Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 9, 2014

Typically you can browse them by region or technology to find founders. Every geographic area has entrepreneur networking activities, like startup weekends and tech meetups. Once you find a startup that seems like a good fit, it’s still important to do some of your own due diligence. Kick your networking up a notch.

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Technical Review Stock Options Due Diligence Silicon Valley 250

Professor VC

JANUARY 27, 2011

How Much Diligence is Due.Or Ive addressed the due diligence question in previous posts, but this came up again in a debate we were having at a recent meeting of the Sand Hill Angels. And in order to increase our groups returns, one of our goals should be to get more people and man hours involved in the diligence process.

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Technical Review Due Diligence Silicon Valley San Jose 31

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 7, 2014

They can iterate and evolve their business idea with a low burn rate and minimal dependencies. Although the major crowd funding sites today, including Kickstarter and Indiegogo , don’t technically require a business plan, they do demand essentially the same information in a project format.

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Business Plan Technical Review Angel Investor Due Diligence 274

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 10, 2016

Every startup founder loves to prompt for questions from investors and potential key team members about their vision, and the huge opportunity that can be had with their disruptive technology. Early stage burn rates over $50K per month, or a runway of less than six months may indicate an inefficient or desperate startup.

Sweat Equity 120

Sweat Equity Burn Rate Technical Review Intellectual Property 120

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 28, 2018

Founder: “$8–10 million” VC: “What’s your current burn rate?” VC: “So at a constant rate of burn rate you’d be raising enough for 2.5–3 I built a “plan b,” which in this case just holds burn rate constant at $350k and has you out of cash in month 19, which gives you more runway. Founder: “Um.

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Burn Rate Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Dilution 247

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 18, 2015

Typically you can browse them by region or technology to find founders. Every geographic area has entrepreneur networking activities, such as startup weekends and tech meetups. Once you find a startup that seems like a good fit, it’s still important to do some of your own due diligence. Kick your networking up a notch.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Entrepreneur Stock Options Due Diligence 120

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 11, 2010

The phone call would sound something like: “We have a company with great technology and a hot product but at the last board meeting we determined that they have a marketing problem. Six is a Proxy for Burn Rate. But now the bill had come due. Can you take a look and tell us what you think?”.

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Burn Rate Silicon Valley Marketing Boston 249

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 29, 2009

High burn-rates fueled by over investment – One of the most damning things that happened to the start-up markets in 97-00 and 05-08 was the overfunding of technology companies. Bu when you start to worry that the world is ending (as it seemed it was in late 2008 / early 2009) you tend to get worried about large burn rates.

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Burn Rate Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Private Equity 263

Mucker Lab

MAY 28, 2020

Compass.co, a benchmarking and research service, analyzed 3,200 internet startups and found that 74 percent “fail due to premature scaling.” The anxiety is growing so intense that CB Insights is now charging $6,895 for its own “List of Early-Stage Tech Startups Running Out of Cash (Dying).” Move quickly but spend sensibly.

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Startup Cofounder Burn Rate Technical Review 78

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 3, 2009

Usually in a tech / software startup 70-80% of your costs will be people. Each quarter you should review your model. Too aggressive about the rate of customer adoption? You might then slow down your burn rate or raise more money. Tags: Startup Advice startup technology vc venture capital. You get the point.

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Business Plan AJAX Venture Capital Technical Review 334

The Next Web

JANUARY 22, 2014

This would indicate that founders are generally being sensible with their bank balance, watching their burn rate closely and not taking more out until there’s more coming in. Average salary peaks for founders aged 41 to 50, perhaps due to that often being an age at which family life can be at its most expensive.

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Salary Founder Entrepreneur Burn Rate 152

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 12, 2010

This is probably because many founders are product or technology people. If you can’t figure all of this out then adding a non-founder sales person isn’t going to solve your problems – it’s just going to add to your burn rate. If this is you I think it’s really important to get over this hurdle.

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Hiring Sales Startup Early Stage 346

Feld Thoughts

NOVEMBER 18, 2013

One of them used to be a lead developer at [insert hot consumer tech company here]. Had the company created a board and run it properly, they would have ratified a budget, reviewed compensation plans, and agreed on spending levels during early product development. In startup time, that feels like forever.

