Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 24, 2016

You need to find the skills or experience you don’t have in business, technology, or money. Experience and connections in your business area. Every previous experience filing and winning a patent is a rare and valuable asset. Keep your wits about you to make sure that dilution is done equitably and evenly.

Equity 120

Equity Cofounder Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property 120

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 27, 2011

The reality is that an early employee in a pre-funded startup that eventually raises a few rounds of capital will be diluted significantly, is down the line in preference, and will likely be locked up for a while to harvest it. Lead Engineer 0.5 – 1 5+ years experience Engineer 0.33 – 0.66 Manager or Junior Engineer 0.2 – 0.33

Early Stage 391

Early Stage Equity CTO Hire Sweat Equity 391

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 31, 2018

Based on my own experience of many years in businesses of different sizes, I’ve prioritized a few of her top recommendations here: Make every total customer experience memorable. These days, customers remember the total experience with a company longer than they remember the price they paid. Don’t let it be yours.

Angel Investor 167

Angel Investor Dilution Software Review Distribution 167

Gust

APRIL 11, 2014

Let’s get right down to business: Dilution of founders’ and other early shareholders’ equity in startups is frequently a subject of intense interest and debate. That’s the concept of what some call mathematical dilution. That is not economic dilution, but rather its opposite ( accretion ).

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Dilution Equity Pre-Money Valuation Prospectus 162

View from Seed

AUGUST 17, 2021

But the experiment is looking to be a success. at exit due to dilution. It creates dilution, and investing in these rounds increases your effective post-money. You may be surprised to know that many many founders and investors have gone through a very similar experience and can share words of encouragement and practical help.

IRR 205

IRR Dilution Founder Portfolio 205

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 28, 2018

Of course there are times where 15% dilution is more appropriate and other times it can be 33% but in a first meeting we’re just trying to establish general ranges for reasonableness. They don’t want you experimenting for many years on their capital?—?they’d Every VC knows that the amount you raise is often a proxy for your valuation.

Burn Rate 247

Burn Rate Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Dilution 247

View from Seed

AUGUST 17, 2021

But the experiment is looking to be a success. at exit due to dilution. It creates dilution, and investing in these rounds increases your effective post-money. You may be surprised to know that many many founders and investors have gone through a very similar experience and can share words of encouragement and practical help.

IRR 156

IRR Dilution Founder Portfolio 156

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 7, 2022

In my experience, team members with an entrepreneur mindset are rare in mature companies, due to a growing focus on low risk fixed processes, narrow job roles with specialized expertise, and long-term tenure. Of course, someone with more operating experience may be brought in once the new venture has been successfully launched.

Advisory Board 359

Advisory Board Incubator Dilution Agile 359

This is going to be BIG.

JANUARY 18, 2024

Instead of getting hung up on what their better-funded competition was doing, they focused on executing on their near-term goals, then setting new ones, then executing on those, and so on and so on, all the way up to a billion-dollar acquisition with very little dilution taken along the way.

.Net 88

.Net Cap Table Startup Technical Review 88

Up and Running

JULY 2, 2014

of our company in exchange for the $300K, and my business partner and I each diluted from 50% ownership down to 33.3% ownership and never dilute. When fundraising for a startup, all investors dilute as additional investors join in on the deal. The deal we made with him was he’d get 33.3% Our attorney should have known.

Technical Review 118

Technical Review Angel Investor Due Diligence Dilution 118

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 5, 2022

As a business consultant with experience in large companies as well as startups, I often hear about dysfunctional management hierarchies, as well as the value provided by exceptional ones. These authors provide inside details of recent management experiments, as well as historical data from both successful and failed traditional companies.

Management 333

Management Dilution Forecast Leadership 333

View from Seed

AUGUST 17, 2021

But the experiment is looking to be a success. at exit due to dilution. It creates dilution, and investing in these rounds increases your effective post-money. You may be surprised to know that many many founders and investors have gone through a very similar experience and can share words of encouragement and practical help.

