Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2021

Most aspiring entrepreneurs understand that you can’t build a business if you won’t commit to delivering a product or service, but many are hesitant or refuse to commit to any financial forecasts. Yet every business requires revenue and volumes, as certainly as it requires a product to sell.

Forecast 369

Forecast Burn Rate Startup Widget 369

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 9, 2012

Many entrepreneurs actually refuse to do financial projections beyond the first year, insisting that no one can predict the future. In reality, you need to set these projections as goals for your own use, to convince employees as well as investors that you have a business which is challenging, but achievable. Cash flow is king.

Forecast 238

Forecast Burn Rate .Net Business Model 238

YoungUpstarts

MAY 12, 2020

Whether or not the pandemic ends within a month or a year, small business owners need to be ready to buckle down, reassess, and even make changes to their business strategy in order to weather the storm (and beyond). Here are seven best pieces of advice for anyone running their own business right now.

Burn Rate 264

Burn Rate Bandwidth Lean Business Model 264

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 22, 2011

Many entrepreneurs actually refuse to do financial projections beyond the first year, insisting that no one can predict the future. In reality, you need to set these projections as goals for your own use, to convince employees as well as investors that you have a business which is challenging, but achievable. Cash flow is king.

Forecast 230

Forecast Burn Rate Startup .Net 230

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 2, 2009

The key contributors to an out-of-control burn rate is 1) hiring a sales force too early, 2) turning on the demand creation activities too early, 3) developing something other than the minimum feature set for first customer ship. And most startup code and features end up on the floor as customers never really wanted them.

Lean 244

Lean Silicon Valley Startup RSS 244

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 15, 2014

Eighty percent of new entrepreneurs use this approach, with only six percent using investor funding. The remaining entrepreneurs borrow from family and friends, or acquire a loan. Count on several months of effort and costly assistance to court investors, with less than a 10% success rate.

Bootstrapping 276

Bootstrapping Entrepreneur Startup Burn Rate 276

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 25, 2010

Many entrepreneurs actually refuse to do financial projections beyond the first year, insisting that no one can predict the future. In reality, you need to set these projections as goals for your own use, to convince employees as well as investors that you have a business which is challenging, but achievable. Cash flow is king.

Forecast 151

Forecast Startup Burn Rate .Net 151

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 11, 2017

As an angel investor and business advisor on new ventures, I expect to see five-year financial projections from every entrepreneur. Founders point to the great number of financial unknowns in any new business, and are reluctant to “commit” to any numbers which may come back to haunt them later.

Burn Rate 144

Burn Rate Forecast Angel Investor Revenue 144

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 4, 2015

Most aspiring entrepreneurs understand that you can’t build a business if you won’t commit to delivering a product or service, but many are hesitant or refuse to commit to any financial forecasts. Yet every business requires revenue and volumes, as certainly as it requires a product to sell.

Forecast 120

Forecast Entrepreneur Burn Rate Widget 120

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 13, 2013

My mom was an entrepreneur – she was kind of my inspiration for entrepreneurship. And no one could see me as anything but a startup guy, so I started a second company and called myself a serial entrepreneur. Then everyone just started calling me a serial entrepreneur. As an entrepreneur you have to suspend disbelief.

Cofounder 337

Cofounder Technical Cofounder Startup San Diego 337

Gust

DECEMBER 7, 2014

Eighty percent of new entrepreneurs use this approach, with only six percent using investor funding. The remaining entrepreneurs borrow from family and friends, or acquire a loan. Count on several months of effort and costly assistance to court investors, with less than a 10% success rate.

Bootstrapping 191

Bootstrapping Entrepreneur Startup Burn Rate 191

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 4, 2021

Every entrepreneur I know is short on resources, including time, money, and skills. Waste in a startup is any activity that burns resources, but creates no value or competitive advantage in the eyes of customers. Delays in sharing, or lack of communication from the top, result in time and effort wasted, adding no value to the business.

Startup 404

Startup Lean Metrics Matching 404

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 15, 2011

Establishing the legal structure for your business, registering trademarks, filing copyrights and patents, and drafting partnership agreements used to require extensive attorney fees and ongoing consultation. I now see and believe business plans that budget $1K for all this, versus a previous $20K or more. Facilities and staff.

