Up and Running

JULY 1, 2020

You may grow to tap new markets or increase sales in your current markets. While it’s called a business plan, it can be written and utilized to successfully enter a new market, launch a product, or weigh the potential of adding an employee. A business plan for a new employee in a new market.

Business Plan 152

Business Plan Forecast Operations Dilution 152

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 27, 2016

Who would have forecast that entrepreneur Gary Ross Dahl would make millions by starting a “ pet rock ” business way back in 1975? Beyond basic business and technical credentials, here are some of the key startup team attributes that every investor is looking for: Team shows an appreciation and plan for marketing.

Technical Review 134

Technical Review Intellectual Property Due Diligence Angel Investor 134

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 4, 2015

Most aspiring entrepreneurs understand that you can’t build a business if you won’t commit to delivering a product or service, but many are hesitant or refuse to commit to any financial forecasts. Yet every business requires revenue and volumes, as certainly as it requires a product to sell. Forecast sales-volume expectations.

Forecast 120

Forecast Entrepreneur Burn Rate Widget 120

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 17, 2011

This person can do budgeting, forecasting, strategic planning, legal, HR, office moves, etc. Still, I’ll bet that functionally you divide areas of competence like sales & marketing, product, engineering, biz dev, etc. Dilute your cash, equity or both. But they aren’t the COO. and my favorite]. What will it do?

Operations 292

Operations CTO Hire Startup Early Stage 292

Steve Blank

MARCH 17, 2020

Next, take a look at your actual revenue each month – not forecast, but real revenue coming in each month. Subtract your monthly gross burn rate from your monthly revenue to get your net burn rate. This math works in a normal market…. Unfortunately, it’s no longer a normal market. Laying off people?

Burn Rate 436

Burn Rate Startup Valuation Sales Cycle 436

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 1, 2009

In the first post in this three part series I described why I believe the VC market froze between September 2008 – April 2009. We spent our future since the equity was artificial. When the market run started in March people were relieved that “the world wasn’t ending” so they started spending again. So why the ’09 bounce?

Technical Review 269

Technical Review Stock Hawaii Early Stage 269

Up and Running

OCTOBER 12, 2017

Whether you’re simply trying to scale your business or seeking equity investment, having a plan is key. . Many business owners fail to see the value of regular planning and forecasting, and it hurts their businesses because they haven’t planned for potential challenges and don’t have any kind of strategy for dealing with them.

Metrics 128

Metrics Software Review Forecast Small Business 128

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2010

But truthfully both Dana and I are more aligned with the lean startup principles and believe you only go FAT when you’ve really proved out your product / market fit. The “private sale” market phenomenon was started in France by Vente-Privee (literally means “private sale”) and was replicated in Germany by BrandsforFriends.

Partner 240

Partner New York City Cofounder Syndicate 240

Up and Running

MARCH 9, 2022

They measure different aspects of your company’s financial health for financial management, market risks, and risks related to investing in a company. Use the OLE ratio to measure how your income increases or drops depending on the changes in sales volume to show how much revenue is available to cover non-operating costs.

Equity 136

Equity .Net Balance Sheet Operations 136

The Equity Kicker

DECEMBER 2, 2015

His major point is that revenue multiples aren’t that high, largely because the market is highly competitive and margins are low – often because of Amazon. As you can see from the chart above, in Mahesh’s sample most of the companies have revenue multiples in the 1-2x range. Fitbit enjoys a 3.3x

Forecast 60

Forecast eCommerce Net Present Value Revenue 60

ReadWriteStart

JULY 18, 2011

The market just isn't that efficient to truly determine the best. He believes that equity need not be distributed equally, as long as everyone involved is happy with their arrangement. And as long as founders don't have an argument about equity shares in front of the investors they are pitching.

Investment Bankers 153

Investment Bankers Technical Review Cofounder Due Diligence 153

OnlyOnce

JULY 9, 2013

The book has been described by a few CEOs who read it and commented early for me along the lines of “The Lean Startup movement is great, but this book starts where most of those books end and takes you through the ‘so you have a product that works in-market – now what?’ What About Sales & Marketing?, questions”.

Startup 95

Startup Advisory Board Elevator Pitch Forecast 95

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 11, 2017

Based on your market size and penetration expectations, size how many units you will sell, at what price, in every channel. You need 5 percent or more of revenue for marketing, more for new development, and people costs will double as you add benefits, insurance, training, IT and processes. Project unit-volume and price levels.

