Both Sides of the Table

MAY 21, 2018

He was in a later-stage financing round and was talking with many investors. I told him, “I know we don’t yet have a term sheet so you feel you need to listen to everybody’s request. But imagine you were expecting two term sheets imminently. How would you act then? even if they don’t acknowledge it to themselves.”

Term Sheet 217

Term Sheet Later Stage Demand Email 217

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2018

If you truly believe that you, your company and your products are exceptional and your company will be valuable then you’re actually doing them a FAVOR by helping them invest in your startup. If an investor isn’t engaging then they’re not suddenly going to get a term sheet. You can short-hand this as “engagement.”

Term Sheet 332

Term Sheet Due Diligence Campaign Sales 332

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 7, 2014

5 million was always the classic definition of an A-round between the late nineties (crazy financings aside) and say 2007. If you want a great primer on how the VC and startup funding scene changed here’s a great primer. Startup Lessons' If you''re newer to VC math here''s a great primer]. and there''s always a but].

Cap Table 399

Cap Table Silicon Valley Term Sheet Finance 399

Gust

OCTOBER 12, 2011

Last week , we took the plunge and began dissecting an example term sheet for a convertible debt financing round piece by piece. I’ll continue with more specific terms and wrap up next week with some thoughts about recent changes and trends for the future.

Finance 107

Finance Term Sheet Pre-Money Valuation Early Stage 107

The Next Web

FEBRUARY 27, 2014

George Deeb is the Managing Partner at Chicago-based Red Rocket Ventures , a startup consulting and financial advisory firm based in Chicago. This is typically in conjunction with an upcoming financing or pending takeover offer. Supply and demand. You can follow George on Twitter at @georgedeeb and @RedRocketVC.

Valuation 167

Valuation Forecast Seed Stage .Net 167

Startup Company Lawyer

AUGUST 31, 2012

Over the past few years, convertible debt has emerged as a quick and inexpensive method for startup companies to raise money from angel investors and early stage venture funds. One major concern about convertible debt is that it eventually needs to be repaid if another round of financing doesn’t occur. Background.

Convertible Security 73

Convertible Security Equity Security Preferred Stock 73

Gust

OCTOBER 21, 2011

For convertible notes, the only liquidity event we need be concerned with is an acquisition of the startup in the near future, before the maturity date; otherwise, the notes will convert to equity of one kind or another, and the eventual sale of that equity (in a public offering, acquisition, or private sale) is a different subject for another day.

Finance 79

Finance Pre-Money Valuation Term Sheet Liquidity Event 79

Steve Blank

JANUARY 4, 2010

A lot of entrepreneurs think that their startup is the next big thing when in reality they’re just building a small business. How can you tell if your startup has the potential to be the next Google, Intel or Facebook? A first order filter is whether the founders are aiming for a scalable startup. The Scalable Startup.

Hockey Stick 276

Hockey Stick Venture Capital Startup Cofounder 276

The Startup Lawyer

JUNE 9, 2010

A startup’s Series A financing shouldn’t be a large liquidity event or salary payday for the startup’s founders. While a startup typically receives millions of dollars in a Series A, if too much of that $$$ flows guaranteed to the founders, various incentives get out of whack. Case Study.

Salary 99

Salary Term Sheet Liquidation Preference Liquidity Event 99

ithacaVC

NOVEMBER 28, 2012

On October 17th I posted on seed and early stage startup valuations. This morning I read a post by Marty Zwilling on startup valuations. His post on startup valuations lists the following rules of thumb (i.e., Find “comparables” who have received financing (market approach). Here it is. Add to the list……

Valuation 69

Valuation Intellectual Property Startup Early Stage 69

www.xconomy.com

JUNE 9, 2012

Startups ›. View More in Startups ›. Coats says the VC firm spent more than six years and invested millions of dollars to compile a database of key variables from more than 60,000 venture financing deals covering roughly 98 percent of all U.S. View More in Life Sciences ›. View More in Mobile ›. Dan'l Lewin.

San Diego 40

San Diego Venture Capital Technical Review San Francisco 40

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 5, 2012

Was Paul Graham right in his “high resolution” financing post? I can’t say it much simpler than this: “What if I took some of the worst, most egregious terms in a standard term sheet and made them the defacto standard in most convertible debt deals? Let me explain it more clearly in equity terms.

Ratchet 354

Ratchet Liquidation Preference Equity Stock 354

Gust

OCTOBER 8, 2014

Cautionary note: No competent VC is actually fooled when you show up after raising $6M in seed financing and say you’re now raising an A! 5 million was always the classic definition of an A-round between the late nineties (crazy financings aside) and say 2007. It’s hard building a startup. and there''s always a but].

Cap Table 136

Cap Table Silicon Valley Term Sheet Non-Compete 136

SoCal CTO

JULY 13, 2010

Some great content around the intersection of startups and being a Startup CTO in June this year. This continues my series of posts: Top 29 Startup Posts May 2010 Startup CTO Top 30 Posts for April 16 Great Startup Posts from March There was some really great content in June. It shows a lack of interest.

Cofounder 175

Cofounder Technical Cofounder Term Sheet Startup 175

Feld Thoughts

FEBRUARY 15, 2016

While going through my daily reading this morning, I came across a bunch of posts talking about how the sky was falling, Silicon Valley was in turmoil, financing was drying up everywhere, and all the unicorns were doomed. When I was an entrepreneur there was no public information about how term sheets worked or how investors thought.

Silicon Valley 70

Silicon Valley Term Sheet Early Stage New York 70

K9 Ventures

OCTOBER 10, 2017

I’ve been an avid reader of Dan’s Term Sheet while he was at Fortune , and now Pro Rata at Axios. This post is intended to be a dynamic document, and I will attempt to update it from time to time with new questions that may arise or as financing trends evolve. Q: What amount of financing is considered Pre-Seed?

