VC Cafe

JULY 4, 2022

The WSJ confirmed what we already know: Q2 venture capital investments declined both in size and in valuation. billion valuation, according to the WSJ, down from $45.6 Remote hires represent the majority in the US in H1 2022. In 2019, about 35% of new hires were based in a different state than the primary company headquarters.

Venture Capital 167

Venture Capital Valuation Private Equity LP 167

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 10, 2016

Funding challenges and other issues founders face in the early days of starting up were the focus of interviews with the latest guests on Entrepreneurs are Everywhere , my radio show on SiriusXM Channel 111 (airing weekly Thursdays at 1 pm Pacific, 4 pm Eastern). Will Zell , co-founder and CEO of Nikola Labs wireless power company.

Silicon Valley 120

Silicon Valley Ohio Columbus Entrepreneur 120

www.entrepreneur.com

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

Marketing Sales & Marketing Home Marketing Basics Sales Online Marketing Finding Customers Social Media Branding Social Media Does Your Companys Social Personality Need a Makeover? Sweat equity is just one component of early-stage valuation. Financing Some Jobs Act Proposals Make Headway. In fact, it could be worth much more.

Sweat Equity 55

Sweat Equity Equity Fractional CTO CTO 55

Version One Ventures

FEBRUARY 7, 2023

Over the last few years, the start-up market has focused almost exclusively on hyper-growth, quick valuation increases, raising large amounts of capital, and trying to take companies public in a premature way (SPACs). Building a generational company systematically for the long-term has almost completely gone out of fashion.

Cofounder 95

Cofounder Portfolio Valuation Revenue 95

ReadWriteStart

MARCH 24, 2011

Our co-host for the program was TiE Midwest, based in Chicago. Jobseekers, therefore, need help cleaning up their social media profiles so that objectionable material does not find its way to these background check scenarios, disrupting their chances of getting hired. This pretty much rules out SEO, PPC, affiliate marketing, etc.

Illinois 114

Illinois Entrepreneur Silicon Valley Chicago 114

Berkonomics

JANUARY 7, 2021

Two: Co-management. Few entrepreneurs can do it alone, with subordinate hired help and no expert management to share the burdens, skill sets, and efforts involved in growing the enterprise. So, co-management is the second group to share in the bounty upon a liquidity event. Three: Outside investors. Reward for early risk.

Liquidity Event 96

Liquidity Event Pre-Money Valuation Cofounder Initial Public Offering 96

David Teten

SEPTEMBER 23, 2017

I previously posted a detailed presentation with sales technology tools useful for B2B sales. is an AI bot which helps companies refine their sales pitch to VCs. Signal is a fundraising tool for founders run by NFX Guild, which identifies the most relevant VCs for you. . Pitchbot.vc 3) Originate investments.

Private Equity 60

Private Equity Venture Capital Equity Technical Review 60

View from Seed

APRIL 30, 2015

What is it, and how should founders think about it? note: We’d like to be extra clear that founders should not take on venture debt if they don’t have 100% visibility into repaying the loan, as banks that need to recoup their loan my force the company or you as the guarantor into liquidation or bankruptcy.

Term Sheet 120

Term Sheet Equity Startup Seed Stage 120

www.avc.com

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

The most common comment in this long and complicated MBA Mondays series on Employee Equity is the question of how much equity should you grant when you make a hire. For your first key hires, three, five, maybe as much as ten, you will probably not be able to use any kind of formula. First, a caveat.

Equity 64

Equity Employee CTO Hire Fractional CTO 64

Gust

NOVEMBER 4, 2011

Entrepreneurs and investors who have spent any time dealing with convertible debt seed financing transactions are likely to have encountered the subject of valuation caps. Valuation caps can come into play in settings other than seed-stage convertible note financing rounds. Read on for a fuller explanation. by February 2006).

Valuation 98

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Merger Vesting 98

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 1, 2016

Rolf Winkler wrote a piece in the WSJ about A16Z’s returns in which he says they “lag behind Sequoia, Benchmark and Founders Fund.” Scott Kupor of A16Z responded with a comprehensive overview of valuation methodology in a post that while accurate feels more targeted at sophisticated Limited Partners (LPs) who invest in funds.

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LP Jordan Cofounder Limited Partner 264

The Startup Toolkit

FEBRUARY 15, 2013

false As a cheatsheet, the “normal” equity structure is: Founder terms: 4 year vesting, 1 year cliff, for everyone, including you. For these examples, let’s say that I’ve got a co-founder and we’re splitting the company 50/50. Cliffs basically allow you to “trial” a hire or partnership without an immediate equity committment.

