Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 14, 2014

The problem is that professional investors (Angels and Venture Capital) want a proven business model before they invest, ready to scale, rather than the more risky research and development efforts. In reality, the financing valley of death tests the commitment, determination, and problem solving ability of every entrepreneur.

Entrepreneur 283

Entrepreneur Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 283

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. For some entrepreneurs, raising financing can seem like a full time job, particularly in these trying times. Unfortunately, much of this advice is wrong. Well not, wrong exactly.

Finance 205

Finance Silicon Valley Valuation Startup 205

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 1, 2011

Today, you can start a web/mobile/cloud startup for $500,000 and have money left over. Every potential early-stage Venture Capitalist should take a year and do it before he or she makes partner. Venture capital as a profession is less than half a century old. venture/operating partners to get them into new industries.

Venture Capital 332

Venture Capital Early Stage Technical Review Startup 332

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. The Exit Problem.

Venture Capital 347

Venture Capital Technical Review LP Mobile 347

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. how on Earth could the venture capital market stand still? What Has Changed in Financing? What Does this Mean for a Venture Capital Firm?

Pre-Money Valuation 471

Pre-Money Valuation Valuation Venture Capital Early Stage 471

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 12, 2018

The problem is that professional investors (angels and venture capital) want a proven business model before they invest, ready to scale, rather than early projections and product development. In reality, the financing valley of death tests the commitment, determination, and problem solving ability of every entrepreneur.

Intellectual Property 134

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 134

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 13, 2011

Yeah, that was when I changed for me…” “…there was so much positive feedback on demystifying this one element of venture capital. This time frame – 2005/2006 – web 2.0 Brad’s start in Venture Capital. Was about a billion dollars on the IPO” and “was one of the first web analytics companies.

Technical Review 288

Technical Review Venture Capital Silicon Valley Software Review 288

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 1, 2017

The problem is that professional investors (angels and venture capitalists) want a proven business model before they invest, ready to scale, rather than the more risky research and development efforts. In reality, the financing valley of death tests the commitment, determination, and problem solving ability of every entrepreneur.

Product Development 177

Product Development Cost Developer Product 177

www.xconomy.com

JUNE 9, 2012

New San Diego VC Firm Emerges as ‘The Moneyball of Venture Capital’. Here’s some big news for San Diego’s innovation economy: There’s a new venture capital firm in town—and its investment methodology represents a fundamentally different approach to the conventional business model for venture investing. Hacker News.

San Diego 40

San Diego Venture Capital Technical Review San Francisco 40

Steve Blank

APRIL 14, 2013

They’re used to using the web and increasingly the mobile web for everything, commerce, communication, games, etc. While there are 564 million web users with 420 million having mobile web access, 74% of Chinese Internet users make less than $500/month and are students, blue-collar workers or jobless. Unlike U.S.

China 323

China Silicon Valley Non-Compete Intellectual Property 323

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 8, 2015

According to a classic Gompers and Lerner study, the challenge is very real, with a majority of new ventures that don't attract investors failing within the first three years. My first advice for new entrepreneurs is to pick a domain, such as online web sites and smart phone apps, that doesn’t have the sky-high up-front development costs.

Entrepreneur 120

Entrepreneur Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 120

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2009

On December 3rd Brad Feld wrote a one paragraph blog post titled “ Raising Venture Capital &# in which he linked to my blog. The Original Post (after the jump): Venture Capital, By Mark Suster (December 2nd, 2006). I don’t plan to write the authoritative venture capital blog, just some anecdotes.

Venture Capital 274

Venture Capital Term Sheet San Diego Viral 274

YoungUpstarts

JULY 1, 2019

But there are some private enterprises with similar financing programs you can access. But foreign currency trading is one of those smart funding methods you can use when searching for start-up financing opportunities. According to Medium.com , there are three fail-proof methods you can use to raise capital for your business.

Finance 127

Finance Angel Investor Offshore Equity 127

ReadWriteStart

JANUARY 20, 2020

Construction, utilities, transportation, retail, finance, insurance and real estate startups are industries that hit hardest on startups with an average failure rate among them of 40%. All while the majority of the economy is driven greatly by boring industries often owned by private equity, not venture capital.

