Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 13, 2020

Finally I realized that venture capital and angel investors are actually humans, despite some views to the contrary. It takes more than one person to build a business, so the lone entrepreneur, without support from any visible team, advisors, partners, or potential customers, will not attract investors.

Intellectual Property 316

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Early Stage Venture Capital 316

VC Cafe

FEBRUARY 21, 2023

Let’s get the definitions straight: Conversion : The percentage of potential customers who complete a desired action, such as signing up for a trial, making a purchase, or subscribing to a service. I previously wrote about startup benchmarks in the context of funding readiness, so it was time to give it a re-fresh.

Retention 109

Retention Conversion Churn Rate B2C 109

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 30, 2017

One of the most common complaints I hear from new business owners and startups is about the pain and difficulty raising capital. The “venture capital” model is the only option they know, where they feel they get no mercy, giving up equity and control. Complete and heed fund-raising legal compliance requirements.

Technical Review 220

Technical Review Accredited Investor Due Diligence Equity 220

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 8, 2023

Most entrepreneurs have found by now one or more of the many popular crowdfunding sites , and have the name and contact information for at least one of the big venture capital firms. By definition, angels are accredited investors, who invest their own money for a percentage of the business. Most share expertise as well as money.

Venture Capital 265

Venture Capital Accredited Investor Syndicate Syndication 265

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 23, 2014

There has been much discussion in the past few years of the changing structure of the venture capital industry. The rise of alternative sources of capital (crowd funding and the like). But it still takes VC to scale a business (thus large capital into industry winners like Uber, Airbnb, SnapChat, etc).

Technical Review 398

Technical Review Venture Capital Valuation Pre-Money Valuation 398

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 22, 2012

He also nails the reason why venture capital is still necessary to grow large businesses quickly in a world where the costs of running startups have fallen dramatically. After all, growth equals high valuations and loads of venture capital! But my definition of the word is much broader. So I like that bit, too.

Silicon Valley 390

Silicon Valley Venture Capital Startup Technical Review 390

View from Seed

JANUARY 13, 2021

This expanded the definition of seed to include $5M+ rounds, and you often hear of seed firms now passing on deals because they are “too early”. That said, we definitely don’t bank on this as a firm, even though we do see ourselves playing a multi-turn game with all of our later stage coinvestors. That year, they invested in Segment.

Dilution 399

Dilution Later Stage Portfolio Technical Review 399

www.geekwire.com

JULY 10, 2012

VENTURE CAPITAL. You are here: Home / Startups / Bad returns be damned: Venture capital fundraising jumps 31 percent in U.S. Bad returns be damned: Venture capital fundraising jumps 31 percent in U.S. million of what partners hope will be a much larger fund. GeekWire Events. Startup Resources.

Venture Capital 42

Venture Capital Seattle Cofounder Software Engineering 42

This is going to be BIG.

OCTOBER 22, 2014

You''ll get a venture capital analyst from a brand name firm who has just recently taken his job talking about what makes a company successful. Some people have definitively had better experience than others. Sometimes, I see people on venture capital panels that aren''t even VCs! Some analysts definitely say that.

Venture Capital 140

Venture Capital Cap Table Startup Early Stage 140

Hunter Walker

APRIL 17, 2021

When it comes to my job, after practicing venture capital for seven years under normal circumstances, it was instructive to get thrown into this new scenario, because I don’t think we’ll ever fully “return to normal.” I do miss being near my business partner Satya. Or maybe not.

Venture Capital 105

Venture Capital San Diego Los Angeles San Francisco 105

David Teten

AUGUST 20, 2019

I’ve been a traditional equity VC for 8 years, and I’m now researching new business models in venture capital. I have been impressed by how these venture capitalists are accomplishing a major social impact goal…without even trying to. I contacted every RBI venture capital investor I could identify, and learned: .

Revenue 60

Revenue Cofounder Founder Venture Capital 60

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 6, 2014

Finally I realized that Venture Capital and Angel investors are actually humans, despite some views to the contrary. It takes more than one person to build a business, so the lone entrepreneur, without support from any visible team, advisors, partners, or potential customers, will not attract investors.

Angel Investor 268

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Early Stage 268

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 29, 2021

These resources are definitely not limited to students, since every university seeks out and needs the real world exposure and experience of entrepreneurs who already are active in the real world marketplace. Collaborative efforts with local companies, like Siemens Venture Capital, are available for certain technology and focus areas.