Vesting 56

Vesting Equity Cofounder Technical Review 56

YoungUpstarts

JULY 29, 2013

by Meng Weng Wong, co-founder and social engineer at JFDI Asia. Hero mentors” have exited their businesses through a trade sale or IPO, sometimes multiple times; they offer inspiration to your team and coaching on strategy and tactics. Some founders stay at hostels. You’re in dialogue with the marketplace.

Asia 207

Asia Singapore Cofounder Incubator 207

ReadWriteStart

AUGUST 26, 2022

So, think of the typical two founders with a pitch book in a garage. Instead, that’s the sort of pre-series-A investment where companies or founders have visions of where they think there are underserved market needs, and they’re coming up with something super excited to try to solve that. . We’re a crossover fund.

Partner 132

Partner Cofounder Retention Acquisition 132

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. VCs competing for unicorn investments have given founders control of the board. Hire a CEO to Go Public. A pre-IPO board usually had two founders, two VCs and one “independent” member.

Founder 252

Founder Technical Review CTO Hire IPO 252

VC Cafe

SEPTEMBER 26, 2010

Very cool concept and I want to thank the founder Adil Mohammed for inviting me to take part in it. I’ve learned this first hand from Mark Gerson, the founder of Gerson Lehrman Group. As the founder, you’re the number one sales person of the company and it is not a function you can outsource right away.

Elevator Pitch 102

Elevator Pitch Incubator Technical Review Startup 102

techcrunch.com

APRIL 26, 2013

Co-founder Naval Ravikant explains that 18 pilot companies in the program, including Transcriptic, Double Robotics and Tred, received $6.7 Investors included Founders Fund, 500 Startups and Marc Cuban. No wonder the platform is rumored to be raising a round at a $150 million valuation or more. with a $3 sale.

SEC 61

SEC Accredited Investor San Diego New York City 61

Up and Running

APRIL 11, 2016

When asked how he figured out who his target market was, he responded, “I looked at the volume of sales in my city, from the property valuation administrator, and then looked for the ‘sweet spot.’ Of course, there may come a time when you do want to find a business location, hire employees and get set up with the right technology.

Reputation 60

Reputation Cofounder Naming Business Plan 60

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. Sustainable growth: Prioritise sales efficiency over growth at all costs. Patrick Collison , self-made billionaire founder of Stripe. Bill Gates , founder of Microsoft.

Founder 187

Founder Startup Valuation Pre-Money Valuation 187

View from Seed

FEBRUARY 19, 2015

This is a guest post from Rob May , a co-founder and CEO of Backupify , which raised $19.5M In 2010, we were recruiting for a Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Backupify, and it was clear that many of the people I was interviewing wanted the CEO role. Hang out with other founders and CEOs. He was right.

Founder 120

Founder Startup Cofounder Business Model 120

www.inc.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

Sales & Marketing | Wednesdays. SALES & MARKETING. Back in 1997, Randy Parker was staring at a blank whiteboard, wondering where hed find the money to hire the employees and consultants he needed to build his new product. "We Chip Morse , cofounder and partner with Morse, Barnes-Brown & Pendleton P.C., Finance | Tuesdays.

Fractional CTO 40

Fractional CTO Equity Iowa Technical Cofounder 40

Steve Blank

JANUARY 4, 2010

A first order filter is whether the founders are aiming for a scalable startup. In fact, Google’s offer for $15 Million was equal to the highest valuation from the venture firms. In fact, Google’s offer for $15 Million was equal to the highest valuation from the venture firms. The question was: what did the founders want to do?

Hockey Stick 284

Hockey Stick Venture Capital Startup Cofounder 284

www.mint.com

MARCH 9, 2010

What is the post-money valuation of your last round? Post-money valuation” is the value of the company after the last round of money was put in (again, lines of credit and promises don’t count). But you should beware of boards that are only the founders and their family and friends. No customers no sales, no startup.

Software Review 68

Software Review Startup Post-Money Valuation Technical Review 68

Berkonomics

JUNE 12, 2014

Few entrepreneurs can do it alone, with subordinate hired help and no expert management to share the burdens, skill sets and efforts involved in growing the enterprise. So co-management is the second group to share in the bounty upon a liquidity event. [Email readers, continue here.]

