K9 Ventures

JUNE 5, 2015

In that presentation, I said that Seed is not the first round of financing any more and that K9’s investments were mostly “pre-seed”. The Venture Capital industry as a whole does a terrible job of giving things the right name and so we end up keeping the same name, but changing the meaning out from under it. The Epilogue.

Seed Stage 48

Seed Stage Venture Capital Early Stage Valuation 48

Hunter Walker

JANUARY 11, 2021

Traditional venture capital models lean into what’s called ‘power laws.’ Basically the idea that you are backing risky new ventures, many of which will stumble along the way, but one or two of the companies you back will be such outsized successes that the investment gains from those will more than offset the others.

Startup 124

Startup Venture Capital Seed Capital Software 124

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

View from Seed

MARCH 29, 2018

We wanted to learn more about the nuanced industry market forces before applying the same hands-on investing model we do with tech startups in other verticals. We don’t seed companies that are developing drugs or medical devices that will require FDA approval. It’s a world that doesn’t fit our seed-focused model and fund strategy.

Vertical 120

Vertical Stealth Portfolio Seed Capital 120

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 14, 2014

I had witnessed a number of early-stage tech startups in LA raise seed capital from the Bay Area and relocate. By 2011 the market had started to change dramatically. It was clear to us that LA was now a powerhouse market and we loved working with all of the other accelerators in town. We had a specific goal in mind.

Early Stage 290

Early Stage Venture Capital Los Angeles Coder 290

ReadWriteStart

NOVEMBER 5, 2019

According to a study by CB Insights (2017), a software that gathers essential data from investors, companies and industries, more than 70% of startups do not exceed the first stage of venture capital investment. The rounds were conducted from 2008 to 2010, starting from seed capital. Why do so many companies fail?

Venture Capital 77

Venture Capital Cofounder Finance United States 77

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2014

Contrary to popular opinion I actually believe crowd-funding is best used after seed capital or venture capital. It’s why in this article I advise that people “market today not futures” because you don’t want your playbook in the hands of the competition.

PR 319

PR Venture Capital Hiring Seed Capital 319

Haystack

NOVEMBER 24, 2018

venture capital to date (more on this in a separate post), unfortunately relegating billion-dollar exits as “ho-hum” events to the technology crowd. The company only raised a bit over $1M as seed capital. However, 2018 has other ideas, with the most money ever invested in U.S. 1/ Cash Is King: The $1.4B

Acquisition 62

Acquisition Artificial Inteligence Balance Sheet Cofounder 62

Scalable Startup

AUGUST 9, 2018

Raising seed capital is a tricky business. Most are making major mistakes in their approach when seeking capital. In their quest for sustainable growth, the elusive dream for most first time founders is that first funding. High growth startup companies need seed money to get things going. Capital = Growth.

Technical Cofounder 20

Technical Cofounder Silicon Valley Early Stage Cofounder 20

Gust

SEPTEMBER 27, 2014

In order to be competitive, a company needs to have just about everything in place, from its product to its team to market traction, before it is ready to seek funding. Create your Gust profile to show off your venture in the best possible light. As such, the competition from an entrepreneur’s standpoint is very, very tough.

Angel Groups 159

Angel Groups Elevator Pitch Software Review Deal Flow 159

Steve Blank

APRIL 28, 2016

Ajay Kshatriya , co-founder and CEO of Biota Technology , which applies DNA sequencing technology to the energy industry. Steven Cohn , founder and CEO of Validately , which helps user researchers, product managers and others validate demand or usability for prototypes and live sites. Ajay Kshatriya. Steven : Nope, hubris.

Entrepreneur 120

Entrepreneur Cofounder Seed Capital Texas 120

Steve Blank

APRIL 28, 2016

Ajay Kshatriya , co-founder and CEO of Biota Technology , which applies DNA sequencing technology to the energy industry. Steven Cohn , founder and CEO of Validately , which helps user researchers, product managers and others validate demand or usability for prototypes and live sites. Ajay Kshatriya. Steven : Nope, hubris.

Entrepreneur 120

Entrepreneur Cofounder Seed Capital Texas 120

Growthink Blog

MAY 23, 2011

With this seed capital – more often than not totaling between $100,000 and $1,000,000 - the company accomplishes a number of key technical milestones, gets a beta customer or two, and then goes on a "road show" to venture capitalists around the country for capital to “scale” the business.

Angel Investor 112

Angel Investor Venture Capital Sweat Equity Cram Down 112

David Cohen

JULY 29, 2015

There is four times as much seed capital in the venture market this year as there was 1 year ago. Because of this, it’s easier to attract seed funding than it has been in the past. Founders can live for a year or two on seed capital, have some fun, and punch their lottery ticket.

Hockey Stick 48

Hockey Stick Seed Capital Founder Startup 48

Haystack

AUGUST 18, 2019

If you’ve been following my tweets lately, you’ve read some of my quick musings on the state of the seed market this summer. years of investing in the seed stage, I have never seen activity levels like I’m seeing today. We know private markets hold the key to 100x or even 1,000x multiples. Granted, 6.5

Seed Stage 108

Seed Stage Cap Table Early Stage Malaysia 108

Growthink Blog

MAY 10, 2012

If it's not your plan to get venture capital down the road, then you'll probably stop in Stage 2-receiving enough funding to boost your marketing, sales, and infrastructure to grow organically from there to the point where you are satisfied or ready to sell. So during this round, you'll be testing what works and what doesn't.

