Genuine VC

JULY 10, 2012

There are essentially two distinct basic strategies for startup entrepreneurs to raise a seed round of capital: Subscription approach – An entrepreneur sets a structure (usually a convertible note) and recruits individual angel investors who subscribe to the round, all without a term-driving lead investor.

Syndicate 207

Syndicate Syndication Seed Stage Portfolio 207

The Startup Magazine

JANUARY 17, 2024

Hey there, budding entrepreneurs! Image Credit: Nick Chong / Unsplash Navigating the Startup Investment Maze Many entrepreneurs like yourself often find themselves a bit daunted by the range of investment options available. Entrepreneurs also encounter the intricacies of terms and valuation.

Due Diligence 133

Due Diligence Angel Investor Syndicate Syndication 133

Feld Thoughts

JUNE 10, 2022

Rather, when you have a choice between a financing at a lower valuation and a financing with all kinds of crazy structure to try to maintain a previous valuation, negotiate the best price you can but do a clean financing with no structure. So, as an entrepreneur, I encourage you to deal with reality.

Down Round 162

Down Round Ratchet Liquidation Preference Participating Preferred 162

View from Seed

AUGUST 13, 2014

Doing so can help entrepreneurs not only secure funding in general but better recognize the pros and cons of taking money from certain types of individuals. They will have the ability to “see” the opportunity that the startup is going after unlike anyone else — aside from the entrepreneur — because they inherently get the space.

Angel Investor 334

Angel Investor Syndicate Syndication Early Stage 334

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 1, 2021

For many fledgling entrepreneurs, trying to start up their own business can be an admittedly exhausting and arduous task. Were you to ask any entrepreneur what their most pressing concern was regarding their product or idea, they would most likely unhesitantly reply “money” — or, rather, the complete lack thereof. Crowdfunding.

Security 92

Security Finance Angel Investor Incubator 92

View from Seed

MAY 3, 2022

The company has recruited a network of tens of thousands of small online resellers, frequently individual stay-at-home entrepreneurs, onto its platform. Flyp’s workflow automation capabilities and AI-driven inventory matching system empower these entrepreneurs to develop and scale their at-home reseller businesses.

Syndicate 156

Syndicate Syndication IPO Matching 156

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 22, 2020

As a long-time advisor to entrepreneurs, and a former angel myself, I still find startups confused about the definition of an angel investor, and how and when to attract one. Typically, individual investments will be less than $100K, but a group of angels may syndicate multiples. Thus they don’t live or fly above the clouds.

Angel Investor 322

Angel Investor Valuation Syndicate Syndication 322

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 5, 2015

I challenge any entrepreneur, for example, to define the difference between "seed-stage" and "early-stage" financing. Most investors won’t touch a first-time entrepreneur at this stage. million and is normally syndicated from one to three institutional seed investors or larger VC funds.

Seed Stage 120

Seed Stage Finance Early Stage Startup 120

View from Seed

JUNE 10, 2020

As we’ve shared, we intentionally wanted to flip the traditional Accelerator model on its head and offer a unique offering for entrepreneurs at the earliest of stages. The dynamics for participation in the next round’s fundraise syndicate is complex, and many accelerators (and VCs) obfuscate their intentions for self-serving interests.

Cofounder 177

Cofounder Syndicate Syndication Alabama 177

ReadWriteStart

DECEMBER 2, 2010

Now, as for today's entrepreneurs, first up today was Hardika Shah presenting Mesoloan, a small enterprise loan program for Indian entrepreneurs in the $2,000-$20,000 loan size bracket. This is a segment that is well beyond traditional micro-finance, but also somewhat below the scope of the regular financial institutions.

India 116

India Green Silicon Valley Massachusetts 116

David Teten

MARCH 14, 2018

– Build out low-cost force multipliers such as scouts , Advisors, Entrepreneurs in Residence, Venture Partners, and so on. Another example is Correlation Ventures ($300M+ AUM), a VC firm which co-invests in financings with at least one other new outside VC.

Private Equity 60

Private Equity Venture Capital Equity Cofounder 60

David Teten

JANUARY 19, 2021

Part of the magic of revenue-based financing is how historical performance and strong, achievable financial projections are ultimately the backbone of how RBI/RBF investment decisions are made.” See Why Are Revenue-Based Investors Investing in Women & Diverse Entrepreneurs? Less established regulatory framework. .

