View from Seed

NOVEMBER 18, 2020

One of the most highly anticipated startup IPOs of recent years, we now get a peek inside Airbnb’s business. For reference, high-flying megacap tech stocks like Apple and Google have operating income margins >20% and Facebook and Microsoft have operating income margins >30%. Source: Airbnb S-1.

North America 401

North America IPO Prospectus Europe 401

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 5, 2018

Jeff Katzenberg has a great track record – head of the studio at Paramount, chairman of Disney Studios, co-founder of DreamWorks and now chairman of NewTV. Tech IPO prices exploded and subsequent trading prices rose to dizzying heights as the stock prices became disconnected from the traditional metrics of revenue and profits.

Lean 335

Lean Burn Rate Startup IPO 335

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. The founders. Founders are comfortable in the chaos and disorder. And they were right. Wakeup Call.

Part-Time VPE 325

Part-Time VPE Liquidity Event Stock Engineer 325

VC Cafe

JANUARY 14, 2022

There are two main forms of exits for startups: trade sale/M&A or IPO. SPACs had their moment in the sun in 2021, with a record number of companies choosing to go public using the SPACs in favour of traditional IPOs. Given that some of these new stocks have low trading volume, in practice the lock up period can be longer.

Technical Review 158

Technical Review Lock-up Period South Korea 158

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 8, 2022

Most entrepreneurs struggle with many startup founders quandaries in building their business, and these key dilemmas are probably the biggest source of pain and failure for the entrepreneur lifestyle. Should you start a company solo or find co-founders to help you? The co-founder relationship dilemma.

Founder 325

Founder Hockey Stick Cofounder Liquidity Event 325

abovethecrowd.com

AUGUST 23, 2020

But in light of where we are in 2020, especially with regard to the degrading efficiency and sky-rocketing cost of capital through the structurally broken IPO process, SPACs may emerge as a legitimate third option for helping Silicon Valley companies efficiently and cost-effectively transition into the public markets. They prepare an S-1.

IPO 118

IPO Silicon Valley Warrant Matching 118

abovethecrowd.com

JUNE 2, 2021

On March 26, SoFi announced that “it will be offering its members (at least those with $3K in their account) the ability to invest in IPOs for companies going public, an investment opportunity that has traditionally been reserved for large institutional investors or ultra-high-net-worth individuals.”

IPO 82

IPO Customer Matching Silicon Valley 82

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2013

Even though the Initial Public Offering (IPO) alternative for a successful startup seems to be coming back, it is relatively rare. IPOs in 2008, the market was up to a still trivial 128 in 2012 (compared to 675 in 1996). business entrepreneur exit founder IPO startup' After a record low of 39 U.S. Marty Zwilling.

IPO 224

IPO Founder Exit Strategy Investment Bankers 224

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 1, 2015

Today the rate of startups going public (IPO – Initial Public Offering) is up from the dead zone, but is still less than half the rate of 15 years ago. According to a recent Ernst & Young global report , 2014 was a strong year with IPOs actually outperforming other indices by 10 percent. Going public is an expensive process.

IPO 120

IPO SEC Prospectus Startup 120

ReadWriteStart

OCTOBER 2, 2021

Why should a founder entertain this idea? In addition, they can neither issue stocks nor bonds. However, most institutional investors (venture capital groups, for instance) don’t mind this structure, and they, in fact, prefer to invest in corporations due to protections from issuing stocks. LLCs vs Corporations. Definitely not.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review LLC IPO Stock 78

The Startup Magazine

MARCH 14, 2022

At this stage, the founder mainly raises funding from their sources or family and friends. At this stage, since the company has created a presence for itself, the founder turns to Venture Capitalists to secure funding for further company growth. Let us look at various ways to invest in startups in India. 1) Pre-seed funding round.

Technical Review 167

Technical Review Due Diligence India Startup 167

Steve Blank

MARCH 16, 2016

To most founders a startup is not a job, but a calling. Risk capital takes equity (stock ownership) in your company instead of debt (loans) in exchange for cash. What does this mean for startup founders? A liquidity event means that the equity (the stock) you sold your investor can now be converted into cash.)

Liquidity Event 120

Liquidity Event Founder Liquidation Preference Private Equity 120

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 29, 2022

Today the rate of startups going public (IPO – Initial Public Offering) is finally up from the dead zone of the last two decades, and is now double the rate back in 1999. Thus, today around 90 percent of successful startups are still acquired by bigger companies versus an IPO, as the safer and preferred method of growth and funding.

