YoungUpstarts

JULY 31, 2019

by Anish Sebastian and Juan Pablo Segura, co-founders of Babyscripts. Founders need seed capital to get their operations up and running, and to begin generating revenue. Ten years ago, Ward Cunningham published a Youtube video that introduced the concept of “technical debt” to the world.

Cofounder 127

Cofounder Burn Rate Technical Cofounder Seed Capital 127

This is going to be BIG.

JANUARY 18, 2024

Some of these folks are founders and CEOs, but not at high-growth tech startups. They might not understand how a pre-revenue startup could be worth anything, let alone be valued at $5mm. Role When I was a lowly Analyst at Union Square Ventures, I had so many ideas for the founders we worked with. Perhaps they inherited it.

.Net 88

.Net Cap Table Startup Technical Review 88

David Teten

JANUARY 19, 2021

More and more startups are pursuing Revenue-Based VCs , but “RBI” doesn’t fit everyone. From RBI, Flexible VCs borrow the ability to reap meaningful returns without demanding founders build for an exit. Flexible VC 101: Equity Meets Revenue Share. Where else can fast-growing companies get funding?

Cofounder 78

Cofounder Technical Review Equity Dividend 78

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

As the idea went from innovating on software & systems to launching a company to rolling it out in the field brought on Rahul Gandhi as his co-founder to physically launch the company. An example of the systems companies build are pricing & revenue management tools to best help to optimize yield.

Operations 286

Operations New York City Technical Review Startup 286

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

by Michael Woolf that is worth any startup founder reading to get a sense of perspective on the reality warp that is startup world during a frothy market such as 1997-1999, 2005-2007 or 2012-2014. So if your costs are $500,000 per month and you have $350,000 per month in revenue then your net burn (500-350) is equal to $150,000.

Burn Rate 383

Burn Rate Balance Sheet .Net Valuation 383

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

FEBRUARY 26, 2019

Founders almost never have a real strategy. Founders explain failures with things like “our two main competitors did [thing] to us” or “customers didn’t understand [our point of view].” The 10,000th biggest company in the world is a very successful company, as is the two-person company where the founders each take home $300k/year.

Restful 202

Restful Founder Revenue Acquisition 202

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 13, 2021

It’s easy to say “yes” to one more feature request after another, until the potential for real impact gets diluted. Obsessive sales – must meet revenue goals. Otherwise, your most innovative and disruptive product thinking will be diluted and lost, killing your dream of a better world.

Dilution 334

Dilution Metrics Acquisition Revenue 334

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 17, 2011

. “We’re all equal co-founders and we don’t care about titles.&# I usually encourage people to think about titles like, “Founder & CTO&# or “Founder & VP Marketing.&#. I usually encourage people to think about titles like, “Founder & CTO&# or “Founder & VP Marketing.&#.

Operations 292

Operations CTO Hire Startup Early Stage 292

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

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 7, 2022

Thus, I was happy to see some real actionable advice on this challenge in a new book, “ The Unicorn Within: How Companies Can Create Game-Changing Ventures at Startup Speed ,” by Linda Yates, the founder and CEO of a leading growth incubator for global businesses. Commit a source of internal or external seed funding.

Advisory Board 359

Advisory Board Incubator Dilution Agile 359

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 3, 2010

years ago and told me, “I just got offered the chance to buy this company because the founder doesn’t want to continue. How much dilution should I take for it?&# My friend’s company was pre-revenue. Me: “Zero dilution. It has awesome features that my main competitor doesn’t have.

Merger 276

Merger Technical Review Early Stage Dilution 276

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 1, 2020

The primary source of your funds should be your paying customers, i.e., your business should generate enough revenues and profits to fund the growth and expansion. These usually play a role in the very early stage of your business, primarily pre-revenue. Reasons for funding. ? Incubators and Accelerators. Government programs.

Startup 150

Startup Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Seed Stage 150

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. million in revenue. Hicham has already brought about 3,000 hotels from the MENA region, but another 30,000 remain to be harnessed.

