Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 3, 2011

Obviously, these companies still need money to get started, or finance growth, just like a for-profit company. What options do they have available to them, since they can’t sell a share of the company (no equity investment)? There is no discussion of equity, or return on investment. Individual and institutional donations.

Angel Investor 238

Angel Investor Technical Review Exit Strategy Equity 238

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 18, 2023

Some argue the only way to start is to drop everything and jump in with both feet, while others recommend an overlapped approach to the lifestyle, including not quitting your day job until you have revenue and a proven business model. I’m definitely a proponent of this latter approach.

Private Equity 255

Private Equity Salary Cofounder Equity 255

David Teten

AUGUST 20, 2019

Many are reporting that they’re seeing a more diverse pool of applicants than traditional equity VCs… even though virtually none have a particular focus on women or underrepresented founders. I’ve been a traditional equity VC for 8 years, and I’m now researching new business models in venture capital.

Revenue 60

Revenue Cofounder Founder Venture Capital 60

www.inc.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

Small Business Success | Mondays and Thursdays. The Goods: Your Business Toolbox | Thursdays. Finance | Tuesdays. Todays Small Business News | Daily. Financing a Small Business. Buying a Small Business. RUNNING A BUSINESS. Financing A Small Business. Business Taxes.

Arizona 40

Arizona Equity Iowa Venture Capital 40

Steve Blank

MARCH 31, 2014

Cheered on by finance professors, Wall Street analysts, investors and hedge funds, companies have learned how to make metrics like Internal Rate of Return look great by one; outsourcing everything, two, getting assets off their balance sheet, and three only investing in things that pay off fast. We legalized robbing the corporate treasury.

Private Equity 328

Private Equity Metrics China Intellectual Property 328

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 6, 2010

Obviously, these companies still need money to get started, or finance growth, just like a for-profit company. What options do they have available to them, since they can’t sell a share of the company (no equity investment)? There is no discussion of equity, or return on investment. Individual and institutional donations.

Angel Investor 143

Angel Investor Technical Review Exit Strategy Equity 143

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 30, 2020

Some argue the only way to start is to drop everything and jump in with both feet, while others recommend an overlapped approach to the lifestyle, including not quitting your day job until you have revenue and a proven business model. I’m definitely a proponent of this latter approach.

Entrepreneur 321

Entrepreneur Private Equity Startup Salary 321

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2011

I’m no great scholar on bubbles – I have more interesting things to spend my time worrying about than the exact definition , but having been around a few I have at least given them intellectual consideration. Or worse yet they may never get financed. Why I believe we’re in a bubble. And well they should be.

Saudi Arabia 309

Saudi Arabia Valuation IPO Technical Review 309

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 5, 2015

I challenge any entrepreneur, for example, to define the difference between "seed-stage" and "early-stage" financing. These funders often offer convertible notes, rather than the traditional priced equity. Business accelerator funding. Yet, knowing this distinction is important. A micro venture capital firm.

Seed Stage 120

Seed Stage Finance Early Stage Startup 120

David Teten

JULY 14, 2014

However, as always in a period of change, innovative business models emerge and financial technology is more and more at play as critical enablement of innovation. Katina Stefanova : There are a number of business models that have already taken place or are at the tipping point.

Management 114

Management Portfolio Institutional Investors Government 114

Hearpreneur

DECEMBER 18, 2022

There will always be a need for new features, products, and services for your firm because businesses and procedures change every day. You may reach all types of clients by using a variety of pricing tiers and business models. I’m currently researching investment strategies and developing financial projections for the business.

Affiliate 62

Affiliate United States Entrepreneur Software Review 62

K9 Ventures

SEPTEMBER 8, 2015

What everyone can agree on, though, is that there are definitely more seed and early stage funds now than ever before, and more people willing to give money to young companies looking to make it big. Direct Revenue, meaning no three-way business models and no advertising, media, or content. What are the most important qualities?

San Francisco 48

San Francisco Early Stage Portfolio Software Engineering 48

K9 Ventures

JUNE 12, 2012

You get a situation whether investors are incentivized to put in more money into a company, not only to buy more equity, but also to fund the quick growth. Founders typically get their equity in a company once — at the time of founding and then get diluted with each subsequent round of financing.

