Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 30, 2015

A C-corporation is more complex and expensive, and is recommended only if you expect to pitch to professional investors who demand preferred stock, or to more than 100 potential shareholders. Don’t put your family assets at risk by assuming that a sole proprietorship or partnership will cover your business needs.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Preferred Stock Stealth 120

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 1, 2020

Funding is not an indicator of success, irrespective of the impression that you might get from the news and media. Many businesses around us have grown without any funding. For these businesses, it is imperative to get funding from the start without which the company cannot be set up. Funding is just a stepping stone.

Startup 150

Startup Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Seed Stage 150

Steve Blank

MARCH 31, 2014

The convergence of digital trends along with the rise of China and globalization has upended the rules for almost every business in every corner of the globe. It’s worth noting that everything from the Internet, to electric cars, genomic sequencing, mobile apps, and social media — were pioneered by startups, not existing companies.

Private Equity 325

Private Equity Metrics China Intellectual Property 325

Steve Blank

JUNE 23, 2016

Disruptive innovations are coming from startups – Telsa for automobiles, Uber for taxis, Airbnb for hotel rentals, Netflix for video rentals and Facebook for media. Here are four reasons: First, companies bought into the false premise that they exist to maximize shareholder value – which said “keep the stock price high.”

Architecture 227

Architecture IRR Balance Sheet Liquidity Event 227

ReadWriteStart

MAY 29, 2012

RWW: How do you know whether crowdfunding is a better approach for your startup than seeking traditional forms of financing? This could be video testimonials from noted industry personalities, or other brands, creators or influencers you can get a shout-out from on social media. Budget carefully and leave a 30% cushion.

Campaign 142

Campaign Stealth Social Media Audience 142

View from Seed

APRIL 30, 2019

All three have different business models… SaaS, media/ad, and consumer transactional. All three are impressive and valuable businesses in their own right. In just the last month or so we’ve seen Lyft go public ( my analysis of the company’s S-1 here ) and more recently, Zoom and Pinterest.

IPO 180

IPO B2B B2C Institutional Investors 180

VC Cafe

SEPTEMBER 16, 2021

Let’s start with a short definition: [the creator economy] is defined as the class of businesses built by over 50 million independent content creators, curators, and community builders including social media influencers, bloggers, and videographers, plus the software and finance tools designed to help them with growth and monetization.

Startup 207

Startup Social Media Venture Capital Audio 207

abovethecrowd.com

FEBRUARY 24, 2015

Historically, different financial institutions specialized in different stages, because the assessment of risk and opportunity was considered unique at each stage — for example, a seed investor was unlikely to do late-stage financing, and vice versa. If you want to know if the business model truly hunts, you must pay careful attention.

IPO 40

IPO Liquidation Preference Valuation Technical Review 40

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 1, 2011

Of course, monetization of search became one of the best business models in the history of business. After AltaVista, Mike spent a year doing business development for USA Networks ( now IAC – Interactive Corp ). Mike passed up an offer from Ross Levinsohn of Fox Interactive Media ( around $175 Million ).

Semantic 302

Semantic Acquisition Valuation Angel Investor 302

Duct Tape Marketing

APRIL 14, 2022

John Jantsch (06:59): So I think there are a lot of businesses out there that instantly say, yeah, this is for me, this makes sense for my business model, but I, I'm sort of guessing that you're saying, no, everybody needs to do this. This will work for any kind of business. I, I think about it like stocks, right?

Marketing 90

Marketing Affiliate Channel Software Review 90

genylabs.typepad.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

Media Fragmentation and the Growth of Small Publishers » April 07, 2008. Part of my business is working with tech start-ups as an advisor/consultant. I often take stock in lieu of cash. I have a file drawer full of worthless stock certificates and I continue to add to it. Not all start-up stock is created equally.

Equity 40

Equity Technical Review San Jose Stock 40

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

SVPG

SEPTEMBER 30, 2016

Hate mail started streaming in from everywhere - including emails directly to Bill Gates who would forward them on to the team with messages like "this is depressing MSFT's stock price. Would that be perceived as “better enough” to get them to change their media consumption behavior? So the team got to work.

