David Teten

SEPTEMBER 23, 2017

Private equity and venture capital investors are copying our sisters in the hedge fund and mutual fund world: we’re trying to automate more of our job. High-frequency trading, algorithmic by its nature, is estimated to account for at least 50% of US equity markets trading volume. . But we’re doing it slowly. Pitchbot.vc

Private Equity 60

Private Equity Venture Capital Equity Technical Review 60

The Startup Magazine

FEBRUARY 21, 2024

Arif Bhalwani is the co-founder and CEO of Third Eye Capital (TEC) in Toronto, Canada. As an investor, these experiences have honed my ability to see beyond spreadsheets and valuations, to the core of what makes businesses thrive: the people, the vision, and the relentless pursuit of excellence. The firm has made more than $4.5

Technical Review 130

Technical Review Due Diligence Bankruptcy Intellectual Property 130

www.entrepreneur.com

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

Franchises Franchises Home Franchise 500 Home-Based Low Cost Top New Fast Growing Top Global Biz Opportunities Franchises for Sale Franchises A Bright Forecast for a Solar Panel Installation Franchise. What is Sweat Equity Worth? Determining how to value sweat equity is key when negotiating with investors and employees.

Sweat Equity 55

Sweat Equity Equity Fractional CTO CTO 55

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 24, 2013

One of the challenges for investing in startups has always been the lack of an established way for founders and investors to actually measure and decide on the valuation of the startup concerned. ” Ideaspotting investment pre-money valuation valuation Worthworm'

Pre-Money Valuation 150

Pre-Money Valuation Web Technical Review Angel Investor 150

The Equity Kicker

SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

I wrote the post below for Crowdcube , one of the UK’s leading equity crowdfuding sites. When startups can do more with less money the returns from investing small amounts of money go up, and that can be seen in rising Series A valuations and declines in the average amount of money raised before exit.

Early Stage 119

Early Stage Development Team Review Technical Review Software Review 119

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. That’s when everything changed.

Lean 334

Lean Customer Development Startup Silicon Valley 334

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 19, 2015

That’s why I recommend that they find a co-founder who loves business challenges, including marketing and finance. Most founders bootstrap product development. The best technologies are barely invisible and low cost. The right marketing efforts can cost as much as the technology.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Intellectual Property Cofounder Bootstrapping 120

Altgate

JUNE 25, 2012

Re-posted from post co-authored with Prof. —————– Dead equity — equity held by employees and founders no longer working at the company — is a large and growing problem. Choe opted to forgo a cash payment “in the thousands” for the equity equivalent at the time.

Equity 44

Equity Vesting Cap Table Technical Review 44

View from Seed

APRIL 30, 2015

What is it, and how should founders think about it? It can be lower cost and can either buy more time or accelerate growth. Glen Mello: Venture debt is a good complement to equity. It’s generally got a lower cost compared to equity capital and can help support growth. What are some pros and cons?

Term Sheet 120

Term Sheet Equity Startup Seed Stage 120

Agile VC

APRIL 17, 2011

Kayak was started here in my backyard of Boston… co-founder & CTO Paul English and the product/engineering team is based here in Concord MA. Co-founder & CEO Steve Hafner and the business team are based in Norwalk, CT. Post-money valuation probably no higher than $12M (2). Series A-1 Preferred.

Pre-Money Valuation 113

Pre-Money Valuation Liquidation Preference Dividend Common Stock 113

Altgate

AUGUST 25, 2012

Re-posted from post co-authored with Prof. —————– Dead equity — equity held by employees and founders no longer working at the company — is a large and growing problem. Choe opted to forgo a cash payment “in the thousands” for the equity equivalent at the time.

Equity 28

Equity Vesting Cap Table Technical Review 28

Steve Blank

MARCH 31, 2014

In spite of this, private equity funds have used the rallying cry of efficiency to hijack corporate strategy and loot the profits that historically would have been reinvested into research and development and new products. Look at the valuations of companies like Tesla, Illumina, and Twitter. This never ends well.

Private Equity 326

Private Equity Metrics China Intellectual Property 326

www.inc.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

Should You Share Equity with Consultants? To grow his cash-strapped start-up, Parker ended up sharing equity -- not only with employees, but also with consultants and vendors. Parker found that equity as compensation helped build loyalty to his company -- even among consultants. But sharing equity can have pitfalls, too.