IPO 245

IPO SEC Prospectus Startup 245

VC Cafe

MARCH 11, 2010

T aking a company through an initial public offering (IPO) is not an easy task. It’s also an uncertain exit for the entrepreneurs, as they are typically restricted to sell any of their stock in the first 180 days following the IPO, and even then they can sell no more than 1% of stock a month. million in 2009.

IPO 68

IPO SEC Initial Public Offering Stock 68

The Next Web

JANUARY 24, 2014

So let’s take stock: What do we offer? Think of Werner Vogels (CTO of Amazon), Guido van Rossem (founder of Python programming language and senior engineer at Dropbox) or the more senior Gerard Kleisterlee (chairman of Vodafone). Not in my view. We have our own unique set of characteristics giving cause for great optimism.

Netherlands 143

Netherlands Technical Review Stock Silicon Valley 143

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2020

If your goal is a large national corporation with more than 100 investors, and multiple classes of stock, you might prefer a C-Corp or S-Corp. The options here include going public (IPO), merger/acquisition, liquidate, or no exit, just paying off investors. Quantify the market opportunity in business terms.

Business Plan 423

Business Plan Product Intellectual Property Elevator Pitch 423

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 26, 2018

Despite the fact that the number of IPOs (Initial Public Offerings) for startups have continued to stay low, I still hear it touted often as the preferred exit strategy. I suspect the exuberance for an IPO is still being driven by the highly visible successes of a few companies several years ago, including Facebook, Yelp, and Twitter.

Exit Strategy 128

Exit Strategy IPO Initial Public Offering SEC 128

Hunter Walker

DECEMBER 18, 2020

[I originally published this on Medium pre-IPO, so the tense is outdated, but I think the framework holds]. Every big tech IPO results in predictable Twitter chatter. That’s a harder question than just a “did the stock go up or down on Day One” but it’s the question we should be asking. 65% Did the Company Raise Enough Money.

IPO 90

IPO Stock Retention Valuation 90

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2011

I’ve decided to take all of my private conversations and subjective points-of-view on the topic and make them public in a keynote speech at the Founder Showcase in San Francisco on June 15th. The price of public stocks change instantly in reaction to news that is perceived to affect the future value of that company.

Pre-Money Valuation 336

Pre-Money Valuation Valuation Silicon Valley Stock 336

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 11, 2013

Today the rate of startups going public (IPO – Initial Public Offering) is at an all-time low, and most entrepreneurs avoid this option like the plague, knowing the process is painful, and public company executives are seen as greedy sharks. Startup founders don’t fit in a public company. Going public is an expensive process.

IPO 242

IPO SEC Prospectus Startup 242

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 6, 2014

" Current IPO activity feedback seems to support their excitement. IPO market showed more activity than any other first quarter since 2000, with 64 companies raising $10.6 That is more than double the number of IPOs in the first quarter of 2013. Most startup founders voluntarily exit or are pushed out, and the fun is gone.

IPO 236

IPO Initial Public Offering Startup Small Business Administration 236

Startup Lessons Learned

MAY 4, 2021

It was one of the year's most successful IPOs so far, and has been heralded as a "landmark moment" for cryptocurrency's entrance into mainstream investing. Brian is the CEO of Coinbase, a successful tech company, and one of 2021's most successful IPOs. I'm the co-founder and CEO of Coinbase.

IPO 113

IPO Cofounder Technical Review Government 113

David Teten

JANUARY 19, 2021

From RBI, Flexible VCs borrow the ability to reap meaningful returns without demanding founders build for an exit. Every Flexible VC structure allows founders to access immediate risk capital while preserving exit, growth trajectory, and ownership optionality. . Flexible VC 102: Variations.

Cofounder 78

Cofounder Technical Review Equity Dividend 78

View from Seed

MARCH 24, 2021

Doing Reference Checks on VCs “Try to speak to at least one founder that the investor has worked with in a failed investment. The Seed VC Decision Tree “If the market is attractive and there just isn’t great founder/market fit, we will be open minded as well. Why Do Consumer IPOs and B2B IPOs Get Treated Differently?

Seed Stage 177

Seed Stage Hiring IPO Analytics 177

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2012

Even though the Initial Public Offering (IPO) alternative for a successful startup seems to be coming back into vogue, it is relatively rare. IPOs in 2008, the market was up to a still trivial 159 in 2011. Even in most of these cases, the original startup founders were pushed out, or heavily supplemented, with “experienced” executives.

