Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 5, 2014

Deferred payments start with stretching the payables period but, more importantly, include giving employee equity in lieu of a higher salaries and negotiating vendor deferred payments out of future revenues. Match your office, facilities and computer equipment to the size of the staff you have today, and intend to have in the next six months.

Burn Rate 262

Burn Rate Hockey Stick Entrepreneur Salary 262

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 10, 2020

As a mentor and advisor to entrepreneurs and startups, and an angel investor, my passion is to find and nurture those entrepreneurs with innovative business ideas and acumen, to make them into successful business owners. At this point investors should be interested in buying a chunk of the business. Funding and rollout stage.

Matching 317

Matching Seed Stage Angel Investor Business Model 317

Steve Blank

JANUARY 22, 2014

Angels & Crowdfunding : Coincident with the capital efficient movement came the current wave of angel investors, this time armed with the ability to collectively fund startups to the point of meaningful value creation on modest amounts of capital. This is true whether the company is concept stage or ramping revenue.

Early Stage 286

Early Stage Silicon Valley Oregon Technical Review 286

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 8, 2023

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.

Venture Capital 265

Venture Capital Accredited Investor Syndicate Syndication 265

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 5, 2023

I saw a good summary of the most effective ways to source prospective investors in a classic book, “ The Art of Startup Fundraising ,” by Alejandro Cremades, who has been there and done that, both as an entrepreneur and an investor. Looking in the right place for the wrong investor won’t help you.

Angel Investor 246

Angel Investor Stealth Bootstrapping Early Stage 246

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

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 14, 2016

Deferred payments start with stretching the payables period but, more importantly, include giving employee equity in lieu of a higher salaries and negotiating vendor deferred payments out of future revenues. Match your office, facilities and computer equipment to the size of the staff you have today, and intend to have in the next six months.

Burn Rate 120

Burn Rate Hockey Stick Startup Salary 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2015

As an angel investor, what I’m looking for is key data from your business plan, including financial projections, how much money you are looking for and a quantification of my potential return. Investors expect to see credible third-party evidence that you are targeting a billion-dollar opportunity, with double-digit growth.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Elevator Pitch Angel Investor Technical Review 120

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

Up and Running

DECEMBER 18, 2013

Instead of looking at your credit score or asking you for your business’s detailed financial statements, Kabbage asks you for your UPS, PayPal, Amazon, Square, eBay, and/or Quickbooks accounts, and then uses the data it gathers from those accounts to determine your sales revenue and cash flow itself.

Kenya 119

Kenya Angel Investor Technical Review Software Review 119

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 18, 2022

Based on my own experience as an angel investor, and feedback I get from many other investors, here are a collection of answers that we often hear instead, from the least credible to at least reasonable: Insist you have no competitors. Facebook spent over $150 million before revenue.

Intellectual Property 334

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Matching Founder 334

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 22, 2020

I saw a good summary of the most effective ways to source prospective investors in a classic book, “ The Art of Startup Fundraising ,” by Alejandro Cremades, who has been there and done that, both as an entrepreneur and an investor. Looking in the right place for the wrong investor won’t help you.

Stealth 434

Stealth Startup Angel Investor Bootstrapping 434

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2016

For example, if you have a proven product, real revenue, a big potential market, and are ready to scale up the business, every investor will be interested. Different types of investors tend to specialize in capitalizing on businesses at different stages. Contrary to popular opinion, all investor money is not the same.

Matching 120

Matching Angel Investor Intellectual Property Investment Bankers 120

ReadWriteStart

MAY 22, 2012

While some lucky startups attract angel investors or have access to money from friends and family, the vast majority are on their own, at least at first. I did have to write off a portion of the receivables but was able to recover the following month using revenues from other projects.”. “I

Technical Review 118

Technical Review Software Review Angel Investor Startup 118

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 14, 2019

Based on my own experience as an angel investor, and feedback I get from many other investors, here are a collection of answers that we often hear instead, from the least credible to at least reasonable: Insist you have no competitors. Facebook spent over $150 million before revenue.

Intellectual Property 301

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Matching Founder 301

ReadWriteStart

SEPTEMBER 17, 2021

Small business leaders salivating at the idea of getting a big cash injection from an angel investor need to slow things down a bit and focus on their own company first. Generating solid revenue streams early on will make many of the fundraising problems much easier to handle later on. More Independence. More Leverage.

Startup 130

Startup Revenue Cofounder Angel Investor 130

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

FEBRUARY 15, 2012

If you are new to the startup space and Angel investing, you probably don’t realize that some groups of Angel investors charge entrepreneurs a fee to pitch to their groups. Does their “sweet spot” match your type of business? Spending $1K to get $1M is usually better than spending nothing to get nothing.

Angel Groups 237

Angel Groups Angel Investor Due Diligence Seed Stage 237

ReadWriteStart

SEPTEMBER 17, 2021

Small business leaders salivating at the idea of getting a big cash injection from an angel investor need to slow things down a bit and focus on their own company first. Generating solid revenue streams early on will make many of the fundraising problems much easier to handle later on. More Independence. More Leverage.

Startup 78

Startup Revenue Cofounder Angel Investor 78

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 17, 2014

Thus most investors ask for 5-year projections, to get a sense of the opportunity and trajectory that you’re envisioning while their money is tied up. Aggressive revenue projections and growth rate. Revenue in the fifth year should be at least $20 million, with a growth rate average of 100% per year.

Liquidity Event 249

Liquidity Event Equity Venture Capital Merger 249

ReadWriteStart

MARCH 1, 2011

Since most companies have little to no revenue, who else has already invested in the deal is heavily weighted to prove value. s and Angels such as Jason Calacanis and Dave McClure responded to Roberts and took the opposite stance - McClure and his fund 500startups have done 20-plus deals directly from AngelList and they greatly prefer the ?

