Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 18, 2021

Angel investors and venture capitalists are looking for startups with real products and a proven business model, ready to scale. Yet I still get too many business plans that clearly are looking for money to do research and development (R&D) on a new and unproven technology. Commercial product prototypes.

Early Stage 412

Early Stage Angel Investor Incubator Government 412

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 16, 2016

This term refers to an initial venture-capital investment, often wrongly sought to seed early product development. In fact, most often, it is limited to seeding a startup business rollout or scale-up after development is completed from friends and family. Super-angel investors (micro-VCs).

Software Review 120

Software Review Sweat Equity Accredited Investor Angel Investor 120

Up and Running

JULY 2, 2014

We developed a kick-ass investor pitch and we started pitching it to family, friends, angel investors, and even venture capitalists for feedback. We soon got interest from an angel investor, and he wanted to invest $300,000 in our startup. We set off to raise our money. We were on a roll.

Technical Review 118

Technical Review Angel Investor Due Diligence Dilution 118

This is going to be BIG.

NOVEMBER 22, 2013

Something isn''t going to go your way--product development, hiring, revenues. Angel investor Jeff Stewart once told me that either the product takes twice as long and costs three times as much to build as your plan, or takes three times as long to build and costs twice as much--you just don''t know which one.

Technical Review 118

Technical Review Due Diligence Angel Investor Venture Capital 118

Steve Blank

MARCH 16, 2016

But startups require money upfront for product development and later to scale. Luckily in the last quarter of the 20 th century a new source of money called risk capital emerged. Risk capital takes equity (stock ownership) in your company instead of debt (loans) in exchange for cash. ——-. The Good News.

Liquidity Event 120

Liquidity Event Founder Liquidation Preference Venture Capital 120

View from Seed

MARCH 24, 2021

At NextView Ventures we have written many pieces about venture capital — how to raise it, build your business, engage with investors, iterate your product, navigate expanding industries, etc. Developing Your Product. I’ve Been in Venture Capital for Two Months.

Seed Stage 177

Seed Stage Hiring IPO Analytics 177

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 8, 2009

Traction can simply mean showing that you’re making progress with customers, product development, channel partners, initial revenue as a proof point, attracting well-known angel investors, winning industry awards / recognition. Funding is about developing a relationship over time. Neither is the norm.

Technical Review 309

Technical Review Term Sheet Venture Capital Revenue 309

Up and Running

JULY 6, 2016

Are we developing what we should? As you develop technology descriptions, priorities, milestones and such in your own business plan, consider first the business plan’s purpose. I’ll join in the due diligence for my angel group, test for myself, and develop my informed opinion. Are we using what we should?

Technical Review 72

Technical Review Software Review Business Plan Development Team Review 72

crowdSPRING Blog

JULY 10, 2014

The surprising secret of happier, more productive organizations: conflict – crowdspring.co/1qscUpx. The Other 1% – Ranking The Top 20 Angel Investors | 500 Startups – crowdspring.co/1is3Iiw. The Importance of Hometown Investors for Startups – crowdspring.co/1z8kNTu. ” – crowdspring.co/1ls0X06.

Social Media 97

Social Media Small Business Design Silicon Valley 97

YoungUpstarts

JUNE 24, 2014

by Matthew Sawyer, Managing Partner of Rocket Market Development LLC. Investors keep pouring money into startups and early stage companies. According to the National Venture Capital Association , the amount of money that VC’s invested rose 8% to nearly $30 billion in 2013. Are they addressing market needs?

Startup 252

Startup Angel Investor Early Stage LLC 252

VC Cafe

FEBRUARY 27, 2024

Pre-seed tends to be about developing an MVP and generating early traction. Seed is about showing initial product market fit.

Valuation 186

Valuation Software Review Generative AI Technical Review 186

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 5, 2009

This post describes how companies using the Customer Development model can increase their credibility, valuation and probability of getting a first round of funding by presenting their results in a “Lesson Learned&# venture pitch. Is there a profitable business model? Can it scale?” Just as a refresher.

Customer Development 264

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 264

Up and Running

DECEMBER 22, 2015

Angel investors can teach you a lot about money, whether or not you’re seeking funding from them. I’ve seen this over and over in my dealings as a member of a local angel investment group. What we do at the Willamette Angel Conference is the rule, not the exception. We don’t just reject startups; we explain why.

Angel Investor 60

Angel Investor IRR Software Review Startup 60

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 31, 2012

In addition, the statistics show that over half of new startups, perhaps as high as 75%, provide services only (no product). Another reality is that angel investors and venture capital groups almost never invest in a services-only company.

Angel Investor 227

Angel Investor Venture Capital Partner Networking 227

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 11, 2013

Don’t wait for that first investor, the first prototype, or that first lawsuit. Incorporate your startup after the business plan, but before you spend a dollar on product development. Here are the key steps: Form the simplest legal entity early to cover your efforts. But don’t be misled.

LLC 234

LLC Nevada Delaware Limited Liability Company 234

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 20, 2010

In addition, the statistics show that over half of new startups, perhaps as high as 75%, provide services only (no product). Another reality is that angel investors and venture capital groups almost never invest in a services-only company.

Product 228

Product Angel Investor Venture Capital Partner 228

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 25, 2014

Larry had the DNA I’ve seen common with all the successful entrepreneurs I’ve backed in my 25 years of Venture Capital work—only he had a more exaggerated case than most. It took a long time for our market to develop, so Oracle wasn’t exactly a growth explosion in the early days. Filed under: Technology , Venture Capital.

Technical Review 334

Technical Review Venture Capital Software Review Database 334

www.informationarbitrage.com

FEBRUARY 24, 2010

This is not only sad but incredibly frustrating, because it is so easy to see how a great technology can be developed and commercialized if only - if only the CTO hadn't been impulsive and insecure and brought on a business partner too early in the game. I am a business person, not a technologist. So my advice to CTO / Founders?