Liquidity Event 85

Liquidity Event Pre-Money Valuation Cofounder Initial Public Offering 85

blog.nahurst.com

JULY 19, 2010

The graphic below balances the risks cofounders take with their relative contributions to help answer this question. This covers one of the most common situations I encounter: For a pre-funding web startup whose team includes only a non-technical cofounder, how much equity should an incoming technical cofounder get?

Technical Cofounder 43

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Equity Salary 43

Women Entrepreneurs Can

MAY 5, 2020

A great way to minimize this risk is to hire and train great employees, or to hire some of the business processes out to qualified professionals. For instance, you can look at ways to hire out your public relations or marketing. Depending on how your business stacks up in the above criteria, that valuation can vary from 1.8

Private Equity 52

Private Equity CPA Equity Reputation 52

Start Up Blog

AUGUST 25, 2013

NetMind: Alan was a cofounder of this startup, which he said never really made money. They made a trade sale in late 1999. When asked how one should value a company that doesn’t make any – he said the ‘Cisco Valuation Model’ is best. Hire people who are innovative and passionate.

Australia 80

Australia Startup Valuation Cofounder 80

The Next Web

DECEMBER 8, 2013

Anthony Del Monte is the CEO and founder of Squeaky Wheel Media , a Web design and development agency based in NYC, as well as the co-founder of IHadCancer.com , one of the first social-networking sites for cancer survivors, fighters and supporters. I’m guessing for most of you – you deserve another pat.

Cofounder 140

Cofounder Valuation Revenue Social Network 140

The Next Web

SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

Before StartEngine, Howard co-founded Activision and founded Acclaim Games. . The Founder’s gut wrongly tells them their business plan has been validated because they received an investment. Weaknesses inside the founder team kill startups. The truth is, sometimes you need to replace your co-founders and start over.

Metrics 136

Metrics Cofounder Cram Down Liquidity Event 136

David Teten

DECEMBER 3, 2019

To learn more about this space, I suggest join an online community I co-founded, PEVCTech. . Tim Friedman, Founder, PE Stack , said, “If I could offer one piece of advice to today’s managers, it would be to take the time to understand the demands of the modern institutional LP. The 11 Steps of Investing in Private Companies.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Software Review Analytics Private Equity 78

Eric Friedman

JUNE 27, 2016

This is the classic “hire people smarter than you” which is harder said than done. Big strategic advisors are the folks that add credibility to your co. from a 10 year old co. Here are the questions I like to see founders ask potential advisors; 1. Think about the things you DON’T know. Typically these folks get between

Equity 98

Equity Vesting Cap Table Common Stock 98

Hunter Walker

JUNE 7, 2016

These people are true founders and entrepreneurs just like any venture backed company. Do “likes” and “shares” turn into sales? Revel – our iPad-based point of sale. BS: As co-founders, Suzanne and I are equal business partners 50/50. How did it all begin?

Caching 70

Caching DC Social Media Finance 70

Berkonomics

AUGUST 27, 2015

He has served as advisor to and member of numerous financial exchanges, and was the founder and CEO of Arthur Lipper Corporation and co-founder and Chairman of New York & Foreign Securities Corporation. Today he serves as Chairman of British Far East Holdings Ltd.

Intellectual Property 48

Intellectual Property Balance Sheet Stock Options Valuation 48

Business Plan Blog

DECEMBER 10, 2013

When raising pre-seed capital from friends, family, and founders (FFF) you’ll want to consider the milestones that Angel investors care about and be sure to raise enough capital to reach those milestones. Founding Team, Key Hires, Advisory Board. Product Development.

Angel Investor 55

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Seed Capital Advisory Board 55

Business Plan Blog

NOVEMBER 22, 2013

The use of your initial friends, family, and founders (FFF) capital should be directed towards achieving the milestones that will attract seed or angel investors (likewise, the use of your seed funding should be directed towards achieving the milestones that will attract Series A investors). Founding Team, Key Hires, Advisory Board.

Intellectual Property 55

Intellectual Property Advisory Board Startup Seed Capital 55

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 15, 2009

I hired a senior exec from the building materials industry (we were a document collaboration company for the engineering & construction industry) who was also ex McKinsey. We hired people to run the UK and Germany. I did all of the sales myself. We had to ramp up our team quickly and ramp we did.

Founder 299

Founder Technical Review Startup Venture Capital 299

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 26, 2020

What most founders don’t realize is: Every stage of a startup requires a different set of metrics and milestones and founder skills. Knowing these will help a founder position her pitch to get investors’ attention. Founders need to keep their eye on the prize — not just the next funding round. Business Model.

Cofounder 429

Cofounder Seed Stage Valuation Metrics 429