Steve Blank

APRIL 26, 2022

At the turn of the century after the dotcom crash, startup valuations plummeted, burn rates were unsustainable, and startups were quickly running out of cash. Your cram down investors will likely sell your technology for piece parts and/or use your company to benefit their other portfolio companies. Time to Think.

Cram Down 408

Cram Down Founder Venture Capital Recapitalization 408

David Teten

NOVEMBER 26, 2019

So here’s the solution I have recommended to some of my portfolio companies: “ agile budgeting ”, i.e., monitoring a few key variables while giving managers significant flexibility. Sean Colrock, Director of Client Partnerships at Wiss & Company , suggests at a minimum you track: cash on hand; fume date; and burn rate.

Agile 60

Agile Management Forecast Silicon Valley 60

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 9, 2011

I thought about things I never had to as an entrepreneur: check size, ownership percentage, deal stage, portfolio construction and risk. Companies raised too much money in 2005-08 and had high burn rates. When the market tanked they had the “triage problem&# – which portfolio companies to save, which to kill.

Stock 305

Stock Technical Review Marketing Greece 305

crowdSPRING Blog

OCTOBER 10, 2014

Refocusing the Startup Burn Rate Debate | OpenView Blog – crowdspring.co/1n8paLq. 7 Rules of Perfect Portfolio Websites – crowdspring.co/YTR0jA. Stock option questions startup employees should ask | Business Insider – crowdspring.co/1n8lUje. React – crowdspring.co/1yHa1WB. 1pttocg.

Social Media 97

Social Media Small Business Design Media 97

Version One Ventures

JANUARY 23, 2019

You should also watch your burn rate and the amount of capital in the bank. And a bunch of our portfolio companies went out for their next funding event earlier than they had originally planned, in order to put additional money in their coffers in case the economy turns south.

Burn Rate 90

Burn Rate Later Stage China Venture Capital 90

Professor VC

JULY 22, 2009

The burn rates of my portfolio companies is certainly top of mind right now, but thats not what this post is about. Since Im not a fan of any of those genres, I have been looking forward to the release of his latest work, Burn Rate. ProfessorVC. The last blogger in Silicon Valley. Wednesday, July 22, 2009.

Burn Rate 28

Burn Rate San Jose Silicon Valley Angel Investor 28

Hunter Walker

NOVEMBER 25, 2022

Now it just so happens we also have a very good close rate, but that’s because the startups in our portfolio are typically interesting, rewarding places to be and they are thoughtful in the candidates pursued]. It’s also a reminder why keeping your personal burn rate low is such a career expanding move.

Salary 56

Salary Burn Rate Dilution Equity 56

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 14, 2015

Today I called it, “our own little VC led, portfolio-by-portfolio company version of RIP Good Times from 7 years ago.” ” It goes like this: What is your net burn rate? What is your revenue growth rate and what does this imply about your number of months of capital remaining? Others will follow.

Burn Rate 150

Burn Rate San Francisco Private Equity LP 150

Genuine VC

FEBRUARY 9, 2011

With all of that information advantage, venture capitalists additionally have the luxury of building a portfolio to spread their bets and are still wrong more often than right… but you only get to choose one employer every few years! What is the burn rate and how much cash is in the bank now?

Startup 146

Startup Burn Rate Technical Review Down Round 146

BeyondVC

NOVEMBER 13, 2009

First, we drastically cut the burn rate before the nuclear winter and decided to focus on getting to breakeven. What I want is one identity or phone number that works on any IM network, VOIP network, or even integrates with my PSTN and cell phone identity? .

Portfolio 100

Portfolio Burn Rate Viral Lean 100

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 4, 2016

I’ve been giving every company I talk to the sermon about burn rates and returning to pragmatic growth but I underestimated how many of my peers had already started to do the same. And the outlook for 2016 shows 77% of VCs expect it to take even longer in the months ahead.

LP 150

LP Valuation Burn Rate Pre-Money Valuation 150

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 13, 2013

And for every time I’ve felt hugely stressed that our burn rate was getting too high, and I didn’t know who else was going to fund the company, and I’m all in on this company, right?” ” “Well, you get to be involved with our portfolio companies after we invest.”

Cofounder 337

Cofounder Technical Cofounder San Diego Startup 337

The Next Web

MARCH 8, 2014

In fact, I’ve learned that being a partner at a $150m Venture Fund (more or less my new job) is quite similar to what it is like being CEO of a start-up with a $250,000 monthly burn rate. Specifically, it feels eerily similar to how I felt when I was CEO at EchoSign when we were at about $4m in revenue.