IRR 136

IRR Dilution Founder Portfolio 136

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 31, 2012

The simple answer is to find a business partner, not an “implementer,” who already has the technical experience you need, and is willing and able to run that side of the business. Focus on finding the right partner to double your strength rather than dilute it. Marty Zwilling.

Technical Review 230

Technical Review Technology Founder Management 230

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 9, 2021

A popular myth these days is that finishing college only dilutes your entrepreneurial instincts, and the best of the best, including Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg, dropped out early to hasten their success. Get real experience early. I agree with Robert E. Then branch out to local business groups.

Entrepreneur 373

Entrepreneur Chad Incubator Dilution 373

YoungUpstarts

SEPTEMBER 23, 2017

While starting out as an entrepreneur, you won’t have enough cash or experience to start and run a start up on your own, so you may believe it’d be best to include others with more experience to guide you in the direction you’re heading. Often, this is considered as a mistake.

Cofounder 124

Cofounder Sweat Equity Equity Dilution 124

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 27, 2023

Every startup needs to start their funding search looking for grants, with no equity dilution, as well as contests and foundations. If looking for help, you can find interns willing to work for the experience, and real insights into new customer segments. Get help with grant funding and incubator resources.

Arizona 276

Arizona Intellectual Property Accredited Investor Entrepreneur 276

YoungUpstarts

APRIL 19, 2012

When not approached carefully, growth can destroy value as it outstrips a company’s managerial capacity, processes, quality, and financial controls, or substantially dilutes customer value propositions. Growth can dilute a business’s culture and customer value proposition and put the business in a different competitive space.

Dilution 209

Dilution Virginia Management Washington 209

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 11, 2011

The simple answer is to find a business partner, not an “implementer,” who already has the technical experience you need, and is willing and able to run that side of the business. Focus on finding the right partner to double your strength rather than dilute it. Marty Zwilling.

Technical Review 236

Technical Review Partner Entrepreneur Dilution 236

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 1, 2022

You should also assume that your percentage will go down through dilution as the company raises additional rounds, and offer sizes will go down as the company grows. It will always be a learning experience, but it may be a bumpy ride to nowhere. Your compensation is the total package of stock plus salary plus benefits.

Stock Options 343

Stock Options Advisory Board Stock Startup 343

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 31, 2020

In my experience, most successful entrepreneurs have indeed created a new product, but most people who claim to be inventors have a hard time starting a business. In fact, they may fear team leadership as a burden, or a potential dilution of their ownership. Certainly interfacing to the outside world may not be an inventor forte.

Founder 312

Founder Intellectual Property Dilution Startup 312

Business Plan Blog

JANUARY 9, 2014

Look for local investors with strong character and domain experience. Fear of Dilution. Understand the difference between dilution and economic dilution, which occurs when the value of the business doesn’t change but the number of shares increases. Top 10 Reasons Why Startups Fail. Neglecting The Legal Foundation.

San Diego 74

San Diego Dilution Technical Review Forecast 74

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 8, 2022

While it’s unlikely that all three of these will ever be true at the same time, most experts don’t recommend jumping at the first opportunity, but first gaining some skill, financial, and business experience first. The downside is loss of control and financial dilution. The founding team size dilemma.

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Founder Hockey Stick Cofounder Liquidity Event 325

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 24, 2022

They fundamentally become value seekers; they look for value in every experience, in every conversation. Overcoming execution obstacles is combating dilution, not compromising, for these innovators. This discovery mindset searching for new questions drives real innovators away from more of the same.

Marketing 313

Marketing Dilution Social Network Government 313

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 11, 2022

Founder insistence on non-dilute clauses, arms-length relationships, and quick closure without due diligence will short-circuit active interest. All internal teams need to have relevant skills and experience. Naïve expectations on funding terms and process. Dysfunctional or non-functional team members.

Due Diligence 271

Due Diligence Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Preferred Stock 271

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 14, 2017

The image of boards and of investors vs. founder conflicts has been so at odds with my experiences on dozens of boards over the past 20 years that I thought it was worth sharing what I actually see.

