Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 25, 2023

The last thing a new entrepreneur wants to think about for a new startup is how it will end. Yet one of the first things a potential equity investor asks about is your exit strategy. Here are three important reasons for the question: Good investment paybacks normally require an exit event.

Exit Strategy 264

Exit Strategy Private Equity Equity Technical Review 264

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 5, 2011

Many entrepreneurs still dream of “going public,” making billions of dollars, and playing with the big boys. I recently reviewed a good summary of the advantages and disadvantages of an IPO exit strategy for startups in a widely-used textbook “ Entrepreneurship ,” by Robert Hisrich, Michael Peters, and Dean Shepherd.

Exit Strategy 235

Exit Strategy IPO Investment Bankers Entrepreneur 235

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 14, 2009

One of the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make is misunderstanding the role of venture capital investors. There’s lots of lore, emotion, and misconceptions of what VC’s do or don’t do for entrepreneurs. While there was an occasional bad apple, the public markets rewarded companies with revenue growth and sustainable profits.

Silicon Valley 217

Silicon Valley IPO Technical Review Venture Capital 217

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 25, 2020

The last thing a new entrepreneur wants to think about for a new startup is how it will end. Yet one of the first things a potential equity investor asks about is your exit strategy. Here are three important reasons for the question: Good investment paybacks normally require an exit event.

Exit Strategy 376

Exit Strategy Startup Private Equity Equity 376

YoungUpstarts

MARCH 9, 2016

For a young entrepreneur, the mergers and acquisitions process can be exciting and potentially lucrative but it can also be the source of considerable stress. Look for an advisor who lays out the details for you when it comes to determining appropriate market value. Your own valuation of your business might not be correct.

Technical Review 100

Technical Review Due Diligence San Francisco Merger 100

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2013

Many entrepreneurs still dream of “going public,” making billions of dollars, and playing with the big boys. IPOs in 2008, the market was up to a still trivial 128 in 2012 (compared to 675 in 1996). Their synopsis of the key risks should make you look hard for an alternate exit strategy: Increased risk of liability.

IPO 224

IPO Founder Exit Strategy Investment Bankers 224

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 5, 2011

Entrepreneurs love the art of the start. So here are the most common exit strategies and considerations these days for planning purposes: Merger & Acquisition (M&A). Even lifetime entrepreneurs can decide that enough is enough. To some, an exit strategy sounds negative. Marty Zwilling.

Exit Strategy 231

Exit Strategy Initial Public Offering Startup IPO 231

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 27, 2012

Here are the ten slides you need: Problem and market need. Make sure to communicate the relevance of your product / services to market needs. Define the characteristics of the overall industry, market forces, market dynamics, and customer landscape. Investors like $1B markets with double-digit growth rates.

Elevator Pitch 247

Elevator Pitch Exit Strategy Burn Rate Merger 247

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2012

Many entrepreneurs scare away potential investors by claiming that their technology represents “truly disruptive technology.” Industry & market sizing. Start with the evolution of the overall industry, market segmentation, market dynamics, and customer landscape. Marketing, sales, and partners.

Business Plan 283

Business Plan Sweat Equity Exit Strategy Intellectual Property 283

Up and Running

JULY 2, 2014

You can’t underestimate the importance of selecting an attorney who “gets” your business model, your market opportunity, and most importantly, your fundraising and exit strategy. Now, if you’re a savvy investor or entrepreneur, I’m sure your jaw just dropped as you read that. ownership and never dilute.

Technical Review 118

Technical Review Angel Investor Due Diligence Dilution 118

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 17, 2014

Most entrepreneurs struggle with financial projections, not wanting to commit to numbers they can’t deliver, and having no clue what investors might consider reasonable. Most entrepreneurs, with no experience, believe that they can make good money with lower margins than competitors. Gross margins greater than 50%.

Liquidity Event 249

Liquidity Event Equity Venture Capital Merger 249

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 12, 2014

The last thing a new entrepreneur wants to think about for a new startup is how it will end. Yet one of the first things a potential equity investor asks about is your exit strategy. Here are three important reasons for the question: Good investment paybacks normally require an exit event.

Exit Strategy 289

Exit Strategy Entrepreneur IPO Startup 289

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 13, 2011

Many entrepreneurs scare away potential investors by claiming that their technology represents “truly disruptive technology.” Industry & market sizing. Start with the evolution of the overall industry, market segmentation, market dynamics, and customer landscape. Marketing, sales, and partners.

Business Plan 290

Business Plan Sweat Equity Exit Strategy Intellectual Property 290

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 19, 2010

Here are the ten slides you need: Problem and market need. Make sure to communicate the relevance of your product / services to market needs. Define the characteristics of the overall industry, market forces, market dynamics, and customer landscape. Investors like $1B markets with double-digit growth rates.

Elevator Pitch 235

Elevator Pitch Exit Strategy Burn Rate Merger 235

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2020

As an advisor to new hardware entrepreneurs, I often hear the myth that a business plan is no longer required to find an investor, if your idea is good enough. What you don’t realize is these famous investors only deal with entrepreneurs who sold their last company for a $100M dollars or more.

Business Plan 423

Business Plan Product Intellectual Property Elevator Pitch 423

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 10, 2011

Here are the ten slides you need: Problem and market need. Make sure to communicate the relevance of your product / services to market needs. Define the characteristics of the overall industry, market forces, market dynamics, and customer landscape. Investors like $1B markets with double-digit growth rates.

Elevator Pitch 234

Elevator Pitch Exit Strategy Burn Rate Merger 234

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 28, 2013

Most entrepreneurs struggle with financial projections, not wanting to commit to numbers they can’t deliver, and having no clue what investors might consider reasonable. Most entrepreneurs, with no experience, believe that they can make good money with lower margins than competitors. Gross margins greater than 50%. Marty Zwilling.

