Both Sides of the Table

JULY 22, 2010

I couldn’t understand why they wanted so many options until a friend pointed out that this just lowered their “true&# pre-money valuation (they also asked for some sharp elbowed terms in the deal). So let’s start calling the term sheet listed pre-money valuation as the “nominal&# pre-money valuation.

Valuation 405

Valuation Liquidation Preference Pre-Money Valuation Term Sheet 405

The Startup Magazine

SEPTEMBER 12, 2019

Most startups view venture capital funding as a blessing from above — eager to take it as soon as they can get it. Tempted by large sums of money and the perceived validation that comes along with being funded, founders turn to venture capitalists to accelerate their company’s growth. Money in Exchange for Control.

Early Stage 85

Early Stage Venture Capital Bootstrapping Pre-Money Valuation 85

Berkonomics

JANUARY 28, 2021

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve walked away from deals where the entrepreneur insists on a start-up pre-money valuation that is so high, no angel could expect to make a return upon the investment, even with a reasonable sales price for the company down the road. The post Don’t get hung up on early stage valuation.

Early Stage 62

Early Stage Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Cofounder 62

Gust

NOVEMBER 15, 2011

The Risk Factor Summation Method the fifth methodology for estimating the pre-money valuation of pre-revenue companies we have described in recent posts. For more information on determining the average valuations in your area, see the Scorecard Method. million pre-money valuation. million.

Valuation 102

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Ohio Early Stage 102

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 28, 2018

There’s a quick litmus-test conversation any early-stage VC will have with the founder and it’s one that you should be as prepared for as your elevator pitch. It goes something like this … VC: “How much money are you raising?” One entrepreneur refrain I sometimes hear is “We want to raise some extra money for M&A activities.”

Burn Rate 247

Burn Rate Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Dilution 247

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 23, 2014

pre-money valuation you certainly would want to exercise your right to continue investing if you had prorata rights. The “big boom” in startup financing started around March 2009?—?more Marc Andreessen captured some of this sentiment in his recent “ 10 Ways to Damage Your High-Growth Tech Startup ” Tweetstorm.

Technical Review 398

Technical Review Venture Capital Valuation Pre-Money Valuation 398

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 15, 2016

There is much talk these days that startup valuations have decreased and may continue to do so and that the amount of time it takes to fund raise may take longer. The earlier the round, the less capital you need and the more reasonable your valuation the less time that is needed generally to raise capital.

Burn Rate 150

Burn Rate Cap Table Valuation Software Review 150

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 26, 2012

How much is NewCo worth to investors at this point (pre-money valuation)? What percentage of NewCo does the investor own after the $1M infusion (post-money ownership percentage)? On the other hand, if the pre-money valuation is $4M, the founders ownership remains at a healthy 80% level.

Valuation 270

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation NPV Intellectual Property 270

David Teten

SEPTEMBER 16, 2014

Angel investors are generally former entrepreneurs and/or executives, who invest in privately-held, early-stage companies. These companies can range from tech startups to food trucks to retail stores. Sohl: “The Angel Investor Market in 2009: Holding Steady but Changes in Seed and Startup Investments”. approx 2004-09.

Angel Investor 114

Angel Investor Technical Review Venture Capital New Hampshire 114

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 2, 2011

A lot of my time is spent helping early-stage companies get to proof points so that they can raise capital. They might have some seed money and are thinking or raising a Series A based on success of an early release (MVP). Bill Payne is an expert on how early-stage investors should look at valuation.

Valuation 198

Valuation Revenue Pre-Money Valuation Early Stage 198

ReadWriteStart

OCTOBER 7, 2010

Bottom line, early stage equity is very, very expensive. So at any point, if you are trying to raise money, and you are hearing from investors that you are too early and have too little validation, it may be a good thing. Then Liana Thompson pitched Trendy Loot , a very early stage deal site for low-end jewelry.

Valuation 119

Valuation Silicon Valley Pre-Money Valuation Bootstrapping 119

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 14, 2021

Both early- and late-stage startup valuations are currently elevated. For context, seed-stage pre-money valuations are up 24% from H1 2020 to H1 2021. Early-stage valuations are up 70%, and late-stage valuations are up 103% (source Pitchbook ).

Valuation 319

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Distribution Early Stage 319

Gust

JULY 23, 2014

You can find this in a number of places, but in a nutshell, I prefer to invest in highly-scalable, technology-based ventures, with a particular focus on platforms, at a very, very early stage (but, oxymoronically, where there is already some type of traction). And that’s how to get a meeting with David S.

