View from Seed

AUGUST 17, 2021

A few weeks ago, we hosted a small dinner for a number of portfolio company founders, LP’s, and friends of the firm. It’s by far the longest time I’ve spent working on any one thing, and I feel very blessed to have been able to work with my partners, colleagues, founders, and collaborators. at exit due to dilution.

IRR 205

IRR Dilution Founder Portfolio 205

Gust

NOVEMBER 11, 2011

In fact, before the final event, the investors have already done due diligence. Angel investment events where the group investment is supposed to go to the winner, but the winner ends up hating the term sheet. Angel investment events where the due diligence isn’t done before the event.

Software Review 79

Software Review Term Sheet Due Diligence Angel Investor 79

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 29, 2010

We received so much positive feedback from our This Week in Venture Capital show walking through valuation calculations & term sheets that we decided to do a Q&A show this week to address topics that entrepreneurs want to learn about. Q: “If you have a term sheet on the table how should you leverage with other VCs?&#

Venture Capital 282

Venture Capital Term Sheet Valuation Stock Options 282

View from Seed

AUGUST 17, 2021

A few weeks ago, we hosted a small dinner for a number of portfolio company founders, LP’s, and friends of the firm. It’s by far the longest time I’ve spent working on any one thing, and I feel very blessed to have been able to work with my partners, colleagues, founders, and collaborators. at exit due to dilution.

IRR 156

IRR Dilution Founder Portfolio 156

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 13, 2011

A deep dive into the Foundry Group investment philosophy including an interesting discussion of their investing Themes. “… our lens is: Internet Software Companies anywhere in the U.S. If you are outside internet software we are not going to invest. and one of the founders of Oblong, John Underkoffler, was an MIT Medialab PHd.,

Technical Review 288

Technical Review Venture Capital Silicon Valley Software Review 288

Gust

DECEMBER 27, 2012

Keep in mind that any cash you put in will remain in the company as Founders’ Equity, and will only come back to you on a successful exit in which your investors make money. [3a. A comprehensive list of things you might want is listed in the answer to What materials or software should I use to pitch a VC? ,

Software Review 164

Software Review Term Sheet Technical Review Angel Investor 164

Austin Startup

MAY 19, 2018

As Bryan stated below, there are no shortage of “How to pitch” or “How to behave” articles by VCs but really very little advice for VCs by founders. Anyone notice there's a ton of VCs giving founder advice, and almost no founder advice for VCs? Lines Not Dots Raising money from a fund is a process, most founders get that.

Founder 75

Founder Early Stage Software Review Deal Flow 75

Agile VC

MAY 26, 2011

This also appears as a guest post at Fortune’s Term Sheet. Many assume it was a cakewalk, based on the success LinkedIn has enjoyed over time and the current stature of our founder/CEO Reid Hoffman (now Chairman). Yes… he was a very successful PayPal exec and previously co-founder & VP Product of SocialNet.

Term Sheet 178

Term Sheet Silicon Valley Technical Review Social Network 178

View from Seed

AUGUST 17, 2021

A few weeks ago, we hosted a small dinner for a number of portfolio company founders, LP’s, and friends of the firm. It’s by far the longest time I’ve spent working on any one thing, and I feel very blessed to have been able to work with my partners, colleagues, founders, and collaborators. at exit due to dilution.

IRR 136

IRR Dilution Founder Portfolio 136

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 1, 2020

Any custom manufactured IoT device would require software development as well as hardware customization. It is essential to understand the funding structure stated in your term sheet and the advantages and disadvantages it may have for your business. You must understand that you, as a founder, must gel with the investor.

Startup 150

Startup Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Seed Stage 150

SoCal CTO

JULY 13, 2010

One of the highlights of my trip was a startup dinner which included Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, the founders of 37signals. had two occasions recently to review products which had clear market leadership. " The Bible Code predicted the Sept 11 attacks 5,000 years ago." I’ll have to relocate. Now I have.

Cofounder 175

Cofounder Technical Cofounder Term Sheet Startup 175

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 4, 2018

Most of these rhyme with what we’ve said in the past, but some have also evolved to fit the changing landscape and our own convictions about what really matters for founders and their investors at the seed stage. As seed funds have raised larger and larger funds, more have developed the muscle around issuing term sheets and “leading”.