CTO Hire 40

CTO Hire Founder Cap Table Vesting 40

Up and Running

JANUARY 30, 2014

My partner is a full-time developer and math teacher, and I’m an engineer. Marketing the site and creating a business behind the product proved much more challenging. To thrust our venture forward, gain business skills quickly, and increase our chances of raising capital, we searched for an accelerator program.

Incubator 105

Incubator New York City Venture Capital Startup 105

Gust

OCTOBER 31, 2011

In addition, the statistics show that over half of new startups, perhaps as high as 75%, provide services only (no product). Another reality is that angel investors and venture capital groups almost never invest in a services-only company.

Angel Investor 143

Angel Investor Venture Capital Partner Networking 143

Growthink Blog

MAY 10, 2012

As Steven Covey said, you'll want to "begin with the end in mind" and not make arrangements with your angel and/or early investors that will complicate later stages of funding. That is, you'll use the funding to build a product or service and prove that customers want to buy it. Series C, D, etc.

Equity 88

Equity Mezzanine Later Stage Venture Capital 88

Gust

DECEMBER 5, 2011

Too many entrepreneurs develop a new product without regard for market demand , then build an entire strategy based on creating a need, rather than acting on an existing market need. Investors characterize this approach as a “solution looking for a problem.” Early-stage investors won’t risk this much.

Technology 167

Technology Angel Investor Early Stage Viral 167

Up and Running

MAY 23, 2016

Another great way to test your idea is to create a minimum viable product, or MVP. This is the simplest version of your product minus the frills and frosting. It’s a particularly popular strategy in the world of product development and is used to quickly and quantitatively test a product or a product feature.

Software Review 74

Software Review Software Delaware Forecast 74

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 1, 2010

Equity-Only CTO and Equity-Only Developers - SoCal CTO , November 1, 2010 I had a recent email dialog with the founder of a company looking for a CTO for their startup. Was it a Startup Founder Developer Gap ? We had several emails back and forth where he provided basic details on the concept. This should not deter you.

Technical Review 175

Technical Review Technology Product CTO Hire 175

www.readwriteweb.com

OCTOBER 18, 2010

You have heard, I am sure, that venture capitalists only invest in very large market opportunities - $500 million to $1 billion. But you have, perhaps, heard less specific discussions on what angel investors are looking for. Well, some angel investors are looking for exactly the same thing as what VCs are looking for.

Marketing 52

Marketing Bootstrapping Incubator Angel Investor 52

www.readwriteweb.com

OCTOBER 18, 2010

You have heard, I am sure, that venture capitalists only invest in very large market opportunities - $500 million to $1 billion. But you have, perhaps, heard less specific discussions on what angel investors are looking for. Well, some angel investors are looking for exactly the same thing as what VCs are looking for.

Marketing 52

Marketing Bootstrapping Incubator Angel Investor 52

Tim Keane

JUNE 13, 2006

Startups and angels: Along the way to success. By Tim Keane, Angel Investor, Golden Angels Investors, LLC. « How do you present your venture to an investor? By the time we were done, we proved the model and gained enough new business that we didn’t need venture capital for almost a decade.

Wisconsin 60

Wisconsin Entrepreneur Startup Angel Investor 60

Tim Keane

APRIL 24, 2006

Startups and angels: Along the way to success. By Tim Keane, Angel Investor, Golden Angels Investors, LLC. Last night, Bob Zieserl, Venture Capitalist, and general partner at Stratus Ventures, was the keynote speaker at the Marquette University Business Plan Competition. They were unsuccessful.

Wisconsin 60

Wisconsin Angel Investor Bootstrapping Venture Capital 60

Gust

DECEMBER 12, 2011

I often hear from investors that a great idea is necessary, but not sufficient. After the idea, it’s all about execution. The most important thing is a proven team , meaning one who has built a startup before, and has experience with the execution process in this domain.

Cost 114

Cost Business Plan Entrepreneur Startup 114

Scalable Startup

FEBRUARY 1, 2013

In the last five years, there’s been this sort of acknowledgment of the consumerization of the enterprise, which is consumer product development, design methods applied to business software, of which SaaS and cloud and all these things are examples. It became very hard to get businesses to adopt new stuff.

Software Review 22

Software Review Startup Venture Capital Stock 22

techcrunch.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

The timing is perfect, there is more than a little overlap with Vivek Wadhwa’s guest post on venture capital earlier today. Like I said, forget everything else and just get your product out the door. Inevitably, the excuses begin: I need to hire people to build the product. I don’t know any developers.

Technical Review 84

Technical Review Cofounder Technical Cofounder Software Review 84

Gust

DECEMBER 12, 2011

Without a doubt, Birchbox is one of the hottest startups on the planet right now. They are mentioned in any print, website, or television content concerning beauty, startups, New York, great entrepreneurs, women leaders , or the next generation of IPOs. So, its almost impossible to avoid them.

IPO 70

IPO Social Network Revenue Aggregator 70

steveblank.com

JULY 8, 2011

interactions, widgets, effects Django – high-level Python framework Cappuccino – open source framework for app development Kodingen – cloud development environment, code editor, hosting service, collaboration platform.

Software Review 110

Software Review Startup Silicon Valley Analytics 110

www.vccafe.com

MARCH 11, 2013

Venture Capital Cafe > Startup Resources (Updated Mar 2013). Steve Blank on Lean Customer Development. s helpful to find an developer tool that allows you to write html/css and renders the view in real time, so you donâ??t Firebase : Are all your developers front-end engineers? s easier to use/develop with.

Software Review 53

Software Review Technical Review Startup 53