Gust

DECEMBER 14, 2014

When entrepreneurs come to me with that “million dollar idea,” I have to tell them that an idea alone is really worth nothing. For example, more customer leads are predictive of more sales revenue later. Every entrepreneur has to navigate that personal change from thinking to doing to managing. Changing yourself is tough enough.

Entrepreneur 189

Entrepreneur Founder Revenue Startup 189

Gust

NOVEMBER 1, 2011

We recently started a series of posts on establishing the pre-money valuation of pre-revenue startup companies for purposes of investment by seed and startup investors. It is one of the useful methods for establishing the pre-money valuation of pre-revenue startup ventures. OK…let’s split the difference. million ÷ 20X.

Venture Capital 161

Venture Capital Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Post-Money Valuation 161

Gust

DECEMBER 7, 2014

Eighty percent of new entrepreneurs use this approach, with only six percent using investor funding. The remaining entrepreneurs borrow from family and friends, or acquire a loan. If you chose the entrepreneur lifestyle to be your own boss, don’t accept money from anyone. Entrepreneurs need to start small and pivot quickly.

Bootstrapping 191

Bootstrapping Entrepreneur Startup Burn Rate 191

Gust

JULY 8, 2012

The hard part for entrepreneurs is figuring out what it takes to play. Here is just a sampling of the latest terminology and lingo that I gleaned from Dave, and from some additional research on the Internet, that I think every entrepreneur should know, who may be looking for funding now, or down the road: Micro-VCs. Super Angels.

Early Stage 177

Early Stage Finance Seed Stage Entrepreneur 177

Gust

FEBRUARY 9, 2014

You are an aspiring entrepreneur, eager to dump the corporate grind, and work to the beat of your own drummer, but you can’t come up with that killer idea to save the world. Technically, I believe an entrepreneur is anyone who manages his own profit and loss, and doesn’t meet the government tax definition of an employee.

Entrepreneur 172

Entrepreneur Business Model Government Employee 172

Gust

OCTOBER 16, 2012

Some of the entrepreneurs chose to keep their startup profiles private and therefore are labeled as unpublished in this month’s map, and were not included in the trends analysis. September’s Startup Map showcases the latest trends in startup profiles created on Gust between September 1 st and September 30 th.

South Dakota 155

South Dakota Colombia Kentucky Hawaii 155

Gust

JUNE 19, 2012

Thoughts on startups by investors that fund them & entrepreneurs that run them. But in the real world, when you get to business numbers, sales are not accounts receivable and revenue isn’t income and people who read financial projections need to know that an apple is an apple, and not an orange. . Subscribe by email.

Startup 180

Startup Forecast Angel Investor Software 180

Gust

NOVEMBER 7, 2011

We recently started a series of posts on establishing the pre-money valuation of pre-revenue startup companies for purposes of investment by seed and startup investors. When a valuation range is provided, it could be as low as $480,000-$580,000 or as high as $36-44 million; so this tool is clearly not limited to use on pre-revenue companies.

Valuation 87

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Venture Capital Technical Review 87

Gust

NOVEMBER 8, 2022

I expect that should seem intuitive to all entrepreneurs, but every investor I know has many stories about startup funding requests with major business model elements missing. The most common failures are solutions looking for a problem, lack of a defined market, or an inadequate revenue model.

Business Model 91

Business Model Green Revenue Operations 91

Gust

JULY 23, 2014

So, putting all that together, to get a pitch meeting with me, an entrepreneur would probably have the best result with the following strategy: Read up on the kinds of investments I make, and the kinds of opportunities I am seeking. Invested Interests Power Pitches angel investor business David Rose entrepreneur meeting pitch startup'

Angel Investor 153

Angel Investor Elevator Pitch Pre-Money Valuation Technical Review 153

Gust

NOVEMBER 29, 2012

Typically serial entrepreneurs are serial because they have successfully exited from Startup One before beginning Startup Two, and they use the first one to fund the second. In the two specific cases you mentioned, one had made money from his previous startups, and the other had paying jobs at Google and Nextstop.

Seed Capital 121

Seed Capital Entrepreneur Lean Revenue 121

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. Aggressive revenue projections and growth rate. Revenue in the fifth year should be at least $20 million, with a growth rate average of 100% per year.

