Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 2, 2017

A particularly critical moment is when the founders hand over the leadership to a more managerial regime. For additional growth, most companies expand the product portfolio to cater to more customers, and sell more to existing customers. Geographic expansion. Product-line expansion.

Dilution 134

Dilution Merger Flash Global 134

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 9, 2014

This is called the “portfolio approach,” which counts on hitting only a couple of big winners, while the others return very little. It doesn’t seem to matter what the founders’ projections are, or how fast they believe they will turn profitable. What ends up, usually went down first. All startups always need more money.

Angel Investor 278

Angel Investor Angel Groups Accredited Investor IRR 278

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2013

VCs are finding that they don’t need the “large” funds of $100M to $500M to support a portfolio, if they focus on early-stage startups. Too many founders today face the conundrum that they need capital to get started, and even Angels defer until after you have your product built, business model proven, and a real revenue stream.

Angel Investor 231

Angel Investor Entrepreneur Early Stage Silicon Valley 231

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 1, 2022

CEO brought in to replace the founder, 5 - 10% CTO, CFO, VP of Marketing or Sales, 1.5 - 3% Chief Engineer or Architect, 1 - 1.5% At best, you should view stock as “deferred compensation” or a “bonus,” which has no value today, and a risk for the future that is much higher than mutual funds, or a conventional balanced public stock portfolio.

Stock Options 343

Stock Options Advisory Board Stock Startup 343

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 30, 2015

A popular approach these days seems to be for founders to regale investors early with a pitch touting the newest “million-dollar idea.” If your strength is technology, find a co-founder who has a comparable strength in business, finance or marketing. Just don’t try to sell your business to investors before it is well established.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Preferred Stock Stealth 120

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 16, 2022

ACA member angel groups represent a wealth of accredited investors and are funding approximately 800 new companies each year, and managing an ongoing portfolio of more than 5,000 companies throughout North America. and the founder of 500 Startups, Dave McClure.

North America 337

North America Accredited Investor Angel Investor Angel Groups 337

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 14, 2013

A particularly critical moment is when the founders hand over the leadership to a more managerial regime. For additional growth, most companies expand the product portfolio to cater to more customers, and sell more to existing customers. Geographic expansion. Product-line expansion.

Dilution 187

Dilution Merger Flash Global 187

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 6, 2019

Some entrepreneurs, like Paul Graham , co-founder of Y-Combinator, and Dave McClure , founder of 500 Startups, mask their focus on multiple startups by running an incubator or accelerator, and providing seed funding for a number of individual efforts. Optimize your advisers and investors. Advisors and mentors are busy people.

Bandwidth 247

Bandwidth Portfolio Cofounder Angel Investor 247

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 14, 2015

A particularly critical moment is when the founders hand over the leadership to a more managerial regime. For additional growth, most companies expand the product portfolio to cater to more customers, and sell more to existing customers. Geographic expansion. Product-line expansion.

Matching 120

Matching Marketing Dilution Startup 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 5, 2015

This is called the “portfolio approach,” which counts on hitting only a couple of big winners, while the others return very little. It doesn’t seem to matter what the founders’ projections are, or how fast they believe they will turn profitable. What ends up, usually went down first. All startups always need more money.

Angel Investor 120

Angel Investor Angel Groups Accredited Investor IRR 120

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 4, 2020

Elon Musk , for example, admits to reading up to two books per day in various disciplines, including physics, engineering, product design, business, technology, and energy, to give him insights on new solutions and new opportunities, despite his large portfolio already. Build a prototype and experiment with real customers.

Artificial Inteligence 336

Artificial Inteligence Startup Cofounder Framework 336

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 25, 2019

CEO brought in to replace the founder, 5 - 10% CTO, CFO, VP of Marketing or Sales, 1.5 - 3% Chief Engineer or Architect, 1 - 1.5% At best, you should view stock as “deferred compensation” or a “bonus,” which has no value today, and a risk for the future that is much higher than mutual funds, or a conventional balanced public stock portfolio.

Equity 237

Equity Stock Options Advisory Board Stock 237

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 14, 2019

ACA member angel groups represent a wealth of accredited investors and are funding approximately 800 new companies each year, and managing an ongoing portfolio of more than 5,000 companies throughout North America. and the founder of 500 Startups, Dave McClure.

Angel Investor 241

Angel Investor North America Accredited Investor Angel Groups 241

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 21, 2017

CEO brought in to replace the founder, 5 - 10% CTO, CFO, VP of Marketing or Sales, 1.5 - 3% Chief Engineer or Architect, 1 - 1.5% At best, you should view stock as “deferred compensation” or a “bonus,” which has no value today, and a risk for the future that is much higher than mutual funds, or a conventional balanced public stock portfolio.

Stock 140

Stock Stock Options Advisory Board Startup 140

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 5, 2015

This is a relatively new term loosely applied to angels who invest their own money in a portfolio of startups (typically 20 or more) and are willing to lead multiple rounds, usually starting with a seed round. Ron Conway , of SV Angels, and Reid Hoffman , LinkedIn's founder, are names often mentioned in this category.

