Gust

MAY 11, 2014

A grant is not an equity investment, so the entrepreneur doesn’t have to give up a stake in the company either. In today’s fast moving technology world, that may give your competitor the edge, or your startup may wither and die waiting. Professional help costs money.

Seed Money 164

Seed Money SBIR Dilution Government 164

Gust

AUGUST 19, 2012

Solution product & technology. Describe your technology patents and “secret sauce”. What equity is the company willing to give in return for the investment? Fuzzy terms like “not user-oriented” or “too expensive” are not helpful. Here is how and why it works, including a customer-centric quantification of the benefits.

Elevator Pitch 146

Elevator Pitch Exit Strategy Burn Rate Merger 146

Gust

DECEMBER 16, 2012

The corporate entity lends itself best to the concept of “sharing” equity required by investors, and unincorporated entities don’t get funding. A good start is taking an active role in relevant technology groups, trade associations, university activities, and local business groups. Line up an experienced team.

Angel Investor 179

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Elevator Pitch Angel Groups 179

Gust

AUGUST 5, 2012

Many entrepreneurs scare away potential investors by claiming that their technology represents “truly disruptive technology.” Quantify existing skin-in-the-game, by insiders and outsiders, including sweat equity and capital. No investor wants to wait that long for his payback, or fund the years of waiting.

Business Plan 182

Business Plan Sweat Equity Exit Strategy Intellectual Property 182

Gust

DECEMBER 27, 2012

The expectation is that in an era of increasing technology and decreasing costs, you will be bringing them an operating company with at least some traction. Keep in mind that any cash you put in will remain in the company as Founders’ Equity, and will only come back to you on a successful exit in which your investors make money. [3a.

Software Review 164

Software Review Term Sheet Technical Review Angel Investor 164

Gust

OCTOBER 20, 2011

Individual accredited investors in typical angel deals put personal capital at risk for an equity share of growth-oriented, start-up companies. For this round of investment, the angels collectively purchase 20-40% of the equity of the company and are seeking a return on investment of 20-30X in a period of five to eight years.

Valuation 146

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Intellectual Property Technical Review 146

Gust

NOVEMBER 23, 2011

Talented entrepreneurs are nothing if not resilient in the face of change: Market forces, competitive threats, technological shifts, you name it. In recent years, government regulation has emerged as another such force to be reckoned with in the technology industry.

IPO 110

IPO Prospectus SEC Intellectual Property 110

Gust

DECEMBER 28, 2011

And, extending the time to exit also increases the risk of failure – perhaps by being blind-sided by technology or a large competitor. Raising venture capital may lead to a huge exit. But, it will take much longer than in the past. Consider an “angel only” deal, raising only a million or two in multiple rounds from angels.

IPO 153

IPO Venture Capital Entrepreneur Angel Investor 153

Gust

OCTOBER 6, 2011

One hypothesis to explain this is that it’s been generally accepted that growth in the startup world comes from technological innovation, not from great marketing thinking permeating an organization. I would argue that expanding the definition of the marketing role could take success rates to whole new levels.

Acquisition 87

Acquisition Marketing CPA PPC 87

Gust

DECEMBER 31, 2012

They have worked with high technology and computers for at least 20 years, are highly educated, and highly motivated. How can you beat finding someone who has been there and done that, able to mentor Gen-Y, has lots of connections to people in your industry, and is often willing to work for equity alone? Angel investor.

Advisory Board 177

Advisory Board Angel Investor Startup Equity 177

Gust

SEPTEMBER 21, 2014

They should have a track record of originating and closing equity deals, and should have a long list of potential financing sources that are willing to take their call. human resources, technology, legal, and information technology) as needed. The differences are just as apparent in the financials as they are in technology.

NDA 147

NDA CPA SEC Startup 147

Gust

AUGUST 7, 2012

Sweat equity can be a problem. Usually that’s some technology of your own, sometimes it’s a market position, but there has to be something to give you some barriers to keep everybody else, especially bigger and more powerful players, from jumping in on top of you. Nothing defensible. You need a secret sauce.

Business Plan 172

Business Plan Sweat Equity Salary Founder 172