Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 26, 2016

There has been a lot of public debate over the past several weeks about whether it’s a good thing to be “gross margin positive” or not and commentary always reminds me that some people at startups don’t quite understand financial metrics or even how to think about which ones are healthy. Customer acquisition cost.

Metrics 150

Metrics Cost Acquisition Startup 150

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 29, 2020

One of the myths I often hear as an advisor to many entrepreneurs is that their lifestyle would somehow be better if they could more easily find other people’s money to build their startup. Usually it pays to move a startup slower rather than risk relationships. Many times friends and family have been broken by failed investments.

Bootstrapping 310

Bootstrapping Advisory Board Venture Capital Startup 310

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 6, 2019

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Nevertheless, it’s an option that doesn’t cost you equity. Join a startup incubator.

Finance 320

Finance Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 320

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 30, 2011

This is the final part of a 3-part series on the major changes in the structure of the software & the venture capital industries. Or the Cliff Note’s version: Open Source & Cloud Computing (led by Amazon) drove down tech startup costs by 90%. But … Downsizing Venture Capital.

Venture Capital 289

Venture Capital Early Stage Valuation Angel Investor 289

The Startup Magazine

OCTOBER 30, 2022

In this article, we will analyse the top 5 technological challenges your startup will face in 2023. . In the case of startups, this poses a number of major challenges including: . The first challenge is closely linked with the growth barriers experienced by most startup companies. Remote Work. Scaling Up. Software Choices.

Technical Review 139

Technical Review Technology Software Review Startup 139

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 5, 2018

Reading the NY Times article “ Jeffrey Katzenberg Raises $1 Billion for Short-Form Video Venture, ” I realized it was time for a new startup heuristic: the amount of customer discovery and product-market fit you need to find is inversely proportional to the amount and availability of risk capital. ” Fire, Ready, Aim.

Lean 335

Lean Burn Rate Startup IPO 335

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 4, 2022

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Nevertheless, it’s an option that doesn’t cost you equity. Join a startup incubator.

Intellectual Property 261

Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator Bootstrapping 261

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 30, 2019

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Nevertheless, it’s an option that doesn’t cost you equity. Join a startup incubator.

Intellectual Property 219

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 219

David Teten

MARCH 14, 2018

. – Build out low-cost force multipliers such as scouts , Advisors, Entrepreneurs in Residence, Venture Partners, and so on. Typically these outside resources are paid only on a success basis, so the marginal cost is low. . All of the strategies above have very modest fixed cost. Previously posted on PEHub.

Private Equity 60

Private Equity Venture Capital Equity Cofounder 60

ReadWriteStart

DECEMBER 15, 2022

Startup studios continue to grow in popularity as incubators for new businesses. Rather than simply launching one startup, the startup studio model creates an organization whose business is launching startups. These can then be repeated and improved on with each successive startup.

Incubator 188

Incubator Startup Software Developers Software Development 188

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 19, 2013

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Nevertheless, it’s an option that doesn’t cost you equity. Join a startup incubator.

Intellectual Property 309

Intellectual Property Technical Review Venture Capital Startup 309

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 11, 2022

Something happened in the past 7 years in the startup and venture capital world that I hadn’t experienced since the late 90’s — we all began praying to the God of Valuation. How might our next phase of the journey seem brighter, even with more uncertain days for startups and capital markets? What happened?

Valuation 466

Valuation San Francisco Ratchet Liquidation Preference 466

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 25, 2017

Venture Capitalism is changing. Almost synonymous with this startup-focused era, the once indomitable VC investor sector is changing and adapting to deal with the changing nature of entrepreneurship. Cheaper capital costs. Subsequently, the price of capital has plummeted and with it, borrowing costs.

Venture Capital 193

Venture Capital Technical Review Kenya Startup 193

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 12, 2018

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Nevertheless, it’s an option that doesn’t cost you equity. Join a startup incubator.