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Burn Rate Equity Software Review Early Stage 152

crowdSPRING Blog

SEPTEMBER 19, 2014

Inside the Mind of a Technical Founder | OpenView Blog by Larry Kim – crowdspring.co/1u7Fz1b. Are startup burn rates out of control? Livescribe Notebooks by Moleskine marry analog and digital technology – crowdspring.co/1lYTFTX. The Myth of Venture Capital | Re/code by Jon Oringer – crowdspring.co/1tNFeV7.

Social Media 94

Social Media Small Business Design Media 94

David Teten

NOVEMBER 26, 2019

Sean Colrock, Director of Client Partnerships at Wiss & Company , suggests at a minimum you track: cash on hand; fume date; and burn rate. due to inflation, salary increases) to maintain margin in an environment of downward pressure on prices. Successful agile budgeting requires modern technology.

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Agile Management Forecast Silicon Valley 60

Up and Running

OCTOBER 7, 2019

Many startups focus on growth (instead of profits) and often need to track KPIs that may be different from those used by established businesses: Burn rate : indicates the company’s negative cash flow or how quickly it’s spending money. Activation rate: measures how many visitors are engaging with your website or app.

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Founder Retention Metrics Technical Review 71

Tim Keane

DECEMBER 14, 2009

  When this happens, (due in part to the need to keep fees low) things get both left out and included that later wisdom will suggest should've been included or left out.    That advice is often both technical and srtructural.    A low burn rate is a pearl of great price. 

Burn Rate 60

Burn Rate Angel Groups Seed Stage Startup 60

Professor VC

SEPTEMBER 26, 2011

Dan Frommer, in Moneyball for tech startups , interviewed Fred Wilson, Chris Dixon, Paul Graham and Ben Horowitz on the topic. And given that four of the most important tech investors in the world seem skeptical of it, if someone can figure out a good formula that works, they may be able to exploit it". How Much Diligence is Due.

Technical Review 38

Technical Review Early Stage San Jose Angel Investor 38

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 7, 2009

The new VP of Sales reviews the sales strategy and tactics that did not work and comes up with a new sales plan. O problema é que, devido à grande estrutura criada por antecipação e o consequente nível das despesas (burn rate), a Startup fica com pouco tempo e agilidade para iterar e descobrir o que estava de errado no plano.

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Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 228

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 7, 2016

For IBM, the Personal Computer was a paradigm shift from their big business legacy, built with new technologies for totally new markets, and battleships turn very slowly. The culture of a large technology company is to rely on internal development or large, stable, and proven external vendors.

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Technical Review Entrepreneur Silicon Valley Burn Rate 214

VC Cafe

NOVEMBER 2, 2019

When you start with an honest and diligent effort to determine the truth of your situation, the right decisions often become self-evident.” — Jim Collins , author of Good to Great. In this post I’ll focus on benchmarking resources for seed and series A in the following three categories: SaaS B2C / Consumer apps Deep tech.

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B2C Technical Review Startup Retention 141

Professor VC

SEPTEMBER 16, 2010

DEMO has always been one of my favorite tech conferences. Labels: #democon , DEMO , tech conferences , vuvuzela. How Much Diligence is Due. I spent the past couple of days at the conference and certainly felt like it. There wasnt a lot of buzz in the air. This was the 20th Anniversary and possibly the last. Steve Bennet.

Technical Review 38

Technical Review San Jose Angel Investor Silicon Valley 38

Professor VC

APRIL 7, 2011

Technically, the start-up is insolvent from the day they take the first dollar of investment. How Much Diligence is Due. Ive seen a number of entrepreneurs, angels and VCs fall into the trap of providing debt in small pieces. Why Invest in an insolvent company? Why I Hate Convertible Debt.Let Me Count the Way. ► January.

San Jose 36

San Jose Technical Review Angel Investor Valuation 36

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 6, 2020

We have the machine learning technology to take these disparate, small pieces of molecules, and stitch them together to form an actual anti-COVID drug." Eric Ries : Then somehow you made the transition from the scientist in a lab to the founder of a technology start up. Eric Ries : That's a remarkable use of social media. I certainly.

Artificial Inteligence 60

Artificial Inteligence Open Source Cofounder Design 60

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 8, 2016

Much has changed in the past four months of the technology startup world and how outsiders value the business. Investors are rewarding cautious growth more than high-burn-rate growth at all except the most successful of companies (and even there it may eventually change).