Arizona 432

Arizona Phoenix Intellectual Property Incubator 432

Steve Blank

JANUARY 21, 2015

This last point is definitely not a data-driven survey. This raises an interesting question: is the credibility of female entrepreneurs in the eyes of New York VC’s something about the venture firms, or is it about the industries they are funding? What role does venture capital play? Women in New York Startups.

Silicon Valley 120

Silicon Valley New York City New York Venture Capital 120

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 3, 2009

This is part of my ongoing series of posts and I need to file this one under both Raising Venture Capital and Startup Advice. So, definition: when I talk about a business plan I’m not talking about a 40-page Word document outlining your market approach. There were tons of young entrepreneurs showing their latest Web 2.0

Business Plan 334

Business Plan AJAX Venture Capital Technical Review 334

View from Seed

MARCH 24, 2021

At NextView Ventures we have written many pieces about venture capital — how to raise it, build your business, engage with investors, iterate your product, navigate expanding industries, etc. 7 Common Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make in VC Pitches and How to Fix Them “Different partners in a VC firm are different.

Seed Stage 177

Seed Stage Hiring IPO Analytics 177

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

how on Earth could the venture capital market stand still? One of the most common questions I’m asked by people intrigued by but also scared by venture capital and technology markets is some variant of, “Aren’t technology markets way overvalued? By definition?—?I’m What Does this Mean for a Venture Capital Firm?

Pre-Money Valuation 471

Pre-Money Valuation Valuation Venture Capital Early Stage 471

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 27, 2021

Most entrepreneurs have found by now one or more of the many popular crowdfunding sites , and have the name and contact information for at least one of the big venture capital firms. By definition, angels are accredited investors, who invest their own money for a percentage of the business. Most share expertise as well as money.

Search 317

Search Accredited Investor Angel Investor Venture Capital 317

Austin Startup

JUNE 27, 2017

Looking for Funds in All the Right Places: The Definitive Guide to Austin Capital By David Altounian and Stephen Straus OVERVIEW For entrepreneurs: We’ve compiled a definitive list of sources of capital in Austin to help focus your fundraising efforts.

Venture Capital 54

Venture Capital Austin Texas Private Equity 54

View from Seed

JANUARY 27, 2021

. $100M is a meaningful increase from our $50M third fund, though it’s still quite small in the grand scheme of venture, especially amid the recent wave of late stage financings and SPACs. We believe that this fund is the perfect size for us to be the best possible partners to early-stage entrepreneurs today.

LP 411

LP Early Stage Seed Stage Venture Capital 411

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 2, 2023

The first is to be more precise in your definition and understanding of where you are, and how the money will be spent. Funding for commercial product prototypes is still R&D in the eyes of venture capital investors, but in business areas with large opportunities, this activity will catch the eyes of specialized angel investors.

Angel Investor 256

Angel Investor Early Stage Incubator Government 256

The Equity Kicker

JUNE 9, 2014

There’s definitely a feeling out there that businesses with a $1m revenue run rate are well-established and thus have a growth risk profile rather than a venture risk profile. Startup general interest Venture Capital'

Entrepreneur 143

Entrepreneur Venture Capital Europe Revenue 143

Steve Blank

APRIL 23, 2014

Companies manage these three types of innovation with an innovation portfolio – they build innovation internally, they buy it or they partner with resources outside their company. Corporate business development and strategic partner executives are flocking to Silicon Valley to find these five types of innovation.

Acquisition 332

Acquisition Intellectual Property Silicon Valley Startup 332

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 13, 2022

By definition, most entrepreneurs are thought leaders. That’s why venture capital investors often replace startup CEOs as a condition of their scale-up investment. They have the ability to recognize a market need, the skills to design and implement a solution, and the drive to start a business from that solution.

Leadership 368

Leadership Venture Capital Hiring Entrepreneur 368

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 1, 2021

By definition, the world of startups today is one of rapidly changing unknowns, where the inputs you receive will often conflict. You continually get frustrated with your team members, customers, vendors, and partners. Instead of controlling the business, the business is controlling you. It’s very frustrating.

