Steve Blank

APRIL 26, 2022

Most existing investors (those still in business) hoarded their money and stopped doing follow-on rounds until the rubble had cleared. Except, that is, for the bottom feeders of the Venture Capital business – investors who “ cram down ” their companies. W hy would any founder agree to this? Why do VCs Do This?

Cram Down 404

Cram Down Founder Venture Capital Recapitalization 404

David Teten

AUGUST 19, 2019

So you’re interested in raising capital from a Revenue-Based Investor VC. A new wave of Revenue-Based Investors (“RBI”) are emerging. I’ve been a traditional equity VC for 8 years, and I’m now researching new business models in venture capital. Bigfoot Capital. Capital need of up to $1.5M

Revenue 60

Revenue Technical Review Software Review Equity 60

SoCal CTO

MARCH 20, 2007

► February (2) CTO Founders / Cofounders Part-Time Startup CTO? Kevin Federline Search Engine Realistic Entrprenuer's Guide to Venture Capital Time Rich, Time Poor and Apple F2F Still Matters 8 Ways the Internet has Changed Software Marketing.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Technical Cofounder Southern California Los Angeles 150

Feld Thoughts

AUGUST 25, 2015

In January, Jerry Neumann wrote a long and detailed analysis of his view of the VC industry in the 1980’s titled Heat Death: Venture Capital in the 1980’s. Jack Tankersley, a long time mentor of mine, co-founder of Centennial Funds, and co-founder of Meritage Funds, wrote me a very long response.

Venture Capital 70

Venture Capital SBIC Technical Review Silicon Valley 70

Steve Blank

MARCH 16, 2016

To most founders a startup is not a job, but a calling. Risk capital takes equity (stock ownership) in your company instead of debt (loans) in exchange for cash. At its core Venture Capital is nothing more than a small portion of the Private Equity financial asset class. What does this mean for startup founders?

Liquidity Event 120

Liquidity Event Founder Liquidation Preference Venture Capital 120

David Teten

JANUARY 19, 2021

More and more startups are pursuing Revenue-Based VCs , but “RBI” doesn’t fit everyone. From RBI, Flexible VCs borrow the ability to reap meaningful returns without demanding founders build for an exit. Flexible VC 101: Equity Meets Revenue Share. Where else can fast-growing companies get funding?

Cofounder 78

Cofounder Technical Review Equity Dividend 78

SoCal CTO

MARCH 5, 2007

However, Elgg could power 100,000 networks and it would make no difference - there is no revenue stream as we give everything away under a GPL license. There are quite a few other Software Development Companies in Southern California working on open source and/or freemium business models. I understand his frustration.

Open Source 150

Open Source Business Model Technical Cofounder Southern California 150

Steve Blank

JANUARY 22, 2014

Few entrepreneurs find this scalable and repeatable business model because it’s not easy. as a distribution channel have vastly reduced the amount of capital a startup needs at the early stage when the risk is greatest. This is true whether the company is concept stage or ramping revenue. The Bend Experience.

Early Stage 286

Early Stage Silicon Valley Oregon Technical Review 286

Steve Blank

APRIL 23, 2014

Most large companies manage three types of innovation: process innovation (making existing products incrementally better), continuous innovation (building on the strength of the company’s current business model but creating new elements) and disruptive innovation (creating products or services that did not exist before.).

Acquisition 332

Acquisition Intellectual Property Silicon Valley Startup 332

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 24, 2011

I just read the Q1 2011 report from CB Insights , which shows venture capital is back. Your friends and family are really the only answer until you have a significant revenue stream. Back to VCs, Silicon Valley venture capital firms are still the most active. Overall, investors put $7.5 That represents a $1.5

Venture Capital 233

Venture Capital Revenue Elevator Pitch Silicon Valley 233

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 11, 2010

The Customer Development process is the way startups quickly iterate and test each element of their business model , reducing customer and market risk. In Discovery startups take all their hypotheses about the business model: product, market, customers, channel, etc. Filed under: Customer Development , Venture Capital.

