Hunter Walker

AUGUST 8, 2023

At the time, this is last quarter and the stock market has trended upwards nicely since then (a potential leading indicator of private tech valuations), we all agreed venture portfolios were probably still 25-40% overvalued. Valuations. Restructures, Down Rounds, and Pay to Plays.

Portfolio 98

Portfolio Cap Table LP Valuation 98

Berkonomics

OCTOBER 18, 2018

For investors, a subsequent down round at a lower valuation than the last, or an exit opportunity at a loss are all opportunities for the affected stakeholder to show a side that can sometimes shock an entrepreneur or CEO. Investor loyalty is most tenuous of all. Simple building blocks for difficult times.

Valuation 96

Valuation Dilution Down Round Employee 96

VC Cafe

OCTOBER 31, 2022

Many companies are now having to resort to tough measures in order to stay afloat, including layoffs, down rounds and tough terms from current investors. The market for pre-seed and seed rounds should remain relatively active, since those companies are many years away from even thinking about going public.

Founder 173

Founder Technical Review Down Round Liquidation Preference 173

Berkonomics

JUNE 8, 2017

Some businesses require very little capital and the founder can self-finance the enterprise and retain 100% of its ownership and control from ignition through liquidity event (startup through sale). Better yet, the valuation of your enterprise is often higher than if the same investment were taken from a professional investor.

Private Equity 106

Private Equity Valuation Cap Table Accredited Investor 106

The Equity Kicker

JANUARY 22, 2014

Investors pay a high valuation to get into a good deal, betting on continued fast growth. A few quarters in, you realize that product/market fit is not quite there, or you’re not as far up the sales learning curve as you thought, or your LTV/CAC is suddenly in the toilet. Investors who paid up for your financing are not happy.

Venture Capital 102

Venture Capital Down Round Valuation Lean 102

David Teten

AUGUST 7, 2019

Likely signs of a Value investment: the company has challenges in filling out the round; the investors have more negotiating leverage than the founders during the closing process; the company has significantly better metrics (e.g. than comparable companies in the same sector that raised at a higher valuation. Sense of victory.

Venture Capital 60

Venture Capital Valuation Stock NDA 60

Startup Company Lawyer

MARCH 14, 2010

I was actually somewhat surprised that the following investors have agreed to use the Series Seed documents in certain of the their deals: Baseline, Charles River Ventures, SV Angel (Ron Conway), First Round Capital, Harrison Metal Capital, Mike Maples, Polaris Venture Partners, SoftTech VC and True Ventures. Co-sale rights.

Finance 70

Finance Software Review Term Sheet Liquidation Preference 70

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 8, 2016

The startup industry may be “resetting,” which doesn’t mean a “crash” but rather just a resetting of valuations, timescales, winners/losers, capital sources and the relative emphasis of growth rates vs. burn rates. Don’t assume that you can “just do a down round” if necessary.

Burn Rate 150

Burn Rate Cap Table Valuation Balance Sheet 150

Hippoland

NOVEMBER 13, 2016

Primarily these things: Companies dissolvingCompanies exitingCompanies raising equity rounds All of these events are concrete events that attach a numerical value to a company. Companies that exit are valued at whatever the sale is. If a company raises a good round, it gets marked up to the new value. Equity rounds of $10m pre.

IRR 48

IRR Valuation Portfolio Due Diligence 48

VC Cafe

SEPTEMBER 26, 2022

Sustainable growth: Prioritise sales efficiency over growth at all costs. ValuatIon should be a function of value, not ego. Kawasaki’s Law of Pre-Money Valuation: for every full-time engineer, add $500,000; for every full-time M.B.A., A good way to think about valuation in seed/pre-seed is to reverse engineer the next round.

Founder 187

Founder Startup Valuation Pre-Money Valuation 187

View from Seed

FEBRUARY 19, 2015

In 2010, we were recruiting for a Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Backupify, and it was clear that many of the people I was interviewing wanted the CEO role. I called the recruiter running the search and told him I was going to step down and hire a CEO. It’s nice to get great valuations and hire A-players.

Founder 120

Founder Startup Cofounder Business Model 120

Business Plan Blog

OCTOBER 8, 2013

In order to launch a successful business and raise the capital needed to do so, a startup needs to consider several aspects of the business including the management team , the size of the opportunity, the product/service/technology, the market/sales/distribution channels, the competitive environment and several other factors.

