Both Sides of the Table

JULY 25, 2010

“Yes&# was given to me by one of my favorite angel investor / seed VC’s to work with – John Greathouse of Rincon Venture Partners and author of the blog InfoChachkie that you should check out because it is filled with great info from a guy who has been a very successful operator.

Silicon Valley 293

Silicon Valley Technical Review Southern California Angel Investor 293

Gust

OCTOBER 17, 2012

I began studying angel investing returns about 10 years ago as a result of a problem I couldn’t resolve: The investing world seemed certain that angel investors were rubes. And whenever they might come close to succeeding, savvy “professional” investors would just swoop in, cram them down, and win the real returns.

Angel Investor 152

Angel Investor Venture Capital Seed Stage Silicon Valley 152

Gust

OCTOBER 16, 2012

This summer I conducted our third annual survey of the pre-money valuation of pre-revenue companies recently funded by angel groups in North America. Access to our 2010 and 2011 surveys can be found at 2011 Valuation Survey of North American Angel Investor Groups. 2012 Valuation Survey. Boise Angel Alliance.

Angel Groups 169

Angel Groups Valuation Pre-Money Valuation North Dakota 169

ReadWriteStart

SEPTEMBER 22, 2010

Now and then a polarizing topic will make its way through the venture capital industry and several prominent investor/bloggers will chime in with their collective opinions in quick succession. He adds that "10 million other things" were discussed at the meeting, including convertible notes, valuations and term sheets.

Silicon Valley 114

Silicon Valley San Francisco Angel Investor Term Sheet 114

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 19, 2017

Seeking that funding prior to launching a viable product, however, would have virtually ensured that Klemm would largely cede control of the company to PE investors. By contrast, obtaining a pre-money valuation of $5 million for a business with a new viable product and even very minimal sales is somewhat reasonable.

Private Equity 94

Private Equity Pre-Money Valuation Equity Startup 94

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 27, 2014

Venture capitalists (VCs) have long been seen as the top of the pyramid for startup funding sources, but in fact angel investors now fund over 60 times as many companies, according the Center for Venture Research. Individual angel investors have been filling the gap, and now match VCs in total amount invested.

Angel Investor 260

Angel Investor Silicon Valley Startup Portfolio 260

techcrunch.com

OCTOBER 13, 2012

I began studying angel investing returns about 10 years ago as a result of a problem I couldn’t resolve: The investing world seemed certain that angel investors were rubes. And whenever they might come close to succeeding, savvy “professional” investors would just swoop in, cram them down, and win the real returns.

Angel Investor 103

Angel Investor Venture Capital Seed Stage Silicon Valley 103

Steve Blank

JUNE 15, 2011

A tech bubble is the rapid inflation in the valuation of public and private technology companies that exceeds their fundamental value by a large margin. Today, the signs of the new bubble are the Linked-In initial public offering (IPO), Facebook’s stratospheric valuation and the rapid rise of early-stage startup valuation.

Silicon Valley 327

Silicon Valley Stealth Valuation Mississippi 327

Rob Go

NOVEMBER 12, 2014

These are financing docs that were pioneered by YC and is apparently starting to see some level of acceptance in Silicon Valley. But in my mind, if a founder and investor can agree on a valuation cap, agreeing on the simple terms for a plain vanilla equity financing shouldn’t be that hard, and aligns interest much better.

Angel Investor 71

Angel Investor Silicon Valley Cofounder Finance 71

500hats.com

AUGUST 2, 2012

note: apologies in advance for the west coast bias; i’m in silicon valley). Many of these now-trendy Micro-VC funds began as individual angel investors who gradually grew up and started small funds (myself included). These two divergent groups have optimized for very different market conditions and behaviors.

Silicon Valley 74

Silicon Valley Early Stage Venture Capital Valuation 74

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 4, 2016

So how do you use financial projections as valuation metrics when you know the odds of those being accurate predictors of the future are so very unreliable? million), but certainly also allowing the investor to put much lower values into each test, resulting in valuations well below that amount. The Method should allow for this.

Valuation 48

Valuation North Carolina Oklahoma City Silicon Valley 48

Sophia Perl of Wisdom

OCTOBER 16, 2011

Ron Conway, known as the Godfather of Silicon Valley and part of SV Angel, came to Campbell to talk some shop, angel investing. Since 1994, Conway has been doing angel investing in solely internet software. For $3-5M company valuations, they usually own 1-2% of the company and when there is liquidity (e.g.,

Silicon Valley 53

Silicon Valley Angel Investor Portfolio IPO 53

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 17, 2016

According to the National Business Incubator Association ( NBIA ), there are over 7,000 of these locations worldwide, and new online versions springing up all over the place, like Founders Space in Silicon Valley. I believe their competitive advantage is their top on-site leadership, exclusivity, and connections to investors.

