Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2015

For early-stage startups, the goodwill component can easily exceed the size of all the financial elements together, or can just as easily mark a company with good financials as not investable. In the investment community, these leadership elements are often called “goodwill.” Focus on talent and people growth.

Leadership 120

Leadership Technical Review Due Diligence Valuation 120

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

I’m over-paying for every check I write into the VC ecosystem and valuations are being pushed up to absurd levels and many of these valuations and companies won’t hold in the long term. On the one hand, you’re over paying for every investment and valuations aren’t rational. That never would have happened 10 years ago.

Pre-Money Valuation 471

Pre-Money Valuation Valuation Venture Capital Early Stage 471

The Startup Magazine

SEPTEMBER 12, 2019

While the rewards may be a boon to their company in the short term, the consequences of accepting outside funding too early can be debilitating. There’s a reason why I refer to early-stage VC funding as vulture capital, and to be honest it’s pretty accurate. Just because you can afford to hire, doesn’t mean that you should.

Early Stage 85

Early Stage Venture Capital Bootstrapping Pre-Money Valuation 85

Mucker Lab

MAY 28, 2020

This post originally appeared in TechCrunch back in 2015, written by our co-founder and managing partner Erik Rannala. These lost startups land higher valuations, have larger teams, outsource more product development and spend more money on customer acquisition than their peers. Hire the wrong people. Honestly, we don’t know.”?

Startup 78

Startup Cofounder Burn Rate Technical Review 78

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 17, 2013

Often, the number one question that entrepreneurs fail to address is: “How much money do you need, and what valuation do you place on your company?” The key here is to create a win-win partner situation for your investors. Lack of clear objectives/goals. Then you have to have evidence to support your request.

Software Review 265

Software Review Due Diligence Elevator Pitch Startup 265

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 22, 2020

Government grants and industry partners are you best bet here, but Angel investors might give you $250,000 to $1 million, if you have the right business case and credentials. The final product works great, and all the early users love it.” Every investor wants to be part of your growth stage , after your first $1 million in revenue.

Angel Investor 370

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Investment Bankers Private Equity 370

VC Cafe

AUGUST 2, 2022

As an early stage investor in the world of gaming and metaverse technology at Remagine Ventures, I find these companies have the potential to set the agenda, become the potential platforms for developers building in this space and future acquirers/consolidators of startups building the next generation of the Internet.

IP 206

IP Cofounder Valuation Acquisition 206

Genuine VC

JULY 9, 2013

Although these startups are very diverse businesses themselves, they face similar requirements (especially in that they’re currently all in the seed to Series B range of company stage). And the results were pretty interesting, especially as they clustered with meaningful overlap among companies.

Early Stage 246

Early Stage Boston Portfolio Silicon Valley 246

VC Cafe

MAY 29, 2022

Building on my post on ‘ Advice for startups in a downturn (May 2022 edition) ‘, this week I continued to follow with interest the impact of the current correction on startups and venture capital, particularly in early stage. Layoffs and hiring freezes have started. Sequoia’s Adapting to Endure.

Venture Capital 183

Venture Capital Early Stage Valuation Startup 183

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 10, 2012

Often, the number one question that entrepreneurs fail to address is: “How much money do you need, and what valuation do you place on your company?” The key here is to create a win-win partner situation for your investors. Lack of clear objectives/goals. Then you have to have evidence to support your request.

Software Review 250

Software Review Due Diligence Elevator Pitch Entrepreneur 250

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 28, 2015

by John Vrionis, partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners. “And if you have a valuation cap; a higher cap is always better than a lower cap.” The primary terms for these types of transactions are the valuation cap and the conversion discount. Lightspeed is in the business of encouraging entrepreneurship.

Convertible Security 100

Convertible Security IP Technical Review Software Review 100

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 9, 2011

Often, the number one question that entrepreneurs fail to address is: “How much money do you need, and what valuation do you place on your company?” The key here is to create a win-win partner situation for your investors. Lack of clear objectives/goals. Then you have to have evidence to support your request.

Software Review 246

Software Review Due Diligence Elevator Pitch Early Stage 246

David Teten

SEPTEMBER 23, 2017

PEVCTech is partnering with Blue Future Partners to run the first large-scale survey of VCs’ technology stack. Johann Kratzer of Blue Future Partners , a fund of funds, observed, “The majority of the hundreds of funds we’ve diligenced rely predominantly on their relationships to source deals. Greylock Partners.

