Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 29, 2020

One of the myths I often hear as an advisor to many entrepreneurs is that their lifestyle would somehow be better if they could more easily find other people’s money to build their startup. Most entrepreneurs never forget for a moment that having investors means owing money, even if they can legally argue that equity is not debt.

Bootstrapping 310

Bootstrapping Advisory Board Venture Capital Startup 310

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

MARCH 11, 2016

Angel investors are still the lifeblood of early-stage startups, despite the surge of activity in crowdfunding and an increasing early interest from venture capitalists. According to the Angel Capital Association , at least 300,000 people have made angel investments in the last two years, totaling $24 billion in the U.S.

Angel Investor 120

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Accredited Investor Angel Groups 120

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 15, 2023

Most entrepreneurs I meet are reluctant to disclose anything about their idea to investors before getting a signed confidential disclosure agreement (CDA). Professional investors and advisors, on the other hand, usually refuse to sign these agreements today due to the risk of litigation and administrative workload, and will walk away.

Non-disclosure Agreement 254

Non-disclosure Agreement Technical Review Due Diligence Angel Investor 254

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 11, 2022

Angel investors and venture capitalists don’t make equity investments in nonprofit good causes. The simple reason is that it’s impossible to make money for investors when the goal of the company is to not make money. In addition, the best nonprofits turn out to be the angel, rather than require one.

Angel Investor 327

Angel Investor Equity Technical Review Exit Strategy 327

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 15, 2015

Angel investors and venture capitalists don’t make equity investments in non-profits. The simple reason is that it’s impossible to make money for investors when the goal of the company is to not make money. You still start the process with a business plan, but then you look for a philanthropist rather than an investor.

Angel Investor 120

Angel Investor Equity Technical Review Exit Strategy 120

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 4, 2022

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Join a startup incubator. Use crowd funding. Get a loan or line-of-credit.

Intellectual Property 261

Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator Bootstrapping 261

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 15, 2022

As a startup mentor, I’m always amazed that some entrepreneurs seem to be an immediate hit with investors, while others struggle to get any attention at all. Finally I realized that venture capital and angel investors are actually humans, despite some views to the contrary.

Intellectual Property 278

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Early Stage Venture Capital 278

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 6, 2019

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Join a startup incubator. Only one-third make it past their tenth anniversary.

Finance 320

Finance Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 320

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 1, 2020

I have often been asked about Startup Funding by entrepreneurs. Many myths surround the subject of startup funding. Here is Startup Funding, a Comprehensive Guide for Entrepreneurs. You must have seen a lot of startups giving out promotions, discounts, and incentives at the early phase of their business.

Startup 150

Startup Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Seed Stage 150

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 29, 2010

We received so much positive feedback from our This Week in Venture Capital show walking through valuation calculations & term sheets that we decided to do a Q&A show this week to address topics that entrepreneurs want to learn about. on the entrepreneur side of the table) when I raised at too high of a price.

Venture Capital 282

Venture Capital Term Sheet Valuation Stock Options 282

YoungUpstarts

MARCH 4, 2020

You’ve come up with a brilliant business idea, and you’re ready to get started as a brand-new entrepreneur. Are you a Necessity Entrepreneur? Necessity Entrepreneurs Build Exceptional Businesses. Necessity Entrepreneurs are uniquely equipped to build exceptional businesses and inspire meaningful change in their industries.

Entrepreneur 205

Entrepreneur Venture Capital Silicon Valley Bandwidth 205

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 30, 2019

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Join a startup incubator. Use crowd funding. Get a loan or line-of-credit.

Intellectual Property 219

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 219

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 14, 2014

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Join a startup incubator. Use crowd funding. Get a loan or line-of-credit.

Entrepreneur 283

Entrepreneur Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 283

VC Cafe

JANUARY 22, 2021

A few months ago, VC Cafe launched a series on startup engagement and outreach programs of large tech companies. After covering Google startup outreach and support (from first hand experience), today I’m happy to add Amazon and AWS, by looking into the variety of ways startups can engage with the commerce and cloud giant.

Technical Review 174

Technical Review Startup Venture Capital Incubator 174

David Teten

SEPTEMBER 16, 2014

A: Over the past decade, angels have invested at a healthy pace, averaging more than $20 billion annually in the US (see graph below). That’s a sizeable amount, especially in comparison to the US venture capital industry, which similarly invests over $20 billion annually. Q: What is the typical profile of angel investors?

Angel Investor 114

Angel Investor Technical Review Venture Capital Pre-Money Valuation 114

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 8, 2019

Angel investors and venture capitalists don’t make equity investments in nonprofit good causes. The simple reason is that it’s impossible to make money for investors when the goal of the company is to not make money. In addition, the best nonprofits turn out to be the angel, rather than require one.

Equity 235

Equity Angel Investor Technical Review Exit Strategy 235

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 20, 2016

There is a common belief in the angel and venture capital community that you put your money on the best team, rather than the best idea. Solo entrepreneurs rarely find an investor. Solo entrepreneurs rarely find an investor. Do your networking with investors well before the funding pitch.

Sweat Equity 152

Sweat Equity Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Software Review 152

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 30, 2011

This is the final part of a 3-part series on the major changes in the structure of the software & the venture capital industries. Or the Cliff Note’s version: Open Source & Cloud Computing (led by Amazon) drove down tech startup costs by 90%. But … Downsizing Venture Capital.

Venture Capital 289

Venture Capital Early Stage Valuation Angel Investor 289

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. We don’t just reject startups; we explain why. What we do at the Willamette Angel Conference is the rule, not the exception.

