The Startup Magazine

MARCH 14, 2022

At this stage, the idea is pitched mainly to family and friends. It is here that the groundwork is laid and the business model developed. At this stage, the founder mainly raises funding from their sources or family and friends. The journey commences by finding a solution for an everyday problem. 3) Company formation.

Technical Review 145

Technical Review Due Diligence India Startup 145

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 3, 2010

I can save tons of development time and I think I can buy it for all equity. How much dilution should I take for it?&# My friend’s company was pre-revenue. Me: “Zero dilution. The only thing worse than your early-stage company buying another early stage company is you trying to pull off a merger of equals.

Merger 276

Merger Technical Review Early Stage Dilution 276

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 1, 2020

Once the order is fulfilled and paid for, the funds can be paid back. ? Research and development. In very few specific cases, depending on the nature of the business, the business model might demand a considerable gestation period or extensive research and development. Early-stage. Options for initial setup. ?

Startup 150

Startup Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Seed Stage 150

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 18, 2013

In fact, it’s all about the “focus” required to get early stage technology products across the deadly chasm from early adopters to mainstream customers. It takes focus to resist adding a long list of features that seem to make the opportunity larger, but dilute to focus of both you and potential customers.

Entrepreneur 252

Entrepreneur Marketing Technical Review Dilution 252

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 19, 2013

If you’re an early-stage enterprise startup services revenue is exactly what you need. The most important way to sell a product for an early-stage business (or frankly any stage) is to have strong referenceable customers. That it is non-dilutive financing? We only want software revenue.”

Technical Review 403

Technical Review Software Review Startup API 403

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 24, 2013

“The reality is that there has not been a reliable, simple, or cost-effective way to calculate an early stage company’s valuation – which is why so many entrepreneurs and angel investors get it wrong,” says Alan Lobock, co-founder of Worthworm.

Pre-Money Valuation 150

Pre-Money Valuation Web Technical Review Angel Investor 150

View from Seed

MAY 2, 2019

This is the logical path that one would think is pretty “standard” for early stage companies. The challenge with pre-seed rounds is that pricing will sometimes be pretty dilutive. So your net dilution may end up worse and you may miss out on working with a really hands-on pre-seed partner early in your company’s life.

Early Stage 214

Early Stage Dilution Valuation .Net 214

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 10, 2012

In fact, it’s all about the “focus” required to get early stage technology products across the deadly chasm from early adopters to mainstream customers. It takes focus to resist adding a long list of features that seem to make the opportunity larger, but dilute to focus of both you and potential customers.

Startup 254

Startup Technical Review Dilution Early Stage 254

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 17, 2022

This can cause early investor dilution, lower ultimate returns or leave the startup stranded. Yet, in my view, every early-stage entrepreneur should be exploring this new funding alternative before approaching VCs. It’s the right way to get money without giving up too much equity or control of your business.

Angel Investor 342

Angel Investor Venture Capital Silicon Valley Portfolio 342

YoungUpstarts

MAY 6, 2019

In this article, we will discuss why it is important to understand the whole startup stages concept before you start a business to get the most benefit. Early Stage. This startup stage starts from the day you decide to work on a startup idea. Here is the complete list of points available in early stage startup.

Startup 113

Startup Technical Cofounder Merger Early Stage 113

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 11, 2022

Getting investors to trust you with their money is always a challenge, and it’s even more difficult in the early stages, where you don’t have a significant revenue stream, a few customers, or maybe even a product yet. At these stages, it’s all about you, and your ability to communicate and execute effectively.

Due Diligence 271

Due Diligence Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Preferred Stock 271

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

A-Rounds used to be $3–7 million with the best companies able to skip this smaller amount and raise $10 million on a $40 million pre-money valuation (20% dilution). The biggest change for us in early-stage investing is that we now need to commit earlier. So in a way it’s self selecting. That used to be called A-round investing.

Pre-Money Valuation 471

Pre-Money Valuation Valuation Venture Capital Early Stage 471

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2011

In fact, it’s all about the “focus” required to get early stage technology products across the deadly chasm from early adopters to mainstream customers. It takes focus to resist adding a long list of features that seem to make the opportunity larger, but dilute to focus of both you and potential customers.

