Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 9, 2020

I always tell entrepreneurs that two heads are better than one, so the first task in many startups is finding a co-founder or two. Giving a co-founder a salary won’t get you the “fire in the belly” you want. Each co-founder should get equity for value, based on these key variables: Lived a key role in a previous startup.

Cofounder 435

Cofounder Technical Cofounder Equity Intellectual Property 435

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 14, 2022

In his classic book, “ The Leadership Capital Index ,” Dave Ulrich, a best-selling author, business consultant, and business school professor, provides some real insights and metrics on what makes up the elements of goodwill in the minds of top valuation experts. I have paraphrased his key points here as follows: Leader personal impact.

Technical Review 323

Technical Review Due Diligence Valuation Leadership 323

View from Seed

OCTOBER 21, 2014

Using NextView as an example, since we both seek to lead the seed round and only lead during this round, I’ve seen this trend manifest in one of two ways: In a priced round, the entrepreneur will often share their valuation ask (or a stated floor) for the pre-money valuation of their company much sooner in the process.

Valuation 336

Valuation Founder Seed Stage Angel Investor 336

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 16, 2023

But for founders who do their homework, the cost of entry is lower and the opportunity is higher than ever. Who would not want to join the unicorns (recent startups with a current valuation of over $1 billion)? He nails the current key startup parameters, including the following: Crafting a lean business plan as your road map.

Intellectual Property 261

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Angel Groups Social Media 261

Steve Blank

APRIL 26, 2022

At the turn of the century after the dotcom crash, startup valuations plummeted, burn rates were unsustainable, and startups were quickly running out of cash. They offered desperate founders more cash but insisted on new terms, rewriting all the old stock agreements that previous investors and employees had. They’re Back.

Cram Down 404

Cram Down Founder Venture Capital Recapitalization 404

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 30, 2016

Amongst the most often asked questions I get from founders is, “How much money should I raise?” Reflexively founders want to raise as much money as they can because they figure it will give them more resources, better chances of competing and a longer runways before they have to do the often painful job of asking, yet again, for money.

Pre-Money Valuation 292

Pre-Money Valuation Valuation Early Stage Startup 292

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 11, 2023

Analysts perform a valuation of the company in question before the beginning of any round of funding. The management of a company, its established track record, the size of the market, and the level of risk all play a role in determining a company’s valuation. What is the Evaluation of the Funding?

Seed Stage 132

Seed Stage Technical Review Early Stage Due Diligence 132

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 30, 2018

I thought I’d write a post about how to talk about valuation at a startup and give you some sense of what might be on the mind of the person considering funding you. It’s not uncommon for a VC to ask you how much capital you’ve raised and what the post-money valuation was on your last round. is to start with just the data.

Valuation 324

Valuation Post-Money Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Cofounder 324

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 14, 2023

This could equate to two technical founders (with a minimal salary), funding two developers for a year. That should equate to an adequate valuation for a $2 million follow-on Series-A round, without giving away all the equity.

Burn Rate 258

Burn Rate Hockey Stick Management Salary 258

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 28, 2020

But for founders who do their homework, the cost of entry is lower and the opportunity is higher than ever. Who would not want to join the unicorns (recent startups with a current valuation of over $1 billion)? He nails the current key startup parameters, including the following: Crafting a lean business plan as your road map.

Intellectual Property 404

Intellectual Property Startup Angel Groups Social Media 404

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2023

Investors may not be called cofounders, but they always get equity, commensurate with their share of the total costs anticipated, or share of the current valuation. The CTO of many technical startups was the original founder. Amount of venture funding provided.

Technical Cofounder 247

Technical Cofounder Equity Distribution Cofounder 247

Altgate

DECEMBER 15, 2010

@altgate Startups, Venture Capital & Everything In Between Skip to content Home Furqan Nazeeri (fn@altgate.com) ← No one wants to tell you your baby is ugly More on Liquidation Preferences → Pre-Money Valuation vs Number of Founders Posted on December 15, 2010 by admin Here’s a chart of the day worth sharing.

Pre-Money Valuation 66

Pre-Money Valuation Valuation Cofounder Founder 66

Feld Thoughts

MARCH 24, 2017

Foundry Group is best known for our investments in startups, but our vehicle currently investing in other venture funds, Foundry Group Next, is off to what we believe to be a great start and I wanted to share an update about it by talking about our new investment in a fund managed by Founder Collective.

