VC Cafe

FEBRUARY 27, 2024

especially if the startup already has a product and revenue? To reduce the impact of dilution, the expectation is that startup valuation should more or less double between the pre-seed to the seed, and seed to series A (ideally backed by reasonable traction/ revenue multiples). A founder asked me what makes a $2M round “pre-seed”?

Valuation 186

Valuation Software Review Generative AI Technical Review 186

VC Cafe

FEBRUARY 21, 2023

Year over year conversion trends according to Hubspot ( source ) Unlike 2021, when money was cheap and plentiful, the mantra for startups is no longer blitzscaling and growth at all costs. In this post, we’ll take a closer look at the benchmarks on conversion, retention and churn for the key business models.

Retention 109

Retention Conversion Churn Rate B2C 109

David Teten

JANUARY 21, 2021

This essay is part of a series on alternative VC: I: Revenue-Based Investing: a new option for founders who care about control. II: Who are the major Revenue-Based Investing VCs? III: Why are Revenue-Based VCs investing in so many women and underrepresented founders? IV: Should your new VC fund use Revenue-Based Investing?

Equity 78

Equity Revenue Cofounder Colorado 78

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 5, 2018

Almost overnight the floodgates opened, and risk capital was available at scale from venture capital investors who rushed their startups toward public offerings. Startups wrote business plans, generated expansive 5-year forecasts and executed (hired, spent and built) to the plan. Then one day it was over. IPOs dried up.

Lean 335

Lean Burn Rate Startup IPO 335

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 30, 2019

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. It always reduces risk to plan your business first. Join a startup incubator.

Intellectual Property 219

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 219

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. It always reduces risk to plan your business first. Join a startup incubator.

Intellectual Property 309

Intellectual Property Technical Review Venture Capital Startup 309

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. It always reduces risk to plan your business first. Join a startup incubator.

Entrepreneur 283

Entrepreneur Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 283

SoCal CTO

MARCH 20, 2007

Technology Advisor Technology Roles in Startups Pricing Customer Acquisition Sunk Costs and More -. User Interface Beyond the Web Site ► November (7) Negative Customer Acquisition Costs - Creative Sta. Attorney and Startup Business Advisor – Aaron Shec. Early Stage Marketing and Branding – Farida Fotouh.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Technical Cofounder Southern California Los Angeles 150

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. I’ve been a traditional equity VC for 8 years, and I’m now researching new business models in venture capital. Bigfoot Capital. Capital need of up to $1.5M

Revenue 60

Revenue Technical Review Software Review Equity 60

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. It always reduces risk to plan your business first. 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.

Revenue 60

Revenue Term Sheet Founder Technical Review 60

David Teten

JANUARY 19, 2021

More and more startups are pursuing Revenue-Based VCs , but “RBI” doesn’t fit everyone. Flexible VC 101: Equity Meets Revenue Share. By tying payments to actual revenues, founders and investors remain aligned around the company’s real-time performance, good or bad. Of the Inc. 5000 companies, only 6.5% raised from angels.

Cofounder 78

Cofounder Technical Review Equity Dividend 78

SoCal CTO

MARCH 5, 2007

However, Elgg could power 100,000 networks and it would make no difference - there is no revenue stream as we give everything away under a GPL license. There are quite a few other Software Development Companies in Southern California working on open source and/or freemium business models. I understand his frustration.

Open Source 150

Open Source Business Model Technical Cofounder Southern California 150

Steve Blank

APRIL 23, 2014

Most large companies manage three types of innovation: process innovation (making existing products incrementally better), continuous innovation (building on the strength of the company’s current business model but creating new elements) and disruptive innovation (creating products or services that did not exist before.).

Acquisition 332

Acquisition Intellectual Property Silicon Valley Startup 332

Steve Blank

APRIL 1, 2020

Any place with a fixed cost that relies on foot traffic will come under pressure. But other businesses like law firms, contracting firms, real estate firms, will take hits, too. Your revenue plans are no longer valid. What’s your monthly cash burn at your new low revenue level? Cut costs to stay alive for 24 months.

South Korea 333

South Korea Salary Business Model China 333

Steve Blank

MAY 9, 2017

the wave of semiconductor startups in the 1960’s/70’s, the emergence of Venture Capital as a professional industry, the personal computer revolution in 1980’s, the rise of the Internet in the 1990’s and finally. Today open source software has slashed the cost of software development from millions of dollars to thousands.

Restful 222

Restful Silicon Valley Puerto Rico San Jose 222

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. It always reduces risk to plan your business first. Solicit funds from friends and family.

Entrepreneur 120

Entrepreneur Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2013

Since Angel investors put money into 60 times as many companies as venture capital funds, according to Wikipedia, early-stage startups need to focus first on the key thresholds that drive these investment decisions. The same hold true for venture capital investors. They bet on the jockey, not the horse. Funding risk.

Cram Down 269

Cram Down Angel Investor Intellectual Property Venture Capital 269

online.wsj.com

SEPTEMBER 23, 2012

SIGNIFICANCE PROMINENT. --> The Venture Capital Secret: 3 Out of 4 Start-Ups Fail. more in Small Business. An entrepreneur with a hot technology and venture-capital funding becomes a billionaire in his 20s. The National Venture Capital Association estimates that 25% to 30% of venture-backed businesses fail.

Venture Capital 107

Venture Capital Software Review Rhode Island North Dakota 107

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2013

It is no secret that the world of venture capital (VCs) was turned upside down by the recent Recession, and many other changes in the marketplace. Business Week ran a more thorough analysis of this movement a while back, which I have updated below. Technology costs are plummeting, meaning you can do more with less.

