Genuine VC

APRIL 29, 2013

all talk about the best way for entrepreneurs to optimize their fundraising process with the end-goal of receiving a term sheet. It’s often spoken as if the second that magical term sheet document is in hand, the process is over. Agreement of key terms between entrepreneur + VC firm.

Term Sheet 150

Term Sheet Valuation Partner Conversion 150

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 29, 2010

We received so much positive feedback from our This Week in Venture Capital show walking through valuation calculations & term sheets that we decided to do a Q&A show this week to address topics that entrepreneurs want to learn about. on the entrepreneur side of the table) when I raised at too high of a price.

Venture Capital 282

Venture Capital Term Sheet Valuation Stock Options 282

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2014

We are often asked how companies get funded, why VCs make the decisions we make and what we’re looking for in entrepreneurs. On August 23rd, 2013 I had an email intro from my good friend and trusted source Jeff Berman who only sends me stuff when it is somebody he respects (ie a strong filter vs. those who send casual intros).

Technical Review 373

Technical Review North America Los Angeles Cofounder 373

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 13, 2011

There was a lot of consumer internet activity again…resurgence of things, but it was still mysterious, venture capital was still kind of closed, 1st time entrepreneurs had a lot of questions that were unanswered, and there was still some sort of hand waiving around all the financing stuff and so we took it on….”.

Technical Review 288

Technical Review Venture Capital Silicon Valley Software Review 288

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 12, 2017

However, as a condition of financing they may require annual audited financial statements. No entrepreneur wants to think that their business won’t last, but as they burn cash in the developing years they need to consider future implications — particularly funding. What are the company’s obligations?

San Francisco 133

San Francisco Forecast Early Stage Term Sheet 133

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 23, 2017

It’s why raising a round of capital often feels like a hollow victory because it almost feels like a temporary reprieve from the Grim Reaper and in a way every new round just sets the bar higher to clear for the next round of financing or the hope of reaching profitability. The best VCs follow up but then so, too, to the best entrepreneurs.

Burn Rate 238

Burn Rate Term Sheet CTO Hire Fractional CTO 238

Gust

DECEMBER 27, 2012

It sounds obvious, but the majority of entrepreneurs who pitch me have obviously never thought through many of the major issues surrounding their companies. This person will be critical in rounding up other investors, drafting a term sheet, and generally getting the deal done. Understand your business.

Software Review 164

Software Review Term Sheet Technical Review Angel Investor 164

Berkonomics

MAY 15, 2014

A good example was during the negotiation of a term sheet. These usually involve a handful of angel investors, and a few entrepreneurs, who all want to build the very best term sheet for their exciting nascent enterprise. Email readers, continue here.] Raising money'

Term Sheet 91

Term Sheet Angel Groups Angel Investor Deal Structure 91

www.seriesseed.com

MARCH 2, 2010

SeriesSeed.com Series Seed Financing Documents Blog Home Documents Blog Archives Subscribe 09/02/2010 Version 2.0   That’s because there are not that many issues to negotiate in a simple equity financing. In sum, Series Seed creates a level playing field between capped debt and equity documents in terms of speed and cost. 

Finance 58

Finance Term Sheet Equity Aggregator 58

ReadWriteStart

OCTOBER 6, 2011

Sramana Mitra is the founder of the One Million by One Million (1M/1M) initiative, an educational, business development and incubation program that aims to help one million entrepreneurs globally to reach $1 million in revenue and beyond. She is a Silicon Valley entrepreneur and strategy consultant. What makes 1M/1M unique?

Silicon Valley 118

Silicon Valley India San Francisco Entrepreneur 118

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2018

If an investor isn’t engaging then they’re not suddenly going to get a term sheet. The surest sign a fund-raising process has stalled is when you aren’t getting follow-up meetings or hearing from the VC or hearing from friends that they got a phone call or email asking about you. You can short-hand this as “engagement.”

Term Sheet 332

Term Sheet Due Diligence Campaign Sales 332

Feld Thoughts

MARCH 2, 2010

Y Combinator Series AA Equity Financing Documents (by WSGR). Founders Institute Plain Preferred Term Sheet (by WSGR). Series Seed Financing Documents (by Fenwick & West). I wrote about this in my post The Challenge of The Ideal First Round Term Sheet. TechStars Model Seed Funding Documents (by Cooley).

Finance 133

Finance Term Sheet Angel Investor Early Stage 133

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 21, 2018

I was recently with an entrepreneur and talking with him about his fund raising process. He was in a later-stage financing round and was talking with many investors. I told him, “I know we don’t yet have a term sheet so you feel you need to listen to everybody’s request. How would you act then? Want to read more?

