Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 8, 2019

Hopefully you can see from this list that the people and processes involved in financing a nonprofit have little in common with angel investors, or the venture capital process. You still start the process with a business plan, but then you look for a philanthropist rather than an investor.

Equity 235

Equity Angel Investor Technical Review Exit Strategy 235

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 17, 2022

Based on the best evidence I can find, the genesis of this trend and the advantages come from several evolutionary changes in the startup investment industry, and some innovations driven by the recession several years ago and the recent pandemic: Venture capital funds are regaining momentum. Super angels sometimes drive up valuations.

Angel Investor 342

Angel Investor Venture Capital Silicon Valley Portfolio 342

Women Entrepreneurs Can

NOVEMBER 19, 2022

A Venture Capital Firm is a firm that invests in startups and early-stage companies. However, not all firms are venture capital firms. One of the most common ways of investing in a startup is by leveraging the expertise of a venture capital firm. Early-Stage Investments vs. Mid-Stage Investments.

Venture Capital 52

Venture Capital Early Stage Liquidity Event SEC 52

David Teten

JANUARY 19, 2021

Similar to the explosion of seed funds in the past decade, we (and some limited partners too ) believe these Flexible VCs are on the forefront of what will become a major segment of the venture ecosystem. We detail below the major categories of VC: VENTURE CAPITAL TYPOLOGY. Yes, via conversion rights at a valuation cap.

Cofounder 78

Cofounder Technical Review Equity Dividend 78

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 17, 2023

For example, if you have a proven product, real revenue, a big potential market, and are ready to scale up the business, every investor will be interested. On the other hand, if you are a new entrepreneur, still in the idea stage, professional investors will only tell you to come back later when you have traction (customers and revenue).

Angel Investor 313

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Investment Bankers Private Equity 313

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. Tags: entrepreneur startup investor super angels founder.

Technical Review 215

Technical Review Early Stage Venture Capital Startup 215

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

Hopefully you can see from this list that the people and processes involved in financing a nonprofit have little in common with angel investors, or the venture capital process. You still start the process with a business plan, but then you look for a philanthropist rather than an investor.

Angel Investor 132

Angel Investor Equity Technical Review Exit Strategy 132

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2011

This was an audience of mostly first-time entrepreneurs. It is great for entrepreneurs and great for VCs. So here is what I have been telling entrepreneurs privately for the past 6 months. They have seen one side of a market where many of us have seen the ebb and flow multiple times. I believe that. Why does all this matter?

Saudi Arabia 309

Saudi Arabia Valuation IPO Technical Review 309

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 7, 2022

One of the big questions that every entrepreneur struggles with is how much funding they should request from investors in the first round. On the other hand, venture capital organizations typically look for needs that exceed $2 million. What business milestones have you met? Be prepared to explain your business model.

Preferred Stock 304

Preferred Stock Exit Strategy Equity Angel Investor 304

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 19, 2020

Based on the best evidence I can find, the genesis of this trend and the advantages come from several evolutionary changes in the startup investment industry, and some innovations driven by the recession several years ago: Venture capital funds are still regaining momentum. Super angels sometimes drive up valuations.

Angel Investor 314

Angel Investor Venture Capital Silicon Valley Startup 314

SoCal CTO

JUNE 9, 2010

Draw Your Ideas - A VC : Venture Capital and Technology , May 16, 2010 I saw Jack Dorsey give this talk at The 99% Conference last month. Why Entrepreneurs Hate Lawyers. In many of them I get asked similar questions, including the inevitable “what makes a great entrepreneur?” Tesla is not. It's a great talk.

Fractional CTO 248

Fractional CTO Startup Venture Capital Cofounder 248

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 13, 2013

Hopefully you can see from this list that the people and processes involved in financing a non-profit have little in common with Angel investors, or the venture capital process. You still start the process with a business plan, but then you look for a philanthropist rather than an investor.

Equity 207

Equity Angel Investor Technical Review Exit Strategy 207

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 11, 2016

As an active angel investor myself, I understand how the process works, and I see the disappointment in the eyes of entrepreneurs who approach angel groups for funding and often get turned away for not being timely or prepared in the minds of potential investors. Come with a product built and a proven business model.

