View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 23, 2019

*This post is part of our “pitch deck” series where we dissect the seed stage pitch deck and discuss the ideal flow for a pitch. My partner Rob has previously written some thoughts on how to approach that conversation. The former can include expected burn and runway, guideposts on hiring, and resource allocation.

Cap Table 211

Cap Table Seed Stage Valuation Dilution 211

Austin Startup

JANUARY 25, 2020

This was my time at a Wall Street firm that had hired me after I applied for their Junior Stockbroker position, a little while after I graduated from college. I remember enjoying reading his book “ Delivering Happiness ,” the story behind how he led Zappos and drove it to a billion dollars in revenue before Amazon bought it.

Delaware 62

Delaware SEC New York City New York 62

BeyondVC

JANUARY 3, 2019

In 2019, we’ll be doubling down on this effort as we are hiring a GM for our CXO Advisory Board & Network ( job description here ). Balanced growth vs. growth at all costs: No conversation about 2019 will be complete without considering the uncertain economic, financial and geopolitical environment in which we are currently living.

Stealth 79

Stealth Advisory Board Cloud Virginia 79

Austin Startup

MAY 19, 2018

This one comes from personal experience, months into conversations and after reference checks (which went well) one particular VC decided he didn’t have commitment to the space. Most of the time we are being told no by somebody whether it’s prospects, investors, or hires who aren’t willing to take the risk at a startup.

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Founder Early Stage Software Review Deal Flow 75

View from Seed

FEBRUARY 2, 2016

But our conversations at NextView have always ended in excited chatter about the New York opportunity. And it was these conversations that I believe led to the team’s decision to add their own stubborn presence to stand up for seed-stage startups in NYC … me. 24% of all VC deals in NYC in ’15 were seed.

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Seed Stage New York New York City Startup 120

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

This can be helpful when you are hiring a COO for the company, and the candidate asks to get percentage ownership in the company. The popularity of convertible notes is increasing in the world of startup financing, especially in seed-stage companies. the total amount their note would be divided by in case of conversion.

Cap Table 112

Cap Table Pre-Money Valuation Stock Options Option Pool 112

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 11, 2019

Ann Miura-Ko is a founding partner at Floodgate , a seed-stage VC firm. Among her early investments are Lyft, TaskRabbit and Modcloth, which, as our recent conversation shows, are only part of the reason Forbes called her “the most powerful woman in startups.” Also, it's not unusual for the interview process to take months.

Founder 68

Founder Lean Venture Capital Cofounder 68

Hippoland

MARCH 13, 2016

When I was raising money for LaunchBit, sometimes my conversations with investors would go something like this: Investor: So how much are you raising? This kind of conversation happens a lot, though. Taking a step back, it’s worthwhile to know that regardless of your stage, investors want to invest in growth. Why so little?

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Seed Stage .Net Revenue Acquisition 48

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 15, 2020

"I really like that resilience word," Robert Rhinehart told me in our conversation about his new organization, The Corona Initiative. That's why the Corona Initiative is a Public Benefit Corporation--a for-profit company dedicated to the public good that aims to fund its research with its revenues. Robert Rhinehart : Hi.

Technical Review 68

Technical Review Software Review Finance Technology 68

YoungUpstarts

JULY 29, 2013

But they’ll sit up and pay attention when you talk about the customers and revenues of the business. Role models” haven’t made it quite as far the heroes, but as practising entrepreneurs they are fully up-to-date with the on-the-ground realities of fundraising, hiring, and interfacing with government. ii.actual REVENUE?

Asia 207

Asia Singapore Cofounder Incubator 207

Austin Startup

FEBRUARY 12, 2019

The 2013 Joah didn’t realize he was about to run into the buzzsaw that was being black while fundraising in 2014 and 2015, two of the best years for a seed-stage startup to raise funds in Silicon Valley. Meanwhile, several others, like Vice Media (which has raised more than $1.3

Silicon Valley 48

Silicon Valley Technical Review Venture Capital San Francisco 48

Seeing Both Sides

SEPTEMBER 15, 2015

To answer these questions, we built a database of 112 Israeli companies founded between 1996 and 2013 that have met or exceeded $20 million in revenue. Eighty-two percent have global offices, and yet 91% are still run by Israeli CEOs, as opposed to foreign executives hired from the outside. American VCs are critical.

Cofounder 20

Cofounder Technical Review United States 20

mashable.com

NOVEMBER 2, 2011

Joshua Baer is the co-founder and CEO of Otherinbox , a prolific angel investor and the director of Capital Factory , Austin’s seed-stage incubator. Include screenshots of your product , a video walk-through and one or two charts that display traction or revenue. Jobs by Simply Hired. What is your viral coefficient?

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Social Media Startup Angel Investor RSS 80

pandodaily.com

NOVEMBER 29, 2012

We know this: As many as a thousand companies who’ve received seed rounds won’t be around in a year — maybe six months. There simply won’t be soft-landings and acqui-hires for all of them. The number of seed and angel investors has exploded in recent years, buoyed up by a number of factors.

Technical Review 93

Technical Review Silicon Valley Incubator Syria 93

Rob Go

NOVEMBER 15, 2016

I’ve had a couple conversations with other investors recently around what a seed stage company needs to achieve to raise a series A. For most companies, this means top-line revenue, but in some cases it’s more about numbers of active users or number of customers. 3 years if needed.

Product 28

Product Seed Stage Seed Money Metrics 28

Startup Lessons Learned

AUGUST 24, 2009

So I generally feel right at home in these conversations. Seed-stage investors are learning the metrics of traction, and are getting better at identifying those companies that are really achieving validated learning about customers. What is the right revenue model? In other words, what is the minimum viable product ?

San Francisco 113

San Francisco Lean Technical Review Distribution 113

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. of MySpace, Inc.

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Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Merger Vesting 98