Founder 75

Founder LP Technical Review Seed Stage 75

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 28, 2018

There’s a quick litmus-test conversation any early-stage VC will have with the founder and it’s one that you should be as prepared for as your elevator pitch. Founder: “$8–10 million” VC: “What’s your current burn rate?” Founder: “$250k / month.” Founder: “Um. Why are you raising so much?” Let me check my plan.”

Burn Rate 247

Burn Rate Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Dilution 247

View from Seed

APRIL 5, 2016

Founders’ stories can be truly heroic, but inspiring stories don’t start and end with them. Likewise, true grit is defined by so much more than company growth and valuations. The post True Grit: It’s Not Just Founders We Should Celebrate appeared first on NextView Ventures.

Founder 120

Founder Web Development Web Community 120

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 10, 2018

I always tell entrepreneurs that two heads are better than one, so the first task in many startups is finding a co-founder or two. Giving a co-founder a salary won’t get you the “fire in the belly” you want. Each co-founder should get equity for value, based on these key variables: Lived a key role in a previous startup.

Equity 238

Equity Cofounder Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property 238

ReadWriteStart

JULY 15, 2020

Startup founders are trying to figure out how to fundraise through a pandemic and economic crash. New talk of capital efficiency is gratifying, but there was another lesson from pre-COVID-19 valuation struggles. Venture capitalists and early-stage investors have told all of us, founders are critical to a startup’s valuation.

Valuation 91

Valuation South Carolina San Jose Balance Sheet 91

VC Cafe

FEBRUARY 27, 2023

Most founders reported (in several different surveys) that knowledge and belief in their industry/sector and personal connection is one of the key reasons they would choose one investor over another. See the recent reports by Frontline Ventures and Creandum on what makes founders choose one offer over another.

Venture Capital 215

Venture Capital Technical Review LP Institutional Investors 215

David Teten

AUGUST 20, 2019

Many are reporting that they’re seeing a more diverse pool of applicants than traditional equity VCs… even though virtually none have a particular focus on women or underrepresented founders. For more background, see Revenue-Based Investing: A new option for founders who care about control.

Revenue 60

Revenue Cofounder Founder Venture Capital 60

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 19, 2020

EBITDA is the most important profitability metric to consider as many valuations are based on a multiple of this metric. That being said, it makes sense that when business is booming, your valuation will be higher. A diversified customer base can reduce cash flow risks and greatly increase your company’s value.

Exit Strategy 246

Exit Strategy Intellectual Property Valuation Metrics 246

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 26, 2012

Once you have a potential investor excited about your team, your product, and your company, the investor will inevitably ask “What is your company’s valuation?” The founders now need a $1M Angel investment to do the marketing for a national NewCo rollout, build a team to manage the rollout, and maybe even pay themselves a salary.

Valuation 270

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation NPV Intellectual Property 270

The Startup Magazine

NOVEMBER 28, 2022

Each engagement is personally undertaken by their founder and principal, Mitul. Prior to working with Citius, he helped global businesses generate up to $200M in annual recurring revenue and realise valuations of $1Bn+. Mitul Ruparelia – Founder, Citius Partners.

Founder 135

Founder B2B Private Equity India 135

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. Lean was designed to inform the founders’ vision while they operated frugally at speed. And if the company does go public, the valuations are at least 10x of the last bubble.

Lean 335

Lean Burn Rate Startup IPO 335

The Next Web

NOVEMBER 20, 2013

With all other things equal, that means that a 50/50 split between two co-founders (evenly split if there are more than two), or a 66/33 split based on the premium for coming up with the original idea, and for starting the initial development efforts and sourcing the original team. Whose idea was it? How important is this person’s role?

Cofounder 136

Cofounder Equity Founder Seed Stage 136

View from Seed

NOVEMBER 18, 2020

Sizing the ask incorrectly is one of the things I see founders get wrong most often, and it ends up having a meaningful impact to the fundraising process overall. Every ask implicitly suggests a valuation range. Conversely, a series A with a $6M ask suggests a lower valuation. That said…. Using a range can be helpful here.

