Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 8, 2010

One of the first tough decisions that startup founders have to make is how to allocate or split the equity among co-founders. Another common “failure to start” situation I see is one where the “idea person” insists that the idea is 90% of the value (and 90% of the equity). Expertise can be marketing, technical, financial, or sales.

Equity 228

Equity Intellectual Property Cofounder CTO Hire 228

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2023

Many entrepreneurs are convinced that banks are not worth the effort for startups, especially early-stage ones that still don’t have a revenue stream, or collateral to back up their financing needs. Bankers do not contribute equity. The short answer is that some banks will help, if you do your homework. An impressive team.

Equity 303

Equity Silicon Valley Finance Early Stage 303

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 11, 2022

How might our next phase of the journey seem brighter, even with more uncertain days for startups and capital markets? And then in the late 90’s money crept in, swept in to town by public markets, instant wealth and an absurd sky-rocketing of valuations based on no reasonable metrics. What happened? People were building.

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Valuation San Francisco Ratchet Liquidation Preference 466

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 25, 2018

It’s taken the Toronto executive from the world of Big 3 Accounting (as a CPA with PricewaterhouseCoopers in his early career) to Investment Banking(National Bank Financial) and capital markets (co-founding Eight Capital after leading the management buyout of Dundee Capital Markets). You also talk about challenges to entrepreneurs.

Partner 113

Partner Technical Review Management Due Diligence 113

David Teten

APRIL 1, 2021

I’ve recently advised a number of emerging private equity and VC funds who are wrestling with the question: What are the highest impact steps they can take to support their portfolio companies? . Almost every private equity and venture capital investor now advertises that they have a platform to support their portfolio companies.

Private Equity 78

Private Equity Venture Capital Portfolio Equity 78

ConversionXL

JANUARY 18, 2022

In 2018, after two short years and $3 million raised in startup funds, recruitment AI company Ansaro shut down due to bad market fit. Muun found a market need but failed to compete with bigger names that provided customers with authoritative content and resources. Both companies suffered from a fatal lack of marketing.

Marketing 110

Marketing Product Audience Equity 110

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2022

Yet every entrepreneur I meet wants to talk about the idea, and rarely mentions the team. Thus I was happily surprised when I found the classic book, “ The Tech Entrepreneur’s Survival Guide ,” by Bernd Schoner, PhD, and cofounder of ThingMagic, which leans heavily on the people side of the equation. The industry veteran.

Technical Cofounder 309

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Startup 309

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 7, 2016

Despite a valiant effort, we only briefly succeeded in putting IBM in the personal computer business, but our efforts changed my view of entrepreneurs forever. For IBM, the Personal Computer was a paradigm shift from their big business legacy, built with new technologies for totally new markets, and battleships turn very slowly.

Technical Review 214

Technical Review Entrepreneur Silicon Valley Burn Rate 214

David Teten

JANUARY 21, 2021

(co-written with Jamie Finney, Founding Partner at Greater Colorado Venture Fund. V: Should you raise venture capital from a traditional equity VC or a Revenue-Based Investing VC? VI: Revenue-based financing: The next step for private equity and early-stage investment. II: Who are the major Revenue-Based Investing VCs?

Equity 78

Equity Revenue Cofounder Colorado 78

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 23, 2012

One of the first tough decisions that startup founders have to make is how to allocate or split the equity among co-founders. Another common “failure to start” situation I see is one where the “idea person” insists that the idea is 90% of the value (and 90% of the equity). Expertise can be marketing, technical, financial, or sales.

Intellectual Property 252

Intellectual Property Equity Cofounder CTO Hire 252

Hearpreneur

DECEMBER 10, 2023

Often entrepreneurs and business owners create their New Year’s Resolutions around their businesses. We asked entrepreneurs and business owners to share their business goals and what they were looking forward to in 2024. It’s almost new year and right after the ball drops, it’s time to go to work.

Technical Review 134

Technical Review Entrepreneur Artificial Inteligence Affiliate 134

Hearpreneur

APRIL 24, 2024

10- By taking the most salient identities Photo Credit: Judy Hartling When Joelle Murchison was thinking of a name for her Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Leadership Consulting firm, she took two of her most salient identities: a mom of four and an executive with corporate and combined them into ExecMommyGroup.

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Naming Entrepreneur Hungary Search 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 14, 2022

Most entrepreneurs who start a company alone soon come to the conclusion that two heads are better than one – someone to share the workload, the hard decisions, costs, and tasks you don’t like. If you think about it, you should realize that not everyone is ‘ideal partner material.’ I’ll put in the money, if you put in the sweat equity.”