Burn Rate 144

Burn Rate Forecast Angel Investor Revenue 144

Up and Running

AUGUST 28, 2018

Revisit and update it regularly by comparing your forecasts to your actuals and adjusting as necessary. Target market: Who is your ideal patient? Financial summary: Explain your business model, startup costs, revenues, and liabilities to the company. Target market. Use it as a tool, especially around your financials.

Business Plan 72

Business Plan Technical Review Exit Strategy Oregon 72

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2018

When you raise money from investors you produce information that you are told they want and care about: A fund-raising deck that articulates your company strategy, plans, team, market, competitors and so forth. Investors love to be able to see what you told them in forecasts in prior years and then compare with how you actually performed.

Cap Table 336

Cap Table Due Diligence Forecast Churn Rate 336

Tim Keane

MARCH 9, 2011

How to prepare a sales forecast for a business plan » March 09, 2011. This seems like an easy topic – debt where there is appropriate cash flow, equity when there isn’t.    And, while debt is less costly than equity, it can bankrupt a company more quickly than more expensive equity might.

Finance 83

Finance Bootstrapping Startup Equity 83

The Next Web

FEBRUARY 27, 2014

your equity in a hot new patented technology business), the higher the demand (e.g., As an example, a new restaurant may get valued at 3-4x EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) and a hot dot com business with meteoric traffic growth could get valued at 5-10x revenues. Supply and demand.

Valuation 167

Valuation Forecast Seed Stage .Net 167

Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 11, 2021

Most entrepreneurs and managers, when modeling their business operations using a spreadsheet, start with expected revenue by month. Project your revenues and costs as in the original exercise. Project your revenues and costs as in the original exercise. One way to think for tomorrow. Something new emerges. The ultimate reminder.

.Net 62

.Net Forecast Salary Revenue 62

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 13, 2016

Investors are looking for a concise description of your product or service without technical jargon or fuzzy marketing terms with value quantified in customer terms. How big and growing is the total market and your target segment? They like billion-dollar markets with double-digit growth rates.

Sweat Equity 120

Sweat Equity Advisory Board Liquidity Event Startup 120

YoungUpstarts

MARCH 24, 2020

But now the alarming news regarding the spread of the coronavirus and its impact on the economy could easily create the opposite effect, an acceptance that the markets are out of control and the bottom is about to fall out. Without specific economic insights into your market segment, you might make the wrong move, and end up a bust.

Private Equity 127

Private Equity Vertical Forecast Equity 127

Cracking the Code

MARCH 12, 2010

So, here is the first edition, including the recent Q4 2009 earnings and the updated 2010 forecast. Given the predictability of SaaS GAAP revenues on a quarterly basis, the fact that the 08/09 projections were unchanged is not a surprise. Labels: SaaS , sales and marketing. All in all, an interesting start for the year!

Software Review 63

Software Review Technical Review Cloud Forecast 63

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2012

Clearly define the customer, channel, and revenue model associated with this solution. Industry & market sizing. Start with the evolution of the overall industry, market segmentation, market dynamics, and customer landscape. In this section, you need to be passionate about revenue, profit, and volume growth.

Business Plan 283

Business Plan Sweat Equity Exit Strategy Intellectual Property 283

YoungUpstarts

SEPTEMBER 15, 2018

Your Market Valuation May Differ from Your Worth. You might as well have all your liquid assets and sweat equity in place but if you are unable to raise money for your business beyond the valuation which has been stated by your investors ($ 1.5 The financial forecasts will end up playing a big role here as well.

Pre-Money Valuation 124

Pre-Money Valuation Valuation Sweat Equity Startup 124

Up and Running

JULY 22, 2014

Sales forecast. It’s a table that lists all of your revenue streams and all of your expenses—typically for a three-month period—and lists at the very bottom the total amount of net profit or loss. A typical profit and loss statement should include: your revenue (also called sales), followed by. Cash flow statement.

Balance Sheet 148

Balance Sheet Forecast Equity .Net 148

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 13, 2011

Clearly define the customer, channel, and revenue model associated with this solution. Industry & market sizing. Start with the evolution of the overall industry, market segmentation, market dynamics, and customer landscape. In this section, you need to be passionate about revenue, profit, and volume growth.