Intellectual Property 134

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 134

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 12, 2019

Over the past month a colleague ( Chang Xu ) and I sifted through data on the venture capital industry (as we do every year) and made a bunch of calls to VCs and LPs to confirm our hypotheses. As a result of the IPO window shifting we saw a massive inflow of public-market capital into the latest stages of venture.

Venture Capital 328

Venture Capital Technical Review Seed Stage IPO 328

SoCal CTO

MARCH 20, 2007

Technology Advisor Technology Roles in Startups Pricing Customer Acquisition Sunk Costs and More -. ► February (2) CTO Founders / Cofounders Part-Time Startup CTO? . ► February (2) CTO Founders / Cofounders Part-Time Startup CTO? Product Manager Entrepreneur Mark Geller SEO for Startups Startup Version 1.0

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Technical Cofounder Southern California Los Angeles 150

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 22, 2012

I think I’ve read Paul Graham’s post on “ Startup = Growth ” three or four times now. Viewing the article through the lens of a venture capitalist there’s much to agree with under the mantra of “growth!” Eventually a successful startup will grow into a big company. Growth, again.

Silicon Valley 390

Silicon Valley Venture Capital Startup Technical Review 390

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2019

If you haven’t raised any money or if you raised a small round from angels or friends & family I would suggest you avoid setting up a formal board unless the people who would join your board are deeply experienced at sitting on startup boards. What happens at the A-round of venture capital? But it’s quite rare.

Venture Capital 236

Venture Capital Startup Angel Investor Silicon Valley 236

ReadWriteStart

JULY 5, 2023

Neko Health is well positioned to achieve its goals, as the board of directors recently welcomed notable investors such as Niklas Zennstrom, co-founder of Skype, and Klaus Hommels, founder of the venture capital firm Lakestar.

Sweden 126

Sweden Artificial Inteligence Cofounder Technical Review 126

David Teten

JANUARY 9, 2018

Similarly, firms like my alma mater ff Venture Capital and Andreessen Horowitz have executed this strategy in VC. We think there are a lot of opportunities to differentiate by using technology aggressively, e.g., Totem , an investor operating system built by some of my past colleagues at ff Venture Capital. .

Venture Capital 60

Venture Capital Private Equity Silicon Valley Differentiation 60

David Teten

JANUARY 9, 2018

Similarly, firms like my alma mater ff Venture Capital and Andreessen Horowitz have executed this strategy in VC. We think there are a lot of opportunities to differentiate by using technology aggressively, e.g., Totem , an investor operating system built by some of my past colleagues at ff Venture Capital. .

Venture Capital 60

Venture Capital Private Equity Silicon Valley Differentiation 60

YoungUpstarts

MAY 17, 2017

“You need three things to create a successful startup: to start with good people, to make something customers actually want, and to spend as little money as possible.” – Paul Graham. Have you ever considered working for yourself; ergo, opening your own startup? What is a startup? Funding your startup. Final words.

San Diego 138

San Diego Venture Capital Startup Bootstrapping 138

David Teten

SEPTEMBER 6, 2015

And they should be; the feeding frenzy in the innovation economy is in some cases because startups are eating the lunch of more established companies. Mari is now building a new venture in human-machine interaction within the Samsung accelerator, currently in stealth mode. New York Times’ timeSpace is a good example.

Venture Capital 60

Venture Capital Balance Sheet Technical Review Portfolio 60

Up and Running

AUGUST 12, 2014

In as much as a scheduled interview with an angel investor can be, talking with Boris about what it takes to spark the interest of a venture capital firm was a coincidence. Or, were they a sign that things were indeed changing, and if so, what was changing to lead to a rise in women founding startups or in investors funding women?

Venture Capital 90

Venture Capital Founder Angel Investor Portfolio 90

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 15, 2022

As a startup mentor, I’m always amazed that some entrepreneurs seem to be an immediate hit with investors, while others struggle to get any attention at all. Finally I realized that venture capital and angel investors are actually humans, despite some views to the contrary. Already set and achieved initial milestones.