Marketing 238

Marketing Entrepreneur Technical Review Dilution 238

YoungUpstarts

JULY 31, 2019

Billions of dollars are being poured into companies that have yet to clear the value chasm, as entrepreneurs use early traction that isn’t necessarily financially-oriented, but shows a certain level of uptick or success, to raise capital and convince early stage investors that their horse is the one to bet on.

Cofounder 127

Cofounder Burn Rate Technical Cofounder Seed Capital 127

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 25, 2010

I talked about this in my social proof post where I gave some suggestions about how to get the early guys off of the fence. Most early-stage entrepreneurs who have worked with me (either as an angel or as a seed VC) know that I don’t rely at all on the social proof of other investors. When I’m in, I’m in.

Finance 286

Finance Term Sheet Technical Review Warrant 286

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 27, 2010

In fact, it’s all about the “focus” required to get early stage technology products across the deadly chasm from early adopters to mainstream customers. It takes focus to resist adding a long list of features that seem to make the opportunity larger, but dilute to focus of both you and potential customers.

Startup 227

Startup Technical Review Dilution Early Stage 227

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 14, 2020

Getting investors to trust you with their money is always a challenge, and it’s even more difficult in the early stages, where you don’t have a significant revenue stream, a few customers, or maybe even a product yet. At these stages, it’s all about you, and your ability to communicate and execute effectively.

Due Diligence 308

Due Diligence Intellectual Property Preferred Stock Seed Stage 308

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 19, 2020

This can cause early investor dilution, lower ultimate returns or leave the startup stranded. Yet, in my view, every early-stage entrepreneur should be exploring this new funding alternative before approaching VCs. It’s the right way to get money without giving up too much equity or control of your business.

Angel Investor 314

Angel Investor Venture Capital Silicon Valley Startup 314

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

As an early-stage VC I love this phase. While early-stage companies have all of their engineers working on product innovation, companies that want to scale realize that you also have to build systems to help with organizational scaling. Startups are messy and development is seldom linear and up-and-to-the right.

Operations 286

Operations New York City Technical Review Startup 286

View from Seed

APRIL 30, 2015

Especially in the early stages, so much about the company may change in how they think about product or go-to-market — and change multiple times — before raising an institutional round. If we don’t have a prior relationship, we’ll really want to try to develop that because it’s such a relationship play.

Term Sheet 120

Term Sheet Equity Startup Seed Stage 120

David Teten

JANUARY 19, 2021

Seed-stage compatible: Like traditional equity VC investors, Flexible VCs accomodate early-stage investment risk within their portfolios better than a traditional RBI funder. which they co-developed with Fenwick & West. . Growth stage and beyond: clear pathway to outcomes of over $1 billion. Short track record.

Cofounder 78

Cofounder Technical Review Equity Dividend 78

The Equity Kicker

MARCH 17, 2015

That’s still true in less developed parts of the world, but in San Francisco and increasingly in London there are multiple sources of venture capital working very hard to find good investments and entrepreneurs sitting on quality opportunities have lots of options. The opportunity for investors is to help fill the gaps.

Early Stage 60

Early Stage Venture Capital San Francisco Silicon Valley 60

Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 23, 2023

Competitors, seeing a successful development of a niche, flock into the competitive void with products or services built with a fresh view of the current environment. So, the question: load up with more equity and dilution? Not so long ago, Basil Peters wrote his book, “Early Exits,” after analyzing 150 young companies and their exits.

Dilution 62

Dilution Valuation Early Stage Equity 62

Austin Startup

MAY 8, 2018

Background reading: Founder Compensation: Cash, Equity, Liquidity Fatal Errors in Early Startup Hiring Early Hires: Options or Stock Given how deeply involved we are with early-stage startups hiring their first key employees, I figured it would be helpful to outline a few key principles to help entrepreneurs navigate the topic.

Employee 48

Employee Seed Stage Startup Equity 48

The Next Web

SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

But the problem with this is that most VCs in the Valley, especially early stage ones, only like to invest in companies that are within driving distance from their offices. The rest of Asia is still developing with far more angel and early-stage investors than mid-to-later stage folks.