Technical Review 123

Technical Review Due Diligence Cofounder Startup 123

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 28, 2013

Thus most investors ask for 5-year projections, to get a sense of the opportunity and trajectory that you’re envisioning while their money is tied up. Aggressive revenue projections and growth rate. Revenue in the fifth year should be at least $20 million, with a growth rate average of 100% per year.

Liquidity Event 243

Liquidity Event Startup Equity Venture Capital 243

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 25, 2014

Based on my own experience as an Angel investor, and feedback I get from many other investors, here are a collection of answers that we often hear instead, from the least credible to at least reasonable: Insist you have no competitors. Facebook spent over $150 million before revenue.

Intellectual Property 276

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Angel Investor Matching 276

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 13, 2010

If you are new to the startup space and angel investing, you probably don’t realize that some groups of angel investors charge entrepreneurs a fee to pitch to their groups. Does their “sweet spot” match your type of business? Spending $1K to get $1M is usually better than spending nothing to get nothing.

Angel Groups 234

Angel Groups Entrepreneur Angel Investor Due Diligence 234

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 25, 2016

As an active angel investor, here are some key ones I have seen, with some guidance on how to improve your odds. Team not a good match for the challenge. Outside investors bet more on the team than the solution. Revenue and profit projections are not credible. Poorly written or missing business plan.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Accredited Investor Angel Investor Reputation 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 27, 2018

Based on my own experience as an angel investor, and feedback I get from many other investors, here are a collection of answers that we often hear instead, from the least credible to at least reasonable: Insist you have no competitors. Facebook spent over $150 million before revenue.

Intellectual Property 129

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Matching Founder 129

Gust

AUGUST 10, 2014

Thus most investors ask for 5-year projections, to get a sense of the opportunity and trajectory that youre envisioning while their money is tied up. Aggressive revenue projections and growth rate. Revenue in the fifth year should be at least $20 million, with a growth rate average of 100% per year.

Liquidity Event 176

Liquidity Event Equity Venture Capital Merger 176

Tim Keane

MARCH 9, 2011

Startups and angels: Along the way to success. By Tim Keane, Angel Investor, Golden Angels Investors, LLC. Example two:  Explosive market share growth and revenue in an expanding market with acquisitive players available. « Leaving a Trail | Main. | How should I finance my new venture?

Finance 83

Finance Bootstrapping Startup Equity 83

Berkonomics

AUGUST 3, 2023

This class of investor, once quite disorganized, has become much like the venture capital community, creating a process including due diligence (careful examination of a business before investment), terms of investment that match those of venture capitalists, and a process that sometimes takes months from introduction to investment.

Private Equity 118

Private Equity Valuation Cap Table Accredited Investor 118

ReadWriteStart

APRIL 13, 2012

In 1998, before they even incorporated, Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page were trying to present their concept to early-stage, or "angel" investors, with limited success. Sun Microsystems co-founder Andy Bechtolsheim was one such angel. So what do angels want? How realistic are your projections?

Angel Investor 128

Angel Investor Syndicate Syndication Exit Strategy 128

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 10, 2020

Over the past 20+ years, as an angel investor, former venture capitalist and private equity investor, and serial entrepreneur, I have seen and written, a wide variety of pitch decks and business plans. Some revenue questions you’ll want to be able to answer include: What were the components of your revenue?

Business Plan 124

Business Plan Elevator Pitch Equity Private Equity 124

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 13, 2016

I saw a good summary of the most effective ways to source prospective investors in a new book, “ The Art of Startup Fundraising ,” by Alejandro Cremades, who has been there and done that, both as an entrepreneur and an investor. Looking in the right place for the wrong investor won’t help you.

Stealth 120

Stealth Startup Angel Investor Bootstrapping 120

OnlyOnce

JULY 9, 2013

Chapter 2: Defining and Testing the Story…Start Out By Admitting You’re Wrong, A Lean Business Plan Template, Problem, Solution, Key Metrics, Unique Value Proposition and Unfair Advantages, Channels, Customer Segments, Cost Structure and Revenue Streams. Chapter 3: Telling the Story to Your Investors…The Business Plan is Dead.

Startup 95

Startup Advisory Board Elevator Pitch Forecast 95

Up and Running

FEBRUARY 12, 2019

I’ve seen hundreds of startups pitch to angel investors and venture capitalists, and most of them—at best— are just okay. 160 is average revenue per user (ARPU). You want to see investors take out their phones and begin calculating numbers. what you’ve indicated as your total revenue numbers, and b.)

Sweat Equity 122

Sweat Equity Churn Rate Elevator Pitch Forecast 122

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 2, 2015

Based on my own experience as an angel investor, and feedback I get from many other investors, here are a collection of answers that we often hear instead, from the least credible to at least reasonable: Insist you have no competitors. Facebook spent over $150 million before revenue.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Startup Angel Investor Matching 120

www.readwriteweb.com

MARCH 7, 2011

Since most companies have little to no revenue, who else has already invested in the deal is heavily weighted to prove value. s and Angels such as Jason Calacanis and Dave McClure responded to Roberts and took the opposite stance - McClure and his fund 500startups have done 20-plus deals directly from AngelList and they greatly prefer the ?

Technical Review 50

Technical Review Due Diligence Startup Angel Investor 50

Up and Running

MAY 28, 2015

I’m in my seventh year now as a leader and an angel investment group where we just announced an investment last Thursday, and I’m very familiar with how this works for angel investors. Tell your angel investors a story about need. Depending on who the investors are, some want more, some want less.

Lean 60

Lean Business Plan Video Software Review 60