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. Apply for contests and business grants.

Intellectual Property 219

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 219

David Teten

AUGUST 20, 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 Cofounder Founder Venture Capital 60

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 11, 2023

This could be a proportion of the company’s equity or investment; in other instances, it could be a portion of its later-stage profits. Seed money can range from a relatively modest sum to a sizeable one, depending not only on the nature of the startup, the sector in which it will operate, and any other pertinent business aspects.

Seed Stage 124

Seed Stage Technical Review Early Stage Due Diligence 124

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. Structured as a loan.

Revenue 60

Revenue Term Sheet Founder Technical Review 60

VC Cafe

MARCH 1, 2024

Eliminating middlemen in healthcare – from using AI to automate repetitive human jobs to exploring new and better business models for providing care. Technological Convergence – The global equity market value associated with disruptive innovation could increase to 60% by 2030. trillion by 2030.

Artificial Inteligence 176

Artificial Inteligence Technical Review Software Review Generative AI 176

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. Apply for contests and business grants.

Entrepreneur 283

Entrepreneur Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 283

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 1, 2017

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. Apply for contests and business grants.

Product Development 177

Product Development Cost Developer Product 177

David Teten

JANUARY 19, 2021

More and more startups are pursuing Revenue-Based VCs , but “RBI” doesn’t fit everyone. From traditional equity VC, Flexible VC borrows the option to pursue and reap the rewards of an outsized exit. Flexible VC 101: Equity Meets Revenue Share. Equity Ownership. Yes, typically preferred equity. Example VC.

Cofounder 78

Cofounder Technical Review Equity Dividend 78

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. Apply for contests and business grants.

Intellectual Property 309

Intellectual Property Technical Review Venture Capital Startup 309

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. Apply for contests and business grants.

Intellectual Property 134

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 134

Steve Blank

APRIL 1, 2020

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? Days 3 and 4: Prepare new business model and operating plan. The ripple effects won’t be obvious at first.

South Korea 333

South Korea Salary Business Model China 333

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. Sources of Funding.

Startup 150

Startup Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Seed Stage 150

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

MARCH 21, 2017

Revenue multiples, profit multiples, premium over the previous financing — these are metrics used by sellers to help determine a minimum acceptable price. In terms of acquisition, they ask more specifically: “How can we trade balance sheet assets (cash, equity) in exchange for executing our strategy better?”.

Balance Sheet 242

Balance Sheet Vertical Acquisition Revenue 242

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. Apply for contests and business grants.

Entrepreneur 120

Entrepreneur Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 120

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 18, 2019

The other aspect of the people roadmap is org-level team building necessary to unlock or accompany certain stages of the business. As the company progresses through product market fit (PMF), you will want to highlight other key senior hires required to scale and round out the functional expertise of the exec team.

Part-Time VPE 195

Part-Time VPE Seed Stage CTO Hire Forecast 195

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. At this point, most Angel investors and a few early-stage VCs will be happy to talk, assuming you have the business model validated, and a large opportunity.

Angel Investor 313

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Investment Bankers Private Equity 313

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 8, 2023

Here are eight key insights that will help you find a productive match: Angels want equity ownership, not causes. By definition, angels are accredited investors, who invest their own money for a percentage of the business. To be fundable, fifth year revenue projections need to be in the $20-$100 million range.

Venture Capital 265

Venture Capital Accredited Investor Syndicate Syndication 265

The Startup Magazine

FEBRUARY 21, 2024

The goal is to transform dormant or underutilized assets into active capital that supports your business. It is also the time to take a hard look at your business model. Are there new revenue streams you can tap into? Can you address the impression that private credit firms lend only to “bad” or “risky” businesses?

Technical Review 132

Technical Review Due Diligence Bankruptcy Intellectual Property 132

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 21, 2016

They know it’s especially hard to provide a financial return with a free business model. Even non-profits need money to scale, but their pitch should be to philanthropists, not equity investors. Declare a $10 million valuation with no revenue or customers. Annual revenue projections exceed $100 million before fifth year.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Valuation Technical Review Equity 120

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 19, 2017

When you accept outside money, particularly a private equity (PE) investment, however, that changes. In this article, I’ll provide some personal stories of how investors have navigated the balance between raising private equity capital and not losing control of their startup. You make all the decisions, when you want, how you want.

Private Equity 94

Private Equity Pre-Money Valuation Equity Startup 94

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2013

Don’t expect them to believe your $100M revenue projection, if you are still waiting for the first revenue dollar. A great business often starts with one person, but it doesn’t end there. Get a real customer and real revenue. It doesn’t prove your business model of pricing, distribution, and support.

Intellectual Property 281

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Sweat Equity CTO Hire 281

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 26, 2021

Of course, you can find these elements embodied in many of the business plan templates and tools out there, such as the Business Model Canvas. Provide initial and long-term sources of revenue. Free” is not an exciting business model for investor interest.