Valuation 418

Valuation Founder Conversion Demand 418

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 1, 2020

I have interacted with a lot of founders who funded their initial business expenses through credit cards. The bridge or exit stage is generally of very large transactions and for companies with substantial valuation. Point number 3: Never raise money with an increased valuation. Bridge or exit stage. It has to be the right fit.

Startup 150

Startup Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Seed Stage 150

VC Cafe

AUGUST 2, 2022

Tim Sweeney, the founder and CEO of Epic is a long term visionary of our online future and the Metaverse. Tim Sweeney, Epic Games’ founder and CEO. In March 2022, Yuga Labs , the company behind BAYC, raised a $450M seed round at $4 billion valuation led by A16Z with the aim: create a better Metaverse.

IP 206

IP Cofounder Valuation Acquisition 206

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 24, 2013

One of the challenges for investing in startups has always been the lack of an established way for founders and investors to actually measure and decide on the valuation of the startup concerned. ” Ideaspotting investment pre-money valuation valuation Worthworm'

Pre-Money Valuation 150

Pre-Money Valuation Web Technical Review Angel Investor 150

The Startup Magazine

MARCH 14, 2022

At this stage, the founder mainly raises funding from their sources or family and friends. Here, the company’s valuation benchmark is set, and funding is solicited accordingly. 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.

Technical Review 151

Technical Review Due Diligence India Startup 151

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

I’m over-paying for every check I write into the VC ecosystem and valuations are being pushed up to absurd levels and many of these valuations and companies won’t hold in the long term. On the one hand, you’re over paying for every investment and valuations aren’t rational. two founders in a garage?—?(HP

Pre-Money Valuation 471

Pre-Money Valuation Valuation Venture Capital Early Stage 471

Berkonomics

JANUARY 28, 2021

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve walked away from deals where the entrepreneur insists on a start-up pre-money valuation that is so high, no angel could expect to make a return upon the investment, even with a reasonable sales price for the company down the road. Lessons founders learned. And here’s the “why.”.

Early Stage 62

Early Stage Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Cofounder 62

The Startup Magazine

FEBRUARY 21, 2024

Arif Bhalwani is the co-founder and CEO of Third Eye Capital (TEC) in Toronto, Canada. As an investor, these experiences have honed my ability to see beyond spreadsheets and valuations, to the core of what makes businesses thrive: the people, the vision, and the relentless pursuit of excellence. The firm has made more than $4.5

Technical Review 140

Technical Review Due Diligence Bankruptcy Intellectual Property 140

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 6, 2010

Once you have a potential investor excited about your team, your product, and your company, the investor will inevitably ask “What is your company’s valuation?” How much is NewCo worth to investors at this point (pre-money valuation)? This is the most concrete valuation element, usually called the asset approach.

Valuation 234

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation NPV Startup 234

The Startup Magazine

SEPTEMBER 10, 2019

There is a myth among first time tech founders that product is everything. Here are five financial concepts that every startup founder should know to build an everlasting company. Asset valuation. The concept of asset valuation may seem counterintuitive, but it is an important idea. venkatarag. getfilecloud.

Founder 119

Founder Valuation Dividend Startup 119

YoungUpstarts

JUNE 16, 2020

Business valuation is defined as a way to determine the overall economic value of a company , and is a necessary component of a sound business plan and strategy. Any of these situations will demand a valuation to determine current and future projected value. . Three Methods of Valuation. Life happens to all of us.

Valuation 162

Valuation CPA Software Review Revenue 162

Austin Startup

MARCH 22, 2021

In recent years we’ve seen mega-rounds of investment and sky-high valuations. billion Series D round giving the company a valuation of about $14 billion!* However, for a first-time founder, the prospect of building a fully-functioning marketplace can feel quite daunting?—?you’re They raised a whopping $2.4

Software Review 100

Software Review San Francisco Valuation Stock 100

Tim Keane

JANUARY 12, 2010

Term-sheets and Valuations: Thinking about Negotiations.   I’ve sat down with entrepreneurs and a copy of a term sheet guide I like [ “Term Sheets & Valuations - A Line by Line Look at the Intricacies of Venture Capital Term Sheets & Valuations ” by Alex Wilmerding, Aspatore Press.] The Valuation Question.

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Term Sheet Valuation Dividend Liquidation Preference 68