Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 26, 2016

The key to being able to run a business that isn’t yet profitable (on operating margin) is availability of capital to finance losses and preferably at a cost that isn’t too punitive to the founders and employees. CAC is often measured incorrectly and doesn’t often doesn’t capture the true costs of acquisition.

Metrics 150

Metrics Cost Acquisition Startup 150

The Startup Magazine

OCTOBER 9, 2019

All tech startups begin as a concept. The most important difference between a tech startup and a traditional new business is the core objective that drives each. Tech startups are, in contrast, focused on rapid growth, potential, and top-end revenue. Nine out of ten startups fail solely due to improper cash flow management.

Technical Review 81

Technical Review Bootstrapping Startup Finance 81

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 12, 2019

why the hell has seed financing declined so much in the past 3 years?? The reality is that as a result of two major trends the costs of starting a technology startup went down massively. Between 1999–2005 the costs went down by 90% and between 2005–2010 they went down a further 90%.

Venture Capital 328

Venture Capital Technical Review Seed Stage IPO 328

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 5, 2014

Last week a company we enthusiastically backed, uBeam , led by a very special entrepreneur, 25-year-old Meredith Perry , announced a $10 million round of financing. uBeam’s tech does work and I have safely seen it demo’d in the real life many times. They are driven more by the journey than they are about the destination.

Technical Review 417

Technical Review South Korea San Francisco Software Review 417

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 25, 2010

When I first read Paul Graham’s blog post on “High Resolution&# Financing I read it as a treatise arguing that convertible notes are better than equity. “A startup could also give better deals to investors they expected to help them most&# – That is a quote from Paul on the “high resolution financing&# post.

Finance 286

Finance Term Sheet Technical Review Warrant 286

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

Nearly every successful tech startup I’ve observed over the past 20 years has gone through a similar growth pattern: Innovate, systematize then scale operations. MakeSpace (as he named it) would help you get your excess goods into low-cost warehouses. How long does it take me to pay back my original customer acquisition costs?

Operations 286

Operations New York City Technical Review Startup 286

The Startup Magazine

DECEMBER 27, 2023

Startup founders have a seemingly never-ending list of things to do, whether it’s growing sales, hiring new team members, or marketing your latest product. Since you might be responsible for many of these tasks yourself, thinking about your company’s finances might not be at the top of your list.

Startup 106

Startup Technical Review Reputation Hiring 106

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 20, 2019

by Chris Grey, co-founder and COO of CapLinked. Expectations indicate that the FinTech industry will extend its tech integration significantly over the next four years. Finance companies increasingly recognize that their people are the most valuable resource and need to be managed more thoughtfully as well as efficiently.

Technical Review 127

Technical Review Software Review Private Equity Cofounder 127

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 21, 2017

by Julian Lee, founder and CEO of Ambi Labs. Along with due diligence for glowing reviews, users should be aware of the security concerns that arise with turning your home into a smart home , giving hackers different avenues to breach. With great mobile connectivity, comes great security responsibilities.

Software Review 124

Software Review Technical Review Due Diligence Mobile 124

YoungUpstarts

FEBRUARY 17, 2016

by Donovan Janus, founder of 17hats. When food and shelter are a freelancer’s two heaviest expenses, a conversation about “costs” sounds absurd, no? Unless you breakfast on caviar, truffles and Dom Pérignon in a Mediterranean villa tended by your manservant Basil, your costs can’t be that bad. Shift happens. A Different Breed.

Cost 100

Cost San Francisco Software Review Technical Review 100

View from Seed

JANUARY 13, 2021

But in the grand scheme of things, 10 years is a blip, and one that had a continuous bull market in tech. The objection goes something like this: “yes, I can see rookie founders turning to you for a seed round. But won’t all good founders go to established firms that raise series A’s out of the gate?”.

Dilution 399

Dilution Later Stage Portfolio Technical Review 399

View from Seed

MARCH 1, 2016

Investors and smart hires will always do appropriate diligence before investing money and time, but they won’t bother doing that unless they are excited about your story. Are you bringing an army of algorithm authors to attack a sleep non-technical industry? In fact, in the very beginning, the story is the entirety of the company.

