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

OCTOBER 12, 2020

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. This normally means more than 30 employees, and more than $1 million in revenue.

Incubator 429

Incubator Startup Exit Strategy Institutional Investors 429

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 27, 2021

In fact, there are a few key sites to help you find angels, including AngelList and Gust , but these don’t tell you very much about how angels work, and how to find the right ones for your startup. Here are eight key insights that will help you find a productive match: Angels want equity ownership, not causes.

Search 317

Search Accredited Investor Angel Investor Venture Capital 317

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. How much equity ownership are you willing to offer? Can you project a compelling rate of investor return?

Startup 337

Startup Preferred Stock Exit Strategy Equity 337

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 16, 2015

In fact, there are a few key sites to help you find angels, including AngelList and Gust , but these don’t tell you very much about how Angels work, and how to find the right ones for your startup. Here are eight key insights that will help you find a productive match: Angels want equity ownership, not causes.

Angel Investor 120

Angel Investor Accredited Investor Venture Capital Startup 120

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

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

Growthink Blog

OCTOBER 1, 2013

There are eight key things angel investors will look for when considering whether or not to fund your business. No matter how good your venture is, if the investor doesn''t like you, they generally won''t fund you. There are five sub-criteria to this, which get us to our sum of eight things angel investors want. #4a:

Angel Investor 88

Angel Investor Exit Strategy Equity Operations 88

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 28, 2018

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. This normally means more than 30 employees, and more than $1 million in revenue.

Incubator 236

Incubator Exit Strategy Institutional Investors Angel Investor 236

Growthink Blog

MAY 13, 2012

Getting funding from angel investors is the same way. Because the most important time you spend influencing potential investors is done long before you present to them, even long before you even contact them; it's done when you prepare your company for funding. So how do you prepare? Here they are below.

Angel Investor 93

Angel Investor Exit Strategy Liquidity Event Angel Groups 93

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 17, 2014

Here are some basic “rules of thumb” that every Angel or venture capital equity investor uses, to help you anticipate their reactions. According to a recent Dow Jones VentureSource report, the average time to liquidity of an equity investment in a startup is now about five years. But don’t go crazy with this number.

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. Five-year financial projections of revenue and expenses.

Product 145

Product Intellectual Property Liquidity Event Exit Strategy 145

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 28, 2013

Here are some basic “rules of thumb” that every Angel or venture capital equity investor uses, to help you anticipate their reactions. According to a recent Dow Jones VentureSource report, the average time to liquidity of an equity investment in a startup is now about five years. But don’t go crazy with this number.

Liquidity Event 243

Liquidity Event Startup Equity Venture Capital 243

Business Plan Blog

DECEMBER 19, 2013

How to Pitch to Angel Investors. You have finally set up that meeting with an angel investor and have everything prepared for your pitch. Be sure to address these four items that investors will always be asking: 1) Is the business idea simple enough for me to understand and buy into. Have an exit strategy.

Angel Investor 55

Angel Investor Exit Strategy Valuation Differentiation 55

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

AUGUST 13, 2012

Clearly define the customer, channel, and revenue model associated with this solution. In this section, you need to be passionate about revenue, profit, and volume growth. Many people seem to use the social network advertising model for revenue, but forget it assumes at least 100M users and $50M investment. Exit strategy.

Business Plan 283

Business Plan Sweat Equity Exit Strategy Intellectual Property 283

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 15, 2013

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. This normally means more then 30 employees, and more then $1 million in revenue.

Incubator 256

Incubator Entrepreneur Exit Strategy Institutional Investors 256

Gust

AUGUST 10, 2014

Here are some basic rules of thumb that every Angel or venture capital equity investor uses, to help you anticipate their reactions. According to a recent Dow Jones VentureSource report, the average time to liquidity of an equity investment in a startup is now about five years. But dont go crazy with this number.

Liquidity Event 176

Liquidity Event Equity Venture Capital Merger 176

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 13, 2011

Clearly define the customer, channel, and revenue model associated with this solution. In this section, you need to be passionate about revenue, profit, and volume growth. Many people seem to use the social network advertising model for revenue, but forget it assumes at least 100M users and $50M investment. Exit strategy.

Business Plan 290

Business Plan Sweat Equity Exit Strategy Intellectual Property 290

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 27, 2016

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. This normally means more than 30 employees, and more than $1 million in revenue.

Incubator 120

Incubator Startup Exit Strategy Institutional Investors 120

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 16, 2012

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. This normally means more then 30 employees, and more then $1 million in revenue.

Incubator 237

Incubator Startup Exit Strategy Institutional Investors 237

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. How much equity ownership are you willing to offer? Can you project a compelling rate of investor return?

Preferred Stock 120

Preferred Stock Exit Strategy Equity Angel Investor 120

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 27, 2012

In this section, you need to be passionate about recurring revenue, profit margin, and volume growth. Implicit in this is the go-to-market strategy. Project both revenues and expense totals for next five years, and past three years. What equity is the company willing to give in return for the investment? Exit strategy.

Elevator Pitch 247

Elevator Pitch Exit Strategy Burn Rate Merger 247

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 13, 2011

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. This normally means more then 30 employees, and more then $1 million in revenue.

Incubator 230

Incubator Startup Exit Strategy Institutional Investors 230

Gust

AUGUST 5, 2012

Clearly define the customer, channel, and revenue model associated with this solution. In this section, you need to be passionate about revenue, profit, and volume growth. Many people seem to use the social network advertising model for revenue, but forget it assumes at least 100M users and $50M investment. Exit strategy.

Business Plan 182

Business Plan Sweat Equity Exit Strategy Intellectual Property 182

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2010

Clearly define the customer, channel, and revenue model associated with this solution. In this section, you need to be passionate about revenue, profit, and volume growth. Many people seem to use the social network advertising model for revenue, but forget it requires at least 100M users and $50M investment. Exit strategy.

Business Plan 186

Business Plan Exit Strategy Sweat Equity Intellectual Property 186

YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 15, 2011

If you can’t find a sure thing, the next best bet is to learn from the best practices of successful investors. Here are tips from active angel investors who have enjoyed success with some of today’s leading technology companies: Investors Rely on Networks. Investors Look at Salaries. Understand the Exit Strategy.

Exit Strategy 167

Exit Strategy Balance Sheet Salary Startup 167

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

discuss.joelonsoftware.com

NOVEMBER 1, 2010

where I can learn about how to build a sweat equity team? I intend to rewrite my internal 50-page business plan into an investors proposal. But this proposal isnt for angel cash investors. Rather, it is a proposal for sweat-equity investors. Equity partners need to have a hand in guiding the enterprise.

Sweat Equity 40

Sweat Equity Equity Angel Investor Affiliate 40

Up and Running

MAY 15, 2018

Investors in particular want to fund only scalable or ready to scale businesses. Your business model must show the potential to increase the revenue with minimal expenditure in the coming months or years. All of these factors contribute to a scalable business model, which in turn, helps attract investors. Angel investors.

SBA 84

SBA Angel Investor Technical Review Startup 84

Up and Running

MAY 21, 2015

When small business owners talk about taking on an additional investor, they typically say something nondescript like, “We’re taking on an angel investor.” What they don’t discuss are the many of ways in which that investor can actually invest. That’s called a traditional equity investment.

Covenant 60

Covenant Liquidation Preference Ratchet Dilution 60

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. There never has to be atime when you have no revenues.

Technical Review 76

Technical Review Startup Software Review Angel Investor 76

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