Cofounder 217

Cofounder Stock Options Equity Technical Review 217

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 14, 2021

Startup team with experience and connections is this domain. The focus is diluted, it’s hard to keep up with individual product changes, and you will always be on the defensive. Entrepreneurs often proclaim that they will work harder and more efficiently than competitors, thus reducing costs and improving productivity.

Intellectual Property 417

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Dilution Differentiation 417

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 12, 2021

In my experience as a business advisor and occasional investor, many of you won’t make it that far, succumbing to the high costs of getting those first customers, funding an initial inventory, and building an operational support process. You see these labels at grocery stores all the time.

Dilution 404

Dilution Incubator Bootstrapping Government 404

The Startup Magazine

FEBRUARY 2, 2021

This unique business model is proven to secure strategic and non-dilutive capital as part of a business model. Lammasu Pharma culminated in Dr. Hanna’s diverse medical and business education, clinical field experience, and entrepreneurship.

Technical Review 116

Technical Review Syria Developer United States 116

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 30, 2020

Every startup needs to start their funding search looking for grants, with no equity dilution, as well as contests and foundations. If looking for help, you can find interns willing to work for the experience, and real insights into new customer segments. Get help with grant funding and incubator resources.

Arizona 310

Arizona Intellectual Property Accredited Investor Dividend 310

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 13, 2018

Although a job is often regarded as a purely economic transaction, the brain experiences the workplace first and foremost as a social system.”. Unless you have them capture the unique aspects of the culture, it will become diluted and disappear among the new hires. Looking back over the decades it’s clear that the new CEO was right.

Part-Time VPE 333

Part-Time VPE Employee Cofounder Hiring 333

Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 8, 2024

However, outside professional investor board members can be a very good asset to the corporation with the skills, experience and broad relationships many bring to the boardroom table. A seat on your board? The post What are the costs of taking investor money? first appeared on BERKONOMICS.

Cost 62

Cost Covenant Angel Groups Angel Investor 62

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 16, 2016

My experience has shown me that it’s time to evolve or pivot as a business when leaders spot an opportunity to seize something great, even if the directions to get there are uncharted or feel ambiguous. Renegotiate experience and expectations with these external third parties. Re-set the vendor and partner paradigm.

Cofounder 100

Cofounder Balance Sheet Small Business Administration Technical Review 100

The Startup Magazine

OCTOBER 9, 2017

It’s likely, as an entrepreneur, you’ll have a little experience across much of these, however at some point you need to find people to fill these roles, whether on a part-time, contract or full-time bases. But that will dilute your focus, time and energy and mean you have less time you to drive the business forward and expand.

Founder 68

Founder Dilution Web Development SEO 68

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 9, 2022

I was raised in a family where a lot of close relatives or family friends ran their own businesses, and I remember loving hearing about their different experiences – specifically, I loved the idea of building something from scratch, of getting to wear many hats, and of being challenged every day with something new.

Cofounder 146

Cofounder Founder Miami Marketing 146

ReadWriteStart

JANUARY 27, 2011

I have discussed at length why revenue sharing channel deals may serve as perfectly fine alternatives to raising equity (or even complements) because of their non-dilutive nature. For a more elaborate explanation of the deal, please read my blog post 1M/1M: Alternative Financing For Startups Using A Sales Channel Partner. SOCO Games.

Dilution 114

Dilution Revenue Finance Entrepreneur 114

Duct Tape Marketing

AUGUST 20, 2019

5 Great Ways to Add Video to Your Website Experience written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing. Here, let me walk you through five of the most effective ways to add video to your website experience. But sometimes that passion appears diluted when you try to write about it. Share Your Mission.

Video 75

Video Social Media Flash Dilution 75

Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 23, 2023

So, the question: load up with more equity and dilution? For young companies, often the question is whether to suffer a new round of dilution to stimulate growth, or to sell earlier and not share the (presumably) increased proceeds with additional investors. Or sell now?

Dilution 62

Dilution Valuation Early Stage Equity 62