Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 16, 2013

My advice to founders out there is to not volunteer too much, but be open and honest in the face of direct questions like the following: What is your burn rate and runway today? How solid is the intellectual property? Free trials don’t count, betas don’t count, and “excited about the potential” doesn’t count.

Due Diligence 253

Due Diligence Sweat Equity Intellectual Property Burn Rate 253

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2015

How you intend to beat specific competitors (business model, intellectual property) is a key investor decision criteria. This allows them to calculate burn rates, break-even points and forecast the company valuation over time. Competitor positioning and sustainable competitive advantage.

Product 120

Product Intellectual Property Liquidity Event Burn Rate 120

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 5, 2011

My advice to founders out there is to not volunteer too much, but be open and honest in the face of direct questions like the following: What is your burn rate and runway today? How solid is the intellectual property? Free trials don’t count, betas don’t count, and “excited about the potential” doesn’t count.

Due Diligence 237

Due Diligence Sweat Equity Intellectual Property Entrepreneur 237

Gust

DECEMBER 8, 2013

My advice to founders out there is to not volunteer too much, but be open and honest in the face of direct questions like the following: What is your burn rate and runway today? How solid is the intellectual property? Free trials don’t count, betas don’t count, and “excited about the potential” doesn’t count.

Due Diligence 174

Due Diligence Sweat Equity Intellectual Property Burn Rate 174

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 20, 2010

My advice to founders out there is to not volunteer too much, but be open and honest in the face of direct questions like the following: What is your burn rate and runway today? How solid is the intellectual property? Free trials don't count, betas don't count, and "excited about the potential” doesn't count.

Due Diligence 229

Due Diligence Sweat Equity Intellectual Property Startup 229

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 7, 2014

It also forces you to pick a name for your company and put other intellectual property stakes in the ground. A variation on this theme is promising a burn rate to investors than you can’t deliver. In almost every state, you can incorporate as an LLC with a minimal effort, and a cost in the hundred dollar range.

Startup 265

Startup Intellectual Property LLC Burn Rate 265

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 28, 2012

It also forces you to pick a name for your company and put other intellectual property stakes in the ground. A variation on this theme is promising a burn rate to investors than you can’t deliver. In almost every state, you can incorporate as an LLC with a minimal effort, and a cost in the hundred dollar range.

Entrepreneur 274

Entrepreneur Intellectual Property LLC Burn Rate 274

Gust

DECEMBER 29, 2013

It also forces you to pick a name for your company and put other intellectual property stakes in the ground. A variation on this theme is promising a burn rate to investors than you can’t deliver. In almost every state, you can incorporate as an LLC with a minimal effort, and a cost in the hundred dollar range.

Startup 183

Startup Intellectual Property LLC Burn Rate 183

Professor VC

APRIL 7, 2011

Depending on how the transaction is structured, investors could block a financing and potentially take over the intellectual property. Most entrepreneurs dont realize this, but they have actually given a lot of control to investors with convertible debt. Can Entrepreneurship Be Taught? ► October. (1). ► September. (1).

San Jose 36

San Jose Technical Review Angel Investor Valuation 36

BeyondVC

JUNE 11, 2007

Sure, while some of these venture debt firms recognize that web-based businesses may not have as much hard and true intellectual property, the fact that they are more capital efficient and can scale more rapidly means they can also generate pretty nice returns from the warrant portion of their deal.

Intellectual Property 60

Intellectual Property Covenant Warrant Equity 60

www.paulgraham.com

APRIL 28, 2010

When you have a high "burn rate," youre alwaysunder time pressure, which means (a) you dont have time for yourideas to evolve, and (b) youre often forced to take deals you dontlike. The lower your costs, the moreoptions you have—not just at this stage, but at every point tillyoure profitable.

Technical Review 76

Technical Review Startup Software Review Angel Investor 76