www.forentrepreneurs.com

FEBRUARY 2, 2010

Business Model I would like to propose that in addition to team, product, and market, there is actually a fourth, equally important, core element of startups, which is the need for a viable business model. It appears that LTV should be about 3 x CAC for a viable SaaS or other form of recurring revenue model.

Acquisition 103

Acquisition Cost Customer Entrepreneur 103

BeyondVC

APRIL 11, 2007

As a VC that invests in early stage companies, part of my job is to discover new opportunities and business models. Luckily most of my children’s time is spent doing their own things and less on the social networking aspect of the community. Webkinz is another virtual world for kids but with a twist.

Software Review 60

Software Review Technical Review Social Network Vesting 60

Hippoland

AUGUST 16, 2018

1) Your idea is undifferentiated Investors see thousands of businesses a year. And, your idea is 50th social networking site of the week. Especially at the early stages. There were/are so many freakin’ ad networks / ad exchanges / ad platforms out there that LaunchBit was just undifferentiated.

Sales Cycle 54

Sales Cycle Differentiation Early Stage Bootstrapping 54

Hippoland

AUGUST 16, 2018

1) Your idea is undifferentiated Investors see thousands of businesses a year. And, your idea is 50th social networking site of the week. Especially at the early stages. There were/are so many freakin’ ad networks / ad exchanges / ad platforms out there that LaunchBit was just undifferentiated.

Sales Cycle 48

Sales Cycle Differentiation Early Stage Bootstrapping 48

Genuine VC

APRIL 30, 2008

After the crash at the end of the last decade, web startups clamped down to focus on their core value proposition and were forced out of necessity for survival to hone their revenue models. The stories of tremendous growth in adoption with the promise of revenue later on has been enough to excite both entrepreneurs alike.

Distribution 103

Distribution Widget Viral Social Media 103

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 23, 2012

The movie, “The Social Network” might have had more of an impact on creating future entrepreneurs than any other event of the past 5 years. The opportunity to transact at the point of purchase increases the sheer number of revenue opportunities. Businesses are also one-click from advertising through Google and now Facebook.

Venture Capital 347

Venture Capital Technical Review LP Mobile 347

Genuine VC

APRIL 30, 2008

After the crash at the end of the last decade, web startups clamped down to focus on their core value proposition and were forced out of necessity for survival to hone their revenue models. The stories of tremendous growth in adoption with the promise of revenue later on has been enough to excite both entrepreneurs alike.

Distribution 100

Distribution Widget Viral Social Media 100

Professor VC

JULY 31, 2008

This whole process got me thinking about the textbook business model. Similar to the textbook business, the music business BN (before Napster) was controlled by the labels. The artists received very little of album sales, but kept concert and merchandise revenue. Labels: business models , Grateful Dead , textbook.

San Jose 28

San Jose Software Review Angel Investor Silicon Valley 28

reidhoffman.org

NOVEMBER 12, 2013

Friendster’s valuation set the tone for the entire social networking space. Press and analysts characterized LinkedIn in one of two ways: “LinkedIn is an interesting niche that might be worth paying attention to” or “LinkedIn is the Friendster for business”. we had no revenue. Investors see a lot of pitches.

Entrepreneur 111

Entrepreneur Revenue Viral Networking 111

David Teten

DECEMBER 3, 2019

This is a great example of why data businesses have substantial moats. Boardex and Relationship Science make it easier to understand and map social networks into potential limited partners. Data companies focused on early-stage startups include Aingel , fundsUP , Preseries , PredictLeads , and Sploda.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Software Review Analytics Private Equity 78

Reid Hoffman

SEPTEMBER 8, 2020

Needless to say, this isn’t a business model that works in the pandemic world. It might cater to new customers, it might solve a different need, or it might involve a different revenue model. Essentially, a pivot means that the business changes in some real way. Not all pivots are created equal.

Startup 36

Startup Silicon Valley Business Model Mobile 36

BeyondVC

JULY 20, 2006

It is always helpful to get benchmark data on your competitors and on other companies that have a similar business model. These include R&D, sales and marketing, legal, revenue per employee and inventory turnover, among others.

Software 60

Software SEC Affiliate Early Stage 60

Occam's Razor

APRIL 8, 2013

It means you're relevant to the business, and if your trip around the cycle is successful, you'll have helped the organization get closer to its goals. Another way to find the metric you want to change is to look at your business model. The business model also tells you what the metric should be.

Metrics 156

Metrics Analytics Lean Churn Rate 156

Professor VC

AUGUST 26, 2011

To that last one, there is certainly some truth as the standard time vs. revenue chart in most business plans looks like this: Im not teaching Entrepreneurial Finance this semester for the first time since Fall 2007. Is the model consistent with the business plan? Does the business model make sense?

Silicon Valley 35

Silicon Valley San Jose Hockey Stick Venture Capital 35

Professor VC

JUNE 20, 2011

I took a look back at our original financial model we presented to VCs in 2004. The business model (OEM through broadband and home security companies for mass distribution) if not specific product functionality has remained largely the same. Don't Stop Believin' Is There Any Truth in "The Social Network"?