Private Equity 60

Private Equity Venture Capital Equity Technical Review 60

View from Seed

APRIL 2, 2020

How to Think about Hiring. One challenge here for seed and early stage companies is that candidates are probably going to be slightly more risk averse during times like this. The post NextView Partners Discuss the State of the Market In a Covid-19 World appeared first on NextView Ventures.

Partner 156

Partner Marketing Portfolio Early Stage 156

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 14, 2009

Quick caveats: having fewer investors (3-5) is better than many investors (10-15) and PLEASE make sure you hire a great lawyer who has experience in doing start-ups to avoid pitfalls that will make VC harder down the line. Make sure these people understand the nature of early-stage angel investing. Have they added value?

Silicon Valley 291

Silicon Valley Ireland Technical Review Valuation 291

David Teten

MARCH 28, 2012

So far, there are two particularly innovative techniques we found VCs to be using: - Dedicated teams: Some of the investors we interviewed have started building dedicated business support teams, led by Partner-level experts.

Portfolio 144

Portfolio Private Equity Venture Capital Early Stage 144

K9 Ventures

JUNE 5, 2015

Low supply of companies with traction drove the valuations and deal sizes up. Seed stage was super tough. In addition, the competition for and the cost of hiring people, especially in the San Francisco Bay Area, has gone up dramatically. Valuations are rising to match. more traction means it takes longer. The Epilogue.

Seed Stage 48

Seed Stage Venture Capital Early Stage Valuation 48

www.entrepreneur.com

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

When you're getting started, sweat equity is often a critical component of your negotiating leverage with co-founders, early stage employees and others who aren't paid market wages to help you grow your business. Market value doesn't equal the sum of sweat equity invested by you and your partners.

Sweat Equity 55

Sweat Equity Equity Fractional CTO CTO 55

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2018

Government grants and industry partners are you best bet here, but Angel investors might give you $250,000 to $1 million, if you have the right business case and credentials. The final product works great, and all the early users love it.” Every investor wants to be part of your growth stage , after your first $1 million in revenue.

Angel Investor 184

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Investment Bankers Private Equity 184

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2010

My job doesn’t involve the daily grind of customer complaints, product outages, business partner / channel problems, hiring / firing, etc. As a VC I spend tons of time with companies at an early stage in their business. There is less team camaraderie – I really get along with my partners well.

Technical Review 312

Technical Review Due Diligence Spain Warrant 312

View from Seed

APRIL 30, 2015

Use good judgment, talk to your co-founders/investors/lawyers, and partner with a bank that values transparency and relationships such as SVB.]. NVV: Let’s talk about the seed stage specifically. NVV: How does venture debt differ from other types of traditional loans? But the costs are definitely there.

Term Sheet 120

Term Sheet Equity Startup Seed Stage 120

Up and Running

FEBRUARY 8, 2016

While there are dozens of lessons I could take away from these entrepreneurs’ experiences, I want to highlight three common mistakes founders make in the early stages of a startup. They also had greater and more rapid increases in valuation at successive rounds of venture capital funding. There are 1.7

Entrepreneur 60

Entrepreneur Software Review Balance Sheet Partner 60

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 4, 2014

Government grants and industry partners are you best bet here, but Angel investors might give you $250,000 to $1 million, if you have the right business case and credentials. The final product works great, and all the early users love it.” Every investor wants to be part of your growth stage , after your first $1 million in revenue.

Angel Investor 232

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Investment Bankers Private Equity 232

techcrunch.com

APRIL 26, 2013

In December, AngelList , a service that matches early-stage startups with investors, debuted the ability to allow accredited investors to actually invest in startups on the platform with as little as $1,000. AngelList also partnered with SecondMarket to create an investment vehicle for these investments. 2011 Holiday.

SEC 61

SEC Accredited Investor San Diego New York City 61

500hats.com

AUGUST 2, 2012

However after Sequoia and Ron Conway announced their investment in YC in 2009 , and after YC alumni DropBox and AirBnb raised capital on billion-dollar valuations in 2010-11, the program quickly became the gold standard among early-stage startup incubators. and no, we didn’t. They are operators, through and through.

