Up and Running

MAY 1, 2014

The vast majority of business owners and entrepreneurs aren’t business experts. Your business plan isn’t complete without a financial forecast. One of the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make in their business plans is stating that they don’t have any competition. > Don’t be intimidated. Read more ». Financial Plan.

Business Plan 163

Business Plan Forecast Balance Sheet Distribution 163

crowdSPRING Blog

JANUARY 18, 2013

Thanks To Facebook, Strongest Year For IPOs Since 2000 With $21.5 Lots of important lessons for entrepreneurs - [link]. 8 Major Mistakes Entrepreneurs Will Make In 2013 | Forbes – [link]. Creative Forecast: How Marketing Will Change In 2013 | Co.Create – [link]. Billion Raised | TechCrunch - [link].

Social Media 94

Social Media Small Business Design Media 94

YoungUpstarts

MAY 16, 2018

Schramm, author of “ Burn the Business Plan: What Great Entrepreneurs Really Do “ If I asked you to describe the prototypical successful entrepreneur, you may share a story mythologized in our culture of a brilliant young man with an idea so good and so disruptive that he just can’t waste any time finishing college.

Silicon Valley 157

Silicon Valley Forecast Venture Capital Business Plan 157

David Teten

JANUARY 19, 2021

In all these cases, capital is provided to fuel forecasted growth without creating a commitment to a particular vision for future funding rounds, exit goals, and associated blitzscaling. The value ascribed by subsequent investors (in a secondary); buyers (acquisition); or the public markets (IPO). The State of Flexible VC.

Cofounder 78

Cofounder Technical Review Equity Dividend 78

Agile VC

MAY 26, 2011

Google is still a private company (their IPO was Aug 2004). 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. And obviously all the liq prefs went away in the IPO when pref stock converted to common.

Term Sheet 178

Term Sheet Silicon Valley Technical Review Social Network 178

crowdSPRING Blog

MARCH 28, 2013

Lessons Learned from Bill Gross’ 35 IPOs/Exits and 40 Failures – [link]. Forecasting Fox | NYTimes – [link]. Lead Or Follow, But Keep Your Eyes On The Crowd – [link]. Invest in Your Customers More Than Your Brand | Michael Schrage-Harvard Business Review – [link].

Social Media 107

Social Media Small Business Design Media 107

crowdSPRING Blog

JANUARY 5, 2012

Some Thoughts On The IPO Market For Web Companies (by @fredwilson) – [link]. CEC’s Startup Forecast – “Never been a better time to start a company in Chicago” – [link]. CEC’s Startup Forecast – “Never been a better time to start a company in Chicago” – [link].

Social Media 92

Social Media Small Business Design Media 92

The Next Web

FEBRUARY 19, 2014

It was the biggest IPO the Australian market had seen all year , and sparked a flurry of subsequent listings – but ‘going public’ was not the only option we considered, and until we had progressed our exit strategy to near completion, it also seemed the most unlikely. An IPO requires special preparation of its own, some of it complex.

Prospectus 121

Prospectus IPO Exit Strategy Private Equity 121

www.entrepreneur.com

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

Follow Entrepreneur on Facebook Follow Entrepreneur on Twitter Follow Entrepreneur on LinkedIn Subscribe | Mobile. Startup Basics Does College Matter for Entrepreneurs? Branding From Entrepreneur to Icon in Five Steps. Young Entrepreneurs How I Did It: The TOMS Story. Business & Small Business.

Sweat Equity 55

Sweat Equity Equity Fractional CTO CTO 55

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. What are your forecasts for revenue, expenses and cash flow? Quantify founder investments, both cash and sweat-equity.

Sweat Equity 120

Sweat Equity Advisory Board Liquidity Event Startup 120

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2012

Many entrepreneurs scare away potential investors by claiming that their technology represents “truly disruptive technology.” It always amazes me how an entrepreneur can define his market opportunity so broadly, and then assess his competition so narrowly in the next breath. Financial forecast and metrics.

Business Plan 283

Business Plan Sweat Equity Exit Strategy Intellectual Property 283

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 13, 2011

Many entrepreneurs scare away potential investors by claiming that their technology represents “truly disruptive technology.” It always amazes me how an entrepreneur can define his market opportunity so broadly, and then assess his competition so narrowly in the next breath. Financial forecast and metrics.

Business Plan 290

Business Plan Sweat Equity Exit Strategy Intellectual Property 290

Cracking the Code

OCTOBER 13, 2020

We’d like to thank KeyBank and G2 for providing some of the data used in the report - * It’s an amazing time to be a cloud entrepreneur in Europe. Cloud Entrepreneurs: Embracing the “Silicon Valley State of Mind" Accel has been a big believer in cloud since the early days of this secular shift. Big milestones for the old continent!

