Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 25, 2012

Yet, I find that startup founders often fixate on one or two sources, often to the detriment of their business. Use this approach before you have a real valuation, a real product, or any real customers. Startup incubators. Just don’t quit your day job before your new company is producing revenue. Friends and family.

Technical Review 257

Technical Review Bootstrapping Venture Capital Incubator 257

Version One Ventures

JULY 2, 2019

It’s also the first company we’ve helped incubate! valuation – the first Version One unicorn! And finally, we loved these books and sent them to our founders… it you find yourself with some extra time this summer, we recommend reading them! Other funding announcements and exits! We couldn’t be more proud of this team.

Portfolio 111

Portfolio Canada Asia Incubator 111

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 4, 2016

But for founders who do their homework, the cost of entry is lower and the opportunity is higher than ever. Who would not want to joint the unicorns (recent startups with a current valuation of over $1 billion)? Angel groups, accelerators, and incubators are pervasive. The cost of social media done well is low.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Startup Angel Groups Social Media 120

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 16, 2011

Yet, I find that startup founders often fixate on one or two sources, often to the detriment of their business. Use this approach before you have a real valuation, a real product, or any real customers. Startup incubators. Just don’t quit your day job before your new company is producing revenue. Friends and family.

Technical Review 233

Technical Review Bootstrapping Startup Venture Capital 233

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 22, 2014

The other problem with extreme success is that for some VCs it makes them disinterested in middling outcomes, things that take a long time to incubate or solving thorny problems when a company doesn’t immediately move up and to the right. Nothing blows up great opportunities faster than founders who are constantly fighting.

Portfolio 364

Portfolio Chicago Sales Incubator 364

Gust

JUNE 17, 2012

Yet, I find that startup founders often fixate on one or two sources, often to the detriment of their business. Use this approach before you have a real valuation, a real product, or any real customers. Startup incubators. Just don’t quit your day job before your new company is producing revenue. Friends and family.

Technical Review 164

Technical Review Bootstrapping Venture Capital Incubator 164

VC Cafe

SEPTEMBER 15, 2020

You may have stumbled on LinkedIn posts enticing people (mainly startup founders) to leave a comment if they would like to get a copy of a document/list/database. I’ve always been a fan of startup resources lists and had a dedicated page on VC Cafe since the blog’s inception in 2005. Sales, Marketing and customer success.

Venture Capital 131

Venture Capital Incubator Database eCommerce 131

The Startup Lawyer

FEBRUARY 4, 2011

Great news — your startup just got accepted to an incubator! But before your startup signs up and cashes that $[XX,000] check, your startup’s co-founders should sit down and evaluate the incubator’s offer. Pre-money valuations startups receive from incubators are typically low…really low.

Incubator 105

Incubator Pre-Money Valuation Option Pool Advisory Board 105

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 1, 2010

Yet, I find that startup founders often fixate on one or two sources, often to the detriment of their business. Use this approach before you have a real valuation, a real product, or any real customers. Startup incubators. Just don’t quit your day job before your new company is producing revenue. Friends and family.

Technical Review 149

Technical Review Bootstrapping Startup Venture Capital 149

Steve Blank

MARCH 31, 2014

Look at the valuations of companies like Tesla, Illumina, and Twitter. The companies that can show “startup-like” growth rates of 50% plus per year will get stratospheric market valuations. If they don’t, then the management team has simply become caretakers of the founders’ legacy. This never ends well.

Private Equity 325

Private Equity Metrics China Intellectual Property 325

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 24, 2017

Why do these founders get to stay around? Because the balance of power has dramatically shifted from investors to founders. VCs competing for unicorn investments have given founders control of the board. A pre-IPO board usually had two founders, two VCs and one “independent” member. Technology Cycles Measured in Years.

Founder 245

Founder Technical Review CTO Hire IPO 245

VC Cafe

SEPTEMBER 26, 2010

Launch48 is a new kind of micro-incubator taking place over the course of a weekend, which enables entrepreneurs to pitch their concept in one minute, in order to find team mates who are interested in pursuing the idea. Very cool concept and I want to thank the founder Adil Mohammed for inviting me to take part in it. Be a salesman.

Elevator Pitch 102

Elevator Pitch Incubator Technical Review Startup 102

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 8, 2012

Business incubators for sharing services were all the rage back in the days of the dot-com bubble (700 for profit, many more non-profit). Incubators I hear mentioned most often include YCombinator , led by Paul Graham in Silicon Valley, and TechStars , located in Boston, Boulder, New York City, and Seattle.