Burn Rate 248

Burn Rate Silicon Valley Marketing Boston 248

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2013

It is no secret that the world of venture capital (VCs) was turned upside down by the recent Recession, and many other changes in the marketplace. Business Week ran a more thorough analysis of this movement a while back, which I have updated below. Every early-stage startup should explore this new funding alternative.

Angel Investor 231

Angel Investor Entrepreneur Early Stage Silicon Valley 231

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. Incubators and Accelerators.

Startup 150

Startup Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Seed Stage 150

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

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 16, 2009

In it, I got asked a question I often hear: “What if we have a web-based business that doesn’t have revenue or paying customers? And without revenue how do we know if we achieved product/market fit to exit Customer Validation?” However the Customer Development Model and the Lean Startup work equally well for startups on the web.

Customer Development 219

Customer Development Web Developer Customer 219

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

Steve Blank

JUNE 15, 2010

The role of a founding CEO in a startup searching for a business model is radically different than a CEO building and growing a company. So if you’re the founder of a startup, you may want to consider who you take money from. Is Your VC Founder Friendly? How many of their founders are still with their company?

Founder 231

Founder Vesting Later Stage Early Stage 231

Steve Blank

MARCH 31, 2014

As the venture capital business has come roaring back in the last 5 years, startups are awash in available capital. Companies horde cash and squeeze the most revenue and margin from the money they use. Instead of measuring success in dollars of profit, …firms focus on measuring capital efficiency.

Private Equity 325

Private Equity Metrics China Intellectual Property 325

David Teten

AUGUST 21, 2019

Most founders who are raising capital look first to traditional equity VCs. Or should they look to one of the new wave of Revenue-Based Investors? Revenue-Based Investing (“RBI”) is a new form of VC financing, distinct from the preferred equity structure most VCs use. Who are the major Revenue-Based Investing VCs?

Revenue 60

Revenue Liquidation Preference Equity Cofounder 60

K9 Ventures

JUNE 12, 2012

While it it may not feel that way, the data suggest that there is indeed too much capital in the system — especially so at the seed stage, with more and more individuals and larger funds trying to invest in companies at this stage.). For most venture capital funds money is a commodity. It is a tool.

Venture Capital 117

Venture Capital Silicon Valley Founder Seed Stage 117

Scalable Startup

AUGUST 26, 2014

the original products can’t generate revenue, so when these OS projects occassionally blow up into phenomenons like Drupal and WordPress have over the past few years, it’s gratifying but also quite frustrating to watch others derive so much value from your baby while you toil away to lead its growth with no financial return.

Founder 42

Founder Los Angeles PHP Open Source 42

David Teten

JANUARY 21, 2021

This essay is part of a series on alternative VC: I: Revenue-Based Investing: a new option for founders who care about control. II: Who are the major Revenue-Based Investing VCs? III: Why are Revenue-Based VCs investing in so many women and underrepresented founders? Revenue-Based Flexible VCs.

Equity 78

Equity Revenue Cofounder Colorado 78

K9 Ventures

JUNE 12, 2012

While it it may not feel that way, the data suggest that there is indeed too much capital in the system — especially so at the seed stage, with more and more individuals and larger funds trying to invest in companies at this stage.). For most venture capital funds money is a commodity. It is a tool.

Venture Capital 105

Venture Capital Silicon Valley Founder Seed Stage 105

VC Cafe

SEPTEMBER 16, 2021

I’ve also shared my insights with Techcrunch, in “ 5 creator economy VCs see startup opportunities in monetization, discovery and much more “ As venture capital investors, one question we think about a lot at Remagine Ventures is “where are the opportunities for startups in the Creator Economy?”

