Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 12, 2014

Prorata rights are one of the most important rights of a private market technology investors and yet are seldom fully understood. Much of this historically didn’t matter to entrepreneurs. ” Entrepreneurs can be caught in the middle. What a second, what about entrepreneurs? Sometimes entrepreneurs get screwed.

Technical Review 336

Technical Review Later Stage Early Stage LP 336

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2011

I wrote this because over the last decade I’ve seen a destructive cycle where otherwise interesting companies have been screwed by raising too much money at too high of prices and gotten caught in a trap when the markets correct and they got ahead of themselves. Again, prices are expressed as pre-money valuations.

Pre-Money Valuation 336

Pre-Money Valuation Valuation Silicon Valley Stock 336

Lightspeed Venture Partners

OCTOBER 7, 2012

This does neither, so I’m out” Cuban said, “I see you guys not as entrepreneurs but as wantrepreneurs” I agree with him. In this way, they remind me of the Lifter Hamper entrepreneur. That’s why most entrepreneurs do not make a specific ask on valuation, but wait to hear offers from investors.

Technical Review 110

Technical Review Technical Cofounder Valuation Pre-Money Valuation 110

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2013

And a few teams of super talented, educated and bright entrepreneurs make a few mill. It has even gone so far that we now have evocative headlines in the tech press such as “ Buy or Die ,” which is what got me thinking about this post. But that’s not how you make money in the venture capital business.

Liquidation Preference 357

Liquidation Preference Early Stage Retention Lock-up Period 357

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 4, 2009

I often have career discussions with entrepreneurs – both young and more mature – whether they should join company “X&# or not. Let’s assume that the company raised it at a normal VC valuation, which means it gave up 33% of the company and thus $5 million / 33% = $15 million post-money valuation.

Stock Options 418

Stock Options Stock Liquidation Preference Option Pool 418

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 1, 2010

Many firms do it in a way that can be more detrimental to entrepreneurs. If you don’t understand the concept of “signaling&# please read the blog post I wrote on Understanding VC signaling. I’ve done 4 seed investments in the past year and they are 100% referenceable. This is the nature of compromise.

Post-Money Valuation 298

Post-Money Valuation Term Sheet Warrant Partner 298

Feld Thoughts

FEBRUARY 9, 2016

Once again, as we find ourselves in the middle of a significant public market correction, especially around technology stocks, there’s an enormous amount of noise in the system, as there always is. And, rather than rational and helpful thoughts for entrepreneurs, it often brings out the schadenfreude in even the most talented people.

Cap Table 70

Cap Table Down Round Liquidation Preference Founder 70