VC Cafe

MARCH 1, 2024

Most startups equate the process of fundraising to dating – founders have to typically kiss a lot of frogs until the find the right fit. One of my favourite pieces has been The Abundance Agenda , a deck on how AI will transform consumer technology, packing inside areas of opportunity, or in other words, requests for startups.

Artificial Inteligence 177

Artificial Inteligence Technical Review Software Review Generative AI 177

VC Cafe

FEBRUARY 27, 2024

A founder asked me what makes a $2M round “pre-seed”? While the answers are somewhat semantic, the pre-seed funding round is making a comeback in 2024 startup financing. Not only the bar for seed rounds has gotten higher (as less seed rounds get done) but also the founders prefer to build their company based on milestones.

Valuation 186

Valuation Software Review Generative AI Technical Review 186

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2022

This happens slowly because while public markets trade daily and prices then adjust instantly, private markets don’t get reset until follow-on financing rounds happen which can take 6–24 months. But it will be patiently deployed, waiting for a cohort of founders who aren’t artificially clinging to 2021 valuation metrics.

Technical Review 416

Technical Review Pre-Money Valuation San Francisco Valuation 416

View from Seed

JANUARY 31, 2024

Or, to be more precise, there are a lot of similarities between the way the tech world is reacting to these two different technologies. First, the ease at which developers can get started working with AI models is starting to lead to a Cambrian explosion of products and applications that leverage this technology.

Web 168

Web Generative AI Houston Distribution 168

Austin Startup

MAY 14, 2021

million investment round into Strap Technologies (“STRAP”), an innovative company that has developed the world’s first total technology replacement of the white cane for the blind and visually impaired. For a video overview of STRAP’s technology in action, click here. Globally, at least 2.2

Technical Review 70

Technical Review Technology Angel Investor Software Review 70

The Startup Magazine

DECEMBER 27, 2023

Startup founders have a seemingly never-ending list of things to do, whether it’s growing sales, hiring new team members, or marketing your latest product. Since you might be responsible for many of these tasks yourself, thinking about your company’s finances might not be at the top of your list.

Startup 144

Startup Technical Review Reputation Hiring 144

YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 24, 2020

In the post-coronavirus period, the demand for technologies that help businesses compensate for losses will only increase. Remember that investors will not appreciate a business plan that features exorbitant salaries of the founders. Rustam Gilfanov is an IT company co-founder, IT businessman and international investor.

Business Plan 263

Business Plan Ukraine Cofounder Startup 263

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 17, 2020

Let’s take a few minutes to examine the kind of equity financing available to small or early stage businesses. In most cases, these applicants for equity funding must be rooted in technology to apply to this limited discussion. All angel groups will want to see the founders in person or by Zoom at sometime early in the process.

Equity 62

Equity Finance Liquidity Event Angel Groups 62

The Startup Magazine

MARCH 7, 2024

Guest Author: Danish Ahmed, Founder of startuptools.ai. From identifying your audience to understanding the market and mapping out your finances, entrepreneurs have found they have a lot to do before building a successful venture. But luckily, gone are the days when entrepreneurs have to spend countless hours on these beginning steps.

Artificial Inteligence 156

Artificial Inteligence Entrepreneur Algorithm Cofounder 156

Steve Blank

APRIL 26, 2022

They offered desperate founders more cash but insisted on new terms, rewriting all the old stock agreements that previous investors and employees had. For existing investors, sometimes it was a “pay-to-play” i.e. if you don’t participate in the new financing you lose. W hy would any founder agree to this? They’re Back.

Cram Down 412

Cram Down Founder Venture Capital Recapitalization 412

The Startup Magazine

FEBRUARY 21, 2024

Arif Bhalwani is the co-founder and CEO of Third Eye Capital (TEC) in Toronto, Canada. TEC is one of Canada’s largest and most experienced private credit firms, specializing in providing asset-based capital solutions to companies that are underserved or overlooked by traditional sources of financing, primarily banks.

Technical Review 158

Technical Review Due Diligence Bankruptcy Intellectual Property 158

ReadWriteStart

AUGUST 30, 2022

These statistics show that investors are interested in financing new projects and are ready to consider existing ideas. Most investors want to finance a project that targets a large market to allow the business to scale. Following Digital Technologies. Deep Market Analysis. What Should Be a Good Presentation for Investors.

Software Review 183

Software Review Technical Review Cofounder United States 183

View from Seed

DECEMBER 27, 2022

We believe that this technology will eventually affect all aspects of our economy, just as the power of the internet’s connected communication, in due course, pervaded our collective lives over the course of the past three decades. But it’s not just the technology that makes Poly stand out – it’s also the team behind it.