Europe 71

Europe Cloud Silicon Valley 71

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 1, 2009

This post highlights some of the reasons why the market is moving again and what entrepreneurs should do about this. IPOs and M&A have returned – and with them the investment bankers have staged a rebound. VC’s are working hand-in-glove with the investment bankers to prepare for IPOs or create auction-style trade sales.

IPO 255

IPO Investment Bankers Venture Capital Marketing 255

Tim Keane

MARCH 9, 2011

How to prepare a sales forecast for a business plan » March 09, 2011. But, what constitutes success for the parties involved – investors, entrepreneurs, employees, and customers – can vary dramatically. Startups and angels: Along the way to success. By Tim Keane, Angel Investor, Golden Angels Investors, LLC.

Finance 83

Finance Bootstrapping Startup Equity 83

Tim Keane

JANUARY 12, 2010

Please see later version of this post on May 16, 2010 Entrepreneurs are often not experts in the area of term-sheet negotiations and all of the surrounding issues.   Investors sometimes “present” the terms they’d like and expect the entrepreneurs to react. Term-sheets and Valuations: Thinking about Negotiations. here of 7.65 [2].

Term Sheet 68

Term Sheet Valuation Dividend Liquidation Preference 68

VC Cafe

JUNE 19, 2020

Social impact investments first emerged in the UK around entrepreneurs such as Cohen during the early 2000s, with innovations like social impact bonds. The Forecasted 2016 to 2026 job growth stands at 120%. Tech products and services command a high profit margin of 12.4%. Source: Fundera . Enter Impact Tech.

Venture Capital 174

Venture Capital Global South Africa 174

BeyondVC

NOVEMBER 17, 2006

I am not sure if you saw the news , but Salary.com recently filed for an IPO to raise up to $50 million. I would usually put IPO filings in the nonevent category but as I dug deeper into the company and financial performance, it did raise some interesting questions for me. The post Is the bar lower for a tech IPO?

IPO 60

IPO Investment Bankers Demand Revenue 60

Gust

AUGUST 5, 2012

Many entrepreneurs scare away potential investors by claiming that their technology represents “truly disruptive technology.” It always amazes me how an entrepreneur can define his market opportunity so broadly, and then assess his competition so narrowly in the next breath. Financial forecast and metrics.

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.” It always amazes me how an entrepreneur can define his market opportunity so broadly, and then assess his competition so narrowly in the next breath. Financial forecast and metrics.

Business Plan 186

Business Plan Exit Strategy Sweat Equity Intellectual Property 186

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 13, 2009

After all, when upper management has been told a project will succeed for 4 years, it is very hard for anyone in middle management to stand up and reverse this forecast. The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Customer Development ► June (3) What is a startup? Two Ways to Hold Entrepreneurs Accountable (for Ha.

Product Development 153

Product Development Developer San Francisco Product 153

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 2, 2018

Without profit, there is no longevity to any business, so I’m always surprised when sincere young entrepreneurs avoid using the term, as if “profit” is a bad word. Every entrepreneur, and every investor, needs targets and a conviction that your business will be sustainable, and will provide a return-on-investment (ROI) to all constituents.

Intellectual Property 48

Intellectual Property Initial Public Offering Merger Acquisition 48

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 30, 2008

Ive forecasted the issues you have spoken of without entertaining the thoughts of solutions like you have. ► August (2) SXSW Case Study: SlideShare goes freemium ► July (4) Case Study: kaChing, Anatomy of a Pivot Some IPO speculation Founder personalities and the “first-class man&# th. April 23, 2010 in San Francisco.

CTO 168

CTO Fractional CTO CTO Hire Technical Review 168

Up and Running

APRIL 28, 2015

Most entrepreneurs are very focused on their product when instead they need to be focused on their customers and the problems those customers face. Investors will expect to see your sales forecast, profit and loss statement, and cash flow forecast for at least three years. Slide 9: Financials. Partnerships.

Forecast 60

Forecast Hockey Stick Exit Strategy Intellectual Property 60

Startup Lessons Learned

NOVEMBER 13, 2008

Because five whys kept turning up a few key metrics that were hard to set static thresholds for, we even had a dynamic prediction algorithm that would make forecasts based on past data, and fire alerts if the metric ever went out of its normal bounds. The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Customer Development ► June (3) What is a startup?