Sweat Equity 107

Sweat Equity Non-Compete Startup Azure 107

Up and Running

AUGUST 18, 2014

In comparison to traditional business ventures, startups are expected to grow rapidly, at a rate of between 5% and 7% per week in their initial stage – Paul Graham, co-founder of Y Combinator. Startups have some unique struggles, especially in regard to financing. Key difference #2 – the relationship with funding.

Small Business 154

Small Business Exit Strategy Cofounder Angel Investor 154

Steve Blank

APRIL 14, 2013

They’re used to using the web and increasingly the mobile web for everything, commerce, communication, games, etc. While there are 564 million web users with 420 million having mobile web access, 74% of Chinese Internet users make less than $500/month and are students, blue-collar workers or jobless. Unlike U.S.

China 215

China Silicon Valley Non-Compete Intellectual Property 215

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 21, 2010

In addition to the P2P deals covered below, on the show we also talked about some of my favorite financing startups ( Wonga in the UK run by Errol Damelin , who is a superstar) and Affordit.com run by serial (and I mean serial!) Investors: Union Square (lead), Spark Capital (lead). Do you know more about any of these deals?

Venture Capital 265

Venture Capital Social Network Angel Investor Chad 265

ReadWriteStart

JANUARY 20, 2020

All while the majority of the economy is driven greatly by boring industries often owned by private equity, not venture capital. I have close friends in accounting and finance that have tapped into newer businesses and taken the ride with them as they have doubled and then doubled again.

Sweat Equity 78

Sweat Equity Non-Compete Startup Azure 78

Pascal's View

OCTOBER 11, 2013

I first visited the Museum of American Finance a couple of years ago, and it is not only a great space,it is a useful resource for visitors interested in a wide range of current exhibits on current capital markets topics, as well as documents and artifacts related to capital markets, money and banking.

New York 31

New York Technical Review Angel Investor Finance 31

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2011

I spoke about how Amazon Web Services deserves far more credit for the last 5 years of innovation than it gets credit for and how I believe they spawned the micro-VC category. Or worse yet they may never get financed. It’s what I love about entrepreneurship and about venture capital. Have a cushion.

Saudi Arabia 309

Saudi Arabia Valuation IPO Technical Review 309

Pascal's View

SEPTEMBER 5, 2010

My contributions to this undergraduate textbook, Venture Capital: Theory & Practice , are the result of two important collaborations. Venture Capital started in China in 1985, when the first government-sponsored venture capital firm was established. Venture Capital is a popular buzzword in China.

Venture Capital 44

Venture Capital China Technical Review Due Diligence 44

Steve Blank

MAY 17, 2010

The plan describes the execution strategy for addressing these “knowns.&# In the early days of venture capital, investors and entrepreneurs were familiar with the format of business plans from large company and adopted it for startups. There are now examples of business model presentations on the web.

Business Plan 312

Business Plan Business Model Customer Development Deal Flow 312

mashable.com

OCTOBER 16, 2010

The venture capital industry is facing real competition for the first time in decades. Not only that, but the growing battle between venture capital firms and “super angels&# presents an amazing opportunity for entrepreneurs trying to build the next big thing. The answer is the rise of super angels, Graham said.

Angel Investor 84

Angel Investor Venture Capital Social Media Technical Review 84

mashable.com

OCTOBER 16, 2010

The venture capital industry is facing real competition for the first time in decades. Not only that, but the growing battle between venture capital firms and “super angels&# presents an amazing opportunity for entrepreneurs trying to build the next big thing. The answer is the rise of super angels, Graham said.

Angel Investor 83

Angel Investor Venture Capital Social Media Technical Review 83

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 14, 2009

Over the same 30 years, Venture Capital firms have honed their skills and strategies to match Wall Streets needs to achieve liquidity for their portfolio companies. One of the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make is misunderstanding the role of venture capital investors. What Do VC’s Do?

Silicon Valley 217

Silicon Valley IPO Technical Review Venture Capital 217

ReadWriteStart

SEPTEMBER 10, 2010

I call it drip-financing. Most entrepreneurs have no choice but to avail of this sort of financing along with the mentoring and the contacts that could come with it (doesn't always come along, though). In 1M/1M, our preferred financing strategy is customers. Because customer financing equals revenue, not equity.