Generative AI 156

Generative AI Cofounder Architecture Technical Review 156

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 11, 2022

Almost no financings, many VCs and tech startups cratered for the second time in less than a decade following the dot com bursting. I was in it for the love of working with entrepreneurs on business problems and marveling at technology they had built. Starting in 2009 I began writing checks consistently, year-in and year-out.

Valuation 466

Valuation San Francisco Ratchet Liquidation Preference 466

This is going to be BIG.

MAY 27, 2014

It was a company whose product I believed in and whose founder I liked, but a firm lobbed in a term sheet at a price 33% higher than what I had offered using a very light agreement meant for a much earlier stage company. Then, I read about the idiotic comments made by a co-founder of Rap Genius. Perhaps we all should. No, probably not.

Term Sheet 160

Term Sheet Founder Cofounder Software Review 160

The Startup Magazine

DECEMBER 13, 2018

As part of The Startup Magazine Female Founder Series, we interviewed Ms. I wanted to be able to select clients that are a good fit and can benefit from my finance, IT and international experience. As you have a history of building early stage companies, what is the most important thing you tell startup founders? Gabriela Rodil.

Technical Review 99

Technical Review Founder Due Diligence Early Stage 99

ReadWriteStart

OCTOBER 20, 2023

With such daunting statistics, it’s clear that maintaining a startup becomes an uphill battle for founders without the right foundations. Rise of Global Tech Hubs An exciting shift in recent years is the emergence of new technological hubs across the globe. Embrace them, and you’re already on the path to success.

Technical Review 137

Technical Review Startup Silicon Valley Agile 137

The Startup Magazine

SEPTEMBER 15, 2020

It is a type of financing that investors can provide to startups and small businesses which are believed to have the potential for success in the long term. They often invest in the technology industry and in other areas with great potential for growth. What is Venture Capital Funding? Venture capital is a type of private equity.

Venture Capital 179

Venture Capital Technical Review Software Review Security 179

YoungUpstarts

FEBRUARY 12, 2017

by Andriy Skoropad, co-founder & CEO at Perfectial. Some claim that all possible interactions of finance and technology, which I guess includes credit cards – the 1950’s invention, are FinTech. The term, itself, is a compound of “financial” and “technology”. What is FinTech now ? Business Lending (raised $9.8B

Ruby 210

Ruby Cofounder Finance Campaign 210

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 11, 2023

The following is a condensed explanation of seed funding: Seed money is a form of early-stage financing that new businesses receive from investors in exchange for a share of ownership in the company. The term “seed financing” refers to the stage of funding that comes from first equity. What exactly is the seed funding?

Seed Stage 148

Seed Stage Technical Review Early Stage Due Diligence 148

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 28, 2021

David is still one of the most active angel investors in New York, and also the CEO of Gust , which is an online platform for startup financing used by 800,000 entrepreneurs over the years, providing access to 85,000 angel investment professionals. Rose, according to his classic book, “ Angel Investing.” All startups always need more money.

Angel Investor 361

Angel Investor Accredited Investor IRR Angel Groups 361

The Startup Magazine

DECEMBER 13, 2018

As part of The Startup Magazine Female Founder Series, we interviewed Ms. I wanted to be able to select clients that are a good fit and can benefit from my finance, IT and international experience. As you have a history of building early stage companies, what is the most important thing you tell startup founders? Gabriela Rodil.

Technical Review 84

Technical Review Founder Due Diligence Early Stage 84

Steve Blank

APRIL 3, 2018

Being a domain expert in a technology field rarely makes you competent in commerce. Most great technology startups – Oracle, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Tesla – were built by a team led by an entrepreneur. These are entrepreneurial skills you need to rapidly acquire or find a co-founder who already has them.

Technical Review 335

Technical Review Entrepreneur Artificial Inteligence Cofounder 335

David Teten

AUGUST 20, 2019

Many are reporting that they’re seeing a more diverse pool of applicants than traditional equity VCs… even though virtually none have a particular focus on women or underrepresented founders. Revenue-Based Investing (“RBI”) is a new form of VC financing, distinct from the preferred equity structure most VCs use.

Revenue 60

Revenue Cofounder Founder Venture Capital 60

View from Seed

FEBRUARY 9, 2016

At seed-stage startups, especially companies with well-networked founders and investors, finding applicants who can do a job on paper is not overly difficult. To help you more effectively build your early teams, we asked a group of founders to share their favorite interview questions when they build new startup teams.

