Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 6, 2010

Once you have a potential investor excited about your team, your product, and your company, the investor will inevitably ask “What is your company’s valuation?” How much is NewCo worth to investors at this point (pre-money valuation)? This is the most concrete valuation element, usually called the asset approach.

Valuation 234

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation NPV Startup 234

Gust

NOVEMBER 18, 2012

Once you have a potential investor excited about your team, your product, and your company, the investor will inevitably ask “What is your company’s valuation?” How much is NewCo worth to investors at this point (pre-money valuation)? This is the most concrete valuation element, usually called the asset approach.

Valuation 187

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation NPV Intellectual Property 187

Tim Keane

JANUARY 12, 2010

Term-sheets and Valuations: Thinking about Negotiations.   I’ve sat down with entrepreneurs and a copy of a term sheet guide I like [ “Term Sheets & Valuations - A Line by Line Look at the Intricacies of Venture Capital Term Sheets & Valuations ” by Alex Wilmerding, Aspatore Press.] The Valuation Question.

Term Sheet 68

Term Sheet Valuation Dividend Pre-Money Valuation 68

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 22, 2014

Of course it is super helpful if a VC can drop you in to important people for business development, recruiting, PR, sales and eventually M&A. To be clear – I’m not saying huge successes make a VC less likely to be helpful to you – I’m just saying it’s not a guaranteed predictor. Connections?

Portfolio 364

Portfolio Chicago Sales Incubator 364

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 23, 2017

The combination of services and infrastructure traditionally housed under one roof – underwriting, research, sales & trading, supported by large back office operations, and monitored by compliance systems – will remain at the sector’s core. At least for investment banks the answer is not so clear cut.

Technical Review 131

Technical Review Artificial Inteligence Software Review LP 131

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2010

The “private sale” market phenomenon was started in France by Vente-Privee (literally means “private sale”) and was replicated in Germany by BrandsforFriends. Gilt Group is currently the largest private sale web site in US. To be fair to Ben Horowitz – I think he thinks this as well. I would also note that they claim 2.1

Partner 240

Partner New York City Cofounder Syndicate 240

Cracking the Code

JANUARY 22, 2009

Building Your SaaS Sales Compensation Plan. Compensating the sales force is a difficult task and the key is usually to keep things simple, so that each sales rep knows what he needs to optimize to make more money at the end of the quarter. which is very close to the typical 8% paid for sales commissions.

Software Review 91

Software Review Clawback Sales .Net 91

Cracking the Code

FEBRUARY 23, 2011

In comparison, the overall technology sector growth was projected at 9-10% in early 2010 and this forecast did not change significantly today. Detailed SaaS Spreadsheet (Valuation and CAC benchmark). SaaS 13 Index Valuation. sales and marketing. (10). Impact of the recession on SaaS Sales&Marketing pr.

Software Review 101

Software Review Technical Review Valuation Europe 101

YoungUpstarts

MAY 17, 2019

They make all the sales. Review the org chart for an ops manager and sales person who have been in the business a long time. Sales, engineering, and operations are typically critical areas. Use the cash forecast in the report to secure better terms on your business loan or lock the owner into seller financing.

Due Diligence 163

Due Diligence Forecast Deal Structure Valuation 163

David Teten

AUGUST 6, 2015

So often I speak with companies that have charged ahead building an ultra-complex daily or weekly model with thousands of assumptions and complex dashboard outputs, when their potential investors simply want a high-level 24 month forecast with 12 months of reconciling historical data.”. HOW TO MAKE YOUR CELLS READABLE.

Balance Sheet 60

Balance Sheet Software Review Forecast Acquisition 60

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2011

Once you have a potential investor excited about your team, your product, and your company, the investor will inevitably ask “What is your company’s valuation?” How much is NewCo worth to investors at this point (pre-money valuation)? This is the most concrete valuation element, usually called the asset approach.

Pre-Money Valuation 246

Pre-Money Valuation Valuation NPV Intellectual Property 246

The Next Web

FEBRUARY 27, 2014

One of the questions I get, more often than not, is what is the appropriate valuation of my business. multiple interested investors competing for the deal, and driving up your valuation in the process). Never have an investor think they are the only investor pursuing your business, as that will hurt your valuation.

Valuation 167

Valuation Forecast Seed Stage .Net 167

David Teten

JANUARY 19, 2021

In all these cases, capital is provided to fuel forecasted growth without creating a commitment to a particular vision for future funding rounds, exit goals, and associated blitzscaling. Yes, via conversion rights at a valuation cap. Yes, via conversion rights at a valuation cap. The State of Flexible VC. Typical business model.