San Jose 28

San Jose Angel Investor Term Sheet Venture Capital 28

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 9, 2009

Could we have built the first college-based social network five years before Facebook ? We were focused on revenue, but we didnt understand that revenue is not important for its own sake in an early stage company. No business model, either. Maybe, but the thought never even entered our minds.

San Francisco 94

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment DC 94

mashable.com

SEPTEMBER 14, 2011

Clearly Define Your Business Model While this may sound like a trivial task, young startups often have an exciting and innovative product, but no real plan for monetizing it. It’s critical to establish this component of your business before thinking seriously about growth. in place before you expand.

France 77

France Marketing Social Media Startup 77

Professor VC

JULY 2, 2010

Don't Stop Believin' Is There Any Truth in "The Social Network"? I take CFO roles in early stage companies and participate on the management team during the early financings and business model development phases. A Lot of Horn Tooting over a Kazoo sized deal. ► January. (1).

San Jose 28

San Jose Silicon Valley Venture Capital Angel Investor 28

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

OCTOBER 24, 2011

So that means stuff like thinking about what a business model might be, it does mean customer development. Totally automate all that so it doesn’t bring me down all the time and instead I can sign all the revenue, because that’s fun. They have 27 business units. What’s the worst case? Jason: Nice.

Cofounder 208

Cofounder Technical Review Software Review Differentiation 208

Reid Hoffman

OCTOBER 17, 2018

In fact, to achieve your aggressive growth goals in the face of uncertainty and change, you need to follow a new set of rules that fly in the face of what is taught in business schools and are completely counterintuitive to accepted “best practices” of either early stage startups or classic corporate management. Annual plans.

Finder 28

Finder Rhode Island Cofounder Engineer 28

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 14, 2010

But disappointingly, dollars invested in early-stage deals fell nearly 21%. To me, this indicates that venture capitalists (VCs) are looking for business, but they are clearly moving away from early-stage (pre-revenue) deals. Create an investment-grade business plan. First of all, investors put $5.9

Venture Capital 123

Venture Capital Elevator Pitch Silicon Valley Massachusetts 123

maplebutter.com

JANUARY 8, 2013

I would focus on one product and set a goal to generate $1M in yearly revenue from it. Outsourcing is something a big company, with a known customer / problem (that has revenue & traction) does to save cost. I don’t have any formal business training and I actually think it’s served me well. Once you’ve done that – then.

Technical Review 44

Technical Review Startup Cofounder Software Review 44

Duct Tape Marketing

MARCH 1, 2018

John Jantsch: One of the challenges I see, and I’m strategizing with a startup right now that I think has a decent idea but no business model. They sometimes call the money that a friend or family will invest in your business love money because only people who love you are going to invest in the early stages.

Lean 63

Lean Social Media Bootstrapping Business Model 63

The Next Web

JANUARY 15, 2014

Today, its tagline is social networking and micro blogging, but its first promise remains in our minds. Whether this cyclic process is deliberate or inadvertent, it certainly goes a long way in creating company value and revenue. Groupon, in its early stages, aimed at increasing consumer purchasing power.

Web 141

Web Tampa Non-Compete Search 141

Up and Running

JULY 14, 2015

Peter: Techstars is probably the most famous accelerator but the idea of the accelerator versus the incubator because there is living field, because there’s this very early stage fields for them both. If you really want to get some sort of business out of that idea, this might be what it takes. Jonathan: Okay.

Incubator 60

Incubator Email Startup Oregon 60

mashable.com

NOVEMBER 3, 2010

Here’s an overview: Mitch Kapor: Kapor is founding partner of Kapor Capital , a firm that invests in seed and early stage startups. Brad Feld: Feld is co-founder and managing director of Foundry Group, a Boulder, Colorado venture capital firm that focuses on early stage investments ranging from $250,000 to $500,000.

Angel Investor 80

Angel Investor Startup San Francisco Social Media 80

SoCal CTO

MARCH 16, 2007

And in fact all our globally-connecting-social-networking tools are making face-to-face more, not less desirable. Early Stage Marketing and Branding – Farida Fotouh. Attorney and Startup Business Advisor – Aaron Shec. The challenge will be getting people used to this - hence the 25 years.

Technical Cofounder 150

Technical Cofounder Southern California Los Angeles CTO Hire 150

Growthink Blog

APRIL 2, 2012

3606 - the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) bill, which includes provisions that for the first time legalize investment-based crowdfunding. This week, the President is expected to pass H.R. So who will the winners be and who will lose ground once the new rules are fully live?

Disintermediation 72

Disintermediation Technical Review SEC Early Stage 72

techcrunch.com

FEBRUARY 19, 2010

That means the vast majority of privately held companies are still very dependent on venture money to stay in business. Respondents deemed between 12%-16% of companies generating revenues to be essentially “worthless” and deemed 20%-26% of their pre-revenue investments to be “worthless.” Add to this that 72.7% Translation?

Venture Capital 62

Venture Capital Technical Review Sweat Equity Valuation 62