Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 12, 2021

You should plan an exit strategy, and optimize your activities and timing to get top dollar. I have found that entrepreneurs often don’t appreciate the need for intellectual property or their “secret sauce” when looking for an investor, and are quick to give away the details when selling the business.

Due Diligence 410

Due Diligence Intellectual Property Bankruptcy Exit Strategy 410

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 19, 2018

Your funding ask and exit strategy, if applicable. Intellectual property : List any patents you have or have pending, and mention any core technology you are licensing from another company. Exit strategy : Needed if you’re seeking investment. Your operations plan. Your team and company information.

Business Plan 154

Business Plan Technical Review Forecast Software Review 154

Growthink Blog

APRIL 13, 2011

It MUST include building unique products and/or intellectual property that an acquirer would value. The process of preparing your company for sale is called "exit strategy planning." We recently formalized our exit strategy planning consulting service. And why they pay HUGE premiums to buy them.

Exit Strategy 69

Exit Strategy Intellectual Property Acquisition Stock 69

Up and Running

AUGUST 28, 2018

Your funding ask and exit strategy, if applicable. Intellectual property : List any patents you have or have pending, and mention any core technology you are licensing from another company. Exit strategy : You only need this if you’re seeking outside investment. Your operations plan. Financial plan.

Business Plan 72

Business Plan Technical Review Exit Strategy Oregon 72

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 24, 2012

Define some intellectual property. File a patent and trademarks to show real intellectual property. It should answer every question an investor or associate might ask, including current valuation, funding needed, and exit strategy. Reserve the company name on social networks to protect it.

Angel Investor 260

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Elevator Pitch Angel Groups 260

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 27, 2018

Intellectual property and sustainable competitive advantage. Discussion of likely liquidity events and exit strategy. Customers may be attracted to product features, but investors look harder at the team (bet on the jockey, rather than the horse). Solo entrepreneurs have a hard time finding an investor.

Product 145

Product Intellectual Property Liquidity Event Exit Strategy 145

Board Effect

APRIL 7, 2021

Description of who owns and can use any intellectual property connected with the agreement. A reasonable exit strategy. Protect your nonprofit’s intellectual property by registering trademarks and copyrights. Review all contracts for the following components: The obligations of each party.

Management 96

Management Intellectual Property Due Diligence Government 96

Up and Running

JULY 2, 2014

You can’t underestimate the importance of selecting an attorney who “gets” your business model, your market opportunity, and most importantly, your fundraising and exit strategy. Do they (or does their firm) have experience with intellectual property and patents?

Technical Review 118

Technical Review Angel Investor Due Diligence Dilution 118

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2012

Do describe your intellectual property and “secret sauce”. Exit strategy. For a family business, don’t project an exit. Otherwise, identify your preferred exit strategy, including specific candidates for merger or sale, and timeframe. Skip the technical jargon and hyperbole.

Business Plan 283

Business Plan Sweat Equity Exit Strategy Intellectual Property 283

Gust

DECEMBER 16, 2012

Define some intellectual property. File a patent and trademarks to show real intellectual property. It should answer every question an investor or associate might ask, including current valuation, funding needed, and exit strategy. Reserve the company name on social networks to protect it.

Angel Investor 179

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Elevator Pitch Angel Groups 179

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 13, 2011

Do describe your intellectual property and “secret sauce”. Exit strategy. For a family business, don’t project an exit. Otherwise, identify your preferred exit strategy, including specific candidates for merger or sale, and timeframe. Skip the technical jargon and hyperbole.

Business Plan 290

Business Plan Sweat Equity Exit Strategy Intellectual Property 290

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 8, 2016

The best differentiation is a patent or other intellectual property that also provides a barrier to entry. Build a long-term growth strategy and exit plan. Investors look for an exit strategy to allow them to capture a return on their investment. Be able to differentiate your offering from competitors.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Exit Strategy 120

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 11, 2015

Here are my thoughts on the right steps to prepare for these discussions and how to capitalize on your strengths: Declare and file your innovations early as intellectual property. Solidify your exit strategy by picking a competitor as a comparable. Dig deeper than Wikipedia for facts on key competitors.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Liquidity Event Exit Strategy Angel Investor 120

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2015

How you intend to beat specific competitors (business model, intellectual property) is a key investor decision criteria. Investors are also interested in future investment requirements, time frames and long-term strategy. Potential investor return calculation and exit strategy.