Cofounder 78

Cofounder Technical Review Equity Dividend 78

Genuine VC

NOVEMBER 12, 2012

Dharmesh Shah had a great post up last week about the lessons learned from raising a mezzanine round of financing. It’s really interesting, but perhaps only applicable to a more limited set of entrepreneurs. Terms don’t start as in-your-face numerical figures… but they do end up that way when it comes time to exit.

Finance 128

Finance Mezzanine Valuation Seed Stage 128

Genuine VC

FEBRUARY 12, 2012

Along those lines, the world of individual angel investors is easier for entrepreneurs to navigate when you can recognize the category which he falls into based on their incentives and actions. PROS: Industry-insider who serves as a validator for the rest of the investment syndicate, extremely helpful advice and network connections.

Angel Investor 257

Angel Investor Syndicate Syndication Early Stage 257

ReadWriteStart

NOVEMBER 19, 2010

I have seen this criticism at various places where this recap is syndicated on a weekly basis, as well as in certain random forums on the internet. Well, I have coached early stage entrepreneurs for a couple of years now - diligently, patiently - and have learned a few things. All first-time entrepreneurs, arguably, are amateurs.

Silicon Valley 114

Silicon Valley Technical Review Startup Early Stage 114

Genuine VC

MAY 29, 2014

Yet even today, whether or not to take a (relatively) small check in a seed round syndicate from a multi-hundred million or even billion dollar fund is still a decision which takes quite a bit of consideration and sometimes consternation. So there is an element of (positive) selection bias in the larger VC syndicate cohort companies.

Syndicate 166

Syndicate Syndication Seed Stage Valuation 166

View from Seed

NOVEMBER 18, 2014

Recently, we looked at our own portfolio at NextView Ventures to dig a little deeper on how startups actually raise that next round of financing. Startups with large, lifecycle VCs included in the seed round syndicate did not reach Series A faster than those who did not. More on these below.). There was no meaningful difference.

Syndicate 333

Syndicate Syndication Seed Stage Startup 333

View from Seed

AUGUST 16, 2019

One of the most relevant scenarios that this fear vs. greed lens applies towards is insider-led financings. That story is built brick by brick through subtle cues of amounts of insider participation, who issues a term sheet, structure of the financing, etc. Of course, true motivations cannot be entirely divined.

Term Sheet 149

Term Sheet Syndicate Syndication Early Stage 149

Rob Go

OCTOBER 1, 2013

I continue to think that seed/angel investing is a pretty local endeavor, and even more so when one is hoping to lead rounds or be instrumental to catalyzing a financing or boosting the long-term prospects of a company. Which is why I’m pretty psyched about Angelist syndicates, especially in relation to the Boston startup community.

Syndicate 64

Syndicate Syndication Boston Community 64

YoungUpstarts

JANUARY 19, 2016

And as much as you may love and appreciate close friends and family, if you’re an entrepreneur, you simply can’t take financial advice from everyone! Having the right team in place can make all the difference in how you manage your finances and allow your money to work for you instead of against you. Personal Finance Coach.

Washington 100

Washington Entrepreneur Finance Syndicate 100

K9 Ventures

APRIL 27, 2011

In August/September 2009, the founders and I agreed to work together to raise a round of financing for the company. I helped introduce the company to various angels and lead the effort to form a syndicate for their fund-raising round. We pulled together about $600K of commitments and interest, for a $500K-target financing round.

Software Review 134

Software Review Technical Review IP Finance 134

Pascal's View

JULY 9, 2017

Andrew Krowne and I recently co-wrote an article in Tech Crunch , Why SAFE Notes Are Not Safe for Entrepreneurs. At its core, this issue points to the lack of understanding about the importance of post-money valuation by both entrepreneurs and investors. Many entrepreneurs lose track of what they have been cooking up in the cap table.

Post-Money Valuation 49

Post-Money Valuation Valuation Cap Table Covenant 49

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 17, 2020

Let’s take a few minutes to examine the kind of equity financing available to small or early stage businesses. Some can supply more when syndicating with other such groups. There is a rather new term for those large, individual investors who are usually former entrepreneurs made rich through sale of their previous ventures.

Equity 62

Equity Finance Liquidity Event Angel Groups 62

Genuine VC

FEBRUARY 12, 2012

Along those lines, the world of individual angel investors is easier for entrepreneurs to navigate when you can recognize the category which he falls into based on their incentives and actions. PROS: Industry-insider who serves as a validator for the rest of the investment syndicate, extremely helpful advice and network connections.