Founder 120

Founder Technical Review Cofounder Non-Compete 120

Scott Edward Walker

OCTOBER 19, 2020

In a couple of cases, the founders played lawyer on their own; in the other cases, the founders either used (i) a Web service that did not address IP issues or (ii) an inexperienced law firm. This would arise as a result of a founder improperly “moonlighting” (i.e., Any IP created by a founder (e.g.,

IP 52

IP Software Review Founder Technical Review 52

David Teten

AUGUST 19, 2019

RBI normally requires founders to pay back their investors with a fixed percentage of revenue until they have finished providing the investor with a fixed return on capital, which they agree upon in advance. For background, see Revenue-Based Investing: A New Option for Founders who Care About Control. Alternative Capital. “

Revenue 60

Revenue Technical Review Software Review Equity 60

David Teten

JANUARY 19, 2021

From RBI, Flexible VCs borrow the ability to reap meaningful returns without demanding founders build for an exit. Every Flexible VC structure allows founders to access immediate risk capital while preserving exit, growth trajectory, and ownership optionality. . Our categorization is not a technical one.

Cofounder 78

Cofounder Technical Review Equity Dividend 78

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. I usually envision a 50-50 ownership split for their efforts, but every engineer believes the technology side deserves the majority share. Most founders bootstrap product development.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Intellectual Property Cofounder Bootstrapping 120

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 3, 2015

I’ve spoken our goal of funding more ambitious project before and we’ve enlisted the research help of a Principal in our firm – Kevin Zhang , who has an interest in Agtech (agriculture technology). Their vision is to create technology and products for a world where food is grown in and around where people live.

Technical Review 150

Technical Review Software Review Founder Boston 150

David Teten

APRIL 1, 2021

As an agenda for each meeting, I suggest: – How can we most add value, in addition to helping with financing? Then, pluck the low-hanging fruit: easy, low-cost, and highly scalable infrastructure. A well-organized library of best practices for founders in your vertical, which you can share as appropriate. AskAnything.VC

Private Equity 78

Private Equity Venture Capital Portfolio Equity 78

Up and Running

JULY 28, 2022

Innovation can be a product, design, or a process of doing things to solve a technical problem. It pays for medical care, funeral costs, death benefits, and income compensation during recovery. Develop a founders agreement. Its importance is to outline founders’ rights, responsibilities, ownership, and roles.

Small Business 167

Small Business Intellectual Property Cofounder Software Review 167

ReadWriteStart

MARCH 31, 2020

In the same vein, various technological innovations such as artificial intelligence have made VC funding easier and less biased. Well, now investors are desiring to have more say in the direct control of the company, particularly its finances and its compliance with corporate regulations (for example, the GDPR, with tech startups).

Technical Review 175

Technical Review Artificial Inteligence Startup Term Sheet 175

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 23, 2017

by Joe Duncan, founder of Duncan Capital LP. This combinatorial model works because it’s diversified, can best withstand bear markets, benefits from technological synergies, and it’s the mix of products and services clients value. To dig deeper, let’s first review the influence of technology on the core components.

Technical Review 154

Technical Review Artificial Inteligence Software Review IPO 154

David Teten

AUGUST 19, 2019

Does the traditional VC financing model make sense for all companies? 2018 also had the fewest number of angel-led financing rounds since before 2010. John Borchers, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Decathlon Capital, claims to be the largest revenue-based financing investor in the US. Absolutely not.

Revenue 60

Revenue Term Sheet Founder Technical Review 60

This is going to be BIG.

MAY 27, 2014

It was a company whose product I believed in and whose founder I liked, but a firm lobbed in a term sheet at a price 33% higher than what I had offered using a very light agreement meant for a much earlier stage company. Then, I read about the idiotic comments made by a co-founder of Rap Genius. Perhaps we all should. No, probably not.

Term Sheet 143

Term Sheet Founder Cofounder Software Review 143

YoungUpstarts

SEPTEMBER 6, 2018

However, there is hope for all you startup founders. With a bit of due diligence, how to develop a successful marketing plan for a startup and rules to ensure your endeavor grows and becomes successful. You may need bookkeeping for small business tools to ensure you are handling finances with growth and success in mind.

Technical Review 182

Technical Review Due Diligence Startup Demand 182

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 23, 2013

There is so much written these days about how to attract investors that most entrepreneurs “assume” they need funding, and don’t even consider a plan for “bootstrapping,” or self-financing their startup. Of course, every company needs these, in due time. Need expensive resources up front. You need specialized equipment.