Cofounder 78

Cofounder Technical Review Dividend Equity 78

www.entrepreneur.com

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

Marketing Sales & Marketing Home Marketing Basics Sales Online Marketing Finding Customers Social Media Branding Social Media Does Your Companys Social Personality Need a Makeover? Sweat equity is just one component of early-stage valuation. Financing Some Jobs Act Proposals Make Headway. In fact, it could be worth much more.

Sweat Equity 55

Sweat Equity Equity Fractional CTO CTO 55

Cracking the Code

MARCH 12, 2010

So, here is the first edition, including the recent Q4 2009 earnings and the updated 2010 forecast. If we consider that 2009 was probably the worst year in the past 5 years, forecasting the same growth for 2010 is not very encouraging. Labels: SaaS , sales and marketing. Detailed SaaS Spreadsheet (Valuation and CAC benchmark).

Software Review 63

Software Review Technical Review Cloud Forecast 63

SoCal CTO

MAY 19, 2010

By way of background for the question, there’s a great post by Bob Aholt, a Pasadena Angel: An Angel Investor’s Thoughts on Valuation. In his recent post, Top 10 Ways to Win a Business Plan Competition , he says: #4 I wanted to push this further down the list, but I just bristle at this: the revenue forecast. So get real.

Hockey Stick 205

Hockey Stick NPV IRR Forecast 205

David Teten

SEPTEMBER 23, 2017

I previously posted a detailed presentation with sales technology tools useful for B2B sales. is an AI bot which helps companies refine their sales pitch to VCs. Numerous VC funds rely on more general CRM and sales funnel solutions like Pipedrive and Streak. Pitchbot.vc 3) Originate investments. 5) Due diligence.

Private Equity 60

Private Equity Venture Capital Equity Technical Review 60

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 13, 2016

What are your specific marketing and sales plans? You need to identify pricing details, sales channels, strategic partners and a customized marketing plan consistent with your industry and target segment. Justify funding requirements, use of funds and specify a current valuation estimate.

Sweat Equity 120

Sweat Equity Advisory Board Liquidity Event Startup 120

The Equity Kicker

OCTOBER 9, 2014

I knew that Zulily , which Crunchbase describes as ‘A daily deal site for mums, babies and kids’ is an amazing ecommerce success story which IPO’d last year with a valuation in the billions. As you can see from the chart below they went from a standing start in Q4 2010 to a forecast $1.1bn in net sales last quarter.

eCommerce 98

eCommerce Flash Forecast IPO 98

Tim Keane

MARCH 9, 2011

How to prepare a sales forecast for a business plan » March 09, 2011.   His entire income is based on his personal output and he’d like to hire several woodworkers, expand his sales to existing customers, and generate a profit in addition to his contributed labor.  Startups and angels: Along the way to success.

Finance 83

Finance Bootstrapping Startup Equity 83

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2015

Customers may be attracted to your marketing message, but investors look harder at the startup team, seeking superior expertise in the key areas of growing a business, product domain, financial, marketing and sales. Specific elements of your marketing and sales plans. Projected revenues and expenses over the strategic period.

Product 120

Product Intellectual Property Liquidity Event Burn Rate 120

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 8, 2016

Investors look for sales at full price, to people you don’t know, to validate demand, price, and margin. Show an aggressive marketing and sales plan. Generate a 5-year financial forecast from opportunity data. Giving free beta copies of your solution to customers to elicit testimonials does not validate a business model.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Exit Strategy 120

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2012

Marketing, sales, and partners. Describe your market penetration strategy, sales channels, pricing, and strategic partnerships. Convince investors that you have lined up sales channels, strategic partners, and a viable marketing strategy. Include a current valuation estimate. Financial forecast and metrics.

Business Plan 283

Business Plan Sweat Equity Exit Strategy Intellectual Property 283

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 12, 2010

You can also use this space to keep track of innovators (R&D personnel) and rainmakers (sales & marketing personnel). Customers: A company’s only sustainable source of cash is sales, so you need to keep track of your business development efforts. Tags: scorecard venture value Akira Hirai business valuation.

Intellectual Property 223

Intellectual Property .Net Valuation Distribution 223

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 13, 2011

Marketing, sales, and partners. Describe your market penetration strategy, sales channels, pricing, and strategic partnerships. Convince investors that you have lined up sales channels, strategic partners, and a viable marketing strategy. Include a current valuation estimate. Financial forecast and metrics.