Partner 138

Partner Burn Rate Early Stage IPO 138

View from Seed

OCTOBER 15, 2014

Over the summer, based on feedback from our portfolio and the broader startup community, NextView created pre-formatted board deck templates for seed-stage startups — part of our Growth Guides series. Included in that deck was something that caught some folks by surprise. However, these are important updates for your board to know.

Seed Stage 331

Seed Stage Cap Table Metrics Burn Rate 331

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 23, 2016

In addition, working with people already in the business gives you connections to others and insight into areas where you may need to update your portfolio. Be prepared to ask some hard questions, including current traction, burn rate, and runway before the next cash infusion. It also prevents a gap in your resume.

Startup 120

Startup Burn Rate Cofounder Salary 120

ithacaVC

MAY 20, 2014

This is mostly because I sit on many portfolio company boards for which I simply do not understand at a fundamental level the technologies. Ask: why is your burn rate so high and is it sustainable? I have encountered a few situations lately where I found myself asking a lot of questions. Did you hire too quickly?

Burn Rate 80

Burn Rate Sales Cycle Portfolio Hiring 80

abovethecrowd.com

APRIL 20, 2016

The pressures of lofty paper valuations, massive burn rates (and the subsequent need for more cash), and unprecedented low levels of IPOs and M&A, have created a complex and unique circumstance which many Unicorn CEOs and investors are ill-prepared to navigate. Layoffs have also become more prevalent.

IPO 40

IPO Term Sheet Silicon Valley Valuation 40

Mucker Lab

MARCH 8, 2016

With a well-capitalized fund, great LPs, and a solid portfolio, we are privileged to continue serving exceptional entrepreneurs. And we aren’t afraid to roll up our sleeves and get our hands dirty alongside the founders in our portfolio. We’ve been on founding teams and worked from entry level through executive management.

Burn Rate 60

Burn Rate Limited Partner Bootstrapping Portfolio 60

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 30, 2016

They either had a portfolio company in market and weren’t getting offers as quickly as expected or they knew a friend in the biz who was recounting this to them in a session VCs strangely call “comparing notes.”. We had grown into a more reasonable burn rate so raising capital meant we would have many years of cash on the balance sheet.

Balance Sheet 150

Balance Sheet Burn Rate Valuation Forecast 150

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2016

Most are sitting on large portfolios of private companies that are raising money now or will need to do so in the future and they know that they’re up against some headwinds. Huge funding increases lead to massive wage inflation, rent inflation and thus higher burn rates. There is reason for despondency.

Valuation 150

Valuation Down Round Startup Later Stage 150

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 23, 2011

An example is Metacafe, a Highland Capital portfolio company. They had a very expensive burn rate at the wrong time. One of Highland Capital’s portfolio companies, Affine Systems, helps solve this problem by extracting search terms from the video images. Tell us more about MetaCafe? (37:00-40:30). 37:00-40:30).

Vertical 265

Vertical Curation Boston Burn Rate 265

The Equity Kicker

JANUARY 10, 2020

It’s got a big burn rate, it’s too big to pivot, and it goes bust. At Forward Partners, we’ve invested massively in a team of people to support our portfolio companies – a bigger investment than any other fund in the UK. They find a niche in the market where they can grow some revenues and then they raise some more money.

Partner 68

Partner Early Stage Portfolio Metrics 68

VC Cafe

APRIL 27, 2011

VCs should aim to provide comprehensive data to their portcos on industry benchmarks, burn rates, market research, competitive analysis, etc. what about all those portfolio companies? Index Ventures recently did a survey amongst all its portfolio companies on the tools they use regularly. Have nothing to tweet about?

Venture Capital 90

Venture Capital Differentiation Incubator Angel Investor 90

Professor VC

SEPTEMBER 26, 2011

Can't wait until you have some actual portfolio results to analyze and compare against Cambridge returns. I knew you'd be able to summarize your approach and relationship to quantitative analysis of entrepreneurs and opportunities better than I could. September 27, 2011 5:51 PM. Post a Comment. Newer Post. Older Post. Twitter Updates.

Technical Review 38

Technical Review Early Stage San Jose Angel Investor 38

Feld Thoughts

FEBRUARY 9, 2016

.” Many companies have hired ahead of their growth rate because they had the cash to do so. In our portfolio, we generally don’t have this problem because we aren’t big fans of either (a) overfunding companies or (b) escalating burn rates based on headcount.

