Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 24, 2015

It will make follow-on financings much harder and people will have to consider whether or not to do inside rounds. These are all normal things but in this big run since 2009 we’ve all gotten used to nearly 100% follow-on financing rates, valuations only moving up, deals clearly the convertible note caps and low mortality rates.

Stock 150

Stock Finance Marketing Valuation 150

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 9, 2013

I was sitting with the financing guy who was trying to upsell me everything from pre-paying service to prepaying dent repair coverage, etc. I was chatting with the finance guy and he was cycling through all the things he wanted to bait-and-switch me to and he asked if I wanted a lease in stead of a purchase. But I digress.

Software Review 398

Software Review Technical Review China Mexico 398

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 6, 2013

Equally – a great VP Finance can be leveraged well to take on finance, legal, HR and much of the operational tasks. Hire admin / office management after you raise a reasonable size VC round. It will pay huge dividends in avoiding the CEO tied up in admin and allow him / her to focus on bigger picture items.

Cofounder 388

Cofounder Early Stage Startup Silicon Valley 388

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 24, 2014

Helping companies get to next financing round successfully: I was just beginning this phase in Sept 2010 and said so. I’ve now been involved with many other successful foll0w-on financings. Sourcing high-quality leads : 9/10. Working with early-stage teams : coaching, mentoring, setting strategy, rolling up sleeves: 9/10.

Los Angeles 387

Los Angeles Intellectual Property LP Venture Capital 387

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 18, 2019

This is only true when: 1) there is funding available to finance short-term losses and 2) when there is a lucrative positive unit-economics business when you become the winner. So for the first year Bird used off-the-shelf scooters that weren’t really built for long-term commercial use.

South America 250

South America Global New York City Software Review 250

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 26, 2016

The key to being able to run a business that isn’t yet profitable (on operating margin) is availability of capital to finance losses and preferably at a cost that isn’t too punitive to the founders and employees. Sustaining short-term losses is all predicated on ability to finance the losses through venture capital or other means.

Metrics 150

Metrics Cost Acquisition Startup 150

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 19, 2013

But Salesforce knew how important this process is to their success so they actively encouraged the development of an ecosystem so much so that they even invested in these third-parties to make sure they were well-enough financed to survive. That it is non-dilutive financing? It’s false logic. Your Best Eyes & Ears.

Technical Review 403

Technical Review Software Review Startup API 403

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2014

By September 26th we had submitted a term sheet which was signed on October 4th and financing was closed in less than 30 days. Massive success after just one week of launching that has continued into the third week (this week) with their first property.

Technical Review 373

Technical Review North America Los Angeles Cofounder 373

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 20, 2017

Today I’m excited to announce we’ve recently raised $30 million in growth finance led by 8VC , with Kimmy Scotti joining our board. I pointed out that the storage market in the US alone is ~$30 billion / year and there is no dominant provider — the largest player has < 10% market share. We’ve been delighted with 8VC as a co-investor.

Technical Review 268

Technical Review Los Angeles Software Review Artificial Inteligence 268

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 9, 2018

Because you have a unitary focus on financing your company or you die you seem not to miss a beat in thinking about the last meeting and the funder has been whipsawed in 20 directions. I call this the “love decay” and with every passing day it depletes just a little bit more.

Software Review 381

Software Review Churn Rate Due Diligence New York 381

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2011

Or worse yet they may never get financed. Raise at “ the top end of normal &# but not so high that future financings in a corrected market become impossible. An obvious example is Google who may have gotten less market attention if there would have been 8 well-financed competitors during the 2001-2005 timeframe.

Saudi Arabia 309

Saudi Arabia Valuation IPO Technical Review 309

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 16, 2010

So angel and seed stage investors’ returns will be dependent on good times continuing or on the ability of their portfolio companies to get financed. You’ll have to find alternate ways of financing your dreams and that’s OK. Nobody understands this better than First Round Capital.

