Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 13, 2015

Angel investors and venture capitalists are looking for startups with real products and a proven business model, ready to scale. Yet I still get too many business plans that clearly are looking for money to do research and development (R&D) on a new and unproven technology. Specialized VCs start to jump in at this stage.

Product Development 120

Product Development Developer Product Angel Investor 120

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 11, 2023

It is necessary to cover the early stages of product development, thorough market research, and other processes during the initial step. This could be a proportion of the company’s equity or investment; in other instances, it could be a portion of its later-stage profits. How does the funding for the seed stage work?

Seed Stage 134

Seed Stage Technical Review Early Stage Due Diligence 134

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 29, 2018

Deferred payments start with stretching the payables period but, more importantly, include giving employee equity in lieu of a higher salaries and negotiating vendor deferred payments out of future revenues. For example, a software development startup raising $250,000 from angel investors better be able to operate on $25,000 per month.

Burn Rate 223

Burn Rate Hockey Stick Startup Salary 223

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 30, 2019

New product development is an essential part of the entrepreneurial landscape. For companies of all sizes, from big corporations to small businesses, new product development is crucial. New products help companies continue to grow, thrive and generate revenue. Rob Morton: All types.

Product Development 113

Product Development Developer Product Demand 113

YoungUpstarts

JANUARY 10, 2020

sales to product development), the problems will continue to exist. In cases where customer feedback is provided to the development team, it is crucial that communication be a two-way street. Clients should be made aware of product improvements or new solutions that are in the works.

Customer 347

Customer Development Team Review Advisory Board Private Equity 347

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 12, 2018

The problem is that professional investors (angels and venture capital) want a proven business model before they invest, ready to scale, rather than early projections and product development. Nevertheless, it’s an option that doesn’t cost you equity. Consider licensing your product or intellectual property, and “white labeling.”

Intellectual Property 134

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 134

David Teten

OCTOBER 1, 2015

Should you co-found your company with a software development shop? Not surprisingly, the list above also is ranked from least to most equity stake in an investment for the investor, relative to the cash they invest. How would one set up such a startup to eventually raise capital from outside VCs, who will be wary of ‘dead equity’ (i.e.,

Software Developers 60

Software Developers Software Development Software Review Technical Cofounder 60

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 2, 2023

Angel investors and venture capitalists are looking for startups with real products and a proven business model, ready to scale. Yet I still get too many business plans that clearly are looking for money to do research and development (R&D) on a new and unproven technology. Specialized VCs start to jump in at this stage.

Angel Investor 256

Angel Investor Early Stage Incubator Government 256

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 5, 2014

Deferred payments start with stretching the payables period but, more importantly, include giving employee equity in lieu of a higher salaries and negotiating vendor deferred payments out of future revenues. For example, a software development startup raising $250,000 from angel investors better be able to operate on $25,000 per month.

Burn Rate 262

Burn Rate Hockey Stick Entrepreneur Salary 262

David Teten

OCTOBER 1, 2015

On the other side of the equation, there are a growing number of design, development, and digital media shops who are hungry to expand, or swap focus, to building a company that’s more than just a service shop. Can a shop work for just equity? A blend of cash and equity? So, can an entrepreneur pair up with a dev shop?

Software Developers 60

Software Developers Software Development Software Developer 60

Feld Thoughts

OCTOBER 20, 2020

The agenda ( full agenda here ) includes the following discussions: DEIS in Corporate Governance & Board DEIS in Human Resources & Talent Acquisition DEIS in Procurement DEIS in Edge Technology Product Development & Corporate Innovation DEIS in Go To Market DEIS in Venture Capital & Investment DEIS in Impact.

Equity 123

Equity Cofounder Venture Capital .Net 123

Hippoland

AUGUST 17, 2016

A reader named Turner Dean recently asked me whether it’s better to raise seed money on convertible notes or straight-up equity. In contrast, if you do an equity round, you as the founder will often have to pay $20k-$50k in legal bills. Flexibility With an equity round, there’s a specific amount of money you are raising.