Silicon Valley 74

Silicon Valley Early Stage Venture Capital Valuation 74

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2016

Government grants and industry partners are you best bet here, but Angel investors might give you $250,000 to $1 million, if you have the right business case and credentials. The final product works great, and all the early users love it.” Every investor wants to be part of your growth stage , after your first $1 million in revenue.

Matching 120

Matching Angel Investor Intellectual Property Investment Bankers 120

Up and Running

JULY 22, 2019

A telling success factor for new businesses looking to make an impact in their industries is whether they can attract investment at an early stage of development. . More specifically, companies are able to see notable success when they allow investors to engage early on. Start early.

Canada 78

Canada Early Stage Valuation Finance 78

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

FEBRUARY 21, 2011

It’s among the most-asked questions on startup forums, and an issue we’re dealing with right now at WPEngine as we bring on new employees: How do you decide how much equity (shares) to give a new employee or partner? The question is further complicated when the new hire is getting a salary.

Equity 276

Equity Salary Hiring Institutional Investors 276

Austin Startup

DECEMBER 29, 2018

Since I first wrote about the Golden Age in 2014, valuations for tech companies have only increased?—?rather For example, you get on the phone with a business partner and they kiss up to you. The book is also full of very practical early-stage marketing advice so you can break through the noise. rather dramatically.

Cofounder 48

Cofounder Austin Technical Review Advisory Board 48

YoungUpstarts

APRIL 18, 2019

As a founder, you have to come to terms with not having complete control — of your team, the market, or your valuation. But early-stage startup founders can’t think this way, because when immediate goals are unrealistic or unachievable, a startup is bound to crash and burn. We’re not worth a billion dollars.

Cofounder 127

Cofounder Startup Private Equity Equity 127

David Teten

DECEMBER 3, 2019

But in business, you want a lot of partners. In the private equity universe, most Partners have primary training as deal-makers, not as managers. See Bessemer Venture Partners’ A comprehensive guide to security for startups. Cobalt for General Partners helps GPs to optimize their fundraising strategy. 1) Manage the firm

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Software Review Analytics Private Equity 78

Eric Friedman

JUNE 11, 2019

Whether a fundraising event, hiring, or sales/partnership opportunity- these can be especially useful to make all parties move faster. Exclusivity – This can be great if you have another partner, or frame things in a way that could leave them out. In the end, time will kill all deals.

Term Sheet 68

Term Sheet Stock Options Early Stage Agile 68

The Equity Kicker

JULY 8, 2019

From around 2000, and perhaps coinciding with the need to work harder to win deals as opportunities dried up after the internet bubble burst, individual partners at VC firms began adding ‘helping CEOs win’ to their job descriptions. . This trend accelerated through the emergence of VC and operator blogging in the early 2000s. .

Portfolio 84

Portfolio LP Venture Capital Partner 84

genylabs.typepad.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

Steve and Carolyn are partners at Emergent Research and Senior Fellows at the Society for New Communications Research. Before you agree to take equity in lieu of cash, you need to understand that any individual early stage start-up company equity is most likely going to be worthless. Reports and Resources. what your rights are.

Equity 40

Equity Technical Review San Jose Stock 40

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 1, 2010

There is a structural reason that VCs are investing at early stages, 2. Many (Union Square Ventures, Foundry Group, True Ventures, GRP Partners, Mike Hirshland at Polaris Ventures) do it the right way – we treat it as a normal investment and we don’t have a “options&# strategy with our investment.

Post-Money Valuation 298

Post-Money Valuation Term Sheet Warrant Partner 298

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 3, 2010

First, if the VC does 15-20 of these under one partner then it is certain he can’t spend any time with these investments. Third, he notes that even if they do invest they’re likely to do so at a lower price because you can’t truly get an independent valuation. And then there is GRP Partners.

Venture Capital 265

Venture Capital Term Sheet Early Stage Silicon Valley 265

Austin Startup

SEPTEMBER 19, 2017

In other cases, they may come from your channel partners or elsewhere. A strong advisor can walk you in the door to the same number of companies as 2–3 new sales hires. The more disruptive an idea, the harder it is the evaluate at an early stage. Never discount the power of a warm intro.

Advisory Board 48

Advisory Board Sweat Equity Marketing Vertical 48