Partner 351

Partner Cofounder Sweat Equity Startup 351

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 1, 2014

They couldn’t possibly understand the new social media culture, new technologies, or have the determination to beat their younger counterparts in the market. Gallup says the Boomer demographic is the largest and still growing mainstream pool of experienced talent in the market today (76 million people strong).

Entrepreneur 266

Entrepreneur Advisory Board Dividend Angel Investor 266

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 24, 2021

For the elite startups and entrepreneurs who manage to attract the investor they dream of, and survive the term sheet negotiation, there is still one more hurdle before the money is in the bank. Visit reference customers, partners, and vendors. This is the mysterious and dreaded due diligence process, which can kill the whole deal.

Technical Review 379

Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Bankruptcy 379

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 18, 2020

They couldn’t possibly understand the new social media culture, new technologies, or have the determination to beat their younger counterparts in the market. Pew says the Boomer demographic is the largest mainstream pool of experienced talent in the market today, and will be for the foreseeable future. Member of the Advisory Board.

Advisory Board 312

Advisory Board Startup Dividend Angel Investor 312

Hearpreneur

MARCH 4, 2022

Being in love with your business, when you’re an entrepreneur, is even better. Although there are days when tossing in your hat seems like a viable option, remembering how much you love your “job” can quickly snap an entrepreneur out of that mentality. When you're an entrepreneur, you have to make a lot of compromises.

Entrepreneur 124

Entrepreneur Technical Review Restful Colorado 124

The Startup Magazine

FEBRUARY 21, 2024

As the CEO of one of Canada’s largest private credit firms, can you describe the basics of private credit and its increasing importance to budding entrepreneurs? For entrepreneurs, this means not just securing capital, but also gaining a collaborator committed to their growth journey. The firm has made more than $4.5

Technical Review 132

Technical Review Due Diligence Bankruptcy Intellectual Property 132

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 20, 2016

Thus the top priority of every entrepreneur who wants funding should be to build and highlight their “dream team” of co-founders, executives and advisers, to attract the biggest and best investors. Solo entrepreneurs rarely find an investor. Investors talk to each other and they love warm introductions to up-and-coming entrepreneurs.

Sweat Equity 152

Sweat Equity Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Software Review 152

Up and Running

AUGUST 30, 2021

The outdoor industry wasn’t helping itself, so he did what all entrepreneurs do: start a business to solve the problem. It’s difficult to be an entrepreneur — whether you’re a recent college graduate or have managed multiple companies. It’s why the average age of an entrepreneur is 42 years old. Solve the rest later.

Entrepreneur 132

Entrepreneur Lean Colorado Engineer 132

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 9, 2020

Yet every entrepreneur I meet wants to talk about the idea, and rarely mentions the team. Thus I was happily surprised when I found the classic book, “ The Tech Entrepreneur’s Survival Guide ,” by Bernd Schoner, PhD, and cofounder of ThingMagic, which leans heavily on the people side of the equation. The industry veteran.

Technical Cofounder 308

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Stock Options 308

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2013

I hear a lot of entrepreneurs contemplating their great “idea” for several years with little discernable progress, and looking for money to start. Make sure your plan answers every relevant question that you could possibly imagine from your business partners, spouse, and potential investors. Traction means forward progress.

Intellectual Property 281

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Sweat Equity CTO Hire 281

David Teten

SEPTEMBER 23, 2017

Private equity and venture capital investors are copying our sisters in the hedge fund and mutual fund world: we’re trying to automate more of our job. PEVCTech is partnering with Blue Future Partners to run the first large-scale survey of VCs’ technology stack. But we’re doing it slowly. You can register for the survey here.

Private Equity 60

Private Equity Venture Capital Equity Technical Review 60

Up and Running

NOVEMBER 12, 2014

Are you an emerging entrepreneur with an underfunded venture? Then, the unveiling of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s proposed equity crowdfunding rules reveals a panacea for growing your business’s coffers. Equity crowdfunding vs. donation crowdfunding. Could your business flourish with a gush of money and hype?

Equity 125

Equity SEC Technical Review Security 125

View from Seed

JANUARY 27, 2021

We are looking to bring on board a versatile new team member to support the varied internal operations of the firm as well as collaborate with the partners on our external programs and communications with the broader entrepreneurial community. You are actively engaged in the NYC or Boston tech ecosystem. A Final Note. How To Apply .