Equity 48

Equity Convertible Security Silicon Valley Technical Review 48

ConversionXL

JANUARY 18, 2022

It partners with sales to close more revenue, informs product teams to deliver better products, and in some cases, co-owns demand generation activities with marketing teams. Product marketers own a variety of marketing responsibilities, which can be roughly divided into two broad categories: pre-launch and post-launch.

Marketing 110

Marketing Product Audience Equity 110

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 14, 2016

Deferred payments start with stretching the payables period but, more importantly, include giving employee equity in lieu of a higher salaries and negotiating vendor deferred payments out of future revenues. For example, a software development startup raising $250,000 from angel investors better be able to operate on $25,000 per month.

Burn Rate 120

Burn Rate Hockey Stick Startup Salary 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 18, 2021

Angel investors and venture capitalists are looking for startups with real products and a proven business model, ready to scale. Yet I still get too many business plans that clearly are looking for money to do research and development (R&D) on a new and unproven technology. Specialized VCs start to jump in at this stage.

Early Stage 412

Early Stage Angel Investor Incubator Government 412

Up and Running

MARCH 24, 2021

This requires you to take what you’ve learned during your market analysis to develop a market penetration strategy for your business. So, what exactly is a market penetration strategy and how do you develop one? By using your research to develop a market penetration strategy. Market penetration definition.

Software Review 146

Software Review Marketing Campaign Forecast 146

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 24, 2012

Nearly four in five CEOs complained that CMOs can’t explain how brand equity can be linked to recognized financial measures such as firm equity. Now its customer community numbers in the tens of thousands and continues to develop amazing arrays of robotic toys — far beyond anything the company might have developed on its own.

Marketing 234

Marketing Software Review Technical Review Social Network 234

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 16, 2016

This term refers to an initial venture-capital investment, often wrongly sought to seed early product development. In fact, most often, it is limited to seeding a startup business rollout or scale-up after development is completed from friends and family. Sweat equity. Equity crowdfunding. Seed-round investment.

Software Review 120

Software Review Sweat Equity Accredited Investor Angel Investor 120

David Teten

AUGUST 19, 2019

This structure offers some of the benefits of traditional equity VC, without some of the negatives of equity VC. I’ve been a traditional equity VC for 8 years, and I’m now researching new business models in venture capital. We have a special program if you are pre-seed and need product development.

Revenue 60

Revenue Technical Review Software Review Equity 60

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 6, 2013

But not anal if one founder who shares equity graciously with early employees who are treated as “co-founders” My idea startup team is heaving on tech personnel but also has strong product management. Without strong PMs you build crappy products that nobody needs or that real people can’t use.

Cofounder 388

Cofounder Early Stage Startup Silicon Valley 388

Feld Thoughts

NOVEMBER 18, 2013

Here’s the punchline: if you run your company as if you have closed a VC equity financing round even though you actually closed a convertible debt round, you’ll be in much better shape when it comes time to raise your Series A financing. So why would you treat your debt investors (somewhat) like equity investors?

Burn Rate 152

Burn Rate Equity Software Review Early Stage 152

blog.nahurst.com

JULY 19, 2010

This covers one of the most common situations I encounter: For a pre-funding web startup whose team includes only a non-technical cofounder, how much equity should an incoming technical cofounder get? This is an area that varies widely and can significantly impact how much equity a technical cofounder receives (if they take more salary).

Technical Cofounder 43

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Equity Salary 43

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 21, 2021

Of course, that means a mindset willing to give up much more equity, and taking on a whole new level of risk. Switch your focus from product development to sales. Now is the time to start buying your competitors, rather than just crushing them, or trying to develop enough new products internally to overrun them.

Merger 379

Merger Due Diligence SEC IPO 379

Business Plan Blog

OCTOBER 4, 2013

If you have a technical background and you are focused on product development, consider a co-founder with a sales and marketing background that can focus on selling your world class product. Be sure to leave plenty of equity for investors. Typically, these hires fall into 2 buckets: product development and sales.

Part-Time VPE 79

Part-Time VPE Fractional VPE Cofounder CTO Hire 79

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 13, 2013

A grant is not an equity investment, so the entrepreneur doesn’t have to give up a stake in the company either. Typically they can be used to fund product development and commercialization that would otherwise require outside investors.