Term Sheet 217

Term Sheet Later Stage Demand Email 217

Startup Lessons Learned

MAY 31, 2019

The reality today is that capital is more available than ever and entrepreneurs have become more sophisticated, so founders are looking for more than just cash from their venture backers. You've seen how venture capital works from both sides--as an entrepreneur and a venture capitalist.

Lean 108

Lean Venture Capital Conversion IPO 108

Startup Company Lawyer

APRIL 22, 2009

[Below is the text of a WSGR email update.]. By answering a series of questions, users are guided through the principal variables contained in a venture financing term sheet. By answering a series of questions, users are guided through the principal variables contained in a venture financing term sheet.

Term Sheet 39

Term Sheet Finance Preferred Stock Kentucky 39

Gust

SEPTEMBER 27, 2014

To begin with, it is important to understand some basic facts about the world of entrepreneurial finance: There are many more entrepreneurs than there are investors, with the result that only one company out of every 400 that seeks venture funding actually receives it.

Angel Groups 159

Angel Groups Elevator Pitch Software Review Deal Flow 159

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 16, 2012

I raised money as an entrepreneur, like you, in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2005 for two different companies. I never suggest that entrepreneurs just randomly pitch VCs. You’ll never make a great entrepreneur. So your journey to fund raising begins by strengthening your relationships with other entrepreneurs.

Developer 366

Developer Silicon Valley PR Las Vegas 366

Berkonomics

APRIL 3, 2014

We’ve spoken of financing a young company through friends and family, known as “inside angels.” Email readers, continue here.] With angel groups, you should plan of spending months in the process, from application through funding. You will be given a “term sheet” during the process, calling out the terms proposed for the investment.

Equity 92

Equity Finance Liquidity Event Angel Groups 92

steveblank.com

JULY 8, 2011

Poplytics – online surveys and analytics AskYourTargetMarket – market research surveys SurveyMonkey - granddaddy of on-line surveys Amazon Mechanical Turk – you can set up a question and get answers PickFu – A/B testing $5 for 50 opinions Collaboration Dropbox – store, sync, and, share files online.

Software Review 110

Software Review Startup Silicon Valley Analytics 110

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 5, 2009

Unfortunately in early stage startups the drive for financing hijacks the corporate DNA and becomes the raison d’etre of the company. The Traditional VC Pitch Entrepreneurs who pursue the traditional product development model don’t have customer data to answer these questions. How many are there? Is there a profitable business model?

Customer Development 262

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 262

www.vccafe.com

MARCH 11, 2013

Whether you’re wondering what site search you should use or what is the best email marketing tool, knowledge is power. A group of Seedcamp entrepreneurs started a startup tools wiki for that purpose, and we thought it would be well suited here. Email Integration. Email marketing. Mockingbird. Adobe Photoshop *.

Software Review 53

Software Review Technical Review Startup 53

Feld Thoughts

MARCH 11, 2010

I know I owe everyone a follow up to my post from last week titled The Proliferation of Standardized Seed Financing Documents. To the many of you out there that emailed me in response, thanks for all of the thought, ideas, suggestions, and offers of help. Tags: Angel Investing angel investors Term Sheet.

Term Sheet 122

Term Sheet Angel Investor Entrepreneur Finance 122

abovethecrowd.com

APRIL 20, 2016

Why the Unicorn Financing Market Just Became Dangerous…For All Involved. Many modern entrepreneurs have limited exposure to the notion of failure or layoffs because it has been so long since these things were common in the industry. By the first quarter of 2016, the late-stage financing market had changed materially.

IPO 40

IPO Term Sheet Silicon Valley Valuation 40

mashable.com

JUNE 11, 2013

Lucky for you, time-strapped entrepreneur, weve gathered some tips from the pros to help you avoid some of the most common, game-ending mistakes committed by young startups. Young founders tend to complicate things too much, from structuring partnership agreements, financing, leases, etc. As an entrepreneur, theres a lot going on.

Cofounder 111

Cofounder Technical Review Startup Software Review 111

Genuine VC

JANUARY 10, 2012

I recently received a email from an entrepreneur who I know with a genuine question about terms of his financing: " How do you guys at NextView feel about one of our investors holding super pro - rata rights for the next round?"

