Both Sides of the Table

JULY 23, 2014

There has been much discussion in the past few years of the changing structure of the venture capital industry. The rise of alternative sources of capital (crowd funding and the like). We are in a bubble (with so many private $1bn+ valuations). But markets value high growth over short-term profitability.

Technical Review 398

Technical Review Venture Capital Valuation Pre-Money Valuation 398

View from Seed

JANUARY 11, 2021

Noting our own experience, we questioned whether the fast proliferation of virtual interaction introduced by the COVID-19 crisis had changed investor decision-making more broadly across the venture capital industry. Following initial decision paralysis, many venture capitalists have returned to pace. billion in under a year.

Venture Capital 350

Venture Capital Cofounder Early Stage Seed Stage 350

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 28, 2018

Are you raising an appropriate amount of capital relative to your progress, relative to your team size and relative to your needs? VCs want you to raise the “appropriate” amount of capital, which I would define as what is reasonable given your progress to date, your resources and your needs for an 18–24 month period.

Burn Rate 247

Burn Rate Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Dilution 247

VC Adventure

JUNE 14, 2022

Companies looking to raise money turn to venture capital for a variety of reasons. Top among them is generally access to capital, but often on the list is the hope that raising capital from experienced (and well-networked) investors will have other positive impacts on their business.

Technical Review 150

Technical Review Due Diligence Portfolio Venture Capital 150

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014

On the phone … Me: So, you raised venture capital? It’s like we need a finance 101 course for entrepreneurs. Me: There is no rational explanation for valuations of A round companies by ANY objective financial measure. People seem concerned about valuation. We raised a seed round. About $1 million.

Venture Capital 417

Venture Capital Liquidation Preference Valuation Term Sheet 417

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 22, 2012

Growth will slow, partly due to internal limits and partly because the company is starting to bump up against the limits of the markets it serves.” He talks about making things that people want & going after a big enough market. After all, growth equals high valuations and loads of venture capital!

Silicon Valley 390

Silicon Valley Venture Capital Startup Technical Review 390

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. To do that you have to show how your market is big enough (a multi-billion dollar market) to support that kind of valuation. Why does it need to be a small market?

Finance 205

Finance Silicon Valley Valuation Startup 205

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. With the enormous changes to our economies and financial markets?—?how how on Earth could the venture capital market stand still? Of course we can’t.

Pre-Money Valuation 471

Pre-Money Valuation Valuation Venture Capital Early Stage 471

View from Seed

DECEMBER 11, 2019

But even at the Partner-level, the amount of transition in Venture Capital is much more than you perhaps would expect… especially in a business which should have a long term orientation with portfolio investment-hold periods and Partnerships lasting more than a decade. So why is there so much turnover in Venture Capital?

Venture Capital 204

Venture Capital Cap Table Partner LP 204

Steve Blank

APRIL 26, 2022

At the turn of the century after the dotcom crash, startup valuations plummeted, burn rates were unsustainable, and startups were quickly running out of cash. Except, that is, for the bottom feeders of the Venture Capital business – investors who “ cram down ” their companies. A cram down is different than a down round.

Cram Down 404

Cram Down Founder Venture Capital Recapitalization 404

View from Seed

DECEMBER 4, 2019

This equates to something in the neighborhood of a 10% IRR, which isn’t great given the illiquidity of the asset class and strength of the public markets. Over the last 10 years, we’ve been in a bull market with considerable froth in late stage financing activity and valuations.

LP 256

LP IRR Distribution Portfolio 256

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 28, 2018

My friend Michael Broukhim, founder & co-CEO of FabFitFun and I recently had a catch-up meeting for 3-miles on the Santa Monica “Bird Trail” No company has ever elicited so many questions by friends, colleagues, entrepreneurs, fellow VCs and journalists as has Bird, the company that pioneered the electronic scooter as a service market.

San Francisco 256

San Francisco Valuation Technical Review Los Angeles 256

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 6, 2017

It was only a year ago that many in the Venture Capital industry were predicting that “winter was coming” and to be fair the author of this post was chief amongst them. Yet as we enter February 2017 the VC funding markets are booming, Snap, Inc has filed for its IPO, AppDynamics was just purchased for $3.7 Baidu alone raised $3.2

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Saudi Arabia Kuwait Burn Rate 150

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 1, 2020

The next reason is to establish a competitive advantage over your competition and quickly acquire a substantial market share. Let’s take an example – In the case of an internet or app business, the user traction and market penetration is a must. The third reason is to fund your short term operational expenses or working capital.

