Steve Blank

APRIL 26, 2022

Cram downs are back – and I’m keeping a list. Except, that is, for the bottom feeders of the Venture Capital business – investors who “ cram down ” their companies. A cram down is different than a down round. This article previously appeared in TechCrunch. They’re Back.

Cram Down 404

Cram Down Founder Venture Capital Recapitalization 404

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 20, 2011

In the early 80’s he left academia to work on venture capital investing with Jim Simons, Renaissance Technologies. The discussion with Howard Morgan starts off by acknowledging Josh Kopelman as a co-founder of First Round Capital. First Round Capital makes 20-25 investments a year with an average size of $500k.

Pre-Money Valuation 284

Pre-Money Valuation Technical Review Cofounder Cram Down 284

Growthink Blog

MAY 23, 2011

With this seed capital – more often than not totaling between $100,000 and $1,000,000 - the company accomplishes a number of key technical milestones, gets a beta customer or two, and then goes on a "road show" to venture capitalists around the country for capital to “scale” the business. There are a lot of dark, hard days.

Angel Investor 112

Angel Investor Venture Capital Sweat Equity Cram Down 112

Haystack

JANUARY 12, 2020

If the 2010’s were about the institutionalization of seed funds, I believe the next decade ahead will be a test of who can stake out their territory as these forces rise from the bottom and cram down from the top.

Seed Stage 106

Seed Stage Cram Down Early Stage Cofounder 106

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2013

Since Angel investors put money into 60 times as many companies as venture capital funds, according to Wikipedia, early-stage startups need to focus first on the key thresholds that drive these investment decisions. The same hold true for venture capital investors. Marty Zwilling.

Cram Down 269

Cram Down Angel Investor Intellectual Property Venture Capital 269

Rob Go

SEPTEMBER 2, 2014

When we started NextView, there were relatively few seed focused venture capital funds in the country, even fewer on the east coast, and almost none in the Boston area. Getting Crammed Down. Many seed funds have significant follow-on capital, but not to the degree of traditional venture funds.

Cram Down 66

Cram Down Institutional Investors Dilution Seed Stage 66

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 2, 2009

In times when venture capital is hard to get, investors extract high costs for failure (down-rounds, cram downs , new management teams, shut down the company.)

Lean 244

Lean Silicon Valley Startup RSS 244