Seed Stage 120

Seed Stage Finance Early Stage Startup 120

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 23, 2016

Other entrepreneurs don’t even realize that they badly need a co-founder or team leader who can complement their own skills. In addition, working with people already in the business gives you connections to others and insight into areas where you may need to update your portfolio. It also prevents a gap in your resume.

Startup 120

Startup Burn Rate Cofounder Salary 120

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 31, 2014

Here your objective is to make money with the portfolio, with high markup and low markup items, depending on competition, lock-in, value delivered, and loyal customers. It definitely requires founders with deep pockets and investors willing to take a huge leap of faith. Product line pricing. This one takes expert management to work.

Revenue 287

Revenue Startup Business Model Retention 287

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 23, 2012

In a startup, that needs to be the founder or CEO, and that person has to be regularly and personally involved. Longer-term, enhanced product value begets superior company valuation through your organization’s intellectual property (IP) portfolio. This is an imperative. No risk, no innovation. Not every idea can, or will, be a winner.

Intellectual Property 247

Intellectual Property IP Valuation .Net 247

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 17, 2013

CEO brought in to replace the founder, 5 - 10% CTO, CFO, VP of Marketing or Sales, 1.5 - 3% Chief Engineer or Architect, 1 - 1.5% At best, you should view stock as “deferred compensation” or a “bonus,” which has no value today, and a risk for the future that is much higher than mutual funds, or a conventional balanced public stock portfolio.

Stock Options 224

Stock Options Stock Advisory Board Startup 224

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2016

Attract a co-founder and key team members. Both provide incubator services and space for early startups, have patent portfolios for licensing, and many other resources. Their value to you is great industry connections, free legal advice, shared learning, and credibility for you with investors.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Accredited Investor Entrepreneur Incubator 120

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 23, 2013

Here your objective is to make money with the portfolio, with high markup and low markup items, depending on competition, lock-in, value delivered, and loyal customers. It definitely requires founders with deep pockets and investors willing to take a huge leap of faith. Product line pricing. This one takes expert management to work.

Product 290

Product Revenue Business Model Retention 290

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 19, 2015

It was developed by Joe Abraham , who manages a portfolio of successful high-growth international companies. That’s why most angel investors only invest locally, where they can do that assessment of the founder and his team personally over time. The Builder excels at constructing a business from the ground up.

Advisory Board 120

Advisory Board Angel Investor Incubator Cofounder 120

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 22, 2012

CEO brought in to replace the founder, 5 - 10% CTO, CFO, VP of Marketing or Sales, 1.5 - 3% Chief Engineer or Architect, 1 - 1.5% At best, you should view stock as “deferred compensation” or a “bonus,” which has no value today, and a risk for the future that is much higher than mutual funds, or a conventional balanced public stock portfolio.

Stock Options 230

Stock Options Stock Advisory Board Startup 230

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 9, 2011

In a startup, that needs to be the founder or CEO, and that person has to be regularly and personally involved. Longer-term, enhanced product value begets superior company valuation through your organization’s intellectual property (IP) portfolio. This is an imperative. No risk, no innovation. Not every idea can, or will, be a winner.

Intellectual Property 234

Intellectual Property IP Valuation .Net 234

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 24, 2011

CEO brought in to replace the founder, 5 - 10% CTO, CFO, VP of Marketing or Sales, 1.5 - 3% Chief Engineer or Architect, 1 - 1.5% At best, you should view stock as “deferred compensation” or a “bonus,” which has no value today, and a risk for the future that is much higher than mutual funds, or a conventional balanced public stock portfolio.

Equity 234

Equity Advisory Board Stock Options Stock 234

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 29, 2015

CEO brought in to replace the founder, 5 - 10% CTO, CFO, VP of Marketing or Sales, 1.5 - 3% Chief Engineer or Architect, 1 - 1.5% At best, you should view stock as “deferred compensation” or a “bonus,” which has no value today, and a risk for the future that is much higher than mutual funds, or a conventional balanced public stock portfolio.

Stock Options 120

Stock Options Stock Advisory Board Startup 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 20, 2010

CEO brought in to replace the founder, 5 - 10% CTO, CFO, VP of Marketing or Sales, 1.5 - 3% Chief Engineer or Architect, 1 - 1.5% At best, you should view stock as “deferred compensation” or a “bonus,” which has no value today, and a risk for the future that is much higher than mutual funds, or a conventional balanced public stock portfolio.

Stock 144

Stock Stock Options Advisory Board Startup 144

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 9, 2011

Its indefatigable founder, however, has since raised an additional $25 million from other angels, never made a penny of profit, and the value of my original six-figure investment is now about zero. The second company in which I invested, back in 2001, was a novel concept from the serial entrepreneur who invented social networking.

New York 221

New York Accredited Investor Advisory Board IRR 221

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 15, 2010

In a startup, that needs to be the founder or CEO, and that person has to be regularly and personally involved. Longer-term, enhanced product value begets superior company valuation through your organization’s intellectual property (IP) portfolio. This is an imperative. No risk, no innovation. Not every idea can, or will, be a winner.

Intellectual Property 122

Intellectual Property IP Valuation .Net 122