Fractional CTO 40

Fractional CTO Equity Iowa Technical Cofounder 40

Feld Thoughts

JULY 29, 2011

Finance Friday’s gets off the ground with today’s post by introducing you to an imaginary startup, the entrepreneurs that we’ll being following throughout the series, and their first challenges: splitting up the founders’ equity and addressing the case where one of the founders provides the initial seed capital for the business.

Equity 137

Equity Finance Pre-Money Valuation Denver 137

Eric Friedman

JUNE 27, 2016

Bigger/better advisors who get more equity have things like; excellent domain expertise to help you avoid pitfalls, deep connections within the industry to help with the intros, partnerships, and more. Big strategic advisors are the folks that add credibility to your co. from a 10 year old co.

Equity 98

Equity Vesting Cap Table Common Stock 98

Duct Tape Marketing

FEBRUARY 3, 2022

Amanda is the Co-founder at Barney an M&A firm that specializes in the digital marketing space. 17:49] Have you ever experienced a transaction where a Founder sold the company to their existing team? [18:35] She's the co-founder at Barney, an M & A firm that specializes in the digital marketing space.

Entrepreneur 80

Entrepreneur Technical Review Cofounder Valuation 80

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 9, 2015

The cost of entry to entrepreneurship is lower than ever, due to smartphone apps and powerful free tools to create websites and ecommerce offerings. Yet many entrepreneurs rely on expensive outside services and outside money, rather than do the networking for a co-founder or two who have the right skills to work for equity.

Bootstrapping 120

Bootstrapping Cofounder Equity Agile 120

ReadWriteStart

JANUARY 28, 2022

With the rise of startups and growing businesses , it has become more critical for investors to have a thorough understanding of equity to be aware of all of the advantages they are receiving from the companies they have invested in. What is Company Equity? Types of equity. Common stock. Preferred shares.

Valuation 108

Valuation Equity Warrant Common Stock 108

Austin Startup

JULY 22, 2021

Any software, hardware, or CPG startup in Texas with a female founder or co-founder can apply to participate. Austin based ZPEG developed an upgraded compression algorithm for streaming videos based on an advanced human visual model that reduces streaming costs for 4K streams by 30%. Female Founders! Who Can Apply?

San Antonio 107

San Antonio Dallas Houston Founder 107

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 1, 2016

It’s very easy and inexpensive to set up online a Limited Liability Company (LLC) for the startup, which will allow you to track business costs, cash and taxes correctly -- no matter what happens. Patents issued to you before you incorporate the business will not be considered part of the business valuation by investors.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property LLC Limited Liability Company Nevada 120

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 2, 2016

Mark Zuckerberg can tell you a horror story about how his early informal breakup with a co-founder ultimately cost him a settlement later worth four billion dollars. For many others, shortcuts have cost them everything. Give away more equity than required to drive the business. Late surprises lead to lawsuits.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Due Diligence Non-Compete Startup 120

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2015

” Today I want to talk about how a VC thinks about equity pricing on your round and particularly if you’re coming off of a convertible note. In the old days VCs funded off of a “pre-money” valuation. If you’re a solo founder and haven’t built out your team or engineers I’m likely to want 15+%.

Pre-Money Valuation 150

Pre-Money Valuation Option Pool Post-Money Valuation Dilution 150

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 14, 2012

Did raising money at a $500 million valuation help secure the $1 billion deal? “it’s smart to use an impending investment valuation to drive a higher acquisition valuation” I would like to amend her statement slightly to read, “it’s smart to use an impending investment valuation to drive an higher acquisition.”

Valuation 316

Valuation Balance Sheet Dilution Term Sheet 316

Startup Company Lawyer

MARCH 14, 2010

After the recent announcement of the Series Seed Financing documents by Marc Andreesen, Brad Feld points out that there are now four sets of “open source&# equity seed financing documents: TechStars Model Seed Funding Documents (by Cooley). Y Combinator Series AA Equity Financing Documents (by WSGR). under $500K).

Finance 70

Finance Software Review Term Sheet Liquidation Preference 70

venturehacks.com

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

The Equity Equation. As this nuclear winter of venture hacks continues, I thought you might enjoy our thoughts on Paul Graham’s The Equity Equation. ” Read the rest of The Equity Equation first; it is great. You have to pay market rates regardless of the equity equation. Venture Hacks Good advice for startups.