Cloud 115

Cloud Silicon Valley Incubator Finance 115

Gust

FEBRUARY 22, 2014

Setting up a clean, effective web site that lists companies seeking funding and provides accounts for investors to interact with them is not rocket science. As I’ve discussed elsewhere, Gust’s long-term goal is to serve as the infrastructure platform for the entire global, early stage finance industry.

Belarus 107

Belarus Kazakhstan Portugal Accredited Investor 107

ReadWriteStart

AUGUST 20, 2012

Today’s venture capital deal flow to innovative new companies looks a lot like a fat man trying to squeeze into a slim Italian suit. In 2000, venture capitalists poured a staggering $112.2 Today, venture capital deal flow has slowed to a relative trickle, just $28.4 It just doesn’t fit.

Venture Capital 66

Venture Capital Deal Flow Atlanta Incubator 66

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 22, 2014

Think of web vs. mobile. I’ve watched VCs help with valuation support (spreadsheets, comps) on next round financing, participate in M&A meetings, interview senior job candidates – even help terminate tricky senior hires. And so is venture capital. Traditional software vs. SaaS. Commitment.

Portfolio 364

Portfolio Chicago Sales Incubator 364

Growthink Blog

OCTOBER 7, 2010

Now that summer is officially over, venture capital activity is picking up. I just reviewed the many companies who recently raised venture capital with an eye towards those that are offering products and services that could benefit other entrepreneurs and business owners. Collectively these companies just raised $43.2

Azure 74

Azure Venture Capital Software Review Syndicate 74

www.inc.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

Finance | Tuesdays. Financing a Small Business. Financing A Small Business. Personal Finance. Dave Graham Business Venture Capital Private Equity GlobalLogic Inc. Venture Capital Firms. Create an Inc.com account: Subscribe to Inc.coms Free Newsletters. Start-up | Mondays. Innovation | Fridays.

Arizona 40

Arizona Equity Iowa Venture Capital 40

Steve Blank

MARCH 31, 2014

As the venture capital business has come roaring back in the last 5 years, startups are awash in available capital. Instead of measuring success in dollars of profit, …firms focus on measuring capital efficiency. Perhaps that’s because where established companies might see risks or threats, startups see opportunity.

Private Equity 325

Private Equity Metrics China Intellectual Property 325

Steve Blank

APRIL 13, 2013

The previous post described the evolution of the Chinese Venture Capital system. China Venture Capital. If it’s driven by profit then the ecosystem needs both entrepreneurs as well as Venture Finance. China has the biggest Venture Capital industry outside the U.S. Entrepreneurship in Beijing.

Silicon Valley 267

Silicon Valley China Venture Capital Merger 267

Steve Blank

JULY 15, 2010

If you take funding from a venture capital firm or angel investor and want to build a large, enduring company (rather than sell it to the highest bidder), this isn’t the decade to do it. The collapse of the IPO market and dysfunctional math in the venture capital community has stacked the odds against you. Here’s why.

Venture Capital 297

Venture Capital IPO Liquidity Event Entrepreneur 297

Scott Edward Walker

JULY 20, 2011

They understandably get excited as soon as some money is waved at them and often allow themselves to get drawn into the dealmaker’s web. This is particularly important where there will be an ongoing relationship post-closing, such as in a venture capital financing or private equity acquisition.

Private Equity 78

Private Equity Liquidation Preference Option Pool Entrepreneur 78

The Next Web

JULY 13, 2012

In the startup world, venture capital is often viewed as the penultimate goal, yet for many startups bootstrapping is often the reality. And self-financing puts the emphasis on business credit. If you’re a small business owner, navigating the lending world today can feel like one big Catch-22 loop.

CPA 126

CPA Startup LLC Bootstrapping 126

rapidrollout.wordpress.com

JANUARY 15, 2011

Web Startup Lessons Advice from a CTO and Entrepreneur Home About Startup Advice: When to Use a Consulting CTO There are not many to be found. Most likely, this is a person who is a serial entrepreneur and was the chief technology officer for two or more web startups. .&# But I’m not the only person who does this kind of work.

Fractional CTO 40

Fractional CTO CTO CTO Hire Fractional VPE 40