sometimes these will ask for 5%-15% of your equity for their support services.

Incubator 236

Incubator Exit Strategy Institutional Investors Angel Investor 236

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 17, 2014

Projecting the financials should be the last step of your business plan preparation, since it assumes you already know the opportunity size, customer buying habits, pricing, costs, and competition. Here are some basic “rules of thumb” that every Angel or venture capital equity investor uses, to help you anticipate their reactions.

Liquidity Event 249

Liquidity Event Equity Venture Capital Merger 249

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 27, 2018

As an occasional angel investor, I always ask for a business pitch to get me in the mood. I’m a technologist, so I always love to learn about the product, but every investor needs to make sure you have a business, as well as a product. Business model showing costs, pricing, and margins.

Product 145

Product Intellectual Property Liquidity Event Exit Strategy 145

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 28, 2013

Projecting the financials should be the last step of your business plan preparation, since it assumes you already know the opportunity size, customer buying habits, pricing, costs, and competition. Here are some basic “rules of thumb” that every Angel or venture capital equity investor uses, to help you anticipate their reactions.

Liquidity Event 243

Liquidity Event Startup Equity Venture Capital 243

Up and Running

AUGUST 19, 2014

Got a question for one of the angel investors mentioned below? Today is Ask an Angel day! Tips from real angel investors about how to impress them and stand out from the crowd. Many angels are entrepreneurs themselves, or executives and business or community leaders. How Angels Invest.

Angel Investor 161

Angel Investor Technical Review Due Diligence Startup 161

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 15, 2013

It won’t work, it costs time and money, and hurts your credibility when you need them later. Every entrepreneur needs help and support along the way, from developing the initial idea, to selling off the successful business (exit strategy). Sometimes these will ask for 5%-15% of your equity for their support services.

Incubator 256

Incubator Entrepreneur Exit Strategy Institutional Investors 256

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 29, 2016

Yet they tend to ignore this problem, and move on quickly to professional investors. They don’t realize that most Angel investors and venture capitalists will also decline to be first, if you have no commitment from friends and family. Demos and prototypes are key. Demonstrate your own financial commitment and progress.

Elevator Pitch 151

Elevator Pitch Exit Strategy Angel Investor Equity 151

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 27, 2016

It won’t work, it costs time and money, and hurts your credibility when you need them later. Every entrepreneur needs help and support along the way, from developing the initial idea, to selling off the successful business (exit strategy). Sometimes these will ask for 5%-15% of your equity for their support services.

Incubator 120

Incubator Startup Exit Strategy Institutional Investors 120

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 16, 2012

It won’t work, it costs time and money, and hurts your credibility for when you need them later. Every entrepreneur needs help and support along the way, from developing the initial idea, to selling off the successful business (exit strategy). Sometimes these will ask for 5%-15% of your equity for their support services.

Incubator 237

Incubator Startup Exit Strategy Institutional Investors 237

Gust

AUGUST 10, 2014

Projecting the financials should be the last step of your business plan preparation, since it assumes you already know the opportunity size, customer buying habits, pricing, costs, and competition. Here are some basic rules of thumb that every Angel or venture capital equity investor uses, to help you anticipate their reactions.

Liquidity Event 176

Liquidity Event Equity Venture Capital Merger 176

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2012

I’ll skip the basics here, and highlight only key elements that investors focus on: Define the problem. Explain in terms your mother could understand, and quantify the “cost-of-pain” in dollars or time. Many entrepreneurs scare away potential investors by claiming that their technology represents “truly disruptive technology.”

Business Plan 283

Business Plan Sweat Equity Exit Strategy Intellectual Property 283

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 7, 2015

Angel investors will perk up if you have a prototype or a few real customers, while venture capitalists will likely choose to wait until you have achieved several million in revenue or customer count. Here is where projections of cost, pricing, volumes and cash flow are critical.