LP 311

LP Technical Review Early Stage Silicon Valley 311

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 3, 2012

But it was early 2009 and not many companies were getting new financings at all so I thought they should take the deal. But my other VC partner had a smaller fund and raising price would have a big impact on his ability to finance the company. The company agreed on a price but felt it was a bit lower than they had hoped for.

Term Sheet 356

Term Sheet Silicon Valley Reputation Partner 356

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

And the loosening of federal monetary policies, particularly in the US, has pushed more dollars into the venture ecosystems at every stage of financing. What Has Changed in Financing? even before the pandemic itself has been fully tamed. We have global opportunities from these trends but of course also big challenges.

Pre-Money Valuation 471

Pre-Money Valuation Valuation Venture Capital Early Stage 471

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 15, 2012

You’ll be on the other side of the financing discussions (a board member, rather than the CEO). . You should read the post in its entirety – it’s a great learning piece. But for now, the summary is: You’ll extend your network. . You’ll view a company from a different vantage point. .

Founder 294

Founder Vesting Startup Stock 294

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 2, 2015

A great finance leader is on top of your numbers with such precision that you don’t have to worry about it. But a great finance leader isn’t just budgeting but he or she is an consummate planning and they won’t take s**t from you about why you need to avoid hiring more staff until you close new contracts or raise money.

Operations 150

Operations Metrics Early Stage Non-Compete 150

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 30, 2014

Through many meetings discussing strategy, approach, recruiting, financing, etc. Accomplished executives well her senior were very comfortable joining Meredith on this journey and trusting her leadership to raise capital, do business development deals, build a team and ultimately a great company.

Technical Review 418

Technical Review Software Review Due Diligence CTO Hire 418

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

lack of traction, lack of downstream financing availability. I have been involved with rounds of funding where individual angels asked to have lawyers review the next round of financing and slow up deals over what amounts to $25,000 out of a $5 million investment. founder fighting. strategic direction. and much more.

Syndicate 356

Syndicate Syndication Cofounder Early Stage 356

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 4, 2013

As an early-stage investor that is not always aligned with my goal, which I would express as, “pay the right price for the stage & risk in a way that is fair to the founders yet preserves our ability to grow into our valuation at the next financing event.” To all my banking friends … I’m not a hater.

Early Stage 361

Early Stage Deal Flow Investment Bankers Technical Review 361

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

This financial leader could well have come through the finance org at another startup or at a larger company but they often also can come from strategy consulting (Bain, BCG or McKinsey) or through investment banking (Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, etc.).

Operations 286

Operations New York City Technical Review Startup 286

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 4, 2013

As an early-stage investor that is not always aligned with my goal, which I would express as, “pay the right price for the stage & risk in a way that is fair to the founders yet preserves our ability to grow into our valuation at the next financing event.” To all my banking friends … I’m not a hater.

Deal Flow 347

Deal Flow Early Stage Investment Bankers Technical Review 347

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 11, 2021

Trust, which today has announced a $9 million financing (Upfront is an investor), is a platform designed to help make the most of marketing investment by providing both analytics and a community of likeminded executives to share what’s working, and what’s not, across platforms.

Founder 424

Founder Product Cofounder Acquisition 424

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014

It’s like we need a finance 101 course for entrepreneurs. In finance they call it “terminal value” but the truth is the price is as arbitrary at your A round as it is at your seed round. I really just want to champion Finance 101 to entrepreneurs. There were no metrics. So a convertible note was easier.

Venture Capital 417

Venture Capital Liquidation Preference Valuation Term Sheet 417

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 11, 2016

Importantly, we recently announced a $30 million financing that gives us the resources we need to build a global enterprise software company. Invoca has grown its enterprise customer base 550% in the past three years including major customers like Microsoft, Allstate and SunTrust.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Fractional CTO Cofounder Early Stage 150

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 14, 2017

ICOs certainly have a place in startup financing. Lately I’ve noticed that there is a second wave that many fantasize about a world in which ICOs drive all funding and founders and employees never have to deal with venture capitalists.