Bootstrapping 252

Bootstrapping Sweat Equity Entrepreneur Technical Review 252

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 28, 2015

Craig Schmitz, a partner in the Technology Companies Group at law firm Godwin Proctor LLP who works on corporate, governance, board and fundraising issues, and Erika Fisher, an associate in the firm’s Business Law Department who deals with IP, fielded questions about the legal issues startups face. ” The Cost of Financing.

Convertible Security 100

Convertible Security IP Technical Review Software Review 100

YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 7, 2017

by Hannah Sieber, co-founder and COO of EcoFlow Tech. My company, EcoFlow Tech, raised more than one million in sales and achieved our goals of getting customer feedback and generating buzz. One of the first non-product costs is building out your campaign and website.

Campaign 145

Campaign San Francisco Technical Review Flash 145

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 13, 2012

There is so much written these days about how to attract investors that most entrepreneurs “assume” they need funding, and don’t even consider a plan for “bootstrapping,” or self-financing their startup. Of course, every company needs these, in due time. Need expensive resources up front. You need specialized equipment.

Sweat Equity 239

Sweat Equity Technical Review Bootstrapping Equity 239

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 23, 2012

Every startup faces a myriad of challenges that are well beyond the scope of any founder, so you need a few guiding lights to illuminate the road ahead. For this, you should expect participation in monthly strategy and review meetings, and unlimited access via phone or email for questions, mentoring, and advice. Let’s talk specifics.

Advisory Board 239

Advisory Board Technical Review Startup Software Review 239

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

There is so much written these days about how to attract investors that most entrepreneurs “assume” they need funding, and don’t even consider a plan for “bootstrapping,” or self-financing their startup. Of course, every company needs these, in due time. Need expensive resources up front. You need specialized equipment.

Sweat Equity 255

Sweat Equity Technical Review Entrepreneur Bootstrapping 255

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 1, 2010

This applies to both founders and to VC’s that work with them. You’ll get sales information from your VP of Sales, marketing information from your VP Marketing, tech information from your CTO and so on. Similarly I liked to keep myself apprised of the technical decisions we were making.

CTO Hire 308

CTO Hire Management Technical Review Part-Time VPE 308

Gust

AUGUST 22, 2012

How spoiled we are, taking for granted a system of government with relatively stable, transparent laws and regulations, consistently applied (at least in theory), and subject to judicial oversight with appellate review. The risk-reward tradeoff in finance should hold true in developing and unstable regions as well.

Technical Review 172

Technical Review Egypt Morocco Russia 172

Hearpreneur

JANUARY 20, 2021

We’ve also seen extensive use of technology and increased remote working. The trends shifting in the eLearning sector due to the influence of COVID 19 on schools and colleges across the United States and the world are shifting to a hybridized-online and in-person format. 1- Use of cheaper online divorce tools. #2-

Entrepreneur 150

Entrepreneur United States Software Review Technical Review 150

Up and Running

JULY 25, 2017

This index tracks Venture Capitalist (VC) backed tech startups and compares this week to the same week last year. Not launching a tech startup? Ultimately, making a solid business plan with financial modeling, and doing due diligence on your idea through market research and SWOT analysis will only help when you’re ready to launch.

Technical Review 92

Technical Review Due Diligence America Small Business 92

ReadWriteStart

MAY 22, 2012

When it comes to financing a brand-new startup, most founders find themselves stuck between the proverbial rock and hard place. The relatively low cost of starting a tech business today has made this choice more enticing than ever. That’s why it’s so tempting to use credit cards to jumpstart your business.

Technical Review 118

Technical Review Software Review Angel Investor Startup 118

Up and Running

JULY 2, 2014

My business partner and I made many mistakes in our first tech startup, and so many of them were the result of choosing a lawyer who was a terrible fit. After a couple of due diligence meetings with the investor and our attorneys, he gave us the check. We gladly handed it over to him as part of the due diligence process.

Technical Review 118

Technical Review Angel Investor Due Diligence Dilution 118

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 25, 2018

Today, Mark Attanasio gets to flex his full range of expertise and interests as co-founder and Managing Partner of Hillcrest Merchant Partners, a Toronto-based merchant bank focused on early stage and mid market growth companies. Even better, Attanasio says, is if they have done extensive due diligence first. Is there more?

Partner 113

Partner Technical Review Management Due Diligence 113