Exit Strategy 239

Exit Strategy IPO Investment Bankers Entrepreneur 239

Version One Ventures

OCTOBER 1, 2020

Just imagine a company going public hands out 15% of their stock to their users at IPO – for free! . And for us, it’s all about mission-driven founders – those entrepreneurs who will stop at nothing to solve a deep pain point that they know well. . You can listen to or read stories about some of our mission-driven founders.

Portfolio 94

Portfolio Software Review Cofounder Canada 94

VC Cafe

JANUARY 24, 2021

Gamestop stock becomes more valuable than Google :-) Just kidding. I’m excited to back the founders that are building the future in this space. The post The most important 2021 Predictions in entertainment tech and gaming appeared first on VC Cafe.

Technical Review 207

Technical Review Audio Forecast Social Media 207

abovethecrowd.com

FEBRUARY 24, 2015

Every successful technology company raises money throughout its lifecycle, perhaps starting with a seed investment and progressing through Series A, B, C, late-stage investments, and, for the most successful companies, an IPO. Lost in this conversation are the dramatic differences between a high priced private round and an IPO.

IPO 40

IPO Liquidation Preference Valuation Technical Review 40

The Next Web

OCTOBER 7, 2013

They were referring to non-founder engineers, most commonly the first hire for technology businesses. is frequently granted ownership significantly less than that of the founders. However, at the very early stage, they are taking as much risk with their future as the founders. Is there an IPO story here? Engineer #1?

Engineer 129

Engineer Dilution Option Pool Vesting 129

Agile VC

APRIL 17, 2011

GameFly filed in 2010 and remains in registration, though 2011 has seen a positive start for VC-backed IPOs with 14 in Q1 2011. Kayak was started here in my backyard of Boston… co-founder & CTO Paul English and the product/engineering team is based here in Concord MA. Kayak Software Corporation. Series A Preferred.

Pre-Money Valuation 113

Pre-Money Valuation Liquidation Preference Dividend Common Stock 113

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 6, 2010

Options are gravy - I lived through the first dot com era where we used stock options as a recruiting tool. We set our sites on our IPO price and then worked back to our current valuation and showed potential employees what we thought they could earn (with all legal caveats) if the company was successful. We give out stock options.

Stock Options 294

Stock Options Stock Valuation Liquidation Preference 294

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 24, 2021

The culture is driven by the 20-something irreverent founder with huge technical chops who in a “David vs. Goliath” mythology take on the titans of industry and wins. But markets have changed and I think investors, founders and experienced executives who want to join later-stage startups can all benefit from playing the long game.

Venture Capital 363

Venture Capital LP Valuation Later Stage 363

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2011

I recently spoke at the Founder Showcase at the request of Adeo Ressi. I said that at the Founder Showcase, too. And this is happening in mezzanine (pre-IPO) deals as well. And post IPO deals, although these tend to correct more quickly. some founders lose their life savings. Why does all this matter? That may be.

Saudi Arabia 309

Saudi Arabia Valuation IPO Technical Review 309

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2021

That implies that a board of directors has no value to the founder, and is just another burden that to be assumed for the privilege of attracting outside investors or going public. Members should be compensated, starting at one percent of stock or a small retainer plus expenses per quarter. Less than three is not a board.

Advisory Board 362

Advisory Board IPO Government Acquisition 362

Start Up Blog

MAY 13, 2019

Last Friday night, I did a TV interview on ABC regarding Uber’s long awaited IPO. An IPO is when a company first becomes a publicly traded stock that anyone can buy and hold. To be clear, the founders, early investors and many employees ended the day very rich indeed.

IPO 48

IPO Valuation Stock Cost 48

online.wsj.com

JULY 11, 2012

Virtual Stock Exchange. Stock Quotes. Andreessen Horowitz is telling entrepreneurs it prefers situations where the founders have controlling stakes, reckoning that theyll be better able to resist outside distraction and focus on making great products. MarketWatch. SmartMoney. SmartMoney. AllThingsDigital. AllThingsDigital.

Silicon Valley 42

Silicon Valley Founder Software Review Technical Review 42

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 16, 2023

None of these investment banks offer traditional banking services, as you would expect from one of the following: Retail banks Commercial banks Credit unions Savings and loans As startup founders, you first need to deal with one of these traditional banks, probably a commercial bank. Commercial banking is also known as business banking.

Early Stage 182

Early Stage Silicon Valley Private Equity Initial Public Offering 182