Angel Investor 60

Angel Investor IRR Software Review Startup 60

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 6, 2014

As a startup mentor, I’m always amazed that some entrepreneurs seem to be an immediate hit with investors, while others struggle to get any attention at all. Finally I realized that Venture Capital and Angel investors are actually humans, despite some views to the contrary.

Angel Investor 268

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Early Stage 268

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 26, 2013

Since the recent recession, and at least partially sparked by it, I’m seeing a real resurgence of entrepreneurial spirit, and more startup activity than ever before. is already well above the dot.com bubble of 15 years ago, although we have slipped a bit this year from the high point of 320 new entrepreneurs out of 100,000 adults in 2011.

IPO 273

IPO Entrepreneur Social Media Startup 273

David Teten

MAY 9, 2012

I am very happy to announce today a new program I’ve been working on designed to support women and diverse entrepreneurs, particularly those in the technology sector. Pioneering Program Launched by Harvard Business School Alumni Angels of New York and the National Association of Investment Companies. According to the U.S.

Venture Capital 154

Venture Capital Programming Accredited Investor New York 154

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 12, 2023

Too many entrepreneurs tell me they are looking for an investor, and can’t differentiate between venture capital (VC) investors versus accredited angel investors. The amounts from angels start as low as $25K, while minimum venture capital amounts usually start in the $2M range.

Angel Investor 246

Angel Investor IRR Venture Capital Valuation 246

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 19, 2013

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Join a startup incubator. Use crowd funding. Get a loan or line-of-credit.

Intellectual Property 309

Intellectual Property Technical Review Venture Capital Startup 309

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 13, 2020

As a startup mentor, I’m always amazed that some entrepreneurs seem to be an immediate hit with investors, while others struggle to get any attention at all. Finally I realized that venture capital and angel investors are actually humans, despite some views to the contrary.

Intellectual Property 316

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Early Stage Venture Capital 316

Austin Startup

JULY 29, 2018

Raising funding from Angel Investors can feel like a catch-22. It’s easy to figure out who the active angel investors are but it’s hard to find the right time to pitch them. Not all investors are the same. Not all investors are the same. Angel Investors are investing their own money?—?they

Angel Investor 59

Angel Investor Technical Review Los Angeles Seed Stage 59

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 5, 2017

At the outset, it is worth noting that when it comes to the world of venture funding, I am a bit of an outsider. Until a handful of years ago, I didn’t even know what venture capital was, let alone anything about the complicated process of actually acquiring VC funding. percent of venture capital deals, and received.33

Venture Capital 82

Venture Capital Lean Cofounder Technical Review 82

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2013

How do you as an entrepreneur with a new idea get to be one of those choices? Initially, you may be able to rely on friends and family to put you on the top of their list, but eventually you will probably need real professional investors (Angels and VCs). The same hold true for venture capital investors.

Cram Down 269

Cram Down Angel Investor Intellectual Property Venture Capital 269

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 22, 2020

As a long-time advisor to entrepreneurs, and a former angel myself, I still find startups confused about the definition of an angel investor, and how and when to attract one. You need to know why and how they invest, and then focus on the ones who are the best match for your startup.

Angel Investor 322

Angel Investor Valuation Syndicate Syndication 322

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 2, 2014

Too many entrepreneurs tell me they are looking for an investor, and can’t differentiate between venture capital (VC) investors versus accredited Angel investors. The amounts from Angels start as low as $25K, while minimum venture capital amounts usually start in the $2M range.

Angel Investor 266

Angel Investor Entrepreneur Venture Capital IRR 266

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 12, 2018

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Join a startup incubator. Only one-third make it past their tenth anniversary.

Intellectual Property 134

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 134

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 9, 2014

Entrepreneurs who require funding for their startup have long counted on self-accredited high net worth individuals (“angels”) to fill their needs, after friends and family, and before they qualify for institutional investments (“VCs”). Thus investing in startups should always be approached as a low odds game.

Angel Investor 278

Angel Investor Angel Groups Accredited Investor IRR 278

Up and Running

AUGUST 12, 2014

In as much as a scheduled interview with an angel investor can be, talking with Boris about what it takes to spark the interest of a venture capital firm was a coincidence. Were they down to him being a more open-minded investor? From the outset of the conversation, Boris was careful with his words, collected.

Venture Capital 90

Venture Capital Founder Angel Investor Portfolio 90

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 6, 2010

Angel investors and venture capitalists don’t invest in non-profits. The simple reason is that it’s impossible to make money for investors when the goal of the company is to not make money. You still start the process with a business plan, but then you look for a philanthropist rather than an investor.

Angel Investor 143

Angel Investor Technical Review Exit Strategy Equity 143

Up and Running

AUGUST 30, 2021

The outdoor industry wasn’t helping itself, so he did what all entrepreneurs do: start a business to solve the problem. It’s difficult to be an entrepreneur — whether you’re a recent college graduate or have managed multiple companies. It’s why the average age of an entrepreneur is 42 years old. Your startup becomes irrelevant.

Entrepreneur 132

Entrepreneur Lean Colorado Engineer 132

Up and Running

NOVEMBER 26, 2018

Startups have to deal with starting costs and ongoing businesses have to finance growth and working capital. Are you a startup or ongoing business? For example, many ongoing businesses have access to standard business loans from a traditional bank that would not be available to startups. Venture capital.

SBA 161

SBA Venture Capital Angel Investor Technical Review 161