Cap Table 70

Cap Table Down Round Liquidation Preference Founder 70

VC Adventure

SEPTEMBER 4, 2015

A few months ago we held a “SaaS Summit” for about 130 people from across the Foundry Group portfolio. The best businesses are sustainable and grow at a pace and in a manner that sets their burn rate at an appropriate level relative to their funding and matching things like CAC to LTV in sustainable ways.

Burn Rate 48

Burn Rate Portfolio Revenue Valuation 48

Professor VC

APRIL 7, 2011

However, using portfolio theory, your losers are going to far outnumber your winners, so taking half or more of the gains out of the winners will have a big impact on the overall returns. The returns are going to be so big that you want to have a piece of the best deals rather than more ownership in companies that arent going to do well.

San Jose 36

San Jose Technical Review Angel Investor Valuation 36

K9 Ventures

MAY 28, 2015

In my discussions with K9 portfolio founders about scaling revenue, I very often end up drawing the same picture: $0/month. By carefully managing your burn rate and steadily growing revenue, you can now survive — almost forever. When a startup is just getting started it first needs to build its product/service.

Revenue 48

Revenue Startup Burn Rate Cofounder 48

Rob Go

FEBRUARY 29, 2016

Mid stage companies need to look at their burn rates and try to do whatever possible to extend runway, focus on proving really great PMF and solid unit economics, and try to survive until better days. Funding may be challenging, but it by no means has completely dried up.

Marketing 28

Marketing Dilution Burn Rate Seed Stage 28

BeyondVC

OCTOBER 22, 2008

  I was on the phone today with the CEO of one our portfolio companies, and we were joking that we were in unprecedented times since we have been approached by a number of bankers about buying companies that are much larger than us.    I can guarantee you that this is a recipe for disaster. 

Burn Rate 60

Burn Rate Merger Portfolio Partner 60

Professor VC

APRIL 11, 2008

I personally enjoy the earliest stages and building a portfolio of start-ups and entrepreneurial teams. As the company grows, it is more important to have a CFO that is both strategic and skilled in process, rather than a "seat of the pants" entrepreneurial CFO. The cheerleader role isnt all bad. Can Entrepreneurship Be Taught? ► May.

San Jose 28

San Jose Angel Investor Venture Capital Balance Sheet 28

VC Adventure

APRIL 2, 2015

Here are some common pitfalls based on our experiences (and here I’m referring not just to Foundry portfolio companies, although all of these lessons apply there as well, but also our observations of the broader markets). So we know that startups fail all the time, but why do they fail? Premature scaling.

Dilution 54

Dilution Burn Rate Sales Portfolio 54

Startup Lessons Learned

MAY 15, 2020

So anyone in your portfolio, or anyone that you've been talking to have an example of something like that, or impressed you with something? And work with the hospitals that are our customers and ask them what their daily burn rate is so other hospitals know how many are being used, so they can learn from hospitals who are being hit first."

Dallas 68

Dallas Employee Government Social Media 68

www.chubbybrain.com

SEPTEMBER 28, 2011

Company: Home Portfolio. Title: Burn Rate: How I Survived the Gold Rush Years on the Internet. And for those who enjoy this genre, these are my favorite book length post mortems. Lots of lessons here! Title: The Leap: A Memoir of Love and Madness in the Internet Gold Rush. Author: Tom Ashbrook. Author: Michael Wolff.

Software Review 79

Software Review Startup Technical Review Vesting 79

Professor VC

FEBRUARY 12, 2008

Bessemer Venture Partners lists an anti-portfolio of investments they passed on that includes Apple, Ebay, Intel, and Google. When asked the question about the worst investment he ever made, he turned it around to mention the one that got away, Apple. Now, back to that house in Mountain View, California. Can Entrepreneurship Be Taught?

San Jose 31

San Jose Technical Review Venture Capital Angel Investor 31

Seeing Both Sides

NOVEMBER 11, 2008

In these economic times, tensions can flare over strategy, burn rate and performance. Focus on their VC fund's situation and agenda, rather than the portfolio company's. Translating this mantra to the start-up world is a thought-provoking exercise. Seek to apply general formulas (e.g., let's implement the Sequoia Manifesto !),

Burn Rate 20

Burn Rate Analytics Portfolio Government 20

This is going to be BIG.

MARCH 3, 2019

They’re not only leading larger rounds, but may need to bridge companies they’ve otherwise made large investments into that have higher burn rates. Throw in a couple more solid returners, a few singles and doubles, and you’ve paid for the fact that half your portfolio was a complete wipeout. That’s not what seed funds are doing.

Portfolio 110

Portfolio Burn Rate LP Distribution 110