Founder 120

Founder Seed Stage Cofounder Boston 120

YoungUpstarts

SEPTEMBER 24, 2019

by Chen Amit, co-founder and CEO of Tipalti. And accounts payable processing is poised to become even more significant and complex over the next three years, according to the Institute of Finance & Managemen’s research. New technologies will also change the face of AP.

Artificial Inteligence 165

Artificial Inteligence Technical Review Cofounder Cloud 165

Feld Thoughts

MAY 28, 2015

Congrats to my friends at Rally Software on the announcement that they’ve signed a definitive agreement to be acquired by CA Technologies for $480 million. For example, from a post in 2008 about Rally’s $16.85m financing , I riffed on the origins of the company. Rally started out life as F4 Technologies.

Software 70

Software Technology Agile SCRUM 70

Steve Blank

JULY 11, 2017

Before the rapid rise of Unicorns, (startups with a valuation over a billion dollars), when boards were still in control, they “encouraged” the hiring of “adult supervision” of the founders after they found product/market fit. Yet technology cycles have become a treadmill, and to survive startups need to be on a continuous innovation cycle.

Part-Time VPE 316

Part-Time VPE Liquidity Event Stock Engineer 316

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 24, 2018

I’m convinced that you can learn more from failure than success, so it pays to take these as lessons to improve your success odds before you start: Creating a new technology doesn’t make a business. Despite the technology, the fears of pedestrians and government regulations strangled the business.

Angel Investor 249

Angel Investor Cofounder Finance Operations 249

David Teten

DECEMBER 3, 2019

When I met my now-wife, I realized that any technology that can find me a spouse is a killer app. I’d argue that the same type of technologies that have revolutionized dating can revolutionize our industry. . I walk through below how progressive investors are using technology and analytics throughout all of their operations.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Software Review Analytics Private Equity 78

ReadWriteStart

NOVEMBER 20, 2023

” — Phil Norton, Founder of Leave Dates In today’s digital age, software subscriptions have become integral to business operations. ” — Carl Jenson, Founder of Compare Bank. Carl Jenson, the Founder of Compare Bank, emphasises the importance of cutting meeting expenses by adopting virtual meeting solutions.

Software Review 138

Software Review Technical Review Retention Cost 138

Startup Lessons Learned

AUGUST 26, 2020

Jake Soberal and Irma Olguin started Bitwise in 2013 with the idea that the technology industry could be used to fix a city--in their case, Fresno, CA. Our fundamental thesis is that people of color, women, communities of concentrated poverty, have immense talent to contribute to the technology industry," Jake explained to me. "In

Fresno 60

Fresno Community Technology California 60

Version One Ventures

DECEMBER 16, 2020

We shifted a large portion of our lives from offline to online, not missing a beat, thanks to the power of technology. That’s another huge win for technology and science. . Our portfolio and investment activity this year reflects the importance of technology and “digitization of everything” spurred on by Covid-19.

Technical Review 148

Technical Review Portfolio Founder Finance 148

Scott Edward Walker

OCTOBER 19, 2020

In a couple of cases, the founders played lawyer on their own; in the other cases, the founders either used (i) a Web service that did not address IP issues or (ii) an inexperienced law firm. This would arise as a result of a founder improperly “moonlighting” (i.e., Any IP created by a founder (e.g.,

IP 52

IP Software Review Founder Technical Review 52

YoungUpstarts

APRIL 3, 2015

In 1994 Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said, “retail banks are dinosaurs, they can be bypassed,” in a Newsweek interview. The Internet has also transformed banking for small business owners, particularly when it comes time to apply for business loans and other financing products. by Jake Dacillo, Marketing Director, Balboa Capital.

Small Business 100

Small Business Technical Review Technology United States 100

View from Seed

APRIL 21, 2015

On the heels of our research on HBS entrepreneurs , NextView’s Dimitri Dadiomov (HBS ’15) interviewed several top founders on the early stages of their companies. Matt Prince , Co-Founder and CEO, CloudFlare (Web performance and security to protect and accelerate websites; $72.1 On Launching and Finding Early Traction.

Founder 120

Founder Las Vegas Entrepreneur Cofounder 120

YoungUpstarts

JUNE 26, 2020

If you are building a startup, you’ll find no shortage of people who are willing to give you advice, particularly when it comes to raising financing. Like Jerry Yang who started Yahoo, as investors we are looking for entrepreneurs who are obsessed with a new technology. Unfortunately, much of this advice is wrong.

Finance 205

Finance Silicon Valley Valuation Startup 205