Software Review 167

Software Review Technical Review San Francisco Continuous Deployment 167

Startup Lessons Learned

JUNE 5, 2009

When the project winds up getting cancelled for failing to meet its ROI justification, it’s natural for the entrepreneur to feel like it was the CFO – and their innovation-sucking spreadsheet – that is the real cause. Just because entrepreneurs tend to forget about these models doesn’t mean their investors do.

San Francisco 102

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment Startup 102

Cracking the Code

SEPTEMBER 2, 2008

The Deutsche Bank report has a very interesting chart on the topic presenting the Free Cash Flow margins vs. the revenue growth four years post IPO for select software leaders: As you can see, with 20% Free Cash Flow margin and a 50% growth rate, Salesforce is well positioned in the pack! Favorite VC and Entrepreneur blogs. for Lawson?

Software Review 48

Software Review Software Technical Review Cloud 48

www.mint.com

MARCH 9, 2010

If the answer to the question centers around “We will achieve revenue soon so our net will improve and give us more runway,” it means the company is in trouble because no product ever ships on time nor achieves the company’s “conservative forecast.” After that, an IPO or FPO will decide who owns portions of your new USA based company.

Software Review 68

Software Review Startup Post-Money Valuation Technical Review 68

Steve Blank

AUGUST 27, 2009

If it’s a new division inside a larger company, forecasts talk about return on investment. The board begins measuring the company’s performance on sales execution against its business plan (which typically was written a year or more earlier, when the entrepreneur was looking for initial investments).

Silicon Valley 267

Silicon Valley Product Startup Product Development 267

Startup Lessons Learned

JUNE 9, 2020

This was supposed to be Airbnb's biggest year by many measures, including its IPO, which was one of the most anticipated since the 2008 financial crisis. So you want to be an entrepreneur, huh? So you wanted to be an entrepreneur, huh? And so the oven is like being an IPO. 8:22) On how crisis reveals character. (9:11)

Silicon Valley 60

Silicon Valley Hosting Cofounder Employee 60

Seeing Both Sides

JANUARY 7, 2013

And the so-called BRIC countries are forecasting tepid growth (we could rename them "ICK" if we added in Borat's home of Kazakhstan and dropped Brazil and Russia.). What's an ambitious, hard-charging entrepreneur to do? Europe is still a mess and in a deep recession. Japan is in a decades-long tailspin. One word: grit.

Kazakhstan 42

Kazakhstan Turkey Brazil Russia 42

Startup Lessons Learned

OCTOBER 30, 2008

The tips are based on advice JD solicited from great KPCB entrepreneurs. Get 18 months or more of cash (runway) in the business against a conservative forecast. The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Customer Development ► June (3) What is a startup? Two Ways to Hold Entrepreneurs Accountable (for Ha.

Lean 121

Lean San Francisco Continuous Deployment DC 121

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 9, 2009

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Thursday, July 9, 2009 10 years of entrepreneurship I recently passed my ten-year anniversary of becoming an entrepreneur. Almost all of them got scooped up by pre-IPO Google this time. That year, right before the IPO, those months mattered a great deal in terms of financial outcomes. all about luck.

San Francisco 94

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment DC 94

Seeing Both Sides

AUGUST 3, 2012

Facebook and Google would be obvious choices for this, but so much has been written about each of them and they represent such special business models, I worried that it would be both hard for entrepreneurs to relate and hard for me to develop new insights. In 2012, analysts forecast the company will achieve nearly $1.5

Distribution 49

Distribution Lean Massachusetts Cofounder 49

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 23, 2010

The price points are not as high as your beautiful Excel spreadsheet had forecasted when you raised your seed capital. Also, channel partners are often your best potential acquirers and let’s be honest – most companies end up selling rather than IPO’ing these days. So remember that you need to sell your product.

Channel 293

Channel Startup Sales Partner 293

abovethecrowd.com

JULY 7, 2015

My partners and I have noticed an interesting trend over the past few years: an increase in the number of entrepreneurs who prefer to pitch us without the use of a presentation deck. The purpose of a presentation deck is to enable entrepreneurs to effectively tell the story of their business.

Warrant 40

Warrant Later Stage Forecast IPO 40

SoCal CTO

AUGUST 3, 2010

Welcome to the Lost Decade (for Entrepreneurs, IPO’s and VC’s) - Steve Blank , July 15, 2010 If you take funding from a venture capital firm or angel investor and want to build a large, enduring company (rather than sell it to the highest bidder), this isn’t the decade to do it. In a nutshell, he’s my kind of investor.

Software Review 217

Software Review Startup Venture Capital Technical Review 217