ReadWriteStart

SEPTEMBER 17, 2021

If you’re running a business without products currently deployed, it can be difficult to negotiate with investors in good faith. How can either of you confidently give a valuation of a business that doesn’t make money? Usually, a product they can see, use, or touch will not be enough. More Leverage.

Startup 78

Startup Revenue Cofounder Angel Investor 78

cdixon.org

SEPTEMBER 17, 2011

You’ll learn about competitive products that exist or are being built. You’ll gauge people’s excitement level for the product and for various features. You are building awareness around your product and, presumably, persuading others of its value. Finding cofounders is a biggy, and because 99.9%

Stealth 68

Stealth Startup NDA Cofounder 68

The Equity Kicker

AUGUST 20, 2014

I’m reproducing in full here because it’s a great explanation of our solo-founder hypothesis and how we work more generally. Are you a solo founder with an idea? Snaptrip started as an idea, an excel spreadsheet and a passionate founder called Matt. —————————-.

Cofounder 95

Cofounder Founder Technical Cofounder Technical Review 95

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 3, 2010

Chris Dixon provided some commentary on Twitter that he believes I missed “the most important point about fund size.&# He’s specifically referring to his point of view that entrepreneurs shouldn’t take seed money from “big VC’s&# (he defines them as > $100 million). You raised angel money.

Venture Capital 265

Venture Capital Term Sheet Early Stage Silicon Valley 265

crowdSPRING Blog

APRIL 23, 2018

Many successful products and services share the origin story of “I needed something like this, so I built it.”. A challenge that some entrepreneurs don’t consider is that innovative, never-before-seen products and services often stand alone. They can’t rely on existing markets or customer awareness to help generate interest.

Entrepreneur 69

Entrepreneur Startup Seattle Social Media 69

Startup Lessons Learned

MAY 31, 2019

Many very successful, non-technology companies have also been products of venture capital, including Home Depot, Starbucks, and Staples. The reality today is that capital is more available than ever and entrepreneurs have become more sophisticated, so founders are looking for more than just cash from their venture backers.

Lean 108

Lean Venture Capital Conversion IPO 108

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 2, 2009

If a company has reached a level of success, has been around for a few years and you believe the company has potential to break out into a much bigger company then you should let the founders take money off of the table. Not FU money, but “feed the family&# money. I raised $500k in seed money to start the company.

Founder 329

Founder Liquidation Preference Term Sheet Participating Preferred 329

www.paulgraham.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

You need three things to create a successful startup: to start withgood people, to make something customers actually want, and to spendas little money as possible. And since a startup thatsucceeds ordinarily makes its founders rich, that implies gettingrich is doable too. Ideally you want between two and four founders.

Startup 105

Startup Cofounder Software Stock 105

techcrunch.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

So for this first post, here’s the best advice I can give you: join an awesome founding team and get your product out the door ASAP. One of the things I do as a founder of a later stage startup is to meet with early stage entrepreneurs to help them get their companies going. I need money for the servers. No raising money.

Technical Review 84

Technical Review Cofounder Technical Cofounder Software Review 84

Feld Thoughts

JULY 14, 2015

A company raises $1m of seed money from angels in a convertible note with a $6m cap. Assuming equity is raised at or above that cap, the total dilution, before the new money, is 16.6% (equivalent to an equity financing of $1m at a $6m post money valuation. The product gets a lot better. Here’s the scenario.

Recapitalization 70

Recapitalization Pre-Money Valuation Post-Money Valuation Angel Investor 70

crowdSPRING Blog

FEBRUARY 16, 2016

William Bygrave, an entrepreneurship professor at Babson College, cautioned in an article for The Wall Street Journal: What we really don’t want to do is literally spend a year or more essentially writing a business plan without knowing we have actual customers. Myth #2: You need a lot of money to start. So are the ants.

Washington 48

Washington Incubator Cofounder Angel Investor 48

www.paulgraham.com

AUGUST 1, 2008

In the last batch of startups we funded, we had several founders who said theyd thought of applying before, but werent sure and got jobs instead. In essense, let the market design the product. This is a problem for founders, because it makes raising money take longer and cost more in legal fees.

Web 54

Web Startup Silicon Valley Technical Review 54

pandodaily.com

NOVEMBER 29, 2012

“I wouldn’t expect anyone except seed investors to complain about it,” Graham says. “Founders don’t think their problems are due to trends. And in fact, overall trends are a second-order effect for founders.” Sarah Lacy is the founder and editor-in-chief of PandoDaily. Sarah Lacy.

Technical Review 93

Technical Review Silicon Valley Incubator Syria 93