Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 25, 2020

Yet one of the first things a potential equity investor asks about is your exit strategy. Equity investments are not loans, so there is no loan payback period or interest payments. Equity investments are not loans, so there is no loan payback period or interest payments. Find a private equity firm or friendly individual.

Exit Strategy 376

Exit Strategy Startup Private Equity Equity 376

ReadWriteStart

DECEMBER 15, 2022

Client work serves as an additional source of revenue to form new startups. This outside work provides a valuable source of revenue able to be used to fund operations. It also helps bootstrap new startup businesses. Over time, this revenue reduces the dependency on outside venture capital sources.

Incubator 188

Incubator Startup Software Developers Software Development 188

David Teten

AUGUST 19, 2019

So you’re interested in raising capital from a Revenue-Based Investor VC. A new wave of Revenue-Based Investors (“RBI”) are emerging. This structure offers some of the benefits of traditional equity VC, without some of the negatives of equity VC. Our wheelhouse is bootstrapped (or lightly capitalized) SMB SaaS.

Revenue 60

Revenue Technical Review Software Review Equity 60

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 1, 2020

The primary source of your funds should be your paying customers, i.e., your business should generate enough revenues and profits to fund the growth and expansion. The next reason is to establish a competitive advantage over your competition and quickly acquire a substantial market share. Forms of funding. ? Equity investment.

Startup 150

Startup Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Seed Stage 150

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. After bootstrapping, friends and family are the most common funding sources for early-stage startups.

Entrepreneur 283

Entrepreneur Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 283

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 1, 2017

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. After bootstrapping, friends and family are the most common funding sources for early-stage startups.

Product Development 177

Product Development Cost Developer Product 177

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 27, 2016

Yet one of the first things a potential equity investor asks about is your exit strategy. Equity investments are not loans, so there is no loan payback period or interest payments. Equity investments are not loans, so there is no loan payback period or interest payments. Find a private equity firm or friendly individual.

Equity 120

Equity Exit Strategy Private Equity Startup 120

ReadWriteStart

MAY 30, 2022

Sometime in your future, an investor will offer you money in return for equity. In this article, you’ll learn how bootstrapping makes you a better business – a leaner, smarter, more agile company that can roll with the punches. Then you need to retain the lion’s share of equity. Bootstrapped founders don’t have these concerns.

Bootstrapping 147

Bootstrapping Startup Equity Silicon Valley 147

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. After bootstrapping, friends and family are the most common funding sources for early-stage startups.

Intellectual Property 309

Intellectual Property Technical Review Venture Capital Startup 309

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. Solicit funds from friends and family.

Intellectual Property 134

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 134

David Teten

AUGUST 19, 2019

A new wave of Revenue-Based Investors are emerging who are using creative investing structures with some of the upside of traditional VC, but some of the downside protection of debt. I’ve been a traditional equity VC for 8 years, and I’m now researching new business models in venture capital. So what is Revenue Based Investing?

Revenue 60

Revenue Term Sheet Founder Technical Review 60

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 18, 2020

It’s more possible to bootstrap today than a few years ago, as the cost of entry continues to go down. With one of the many new tools , and a dose of sweat equity, you can create a website for almost nothing -- and you are on your way to success with ecommerce, your latest invention or personal services.

Hockey Stick 423

Hockey Stick Bootstrapping Sweat Equity Intellectual Property 423

Austin Startup

NOVEMBER 25, 2018

Although bootstrapping is still an approach in Austin, a lot has changed since I wrote my original challenge to the Bootstrap Austin group back in 2005. Bootstrap Austin, started by Bijoy Goswami. The original Bootstrap Austin was truly special and Bijoy did an amazing job bringing together some terrific entrepreneurs.

Bootstrapping 48

Bootstrapping Austin Equity Cofounder 48

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 8, 2015

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. Solicit funds from friends and family.

Entrepreneur 120

Entrepreneur Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 120

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. The average amount per startup has been $23,000, usually in the form of a convertible loan, rather than an equity investment.

Sweat Equity 274

Sweat Equity Elevator Pitch Startup Equity 274

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 12, 2014

Yet one of the first things a potential equity investor asks about is your exit strategy. Equity investments are not loans, so there is no loan payback period or interest payments. Equity investments are not loans, so there is no loan payback period or interest payments. Find a private equity firm or friendly individual.

Exit Strategy 289

Exit Strategy Entrepreneur IPO Startup 289

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 16, 2023

Yet every business requires revenue and volumes, as certainly as it requires a product to sell. External investors will demand a financial forecast, but it’s equally valuable to you, even if bootstrapping. Project based on your market size how many widgets you will sell in every channel. Forecast sales-volume expectations.

Forecast 290

Forecast Burn Rate Widget Business Plan 290

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 3, 2014

When someone asks me for the best way to fund a startup, I always say bootstrap it, meaning fund it yourself and grow organically. Bootstrapping avoids all the cost, pain, and distractions of finding angels or VCs, and allows you to keep control and all your hard-earned equity for yourself. Practice creative marketing.

Bootstrapping 278

Bootstrapping Startup Merger Salary 278

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 17, 2023

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. Investors call this the seed stage , where money is required to build a market and a real product. The final product works great, and all the early users love it.”

Angel Investor 313

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Investment Bankers Private Equity 313

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 5, 2023

Sometimes these will ask for 5%-15% of your equity for their support services. Companies at this stage must have a large market, good traction, and be focused on scaling infrastructure and market adoption. This normally means more than 30 employees, and more than $1 million in revenue. Growth and exit stage.

Incubator 305

Incubator Startup Exit Strategy Institutional Investors 305

YoungUpstarts

JULY 6, 2017

ANGEL INVESTOR : These are individuals who offer capital to startups in exchange for equity, partial ownership or convertible debt. This strategy, known as bootstrapping, is ideally suited to businesses which don’t need a large influx of capital early on in order to finance growth and which are already generating revenues.

