Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 20, 2011

I was having a chat with an entrepreneur who I really like and who I try to mentor from time-to-time. He’s struggling to raise money. People are raising in record times and with wacky valuations. His company had raised seed money already. One problem. It was the silent killer. That’s risk vs. reward.

Dilution 284

Dilution Valuation Seed Money Differentiation 284

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2013

And a few teams of super talented, educated and bright entrepreneurs make a few mill. Let’s assume $2 million in seed money. If the money comes from professional investors it usually has a “liquidation preference” meaning that their money comes out before the founders or common stock.

Liquidation Preference 357

Liquidation Preference Early Stage Retention Lock-up Period 357

www.businessinsider.com

SEPTEMBER 6, 2012

Heres What That Led To Explosive Growth For Chinese And Indian Entrepreneurs. Heres What That Led To Explosive Growth For Chinese And Indian Entrepreneurs. This Chart Shows Why VCs Are Willing To Give Hyped Startups Absurd Valuations. and most of us are entrepreneurs ourselves.". Entertainment. Advertising.

Silicon Valley 54

Silicon Valley Startup Valuation Venture Capital 54

Feld Thoughts

JULY 14, 2015

A company raises $1m of seed money from angels in a convertible note with a $6m cap. Assuming equity is raised at or above that cap, the total dilution, before the new money, is 16.6% (equivalent to an equity financing of $1m at a $6m post money valuation. Here’s the scenario. Sure – it happens.

Recapitalization 70

Recapitalization Pre-Money Valuation Post-Money Valuation Angel Investor 70

ReadWriteStart

SEPTEMBER 17, 2021

The world of startups is a bit like a gold rush right now: there’s lots of money to be made, almost no rules regarding who will make or lose it, and only a few will actually see a sustained profit at the end of the day. How can either of you confidently give a valuation of a business that doesn’t make money?

Startup 78

Startup Revenue Cofounder Angel Investor 78

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2015

*. If you are a 20-something tech entrepreneur you could be forgiven for thinking that seed-stage investors, Angellist Syndicates and widely available angel money always existed. I was out to raise my first seed money in my second startup of $500,000. It is, of course, a very recent phenomenon.

Seed Stage 150

Seed Stage Silicon Valley Syndicate Syndication 150

Berkonomics

OCTOBER 15, 2015

Let me tell you a few short hair-raising stories of entrepreneurs who have raised money and regretted it later. Here are some rules that entrepreneurs almost always ignore to their future peril. There’s a common expectation among entrepreneurs that seed money from family is great – letting close relatives in at the ground floor.

Valuation 48

Valuation Startup Seed Money Early Stage 48

This is going to be BIG.

MARCH 23, 2015

So whereas seed rounds five years ago may have been less than a million dollars on a pre-money valuation of three or four million, today''s seed is up and over a million and usually closer to two million, with post money valuations nearing $10 million. in seed money instead of $1.5M

Post-Money Valuation 60

Post-Money Valuation Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Seed Money 60

Version One Ventures

JANUARY 10, 2013

One of the biggest questions facing any entrepreneur is how much capital to raise for their startup. Keep funding to a minimum until you have found a product-market fit Early rounds are particularly expensive, because company valuation is low. Take the money, but do it wisely. appeared first on Version One Ventures.

Dilution 154

Dilution Valuation Bootstrapping Channel 154

pandodaily.com

NOVEMBER 29, 2012

Essentially, we got here by entrepreneurs having too much of a good thing. The number of seed and angel investors has exploded in recent years, buoyed up by a number of factors. At each turn, these market changes were heralded as wonderful developments for entrepreneurs. A name like 500 Startups says it all.

Technical Review 93

Technical Review Silicon Valley Incubator Syria 93

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 3, 2010

I know many super experienced entrepreneurs who don’t understand the basics of how fund size and age can affect them so I thought it was worth establishing a baseline. In a world of The Funded, VentureHacks and entrepreneur blogs this kind of informations spreads like wildfire. Why are VC’s really doing seed deals?

Venture Capital 265

Venture Capital Term Sheet Early Stage Silicon Valley 265

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 1, 2010

I’ve done 4 seed investments in the past year and they are 100% referenceable. Many firms do it in a way that can be more detrimental to entrepreneurs. I think the issue was mostly framed initially by Chris Dixon in his article The Problem with Taking Seed Money from Big VC s. This is the nature of compromise.

Post-Money Valuation 298

Post-Money Valuation Term Sheet Warrant Partner 298

Rob Go

MARCH 10, 2012

I think that over time, this is the best way to handle market swings as a seed stage investor who is a) playing in a highly unpredictable part of the market and b) has a very long time horizon. Valuation Discipline. We have a pretty strong sense of what realistic valuation ranges are and aren’t for seed stage companies.

Seed Stage 49

Seed Stage Syndicate Syndication Marketing 49

andrewchen.co

AUGUST 20, 2012

My reasoning looks something like this: Right now, startups with strong teams can easily raise seed funding ($200-$1.5M They can easily raise seed money because there’s a lot of willing investors in the ecosystem. Not sure how investors feel about it though, as valuations skyrocket and competition becomes fierce.

Seed Stage 51

Seed Stage Early Stage Mobile Seed Money 51

This is going to be BIG.

SEPTEMBER 7, 2012

In the late 90's, it wasn't surprising that companies with no revenue that were funded at 100 million dollar valuations didn't survive. If you're doing seed deals, how often does a down round in a seed deal even happen? But that's when you've actually proven this thing is a viable company and there's work worth protecting.

Later Stage 99

Later Stage Down Round Pre-Money Valuation Early Stage 99