Incubator 120

Incubator Silicon Valley Startup Small Business Administration 120

Gust

DECEMBER 13, 2011

I’ve recently taken a look at seed stage funding by venture capitalists (VCs) and angel investors over the past five years. Silicon Valley. Silicon Valley. In fact, my sense is that in most regions, angels and VCs are cooperating and sometimes co-funding startups. All Seed-VC. New England.

Seed Stage 162

Seed Stage Southern California San Diego Silicon Valley 162

Professor VC

SEPTEMBER 26, 2011

The last blogger in Silicon Valley. Card Counting for Investors. How would Billy Beane have done as an early stage investor? Ive written previously about Right Side Capital Management (RCSM) , the latest in my post earlier this year, " How Much Diligence is Due. " (Full disclosure: I am an investor and adviser in RCSM.)

Technical Review 38

Technical Review Early Stage San Jose Angel Investor 38

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 5, 2017

Her background includes senior roles in both the banking and tech sectors, and she has launched four data businesses—including her current firm, New Frontier Data , which boasts a $20 million valuation and has received $5 million in funding. Stitch Fix CEO Katrina Lake, via the Los Angeles Times.

Venture Capital 82

Venture Capital Lean Cofounder Technical Review 82

Professor VC

APRIL 1, 2010

The last blogger in Silicon Valley. Negotiating an Angel Deal in your PJs. was part of a Dow Jones VentureWire webinar last week titled Negotiating An Angel Deal: What Angels, Entrepreneurs & VCs Need to Know. Labels: Angel Investors , fundraising , term sheets , venture capital , venture financing.

Term Sheet 32

Term Sheet Angel Investor San Jose Venture Capital 32

Professor VC

APRIL 7, 2011

The last blogger in Silicon Valley. I thought about doing this in a top 10 format, but will limit to my top 3 reasons: Misalignment of incentives - As an angel investor I want to do everything I can to help the entrepreneur succeed. In a convertible note structure, Im penalized for increasing your valuation.

San Jose 36

San Jose Technical Review Angel Investor Valuation 36

The Next Web

APRIL 27, 2013

Just as the first California wine to win a blind-tasting in France in 1976 created legitimacy for all wine producers in Northern California and created hope for producers in places such as Chile, Argentina and Australia, the success of one tech entrepreneur in an emerging market can lead to a new valuation for all who follow.

Ecuador 144

Ecuador Tanzania Developer Silicon Valley 144

Professor VC

JANUARY 17, 2008

The last blogger in Silicon Valley. Touched by an Angel. I think the title of this post is a TV show, but fitting as there has been much debate in the venture community as to the whether angel investors are good or bad for entrepreneurs and VCs. What would the VC corollary to Touched by an Angel, be.

Pre-Money Valuation 28

Pre-Money Valuation Angel Investor Angel Groups Valuation 28

The Startup Magazine

MAY 4, 2017

Silicon Valley author, investor and entrepreneur Guy Kawasaki advocates using LinkedIn to look at everyone’s background and find points of common interest that you can use. Keep in mind that venture capitalists and angel investors are pitched to every day, according to Forbes contributor Erica Swallow.

Silicon Valley 62

Silicon Valley Startup Maryland Angel Investor 62

Gust

DECEMBER 1, 2011

Sources of Capital for Startup Entrepreneurs – The primary sources of cash for new companies are (1) self (the entrepreneurs’ resources), (2) government grants, (3) friends and family, (4) angel investors and Super Angels , (5) venture capitalists and (6) strategic investors.

SBIR 120

SBIR Startup New York City Angel Investor 120

Austin Startup

JUNE 27, 2017

Valuations in startups increased dramatically during the Dot Com boom and then both valuations and the availability of investment capital nationally collapsed in 2001 with the Dot Com bust and 9/11. But the timing of the launch of these new funds almost assured their failure regardless of their investing acumen.

Venture Capital 54

Venture Capital Austin Texas Private Equity 54

www.quora.com

JANUARY 16, 2011

looking for good samples with founder friendly terms 11 Answers Mark Suster , Venture Capitalist, Angel investor & 72 votes by Ty Danco , Brandon Wu , Jen Cheng , (more) Ty Danco , Brandon Wu , Jen Cheng , Anon User, Chris Stewart , Tristan Louis , Ravi Kannan , Vin Turk , Shane Lennon , Nicholas Swanson , Sachin Agarwal , Mircea Pa?

