Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 26, 2022

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.

Cost 267

Cost Bootstrapping Advisory Board Startup 267

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

Angel investors come from a variety of ages, backgrounds, and professions. I’m not your average angel. I’m not active in an angel group. I live in a small town surrounded by farms and I made my first angel investment at 29 because my dad said it was a good idea. I’m not your average angel.

Angel Investor 159

Angel Investor Technical Review Software Review Accredited Investor 159

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 14, 2023

Cash flow is a basic survival metric for every startup. Investors check your burn rate to assess your efficiency, and project your remaining runway before you run out of money and into a brick wall. Don’t wait until you are almost out of cash before managing every dollar spent or looking for the next refueling from investors.

Burn Rate 258

Burn Rate Hockey Stick Management Salary 258

Steve Blank

JANUARY 17, 2023

Three types of organizations – Incubators, Accelerators and Venture Studios – have emerged to reduce the risk of early-stage startup failure by helping teams find product/market fit and raise initial capital. They do the most to de-risk the early stages of a startup. Reducing Startup Risk.

Technical Cofounder 346

Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 346

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 16, 2022

One of the biggest myths in the business world is that startups are no place for Baby Boomers, that aging generation born between 1945 and 1964. Today people over 55 are almost twice as likely to create successful startups as Gen-Y, age 20 to 34. Yet credible reports on current trends tell us just the opposite.

Advisory Board 368

Advisory Board Dividend Angel Investor Cofounder 368

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. Nevertheless, it’s an option that doesn’t cost you equity. Join a startup incubator.

Intellectual Property 261

Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator Bootstrapping 261

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

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

JANUARY 18, 2020

One of the biggest myths in the business world is that startups are no place for Baby Boomers, that aging generation born between 1945 and 1964. Today people over 55 are almost twice as likely to create successful startups as Gen-Y, age 20 to 34. Yet credible reports on current trends tell us just the opposite.

Advisory Board 312

Advisory Board Startup Dividend Angel Investor 312

VC Cafe

FEBRUARY 27, 2024

especially if the startup already has a product and revenue? 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? While the answers are somewhat semantic, the pre-seed funding round is making a comeback in 2024 startup financing.

Valuation 186

Valuation Software Review Generative AI Technical Review 186

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. Nevertheless, it’s an option that doesn’t cost you equity. Join a startup incubator.

Intellectual Property 219

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 219

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 27, 2010

I’ve noticed that some entrepreneurs seem to have no trouble attracting investors, while others with a great business plan struggle with it. The reality is that angel investors are humans, and personal traits often make or break the relationship, even before the investment is considered. Values intellectual property.

Angel Investor 241

Angel Investor Technical Review Intellectual Property Elevator Pitch 241

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. Nevertheless, it’s an option that doesn’t cost you equity. Join a startup incubator.

Finance 320

Finance Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 320

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

The Startup Magazine

MARCH 14, 2022

And with the technology available these days, it is convenient to invest in emerging startups. Are you wondering how to invest in startups in India? The digital startup craze. The world is about to see a new generation propagating the Indian startup investing industry. Sectors witnessing a startup boom. Media tech.

Technical Review 145

Technical Review Due Diligence India Startup 145

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2020

Cash flow is a basic survival metric for every startup. Investors check your burn rate to assess your efficiency, and project your remaining runway before you run out of money and into a brick wall. Don’t wait until you are almost out of cash before managing every dollar spent, or looking for the next refueling from investors.

Burn Rate 310

Burn Rate Hockey Stick Salary Angel Investor 310

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 29, 2018

Cash flow is a basic survival metric for every startup. Investors check your burn rate to assess your efficiency, and project your remaining runway before you run out of money and into a brick wall. Don’t wait until you are almost out of cash before managing every dollar spent, or looking for the next refueling from investors.

Burn Rate 223

Burn Rate Hockey Stick Startup Salary 223

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. Bootstrapping.

Startup 150

Startup Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Seed Stage 150

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 25, 2020

Most of the experience so far has been cash versus the equity feature defined by the JOBS Act – Equity Crowdfunding (Title III) , introduced back in 2016 with 685 pages of rules. Have you ever wondered what professional startup investors think about all this? Lack of checks and balances on startup valuations.