Entrepreneur 436

Entrepreneur Venture Capital Operations Social Media 436

Cracking the Code

FEBRUARY 27, 2009

Thoughts from a Venture Capitalist on Software, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Cloud Computing, Internet and more. Bessemer Venture Partners Expands BVP VII Fund. New Capital Earmarked for Global High-Growth Investments LARCHMONT, N.Y., 2009 Bessemer Venture Partners. Labels: Portfolio , Venture Capital.

Software Review 48

Software Review Partner United States Venture Capital 48

YoungUpstarts

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

Techventure 2011 – one of Asia’s topmost events for the venture capital community to engage with the latest technology entrepreneurs organized by Asiasons WFG and presented by National Research Foundation (NRF) and Singapore Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (SVCA) – will celebrate its 15th year on October 13 and 14.

Singapore 162

Singapore Private Equity Asia Venture Capital 162

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 18, 2021

The first is to be more precise in your definition and understanding of where you are, and how the money will be spent. Funding for commercial product prototypes is still R&D in the eyes of venture capital investors, but in business areas with large opportunities, this activity will catch the eyes of specialized angel investors.

Early Stage 412

Early Stage Angel Investor Incubator Government 412

VC Cafe

AUGUST 2, 2022

Given the ‘fuzzy’ period we’re in, where we still struggle with a definition of the Metaverse, it’s easy to dismiss it all as a fad. For that, Yuga labs partnered with London based Improbable. Animoca Brands is a Hong Kong-based game software company and venture capital company founded 2014 by Yat Siu.

IP 206

IP Cofounder Valuation Acquisition 206

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 16, 2010

The VC industry grew dramatically as a result of the Internet bubble - Before the Internet bubble the people who invested in VC funds (called LPs or Limited Partners) put about $50 billion into the industry and by 2001 this had grown precipitously to around $250 billion. Partners leave the industry. Here’s my take: 1.

LP 311

LP Technical Review Early Stage Silicon Valley 311

This is going to be BIG.

JULY 8, 2013

I probably get around a dozen e-mails a week asking me how to get into venture capital. On top of that, anytime I talk to anyone who wants to get involved in startups but isn''t sure what they want to do, inevitably, I hear, "And then I was thinking maybe I should look into venture capital, too.". Know thy self.

Venture Capital 167

Venture Capital Early Stage Portfolio Private Equity 167

The Equity Kicker

JANUARY 25, 2016

On Friday it seemed like everyone in the venture capital industry was again reading about market turmoil, this time the news is that angel investors are pulling back and valuations taking a hit. In the ecommerce and marketplace markets Forward Partners operates in growth is limited because business has to scale country by country.

Venture Capital 60

Venture Capital Angel Investor Startup Participating Preferred 60

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 27, 2012

Recently I wrote a post arguing to make the definition of a Startup more inclusive than that to which Silicon Valley, fueled by Venture Capital return profiles, would sometimes like to attach to the word. This article originally appeared on TechCrunch. So usually the first money comes locally. Maker Studios. Savings.com.

Community 378

Community San Diego Silicon Valley Los Angeles 378

Gust

OCTOBER 8, 2014

Marc Andreessen kicked off another great debate on Twitter last night, one that I’ve been talking about incessantly in private circles for the past 2-3 years – what actually IS the definition of a seed vs. A-round. My view: “Spending any time or energy trying to game the ‘definition’ of your round of fund raising is a total waste.

Cap Table 136

Cap Table Silicon Valley Term Sheet Non-Compete 136

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 27, 2021

I’ve definitely been wrong on market value. million, and we can write as little as $250k or as much as $15 million in our first check (we can follow on with $50 million + in follow-on rounds) We build a portfolio that is diversified given the focus areas of our partners. Early-stage venture capital is about extreme winners.

Bankruptcy 294

Bankruptcy Bridge Financing Portfolio Angel Investor 294

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 25, 2010

“Yes&# was given to me by one of my favorite angel investor / seed VC’s to work with – John Greathouse of Rincon Venture Partners and author of the blog InfoChachkie that you should check out because it is filled with great info from a guy who has been a very successful operator. So what are you waiting for?

Silicon Valley 293

Silicon Valley Technical Review Southern California Angel Investor 293

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2011

I’m no great scholar on bubbles – I have more interesting things to spend my time worrying about than the exact definition , but having been around a few I have at least given them intellectual consideration. In contrast, when the market is falling, by definition your investment is worth less THE DAY AFTER you have invested.

Saudi Arabia 309

Saudi Arabia Valuation IPO Technical Review 309