North America 120

North America Seed Stage Early Stage Lead Investor 120

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 28, 2015

Investors typically negotiate from a term sheet, which if not handled properly can create problems that can hurt or kill the startup’s chances when they do their Series A round of funding. a SAFE or KISS) provide a much simpler transaction with less terms to negotiate. Debt or convertible securities (e.g.,

Convertible Security 100

Convertible Security IP Technical Review Software Review 100

David Teten

AUGUST 19, 2019

RBI normally requires founders to pay back their investors with a fixed percentage of revenue until they have finished providing the investor with a fixed return on capital, which they agree upon in advance. For background, see Revenue-Based Investing: A New Option for Founders who Care About Control. Decathlon Capital.

Revenue 60

Revenue Technical Review Software Review Equity 60

This is going to be BIG.

MAY 12, 2014

It''s also probably less than most funded CEOs are making--or certainly less than your average software developer. I send out my own term sheets and review docs myself--especially since I''m in sydicated rounds. If I was optimizing for cash, I would have been an investment banker a long time ago. I don''t have any kids.

Investment Bankers 167

Investment Bankers Term Sheet Venture Capital Technical Review 167

Hunter Walker

JANUARY 5, 2014

Managing short-term tactical outcomes with longer term relationship cultivation. Meeting new founders while collaborating, recruiting, analyzing, doing whatever it takes, to help our current founders build strong companies. Doing what excites me and gives energy. 1) Evaluate New Opportunities.

Software Review 102

Software Review Balance Sheet Cofounder Technical Review 102

A Crowded Space

SEPTEMBER 18, 2015

Good founders are really good at building buzz and hype. Great founders sometimes avoid it - more on that later) They’re good enough to build some buzz, get some angel investors to publicly invest in and endorse their company, introduce them to more angels, get solid press coverage, and write guest posts about the future of the xyz economy.

San Diego 60

San Diego Software Review San Francisco Silicon Valley 60

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2009

Another called Parker Harris, the co-founder and CTO. My blog linked to Brad Feld’s blog because I was so grateful for his series on term sheets and he was one of the biggest reasons that as a VC I felt compelled to blog. Consumer approach to software for business users. That changed very quickly. Folksonomy.

Venture Capital 274

Venture Capital Term Sheet San Diego Viral 274

This is going to be BIG.

OCTOBER 12, 2020

He said they’d consider any “special situations” funds I was doing—at which point I realized that he had never even looked at the deck and had zero intentions of doing any real diligence. One of my founders texted me, “What are you telling people to do about the Coronavirus?” It was the first anyone had asked me about it.

LP 147

LP Technical Review Software Review Valuation 147

Startup Company Lawyer

MARCH 14, 2010

Founders Institute Plain Preferred Term Sheet (by WSGR – disclaimer, I represent the Founders Institute and was involved in drafting this document). I also reviewed the TechStars documents last year and they are similar in concept to the Y Combinator documents as the chart below indicates.). under $500K).

Finance 70

Finance Software Review Term Sheet Liquidation Preference 70

K9 Ventures

APRIL 27, 2011

I have confirmed with the founders that none of the information contained herein is deemed confidential and is therefore fair game for me to share in this post. The founders of the company — Arlo Faria and AJ Shankar — were PhD students in Computer Science at UC Berkeley. In April 2008, I was introduced to Ugmode, Inc.

Software Review 134

Software Review Technical Review IP Finance 134

This is going to be BIG.

SEPTEMBER 30, 2012

This is a company that, according to the article, got term sheets from half of the VCs that expressed interest in the company. Did I mention it only took the founder a month? Most founders that get funded know their backers or have close connections to them well before they officially "pitch.".

Venture Capital 130

Venture Capital Marketing Term Sheet Software Review 130

steveblank.com

JULY 8, 2011

signup, upgrade, trial pricing Zuora – online subscription management FeeFighters – find the cheapest credit card processors HealPay – Collections made easy Customer Support Tender – support, knowledgebase tool for your site GetSatisfaction - conversations between companies / customers.