Liquidity Event 176

Liquidity Event Equity Venture Capital Merger 176

Gust

JUNE 17, 2012

Just don’t quit your day job before your new company is producing revenue. A related company may see the value of your product as complementary to theirs, and be willing to advance funding, which can be repaid when you develop your revenue stream. Friends and family. Partner with distributor or beneficiary. Commit to a major customer.

Technical Review 164

Technical Review Bootstrapping Venture Capital Incubator 164

Gust

MARCH 19, 2014

Invested Interests business plan entrepreneurs startups US venture capital firms visa' Other reasons have to do with the fact that H1B visas (which is probably what you are talking about) are available only to foreign nationals who are already employed by an existing US company, and require documentation you are unlikely to have.

Venture Capital 122

Venture Capital Business Plan Green Entrepreneur 122

Gust

NOVEMBER 3, 2013

Based on my experience as a mentor and an entrepreneur, if you fail on your first startup, you are about average. Every young entrepreneur knows implicitly that startup success is a long hard road. Of course, a real entrepreneur always takes a failure as a milestone on the road to success. Image via TheSocialRobot.com.

Intellectual Property 183

Intellectual Property Startup Viral Early Stage 183

Gust

JANUARY 5, 2014

I still see too many entrepreneurs who build a product and spend lots of money because THEY are in love with the idea or technology. Your revenue model has to make sense. Many of the Internet business plans I see these days say the service is free, and revenue will come later from a huge user base.

Business Model 171

Business Model Sales Customer Distribution 171

Gust

JULY 6, 2014

I talk to many people who have spent years struggling up the corporate ladder who dream of jumping ship and becoming an entrepreneur. I hasten to tell them that every job move is fraught with risk, but the move from employee to entrepreneur is on the high end of the risk curve. All of these apply directly to starting your own company.

Startup 183

Startup Salary Employee Entrepreneur 183

Gust

AUGUST 5, 2012

Many entrepreneurs scare away potential investors by claiming that their technology represents “truly disruptive technology.” Clearly define the customer, channel, and revenue model associated with this solution. In this section, you need to be passionate about revenue, profit, and volume growth. Industry & market sizing.

Business Plan 182

Business Plan Sweat Equity Exit Strategy Intellectual Property 182

Gust

JUNE 14, 2014

A significant change in stage, if that was one of the stated reasons for passing (such as “we only invest in post-revenue companies”). A case where the investor loved the entrepreneur but was skeptical about the business, and something has now seriously changed or been de-risked. Invested Interests'

Early Stage 128

Early Stage Revenue Entrepreneur 128

Gust

JUNE 23, 2014

With the estimated 510 million live websites at last year-end, and 280,000 new ones being added every day, the biggest challenge for an entrepreneur is to get found, and get some credibility for a new startup. Too many entrepreneurs spend big money on development, only to find out that the solution isn’t quite right.

Startup 174

Startup Cofounder Social Media SEO 174

Gust

OCTOBER 26, 2014

I grew to understand this approach much more when I interviewed a popular serial entrepreneur, Rich Christiansen a while back, who has done almost 30 businesses wholly by bootstrapping. In most cases there is a direct correlation between the quality of your decisions and the size of your revenue stream.

Bootstrapping 176

Bootstrapping Startup Merger Salary 176

Gust

SEPTEMBER 25, 2012

Gust is thrilled to have nearly 7,000 new entrepreneurs creating startup profiles each month. To help us visualize the scale and global reach of these entrepreneurs we have put together a monthly startup map, which captures all new startup profiles on Gust. Attention startup enthusiasts! Take a look below! "

Brazil 134

Brazil India Startup Florida 134

Gust

JUNE 22, 2014

With the estimated 510 million live websites at last year-end, and 280,000 new ones being added every day, the biggest challenge for an entrepreneur is to get found, and get some credibility for a new startup. Too many entrepreneurs spend big money on development, only to find out that the solution isn’t quite right.

Startup 125

Startup Cofounder Social Media SEO 125

Gust

APRIL 16, 2014

Invested Interests business entrepreneur investor contract startup' original post can be found on Quora @ [link] *.

Liquidation Preference 152

Liquidation Preference Revenue Entrepreneur Startup 152

Gust

JANUARY 15, 2013

Earlier, entrepreneurs didn’t need a real monetization strategy,” said Brian O’Malley, an early investor at Battery Ventures. They could punt on revenue indefinitely because their investment dollars were their revenue. Despite its headline, the story quotes several people along those lines, For example: .