Angel Investor 231

Angel Investor Entrepreneur Early Stage Silicon Valley 231

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 24, 2017

— Unremarked and unheralded, the balance of power between startup CEOs and their investors has radically changed: IPOs/M&A without a profit (or at times revenue) have become the norm. Typically, this caliber of bankers wouldn’t talk to you unless your company had five profitable quarters of increasing revenue. Board Control.

Founder 245

Founder Technical Review CTO Hire IPO 245

Up and Running

MAY 15, 2018

Innovative products and business models are the foundations of a promising startup. Creating a scalable business model. Whether you are hoping to expand a small business with a loan or going for a round of venture capital, you will need a scalable business model.

SBA 84

SBA Angel Investor Technical Review Startup 84

VC Cafe

JANUARY 24, 2023

In one of the sessions I attended the room was packed with developers, and in the web3-focused session, most of the chatter was not on NFTs or Play to Earn, but on the potential of generative AI to reduce costs, increase productivity and test various aspects of the game creation value chain from ideation, to development and marketing of games.

Generative AI 103

Generative AI San Francisco Technical Review Europe 103

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 14, 2012

You can’t succeed in business without an operational model that delivers value to customers at a reasonable price, with an underlying cost that allows you to make a profit. I support her assertion that a business model consists of at least the first seven of the following ten basic elements: Value proposition.

Business Model 242

Business Model Distribution Viral Green 242

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 29, 2011

Yesterday I wrote Part 1 of the series on the changes to the software industry over the past decade that has led to changes in the venture capital industry itself. If you don’t want to read that post, the summary is: Open source computing drove computing costs down 90%, which spurred innovation in technology.

Venture Capital 296

Venture Capital Software LP Early Stage 296

ReadWriteStart

FEBRUARY 21, 2021

Early in your startup’s development, you’ll likely be low on capital. Even if you have an angel investor or a venture capital (VC) firm backing you, you’ll have an abundance of expenses, limited income, and a finite amount of time before the money completely runs out. Accordingly, you’ll need to be frugal. Cut or Keep?

Startup 106

Startup Software Review Open Source Technical Review 106

YoungUpstarts

JULY 25, 2017

by Robbie Kellman Baxter, author of “ The Membership Economy: Find Your Super Users, Master the Forever Transaction, and Build Recurring Revenue “ In recent years, the Membership Economy has been disrupting the old methods of doing business in a major way. The age of ‘captive markets’ is over.

San Francisco 196

San Francisco Software Review Community LLC 196

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 29, 2011

You can’t succeed in business without an operational model that delivers value to customers at a reasonable price, with an underlying cost that allows you to make a profit. I support her assertion that a business model consists of at least the first seven of the following ten basic elements: Value proposition.

Business Model 246

Business Model Distribution Viral Green 246

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 1, 2020

Funding might be a need in some cases — but it’s not an absolute necessity. ? The business should be self-sustainable. 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. Incubators and Accelerators.

Startup 150

Startup Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Seed Stage 150

www.forentrepreneurs.com

FEBRUARY 2, 2010

Blog About Log in Register Startup Killer: the Cost of Customer Acquisition In the many thousands of articles advising entrepreneurs on what they have to focus on to build successful startups, much has been written about three key factors: team, product and market, with particular focus on the importance of product/market fit.

Acquisition 103

Acquisition Cost Customer Entrepreneur 103

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 9, 2010

It is no secret that the world of venture capital (VCs) has been turned upside down by the recession, and the many other changes in the marketplace. Business Week ran a more thorough analysis of this movement a while back, which I am summarizing here. Technology costs are plummeting, meaning you can do more with less.

Technical Review 215

Technical Review Early Stage Venture Capital Startup 215

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 24, 2022

The good news is that a recent Kauffman Early-Stage Entrepreneurship (KESE) Index shows the highest level of new business activity recorded in the last two decades, and the cost of entry at an all-time low. In this context, it’s time for every business, not only startups, to take a fresh look at the basics of business success.

Intellectual Property 281

Intellectual Property Startup Early Stage Venture Capital 281

Steve Blank

JANUARY 4, 2011

Venture Capital. Perhaps it was just who I was meeting, but for a country so focused on innovation and startups the lack of venture capitalists was noticeable. Perhaps because the cost of a public failure is so high in Chile. In addition, in Chile the cost of personal failure is high. See below.).

Silicon Valley 335

Silicon Valley Chile South America Venture Capital 335

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 26, 2020

There are two reasons to raise money: You have a killer idea that is only partially validated, that you think can get to $50M+ of revenue in 5 years with 80%+ gross margins (if margins are lower, you need a lot more revenue)and you need money to get to product-market fit, or. Team, Product, Traction, Business Model and Market.

Cofounder 429

Cofounder Seed Stage Valuation Metrics 429

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 7, 2022

On the other hand, venture capital organizations typically look for needs that exceed $2 million. What business milestones have you met? Here is where projections of cost, pricing, volumes and cash flow are critical. Be prepared to explain your business model.

Preferred Stock 304

Preferred Stock Exit Strategy Equity Angel Investor 304

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 16, 2009

In it, I got asked a question I often hear: “What if we have a web-based business that doesn’t have revenue or paying customers? And without revenue how do we know if we achieved product/market fit to exit Customer Validation?” However the Customer Development Model and the Lean Startup work equally well for startups on the web.

Customer Development 219

Customer Development Web Developer Customer 219

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 13, 2012

The book has been shepherded and edited by a great Japanese VC at Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Venture Capital, Takashi Tsutsumi, with help from Masato Iino. Maysee now enjoys hockey stick revenue growth. Some have actually established new startups with tested business model hypotheses under their belt.

Japan 292

Japan Customer Development Developer Customer 292