K9 Ventures

OCTOBER 10, 2017

I’ll start with all the questions I can think of, from many different perspectives: founders, LPs, the press, and even other VCs. This post is intended to be a dynamic document, and I will attempt to update it from time to time with new questions that may arise or as financing trends evolve. Q: Is Pre-Seed a Thing?

Seed Stage 82

Seed Stage Finance Later Stage Equity 82

K9 Ventures

JUNE 5, 2015

Together this means that Seed stage companies need to run longer and at a higher expense structure, meaning they need to raise a lot more capital. A re-jiggering of deal stages and sizes had begun in 2013. So if the Micro-VCs are looking for Series A-like metrics, what does a company do when it’s just getting started?

Seed Stage 48

Seed Stage Venture Capital Early Stage Valuation 48

View from Seed

JUNE 16, 2015

I’d also question a founder who asks his or her investors to comment falsely on something — that puts the investor in an awkward spot. Luckily, our founders are all incredibly high integrity people, and we wouldn’t have it any other way. For SaaS: At least $100K in MRR. For ecommerce: >$500K revenue/month.

Boston 120

Boston Syndicate Syndication eCommerce 120

Austin Startup

AUGUST 30, 2018

So while the number of dollars pouring into Austin may be increasing, that metric is only favorable to businesses that warrant those sized-rounds. Of these rounds, nearly every one was classified as a Series B or later-stage round, with the exception of a few debt and equity financing rounds.

Austin 48

Austin Early Stage San Francisco Later Stage 48

David Teten

DECEMBER 3, 2019

Tim Friedman, Founder, PE Stack , said, “If I could offer one piece of advice to today’s managers, it would be to take the time to understand the demands of the modern institutional LP. Data companies focused on early-stage startups include Aingel , fundsUP , Preseries , PredictLeads , and Sploda. 3) Raise capital.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Software Review Analytics Private Equity 78

K9 Ventures

OCTOBER 12, 2015

Not to mention that in later stages, high valuations can almost be fatal for some companies that don’t have the operating metrics to justify those valuations once the market turns. What does all this mean for founders? This means more noise in the system for seed stage investors.

Venture Capital 48

Venture Capital Seed Stage LP Valuation 48

Reid Hoffman

JUNE 11, 2020

Embedding individual performance metrics in team performance metrics is a central part of how Jeff operates, but he also concerns himself with setting a cultural drumbeat and making everyone feel part of the team. Why do you call Jeff a co-founder of LinkedIn, even though he joined when the company was already five years old?

Cofounder 36

Cofounder Leadership Metrics Later Stage 36

Ben's Blog

AUGUST 17, 2020

When speaking with founders and private growth investors, we hear countless references to “multiples paid” on current or near-term revenue; both obsess over this because a higher multiple translates to a higher valuation. A multiple is a company value divided by a metric.

Valuation 36

Valuation Balance Sheet Cofounder Forecast 36

Austin Startup

JUNE 26, 2019

Many people have reached out sharing knowing and kind words about our journey and choice to wind down our venture, as well as their appreciation for my choice to pull back the curtain on what is statistically a common road for many founders. It details a landscape founders like me are excited to sink their teeth into? Of course not!

Silicon Valley 54

Silicon Valley Startup B2C Sweat Equity 54

abovethecrowd.com

APRIL 20, 2016

Why the Unicorn Financing Market Just Became Dangerous…For All Involved. All Unicorn participants — founders, company employees, venture investors and their limited partners (LPs) — are seeing their fortunes put at risk from the very nature of the Unicorn phenomenon itself. By January of 2016, that number had ballooned to 229.

IPO 40

IPO Term Sheet Silicon Valley Valuation 40

Version One Ventures

MAY 22, 2018

Some of the best later-stage investors walk founders through an institutionalized “reverse” pitch. At Version One, we effectively act as a hotline: we strive to be the first investor that our founders call and often times, it is because we are the most responsive. Outside of formal check-ins (i.e.

Cap Table 60

Cap Table Cofounder Syndicate Syndication 60

Reid Hoffman

JANUARY 19, 2021

I’ve encountered many of the different ways boards can interact under different circumstances, whether it’s problem executives, problem investors, CEO misbehavior, financing issues, business crises and more. At this stage, you need a true founder who fervently believes they’re going to make the company successful. No, no, no.

Startup 36

Startup Cofounder Advertising Hiring 36

David Teten

JANUARY 13, 2015

I’m speaking on a panel this afternoon on fundraising for minority founders at the Rainbow PUSH Wall Street Project. Fundraising is always difficult for all founders; the median PE/VC fund sources and reviews 87 companies before investing in 1. This young, talented girl is given no chance of being the founder of the next Facebook.”. “I

Venture Capital 60

Venture Capital Advisory Board Greece Cofounder 60

Up and Running

DECEMBER 9, 2014

Maybe you are wondering which metrics to track, or whether or not you should take out a loan for your business. They cover funding for small businesses from the initial funding stage to later stages of growth, and other areas in between. The full audio can be listened to above, and the transcript can be found below.

Small Business 95

Small Business Finance Forecast Metrics 95

Seeing Both Sides

JANUARY 13, 2015

We pride ourselves on being lifecycle investors, which means we invest very early on (typically at the seed or Series A stage) and then stick with a company through exit. Some VCs prefer investing at the earliest stages and then cycle off the board of directors. Financing: holy crap - we are running out of money in 6 months!

Mezzanine 20

Mezzanine IPO Finance Business Model 20