Incubator 215

Incubator Entrepreneur New York City Silicon Valley 215

Gust

NOVEMBER 4, 2011

Entrepreneurs and investors who have spent any time dealing with convertible debt seed financing transactions are likely to have encountered the subject of valuation caps. Valuation caps can come into play in settings other than seed-stage convertible note financing rounds. Read on for a fuller explanation.

Valuation 98

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Merger Vesting 98

ReadWriteStart

MARCH 24, 2011

Additional work in figuring out the precise go-to-market consumer, academic institution, or enterprise - each is a different business), and consequent business model and pricing model will help enhance the company's valuation. The game set retails online at $49.95, and about 2,000 unites have already been sold.

Illinois 114

Illinois Entrepreneur Silicon Valley Chicago 114

Gust

SEPTEMBER 30, 2012

Business incubators for sharing services were all the rage back in the days of the dot-com bubble (700 for profit, many more non-profit). Incubators I hear mentioned most often include YCombinator , led by Paul Graham in Silicon Valley, and TechStars , located in Boston, Boulder, New York City, and Seattle.

Incubator 147

Incubator Entrepreneur New York City Silicon Valley 147

ReadWriteStart

SEPTEMBER 17, 2021

How can either of you confidently give a valuation of a business that doesn’t make money? According to Devon Fanfair, co-founder of startup studio Devland , “building companies that demonstrate enterprise value is the best path for new builders because they generate revenue with very little investment.

Startup 130

Startup Revenue Cofounder Angel Investor 130

Rob Go

DECEMBER 28, 2011

Still led by its founder, Steve Kaufer. Boston Investors: At the earliest stages, we saw a surge in seed activity from manly local investors (Atlas, General Catalyst, Founder Collective, Matrix, CRV, Flybridge, Highland, Kepha, etc.). ThredUp: Service started in Boston while the founders were at HBS, raised $7M from Redpoint.

Technical Review 54

Technical Review Boston Software Review IPO 54

500hats.com

AUGUST 2, 2012

However after Sequoia and Ron Conway announced their investment in YC in 2009 , and after YC alumni DropBox and AirBnb raised capital on billion-dollar valuations in 2010-11, the program quickly became the gold standard among early-stage startup incubators.

Silicon Valley 74

Silicon Valley Early Stage Venture Capital Valuation 74

mashable.com

OCTOBER 16, 2010

All of this is according to Paul Graham, co-founder of the early-stage investment fund Ycombinator. The result is that many venture capital firms are now making smaller angel investments in an attempt to get close with startup founders that are likely to raise bigger funding rounds later on. Angel rounds also tend to close quicker.

Angel Investor 84

Angel Investor Venture Capital Social Media Technical Review 84

mashable.com

OCTOBER 16, 2010

All of this is according to Paul Graham, co-founder of the early-stage investment fund Ycombinator. The result is that many venture capital firms are now making smaller angel investments in an attempt to get close with startup founders that are likely to raise bigger funding rounds later on. Angel rounds also tend to close quicker.

Angel Investor 83

Angel Investor Venture Capital Social Media Technical Review 83

YoungUpstarts

JULY 29, 2013

by Meng Weng Wong, co-founder and social engineer at JFDI Asia. You have to be prepared for the grueling rigors of fundraising and repeated rejections, and difficult negotiations over valuation. Some founders stay at hostels. Each founder who owns shares in the startup and has attended JFDI will be invited.

Asia 184

Asia Singapore Cofounder Incubator 184

ReadWriteStart

SEPTEMBER 17, 2021

How can either of you confidently give a valuation of a business that doesn’t make money? According to Devon Fanfair, co-founder of startup studio Devland , “building companies that demonstrate enterprise value is the best path for new builders because they generate revenue with very little investment.

Startup 78

Startup Revenue Cofounder Angel Investor 78

Austin Startup

JANUARY 25, 2020

But one day, at night, I decided to just Google NYC incubators. Other founders say having a baby beats it, but we’ll have to wait and see about that. Going through this, I realized this is a huge pain point, and I hope someone (another founder) comes up with a better product to help startup founders with this?—?legal

Delaware 62

Delaware SEC New York City New York 62

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 11, 2010

I’m surprised how few people talk about valuations, term sheet terms, how much to pay recruiters, etc. And you can tell that the founders have thought greatly about creating the right kind of space for startup companies. Anyone have positive or negative experience in such an incubator?

