Gust

APRIL 13, 2014

If one of your core values is exceeding your customer expectations for quality and service, and your potential partner ascribes to the low cost, high profit mantra, a successful partnership is highly unlikely over the long-term. Is your project seen by both as an end in itself, or a means to another end? Similar values and goals.

Partner 179

Partner Software Review CTO Hire Fractional CTO 179

Gust

OCTOBER 19, 2014

This hit RIM (Research In Motion) a few years ago, and cost them $650M to recover. Valid patents have been overturned by unpatented prior art. Until mid-2013, the USPTO still operated on the doctrine of “first to invent,” rather than first to patent. Applying for a patent is a negotiation.

Software Review 173

Software Review Software Technical Review Intellectual Property 173

Gust

JUNE 17, 2012

Find a customer who would benefit greatly from getting your product first, and be willing to advance you the cost of development. All funding decisions represent complex tradeoffs between near-term and long-term costs, ownership, control, and time and effort.

Technical Review 164

Technical Review Bootstrapping Venture Capital Incubator 164

Gust

DECEMBER 1, 2011

Nevertheless, choosing to defer basic corporate housekeeping items can be disastrous in some circumstances, as when the failure to spend a few thousand dollars on legal fees to clarify IP ownership and equity arrangements comes back to bite a successful company to the tune of millions of dollars on the eve of a liquidity event.

IP 114

IP Intellectual Property Equity Liquidity Event 114

Gust

NOVEMBER 8, 2022

You can’t succeed in business without an operational model that delivers value to customers at a reasonable price, with an underlying cost that allows you to make a profit.

Business Model 91

Business Model Green Revenue Operations 91

Gust

DECEMBER 15, 2013

In today’s Internet world, enterprising entrepreneurs have found that they can find out and do almost anything they need, from incorporating the company to filing patents, without expensive consultants, or the cost to hiring and firing employees. Need expensive resources up front.

Bootstrapping 183

Bootstrapping Sweat Equity Entrepreneur Technical Review 183

Gust

AUGUST 16, 2023

Think of insurance as an investment in your business designed to cover the financial cost of unforeseen liabilities and business losses. Startup business insurance protects your company, investors, board, property, and customers from lawsuits.

Startup 70

Startup Design Cost Customer 70

Gust

APRIL 15, 2022

Maybe you formed your company in your home state initially for cost reasons or because it seemed like the simplest path to formation. Should I convert my LLC to a Delaware C-corp? Maybe you formed as an LLC instead of a Corporation so you could enjoy the tax advantages of a pass-through entity. These are […].

Delaware 91

Delaware LLC Cost 91

Gust

NOVEMBER 8, 2012

Broadly speaking, meaningful patent reform could involve making it harder to patent insignificant or trivial innovations; severely limiting or abolishing software and business method patents; limiting damages that can be awarded; and reducing or shifting the enormous costs involved in patent litigation. Free Speech. Healthcare Reform.

Silicon Valley 187

Silicon Valley San Francisco Intellectual Property Accredited Investor 187

Gust

JANUARY 4, 2012

The only exceptions that come to mind are if the IP seems likely to provoke costly litigation, costs too much to develop, or taints the startup with some kind of ties to other ventures or people that give it a checkered past. As we’ve discussed, obtaining a patent can be a slow, costly and difficult process.

Intellectual Property 143

Intellectual Property IP Startup United States 143

Gust

AUGUST 24, 2014

The alternatives range from giving it away for free, to pricing based on costs, to charging what the market will bear (premium pricing). Cost-based model. In this more traditional product pricing model, the price is set at two to five times the product cost. The customer advantage is a lower entry cost. Value model.

Revenue 184

Revenue Startup Retention Internet 184

Gust

SEPTEMBER 16, 2012

Executives need more data accessible to their team everywhere, but at what cost? In today’s world of distributed data, global reach, and powerful incursion technologies, how do I protect my data and my customers’ data? User privacy. How does your proposition address highly targeted advertising without a privacy backlash?

Technology 162

Technology Agile Architecture Distribution 162

Gust

OCTOBER 26, 2014

Bootstrapping avoids all the cost, pain, and distractions of finding angels or VCs, and allows you to keep control and all your hard-earned equity for yourself. Every outside hire increases your cost and risk. In summary, watch your costs, trust your gut, and drive forward with all the passion in your dream. Do it yourself.