Due Diligence 119

Due Diligence Startup Angel Investor Early Stage 119

Gust

DECEMBER 9, 2012

Zigging and zagging amongst the obstacles is the fun part of being an entrepreneur, and it’s what sets you apart from the average worker who knows exactly what he or she has to do every day to get paid. There are certain foundational elements that every entrepreneur must build on to succeed, as well as some critical tools we all need.

Elevator Pitch 163

Elevator Pitch Startup Bootstrapping Entrepreneur 163

Gust

JULY 29, 2012

One of the biggest myths I still see in the community of new entrepreneurs is the assumption that “All I need is a good idea, and some investor will give me the big money I need to build the business.” Starting your business with a very low investment is called “bootstrapping,” and these entrepreneurs usually have the most fun.

Bandwidth 155

Bandwidth Bootstrapping Equity Startup 155

Gust

OCTOBER 12, 2011

During the summer of 2010, I developed a workshop, A New ACEF Valuation Workshop for Angels and Entrepreneurs. To provide some reference points, I surveyed thirteen angels groups in North American to determine their recent experience in negotiating the pre-money valuation of pre-revenue companies. 2011 Angel Group Valuation Survey.

Angel Groups 125

Angel Groups Valuation Pre-Money Valuation St. Louis 125

Gust

NOVEMBER 18, 2012

Many entrepreneurs stumble at this point, losing the deal or most of their ownership, by having no answer, saying “make me an offer,” or quoting an exorbitant number. Particularly valuable are recurring revenues, like subscription amounts, that don’t have to be resold every period. Image via eHow.com.

Valuation 187

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation NPV Intellectual Property 187

Gust

JUNE 10, 2012

Founders now routinely use their home to operate their startup until they are well into the revenue phase. As a result, being an entrepreneur in now within the financial reach of almost everyone. I now see and believe business plans that budget $1K for all this, versus a previous $20K or more. Facilities and staff.

Cost 139

Cost Burn Rate SEM Startup 139

Gust

MARCH 9, 2014

In fact, the average spent by Inc 500 companies for sales and marketing expense continues to hover around 10% of overall revenues. Invested Interests entrepreneur funding marketing budget startup' We know that existing big brands like Apple and Nike spend millions per year just to maintain their brand recognition.

Marketing 146

Marketing SEM Viral Social Media 146

Gust

DECEMBER 16, 2012

But many entrepreneurs don’t realize that Angels are also extremely discerning in the projects that they will invest in, rejecting approximately 97% of the proposals submitted to them, according to the California Investment Network. ABC Shark Tank Angels via Elite Daily. Start early on this one, or you will lose the opportunity.

Angel Investor 179

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Elevator Pitch Angel Groups 179

Gust

SEPTEMBER 17, 2014

Me: Raising convertible notes as a seed round is one of the biggest disservices our industry has done to entrepreneurs since 2001-2003 when there were “full ratchets” and “multiple liquidation preferences” – the most hostile terms anybody found in term sheets 10 years ago. It’s like we need a finance 101 course for entrepreneurs.

Liquidation Preference 153

Liquidation Preference Valuation Term Sheet Stock 153

Gust

JULY 5, 2012

Investors are putting their money behind an entrepreneur and his/her particular vision, team, and operating skills. While that may sound simplistic, it’s actually accurate. It is important to look at questions like this holistically.

Warrant 127

Warrant Startup New York Cost 127

Gust

OCTOBER 11, 2011

Investors expect energy, conviction, and commitment from entrepreneurs. Outline the revenue model. Your pitch should be about 30-60 seconds (average elevator ride). Don’t think that you can just talk fast to cram 500 words into that time. It won’t work. Obvious passion. A request. At the end of your pitch, you must ask for something.

Elevator Pitch 174

Elevator Pitch Startup Differentiation Distribution 174

Gust

JANUARY 15, 2013

in Revenue Stage. New startups creation stages remained steady and in line with the rest of the year, with 13.1% in Concept Stage, 43.2% in Development Stage, 34.5% in Product Ready Stage and 9.2% The trend noticed last month of Product Ready companies declining appears to have dissipated as all stages regained their balance.

India 171

India United States Startup Restful 171

Gust

DECEMBER 19, 2011

“We plan to offer it for free, and live off advertising revenue.” Free is a good short-term Internet strategy, if you have $50 million to spend on viral marketing to get your page-views up to the million per month needed for significant advertising revenue. Our patent will protect us.” Investors like realists, but not wimps.

Viral 98

Viral Advertising Lead Investor Revenue 98