San Francisco 285

San Francisco Incubator Silicon Valley Startup 285

Version One Ventures

APRIL 6, 2021

valuation. . Arweave announced its incubator, the Open Web Foundry. It’s a six-week program guiding founders through the process of launching an amazing new startup on the Arweave’s decentralised web. . SilviaTerra closed a $4.4M seed round; you can learn more about their mission from TechCrunch and our own blog post.

Portfolio 60

Portfolio SEC Common Stock Angel Investor 60

Austin Startup

MARCH 31, 2018

(@JoshuaBaer) | Twitter kelsi (@kelskamin) | Twitter Nick Spiller (@Nick_Spiller) | Twitter Can an Accelerator or Incubator Jumpstart your Startup? Tuesday April 3 @ 10:30 AM Ross Tower Techstars Startup Week Dallas 2018: Can an Accelerator or Incubator Jumpstar. Tech M&A Exits?—?How

Dallas 55

Dallas Fort Worth Texas Incubator 55

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

AUGUST 16, 2010

The real reason they're pissed is that VCs are increasingly unnecessary to get companies started , both because of inexpensive technology and marketing channels and because there are enough angel investors that founders don't have to sell the entire farm for ridiculous amounts of cash they don't really need. But founders often win.

Exit Strategy 246

Exit Strategy Angel Investor Finance Incubator 246

Haystack

DECEMBER 26, 2018

” “Multiples and valuations are out of control!” A successful seed investor once remarked to me that he views “the traditional seed round” today for a good or proven founder to be akin to having a “ free first move on the chess board.” I am expecting a downturn at some point.

IPO 76

IPO Private Equity Valuation Acquisition 76

K9 Ventures

MAY 14, 2011

Incubators and Accelerators : Incubators and accelerators have to a large extent replaced the funding from friends and family. The incubators and accelerators are investing $15-$50K in a large number of early stage teams (the current YC class has 60+ teams !). The 3Fs invest their own hard-earned money, usually under $50K.

Preferred Stock 125

Preferred Stock Seed Stage Incubator Early Stage 125

Scott Edward Walker

APRIL 9, 2012

Venture capital funds, seed funds, super angels, angel groups, incubators, and “friends and family” are all playing the seed financing game and investing early in startups in an attempt to land the next Facebook. and (iii) what securities laws do founders need to worry about in connection with the issuance of convertible notes?

Preferred Stock 87

Preferred Stock Finance Common Stock Liquidation Preference 87

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 1, 2011

Y Combinator is already known as one of the most successful startup incubators in the tech industry. According to co-founder Paul Graham, very successful. Of course, success can be tracked a number of different ways: the amount of money raised and the valuation of the companies, for example. But just how successful is YC?

Startup 115

Startup Incubator Cofounder Valuation 115

Early Growth Financial Services

MAY 19, 2015

Co-hosted by First Ascent Associates and Runway Incubator, “Cannabis Startups: Exploring the Opportunities & Challenges” will take place on May 26, 2015 at Runway Incubator in San Francisco, California. Founder and CEO … Continue reading →

San Francisco 28

San Francisco San Jose Silicon Valley Incubator 28

David Teten

FEBRUARY 6, 2013

From the perspective of best practices, we will address questions such as: How to assess opportunities (idea, team, valuation). Karen Bantuveris, Founder and CEO of VolunteerSpot. She is the Founder and CEO of Volunteer Spot an online coordination app that facilitates volunteering. How to source great deals. Robert Dahl.

Private Equity 114

Private Equity North America Cofounder Angel Groups 114

ReadWriteStart

MARCH 3, 2011

We also had two other entrepreneurs who are working with the William Factory Incubator in Tacoma, Washington. At this point, Greg is in the process of bringing in two additional investors, and the primary topics of our discussion were valuation and ROI issues around the new investors. You can read more about athenahealth here.

San Jose 115

San Jose Entrepreneur United States Washington 115

ReadWriteStart

JANUARY 27, 2011

And, oh by the way, we also really like the idea of the 1M/1M entrepreneurs building valuation and negotiating leverage through these business development efforts, instead of signing off large chunks of their company in form of equity early on. Recordings of previous roundtables are all available here.

Dilution 114

Dilution Revenue Finance Entrepreneur 114

Austin Startup

OCTOBER 10, 2017

The Institute includes a co-working space and accelerator (the Blackstone LaunchPad at UT Dallas), an incubator, a training group, a seed fund, and much more — all working together under the unifying, umbrella theme of entrepreneurship. I’m also executive director of the Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

Dallas 60

Dallas Austin Texas Cofounder 60