Product 120

Product Intellectual Property Liquidity Event Burn Rate 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2020

Scale your funding requests to the value of your startup today, consisting of assets, contracts, and intellectual property you currently own. Outline a viable exit strategy for you and investors. The options here include going public (IPO), merger/acquisition, liquidate, or no exit, just paying off investors.

Business Plan 423

Business Plan Product Intellectual Property Elevator Pitch 423

www.inc.com

JULY 9, 2010

500|5000 The 2010 Inc. 500|5000 List The 2010 Top Lists Inc. 500|5000 Conference Honorees Resources Press Apply 2011 ); Topics > Leadership and Managing > Human Resources > Recruiting and Hiring Employees > How to Attract Talent to Your Start-Up At a start-up, you need employees that are in it for the long haul and fit your unique culture.

Intellectual Property 55

Intellectual Property Los Angeles San Francisco New York 55

Gust

AUGUST 5, 2012

Do describe your intellectual property and “secret sauce”. Exit strategy. For a family business, don’t project an exit. Otherwise, identify your preferred exit strategy, including specific candidates for merger or sale, and timeframe. Skip the technical jargon and hyperbole.

Business Plan 182

Business Plan Sweat Equity Exit Strategy Intellectual Property 182

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2010

Do describe your intellectual property and “secret sauce”. Exit strategy. For a family business, don’t project an exit. Otherwise, identify your preferred exit strategy, including specific candidates for merger or sale, and timeframe. IPO as an exit strategy is not recommended these days.

Business Plan 186

Business Plan Exit Strategy Sweat Equity Intellectual Property 186

www.inc.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

Pricing Strategy. Exit Strategies. Strategy and Planning. Intellectual Property. Office and Operations. Legal Issues. Industries. Basic Accounting. Financing A Small Business. Business Taxes. Selling A Business. Bookkeeping. Personal Finance. LEADERSHIP & MANAGING. Leadership. Human Resources (HR).

Fractional CTO 40

Fractional CTO Equity Iowa Technical Cofounder 40

YoungUpstarts

MAY 7, 2015

As a business owner can see, after looking behind the “ESOP Fables,” selling to an ESOP might be the best alternative for an owner and should be at least considered as an exit strategy. This is especially true in cases where the owner wants to reward his or her employees for their hard work in contributing to the company’s success.

Stock 100

Stock Employee Private Equity Valuation 100

Business Plan Blog

JULY 30, 2013

What is your exit strategy? What are some comparable exits of other companies in your industry? Do you have intellectual property such as a patent? What are your competitive advantages? What is your current market traction? Is this business scalable? At what point do you break-even?

Intellectual Property 45

Intellectual Property Exit Strategy Angel Groups Valuation 45

Startup Company Lawyer

MAY 4, 2009

Does it involve intellectual property, model innovation, speed to market, market positioning? Intellectual Property. Description: Practical strategy to getting your first patents quickly, cheaply, and with the necessary protections. Exit Strategies. May 19th, 2009: Identify a vision for your business.

Founder 28

Founder Warrant San Francisco Intellectual Property 28

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2013

But patents and other intellectual property only go so far. Exit strategy. What’s most realistic these days is an exit via sale to an existing major company for which you solve a meaningful problem. Shooting for that sort of exit over a three to five year period is usually the best strategy.

Cram Down 269

Cram Down Angel Investor Intellectual Property Venture Capital 269

www.inc.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

Pricing Strategy. Exit Strategies. Strategy and Planning. Intellectual Property. Office and Operations. Legal Issues. Industries. Basic Accounting. Financing A Small Business. Business Taxes. Selling A Business. Bookkeeping. Personal Finance. LEADERSHIP & MANAGING. Leadership. Human Resources (HR).

Arizona 40

Arizona Equity Iowa Venture Capital 40

Mike Michalowicz

JANUARY 8, 2015

Sales do occasionally fall through, and it’s essential that you have an exit strategy – a plan B in the event that you can’t make the sale. A process that long can put your business in serious trouble if you concentrate all your energy on pushing the sale through, rather than maintaining and growing your company. Profitability is key.