Intellectual Property 278

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Early Stage Venture Capital 278

David Teten

SEPTEMBER 23, 2017

Private equity and venture capital investors are copying our sisters in the hedge fund and mutual fund world: we’re trying to automate more of our job. Sources like Crunchbase , Angel List , and Seed Invest even give this data away for free or very low cost. to motivate their angel community to support their startups.

Private Equity 60

Private Equity Venture Capital Equity Technical Review 60

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 1, 2020

I have often been asked about Startup Funding by entrepreneurs. Many myths surround the subject of startup funding. Here is Startup Funding, a Comprehensive Guide for Entrepreneurs. You must have seen a lot of startups giving out promotions, discounts, and incentives at the early phase of their business.

Startup 150

Startup Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Seed Stage 150

ReadWriteStart

FEBRUARY 21, 2021

Launching a new startup is always exciting. When you have the right idea at the right time, a startup that begins life as two people in a garage can eventually become a multi-billion-dollar enterprise. Early in your startup’s development, you’ll likely be low on capital. Accordingly, you’ll need to be frugal.

Startup 106

Startup Software Review Open Source Technical Review 106

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 5, 2023

Some entrepreneurs start polling venture capitalists for that multi-million-dollar investment before they even have a business plan. It won’t work, it costs time and money, and hurts your credibility when you need them later. Their real value is your access to senior advisors with experience, and other startups in the same stage.

Incubator 305

Incubator Startup Exit Strategy Institutional Investors 305

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 14, 2014

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Nevertheless, it’s an option that doesn’t cost you equity. Join a startup incubator.

Entrepreneur 283

Entrepreneur Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 283

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 20, 2020

Yet as I mentor entrepreneurs around the country, it still seems to be one of the least understood approaches to startup funding, with more myths than accredited angels and professional venture capital investors combined. With this model, a startup pre-sells their product early, at a cheaper price, in exchange for a pledge.

Accredited Investor 324

Accredited Investor Entrepreneur SEC Equity 324

Haystack

DECEMBER 29, 2018

It’s that time of year, time to look back and reflect on the most significant storylines in the tech, startup, and VC world. And, with that warning, I offer to you, the big stories in the startup and investing ecosystem of 2018, written in ascending order of importance and magnitude…. 6/ Venture Capital In Expansion Phase.

Technical Review 165

Technical Review Venture Capital Russia China 165

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 29, 2014

It’s not hard to find people willing to write the narrative that “venture capital is not an asset class” or “venture capital has performed terribly.” Having worked through the data with Glenn I am even more optimistic about venture capital than I was even a year ago.

Venture Capital 362

Venture Capital IPO LP Jordan 362

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 25, 2023

Many first-time entrepreneurs find themselves unable to bootstrap their startups, and also unable to find early funding at the venture capital level or even with angel investors. The average amount per startup has been $23,000, usually in the form of a convertible loan, rather than an equity investment.

Sweat Equity 274

Sweat Equity Elevator Pitch Startup Equity 274

ReadWriteStart

MARCH 31, 2020

Venture capital investment is one of the top places startups look out for when seeking funding for their business alongside other popular options like angel investing and crowdfunding. Therefore, startups can expect investors to make significant adjustments based on lessons learned last year, which are rather harsh.

Technical Review 175

Technical Review Artificial Inteligence Startup Term Sheet 175

VC Cafe

FEBRUARY 21, 2023

This is a question startup founders ask themselves multiple times a week. They encompass the effectiveness of marketing (the startup’s ability to reach and resonate with target customers) and stickiness (the product’s ability to deliver value to customers over time). How are we doing?

Retention 109

Retention Conversion Churn Rate B2C 109

David Teten

APRIL 6, 2015

An Nguyen and I just completed an analysis of VC and research funding compared with the cost to society of different diseases, and the results show wildly disproportionate funding for certain diseases relative to their impact in society. of US annual medical costs in 2008, compared with 6.5% The data is painful. a decade prior.

Venture Capital 60

Venture Capital Technical Review Non-Compete Philadelphia 60