Equity 411

Equity Angel Groups Accredited Investor Due Diligence 411

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 13, 2013

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. What options do they have available to them, since they can’t sell a share of the company (no equity investment)? Marty Zwilling.

Equity 207

Equity Angel Investor Technical Review Exit Strategy 207

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. What options do they have available to them, since they can’t sell a share of the company (no equity investment)? Marty Zwilling.

Angel Investor 143

Angel Investor Technical Review Exit Strategy Equity 143

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 14, 2019

If your startup is looking for an angel investor, it makes sense to present your plan to flocks of angels, and assume that at least one will swoop down and scoop you up. The challenge is to find the right angel for you, and for your situation. Angel investors are people too. Or does it?

Angel Investor 241

Angel Investor North America Accredited Investor Angel Groups 241

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. Nevertheless, it’s an option that doesn’t cost you equity. Join a startup incubator.

Intellectual Property 134

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 134

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. Nevertheless, it’s an option that doesn’t cost you equity. Join a startup incubator.

Intellectual Property 309

Intellectual Property Technical Review Venture Capital Startup 309

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

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

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

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 16, 2022

If your startup is looking for an angel investor, it makes sense to present your plan to flocks of angels, and assume that at least one will swoop down and scoop you up. The challenge is to find the right angel for you, and for your situation. Angel investors are people too. Or does it?

North America 337

North America Accredited Investor Angel Investor Angel Groups 337

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 25, 2023

Many first-time entrepreneurs find themselves unable to bootstrap their startups, and also unable to find early funding at the venture capital level or even with angel investors. Their only recourse is that first tier of investors, fondly called Friends, Family and Fools. Investors want to be followers, not the leaders.

Sweat Equity 274

Sweat Equity Elevator Pitch Startup Equity 274

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 20, 2016

Thus the top priority of every entrepreneur who wants funding should be to build and highlight their “dream team” of co-founders, executives and advisers, to attract the biggest and best investors. 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

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 21, 2023

For example, professional investors put great priority on your previous experience in building a business, and they expect to own a portion of the business equity and control for the funds they do provide. Trade equity or services for startup help. Join a startup incubator or accelerator.

Equity 266

Equity Startup Small Business Administration SBA 266

Board Effect

NOVEMBER 18, 2020

There’s enough competition in the startup space that new companies need to pull out all the stops to be successful. Great ideas and passion will only take your startup so far. An advisory board can be of great assistance to your startup by filling crucial gaps in your leadership talent.

Advisory Board 84

Advisory Board Angel Investor Technical Review Startup 84

YoungUpstarts

JULY 6, 2017

The romantic ideal of a successful startup includes little more than a good idea, a laptop and plenty of coffee. In reality, most startups require an early capital infusion to successfully transform from a dream into a business. The good news is that it’s easier than ever to find capital for your startup.

Syndicate 127

Syndicate Syndication Software Review Angel Investor 127

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 23, 2023

A common question I get is “How do I get a bank loan to fund my startup?” The default answer is that it probably won’t happen, because most banks just don’t make bank loans to startups. The failure rate is just too high, and startups typically don’t have the assets or revenue stream to back up the loan.

Silicon Valley 292

Silicon Valley CPA Small Business Administration Startup 292

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 5, 2023

It’s helpful to think of startups as proceeding through several stages, which I have defined a long time ago from a funding perspective. Their real value is your access to senior advisors with experience, and other startups in the same stage. Sometimes these will ask for 5%-15% of your equity for their support services.

Incubator 305

Incubator Startup Exit Strategy Institutional Investors 305

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. Nevertheless, it’s an option that doesn’t cost you equity. Join a startup incubator.

Entrepreneur 283

Entrepreneur Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 283

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 16, 2016

Whether you are talking to peers, competitors or investors, you as an active entrepreneur will be judged on your familiarity with today’s startup and funding jargon. This term is currently applied to recent startups who profess a current valuation which exceeds $1 billion. Could your startup be the next one? Sweat equity.

Software Review 120

Software Review Sweat Equity Accredited Investor Angel Investor 120