Angel Investor 120

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Accredited Investor Angel Groups 120

This is going to be BIG.

NOVEMBER 3, 2014

Billion valuation. Personally, I think it was kind of a bad idea--not necessarily because of the valuation, but because it seems like $120mm is way too much money for a software company at this stage, especially one that might even be cashflow positive right now. The company is doing about a million a month in recurring revs.

Venture Capital 151

Venture Capital Marketing Valuation Lead Investor 151

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 13, 2021

This sharing economy is rapidly becoming the new business of sharing, with major winners already including Airbnb (rooms), Uber (rides), and Chegg (books). If you are an aspiring entrepreneur, or an existing business, and haven’t yet sized any of these opportunities, you may be already late to the game. Marty Zwilling.

Cuba 316

Cuba Venture Capital Community Valuation 316

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 15, 2012

Hopefully you can see from this list that the people and processes involved in financing a non-profit have little in common with angel investors, or the venture capital process. You still start the process with a business plan, but then you look for a philanthropist rather than an investor.

Angel Investor 218

Angel Investor Technical Review Exit Strategy Equity 218

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 24, 2011

I just read the Q1 2011 report from CB Insights , which shows venture capital is back. Sure, there is always some seed funding (10% of overall deal flow), but you can bet that this money goes to entrepreneurs who have been there before and won. Back to VCs, Silicon Valley venture capital firms are still the most active.

Venture Capital 233

Venture Capital Revenue Elevator Pitch Silicon Valley 233

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 3, 2011

Hopefully you can see from this list that the people and processes involved in financing a non-profit have little in common with angel investors, or the venture capital process. You still start the process with a business plan, but then you look for a philanthropist rather than an investor.

Angel Investor 238

Angel Investor Technical Review Exit Strategy Equity 238

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 22, 2020

For example, if you have a proven product, real revenue, a big potential market, and are ready to scale up the business, every investor will be interested. On the other hand, if you are a new entrepreneur, still in the idea stage, professional investors will only tell you to come back later when you have traction (customers and revenue).

Angel Investor 370

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Investment Bankers Private Equity 370

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 4, 2020

One of the big questions that every entrepreneur struggles with is how much funding they should request from investors in the first round. On the other hand, venture capital organizations typically look for needs that exceed $2 million. What business milestones have you met? Be prepared to explain your business model.

Startup 337

Startup Preferred Stock Exit Strategy Equity 337

Steve Blank

MARCH 31, 2014

I like the guy because he’s credited with coining the word entrepreneur. According to Schumpter, capitalism is an evolutionary process where new industries and new companies continually emerge to knock out the old. As the venture capital business has come roaring back in the last 5 years, startups are awash in available capital.

Private Equity 325

Private Equity Metrics China Intellectual Property 325

thebarefootvc

JANUARY 27, 2014

Do I think we are in a valuation bubble? I think that later stage valuations are frothy (for reasons I explain below) while earlier stage valuations are starting to stabilize from previous highs (with the exception of the superstar serial entrepreneur) - turns out scaling in a sea of competition (both startup and entrenched) is not so easy.

Technical Review 63

Technical Review Valuation Venture Capital Investment Bankers 63

Tim Keane

JANUARY 12, 2010

Term-sheets and Valuations: Thinking about Negotiations. Please see later version of this post on May 16, 2010 Entrepreneurs are often not experts in the area of term-sheet negotiations and all of the surrounding issues.   Investors sometimes “present” the terms they’d like and expect the entrepreneurs to react.

Term Sheet 68

Term Sheet Valuation Dividend Liquidation Preference 68

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 14, 2009

Over the same 30 years, Venture Capital firms have honed their skills and strategies to match Wall Streets needs to achieve liquidity for their portfolio companies. One of the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make is misunderstanding the role of venture capital investors. What Do VC’s Do?

Silicon Valley 217

Silicon Valley IPO Technical Review Venture Capital 217

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 15, 2015

Hopefully you can see from this list that the people and processes involved in financing a non-profit have little in common with Angel investors, or the venture capital process. You still start the process with a business plan, but then you look for a philanthropist rather than an investor.