Startup 150

Startup Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Seed Stage 150

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2011

They have seen one side of a market where many of us have seen the ebb and flow multiple times. Still, market amnesia by ordinarily rational actors always surprises me. I believe a bubble occurs when a market is willing to pay greater than intrinsic value for an asset class. I spoke about a lot of things during the keynote.

Saudi Arabia 309

Saudi Arabia Valuation IPO Technical Review 309

Women Entrepreneurs Can

NOVEMBER 19, 2022

A Venture Capital Firm is a firm that invests in startups and early-stage companies. However, not all firms are venture capital firms. One of the most common ways of investing in a startup is by leveraging the expertise of a venture capital firm. Early-Stage Investments vs. Mid-Stage Investments.

Venture Capital 52

Venture Capital Early Stage Liquidity Event SEC 52

View from Seed

MARCH 24, 2021

At NextView Ventures we have written many pieces about venture capital — how to raise it, build your business, engage with investors, iterate your product, navigate expanding industries, etc. What Are Your Valuation Expectations? VCs sure do love writing. ” (Lee Hower). ” (Lee Hower). ” (Rob Go).

Seed Stage 177

Seed Stage Hiring IPO Analytics 177

Steve Blank

APRIL 12, 2013

This post is about the rise of Chinese venture capital and how it helped build the countries entrepreneurial ecosystem. The Rise of Chinese Venture Capital. By 1991, 70% of the Torch funded startups were getting bank financing for expansion and later stages of the new ventures, with local governments acting as guarantors.

Venture Capital 271

Venture Capital China Offshore SBIR 271

This is going to be BIG.

SEPTEMBER 30, 2012

How else can you explain this headline matching a story about a professional social network still trying to explore revenues raising $17mm on an $80mm valuation? Well, they did ask David Chao of Doll Capital, who said that the " frothy bubble is over ". The tablet market has absolutely exploded. Perhaps I need to rethink that.

Venture Capital 114

Venture Capital Marketing Term Sheet Software Review 114

David Teten

JANUARY 19, 2021

Similar to the explosion of seed funds in the past decade, we (and some limited partners too ) believe these Flexible VCs are on the forefront of what will become a major segment of the venture ecosystem. We detail below the major categories of VC: VENTURE CAPITAL TYPOLOGY. Yes, via conversion rights at a valuation cap.

Cofounder 78

Cofounder Technical Review Equity Dividend 78

ReadWriteStart

SEPTEMBER 9, 2019

Although some founders take venture capital in exchange for equity, that’s not the only way to do it. To learn more about the pros and cons of venture capital — and founders’ funding alternatives — I caught up with Mark McKee. That creates a market where equity funding is top of mind. Why or why not?

Venture Capital 105

Venture Capital Equity SBA Finance 105

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 5, 2021

In finance, a bubble is too much money chasing assets, greater asset production and a herd mentality. In finance, “this time is different” is the beginning of a new bubble. High valuation, low profit. In addition, they have less baggage, more creativity, and already understand the market segments with the most buying power.

Demand 362

Demand Government Venture Capital Valuation 362

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 23, 2012

Many observers of the venture capital industry have questioned whether its best days are behind it. Looking ahead at the next decade I am excited by what I believe will be viewed as one of the best and most rational investment periods for venture capital due to seven discrete factors: 1.

Venture Capital 347

Venture Capital Technical Review LP Mobile 347

David Teten

AUGUST 20, 2019

I’ve been a traditional equity VC for 8 years, and I’m now researching new business models in venture capital. I have been impressed by how these venture capitalists are accomplishing a major social impact goal…without even trying to. I contacted every RBI venture capital investor I could identify, and learned: .

Revenue 60

Revenue Cofounder Founder Venture Capital 60

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 12, 2010

In the technology world there are a few websites that most startups track to keep up with the latest financings, acquisitions, product announcements and gossip: BusinessInsider, TechCrunch, Mashable, GigaOm, etc. Specifically we talked about Slide having gotten a $550 million valuation before being sold to Google for $182 million.

