Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 19, 2012

Entrepreneurs love the art of the start. Assuming your startup takes off, you will probably find that the fun is gone by the time you reach 50 employees, or a few million in revenue. For bigger companies, it’s a more efficient and quicker way to grow their revenue than creating new products organically. Liquidation and close.

Exit Strategy 241

Exit Strategy Initial Public Offering IPO Startup 241

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 7, 2015

Entrepreneurs often ask me why investors expect financial projections for a new startup even before the product is built and while the market is still being defined. I recently saw a startup projecting $50 million in revenue for the first year. Revenue projections show penetration of target opportunity. Neither extreme is good.

Liquidity Event 120

Liquidity Event Startup Initial Public Offering Equity 120

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 11, 2013

In the old days, every entrepreneur dreamed of someday taking their startup public, and making it a multi-national powerhouse. Today, eight times as many successful startups are acquired, as compared to the number attempting to go public. In developing countries, like China and India, the statistics are reversed.

IPO 242

IPO SEC Prospectus Startup 242

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 5, 2011

Entrepreneurs love the art of the start. Assuming your startup takes off, you will probably find that the fun is gone by the time you reach 50 employees, or a few million in revenue. For bigger companies, it’s a more efficient and quicker way to grow their revenue than creating new products organically. Liquidation and close.

Exit Strategy 231

Exit Strategy Initial Public Offering Startup IPO 231

Steve Blank

MARCH 18, 2011

VC’s worked with entrepreneurs to build profitable and scalable businesses, with increasing revenue and consistent profitability – quarter after quarter. The reward for doing so was a liquidity event via an Initial Public Offering. For VC’s and entrepreneurs the gold rush to liquidity was on.

Internet 334

Internet IPO Silicon Valley Agile 334

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2012

Of course, growth and development are really a continuum. This is the initial excitement period, the time when you dream of riches and fantasize the life of a business owner, but you have no real plan. This normally means more then 30 employees, and more then $1 million in revenue. Lesser amounts remain in the angel realm.

Investment Bankers 241

Investment Bankers Venture Capital Startup Initial Public Offering 241

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 13, 2010

Of course, growth and development are really a continuum. This is the initial excitement period, the time when you dream of riches and fantasize the life of a business owner, but you have no real plan. This normally means more then 30 employees, and more then $1 million in revenue. Lesser amounts remain in the angel realm.

Investment Bankers 231

Investment Bankers Venture Capital Startup Initial Public Offering 231