Intellectual Property 60

Intellectual Property Investment Bankers Exit Strategy Sales 60

Gust

DECEMBER 23, 2011

Many other kinds of defenses also allow you to join the venture version of the “slow food” movement: robust intellectual property rights (say, obtained from a university partnership program), exclusive contracts with key suppliers or distributors, a prime physical location. — can indeed thrive without VCs ruining the party.

Intellectual Property 127

Intellectual Property Balance Sheet Dilution Bootstrapping 127

Up and Running

OCTOBER 1, 2015

The intellectual property ownership. If your joint venture revolves around the tech or medical industry, then intellectual property is of great value to your business. Because a joint venture is not part of your business, any intellectual property created during the venture won’t automatically be yours.

Intellectual Property 60

Intellectual Property Technical Review Exit Strategy Due Diligence 60

Growthink Blog

AUGUST 14, 2010

Aptly to the point, Basil is the author of a great book – “ Early Exits: Exit Strategies for Entrepreneurs and Angel Investors.” His core thesis is that successful private equity investing is now driven by quickly getting to the smaller investment exit.

Private Equity 67

Private Equity Intellectual Property IPO Venture Capital 67

Gust

NOVEMBER 1, 2011

Defensible doesn’t mean you have to have patents and defensible intellectual property regardless; it does mean a distinguishable difference that people can understand in an instant. Services generally aren’t scalable (except web services) because you need to double head count to double sales. Do you have a credible team?

Angel Investor 93

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Finance Web 93

Gust

NOVEMBER 23, 2011

Nowhere is this more striking than in matters involving intellectual property and the rights of content owners. Startups and founders need to come to terms with the stark reality that the rules of the game may be changed mid-play.

IPO 110

IPO Prospectus SEC Intellectual Property 110

Up and Running

MAY 1, 2014

Intellectual Property : Again, this mostly applies to technology and scientific ventures. But, if you have intellectual property that is proprietary to your business and helps your business defend itself against competitors, you should detail that information here. Exit Strategy.

Business Plan 163

Business Plan Forecast Balance Sheet Distribution 163

Up and Running

APRIL 28, 2015

Exit strategy. You do this in the form of an “exit strategy” slide that outlines who your potential acquirers might be if you manage to grow your company and be successful. While you do want to keep your pitch deck short, sometimes you may need or want to include a few extra slides that help explain your business.

Forecast 60

Forecast Hockey Stick Exit Strategy Intellectual Property 60

Up and Running

NOVEMBER 12, 2018

Intellectual property. Trademarking your business name, logo, and so on are the main intellectual property issues for a subscription box. Exit strategy : Name a few other subscription box services or outside companies who might want to take over if you decide to exit the industry down the line.

Business Plan 63

Business Plan Curation Balance Sheet Intellectual Property 63

Up and Running

AUGUST 19, 2014

what’s behind your financials, your go-to-market strategy, your current traction in the marketplace, your competition and why you’re better, your intellectual property or “secret sauce,” your exit strategy, etc.). I also learned quickly that no two angels are alike. What one angel likes another may not care about.

Angel Investor 161

Angel Investor Technical Review Due Diligence Startup 161

Up and Running

OCTOBER 3, 2018

Your funding ask and exit strategy, if applicable. Intellectual property : List any patents you have or have pending, and mention any core technology you are licensing from another company. Exit strategy : Needed if you’re seeking investment. Your operations plan. Your team and company information.

El Paso 61

El Paso Business Plan Technical Review Forecast 61

www.inc.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

500|5000 The 2010 Inc. 500|5000 List The 2010 Top Lists Inc. 500|5000 Conference Honorees Resources Press Apply 2011 ); Topics > Leadership and Managing > Human Resources > Job Descriptions > How to Hire a CTO When its time to add a technologist to your slate of executives, what are the best practices to follow? 500|5000 The 2010 Inc.

Fractional CTO 42

Fractional CTO CTO CTO Hire Hiring 42

Up and Running

AUGUST 20, 2018

The Lean Business Plan dispenses with the formalities that are needed when presenting a plan externally for a loan or investment and focuses almost exclusively on business strategy, tactics, milestones, metrics, budgets, and forecasts. The marketing and sales plan details the strategies that you will use to reach your target market.

Business Plan 119

Business Plan Technical Review Lean Forecast 119