Government 230

Government Equity Cost SBIR 230

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 19, 2015

In fact, an entrepreneur friend of mine, who made millions on her marketing expertise, asserted recently that most inventors fail in business because they refuse to believe that any business expertise or experience is worth more than 5 percent in partner equity. Most founders bootstrap product development.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Intellectual Property Cofounder Bootstrapping 120

View from Seed

MARCH 24, 2021

” Below are our favorite pieces from the past few years, divided in to a few key categories: fundraising, company building, product development, industry trends, and the life of a VC. Developing Your Product. So, we decided to aggregate NextView’s “greatest hits.” ” (Rob Go).

Seed Stage 177

Seed Stage Hiring IPO Analytics 177

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 30, 2022

They need a large infusion from venture capitalists, private equity, bank loans, or mezzanine financing. In addition to fresh products, you need people smarter than you for real help, with the right combination of skills, experience, and passion to foster and manage new growth. Switch your attention from product development to sales.

Mezzanine 368

Mezzanine Private Equity Bandwidth Metrics 368

Up and Running

MAY 15, 2014

At the end of the month, we’d evaluate the partnership and discuss equity. At our one-month meeting, my equity offer reflected this feeling, which in turn, led my potential partner to pursue other opportunities. Given that reality, my conversations with the contract developer didn’t move forward very quickly.

Partner 113

Partner Cofounder Equity Metrics 113

Steve Blank

MARCH 16, 2016

But startups require money upfront for product development and later to scale. Risk capital takes equity (stock ownership) in your company instead of debt (loans) in exchange for cash. At its core Venture Capital is nothing more than a small portion of the Private Equity financial asset class. Check in with them as well.

Liquidity Event 120

Liquidity Event Founder Liquidation Preference Venture Capital 120

Business Plan Blog

AUGUST 20, 2013

This is generally achieved in one of the following ways: CTO Level Co-Founder (Equity). CTO Level Board Member or dedicated Adviser (Free or Equity). Web Development Firm hired to do “Conceptualization Phase” – This usually includes thorough wire-framing (Paid per project). Product Development Team.

CTO Hire 55

CTO Hire Fractional CTO Architecture Cofounder 55

Software By Rob

NOVEMBER 16, 2009

This morning Seth Godin published a post titled Debt, equity and a third thing that might work better. That’s when you find one or more (future) customers that help fund your product development in exchange for input into the process and free or highly discounted use of the software.

Equity 42

Equity Software Review RSS Widget 42

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2013

But the thing I am most proud of about Rob is that he has taken a company with a uniquely talented founder & CTO – Nick Halstead – and managed to build a very tight working relationship with Nick where we drive world-class product development without having the usual founder / CEO conflicts. Always seek input.

Advisory Board 365

Advisory Board CTO Hire Fractional CTO Los Angeles 365

Hearpreneur

JANUARY 7, 2022

By establishing a company dedicated to inventive and speedy product development, I am able to use cutting-edge technologies and consistently innovate faster than competitors. I'd want to emphasize that you can develop a business but, if you want to be known long after you've passed away, you can build a brand that lasts generations.

Entrepreneur 117

Entrepreneur Technical Review Software Review Non-Compete 117

Hearpreneur

JANUARY 12, 2018

Together, they set out to build a company that was based on creating a social driven, high-quality product, with each telling a unique story. . Passionate about Greece, he used this as inspiration to not only name the product, but to also develop a way to help Greece during these troubled times. Handmade in Greece.

Greece 49

Greece Iowa Nicaragua Chicago 49

This is going to be BIG.

JULY 25, 2022

Typically, investors don’t take a board seat until you raise your first equity round—which means that it could be *years* before you have a real board meeting: A year of nights/weekends work researching, prototyping, and fundraising. You raise your pre-seed round and if you're lucky and good, you can get to an equity round in 12-18 months.

Equity 118

Equity Metrics Widget Bandwidth 118

Growthink Blog

MAY 10, 2012

When seeking equity investments, the source of capital is, for the most part, tied to the stage of capital being raised. You see, equity capital is raised in stages or rounds. Mezzanine Financing Most companies that raise equity capital and are eventually acquired or go public receive multiple rounds of financing first.

Equity 88

Equity Mezzanine Later Stage Venture Capital 88