Venture Capital 117

Venture Capital Silicon Valley Founder Seed Stage 117

K9 Ventures

JUNE 12, 2012

You get a situation whether investors are incentivized to put in more money into a company, not only to buy more equity, but also to fund the quick growth. Founders typically get their equity in a company once — at the time of founding and then get diluted with each subsequent round of financing.

Venture Capital 105

Venture Capital Silicon Valley Founder Seed Stage 105

Gust

JULY 19, 2012

1) Non-equity, creative project crowdfunding portals, which are currently allowed and are not subject to legislation under the JOBS Act. I think that Kickstarter has clearly taken the lead here, with Indiegogo being the fast follower, and many others doing decent business in specialized industries or geographic regions.

Accredited Investor 144

Accredited Investor SEC Equity Early Stage 144

VC Cafe

FEBRUARY 27, 2024

While the answers are somewhat semantic, the pre-seed funding round is making a comeback in 2024 startup financing. Defining the pre-seed round It’s futile to look for ‘one true’ definition. Data from Crunchbase shows a pretty consistent picture. Seed is about showing initial product market fit.

Valuation 186

Valuation Software Review Generative AI Technical Review 186

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 15, 2016

Some argue the only way to start is to drop everything and jump in with both feet, while others recommend an overlapped approach to the lifestyle, including not quitting your day job until you have revenue and a proven business model. I’m definitely a proponent of this latter approach.

Entrepreneur 120

Entrepreneur Private Equity Salary Cofounder 120

Agile VC

NOVEMBER 6, 2013

So their revenue figures, pre IPO financing and ownership, and other info is all widely available. I thought I’d provide a little analysis of Twitter based on their S-1, but also strive to put it in a broader context of other consumer internet businesses and where we are in the current tech cycle. From Google Finance.

IPO 194

IPO Aggregator B2B Internet 194

Transformify

JULY 23, 2018

It is a grant, not an equity funding. The startups are not selling equity or issuing new shares. Definitely. The good news is that startups from all sectors of the economy can apply and leverage on novel combinations of existing business models and technologies. Why non-dilutive? There are two phases: Phase 1.

Intellectual Property 66

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Dilution Startup 66

Tim Keane

JANUARY 12, 2010

The investors and the entrepreneurs are – or should be – aware that the price of the company’s equity is set by the market – in simplest terms, what an informed buyer is willing to pay.   As a starting point, these become market comparable discussions based on other similar transactions within a recent timeframe and similar business.

Term Sheet 68

Term Sheet Valuation Dividend Liquidation Preference 68

Duct Tape Marketing

FEBRUARY 3, 2022

So, you know, I, I have kids that are in their thirties and I'm envisioning a purple dinosaur that I did a a lot of watching with, but I guess there's also Smith Barney, which is certainly in the finance space, but I'm sure you have and Barney. So there was a definitive end date when I wanted this process to be done.

Entrepreneur 78

Entrepreneur Technical Review Cofounder Valuation 78

rob.by

MARCH 8, 2012

It means they have to deal with finances and customers and investors and other things that aren’t what they love to do, which is building software. ” I believe that by this he means they want cash rather than equity. “Business people” and “software people” are misnomers.

Technical Cofounder 42

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Software Engineering Fractional CTO 42

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

OCTOBER 23, 2012

Except I disagree with that definition of “success.” After all, before the house of cards inevitably tumbles, private equity investors get a tidy return. It’s not about the financing path, it’s about what you’ve decided to build. Hey, actually that is a pretty good reason! And it is magic.

IPO 240

IPO Flash Bootstrapping Private Equity 240

Growthink Blog

MAY 23, 2011

The typical wisdom regarding the appropriate financing course for a new company goes as follows: 1. An entrepreneur starts a company in classic " bootstrap " fashion - with a combination of sweat equity and their own financial resources. For most companies, it is simply a non-starter.

Angel Investor 112

Angel Investor Venture Capital Sweat Equity Cram Down 112

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 2, 2015

We’re in our second cohort, 71 young folks, all of whom are alums of the university, given the opportunity and resources to build their businesses. Of the cohort that just graduated I think eight are completely self-sufficient and actually revenue positive and another 10 are in Series A round financing. . Two were half time.