Software Review 110

Software Review Startup Silicon Valley Analytics 110

www.vccafe.com

MARCH 11, 2013

VC Cafe highlights everything you need to know from hosting your code in hackathons to open source legal docs. ” Hackernews list of “Tools of the Trade” for startups - includes over 150 SaaS tools used by startups, and over 150 comments with interesting insights from founders. Code Igniter. code spaces (svn).

Software Review 53

Software Review Technical Review Startup 53

Cracking the Code

JULY 5, 2016

PostoInAuto’s founder, Olivier Bremer, was terribly talented, but his business was not at a point where he could raise a significant investment. He was intrigued, so I connected him to BlaBlaCar’s founders who convinced him to join the adventure shortly after. Like any relationship, the responsibility for success is shared.

Italy 59

Italy Technical Review Germany Poland 59

mashable.com

JUNE 11, 2013

Or maybe the co-founders have a poisonous relationship that will hinder the companys growth. Check out the tips below from founders, CEOs and investors alike. Then remove half." — Jonathan Wegener , Founder, Timehop and ExitStrategy. ." — Jonathan Wegener , Founder, Timehop and ExitStrategy. Hiring Poorly.

Cofounder 111

Cofounder Technical Review Startup Software Review 111

www.paulgraham.com

APRIL 28, 2010

I think it would help founders to understand funding better—notjust the mechanics of it, but what investors are thinking. I wassurprised recently when I realized that all the worst problems wefaced in our startup were due not to competitors, but investors.Dealing with competitors was easy by comparison.

Technical Review 76

Technical Review Startup Software Review Angel Investor 76

www.xconomy.com

JUNE 9, 2012

Sakti3 Founder Sastry to Step Down From U-M. Co-Founder and CEO, Wetpaint. Founder, DEKA Research and Development Corporation. Correlation Ventures is tied to a different legacy—HNC Software, which was a pioneering developer of predictive software that was used to assess the risk of credit card fraud. New York ›.

San Diego 40

San Diego Venture Capital Technical Review San Francisco 40

Gust

SEPTEMBER 27, 2014

I am continually surprised at founders who spend ten minutes throwing up a barebones profile and are dismayed that money doesn’t start flowing in. One excellent way to do this (with a good bit of help from the experts), is to create a draft business plan using LivePlan from Palo Alto Software.

Angel Groups 159

Angel Groups Elevator Pitch Software Review Deal Flow 159

Rob Go

SEPTEMBER 4, 2018

Most of these rhyme with what we’ve said in the past, but some have also evolved to fit the changing landscape and our own convictions about what really matters for founders and their investors at the seed stage. As seed funds have raised larger and larger funds, more have developed the muscle around issuing term sheets and “leading”.

North America 36

North America Seed Stage Early Stage Lead Investor 36

Sophia Perl of Wisdom

NOVEMBER 9, 2010

For example, “I have over 10 years of software experience in this space, how do you plan to have a strong barrier to entry in this crowded space?&#. If people say it’s a hard problem, then it’s an opportunity to have a good barrier to entry and helps long-term competitive advantage. What key hires do you need?

CTO Hire 49

CTO Hire Cofounder Fractional CTO San Francisco 49

Sophia Perl of Wisdom

NOVEMBER 9, 2010

For example, “I have over 10 years of software experience in this space, how do you plan to have a strong barrier to entry in this crowded space?&#. If people say it’s a hard problem, then it’s an opportunity to have a good barrier to entry and helps long-term competitive advantage. What key hires do you need?

CTO Hire 40

CTO Hire Cofounder Fractional CTO San Francisco 40

Life Beyond Code

SEPTEMBER 27, 2011

When we were looking to talk to investors, Sramana introduced us to multiple investors and acted as an advisor helping us to navigate complex term sheet clauses like tranche financing and liquidation preferences. He says, “1M/1M is a very helpful program, and Sramana is very well connected in the industry.

Programming 116

Programming Silicon Valley Bootstrapping Technical Review 116

BeyondVC

OCTOBER 13, 2004

I was speaking with a friend of mine today who mentioned that his term sheet for his Series A round fell through. To make a long story short, one of the co-founders of the company built the company’s software in his spare time. Today, the IP is about to get assigned in the proper manner.

Software Review 60

Software Review Intellectual Property IP Due Diligence 60