Product 60

Product Technical Review Software Review Engineer 60

Agile VC

APRIL 30, 2019

All three have different business models… SaaS, media/ad, and consumer transactional. All three are impressive and valuable businesses in their own right. In just the last month or so we’ve seen Lyft go public ( my analysis of the company’s S-1 here ) and more recently, Zoom and Pinterest.

IPO 100

IPO B2B B2C Institutional Investors 100

Start Up Blog

FEBRUARY 24, 2022

It’s been a bumpy start to the year for Mark Zuckerberg who lost a lazy $30b since ‘Meta’ tanked on the stock market. Meta no longer has the most downloaded social media application (that crown goes to TikTok) and its abilities in laser-sharp micro-targeting have been curtailed by Apple’s recent privacy shifts.

Advertising 62

Advertising Social Media Search Stock 62

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. Twitter Is A Media Business.

IPO 194

IPO Aggregator B2B Internet 194

www.informationarbitrage.com

FEBRUARY 24, 2010

Home About Press IA Capital Partners Archives After 17 years in M&A, Derivatives and Trading, Im spending my time with young entrepreneurs in and around financial technology and digital media. They might give them too much stock, and even have that stock not subject to vesting provisions.

CTO Hire 40

CTO Hire Founder Cap Table Vesting 40

ConversionXL

SEPTEMBER 6, 2013

I feel like “conversion rate optimization” is in 2013 what “social media marketing” was in 2009. Startups rarely survive by guessing, and can only create products and business models based on facts about their target market. went after enterprise sales model with a non-recurring, small price.

Customer Development 126

Customer Development Conversion Developer Customer 126

David Teten

DECEMBER 3, 2019

“We’re using … TinyLetter for our “Content Newsletter” … and Buffer to schedule social media posts. Point Nine Capital uses Mention for media monitoring. I use Hootsuite to coordinate my social media activity, which consists of Teten.com, PEVCTech.com , Linkedin , AngelList , and (passively) Twitter and Facebook.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Software Review Analytics Private Equity 78

online.wsj.com

SEPTEMBER 23, 2012

Virtual Stock Exchange. Media & Marketing. Small Business. Media Agencies. Stock Quotes. more in Small Business. Finance, Banking, Loans, etc. Other Business Services. AllThingsDigital. AllThingsDigital. Financial News. Professor Journal. SmartMoney. Student Journal. WSJ Classifieds.

Venture Capital 107

Venture Capital Software Review Rhode Island North Dakota 107

Austin Startup

MARCH 1, 2018

It’s stocked with free food, drinks and wifi but the real reason you want to be there is because we’ve curated all of the top entrepreneurs, investors, and innovators at SXSW and invited them to stop by. The 16th floor kitchen and coworking area will be buzzing with even more energy and excitement than normal.

Technical Review 89

Technical Review Austin Texas Cofounder 89

www.vccafe.com

MARCH 11, 2013

Media Temple. Social Media Tracking/Marketing. analytics for social media and online. social media and email marketing. easy business finance software. Email Integration. Domains.Co. Text Editor. Macromates. Sublime Text. Name.com *. Bluehost *. StartLogic *. Windows Azure. Amazon Web Services. SlideShare.

Software Review 53

Software Review Technical Review Startup 53

Up and Running

JUNE 19, 2015

This week, we hear from Alex Blumberg from Gimlet Media and the Startup Podcast in our new Bcast Bytes segment. Peter and Jonathan talked to Levi King from Creditera about why your business credit matters, and we share a few of our favorite subscription services. Learn more about Gimlet Media. Only have time for a Bcast Byte?

Cloud 60

Cloud Small Business Silicon Valley Media 60

www.chubbybrain.com

SEPTEMBER 28, 2011

For four years we have offered the synchronization service for no charge, predicated on the hypothesis that a business model would emerge to support the free service. We had the wrong business model. Thus, the process of negotiating taking back stock from founders is not rational and inherently very difficult.