Angel Investor 153

Angel Investor Elevator Pitch Pre-Money Valuation Technical Review 153

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 6, 2010

How much is NewCo worth to investors at this point (pre-money valuation)? What percentage of NewCo does the investor own after the $1M infusion (post-money ownership percentage)? On the other hand, if the pre-money valuation is $4M, the founders ownership remains at a healthy 80% level.

Valuation 234

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation NPV Startup 234

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 18, 2016

As an entrepreneur looking for professional investors, one of the quickest ways to lose credibility and get rejected is to start with a ridiculously high pre-money valuation. Equally bad is professing no valuation estimate at all, asking investors to “make me an offer.” Team strength and experience is value.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Startup 120

Gust

NOVEMBER 18, 2012

How much is NewCo worth to investors at this point (pre-money valuation)? What percentage of NewCo does the investor own after the $1M infusion (post-money ownership percentage)? On the other hand, if the pre-money valuation is $4M, the founders ownership remains at a healthy 80% level.

Valuation 187

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation NPV Startup 187

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 14, 2021

Both early- and late-stage startup valuations are currently elevated. For context, seed-stage pre-money valuations are up 24% from H1 2020 to H1 2021. Early-stage valuations are up 70%, and late-stage valuations are up 103% (source Pitchbook ).

Valuation 295

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Distribution Early Stage 295

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 27, 2014

We both agree that the later-stage valuations are being driven up to a point that feels irrationally priced [he uses b-round SaaS valuations as an example and I am willing to be even more broad based]. Four years ago people paid $66m median pre-money valuation and are now paying $155m. Startup Lessons'

Valuation 309

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Later Stage Non-Compete 309

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2011

How much is NewCo worth to investors at this point (pre-money valuation)? What percentage of NewCo does the investor own after the $1M infusion (post-money ownership percentage)? On the other hand, if the pre-money valuation is $4M, the founders ownership remains at a healthy 80% level.

Pre-Money Valuation 246

Pre-Money Valuation Valuation NPV Intellectual Property 246

View from Seed

OCTOBER 21, 2014

As the seed-stage startup fundraise process has received more transparency in recent years, ranging from published advice on how to raise seed capital to increased availability through AngelList, Funders Club, and various accelerator programs, I’ve noticed another trend emerging. Lower-Than-Market Value.

Valuation 336

Valuation Founder Seed Stage Angel Investor 336

Agile VC

MAY 26, 2011

AGILEVC My idle thoughts on tech startups. Salesforce.com is a startup with 76,000 subscribers (over 2.1M I also joke with Reid Hoffman that this was back in the days before he was “Reid” Reid’s an incredible entrepreneur, startup investor, and human being. Ok, now you have the context for early 2003.

Term Sheet 178

Term Sheet Silicon Valley Technical Review Social Network 178

Berkonomics

JANUARY 7, 2021

Think of startups and early stage businesses whose entrepreneurs you know. Second rounds, if needed, often drive the founder(s) into a minority position, unless the company has grown significantly by that time and can command a higher pre-money valuation, giving less stock for the same amount of investment.

Liquidity Event 96

Liquidity Event Pre-Money Valuation Cofounder Initial Public Offering 96

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2015

Over the years I’ve written extensively about the downsides of convertible notes for startups such as here , here and here. In the old days VCs funded off of a “pre-money” valuation. Pre-money ($8m) + investment ($2m) = Post-money ($10m) and the investors now own 20% of your company $2m / $10m.

Pre-Money Valuation 150

Pre-Money Valuation Option Pool Post-Money Valuation Dilution 150

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 14, 2021

Both early- and late-stage startup valuations are currently elevated. For context, seed-stage pre-money valuations are up 24% from H1 2020 to H1 2021. Early-stage valuations are up 70%, and late-stage valuations are up 103% (source Pitchbook ).

Valuation 156

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Distribution Early Stage 156

The Startup Lawyer

FEBRUARY 4, 2011

Great news — your startup just got accepted to an incubator! But before your startup signs up and cashes that $[XX,000] check, your startup’s co-founders should sit down and evaluate the incubator’s offer. Pre-money valuations startups receive from incubators are typically low…really low.