Cofounder 217

Cofounder Stock Options Equity Technical Review 217

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 12, 2014

In the old days there weren’t many fights about whether angels would take their prorata rights in financing rounds. Thus begins the dance. New investors sometimes want early investors to put in money to “prove” they have confidence in the new price. Why prorata rights used to be less of a big deal to angels.

Technical Review 336

Technical Review Later Stage Early Stage LP 336

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 7, 2014

5 million was always the classic definition of an A-round between the late nineties (crazy financings aside) and say 2007. Entrepreneurs started demanding that VCs call their first-round financings “seed” rounds even if they were $3 million. and there''s always a but]. I saw this myself a few times in a row.

Cap Table 399

Cap Table Silicon Valley Term Sheet Finance 399

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 3, 2015

We are big believers in their long-term vision and potential, have led their first 2 rounds of financings and are excited to have investment partners such as Gary Vaynerchuk, Related Companies, and Tim Ferriss on the journey with us.

Technical Review 150

Technical Review Software Review Founder Boston 150

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 30, 2016

These types of firms may see your follow-on financing as a chance to “buy up ownership.” Other funds have the view that they can form conviction of whether this still represents a great investment or now irrespective of what the market says. Most firms are somewhere in the middle.

Pre-Money Valuation 292

Pre-Money Valuation Valuation Early Stage Startup 292

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 23, 2010

Asked to respond to the topic, “What collusion happens with AngelList, if any&# I wrote the following: “Um, let’s not be naive here and not think that a “form of collusion&# doesn’t happen on virtually any financing round. How well financed is the competition? Investors talk to each other.

Entrepreneur 292

Entrepreneur Technical Review Stealth Valuation 292

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 15, 2013

Hold interviews with tech people, marking people, ops people, finance people – whatever. I’ve been pitched by hundreds of entrepreneurs who never actually asked me whether I would invest. Very few people do. Here’s an experiment for you.

Sacramento 416

Sacramento Baltimore Germany DC 416

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 28, 2018

Until recently it was headquartered 2 blocks from our offices in Santa Monica so we literally saw it emerge under our feet and we proudly invested in the last 3 rounds of financing. Today the company officially announced its most recent round of capital ?—?having having raised $300 million?—?less

San Francisco 256

San Francisco Valuation Technical Review Los Angeles 256

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 6, 2013

Their business model was to help young companies accelerate their launch by helping assemble a team, do initial marketing, provide seed capital and help them raise financing. He turned to Mike Jones at Science who was newly set up as an accelerator of sorts or a venture studio.

San Diego 344

San Diego Technical Review Seed Capital Sacramento 344

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 13, 2011

They will often run all of the daily reports into them covering off for finance, sales, marketing, biz dev & HR. But ask yourself, what does a COO actually do? In a mature company it’s often like a presidential chief of staff. Many times they also pick up product and tech, too.

Technical Review 325

Technical Review Startup Cofounder Due Diligence 325

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 10, 2014

Another obvious hire is thus a financial controller or finance director – preferably somebody with business planning experiences and not just an accountant. The best ones by now have an amazing finance leader who often doubles as head of internal operations. These things don’t happen by themselves.

Startup 381

Startup PR Finance Hiring 381

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 25, 2011

It’s nearly impossible to get a services company financed by VCs. They have created two internal technology “products&# and wanted to figure out how they could turn their services business into a product business that could be financed. You’re a small fish. This team is talented. They wanted advice.

Silicon Valley 332

Silicon Valley IP Dividend Finance 332

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 21, 2013

It also is a great way to finance your business without facing dilution before you actually raise venture capital and when the valuation you might get from angels is less than you’d want. And chances are you’re in big need of a killer customer reference. By year 2 I’d like to see PS at 50% maximum, which is still high.

Software Review 321

Software Review Software IP Technical Review 321