Angel Investor 120

Angel Investor Equity Technical Review Exit Strategy 120

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 23, 2012

Many observers of the venture capital industry have questioned whether its best days are behind it. Looking ahead at the next decade I am excited by what I believe will be viewed as one of the best and most rational investment periods for venture capital due to seven discrete factors: 1. Thank you, Aaron Sorkin!

Venture Capital 347

Venture Capital Technical Review LP Mobile 347

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 19, 2017

That’s because obtaining a pre-money valuation for a concept level technology company in excess of $1 million is difficult, particularly for a startup founder without a proven track record. By contrast, obtaining a pre-money valuation of $5 million for a business with a new viable product and even very minimal sales is somewhat reasonable.

Private Equity 94

Private Equity Pre-Money Valuation Equity Startup 94

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 6, 2010

Hopefully you can see from this list that the people and processes involved in financing a non-profit have little in common with angel investors, or the venture capital process. You still start the process with a business plan, but then you look for a philanthropist rather than an investor. That’s a higher calling.

Angel Investor 143

Angel Investor Technical Review Exit Strategy Equity 143

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 2, 2019

This sharing economy is rapidly becoming the new business of sharing, with major winners already including Airbnb (rooms), Uber (rides), and Chegg (books). If you are an aspiring entrepreneur, or an existing business, and haven’t yet sized any of these opportunities, you may be already late to the game. Marty Zwilling.

Cuba 246

Cuba Venture Capital Community Valuation 246

Steve Blank

JULY 15, 2010

If you take funding from a venture capital firm or angel investor and want to build a large, enduring company (rather than sell it to the highest bidder), this isn’t the decade to do it. The collapse of the IPO market and dysfunctional math in the venture capital community has stacked the odds against you. Here’s why.

Venture Capital 297

Venture Capital IPO Liquidity Event Entrepreneur 297

YoungUpstarts

JANUARY 6, 2014

I remain the major shareholder in a number of what we consider “built-to-last” companies, all with strong valuations and ROI potential. Five Mill removes the most expensive element of entrepreneurism – the capital – and our companies start out by actually self-funding themselves. Execute with the raw ingredients.

San Francisco 154

San Francisco Business Model Silicon Valley Coder 154

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 27, 2014

Based on the best evidence I can find, the genesis of this trend and the advantages come from several evolutionary changes in the startup investment industry, and some innovations driven by the recent recession: Venture capital funds are still recovering from the recession. Super Angels sometimes drive up valuations.

Angel Investor 260

Angel Investor Silicon Valley Startup Portfolio 260

Austin Startup

OCTOBER 15, 2017

What seems to be the best way to create customers and revenue may result in a business model that is out of vogue with the investment world and shortchanges you on enterprise valuation. Heck, there was no venture capital in Dixie in that era. A good example is the marketing technology sector.

Technical Review 48

Technical Review Software Review Nevada Silicon Valley 48

YoungUpstarts

FEBRUARY 6, 2019

The stats are now looking better, and even venture capitalists are more prepared to take risks. In 2017, venture capital made a total of $148 billion in startup investments, with 40 VC-backed companies achieving valuations of $1 billion or more, qualifying for the unicorn club. The Officeless World Of Online Business.

Small Business 176

Small Business Silicon Valley Valuation Seattle 176

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

ReadWriteStart

SEPTEMBER 10, 2010

During this week's roundtable we discussed an area that deserves a serious look from entrepreneurs: Rural BPO. Today, I invited entrepreneurs to come up with ideas, apply the 1M/1M methodology to it, and come discuss with me at these roundtables. Yes, venture capital is very good for scaling businesses rapidly.

Cloud 115

Cloud Silicon Valley Incubator Finance 115

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2018

For example, if you have a proven product, real revenue, a big potential market, and are ready to scale up the business, every investor will be interested. On the other hand, if you are a new entrepreneur, still in the idea stage, professional investors will only tell you to come back later when you have traction (customers and revenue).

Angel Investor 184

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Investment Bankers Private Equity 184