Software Review 79

Software Review Startup Technical Review Vesting 79

YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 5, 2018

by Walker Deibel , Managing Director of Centra and author of “ Buy Then Build: How Acquisition Entrepreneurs Outsmart the Startup Game “ If I asked you to name a business success story, what would you think of? Lately, we’ve seen startups able to reach a billion-dollar valuation, so-called “unicorn” companies, in the limelight.

Startup 182

Startup Acquisition Portfolio Venture Capital 182

Austin Startup

AUGUST 20, 2017

Messy cap tables can come back to haunt you when you do a financing or sell the company. Between day one and your first confrontations with those issues, particularly if you’ve raised any outside capital, you will have formed a board and stocked it with people you can really get to work on your behalf. Are the logistics manageable?

Technical Review 48

Technical Review Software Review Cap Table Securities and Exchange Commission 48

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. I still want to do that.

Technical Review 68

Technical Review Software Review Finance Technology 68

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

steveblank.com

JULY 8, 2011

Managewith.us - Collaborative Task Manager Mavenlink - manage project communications, documents, schedules, budgets, payments Industrial Logic – Agile eLearning Misc Office Help Google Apps – cloud mail server, calendar, docs, etc.

Software Review 110

Software Review Startup Silicon Valley Analytics 110

philipsmith.typepad.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

They are looking for a "a stellar CFO to be their financial lead as they build their foundation and move into fast growth" and it goes on to describe all the usual stuff about how you need to know how to scale tall buildings in a single leap and conjure up millions for the business while providing the adult supervision. Fundraising.

Silicon Valley 40

Silicon Valley Equity Technical Review Recapitalization 40

Cracking the Code

SEPTEMBER 2, 2008

He should have invested in Lawson obviously… I could not track back their stock price in 1998 when NetSuite was launched, but since Jan. 2002, the stock price went from $17.5 It is true that understanding this new business model is hard for a traditional software incumbent, as this interview demonstrates.

Software Review 48

Software Review Software Technical Review Cloud 48

Up and Running

OCTOBER 31, 2017

Or simply not having to worry about your finances in general? Buffett made his first stock purchase when he was just 11 years old. He has read many books on investing, personal finance, and business. Financial freedom. What does it mean to you? Is it not having the burden of a loan and credit-card debt? billion dollars.

Entrepreneur 121

Entrepreneur Affiliate Finance United States 121

conversionxl.com

SEPTEMBER 10, 2013

I feel like “conversion rate optimization” is in 2013 what “social media marketing” was in 2009. Startups rarely survive by guessing, and can only create products and business models based on facts about their target market. went after enterprise sales model with a non-recurring, small price.

Customer Development 60

Customer Development Conversion Developer Customer 60

Up and Running

APRIL 23, 2018

If no one buys a run of thirty skirts, for example, you’ve lost significantly less than if you finance a run of 20,000 without verifying that people will buy or that retailers will be interested. Taking classes in marketing, design, textiles, or business is always a benefit in the clothing industry.

eCommerce 90

eCommerce Design Social Media Cost 90

Up and Running

MAY 28, 2015

What’s the concept of all of this that you’re talking about and then in financing? I just thought it was a good question to set the context of lean planning and when somebody should use it, because so many of our webinar attendees are in the process of getting financing. What is our plan for social media?

Lean 60

Lean Business Plan Video Software Review 60

Reid Hoffman

JANUARY 26, 2021

But it could also be a non-financial challenge, like being a social media company and facing attacks from multiple points of the political spectrum. One of the things a financing round brings is an opportunity to strengthen the startup’s overall network. This is why advertising is a really good business model.

Startup 36

Startup Equity Early Stage Green 36

maplebutter.com

JANUARY 8, 2013

what are the most crucial steps to be taken by a new tech startup when outsourcing major part of the tech to IT firms or outsourcing “product development” eg new social media website project? If you believe in it – then finance whatever you can yourself. I pick up the phone and call someone and ask for their business.

Technical Review 44

Technical Review Startup Cofounder Software Review 44