Liquidity Event 243

Liquidity Event Startup Equity Venture Capital 243

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 13, 2016

Entrepreneurs who are looking to attract investors need to develop and pitch a plan -- preferably written -- that answers every potential investor question about your startup before it is asked. How big and growing is the total market and your target segment? They like billion-dollar markets with double-digit growth rates.

Sweat Equity 120

Sweat Equity Advisory Board Liquidity Event Startup 120

Gust

AUGUST 10, 2014

Most entrepreneurs struggle with financial projections, not wanting to commit to numbers they cant deliver, and having no clue what investors might consider reasonable. Most entrepreneurs, with no experience, believe that they can make good money with lower margins than competitors. Image via pixabay.com. Build a path to 10x return.

Liquidity Event 176

Liquidity Event Equity Venture Capital Merger 176

Gust

AUGUST 5, 2012

Many entrepreneurs scare away potential investors by claiming that their technology represents “truly disruptive technology.” Industry & market sizing. Start with the evolution of the overall industry, market segmentation, market dynamics, and customer landscape. Marketing, sales, and partners.

Business Plan 182

Business Plan Sweat Equity Exit Strategy Intellectual Property 182

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2010

Many entrepreneurs scare away potential investors by claiming that their technology represents “truly disruptive technology.” Industry & market sizing. Start with the evolution of the overall industry, market segmentation, market dynamics, and customer landscape. Marketing, sales, and partners.

Business Plan 186

Business Plan Exit Strategy Sweat Equity Intellectual Property 186

Gust

AUGUST 19, 2012

Here are the ten slides you need: Problem and market need. Make sure to communicate the relevance of your product / services to market needs. Define the characteristics of the overall industry, market forces, market dynamics, and customer landscape. Investors like $1B markets with double-digit growth rates.

Elevator Pitch 146

Elevator Pitch Exit Strategy Burn Rate Merger 146

www.inc.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

Entrepreneur news from reporter Eric Markowitz. Sales & Marketing | Wednesdays. Exit Strategies. Strategy and Planning. SALES & MARKETING. Online Marketing. Bringing Innovation to Market. Strategy and Planning >. The Goods: Your Business Toolbox | Thursdays. Finance | Tuesdays.

Arizona 40

Arizona Equity Iowa Venture Capital 40

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 27, 2016

The last thing a new entrepreneur wants to think about for a new startup is how it will end. Yet one of the first things a potential equity investor asks about is your exit strategy. Here are three important reasons for the question: Good investment paybacks normally require an exit event.

Equity 120

Equity Exit Strategy Private Equity Startup 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2013

How do you as an entrepreneur with a new idea get to be one of those choices? That means there are far more entrepreneurs looking for money than there are investors, and entrepreneur entitlement is not a realistic expectation. Angels expect at least a working prototype and a hint of market acceptance (traction) before investing.

Cram Down 269

Cram Down Angel Investor Intellectual Property Venture Capital 269

Gust

NOVEMBER 4, 2011

Entrepreneurs and investors who have spent any time dealing with convertible debt seed financing transactions are likely to have encountered the subject of valuation caps. Intermix had acquired their previous online marketing startup, ResponseBase, and they remained a cohesive group. Read on for a fuller explanation.

Valuation 98

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Merger Vesting 98

Growthink Blog

SEPTEMBER 27, 2010

business via an “ Early Exit ” strategy, including how to creatively access the public markets via a merger into a public shell And much, much more! How a small, fast-growing technology company in an industry dominated by giants overcomes the famed “ Innovator’s Dilemma ” and makes money doing so. How to finance a tech.

Technology 67

Technology Merger Exit Strategy Affiliate 67

Pascal's View

AUGUST 22, 2009

On Monday, August 10, Barron’s ran a story “Does the IPO Market Shun Smaller Companies?”, The collateral effect of this market reality is that the vast majority of emerging VC-backed companies are effectively barred from going public. GDP growth and job creation will be still-born and be forced in to a merger?

IPO 40

IPO Merger Institutional Investors Venture Capital 40

Entrepreneurs-Journey.com by Yaro Starak

FEBRUARY 11, 2011

In this post, I want to lay out the details involved in how I first realized the opportunity, the formation of the business idea, the search for my supplier, the establishment and growth of the business, problems encountered and lessons learned, as well as the exit strategy that resulted in the $250,000 sale of the business.

SEO 86

SEO PPC America Design 86

Entrepreneurs-Journey.com by Yaro Starak

MARCH 10, 2011

This article picks up from that point onward, discussing the challenges we ran into once we went into operation mode, the invaluable lessons that only first-hand experience can teach, the exit strategy which was the $250,000 sale of the website, and finally my overall concluding thoughts on the entire experience.

Technical Review 71

Technical Review PPC Due Diligence Exit Strategy 71

Entrepreneurs-Journey.com by Yaro Starak

JANUARY 21, 2011

Sunil contacted me asking if he could apply to become a columnist on Entrepreneurs-Journey. I asked him what are the highlights of his “career&# as an entrepreneur so I could be confident in his credibility and he had stories to tell that we could all learn from. It turns out Sunil has done a few things.

Internet 80

Internet Technical Review Stock Due Diligence 80

The Startup Magazine

APRIL 2, 2021

Investors and entrepreneurs are very excited about the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) model as an exit strategy for private companies. The SPAC model gives entrepreneurs a faster, easier path to reaching the investing public. This type of shell company enables you to invest in companies before they go public.

AJAX 90

AJAX Early Stage Acquisition Merger 90