Business Plan 290

Business Plan Sweat Equity Exit Strategy Intellectual Property 290

David Teten

AUGUST 7, 2019

than comparable companies in the same sector that raised at a higher valuation. When you invest in a Momentum company, everyone immediately congratulates you on your wisdom, sales skill, and success. . It doesn’t really matter what valuation you pay for the big winners, because the returns are so high in the megacorns.

Venture Capital 60

Venture Capital Valuation Stock NDA 60

genylabs.typepad.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

Tracking and Forecasting the Trends Impacting the Future of Small Business. I wont bother going into details on start-up financing terms ( see this post for an overview of typical VC terms) except to say if you dont know and understand: the firms cap table and valuation. Lessons from a Failed Forecast. Small Business Labs.

Equity 40

Equity Technical Review San Jose Stock 40

The Next Web

FEBRUARY 19, 2014

Initially, a trade sale to a private equity firm or a trade buyer seemed a good choice for shareholders, and the one with the least unknown factors. The following points may help you when considering your exit strategies: Trade sale. Invest in your forecasts. What will give you the best valuation for your business?

Prospectus 121

Prospectus IPO Exit Strategy Private Equity 121

Steve Blank

APRIL 1, 2020

Forecasted recovery date. Sales pipeline/forecast. Others are cutting their valuations. I listened in on a board call with an enterprise software company this week, and when the CEO said, “Our VP of sales assured me our pipeline won’t be affected.” Shelter in place yes/no? Actively buying?

South Korea 333

South Korea Salary Business Model China 333

Up and Running

DECEMBER 18, 2018

Many of the best business opportunities surface by word of mouth—and are snapped up before their owners ever list them for sale. How do the company’s actuals stack up against their financial forecasts? If the business is a franchise , what will it take to get the necessary franchisor approval of the sale?

Due Diligence 71

Due Diligence Intellectual Property Balance Sheet Forecast 71

www.mint.com

MARCH 9, 2010

If the answer to the question centers around “We will achieve revenue soon so our net will improve and give us more runway,” it means the company is in trouble because no product ever ships on time nor achieves the company’s “conservative forecast.” What is the post-money valuation of your last round? No customers no sales, no startup.

Software Review 68

Software Review Startup Post-Money Valuation Technical Review 68

abovethecrowd.com

JULY 10, 2014

Financial models, especially valuation models, are interesting in that they can be particularly precise. While it may seem like a tough question to answer, I would argue that most practitioners of valuation analysis would state “not very high.” It is not my aim to specifically convince anyone that Uber is worth any specific valuation.

San Francisco 111

San Francisco San Jose Marketing Technical Review 111

Gust

AUGUST 5, 2012

Marketing, sales, and partners. Describe your market penetration strategy, sales channels, pricing, and strategic partnerships. Convince investors that you have lined up sales channels, strategic partners, and a viable marketing strategy. Include a current valuation estimate. Financial forecast and metrics.

Business Plan 182

Business Plan Sweat Equity Exit Strategy Intellectual Property 182

Austin Startup

SEPTEMBER 17, 2017

The converse of calculating exactly how you will make the first sale, and then the first 10,000, and ultimately work your way up to 1.6 You want your valuation to keep marching upward; if you took in some seed money with the promised 10X venture return, you’ll hopefully be able to prove that you are proceeding on that trajectory.

Valuation 48

Valuation Forecast Seed Money Business Model 48

Rob Go

MAY 26, 2016

The first is practical and real – it’s hard to forecast and plan expenses when revenue might swing significantly. The exception are recurring revenue businesses with an amazingly viral free product that very effectively get consumers to subscribe without needing significant marketing and sales expenses. That is not good.

Revenue 53

Revenue NPV Valuation Forecast 53

VC Cafe

SEPTEMBER 26, 2022

Sustainable growth: Prioritise sales efficiency over growth at all costs. For more about forecasting growth in these uncertain times, check out Sequoia’s “ Adapting to Endure ” presentations published in May 2022. ValuatIon should be a function of value, not ego. In times of uncertainty, be like Scrooge McDuck!

Founder 187

Founder Startup Valuation Pre-Money Valuation 187

The Next Web

MARCH 2, 2014

This process included several rounds of financial forecasting to understand the cost of achieving where we wanted the business and brand to be, and whether we could pay for that cost ourselves. This will have a significant impact on the amount business owners could realize on the sale or other liquidity event for the company.

Liquidity Event 139

Liquidity Event Equity Finance Stock Options 139