Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 16, 2017

It was a “disappearing text app” where the founders told me that they named the company because the idea came from how Tiger Woods got caught cheating on his wife because all of his mistresses had evidence that he cheated because they saved text messages from him. How Do I Feel About the Snap IPO Given I Didn’t Invest?

IPO 214

IPO Los Angeles Technical Review Silicon Valley 214

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 11, 2022

Something happened in the past 7 years in the startup and venture capital world that I hadn’t experienced since the late 90’s — we all began praying to the God of Valuation. How might our next phase of the journey seem brighter, even with more uncertain days for startups and capital markets? What happened?

Valuation 466

Valuation San Francisco Ratchet Liquidation Preference 466

Feld Thoughts

AUGUST 25, 2015

In January, Jerry Neumann wrote a long and detailed analysis of his view of the VC industry in the 1980’s titled Heat Death: Venture Capital in the 1980’s. Jack Tankersley, a long time mentor of mine, co-founder of Centennial Funds, and co-founder of Meritage Funds, wrote me a very long response.

Venture Capital 70

Venture Capital SBIC Technical Review Silicon Valley 70

David Teten

JUNE 14, 2011

I am delighted to announce that I’m joining ff Venture Capital as a Partner. In addition, Michael Yavonditte , CEO of Hashable , is joining as a Venture Partner. I’ve known John Frankel , the firm’s founder, for a year and a half. Official blog post and more details here.

Venture Capital 122

Venture Capital Technical Review Early Stage Portfolio 122

ReadWriteStart

OCTOBER 2, 2021

Why should a founder entertain this idea? 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. No founder wants to start a business that would only survive for one or two years.

Technical Review 158

Technical Review LLC IPO Stock 158

Steve Blank

JANUARY 22, 2014

They failed due to: the dearth of deals in the region that have IPO potential and. most of those funds were also raised and invested prior to the huge capital efficient wave of the past 6-8 years. These regional funds invested in capital-intensive startups that required large initial investments. Build $10-30M funds.

Early Stage 286

Early Stage Silicon Valley Oregon Technical Review 286

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. At its core Venture Capital is nothing more than a small portion of the Private Equity financial asset class. What does this mean for startup founders?

Liquidity Event 120

Liquidity Event Founder Liquidation Preference Venture Capital 120

Hunter Walker

DECEMBER 11, 2023

He’s founder and CEO of Greenhouse , a ‘hiring operating system’ for companies which spans recruiting and onboarding tools for enterprises and SMEs. Originally backed by venture capital, in 2021 Daniel worked with TPG , a large private equity firm, to make them the majority investor.

Private Equity 78

Private Equity Equity DC Leveraged Buyout 78

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014

On the phone … Me: So, you raised venture capital? I know how to structure around that to protect the founders from getting screwed on a multiple liquidation preference. But most VCs don’t bother so many convertible note founders get screwed and never know it until they sell their companies. About $1 million.

Venture Capital 417

Venture Capital Liquidation Preference Valuation Term Sheet 417

Version One Ventures

DECEMBER 20, 2021

Everyone (investors and founders alike) has underestimated the size of the addressable market for tech over the past decade. Read the post: Resetting venture capital expectations: is 10x the new 3x? Looking back at V1’s first IPO, an unusual investment at the time: Coinbase. Our top three topics from the year: .

Venture Capital 60

Venture Capital Technical Review Software Review IPO 60

Steve Blank

AUGUST 5, 2014

Kathryn has been the founding VP of Marketing of Oracle , a successful recruiter, a world class Venture Capitalist, a co-founder of a Venture Capital firm, a great board member, one of my mentors and most importantly a wonderful friend. Or one of the first women co-founders of a VC firm – “I co-founded a great firm.”

Venture Capital 333

Venture Capital Silicon Valley Chicago Cofounder 333

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. Doing Reference Checks on VCs “Try to speak to at least one founder that the investor has worked with in a failed investment.

Seed Stage 177

Seed Stage Hiring IPO Analytics 177

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

ReadWriteStart

OCTOBER 2, 2021

Why should a founder entertain this idea? 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. No founder wants to start a business that would only survive for one or two years.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review LLC IPO Stock 78

Haystack

DECEMBER 29, 2018

6/ Venture Capital In Expansion Phase. More and more angels will be minted as the 2019 IPO class emerges. Public investors, cross-over investors, and even traditional private equity firms have taken notice, further blurring the lines of what constitutes true venture capital.

Technical Review 165

Technical Review Venture Capital Russia China 165

www.geekwire.com

JULY 10, 2012

VENTURE CAPITAL. You are here: Home / Startups / Bad returns be damned: Venture capital fundraising jumps 31 percent in U.S. Bad returns be damned: Venture capital fundraising jumps 31 percent in U.S. Filed Under: Startups , Tech Tagged With: Madrona , Startups , Tech , Venture capital.

Venture Capital 42

Venture Capital Seattle Cofounder Software Engineering 42

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 6, 2022

Some view both of these as a waste of time and burden on the CEO, while other founders surround themselves with insiders and cronies in an attempt to expedite and add credibility to their own interests. Many entrepreneurs I know are confused by the definition and need for an Advisory Board versus a Board of Directors.