Business Plan 67

Business Plan NDA Exit Strategy Valuation 67

Berkonomics

OCTOBER 7, 2011

For investors, a subsequent down round at a lower valuation than the last, or an exit opportunity at a loss are all opportunities for the affected stakeholder to show a side that can sometimes shock an entrepreneur or CEO.

Valuation 54

Valuation Dilution Down Round Employee 54

thebarefootvc

AUGUST 26, 2015

As someone who invested through the 2001 and 2008 crashes I can assure you that down rounds and fire sales are not fun for anyone involved. Pay attention to who you’re taking money from and aim for a reasonable valuation. Don’t be penny wise, pound foolish.

Marketing 40

Marketing Investment Bankers Valuation Down Round 40

thebarefootvc

AUGUST 26, 2015

As someone who invested through the 2001 and 2008 crashes I can assure you that down rounds and fire sales are not fun for anyone involved. Pay attention to who you’re taking money from and aim for a reasonable valuation. Don’t be penny wise, pound foolish.

Marketing 40

Marketing Investment Bankers Valuation Down Round 40

thebarefootvc

JULY 26, 2015

As someone who invested through the 2001 and 2008 crashes I can assure you that down rounds and fire sales are not fun for anyone involved. Pay attention to who you’re taking money from and aim for a reasonable valuation. Don’t be penny wise, pound foolish.

Marketing 40

Marketing Investment Bankers Valuation Down Round 40

Berkonomics

JANUARY 20, 2010

Some businesses require very little capital and the founder is able to self-finance the enterprise and retain 100% of its ownership and control from ignition through liquidity event (startup through sale). Better yet, the valuation of your enterprise is often higher than if the same investment were taken from a professional investor.

Private Equity 69

Private Equity Valuation Cap Table Accredited Investor 69

abovethecrowd.com

APRIL 20, 2016

One key to this population growth has been the remarkable ease of the Unicorn fundraising process: Pick a new valuation well above your last one, put together a presentation deck, solicit offers, and watch the hundreds of million of dollars flow into your bank account. By January of 2016, that number had ballooned to 229.

IPO 40

IPO Term Sheet Valuation Silicon Valley 40

Rob Go

JUNE 1, 2016

This company may end up salvaging some value in a sale, but it could also be a near total loss, which is tough to swallow. We’ve been in a period of unnatural financings, both in terms of valuation and the amount of capital that has gone into companies relatively early in their life.

Term Sheet 28

Term Sheet Portfolio Valuation Warrant 28

www.paulgraham.com

APRIL 28, 2010

Another concept we need to introduce now is valuation. I say "in theory" because in early stageinvesting, valuations are voodoo. As a company gets more established,its valuation gets closer to an actual market value. As a company gets more established,its valuation gets closer to an actual market value. Better how?

Technical Review 76

Technical Review Startup Software Review Angel Investor 76

Scalable Startup

OCTOBER 26, 2011

The second round is often for some or all of the following – corporate growth, go to market, turn the prototype into a robust offering, marketing costs, or to hire a sales force. It’s no longer based on a hunch, unless the company is in trouble and needs money to finish what the first round started.

Mezzanine 22

Mezzanine Due Diligence IPO Angel Investor 22

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 30, 2016

forward sales with some as high as 12x sales. Collectively we chose growth and the market was rewarding high growth rates over any other factor so we felt that we ought to bring in an experienced CEO who had taken companies public, who had led large, international sales organizations and who was poised to take Invoca to the next level.

Balance Sheet 150

Balance Sheet Burn Rate Valuation Forecast 150

Altgate

MARCH 8, 2009

Growth stage investors are usually the Series B or C investors who come in when the product is in the market but there is little or no revenue and the team is probably in the 20-something range with the goal to ramp it up to 40-50 employees with the new money, build out a sales team, etc. But some will be saved. Also, the $1.5

Later Stage 34

Later Stage Early Stage Venture Capital Portfolio 34

VC Cafe

MAY 18, 2022

It's not "cheap" because it is down 70%. 2) Valuation multiples are always a hack proxy. Down rounds are coming. Thomasz Tunguz from Redpoint Capital shared 4 scenarios that startups should be contemplating now depending on their sales efficiency and cash reserves. Re-evaluate your valuation.

Term Sheet 190

Term Sheet Valuation Startup Ukraine 190