Asia 132

Asia Silicon Valley India Term Sheet 132

David Teten

AUGUST 19, 2019

We have a special program if you are pre-seed and need product development. Benefits: Non-dilutive, flexible credit offerings that fit SMB or enterprise SaaS. We have developed a proprietary machine learning algorithm that assesses the risk and return profile of the business and determines whether to invest in the business.

Revenue 60

Revenue Technical Review Software Review Equity 60

JANUARY 9, 2014

I recently developed a more human framework for early-stage startups to define their startup DNA and lay some foundations for a sustainable business. By trying to appeal to everyone and adding features left, right and centre, you will actually dilute your message and could end up with a complex, bloated product.

Early Stage 102

Early Stage Startup Cofounder Design 102

Austin Startup

FEBRUARY 13, 2019

Either way, if you know you’re going to fail, it’s much better to do so with your own money on the line than money that also costs you in dilution, perpetuity or more. At this point, we had already developed the first phase of the platform by bootstrapping. I speak from experience.

Strategic Investors 49

Strategic Investors Austin Angel Investor Bootstrapping 49

Berkonomics

JANUARY 27, 2022

Raising too much too early dilutes the founder interest to unacceptable levels. In recent years, I have counseled founders to raise enough to accelerate to a significant milestone that is over a year away, and to scale the business to find breakeven with two early rounds if possible. So, here’s the rub.

Dilution 62

Dilution Strategic Investors Early Stage Hosting 62

Seeing Both Sides

AUGUST 28, 2017

Most of those companies will still require seed capital to assemble their team and fund a year or two of initial development and experiments. Early stage entrepreneurs will also still likely value experienced advice on company-building from seasoned venture capitalists. Shift of value from equity holders to token holders.

Early Stage 20

Early Stage Equity Venture Capital Government 20

Seeing Both Sides

AUGUST 28, 2017

Most of those companies will still require seed capital to assemble their team and fund a year or two of initial development and experiments. Early stage entrepreneurs will also still likely value experienced advice on company-building from seasoned venture capitalists. Shift of value from equity holders to token holders.

Early Stage 20

Early Stage Equity Venture Capital Government 20

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 17, 2011

If you are able to raise money from credible sources at a reasonable dilution percentage then I personally favor getting the round done now and building your business. How much dilution am I going to have to take now? So if you can take 27% dilution for $1.5 So if you can take 27% dilution for $1.5 25% dilution).

Pre-Money Valuation 303

Pre-Money Valuation Dilution Valuation PR 303

ReadWriteStart

OCTOBER 28, 2010

Common areas to address are decisions around capitalization, executive hiring and firing, share issuance (dilution), and acquisitions. At a minimum, all founders should be willing to assign whatever they develop to the company. You'll need to decide what kinds of decisions the board makes, and which ones it won't.

Cofounder 128

Cofounder Founder Equity Dilution 128

thebarefootvc

MAY 8, 2012

The best VCs are the ones that balance their optimism, vision and enthusiasm for startups with realism based on very real constraints (the primary one being his/her own time, but also includes market development and exit timing). As an entrepreneur at heart, I often innately grasp the potential of entrepreneurs and ideas that I meet with.

Venture Capital 78

Venture Capital Syndicate Syndication Bandwidth 78

YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 7, 2014

For even the most diligent individuals, unexpected issues occur every now and then, and these can soon develop into major problems if you don’t give them your full attention. Many new starters are reluctant to ask for any kind of assistance in the early stages, and it’s difficult to understand why.

Dilution 202

Dilution Early Stage Hiring Employee 202

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 27, 2014

This can cause early investor dilution, lower ultimate returns or leave the startup stranded. Yet, in my view, every early-stage entrepreneur should be exploring this new funding alternative before approaching VCs. It’s the right way to get money without giving up too much equity or control of your business.

Angel Investor 260

Angel Investor Silicon Valley Startup Portfolio 260

VC Cafe

FEBRUARY 27, 2024

Pre-seed tends to be about developing an MVP and generating early traction. To reduce the impact of dilution, the expectation is that startup valuation should more or less double between the pre-seed to the seed, and seed to series A (ideally backed by reasonable traction/ revenue multiples).

Valuation 186

Valuation Software Review Generative AI Technical Review 186