Business Plan 290

Business Plan Sweat Equity Exit Strategy Intellectual Property 290

Up and Running

FEBRUARY 12, 2019

and Canadian markets. Investors want to hear about your first customers, other investments put into the company (including your own sweat equity), key media placement, signed letters of intent (LOI) to purchase/partner, product and customer milestones , key hires, and so on. Were there other cars on the market at that time?

Sweat Equity 122

Sweat Equity Churn Rate Elevator Pitch Forecast 122

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2015

Here are the motivation elements that investors expect to hear: Size and growth potential of the market opportunity. Your customers don’t care if you are targeting a billion-dollar market and growing at double-digit rates, but investors will skip small or shrinking opportunities. First to market” is not sustainable by a startup.

Product 120

Product Intellectual Property Liquidity Event Burn Rate 120

Steve Blank

APRIL 1, 2020

If you’re a CEO who can’t quickly bias yourself for action and if you wait around for someone to tell you what to do, then your investors, or more likely the market, will make those decisions for you. Your revenue plans are no longer valid. What’s your monthly cash burn at your new low revenue level? Emergence of New Market(s).

South Korea 333

South Korea Salary Business Model China 333

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 14, 2015

One of the points I tried to make is that as venture capital investors as an industry we seem to have a healthy disdain for public market investors. The truth is that the brutal reality of public markets is that they self correct much more quickly than our shitty little private equity illiquid corner of the universe.

Burn Rate 150

Burn Rate San Francisco Private Equity LP 150

ReadWriteStart

JANUARY 28, 2022

With the rise of startups and growing businesses , it has become more critical for investors to have a thorough understanding of equity to be aware of all of the advantages they are receiving from the companies they have invested in. What is Company Equity? Types of equity. Common stock. Preferred shares.

Valuation 108

Valuation Equity Warrant Common Stock 108

Gust

AUGUST 5, 2012

Clearly define the customer, channel, and revenue model associated with this solution. Industry & market sizing. Start with the evolution of the overall industry, market segmentation, market dynamics, and customer landscape. In this section, you need to be passionate about revenue, profit, and volume growth.

Business Plan 182

Business Plan Sweat Equity Exit Strategy Intellectual Property 182

Berkonomics

JULY 24, 2014

Most entrepreneurs, when starting to model their business operations using a spreadsheet, start with expected revenue by month. Project your revenues and costs as in the original exercise. Project your revenues and costs as in the original exercise. There is a rarely-used twist that makes lots of sense.

Forecast 79

Forecast Salary Revenue Finance 79

Feld Thoughts

AUGUST 12, 2011

When we were last with Dick and Jane on Finance Fridays, our fearless entrepreneurs were figuring out how to split up their founders equity and account for an investment from Jane. Build a financial model that forecasts the P&L. Revenues and costs should both be based off of a robust set of assumptions. historical data).

Balance Sheet 136

Balance Sheet Forecast Cap Table Early Stage 136

ConversionXL

FEBRUARY 25, 2016

So, how exactly are marketers personalizing their sites? Bunting worked with At Home In The Country to add personalized product recommendations to their site, which resulted in a… 13% increase in revenue. The onboarding process brought more people to the core value, thus increasing revenue and improving retention.

Web 48

Web Software Review Jordan Technical Review 48

The Equity Kicker

DECEMBER 11, 2014

2014 has been a great year for social media marketing. Facebook is forecasting Q4 revenues of $3.6-3.8bn, A number of our companies have enjoyed great success advertising on Facebook and they’re not alone. 3.8bn, up 40-47% on the year ago quarter.

Social Network 137

Social Network Networking China Forecast 137

Up and Running

JANUARY 24, 2014

Serves US, UK, and Canadian markets. Investors want to hear about your first customers, other investments put into the company (including your own sweat equity), key media placement, signed letters of intent (LOI) to purchase/partner, product and customer milestones, key hires, etc. Were there other cars on the market at that time?

Sweat Equity 138

Sweat Equity Churn Rate Forecast Business Model 138

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2010

Clearly define the customer, channel, and revenue model associated with this solution. Industry & market sizing. Start with the evolution of the overall industry, market segmentation, market dynamics, and customer landscape. In this section, you need to be passionate about revenue, profit, and volume growth.

Business Plan 186

Business Plan Exit Strategy Sweat Equity Intellectual Property 186