Bootstrapping 176

Bootstrapping Startup Merger Salary 176

Gust

MARCH 9, 2014

This combination will almost certainly get your plan tossed by potential investors, who understand all too well the need and cost for marketing in today’s environment. Viral marketing costs real money these days, which usually means adding at least an extra zero to budget estimates. Get exposure for your expertise.

Marketing 146

Marketing SEM Viral Social Media 146

Gust

DECEMBER 7, 2014

The best partners are ones who share costs and risks. With no investors, you will work harder to find vendors who will absorb costs and associated risks for a potentially bigger return later. Count on several months of effort and costly assistance to court investors, with less than a 10% success rate.

Bootstrapping 191

Bootstrapping Entrepreneur Startup Burn Rate 191

Gust

DECEMBER 18, 2012

He goes on: Unlike taxes, however, ad-based services target lower-income and lower-education audiences because that’s where they make all of their money … What’s the cost to the user? The cost is the loss of privacy, and future opportunities for the user that they’ve lost as a result. Vibhu’s post makes very good reading.

Mobile 144

Mobile Web Audience Government 144

Gust

NOVEMBER 18, 2012

If you are still losing money, skip ahead to the cost approach. Calculate replacement cost for key assets (cost approach). Calculate replacement cost for key assets (cost approach). Otherwise, multiply earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) by some multiple.

Valuation 187

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation NPV Intellectual Property 187

Gust

FEBRUARY 16, 2014

Once they see you have developed credible traction, they can grab your space with less cost (meaning lower price) than you had to put into developing it. Technology keeps improving at a rapid rate, so you fall behind in technology, driving costs up, and you become non-competitive. Don’t count on your IP to save you. Your income drops.

Startup 156

Startup IP Employee Technology 156

Gust

AUGUST 10, 2014

Projecting the financials should be the last step of your business plan preparation, since it assumes you already know the opportunity size, customer buying habits, pricing, costs, and competition. Financial projections for investors should always show an annual cost of goods sold and gross margins line, as well as revenue.

Liquidity Event 176

Liquidity Event Equity Venture Capital Merger 176

Gust

NOVEMBER 3, 2013

But why not learn as well from the mistakes of others, without suffering their cost, time, and pain? Even a non-profit has to generate revenue (or donations) to offset operating costs. Even viral marketing costs real money and time. Of course, a real entrepreneur always takes a failure as a milestone on the road to success.

Intellectual Property 183

Intellectual Property Startup Viral Early Stage 183

Gust

DECEMBER 22, 2011

It’s possible to have a company with literally millions of customers (users) that employs only a handful of people, working in a small rented office, with hardware and software costing in the tens of thousands rather than millions of dollars. Most of our early-stage startup clients fit this description.

Intellectual Property 149

Intellectual Property Technical Review Software Review IP 149

Gust

MAY 29, 2012

Tell me what it costs to produce one unit, what the channel pays for it (if channels are relevant) or what the buyer pays for it, what it costs to ship, and so on. . Most plans are pretty good about estimating direct costs but bad about underlying expenses. I want unit economics. Often this is part of a good forecast.

Business Plan 174

Business Plan Forecast Channel Cost 174

Gust

DECEMBER 29, 2013

In almost every state, you can incorporate as an LLC with a minimal effort, and a cost in the hundred dollar range. Carrying a non-performing employee probably triples the costs, since you are paying two people to do the job, and at least one other is de-motivated by the inequity. The simple answer is to do something, and start simple.

Startup 183

Startup Intellectual Property LLC Burn Rate 183

Gust

APRIL 9, 2014

To see this graphically check out the online Equity Simulator at OwnYourVenture.com : *Advanced Discussion : Note that because any method of handling “anti-dilution protection” has the effect of helping the equity holder who is being protected at the cost of someone else, this type of provision is hotly negotiated, and is * always* (..)

Dilution 150

Dilution Equity Vesting Stock Options 150

Gust

DECEMBER 20, 2012

The second component is the replacement cost of the specific skills and effort that are involved in the particular work. So if the same specific tasks could have been achieved by paying a programmer (or marketer or part-time CFO), say $2,000 on a short term contract, then that is exactly what the replacement cost value of the work would be.