Operations 227

Operations Hiring Seed Stage Software Review 227

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 16, 2014

Our last fund was $200 million but as you may already know since we raised that fund we added new partners Greg Bettinelli and Kara Nortman and Venture Partner Hamet Watt – all of whom are busy looking at new deals for the firm in addition to Yves Sisteron (the founder), Steven Dietz (also part of founding team) and myself.

Las Vegas 396

Las Vegas St. Louis Southern California San Diego 396

David Teten

NOVEMBER 23, 2020

Blue Future Partners, a venture capital fund of funds, recently interviewed me on ESG in venture capital. It provides users in emerging markets mobile access to their financial lives, who were previously typically not served by financial institutions. Why is that? Concentration in consumer/branded products startups.

Venture Capital 60

Venture Capital Partner Technical Review Cofounder 60

David Teten

JANUARY 19, 2021

(co-written with Jamie Finney, Founding Partner at Greater Colorado Venture Fund. From traditional equity VC, Flexible VC borrows the option to pursue and reap the rewards of an outsized exit. Flexible VC 101: Equity Meets Revenue Share. Equity Ownership. Yes, typically preferred equity. Of the Inc. Example VC.

Cofounder 78

Cofounder Technical Review Equity Dividend 78

Hearpreneur

JUNE 4, 2021

We asked some entrepreneurs and business owners, why they started their businesses: #1- Express thoughtfulness and kindness. After doing some market research, I realized that there was a market for the handcrafted greeting cards that I make, and in September 2019, MsCraftprincess Designs was formed. Photo Credit: Brenda R.

Entrepreneur 132

Entrepreneur B2B Database Technical Review 132

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 18, 2013

by Jeffrey Kadlic, co-founder & managing partner of Evolution Capital Partners. But if you want to stay competitive, there are four questions entrepreneurs can constantly be asking themselves to set their organizations up for significant growth. Is there an opportunity to tap into a new market segment due to a disruption?

Private Equity 164

Private Equity Entrepreneur Cofounder Technical Review 164

YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 10, 2020

by Rod Robertson, Managing Partner of Briggs Capital and author of “ Winning at Entrepreneurship: Insiders’ Tips on Buying, Building, and Selling Your Own Business “ While news of vaccines on the horizon signal hope, some analysts think a sizable chunk of the U.S. Investment in tech is trending.

Technical Review 279

Technical Review Private Equity Equity Employee 279

ReadWriteStart

DECEMBER 15, 2022

But I recommend entrepreneurs and prospective business builders consider the Agency Builder model. So an entrepreneur forming a startup studio benefits from having experience in the industry sector they hope to serve. Following the digital agency model for a startup, studio offers significant advantages to entrepreneurs.

Incubator 188

Incubator Startup Software Developers Software Development 188

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 18, 2012

I’ve noticed that some entrepreneurs seem to have no trouble attracting investors, while others with a great business plan struggle with it. On the top line, angel investors look to invest in entrepreneurs that have an almost unwavering passion and sense of urgency. If you don’t have it, you probably won’t succeed, even with funding.

Technical Review 294

Technical Review Intellectual Property Angel Investor Elevator Pitch 294

YoungUpstarts

APRIL 7, 2016

In one of business’s most fickle markets (and with no certain or proven path to success), startups must ask themselves: How can they successfully break into technology’s most competitive business without any true business experience? The Startup Lab usually takes equity in return for talent that is dedicated to the company.

Seed Stage 100

Seed Stage Silicon Valley Incubator Asia 100

The Startup Magazine

SEPTEMBER 21, 2020

We interviewed Mr. Abraham Gin, an entrepreneur, business coach, and CEO of Gin Consulting Group , which provides unique leadership development and training platforms. Abraham serves his clients with both forward-looking business growth strategy and digital marketing through leadership applications partners.

Leadership 166

Leadership Founder Technical Review Entrepreneur 166

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 9, 2011

Venture Capitalists typically have partners’ meetings on Mondays. So the industry formed around a day of the week when all partners could avoid having company board meetings or traveling. I thought about things I never had to as an entrepreneur: check size, ownership percentage, deal stage, portfolio construction and risk.

Stock 305

Stock Technical Review Marketing Greece 305

VC Cafe

JANUARY 22, 2021

AWS is a market leader in Cloud technology, and as such the company has a range of Go To Market programs to help startups scale. The AWS APN Global Startup Program – for startup AWS Partner Network (APN) select and advanced technology partners looking to grow their products on AWS. Commercial and partnerships.

Technical Review 174

Technical Review Startup Venture Capital Incubator 174