Term Sheet 41

Term Sheet Startup Angel Investor Wiki 41

Hippoland

JANUARY 4, 2017

That lead investor will also usually help you fill out the remainder of your round with other investors. For example, let’s say you find a lead investor for your $1m round. He/she sets the valuation of your company and terms of the round. Most Silicon Valley investors won’t call your note when the maturity date arrives.

Convertible Security 48

Convertible Security Equity Security Silicon Valley 48

Scalable Startup

AUGUST 9, 2013

He created a new layer for people to get a shot at launching a Silicon Valley start with some cash and mentoring that they never would have otherwise had. One of the things Dave doesn’t charge for in his valuations is the connections to that world, and for that he will surely make everyone involved a bit of a winner.

Silicon Valley 26

Silicon Valley Hawaii Angel Investor Cofounder 26

Austin Startup

DECEMBER 29, 2018

Since I first wrote about the Golden Age in 2014, valuations for tech companies have only increased?—?rather Step Five: Have the humility and self-awareness to surround yourself with great mentors, from your angel investors, to your VC investors, to your Advisory Board, to your Board of Directors, and to your CEO or executive coach.

Cofounder 48

Cofounder Austin Technical Review Advisory Board 48

Professor VC

JULY 25, 2013

It is the story of the founding of the venture capital industry in Silicon Valley and features many of the iconic companies created including Apple, Intel, Genentech and Cisco. I was working closely with an entrepreneur and introduced another angel investor to the company. Seems like my rant is picking up steam now.

Term Sheet 46

Term Sheet Silicon Valley Syndicate Syndication 46

Gust

OCTOBER 5, 2011

At least one well-known Silicon Valley venture accelerator is using a document referred to as a “ convertible security ” rather than “convertible promissory note.” This “ uncapped note ” example ignores the concept of a valuation cap , which we’ll take up in a future installment.

Finance 79

Finance Preferred Stock Term Sheet Early Stage 79

ReadWriteStart

MARCH 3, 2011

The company has bootstrapped using services, a philosophy we espouse heavily in 1M/1M, and has simultaneously gathered a group of angel investors who are supporting it through the next phase. Orbiter expects to give its investors a 15 times return on investment based on their current pipeline and revenue forecast.

San Jose 115

San Jose Entrepreneur United States Washington 115

Professor VC

JUNE 3, 2015

Silicon Valley and the venture capital industry were built on taking risks and making big bets on technology, teams, and markets. For a number of years (or at least since twitter has been around), the Silicon Valley echo chamber has publicly celebrated modest exits or acqui-hires.

Silicon Valley 28

Silicon Valley Angel Investor Venture Capital Valuation 28

www.mint.com

MARCH 9, 2010

What is the post-money valuation of your last round? Post-money valuation” is the value of the company after the last round of money was put in (again, lines of credit and promises don’t count). Second, if people really followed these “rules&# no one would work at a start-up and Silicon Valley would spiral into nothing.

Software Review 68

Software Review Startup Post-Money Valuation Technical Review 68

Scott Edward Walker

SEPTEMBER 21, 2011

Indeed, the ideal investor is an experienced, sophisticated angel who can add substantial value through his or her domain expertise and/or rolodex. A sophisticated angel investor understands how the startup game is played and the role that he plays. This is how the game is played. the pricing) until the Series A round.

Preferred Stock 45

Preferred Stock Angel Investor Entrepreneur Common Stock 45

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. Steve Blanks 30 years of Silicon Valley startup advice. Order Here. Now In Print!

Customer Development 262

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 262

Austin Startup

FEBRUARY 12, 2019

For much of 2014 and 2015, I banged my head against a plane window flying back and forth between Austin and Silicon Valley while trying to raise institutional VC money for Localeur. Are there amazing Silicon Valley VCs out there with whom entrepreneurs should work to partner? Certainly. Most definitely.

Silicon Valley 48

Silicon Valley Technical Review Venture Capital San Francisco 48

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 15, 2014

I was at a dinner recently in Chicago and the table discussion was about building great companies outside of Silicon Valley. Those of us outside Silicon Valley need to make an effort to effect change not just wish for it. Silicon Valley] is a little short-term focused and that bothers me.”

Community 369

Community Silicon Valley Chicago Boston 369

Scalable Startup

JULY 19, 2011

Most of my 25 year career has been in California; about half of those in Silicon Valley. In every case these other places aspire to be a self sustaining baby Silicon Valley of their own – Silicon Alley, Silicon Prairie, Silicon Coast. But they don’t quite make it. Talk about scalability!

California 20

California Southern California San Francisco Silicon Valley 20