Incubator 105

Incubator Pre-Money Valuation Option Pool Advisory Board 105

Gust

OCTOBER 12, 2011

To provide some reference points, I surveyed thirteen angels groups in North American to determine their recent experience in negotiating the pre-money valuation of pre-revenue companies. See the 2010 data reported here: Current Pre-money Valuations of Pre-revenue Companies. Current Average.

Angel Groups 125

Angel Groups Valuation Pre-Money Valuation St. Louis 125

YoungUpstarts

SEPTEMBER 4, 2017

Investing in startups is a lot more than just buying “stock” in a company. For investors who have come to the table with a history investing in publicly listed companies or the property market, it’s easy to think that backing startups is largely a “set and forget” strategy. Ask yourself, where is your startup currently struggling?

Pre-Money Valuation 167

Pre-Money Valuation Seed Stage IP Deal Flow 167

Tim Keane

JANUARY 12, 2010

Startups and angels: Along the way to success. Term-sheets and Valuations: Thinking about Negotiations. An average of these ranges results in a pre-money valuation of about $4MM.   If similarly situated companies are seeing $3.5MM pre-money valuations, this might become the target valuation.

Term Sheet 68

Term Sheet Valuation Dividend Liquidation Preference 68

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 17, 2011

I’m a very big believer in the “Lean Startup&# principles as espoused by Steve Blank and Eric Ries. In the seed phase startups are typically raising between $500k-$1m in today’s market. million and you’re an early stage business this is probably a fair deal. So here’s my framework.

Pre-Money Valuation 303

Pre-Money Valuation Dilution Valuation PR 303

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 30, 2018

I thought I’d write a post about how to talk about valuation at a startup and give you some sense of what might be on the mind of the person considering funding you. Of course, unlike cars there is no direct comparison across each startup so these are just some general guidelines to try and even the information field.

Valuation 324

Valuation Post-Money Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Cofounder 324

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 5, 2012

When convertible debt first started being introduced as a “faster, cheaper way to get startups funded” they didn’t have pricing built into them. In fact, most early investor work hard to help their startups get to the next level so it makes no sense for the angel investor and founders to be at odds.

Liquidation Preference 354

Liquidation Preference Ratchet Equity Stock 354

VC Cafe

SEPTEMBER 26, 2022

The past year was a wild ride for startups and founders, giving a whole new meaning to the ”rollercoaster” aspect of being an entrepreneur. A combination of competition for top talent and an effort to bring employees back to the office drove startups in Israel to throw extravagant parties and all-inclusive retreats abroad.

Founder 187

Founder Startup Valuation Pre-Money Valuation 187

ithacaVC

MARCH 11, 2016

Here is the post, which focused mostly on how 409A valuations are used for stock option purposes. And I think that early stage companies should take the risk and not use 409A valuations. As companies move to later stages and have meaningful revenues and profits then 409A valuations begin to make more sense.

Pre-Money Valuation 40

Pre-Money Valuation Stock Options Valuation Later Stage 40

Gust

OCTOBER 21, 2011

For convertible notes, the only liquidity event we need be concerned with is an acquisition of the startup in the near future, before the maturity date; otherwise, the notes will convert to equity of one kind or another, and the eventual sale of that equity (in a public offering, acquisition, or private sale) is a different subject for another day.

Finance 79

Finance Pre-Money Valuation Term Sheet Liquidity Event 79

K9 Ventures

MARCH 23, 2011

If they don’t learn to do this, then when they raise money from institutional investors and have a formal Board of Directors put in place, they are ill-equipped to know what it means to have a board meeting, to prepare a board information packet, and most of all to manage the board (and yes, every board needs to be managed).

Pre-Money Valuation 132

Pre-Money Valuation Valuation Equity Liquidation Preference 132

Gust

OCTOBER 12, 2011

Particularly when there are multiple closings taking place over a period of months, the fuse burns awfully quickly on a 12-month note given the many competing priorities of early stage entrepreneurs. Thus, it’s in everyone’s best interest to see the startup raise more capital rather than declaring default and demanding repayment.

Finance 107

Finance Term Sheet Pre-Money Valuation Early Stage 107

Gust

OCTOBER 20, 2011

This method compares the target company to typical angel-funded startup ventures and adjusts the average valuation of recently funded companies in the region to establish a pre-money valuation of the target. In most regions, the pre-money valuation does not vary significantly from one business sector to another.

Valuation 146

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Intellectual Property Technical Review 146