Term Sheet 131

Term Sheet Burn Rate Valuation Dilution 131

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 31, 2011

One of the most common questions that entrepreneurs who meet me for the first time like to ask is, “Do you miss being an entrepreneur? I thought I’d talk a bit about the differences I’ve experienced between being an entrepreneur & a VC – you know, from “both sides of the table.&#. On Being an Entrepreneur.

Entrepreneur 384

Entrepreneur Startup Salary Egypt 384

David Teten

DECEMBER 3, 2019

Small investment firms often have interns and entrepreneurs in residence passing through, each of which is a security risk. At Flow Capital, we use HubSpot’s sequences and workflows functions to automate a bulk of our emails and internal tasks. Another provider which identifies email addresses of strangers is Contactout.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Software Review Analytics Private Equity 78

Feld Thoughts

APRIL 6, 2010

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about The Proliferation of Standardized Seed Financing Documents. It generated several hundred email responses and a handful of phone calls. I didn’t count them up, but I got well over 100 emails from all over the US. Entrepreneurs : The next largest number of respondents were entrepreneurs.

Term Sheet 118

Term Sheet LP Finance Email 118

Professor VC

APRIL 1, 2010

was part of a Dow Jones VentureWire webinar last week titled Negotiating An Angel Deal: What Angels, Entrepreneurs & VCs Need to Know. One comment made by Jason was that angels tend to be less sensitive than VCs on valuation and can potentially make it difficult to get a venture financing done at acceptable valuation. Steve Bennet.

Term Sheet 32

Term Sheet Angel Investor San Jose Venture Capital 32

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 14, 2010

They had received a term sheet from a VC and were wondering whether to work with this firm. But what about once you have a term sheet? Get a reference list - Most entrepreneurs do almost no reference checks or at least do them very informally. Encourage the entrepreneur to get feedback on you and your firm.

Term Sheet 298

Term Sheet Venture Capital Stealth Cofounder 298

Eric Friedman

AUGUST 18, 2021

It is the entrepreneurs that are singing their heart out, playing the instruments, et cetera. In my mind, that’s a lot of my role in the boardroom or with entrepreneurs, On Dan being the “Curmudgeon of Fintech”. Personally, I love Brian Armstrong ; he’s an incredible entrepreneur. But, it makes no sense to me.

Silicon Valley 88

Silicon Valley Venture Capital Cofounder Africa 88

ReadWriteStart

DECEMBER 1, 2011

I then discussed some of the lessons of the Freshdesk financing. Instead of rushing to raise money, the entrepreneurs have followed a systematic methodology of validating all the assumptions and got as far as paying customers before starting the funding round. Please note that I work exclusively with 1M/1M entrepreneurs.

Partner 113

Partner Tennessee Nashville India 113

Feld Thoughts

APRIL 29, 2015

While this makes for press release fodder and ego gratification, it’s of very little use to entrepreneurs. No understanding of the human dynamics behind the financing. No underlying metrics that drive the financing. Recently, the gang at SalesLoft told the detailed story of their $10m financing.

Atlanta 70

Atlanta Valuation Term Sheet Finance 70

Austin Startup

MAY 19, 2018

Just don’t do reference checks ever until the term sheet has been issued and you’re almost ready to fund. Do your research & apply your thesis early The number of emails I got from eager VCs who want to chat and hear about our company was staggering. Many VCs have backgrounds in finance. That’s awesome.

Founder 75

Founder Early Stage Software Review Deal Flow 75

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 8, 2011

We have significant VC commitments (listed below) – every entering company will get $50,000 in funding, mentorship from top VCs and successful entrepreneurs plus free office space. GumGum – Raises $11 million financing. CEO on front cover of Entrepreneur magazine. For the past 2.5 This education will continue.

Los Angeles 287

Los Angeles Silicon Valley Incubator Startup 287

Feld Thoughts

OCTOBER 12, 2011

” I had a ton of fun talking to and answering questions from about 75 entrepreneurs who – at the minimum – enjoyed eating the great food and wine that SVB provided on a luscious evening in Palo Alto. As a bonus to the evening, I got some direct, constructive feedback from one of the attendees via email later that night.

Term Sheet 138

Term Sheet Warrant Open Source Valuation 138

Feld Thoughts

JUNE 1, 2015

I don’t think I’ve ever physically been in the same place as Ben, but we’ve exchanged emails in the past and he was willing to allow me to republish his classic essay The Struggle in the book I wrote with my wife Amy – Startup Life: Surviving and Thriving in a Relationship with an Entrepreneur.

Startup 70

Startup Term Sheet Merger Finance 70