Syndicate 127

Syndicate Syndication Software Review Angel Investor 127

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 6, 2016

It’s more possible to bootstrap today than a few years ago, as the cost of entry continues to go down. With one of the new free tools and a dose of sweat equity, you can create a website for almost nothing -- and you are on your way to success with ecommerce, your latest invention or personal services.

Bootstrapping 120

Bootstrapping Hockey Stick Sweat Equity Intellectual Property 120

ConversionXL

NOVEMBER 6, 2019

For this article, we asked 14 SaaS CEOs a simple question: “How much did you spend on your MVP before you had your first dollar of revenue?”. Running comparative calculations, Arsenault figures that “two senior engineers plus a product manager/marketer for 40 hours per month, times 6 months, would be 720 hours to get to our MVP.

Sweat Equity 78

Sweat Equity Software Review Vesting Cofounder 78

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 11, 2021

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. The average amount per startup has been $23,000, usually in the form of a convertible loan, rather than an equity investment.

Sweat Equity 346

Sweat Equity Elevator Pitch Equity Venture Capital 346

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 23, 2013

When someone asks me for the best way to fund a startup, I always say bootstrap it, meaning fund it yourself and grow organically. Bootstrapping avoids all the cost, pain, and distractions of finding angels or VCs, and allows you to keep control and all your hard-earned equity for yourself. Creative marketing.

Equity 241

Equity Bootstrapping Startup Merger 241

Duct Tape Marketing

AUGUST 23, 2023

The Impact of Community written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing Marketing Podcast with Lloyed Lobo In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast , I interview Lloyed Lobo. He is the co-founder of Boast.ai, where he leveraged the Community-Led Growth model to bootstrap the company.

Community 54

Community Kuwait Cofounder Bootstrapping 54

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 22, 2020

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. Investors call this the seed stage , where money is required to build a market and a real product. The final product works great, and all the early users love it.”

Angel Investor 370

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Investment Bankers Private Equity 370

YoungUpstarts

MARCH 14, 2016

It made risky bets in untested markets and tried to grow bigger than its customers were ready for. Sure, VC cash can boost your business to new heights, but it also reduces your equity in the company, forces you to focus on company valuation, and provides a false sense of financial security. Let’s not forget the bootstrapping option.

Venture Capital 100

Venture Capital Securities and Exchange Commission New York City Cofounder 100

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

JUNE 20, 2011

I recently helped a friend broker the sale of his small, bootstrapped company. They’ve heard rules of thumb like “A growing software company is worth 5 times their trailing 12-months revenue.&# Even narrowing the field as much as feasible, revenue multiples varied between 1.2x Profit multiples varied even more.

Sales 260

Sales Channel Cofounder Valuation 260

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 22, 2021

Unfortunately, most of us don’t have enough resources to bootstrap our own startups, so we are completely dependent on investors to help turn great ideas into great businesses. Investors love entrepreneurs who come across as constantly on the lookout for new ideas, and able to grasp the larger implications for market change.

Intellectual Property 352

Intellectual Property Equity Bootstrapping Valuation 352

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2021

Yet every business requires revenue and volumes, as certainly as it requires a product to sell. External investors will demand a financial forecast, but it’s equally valuable to you, even if bootstrapping. Project based on your market size how many widgets you will sell in every channel. Forecast sales-volume expectations.

Forecast 369

Forecast Burn Rate Startup Widget 369

Gust

OCTOBER 26, 2014

When someone asks me for the best way to fund a startup, I always say bootstrap it, meaning fund it yourself and grow organically. Bootstrapping avoids all the cost, pain, and distractions of finding angels or VCs, and allows you to keep control and all your hard-earned equity for yourself. Practice creative marketing.

Bootstrapping 176

Bootstrapping Startup Merger Salary 176

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 19, 2017

When you accept outside money, particularly a private equity (PE) investment, however, that changes. In this article, I’ll provide some personal stories of how investors have navigated the balance between raising private equity capital and not losing control of their startup. Rule 1: Bootstrap until you have a viable product.

Private Equity 94

Private Equity Pre-Money Valuation Equity Startup 94

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 12, 2020

Sometimes these will ask for 5%-15% of your equity for their support services. Companies at this stage must have a large market, good traction, and be focused on scaling infrastructure and market adoption. This normally means more than 30 employees, and more than $1 million in revenue. Growth and exit stage.

Incubator 429

Incubator Startup Exit Strategy Institutional Investors 429

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 22, 2020

The only way an entrepreneur can really dodge this issue is to totally fund the startup with personal funds (bootstrapping). In the interim, there is no market for the shares, and no dividends or interest. Insist on paying market rates for commercial loans, since the IRS can instigate some nasty consequences on “gifts.”

Management 308

Management Cram Down Angel Investor Equity 308

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 8, 2014

The real work actually comes when you want to turn that idea into something that not only benefits customers, but also brings in revenue. Some startup founders turn to accelerators or angel investors for guidance and financial backing, but with this comes the sacrifice of independence and equity. Todd Crosland, Seed Equity Ventures.

Bootstrapping 167

Bootstrapping Colombia Founder Bankruptcy 167

ConversionXL

NOVEMBER 6, 2019

For this article, we asked 14 SaaS CEOs a simple question: “How much did you spend on your MVP before you had your first dollar of revenue?”. Running comparative calculations, Arsenault figures that “two senior engineers plus a product manager/marketer for 40 hours per month, times 6 months, would be 720 hours to get to our MVP.

Sweat Equity 50

Sweat Equity Software Review Vesting Cofounder 50