Advisory Board 348

Advisory Board IPO Angel Investor Acquisition 348

The Startup Magazine

OCTOBER 29, 2021

We can trace the Midwest’s renaissance to Sprout Social’s successful initial public offering (IPO) , which saw the company debut on public markets at a price of $17 per share and rise to over $120 per share today. Growing Venture Capital Activity. billion in venture capital, compared to just $2.7

Silicon Valley 174

Silicon Valley Kansas City Chicago Denver 174

View from Seed

DECEMBER 4, 2019

At the same time, despite some realizations in recent years through M&A, PE acquisitions, and IPOs, the general sense I get from LPs is that the level of distributions don’t quite line up with the unrealized performance. For example, a $10B endowment might be looking to have 10% ($1B) allocated to venture capital at any one time.

LP 256

LP IRR Distribution Portfolio 256

ReadWriteStart

MARCH 31, 2020

Venture capital investment is one of the top places startups look out for when seeking funding for their business alongside other popular options like angel investing and crowdfunding. Investors would be more strict in their grilling of startup founders and leaders, hoping to expose every hint of “ overpromising and underdelivering.”

Technical Review 175

Technical Review Artificial Inteligence Startup Term Sheet 175

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

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

how on Earth could the venture capital market stand still? One of the most common questions I’m asked by people intrigued by but also scared by venture capital and technology markets is some variant of, “Aren’t technology markets way overvalued? two founders in a garage?—?(HP Of course we can’t. dot-com bonanza.

Pre-Money Valuation 471

Pre-Money Valuation Valuation Venture Capital Early Stage 471

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 21, 2021

In my experience, here are some of the key elements of that “second-stage” of entrepreneurship: Move from small investors to major venture capital. Then there is the pressure to go public ( IPO ), and open your investment to thousands, maybe millions, of small investors. Switch your focus from product development to sales.

Merger 379

Merger Due Diligence SEC IPO 379

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?

Saudi Arabia 309

Saudi Arabia Valuation IPO Technical Review 309

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 26, 2020

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.

Silicon Valley 362

Silicon Valley Private Equity Initial Public Offering Term Sheet 362

VC Cafe

AUGUST 2, 2022

As an early stage investor in the world of gaming and metaverse technology at Remagine Ventures, I find these companies have the potential to set the agenda, become the potential platforms for developers building in this space and future acquirers/consolidators of startups building the next generation of the Internet. Here we go! Epic Games.

IP 206

IP Cofounder Valuation Acquisition 206

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. Brad’s start in Venture Capital. Was about a billion dollars on the IPO” and “was one of the first web analytics companies. Venture Capital in Boulder and other smaller communities. “So

Technical Review 288

Technical Review Venture Capital Silicon Valley Software Review 288

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 looking for angel investors or venture capital (VC) absolutely need an exit strategy because investors require it.

Small Business 154

Small Business Exit Strategy Cofounder Angel Investor 154

Steve Blank

APRIL 23, 2014

In response, venture capital firms like Sequoia and Andreessen/Horowitz are hiring new partners just to work with their portfolio companies and match them to corporations. VCs like acquisitions as much as IPOs because the acquiring companies often can rationalize paying large multiples over the current valuation of the startup.

Acquisition 332

Acquisition Intellectual Property Silicon Valley Startup 332

VC Cafe

JANUARY 24, 2021

I’m excited to back the founders that are building the future in this space. Just take a look at similar lists from 2019, trying to predict what was going to happen in 2020… but regardless of the crystal ball, 2021 is already looking like an exciting year in Entertainment tech, gaming and commerce.

Technical Review 207

Technical Review Audio Forecast Social Media 207

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 27, 2012

Recently I wrote a post arguing to make the definition of a Startup more inclusive than that to which Silicon Valley, fueled by Venture Capital return profiles, would sometimes like to attach to the word. A Strong Pool of Tech Founders – Stating the obvious. That IPOs and then continues rising. Here are mine: 1.

Community 378

Community San Diego Silicon Valley Los Angeles 378

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. — Unremarked and unheralded, the balance of power between startup CEOs and their investors has radically changed: IPOs/M&A without a profit (or at times revenue) have become the norm.

Founder 245

Founder Technical Review CTO Hire IPO 245

The Startup Magazine

OCTOBER 14, 2021

The Startup Magazine continues our Founder Interview series with entrepreneur Richard Lavina, Co-Founder and CEO of accounting services platform, Taxfyle. Richard Lavina, CPA, Co-Founder and CEO of Taxfyle. TSM: What is the most important thing you tell other startup founders?

CPA 138

CPA Founder Vertical Cofounder 138

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 8, 2019

Some view both of these as a waste of time and burden on the CEO, while other founders surround themselves with insiders and cronies in an attempt to expedite and add credibility to their own interests. I suggest a few simple considerations will clarify the alternatives. How much are you willing to spend on your board?

Advisory Board 247

Advisory Board IPO Angel Investor Startup 247

Steve Blank

APRIL 10, 2019

In tech startups stock options were here almost from the beginning, first offered to the founders in 1957 at Fairchild Semiconductor , the first chip startup in Silicon Valley. As Venture Capital emerged as an industry in the mid 1970’s, investors in venture-funded startups began to give stock options to all their employees.

Stock Options 333

Stock Options Stock Vesting Common Stock 333

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