Entrepreneur 120

Entrepreneur New York Cofounder Equity 120

Gust

DECEMBER 27, 2012

You should know EVERYTHING about your business, product, customers and competition. You should have a crystal clear understanding of your business model and your financials. A good beginning would be Bill Payne’s The Definitive Guide to Raising Money from Angels, available as a free download from [link].

Software Review 164

Software Review Term Sheet Technical Review Angel Investor 164

Professor VC

NOVEMBER 19, 2009

At a high level, I definitely agree that being an entrepreneur and being in school dont necessarily mix. And now I know exactly where I want to spend my time" "This internship truly provide me an entry point into the private equity world. I would definitely have applied had there been a program while I was attending school.

San Jose 43

San Jose Silicon Valley Las Vegas Venture Capital 43

Lightspeed Venture Partners

DECEMBER 10, 2012

As O’Leary said, this isn’t an equity investment. They could have either paid someone a healthy salary out of the profits that they are making, or they could have given someone a much smaller equity stake in the company to attract an experienced business person. Astonishingly, the entrepreneurs took the deal.

Covenant 162

Covenant Warrant Southern California Los Angeles 162

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 15, 2020

Robert and I talked about how it's working, the science of pseudoviruses and reporter genes, how his father's example in science and business set him on his path, and how to bridge the gap between science and finance. You're selling a consumable product, which is a great business model. There's all these warning signs.

Technical Review 68

Technical Review Software Review Finance Technology 68

Professor VC

JUNE 20, 2011

Financing, that is.I Now that iControl has raised over $100M, this got me thinking back to our original business plan. One truth of start-up financing is that it generally takes twice as long and twice as much money to accomplish your milestones. I took a look back at our original financial model we presented to VCs in 2004.

San Jose 28

San Jose Angel Investor Term Sheet Venture Capital 28

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

MARCH 11, 2014

How many employees would a medium-sized business have in your definition? Some people have different definitions of that. Jason: For example, like in America, small business is up to 150. I mean they have these definitions. And that’s also true on the business level. Jason: Okay. Edwin: Yes.

Technical Cofounder 220

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Software Review Management 220

blog.captainrecruiter.com

MARCH 8, 2012

These professionals can help with anything from finance to marketing, but you wont find any software engineers volunteering their services. If you want to build a business that requires software, be prepared to invest a little money. Im trying to create a technology enabled recruiting service for an unproven business model.

Cofounder 40

Cofounder Technical Cofounder Founder Software Engineering 40

Up and Running

FEBRUARY 9, 2015

Melinda Emerson, the “SmallBizLady,” is America’s number one small business expert. If you don’t know of her you definitely want to go find her on Twitter, SmallBizLady. You definitely want to throw out there your timeline, so that they can feel comfortable that this isn’t a boondoggle or a never ending thing.

Social Media 60

Social Media Small Business Software Review Technical Review 60

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 26, 2020

Btw, the definition of each startup financing stage has changed in the last decade. For a Series A round you want to prove you have built a repeatable and scalable sales/revenue model and understand all parts of the business model. Series B is about proving your net revenue model (can you be profitable?).

Cofounder 431

Cofounder Seed Stage Valuation Metrics 431

Duct Tape Marketing

DECEMBER 17, 2012

Even those that preach social strategy are generally talking about finding ways to use social tactics to support existing business strategies and models. My belief is that the real opportunity is to build a fully social business model, one that addresses the total picture of social behavior.

Business Model 65

Business Model Social Media Community Media 65

Professor VC

SEPTEMBER 2, 2010

The fall semester at SJSU started this week and had the first class meeting of my Entrepreneurial Finance class, which was overflowing with students standing, sitting on the floor and begging to get in. Whether you buy this or not for public equities, the market for early stage private companies has always been wildly inefficient.

Angel Investor 28

Angel Investor Angel Groups San Jose Venture Capital 28

Up and Running

MAY 23, 2016

The one-page pitch format is also more suitable for SaaS businesses that are constantly testing new ideas. Your pitch is going to cover your strategy (what you’re going to do), your tactics (how you’re going to do it), your business model (how you will make money), and your schedule (who is doing what and when).

Software Review 74

Software Review Software Delaware Forecast 74