Dilution 114

Dilution Revenue Finance Entrepreneur 114

View from Seed

APRIL 30, 2015

What is it, and how should founders think about it? note: We’d like to be extra clear that founders should not take on venture debt if they don’t have 100% visibility into repaying the loan, as banks that need to recoup their loan my force the company or you as the guarantor into liquidation or bankruptcy. Business model?

Term Sheet 120

Term Sheet Equity Startup Seed Stage 120

David Teten

AUGUST 21, 2019

Most founders who are raising capital look first to traditional equity VCs. Or should they look to one of the new wave of Revenue-Based Investors? Revenue-Based Investing (“RBI”) is a new form of VC financing, distinct from the preferred equity structure most VCs use. Who are the major Revenue-Based Investing VCs?

Revenue 60

Revenue Liquidation Preference Equity Cofounder 60

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

YoungUpstarts

SEPTEMBER 16, 2015

Raise too much capital at any given stage and suffer more dilution than is necessary – obviously not ideal. In addition, John is the founder of Lightspeed’s Summer Fellowship Program. It’s part art, part science. Set Quantifiable Goals. Then they broke each category down into six-week sprints.

Valuation 100

Valuation Dilution Chicago Technical Review 100

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 16, 2016

By Bryan Miles, CEO and co-founder, Miles Advisory Group, Inc. But entrepreneurs face other concerns that compete with this growth focus, including hiring, maintaining current revenue sources and distinguishing themselves from the competition. Bryan Miles is CEO & co-founder of Miles Advisory Group, Inc.

Cofounder 100

Cofounder Balance Sheet Small Business Administration Technical Review 100

David Teten

JANUARY 21, 2021

This essay is part of a series on alternative VC: I: Revenue-Based Investing: a new option for founders who care about control. II: Who are the major Revenue-Based Investing VCs? III: Why are Revenue-Based VCs investing in so many women and underrepresented founders? Revenue-Based Flexible VCs.

Equity 78

Equity Revenue Cofounder Colorado 78

Austin Startup

FEBRUARY 4, 2019

L to R: Tiara Zolniez (Co-Founder & Sales), Dr. Roshawnna Novellus (Co-Founder & CEO), Alisha Griffey (COO) The Forrest Four-Cast: February 4, 2019 Fifty diverse startups will aim to impress a panel of judges and a live audience with their skills, creativity and innovation at SXSW Pitch Presented by Cyndx.

Startup 50

Startup Cofounder Technical Review Equity 50

Up and Running

JULY 1, 2020

Businesses start when their founders see a need for a product or service that they can provide. The investment expenses precede the revenues they will ultimately produce and may lead to cash or profitability constraints. Will marketing for the expansion dilute marketing of your brand or other products?

Business Plan 152

Business Plan Forecast Operations Dilution 152

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 17, 2018

You get to have interesting conversations with founders and review business plans and then see how these businesses evolve over the years. 1/ From vantage point of being able to see hundreds of companies, good & bad I have some advice for founders - Get to know and love "gross margin."

Founder 242

Founder Dilution Software Review Later Stage 242

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2011

I’ve decided to take all of my private conversations and subjective points-of-view on the topic and make them public in a keynote speech at the Founder Showcase in San Francisco on June 15th. million post-money valuation with no revenue. I thought I’d post on one of the topics before hand. I raised my A round at a $31.5

Pre-Money Valuation 336

Pre-Money Valuation Valuation Silicon Valley Stock 336

Hunter Walker

JANUARY 2, 2017

” But we also knew that most Fortune 500 M&A transactions aren’t at unicorn levels (actually well sub-$250m), so we advise founders to not over-raise capital until they’re using it to fund profitable growth (or a clear path to profitability). Next Level: Buying Customers/Revenue/Distribution. Cruise was this.

Technical Review 116

Technical Review Cap Table Acquisition Startup 116

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 16, 2013

Because at least while the VC spigot is open and flowing for high-potential individuals that fit a pattern that some VCs seem to favor they can access cheap capital that isn’t terribly dilutive and can use the to fund development and swing for the fences with limited focus on monetization. And the dilution that goes with it.