Entrepreneur 235

Entrepreneur Burn Rate SEM Social Network 235

Tim Keane

DECEMBER 14, 2009

  A low burn rate is a pearl of great price.    It provides lots of options that high burn rates take away.    A low burn rate is a pearl of great price.    It provides lots of options that high burn rates take away.    Absolutely.

Burn Rate 60

Burn Rate Angel Groups Seed Stage Startup 60

Genuine VC

FEBRUARY 9, 2011

So most of your calculus in selecting the right startup role should involve understanding the company’s market and business plan in executing toward a grand vision. What is the burn rate and how much cash is in the bank now? Is it shooting for a big market? Does it have a truly transformative innovation?

Startup 146

Startup Burn Rate Technical Review Down Round 146

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 28, 2013

Eighty percent of new entrepreneurs used this approach, with only six percent using investor funding. The remaining entrepreneurs borrowed from family and friends, or acquired a loan. Count on several months of effort and costly assistance to court investors, with less than a 10% success rate.

Startup 264

Startup Burn Rate Bootstrapping Valuation 264

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 14, 2015

Too many entrepreneurs tackle starting a business as a random walk into a business minefield, and they count on their street smarts, thick skin and pure determination to get them to their destinations alive. One preparation example is the value of building a business plan before you start.

Elevator Pitch 120

Elevator Pitch Burn Rate Startup Metrics 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 18, 2012

Establishing the legal structure for your business, registering trademarks, filing copyrights and patents, and drafting partnership agreements used to require extensive attorney fees and ongoing consultation. I now see and believe business plans that budget $1K for all this, versus a previous $20K or more. Facilities and staff.

Cost 255

Cost Burn Rate SEM Startup 255

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 27, 2012

Remember the goal is an overview presentation that will pique investor interest enough to ask for the business plan and a follow-on meeting, not close the deal on the spot. Every startup needs both a business plan and an investor presentation, completed before you formally approach any investors. Financial projections.

Elevator Pitch 247

Elevator Pitch Exit Strategy Burn Rate Merger 247

joel.is

MARCH 8, 2011

Lessons shared by Joel Gascoigne , a fledgling entrepreneur and contract web developer currently based in Birmingham, UK. Of course, many say that what makes an entrepreneur is having these fears and doing it anyway. What happens next is painful, predictable, avoidable, yet built into to every startup business plan.

Bootstrapping 41

Bootstrapping Burn Rate Startup Web Development 41

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 10, 2011

Remember the goal is an overview presentation that will pique investor interest enough to ask for the business plan and a follow-on meeting, not close the deal on the spot. Every startup needs both a business plan and an investor presentation, completed before you formally approach any investors. Financial projections.

Elevator Pitch 234

Elevator Pitch Exit Strategy Burn Rate Merger 234

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 19, 2010

Remember the goal is an overview presentation that will pique investor interest enough to ask for the business plan and a follow-on meeting, not close the deal on the spot. Every startup needs both a business plan and an investor presentation, completed before you formally approach any investors. Financial projections.

Elevator Pitch 235

Elevator Pitch Exit Strategy Burn Rate Merger 235

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 16, 2010

You would think that would be enough to get wrong, but entrepreneurs and investors compound this problem by assuming that all startups grow and scale by executing the Revenue Plan. The VC’s were very concerned that the revenue the financial plan called for wasn’t being delivered by the sales team. They don’t.

Revenue 230

Revenue Balance Sheet Hockey Stick Burn Rate 230

Up and Running

JUNE 18, 2013

This just about sums up the financial stress of being an entrepreneur. Keep an eye on both your monthly burn rate and any major payables to make sure you’re financially viable in the immediate future. Closely track net profit vs. your business plan projections, taking a 12-month view to get a better picture of the trend.

Metrics 79

Metrics Burn Rate .Net Finance 79

Steve Blank

JUNE 1, 2011

The only numbers in those documents that are important in the first year of a startup’s life are burn rate and cash balance. What is the entrepreneur supposed to be doing? Filed under: Big Companies versus Startups: Durant versus Sloan , Business Model versus Business Plan , Teaching , Venture Capital.

Silicon Valley 290

Silicon Valley Business Model Venture Capital Balance Sheet 290

Gust

JUNE 10, 2012

Establishing the legal structure for your business, registering trademarks, filing copyrights and patents, and drafting partnership agreements used to require extensive attorney fees and ongoing consultation. I now see and believe business plans that budget $1K for all this, versus a previous $20K or more. Facilities and staff.

