View from Seed

OCTOBER 24, 2019

The reality is that if a founder raised every one of these rounds, and lead investors always got their “target” ownership, the level of dilution would be ridiculous. No good investor would want the founder/CEO of a company to have insufficient ownership by the series A, and every founder I know is sensitive to taking too much dilution.

Dilution 149

Dilution B2B Burn Rate Early Stage 149

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 17, 2018

More people aren't the answer if your core business isn't already productive. Hire when it feels like you're bursting at the seems or missing a critical skill on existing team or have figured out how to scale growth  —  @msuster 6/ Raising capital at very high prices helps avoid short-term dilution.

Founder 242

Founder Dilution Software Review Later Stage 242

VC Cafe

FEBRUARY 27, 2024

especially if the startup already has a product and revenue? Seed is about showing initial product market fit. 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

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 21, 2019

By definition, most startups begin as a result of some innovation in product, process, or service. The problem is that innovations in most business areas are coming so fast these days that yours can be overrun while still being scaled across geographies and other products. Product-line expansion. Geographic expansion.

Dilution 224

Dilution Merger Flash Global 224

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 9, 2016

Technical entrepreneurs love to compare the number of features in their product to competitors, and they love to keep adding features -- just because they can. Even worse, this “feature creep” often makes the final product late to market, sluggish and more expensive than competition. Define and enforce role and decision authorities.

Product 120

Product Coder Dilution Agile 120

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 10, 2018

Value factors include your related product breadth and depth, relationships with thought leaders, key vendors, and large potential customers. Building the product may be the easy part of your startup challenge. Keep your wits about you to make sure that dilution is done equitably and evenly.

Equity 238

Equity Cofounder Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property 238

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 11, 2011

He wanted to build direct customer relationships to get product feedback but only 2% of customers would ever return their registration cards. He thought, “This way any product you launch you can talk instantly with and get feedback from customers.&# Too many entrepreneurs focus on dilution. I further that.

Product 350

Product Tuvalu Dilution Incubator 350

View from Seed

JULY 29, 2020

I like to say that selecting a co-founder is the single most dilutive decision that a founding CEO can make, and so that decision can send all sorts of signals about a founder’s priorities, judgement and personality. It is much less motivating if it seems like a founding team is a product of convenience.

Cofounder 408

Cofounder Technical Cofounder Founder Equity 408

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 27, 2019

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. Missions and products that are too broad confuse your team, your customers, and potential investors. Product development chasm. Marketing and sales chasm.

Technical Review 255

Technical Review Dilution Early Stage Product Development 255

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 4, 2014

Value factors include your related product breadth and depth, relationships with thought leaders, key vendors and large potential customers. Building the product may be the easy part of your startup challenge. Keep your wits about you to make sure that dilution is done equitably and evenly.

Cofounder 261

Cofounder Stock Founder Technical Cofounder 261

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 2, 2017

By definition, most startups begin as a result of some innovation in product, process, or service. The problem is that innovations in most business areas are coming so fast these days that yours can be overrun while still be scaled across geographies and other products. Product-line expansion. Geographic expansion.

Dilution 134

Dilution Merger Flash Global 134

The Startup Magazine

MARCH 14, 2022

The equity dilution at this nascent stage is on desirable terms; such investing can lead to profitable returns. Organisations in our country now trust their employees with remote and hybrid work, improving their productivity and boosting morale. At this stage, the founder mainly raises funding from their sources or family and friends.

Technical Review 167

Technical Review Due Diligence India Startup 167

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 9, 2018

Your product demo crushed. I also had to negotiate a follow-on round at a portfolio company because new investors were trying to force a bit option-pool top-up that would dilute the founders and existing shareholders and existing investors were fighting over prorata rights. But the real product being bought or sold is “trust.”

Software Review 381

Software Review Churn Rate Due Diligence New York 381

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 13, 2021

As a long-time business consultant and investor, especially to entrepreneurs, I recognize your sparkle of vision , to build the ultimate world-changing product. I found these maladies summarized well in a new book, “ Radical Product Thinking ,” by entrepreneur Radhika Dutt. While the idea was great, they failed on execution.

Dilution 334

Dilution Metrics Acquisition Revenue 334

VC Cafe

JUNE 10, 2022

As a result, founders are accepting increased dilution of the stakes they hold in their own companies. On a related note, this new report by OpenView on is full of benchmarks and examples of efficient PLG (product led growth). OpenView report on Product Led Growth. Interesting developments in AR this week.

Valuation 152

Valuation Marketing Venture Capital 152

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 23, 2017

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. Missions and products that are too broad confuse your team, your customers, and potential investors. Product development chasm. Marketing and sales chasm.

Customer 191

Customer Entrepreneur Technical Review Dilution 191

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 24, 2016

Value factors include your related product breadth and depth, relationships with thought leaders, key vendors, and large potential customers. Building the product may be the easy part of your startup challenge. Keep your wits about you to make sure that dilution is done equitably and evenly. But don’t get greedy.

Equity 120

Equity Cofounder Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property 120

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 31, 2018

Instant global communication now makes it easy to reach new markets without rethinking your entire product strategy. Expand your product line, staying close to the core. Totally new and risky products will dilute your focus, and may confuse existing customers. Pursue strategic alliances and partnerships.