Startup 207

Startup Social Media Venture Capital Audio 207

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 24, 2017

Why do these founders get to stay around? Because the balance of power has dramatically shifted from investors to founders. — Unremarked and unheralded, the balance of power between startup CEOs and their investors has radically changed: IPOs/M&A without a profit (or at times revenue) have become the norm.

Founder 245

Founder Technical Review CTO Hire IPO 245

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

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2011

I recently spoke at the Founder Showcase at the request of Adeo Ressi. I said that at the Founder Showcase, too. Ah, but today’s Internet companies have real revenue! In any given year there are about 50 venture-backed companies or so that are bought for $100 million or more. some founders lose their life savings.

Saudi Arabia 309

Saudi Arabia Valuation IPO Technical Review 309

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 25, 2016

It turns out that to build a successful company you ultimately need this strange thing called “revenue” that people don’t just hand you: You need to earn it. And there’s this other thing called “gross margin,” which shows the quality of your revenue. How much ad revenue does TripAdvisor make?

Startup 150

Startup Seed Money DC Software Review 150

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

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 24, 2009

The Founder’s New Insight Smart founders are never satisfied with simply executing their current business model, they are constantly observing, orienting and deciding whether their current business model can be made better. It’s a natural part of learning about your customers and business model.)

Customer 195

Customer Silicon Valley RSS California 195

SoCal CTO

MARCH 9, 2007

► February (2) CTO Founders / Cofounders Part-Time Startup CTO? Kevin Federline Search Engine Realistic Entrprenuer's Guide to Venture Capital Time Rich, Time Poor and Apple F2F Still Matters 8 Ways the Internet has Changed Software Marketing.

Technical Cofounder 150

Technical Cofounder Southern California Los Angeles CTO Hire 150

Cracking the Code

OCTOBER 1, 2020

Earlier this year, I was on a panel with Guy Podjarny, Snyk’s founder, at SaaStock Remote to discuss how the team’s community-driven freemium approach led to the company’s stellar growth. Here’s a short summary of the discussion: Guy, you launched Snyk in 2015, and a large part of your success was driven by your freemium model.

Early Stage 62

Early Stage Open Source Development Team Review Security 62

SoCal CTO

MARCH 20, 2007

► February (2) CTO Founders / Cofounders Part-Time Startup CTO? Kevin Federline Search Engine Realistic Entrprenuer's Guide to Venture Capital Time Rich, Time Poor and Apple F2F Still Matters 8 Ways the Internet has Changed Software Marketing.

Technical Cofounder 150

Technical Cofounder Southern California Search Engineer 150

SoCal CTO

MARCH 13, 2007

► February (2) CTO Founders / Cofounders Part-Time Startup CTO? Kevin Federline Search Engine Realistic Entrprenuer's Guide to Venture Capital Time Rich, Time Poor and Apple F2F Still Matters 8 Ways the Internet has Changed Software Marketing.

Technical Cofounder 150

Technical Cofounder Southern California Los Angeles Internet 150

Steve Blank

AUGUST 31, 2009

Startups don’t fail because they lack a product; they fail because they lack customers and a profitable business model. Look at the Product Development model and you might wonder, “Where are the customers?” Where exactly did the assumptions in our startup business plan come from?” before you ship.

Customer Development 238

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 238

SoCal CTO

MARCH 1, 2007

The articles I cited there around finding co-founders suggests that Ben is on the money. ► February (2) CTO Founders / Cofounders Part-Time Startup CTO? What I mentioned in Events and Networking in Los Angeles was that its somewhat hard in LA to count on networking events to build networks. No small task Ben.

Technical Cofounder 150

Technical Cofounder Networking Southern California Los Angeles 150

Austin Startup

AUGUST 3, 2017

If your answers starts with, “We have multiple revenue streams…” that’s a bad thing. What I really hear is, “ We have no idea what the most significant revenue driver will be. “ Is this a big enough market to support a venture funded business? In either case, the best kind of funding comes from customers, not investors.

Technical Review 69

Technical Review Startup Texas Email 69