Burn Rate 412

Burn Rate Dilution Revenue Valuation 412

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

K9 Ventures

JUNE 12, 2012

This situation is not always in the best interest of founders. Founders typically get their equity in a company once — at the time of founding and then get diluted with each subsequent round of financing. Some founders like to think that if they raise a lot of money now, they will never need to raise money again.

Venture Capital 117

Venture Capital Silicon Valley Founder Seed Stage 117

K9 Ventures

JUNE 12, 2012

This situation is not always in the best interest of founders. Founders typically get their equity in a company once — at the time of founding and then get diluted with each subsequent round of financing. Some founders like to think that if they raise a lot of money now, they will never need to raise money again.

Venture Capital 105

Venture Capital Silicon Valley Founder Seed Stage 105

Startup Company Lawyer

MAY 4, 2009

Adeo Ressi , the founding member of TheFunded , recently announced the establishment of TheFunded Founder Institute. The Founder Institute helps founders launch innovative companies by providing training, services, and company-building assignments, such as incorporating the business, filing provision patents, and setting up books and records.

Founder 28

Founder Warrant San Francisco Intellectual Property 28

ReadWriteStart

JULY 18, 2011

Clavier began his presentation at the beginning of a company's lifecycle, asking how many co-founders a startup ought to have. If you like this kind of advice, check out my coverage of a talk by Paul Palmieri, Co-Founder and CEO of mobile advertising service Millennial Media, titled " Investing in Your Influencers. ".

Investment Bankers 153

Investment Bankers Technical Review Cofounder Due Diligence 153

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2013

For starters let me use “CEO” as a proxy to include her “inner circle” which might mean co-founders or might just mean senior execs of the business. The Mind of the Founder. The mind of a founder is wired differently than most people. The startup CEO was not the original founder.

Startup 417

Startup Dilution San Diego Stock Options 417

www.avc.com

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

To be clear, these are hires we are talking about, not co-founders. Co-founders are an entirely different discussion and I am not talking about them in this post. The other important data point is the number of fully diluted shares. Let's say that is 10mm shares outstanding. There is no bracket  for the CEO and COO.

Equity 64

Equity Employee CTO Hire Fractional CTO 64

Version One Ventures

FEBRUARY 6, 2019

This aggressive ownership target is one reason more and more founders are looking for capital from IT/tech VCs who don’t demand as much equity. Then, the revenue you earn from these partners/customers can cover your operating costs while you develop your own drug to bring to market – which is where the most value is captured in biotech.

Dilution 132

Dilution Artificial Inteligence IPO Valuation 132

ReadWriteStart

APRIL 4, 2023

Joe Flanagan, Founder, 90s Fashion World No, Too Many Lenders While the idea of sourcing capital from multiple smaller sources is an enticing one, the reality is far less pleasant. Inbar Madar , Founder and Business Consultant, M.I. On the other hand, failing to raise the desired funds proves its limitations in the marketplace.

Startup 141

Startup Campaign Cofounder Venture Capital 141

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 29, 2009

Huge downturns have a real impact on the revenue line of start-ups and therefore the pressure on valuations. As a personal story, I sat on the board of one company with a very unhealthy burn rate relative to revenue or expected growth. They also make M&A activity more difficult and with lower outcomes.

Burn Rate 263

Burn Rate Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Private Equity 263

Hunter Walker

JANUARY 15, 2016

I wish I could claim I deftly foresaw this, but I was just seeking recurring revenue to to cover OneMatchFire’s office expenses. By the end of 2004 I had brought on two co-founders: John Vars – who is now the Chief Product Office at TaskRabbit, and Steven Reading took over Sales and Revenue.

Technical Review 48

Technical Review Startup Cofounder SMS 48

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014

Revenue multiple? And now I have to explain to team that they’re taking more dilution than they expected if we do a down round. Me: More dilution? I know how to structure around that to protect the founders from getting screwed on a multiple liquidation preference. How will you price the next round? Your A round?

Venture Capital 417

Venture Capital Liquidation Preference Valuation Term Sheet 417