Angel Investor 167

Angel Investor Dilution Software Review Distribution 167

David Teten

DECEMBER 2, 2019

I’m now researching non-dilutive funding for Action Tank , a startup I’m gestating to “Make America Functional Again”. I worked with outsourced research firm Wonder * to identify all of the institutions we could who support tech impact startups with cash and community, and in many cases without dilution. J.M.Kaplan Innovation Prize.

Technical Review 60

Technical Review SBIR Dilution Silicon Valley 60

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 14, 2013

By definition, most startups begin as a result of some innovation in product, process, or service. The problem is that innovations in most business areas are coming so fast these days that yours can be overrun while still be scaled across geographies and other products. Product-line expansion. Geographic expansion.

Dilution 187

Dilution Merger Flash Global 187

The Next Web

OCTOBER 7, 2013

Every time a startup raises capital, all common shareholders are diluted. All of the estimates displayed above are figures prior to any dilution. As stated earlier, investors will dilute ownership upon nearly every round of financing. So, if o = initial ownership and y = total dilution, x = o * (1 – y). N: exit size.

Engineer 129

Engineer Dilution Option Pool Vesting 129

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 6, 2013

it’s the most expensive dilution you’ll ever face. 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. Quick summary: Be careful not to have too many co-founders.

Cofounder 388

Cofounder Early Stage Startup Silicon Valley 388

YoungUpstarts

JANUARY 19, 2015

Don’t dilute your content. Many website owners make the mistake of diluting their content. For example: Home; About Us; Products; Product One; Product Two; Product Three; Blog; Contact Us. For example: Home; About Us; Products; Product One; Product Two; Product Three; Blog; Contact Us.

Dilution 100

Dilution Web Web Development Flash 100

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. Missions and products that are too broad confuse your team, your customers, and potential investors. Product development chasm. Marketing and sales chasm.

Entrepreneur 252

Entrepreneur Marketing Technical Review Dilution 252

The Startup Magazine

MAY 15, 2024

In this guide, we will address how whole plasmid sequencing works, challenges during production, applications, and benefits. Challenges Facing Production for Plasmid Managing reagents that are plasmid-based is challenging. How It Works Novel Nanopore technology helps to get long sequences of a few kilobases.

Dilution 88

Dilution Engineer Technology Management 88

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 14, 2015

By definition, most startups begin as a result of some innovation in product, process, or service. The problem is that innovations in most business areas are coming so fast these days that yours can be overrun while still be scaled across geographies and other products. Product-line expansion. Geographic expansion.

Matching 120

Matching Marketing Dilution Startup 120

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 8, 2016

Pragmatic cost cuts are always possible and often productive. Optimize for a W more than % dilution in these circumstances. Founders hate them because they’re dilutive. We entrepreneurs have been spinning that line for decades in every boom cycle. It’s simply not true. I’m not rooting against anybody.

Burn Rate 150

Burn Rate Cap Table Balance Sheet Valuation 150

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 29, 2021

Unfortunately, what I see in this Internet age is information overload, and new product differentiation is harder than ever before. In this context, based on recent feedback , over 30,000 new products get introduced every year, and 95 percent fail, primarily because they don’t stand out over existing alternatives.

Restful 336

Restful Differentiation Social Media Dilution 336

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. Missions and products that are too broad confuse your team, your customers, and potential investors. Product development chasm. Marketing and sales chasm.

Startup 254

Startup Technical Review Dilution Early Stage 254

This is going to be BIG.

JANUARY 18, 2024

Plus, we agree that we should have this type of meeting and try to make it productive for all parties. They get frustrated by the pace of things out of the gate and feel like a company’s products should be everywhere yesterday. If your early customers aren’t blown away by the experience, you’re never going to become a huge company.

.Net 89

.Net Cap Table Startup Technical Review 89

Up and Running

JULY 2, 2014

We had personally invested $70,000 of our own money at this point, and we were hoping to raise at least another $250,000 to help us hire a team, launch our company, and begin to build our product. of our company in exchange for the $300K, and my business partner and I each diluted from 50% ownership down to 33.3%

Technical Review 118

Technical Review Angel Investor Due Diligence Dilution 118

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 31, 2020

Yet I find a big difference between “starting a new business” and “creating a new product.” 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. Two people with complementary skills are often equal to three.

Founder 312

Founder Intellectual Property Dilution Startup 312

View from Seed

AUGUST 17, 2021

at exit due to dilution. It creates dilution, and investing in these rounds increases your effective post-money. In some cases, great companies massively expand the definition or potential of the market with innovative products, technology leverage, and great execution. So it’s like this same fund actually invested $2.5M

IRR 205

IRR Dilution Founder Portfolio 205

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

NOVEMBER 5, 2022

Good managers improve focus and productivity through effective communication and coordinating disparate activities. Most experts agree that the key to worker productivity, decision making, and satisfaction, is raising their level of engagement from the currently low thirty percent range.

Management 333

Management Dilution Forecast Leadership 333

YoungUpstarts

JULY 31, 2019

But “fundraising debt” comes into the picture when you raise too much too early, diluting your business at the beginning of the venture, with no real plan or unrealistic projections for how your business will scale. Many would argue that even the most theoretically scalable products in healthcare, i.e

Cofounder 127

Cofounder Burn Rate Technical Cofounder Seed Capital 127

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 14, 2021

In their passion and excitement about a new product or service, entrepreneurs tend to continually narrow the scope of potential competitors, and often claim to have no direct competitors. Order-of-magnitude cost reduction or productivity increase. Clear product differentiation and a singular focus.

Intellectual Property 417

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Dilution Differentiation 417