Equity 88

Equity Mezzanine Later Stage Venture Capital 88

thebarefootvc

MARCH 8, 2012

I saw some specific gaps in the market which I looked to address: NYC: I have been fortunate to be a part of the surge of entrepreneurial activity in NYC over the past several years. While the seed capital gap has closed, there are still only a handful of venture capital firms here in NYC investing in the crucial Series A/B rounds.

Silicon Valley 69

Silicon Valley Ghana Venture Capital India 69

Software By Rob

JANUARY 8, 2019

To catch you up, here’s a brief summary of TinySeed: TinySeed is a remote accelerator designed for SaaS founders seeking mentorship from world-class experts, community with other talented founders, and enough funding to live for a year. Previously On.TinySeed. Would love to chat and see how/if we can help.

Early Stage 46

Early Stage Valuation Seed Capital Revenue 46

View from Seed

NOVEMBER 19, 2015

The following is a real (but anonymized) email to us at NextView where a founder debates the timing of his seed raise: I met with someone today who said I should push to close a seed round before I launch the product. However, to push the right type of thinking about the issue, I typically ask founders three questions: 1.

Seed Capital 120

Seed Capital Seed Stage Dilution Networking 120

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 15, 2010

It’s always fun chatting with Jason because he’s knowledgeable about the market, quick on topics and pushes me to talk more about VC / entrepreneur issues. Next Wednesday we’ll have Dana Settle of Greycroft Partners, a New York / LA early-stage venture capital fund. They also avoid Reg D.

Stealth 285

Stealth SEC Advertising Accredited Investor 285

Business Plan Blog

OCTOBER 4, 2013

The single most important factor to raising capital for any tech startup is the management team. This is true for early stage funding as well as venture capital funding. Rather, give titles such as VP of Engineering, Product/Technology, Sales, Marketing, Finance, etc. Don’t make everyone a founder.

Part-Time VPE 79

Part-Time VPE Fractional VPE Cofounder CTO Hire 79

www.thestartup.eu

OCTOBER 23, 2010

Posted by Stefano Bernardi On June - 21 - 2010 It’s a known fact that seed capital is very scarce in Italy. The founders were tired of having to remember all the precious tips their friend were giving them regarding restaurants, B&Bs, shops, etc. TheStartup.eu Meet Tipsandtrip. CEO Marco Magnocavallo.

Bootstrapping 49

Bootstrapping Italy Sweat Equity Europe 49

Steve Blank

JUNE 11, 2013

Sigh… What I should have been hearing is the search for the business model, specifically the progress on product/market fit, but I hear the fund raising story first at least 90% of the time. Does our product or service solve a customer problem (product-market fit)? The consequences of raising venture money. Why small amounts?

Venture Capital 333

Venture Capital IRR Liquidity Event Business Model 333

Steve Blank

JUNE 11, 2013

Sigh… What I should have been hearing is the search for the business model, specifically the progress on product/market fit, but I hear the fund raising story first at least 90% of the time. Does our product or service solve a customer problem (product-market fit)? The consequences of raising venture money. Why small amounts?

Venture Capital 225

Venture Capital IRR Liquidity Event Business Model 225

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 15, 2014

A new entrepreneurial venture requires a great deal of assistance in terms of headhunting, business coaching, venture capital etc. A venture should be run and managed only by people who have genuinely bought into and share the entrepreneurial vision. Business support network. and put them to good use.

Vietnam 171

Vietnam Venture Capital Seed Capital Exit Strategy 171

Rob Go

NOVEMBER 30, 2012

I was surprised to find that it has been more than two years since my post summarizing the state of the seed stage market, and trying to bring a balanced view on the rise of Super Angels and Micro-VC’s. The venture capital market continues to be in transition, and a lot of changes have occurred in the early stages of the market.

Seed Stage 55

Seed Stage Pre-Money Valuation Dilution Early Stage 55

mashable.com

NOVEMBER 3, 2010

This dynamic births serial entrepreneurs and motivates angels and venture capitalists to pull their friends into investment deals. For the first-time entrepreneur or founder looking for seed stage funding, this circle can be especially difficult to penetrate.

Angel Investor 80

Angel Investor Startup San Francisco Social Media 80

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 10, 2015

by Clarence Wooten , founder of VentureFund.io and Progress.ly. Let’s face it, the rules for getting a startup funded at the seed stage aren’t very clear. Note: When I say “seed stage startup,” I’m specifically referring to software/app startups that are eitherpre-product or early product. But probably not how you’d think.

Seed Stage 100

Seed Stage Silicon Valley Startup Venture Capital 100

techcrunch.com

FEBRUARY 19, 2010

Researchers polled experts in lending, mezzanine capital, private equity, venture capital and private businesses themselves. Not a big shock, but things don’t look pretty, especially in the venture capital world. 41% of them feel that they qualify for venture capital funding. just my opinion.

Venture Capital 62

Venture Capital Technical Review Sweat Equity Valuation 62

Steve Blank

MAY 9, 2017

I’ve seen the Valley grow from Sunnyvale to Santa Clara to today where it stretches from San Jose to South of Market in San Francisco. The founders were simply wrong about their assumptions about customer needs. It turns out the term “visionary founder” was usually a synonym for someone who was hallucinating.

Restful 222

Restful Silicon Valley Puerto Rico San Jose 222

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 24, 2010

the wave of semiconductor startups in the 1960’s/70’s, the emergence of venture capital as a professional industry, the personal computer revolution in 1980’s, the rise of the Internet in the 1990’s and finally. The founders were simply wrong about their assumptions about customer needs. or Euro-centric phenomenon.

Silicon Valley 335

Silicon Valley United States Venture Capital Software Review 335