Seed Stage 82

Seed Stage Finance Later Stage Equity 82

Steve Blank

APRIL 1, 2020

So here’s a five-day playbook to help CEOs of cash-flow negative startups, or ones about to go negative, assess the new normal and respond with speed and urgency. For companies burning cash, such as startups, how much cash do you have? For startups: source of VC money? Some VC’s are walking away from signed term sheets.

South Korea 333

South Korea Salary Business Model China 333

Professor VC

JULY 25, 2013

Startup outcomes tend to be very binary. An entrepreneur received two Series A term sheets, one lead by an international investor and the other from SH. They did get the partners on board on the condition that the term sheet is renegotiated at a lower valuation. Thank you sir, may I have another!"

Term Sheet 46

Term Sheet Silicon Valley Syndicate Syndication 46

Hunter Walker

APRIL 27, 2014

I’ve written before about our fundraising process and how it very much resembles that of a startup. We founded Homebrew to be the type of fund we would have wanted to raise money from – early stage partner of conviction, leading financing rounds with great co-investors, leaning in to actually help when you need it.

LP 97

LP Cofounder Term Sheet Valuation 97

Scott Edward Walker

JULY 27, 2011

There are, however, certain formal procedural requirements that the stockholder must comply with, including making a written demand upon the corporation, “under oath” and stating a “proper purpose.” The board can either accept or reject the demand. Moreover, there are certain tricky evidentiary issues.

Delaware 49

Delaware Liquidation Preference Redemption Los Angeles 49

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 5, 2009

Unfortunately in early stage startups the drive for financing hijacks the corporate DNA and becomes the raison d’etre of the company. Chasing funding versus chasing customers and a repeatable and scalable business model, is one reason startups fail. The goal of their startup in this stage becomes “getting funded.”

Customer Development 262

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 262

abovethecrowd.com

APRIL 20, 2016

Why the Unicorn Financing Market Just Became Dangerous…For All Involved. In February of last year, Fortune magazine writers Erin Griffith and Dan Primack declared 2015 “ The Age of the Unicorns ” noting — “Fortune counts more than 80 startups that have been valued at $1 billion or more by venture capitalists.” Who are the Sharks?

IPO 40

IPO Term Sheet Silicon Valley Valuation 40

David Teten

DECEMBER 3, 2019

See Bessemer Venture Partners’ A comprehensive guide to security for startups. Tim Friedman, Founder, PE Stack , said, “If I could offer one piece of advice to today’s managers, it would be to take the time to understand the demands of the modern institutional LP. 2) Market . 3) Raise capital. 8) Monitor .

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Software Review Analytics Private Equity 78

This is going to be BIG.

JANUARY 22, 2018

I offered a term sheet to lead a $1.6mm financing. I have no doubt there are many worthy Black-led startups who are wandering in the wilderness right now because they're still where I was then." That doesn't happen too often and that needs to change. I can't echo that sentiment enough.

Founder 100

Founder Conversion Naming Term Sheet 100

Eric Friedman

AUGUST 18, 2021

One dimension is a pretty firm belief that starting financial services companies should not be as hard as it is, and that there is demand in the market for yet another venture fund focused on functionally day-zero companies in financial services. This doesn’t concern any specific industry, but that kind of behavioral finance.

Silicon Valley 88

Silicon Valley Venture Capital Cofounder Africa 88

www.paulgraham.com

APRIL 28, 2010

Want to start a startup? Investors evaluate startups the way customers evaluate products,not the way bosses evaluate employees. If youre making a valianteffort and failing, maybe theyll invest in your next startup, butnot this one. No one is interestedin a startup thats a "bargain" because everyone else hates it.

Bootstrapping 77

Bootstrapping Term Sheet Founder Startup 77

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2016

.” “Mark has a vested interest in talking down valuations of startups.” When I was an entrepreneur there was no public information about how term sheets worked or how investors thought. In 2015 in the US there were $77 billion written into startup tech companies. goes into a startup. What hogwash.

Valuation 150

Valuation Down Round Startup Later Stage 150

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 16, 2012

You need to build genuine relationships with these portfolio startup founders as well as trust with them and the rest will follow. These include building products, recruiting, managing your finances, marketing, selling, getting feedback from customers and … fund raising. Earn the right to the intro.

Developer 366

Developer Silicon Valley PR Las Vegas 366

Altgate

APRIL 22, 2009

 Today,  Wilson Sonsini  announced the launch of a " term sheet generator.  Today,  Wilson Sonsini  announced the launch of a " term sheet generator." "  It's basically a web tool that creates draft preferred financing term sheets for startups.

Term Sheet 52

Term Sheet Intellectual Property Venture Capital Hawaii 52

mashable.com

JUNE 11, 2013

16 Common Mistakes Young Startups Make. Are you working on a startup? In fact, recent research shows that 75% of startups fail (based on a study of 2,000 startups that received VC funding from 2004 to 2010). Some startups are destined for failure. Whats This? By Lauren Drell 2013-06-10 14:46:07 UTC.

Cofounder 111

Cofounder Technical Review Startup Software Review 111

steveblank.com

JULY 8, 2011

Useful blogs and links for startups Click Here ————– 2.

Software Review 110

Software Review Startup Silicon Valley Analytics 110

www.vccafe.com

MARCH 11, 2013

Startup Resources (Updated Mar 2013). Venture Capital Cafe > Startup Resources (Updated Mar 2013). VC & Startup Resources. Seed Startups. VC Cafe covers early stage Israeli and European tech & mobile startups. Hundreds of startups featured since 2005, will yours be next? About VC Cafe.

Software Review 53

Software Review Technical Review Startup 53