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Burn Rate Cap Table Balance Sheet Valuation 150

Professor VC

FEBRUARY 26, 2008

He was the first American in 30 years to graduate from the 5-year brewing program at the Technical University of Munich , the highest technical degree in brewing engineering. How Much Diligence is Due. Why I Hate Convertible Debt.Let Me Count the Way. ► February. (1). A Lot of Horn Tooting over a Kazoo sized deal.

Technical Review 28

Technical Review San Jose Angel Investor Silicon Valley 28

Professor VC

DECEMBER 18, 2008

This team had a working prototype of the first solar powered wetsuit using nano-solar technology. While many people would have a hard time doing without a garbage disposal some municipalities have banned the use due to the impact to the water treatment systems. How Much Diligence is Due. Steve Bennet. at 9:08 AM.

San Jose 28

San Jose Silicon Valley Technical Review Angel Investor 28

Professor VC

JUNE 6, 2008

In most of these cases, the founder relinquished the CEO role within the first 18 months following institutional funding, but remained in a critical technical or visionary role, often as the companys external evangelist. How Much Diligence is Due. Why I Hate Convertible Debt.Let Me Count the Way. ► February. (1).

San Jose 28

San Jose Technical Review Norway Angel Investor 28

Professor VC

JANUARY 27, 2008

During the next four months, we will examine over a dozen entrepreneurial ventures from a diverse mix of industries - technology, service, food & beverage, and fashion. After a successful career in a technology leader (Intel, Microsoft, Cisco, etc.) How Much Diligence is Due. ► February. (1). ► January. (1).

San Jose 28

San Jose Technical Review Angel Investor Venture Capital 28

Professor VC

FEBRUARY 12, 2008

Of course, rigorous diligence is performed, the team is challenged, and assumptions are tested. This is especially true of purchases such as buying a new home, which is one of the most common triggers for buyer's remorse, due in no small part to the huge amounts of money usually involved.Thanks for sharing this nice post.

San Jose 31

San Jose Technical Review Venture Capital Angel Investor 31

pandodaily.com

JULY 18, 2012

But it’s possible that as the secret sauce of new media swings farther from disruptive technology and business models to a focus on curated and quality content, it’s the older entrepreneurs who are in the pole position. She has been covering technology news for over 15 years, most recently as a senior editor for TechCrunch.

Entrepreneur 45

Entrepreneur San Francisco Silicon Valley Technical Review 45

Professor VC

SEPTEMBER 16, 2008

A: Technology companies and Drug dealers While the fall semester is in full swing, summer doesnt officially end for another few days. How Much Diligence is Due. I am not sure how this relates to venture finance or entrepreneurship, but Im sure Ill find some connection along the way. ► February. (1). ► January. (1).

San Jose 28

San Jose Technical Review Angel Investor Silicon Valley 28

Professor VC

NOVEMBER 19, 2009

They need to have a place where they can gain an understanding of their different options for financing the venture, how to determine exactly what is needed in the marketplace, how to negotiate, how to read contracts, the role of technology, how to write a business plan, understand what your ratios are saying. How Much Diligence is Due.

San Jose 43

San Jose Silicon Valley Las Vegas Venture Capital 43

Transformify

AUGUST 27, 2017

Their investors may push them into that direction too, as the high burn rate is often seen as a prerequisite for high growth. You don’t have the right people on board, you are burning cash and the work is not done, at its worst, your product is already live and you are losing clients due to software bugs and poor user experience.

Hiring 64

Hiring Software Review Burn Rate Startup 64

www.paulgraham.com

APRIL 28, 2010

I wassurprised recently when I realized that all the worst problems wefaced in our startup were due not to competitors, but investors.Dealing with competitors was easy by comparison. Angels whove made money in technology are preferable,for two reasons: they understand your situation, and theyre asource of contacts and advice.

Technical Review 76

Technical Review Startup Software Review Angel Investor 76

philipsmith.typepad.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

Compensation-wise the biggest challenge is insuring people are respectful of my time and skills (when they don't write real checks for hourly or project work they don't tend to be quite as diligent on this as one would like!). The G&A Function in Early Stage Tech , The Startup Environment | Permalink. Tech Business Environment.

Silicon Valley 40

Silicon Valley Equity Technical Review Recapitalization 40

Steve Blank

APRIL 20, 2009

By the late 1930′s when HP started, a small group (measured in hundreds) of engineers who made radio tubes were building the valleys’ ecosystem for electronics manufacturing, product engineering and technology management. link] [link] I guess you could call it the “Continuous Wave Radio&# technology period.

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Silicon Valley RSS San Francisco Technical Review 279