Preferred Stock 120

Preferred Stock Exit Strategy Equity Angel Investor 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 13, 2011

It won’t work, it costs time and money, and hurts your credibility for when you need them later. Every entrepreneur needs help and support along the way, from developing the initial idea, to selling off the successful business (exit strategy). Sometimes these will ask for 5%-15% of your equity for their support services.

Incubator 230

Incubator Startup Exit Strategy Institutional Investors 230

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 13, 2011

I’ll skip the basics here, and highlight only key elements that investors focus on: Define the problem. Explain in terms your mother could understand, and quantify the “cost-of-pain” in dollars or time. Many entrepreneurs scare away potential investors by claiming that their technology represents “truly disruptive technology.”

Business Plan 290

Business Plan Sweat Equity Exit Strategy Intellectual Property 290

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 27, 2012

The approach I recommend is to build the investor presentation first, by iterating on the bullets with your team, and then fleshing out the points into a full-blown text-based business plan document. Explain in analogies your mother could understand, and quantify the “cost-of-pain” in dollars or time. Exit strategy.

Elevator Pitch 247

Elevator Pitch Exit Strategy Burn Rate Merger 247

Gust

AUGUST 5, 2012

I’ll skip the basics here, and highlight only key elements that investors focus on: Define the problem. Explain in terms your mother could understand, and quantify the “cost-of-pain” in dollars or time. Many entrepreneurs scare away potential investors by claiming that their technology represents “truly disruptive technology.”

Business Plan 182

Business Plan Sweat Equity Exit Strategy Intellectual Property 182

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2010

I’ll skip the basics here, and highlight only key elements that investors focus on: Define the problem. Explain in terms your mother could understand, and quantify the “cost-of-pain” in dollars or time. Many entrepreneurs scare away potential investors by claiming that their technology represents “truly disruptive technology.”

Business Plan 186

Business Plan Exit Strategy Sweat Equity Intellectual Property 186

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2013

I like the work just published by Bob Rice in “ The Alternative Answer ,” which does a great job of summarizing the investment universe, starting with the “conventional” stocks, bonds, and real estate, but moving on through more esoteric alternatives, including hedge funds, private equity, real assets, managed futures, and finally venture funding.

Cram Down 269

Cram Down Angel Investor Intellectual Property Venture Capital 269

David Teten

DECEMBER 3, 2019

Private equity and venture capital investors are copying our sisters in the hedge fund world: we’re trying to automate more of our job. . In the private equity universe, most Partners have primary training as deal-makers, not as managers. (To see the video above, please click the image, and then click on the Play button.).

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Software Review Analytics Private Equity 78

Up and Running

MAY 15, 2018

This means being able to increase profits without increasing costs at an equal (or higher) rate. All of these factors contribute to a scalable business model, which in turn, helps attract investors. Whether you are asking angel investors to fund your expansion or seeking a bank loan, you must know how much money you need.

SBA 84

SBA Angel Investor Technical Review Startup 84

www.paulgraham.com

APRIL 28, 2010

If your friends or family happen to be rich, the line blurs betweenthem and angel investors. At Viaweb we got our first $10,000 ofseed money from our friend Julian, but he was sufficiently richthat its hard to say whether he should be classified as a friendor angel. Angel Investors Angels are individual rich people.

Technical Review 76

Technical Review Startup Software Review Angel Investor 76

Small Business Force

OCTOBER 22, 2017

As an entrepreneur with multiple startups I founded; as CEO or senior executive of several small companies that either were public or went public; as an investment banker for dozens of small business clients; as an angel investor in various startups and small business opportunities. Angel investors rarely invest more than $50-100K.

Entrepreneur 25

Entrepreneur Angel Investor Valuation Investment Bankers 25

www.quora.com

JANUARY 16, 2011

I have come to believe during my time as an operator, entrepreneur and investor that the balance of these skills is so important to the long-term health of a business that if balance is not achieved early then the impact later can be profound - sometimes terminal. Investors do what their money back. They are many more examples.

Technical Review 51

Technical Review Startup CTO Hire Cofounder 51