Cost 139

Cost Burn Rate SEM Startup 139

Steve Blank

JUNE 1, 2011

The only numbers in those documents that are important in the first year of a startup’s life are burn rate and cash balance. What is the entrepreneur supposed to be doing? Filed under: Big Companies versus Startups: Durant versus Sloan , Business Model versus Business Plan , Teaching , Venture Capital.

Silicon Valley 258

Silicon Valley Business Model Venture Capital Balance Sheet 258

Gust

AUGUST 19, 2012

Remember the goal is an overview presentation that will pique investor interest enough to ask for the business plan and a follow-on meeting, not close the deal on the spot. Every startup needs both a business plan and an investor presentation, completed before you formally approach any investors. Financial projections.

Elevator Pitch 146

Elevator Pitch Exit Strategy Burn Rate Merger 146

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 13, 2010

Establishing the legal structure for your business, registering trademarks, filing copyrights and patents, and drafting partnership agreements used to require extensive attorney fees and ongoing consultation. I now see and believe business plans that budget $1K for all this, versus a previous $20K or more. Facilities and staff.

Burn Rate 125

Burn Rate SEM Social Network Angel Investor 125

VC Cafe

APRIL 27, 2011

10 things VCs can do to differentiate themselves and provide more value to potential investments – based on feedback from dozens of entrepreneurs. This is the second part of the Entrepreneur’s Wish List. Entrepreneurs use a variety of fundraising sources when looking for many. Can they teach each other something?

Venture Capital 90

Venture Capital Differentiation Incubator Angel Investor 90

Up and Running

AUGUST 21, 2014

Caroline: It would also be great to know if the entrepreneurs in the room are tracking any of this right now, the metrics that Sabrina has already talked about. A lot of times people talk about gut feel and a lot of entrepreneurs have to use gut feel. Peter, anybody have any questions as I go along? Okay, so great.

Metrics 84

Metrics Startup Churn Rate Forecast 84

Up and Running

OCTOBER 1, 2014

When you’re starting a business to build your own luck, you don’t often have a lot of start up capital. Nelson has some tips: Know your burn rate. Plan ahead. Business planning has been a big factor for Theme Dragon since the beginning, and in any smart business, you want to know where you’re headed.

Bootstrapping 107

Bootstrapping Cofounder Portland Burn Rate 107

Startup Lessons Learned

MARCH 13, 2009

Figuring this out takes time, and few entrepreneurs have the patience to wait it out, because the business plan does such a good job of explaining what customers are going to think. The problem is that customers dont read your business plan. No departments The Five Whys for Startups (for Harvard Business R.

San Francisco 168

San Francisco PR Lean Early Stage 168

Up and Running

MAY 22, 2018

The show has been around for a while; entrepreneur contestants pitch their business ideas in front of a panel of investors—the “sharks”—in hopes that one of them will want to invest in their idea. However, for those entrepreneurs, a whole new struggle begins after the show ends. Nerdy term: Burn rate. Don’t be coy.

Exit Strategy 90

Exit Strategy Angel Investor Search Elevator Pitch 90

Professor VC

DECEMBER 18, 2008

The NIF (in its 5th year), is essentially a science fair for entrepreneurs. Many entrepreneurial programs feature a business plan competition, which is a great exercise. At SJSU, we also have a business plan competition in the spring, which ideally allows the students to build a viable business model around their NIF projects.

San Jose 28

San Jose Silicon Valley Technical Review Angel Investor 28

Professor VC

MAY 29, 2008

An entrepreneur will pitch their business plan to what they think is a group of angel investors and will get a number of follow-up calls afterwards, but they are pitches for services not investment interest. I think this sentiment has given angel groups a bad name. Can Entrepreneurship Be Taught? ► October. (1).

Angel Investor 28

Angel Investor Angel Groups Accredited Investor San Jose 28

Professor VC

NOVEMBER 19, 2009

At a high level, I definitely agree that being an entrepreneur and being in school dont necessarily mix. Most of us know of Exhibits 1 ( Bill Gates ) and 2 ( Mark Zuckerberg ) from Harvard, but I have met dozens of other successful entrepreneurs who felt a greater need to get going on an opportunity than to wait around to complete a degree.

San Jose 43

San Jose Silicon Valley Las Vegas Venture Capital 43