Angel Investor 128

Angel Investor Syndicate Syndication Early Stage 128

Mike Michalowicz

DECEMBER 18, 2012

Most entrepreneurs are passionate about what they do, and they’re happy to work on their businesses morning, noon, and night, but there comes a point where it’s just too much! Never forget that everyone needs a personal life, even successful entrepreneurs! Thanks to Jeannette De Beauvoir of Customline Wordware.

LLC 166

LLC Non-Compete Revenue Hiring 166

Growthink Blog

OCTOBER 7, 2010

I just reviewed the many companies who recently raised venture capital with an eye towards those that are offering products and services that could benefit other entrepreneurs and business owners. It enables merchants to sell their products anywhere by syndicating goods to multiple marketplaces.

Azure 74

Azure Venture Capital Software Review Syndicate 74

View from Seed

AUGUST 20, 2014

It seems like a high-class problem for an entrepreneur to be able to influence round composition, and it is. How should an entrepreneur think about the different types of investors affecting their seed and Series A rounds? Series A Dynamics: This is a middle-of-the-road outcome in terms of optimizing your next round of financing.

Startup 301

Startup Syndicate Syndication Boston 301

Feld Thoughts

DECEMBER 10, 2014

So – I’ll start with that – this is not a prediction, rather it’s a hypothesis, which is as long as there isn’t a cataclysmic macro event, Q115 financing activity is going to be insane. The number of large, “later stage” financings are remarkable – both in size and velocity.

Later Stage 142

Later Stage Syndicate Syndication Portfolio 142

View from Seed

OCTOBER 21, 2014

In short, more and more entrepreneurs are signaling their price expectations earlier in their seed fundraise process. In theory, there are three levels of pricing for an entrepreneur to potentially signal to a prospective investor: 1. Lower-Than-Market Value. This approach is almost never a good idea. Above-Market Value.

Valuation 336

Valuation Founder Seed Stage Angel Investor 336

YoungUpstarts

MAY 29, 2017

Bootstrapping” is the strategy of growing your business through income – sales – or other personal or short-term financing (like credit cards) rather than going out and looking for investors or taking on significant debt. My Google Primer lesson has just gone live: “ Start Small and Grow on Your Own with Bootstrapping ”.

Bootstrapping 118

Bootstrapping Syndicate Syndication Small Business 118

Feld Thoughts

AUGUST 10, 2010

My partner Seth Levine has a detailed post up today titled Trada – from the beginning that describes the creation and financing of Trada. In this case neither Niel (nor I) had any interest in creating a traditional syndicate to fund the company. Tags: Seed Financing angel financing Foundry Group seed trada VC.

Syndicate 120

Syndicate Syndication Angel Financing Finance 120

mashable.com

MAY 9, 2011

a New York-based sizzle reel production company specializing in promotional videos for PR and marketing professionals, and the Young Entrepreneur Council. I asked a panel of successful young entrepreneurs what fledging tech startups should be looking for in a CTO hire to ensure founders get the right person for the job. startupcto

CTO Hire 73

CTO Hire Fractional CTO CTO Technical Review 73

Babbling VC

JANUARY 7, 2011

I personally believe that one of the major drawbacks to venture capital in Europe is chronic under-financing and people skirt around this issue. Hence, financing rounds have been smaller (roughly a ratio of 5 to 1 when comparing US to EU). Even Dropbox and Etsy have done far larger rounds to finance their growth.

Finance 76

Finance LP Europe Valuation 76

View from Seed

JUNE 16, 2015

I was recently asked to sit on panel with my fellow VC peers and some top entrepreneurs from the Boston tech community. Generally, my advice to entrepreneurs is to avoid these situations. Leading up to the event, they published an article listing questions VCs never answer , as submitted by the community.

Boston 120

Boston Syndicate Syndication eCommerce 120

ConversionXL

APRIL 7, 2020

Once objectives are identified and prioritized, your podcasting plan should outline strategies and tactics, which include format, frequency, duration, host/s, point of view, guests, research, syndication, and marketing. podcast directories) pick up and syndicate your podcasts for free via RSS feeds. From there, podcatchers (i.e.

Syndicate 85

Syndicate Syndication Hosting Audio 85

Agile VC

MARCH 13, 2012

Patents and the threat of patent infringement lawsuits provide maximum leverage against a competitor when they’re in the middle of a strategic inflection point… a major financing, acquisition, or large product launch. Im a former Silicon Valley entrepreneur turned East Coast VC. Their legal teams will annihilate you!

IP 100

IP IPO Social Network Silicon Valley 100

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