Equity 40

Equity Cap Table Valuation RSS 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. . To learn more about this space, I suggest join an online community I co-founded, PEVCTech. . In the private equity universe, most Partners have primary training as deal-makers, not as managers.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Software Review Analytics Private Equity 78

ReadWriteStart

MAY 30, 2022

Sometime in your future, an investor will offer you money in return for equity. While investors can seem like a solution to countless problems you encounter as a founder, don’t be too hasty to start eating from their hands. The cost of the money you receive may be more than you’re willing to give. Will you be ready?

Bootstrapping 147

Bootstrapping Startup Equity Silicon Valley 147

mashable.com

OCTOBER 16, 2010

All of this is according to Paul Graham, co-founder of the early-stage investment fund Ycombinator. The result is that many venture capital firms are now making smaller angel investments in an attempt to get close with startup founders that are likely to raise bigger funding rounds later on. Work from Anywhere: 9 Handy Portable.

Angel Investor 84

Angel Investor Venture Capital Social Media Technical Review 84

mashable.com

OCTOBER 16, 2010

All of this is according to Paul Graham, co-founder of the early-stage investment fund Ycombinator. The result is that many venture capital firms are now making smaller angel investments in an attempt to get close with startup founders that are likely to raise bigger funding rounds later on. Work from Anywhere: 9 Handy Portable.

Angel Investor 83

Angel Investor Venture Capital Social Media Technical Review 83

Lightspeed Venture Partners

OCTOBER 14, 2012

It costs Cozy Bug about $6 to make a dress (which will presumably go down with scale). Instead of taking equity, he asked for a $2 per dress royalty until he recovered his capital, then $1 per dress thereafter. How should the entrepreneur think about Kevin’s royalty offer against Lori and Daymond’s equity offer?

Equity 164

Equity Dilution Redemption Distribution 164

David Teten

NOVEMBER 17, 2011

Download the Startup Options Valuation model here. Such a model is particularly helpful for those founders looking for a co-founder or key employee. Since he graduated, he’s now Founder and CEO of a Latin America-focused based startup, Participa.me (“I participate”).

Employee 155

Employee IRR Startup Mexico 155

The Startup Lawyer

FEBRUARY 4, 2011

But before your startup signs up and cashes that $[XX,000] check, your startup’s co-founders should sit down and evaluate the incubator’s offer. The following are some issues to consider and actions to take before accepting an incubator’s offer: (1) Calculate Valuation and Determine Value.

Incubator 105

Incubator Pre-Money Valuation Option Pool Advisory Board 105

VC Cafe

SEPTEMBER 26, 2022

The past year was a wild ride for startups and founders, giving a whole new meaning to the ”rollercoaster” aspect of being an entrepreneur. The press took notice, especially since just a few months later startups were laying off employees en-masse to cut costs. Sustainable growth: Prioritise sales efficiency over growth at all costs.

Founder 187

Founder Startup Valuation Pre-Money Valuation 187

David Teten

FEBRUARY 6, 2013

From the perspective of best practices, we will address questions such as: How to assess opportunities (idea, team, valuation). Balloch’s 20+ year career prior to becoming an angel investor was in financial services both in the private equity world- fundraising and investor relations, and in investment banking. Robert Dahl.

Private Equity 114

Private Equity North America Cofounder Angel Groups 114

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 11, 2010

I’m surprised how few people talk about valuations, term sheet terms, how much to pay recruiters, etc. I once mentioned this idea to a fellow SoCal VC when I told him I wanted a CIC in LA and he said, “Co-location is dead. Uh, I guess he won’t be co-sponsoring a technology lab in LA with me then?

San Francisco 285

San Francisco Incubator Silicon Valley Startup 285

Scott Edward Walker

APRIL 9, 2012

As a result, the pendulum has swung dramatically in the founders’ favor, and the issuance of convertible notes for seed financing has never been more prolific. Part 3 will cover certain special issues, such as (i) what happens if the startup is acquired prior to the note’s conversion to equity? (ii) What is a Convertible Note?

Preferred Stock 87

Preferred Stock Finance Common Stock Liquidation Preference 87

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 19, 2010

Here are some examples: Failure to document a founder agreement at the beginning. This shortcut can lead to the so-called “forgotten founder” problem. Early co-founders often drop out of the picture due to disagreements, and you forget about them, but they don’t forget about the verbal promises you made. Marty Zwilling.

Non-Compete 125

Non-Compete Accredited Investor Startup Cofounder 125