Intellectual Property 332

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Business Model Channel 332

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

Angel investors will perk up if you have a prototype or a few real customers, while venture capitalists will likely choose to wait until you have achieved several million in revenue or customer count. Be prepared to explain your business model. How much equity ownership are you willing to offer?

Preferred Stock 304

Preferred Stock Exit Strategy Equity Angel Investor 304

Steve Blank

MARCH 12, 2014

We realized that past K-12 Entrepreneurial classes taught students “the lemonade stand” version of how to start a company: 1) come up with an idea, 2) execute the idea, 3) do the accounting (revenue, costs, etc.). We wanted to teach our students how to think like entrepreneurs not accountants.

Lean 334

Lean Customer Development Startup Silicon Valley 334

Steve Blank

MARCH 16, 2016

Risk capital takes equity (stock ownership) in your company instead of debt (loans) in exchange for cash. Founders can now access the largest pool of risk capital that ever existed –in the form of Private Equity (Angel Investors, family offices , Venture Capitalists (VC’s) and Hedge Funds.). If so, how is the revenue measured?

Liquidity Event 120

Liquidity Event Founder Liquidation Preference Venture Capital 120

Up and Running

JULY 22, 2014

A profit and loss statement is essentially an explanation of how your business made a profit (or incurred a loss) over a certain period of time. It’s a table that lists all of your revenue streams and all of your expenses—typically for a three-month period—and lists at the very bottom the total amount of net profit or loss.

Balance Sheet 148

Balance Sheet Forecast Equity .Net 148

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 11, 2023

That’s why all those so-called million dollar ideas I hear about as an investor don’t get me excited, and entrepreneurs find that working twenty hours a day often generates nothing more than sweat, instead of the desired sweat equity. Having enough revenue to finally give yourself a salary is an inspiring event, and one that you should savor.

Sweat Equity 296

Sweat Equity Startup Salary Viral 296

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. McGinnis, a well-known venture capitalist and private equity investor.

Private Equity 255

Private Equity Salary Cofounder Equity 255

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2013

I like the work just published by Bob Rice in “ The Alternative Answer ,” which does a great job of summarizing the investment universe, starting with the “conventional” stocks, bonds, and real estate, but moving on through more esoteric alternatives, including hedge funds, private equity, real assets, managed futures, and finally venture funding.

Cram Down 269

Cram Down Angel Investor Intellectual Property Venture Capital 269

YoungUpstarts

MARCH 14, 2016

Once the most heavily funded startup in New York City, according to then-CEO Jason Goldberg, Fab blew through $200 million of its $336 million in VC cash without settling on a business model. It was able to reinvest that cash into the business, creating immediate and dramatic revenue growth. Get a loan. Go it alone.

Venture Capital 100

Venture Capital Securities and Exchange Commission New York City Cofounder 100

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 31, 2012

Don’t expect them to believe your $100M revenue projection, if you are still waiting for the first revenue dollar. A great business often starts with one person, but it doesn’t end there. Get a real customer and real revenue. It doesn’t prove your business model of pricing, distribution, and support.

Intellectual Property 260

Intellectual Property Sweat Equity CTO Hire Fractional CTO 260

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. At this point, most Angel investors and a few early-stage VCs will be happy to talk, assuming you have the business model validated, and a large opportunity.

Angel Investor 370

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Investment Bankers Private Equity 370

Steve Blank

MARCH 17, 2020

But next the question is, ‘What happens to my business?”. The questions every startup or small business CEO needs to ask now are: What’s my Burn Rate and Runway? What does your new business model look like? Next, take a look at your actual revenue each month – not forecast, but real revenue coming in each month.

Burn Rate 436

Burn Rate Startup Valuation Sales Cycle 436

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 13, 2021

The business tenants of the sharing economy, with alternative names including collaborative consumption, peer-to-peer economy, or “we-conomy,” always imply these five basic principles and assumptions: Sharing economy platforms create reciprocal economic value. One consequence of the new sharing business model is that goods become services.

Cuba 316

Cuba Venture Capital Community Valuation 316

www.inc.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

Will Work for Equity. Dave Graham Business Venture Capital Private Equity GlobalLogic Inc. But with the help of Grahams company, which specializes in creating tech systems for start-ups, Jumpstart grew to more than $50 million in revenue--enough to make it an attractive acquisition for media conglomerate Hachette Filipacchi.

Arizona 40

Arizona Equity Iowa Venture Capital 40

David Teten

DECEMBER 3, 2019

Private equity and venture capital investors are copying our sisters in the hedge fund world: we’re trying to automate more of our job. . In the private equity universe, most Partners have primary training as deal-makers, not as managers. (To see the video above, please click the image, and then click on the Play button.).

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Software Review Analytics Private Equity 78