Sweat Equity 136

Sweat Equity Equity Valuation Salary 136

Gust

JULY 26, 2014

While every entrepreneur would like to have ‘the market’ provide outside investments at low cost to fund the whole startup process, the reality is quite different. As such, the founding process is one in which the entrepreneur is competing with market forces.

Startup 156

Startup Entrepreneur Cost Marketing 156

Gust

MAY 11, 2014

But before you conclude that your funding problems are solved with grants, you should consider the direct and indirect costs of grant funding: Grant applications are bureaucratic. Professional help costs money. Grants start as small a few thousand dollars, but can provide millions of dollars in capital to new ventures.

Seed Money 164

Seed Money SBIR Dilution Government 164

Gust

JULY 23, 2012

These assets often have a relatively low cost basis (e.g. original cost) – and in the cases of entrepreneurs who have founded companies, the cost basis is effectively zero – and a significant current market value that would result in large capital gains taxes if sold. The Tax Benefit. in excess of $25,000).

Stock 114

Stock Capital Gains Warrant Stock Options 114

Gust

MARCH 29, 2014

If they are similar in range, go right for an equity round, instead of incurring the cost and hassle of double-papering a note and a preferred round. If it’s a small percentage, consider a note. original post can be found on Quora @ [link] *. Invested Interests convertible note equity investors series a series seed startup'

Equity 154

Equity Finance Cost Startup 154

Gust

FEBRUARY 5, 2014

So yes, it is absolutely standard practice for investors to require both existing financials that document the current state of the company into which they are investing, as well as projected financial statements giving them some idea of what you believe you will be able to make, and what you believe it will cost, if they invest.

Balance Sheet 151

Balance Sheet Early Stage Revenue Startup 151

Gust

MARCH 30, 2014

When choosing an identity for a company or a product, simple and straightforward are back in style, and cost less to brand. This may sound obvious, but a miss here will cost you dearly. Make your business name one that customers can pronounce and remember easily. Skip the acronyms, which mean nothing to most people. Keep it simple.

Naming 174

Naming Cofounder Algorithm .Net 174

Gust

DECEMBER 24, 2012

New product startups rightfully begin with a heads-down focus on creating the ultimate product – whether it’s a new technology, a new look and ease of use, or a new low-cost delivery approach. Quantify the value and cost of acquiring every new customer. Image via Facebook.

Customer 166

Customer Startup Retention Differentiation 166

Gust

AUGUST 22, 2012

There is an ample supply of labor; a relative scarcity of challenging, career-building jobs for recent graduates of technical institutes and universities; and a dramatically lower cost structure for many initiatives as a result. Perhaps most importantly, IT and Internet business are simply a breed of their own.

Technical Review 172

Technical Review Egypt Morocco Russia 172

Gust

OCTOBER 15, 2014

Neither has any cost to establish a profile, and both provide visibility to active angel investors and others in the startup ecosystem (Gust primarily to organized investors and funds, AngelList primarily to independent investors).

Accredited Investor 144

Accredited Investor Angel Investor Equity Networking 144

Gust

JULY 5, 2012

But when I recently purchased an 80″ 3D big screen TV to go along with our PS3, my board only raised its collective eyebrows a couple of millimeters, because the $4K cost, relative to our 30 person insanely-hardworking staff, didn’t seem all that much out of proportion (besides, it is great for presentations!).

Warrant 127

Warrant Startup New York Cost 127

Gust

OCTOBER 11, 2011

For example, “I just patented a new cell-phone technology that will double battery life for half the cost. Giving the product away, or selling below cost may make it attractive to customers, but your business won’t be attractive. This is a statement or question that piques their interest to want to hear more. About 150-225 words.

Elevator Pitch 174

Elevator Pitch Startup Differentiation Distribution 174

Gust

MAY 10, 2014

Since the average investment amount per angel per company is about $35,000, you can calculate that using the same 2-3% management fee metric as a venture fund, the opportunity cost of the angel’s time for all those deals would be somewhere between $700 and $10,000 per year.

Angel Investor 132

Angel Investor Accredited Investor Limited Partner Portfolio 132