Seed Stage 232

Seed Stage Valuation Private Equity Venture Capital 232

Steve Blank

APRIL 12, 2013

This post is about the rise of Chinese venture capital and how it helped build the countries entrepreneurial ecosystem. The Rise of Chinese Venture Capital. By 1991, 70% of the Torch funded startups were getting bank financing for expansion and later stages of the new ventures, with local governments acting as guarantors.

Venture Capital 163

Venture Capital China Offshore SBIR 163

thebarefootvc

JANUARY 27, 2014

Do I think we are in a valuation bubble? I think that later stage valuations are frothy (for reasons I explain below) while earlier stage valuations are starting to stabilize from previous highs (with the exception of the superstar serial entrepreneur) - turns out scaling in a sea of competition (both startup and entrenched) is not so easy.

Technical Review 63

Technical Review Valuation Venture Capital Investment Bankers 63

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2011

2 preamble issues having read the comments on TC today: 1: I know that the prices of startup companies is much great in Silicon Valley than in smaller towns / less tech focused areas in the US and the US prices higher than many foreign markets. I can’t control the market. Private markets for stocks are the opposite.

Pre-Money Valuation 336

Pre-Money Valuation Valuation Silicon Valley Stock 336

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 24, 2011

I just read the Q1 2011 report from CB Insights , which shows venture capital is back. billion to work across 738 financing deals with U.S. Back to VCs, Silicon Valley venture capital firms are still the most active. So what can you do to get to the head of the venture capital investment queue?

Venture Capital 233

Venture Capital Revenue Elevator Pitch Silicon Valley 233

The Equity Kicker

DECEMBER 6, 2013

Venturebeat reported yesterday that US startup valuations have reached ten year highs. You can see from the charts above that median valuations have been increasing at all stages from seed through to Series D or later. Venture Capital'

Valuation 162

Valuation Venture Capital Startup Europe 162

VC Adventure

AUGUST 15, 2018

Back in the olden days of venture capital, company boards had wide discretion in pricing company options. However the board could determine what that fair market value was and, generally speaking, there wasn’t a practical way that these valuations could be challenged. Quick note: I’m not your lawyer.

Valuation 48

Valuation Common Stock Cap Table Software Review 48

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. The reason one would accept losses is when they are investments in fueling faster growth.

Metrics 150

Metrics Cost Acquisition Startup 150

Tim Keane

JANUARY 12, 2010

Bottom Up Market Sizing » January 12, 2010. Term-sheets and Valuations: Thinking about Negotiations. The Valuation Question. When companies seeking their first round of serious funding are good enough to receive a term-sheet from an investor, the first issue that always arises is valuation.

Term Sheet 68

Term Sheet Valuation Dividend Liquidation Preference 68

View from Seed

JANUARY 27, 2021

100M is a meaningful increase from our $50M third fund, though it’s still quite small in the grand scheme of venture, especially amid the recent wave of late stage financings and SPACs. What hasn’t changed is that our heart lies in working with founders to find product/market fit and to begin to grow.

LP 411

LP Early Stage Seed Stage Venture Capital 411

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 24, 2015

If you didn’t notice that the stock markets in the US dropped nearly 4% today (after falling last Thursday and Friday) then you were probably completely off-the-grid and on vacation. And by this I assume he meant that “market prognosticator twitter” was vomitous. It was a nerve racking morning. Neither do I.

Stock 150

Stock Finance Marketing Valuation 150

David Teten

AUGUST 7, 2019

As a venture capitalist, should you be a Momentum or a Value investor? To simplify, there are two classic approaches to public markets investing. The first is Momentum Investing , “a strategy to capitalize on the continuance of an existing market trend”, which usually meaning that the price has been rising in the recent past.

Venture Capital 60

Venture Capital Valuation Stock NDA 60

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 4, 2013

When I was new at Venture Capital I was trying to figure out the business. Should I trust my instincts for founders and products or should I be more focused on the market size or business plan? Should I trust my instincts for founders and products or should I be more focused on the market size or business plan?

Deal Flow 347

Deal Flow Early Stage Investment Bankers Technical Review 347