Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 13, 2020

As a startup mentor, I’m always amazed that some entrepreneurs seem to be an immediate hit with investors, while others struggle to get any attention at all. Finally I realized that venture capital and angel investors are actually humans, despite some views to the contrary. Message delivery must be customized for each investor.

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Intellectual Property Angel Investor Early Stage Venture Capital 316

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 21, 2020

Many new entrepreneurs are so excited by their latest idea that they can’t resist contacting every investor they know, assuming the investor will be equally excited and want to contribute immediately. Others will work hard on a business plan, and then mail it indiscriminately to every potential investor they can find on the Internet.

Technical Review 310

Technical Review Angel Investor Business Plan Social Media 310

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 7, 2020

Yet everyone has limits, and every investor implicitly has similar limits on what makes a startup investable, or one to avoid at all costs. If you need investors, it’s important that you understand their filters, and even if you are funding your own efforts, you need to recognize the red flags. Marginal legality or poor public image.

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New York City Silicon Valley Startup Bootstrapping 315

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 11, 2020

Even though the color of their money is always green, all startup investors are not the same. Struggling entrepreneurs are often so happy to get a funding offer that they neglect the recommended reverse due diligence on the investors. If your investor is unknown, or peers offer no positive attributes, take it as a red flag.

Technical Review 310

Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Offshore 310

View from Seed

JULY 8, 2020

Today I’m excited to announce the relaunch of our most popular resource ever: board meeting deck templates for seed-stage startups, now in conjunction with an investor update email template. Download Investor Update Email Template. Investor Update Email Template and How & When to Use It. Download Board Deck Template .

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Email Seed Stage Syndicate Syndication 331

This is going to be BIG.

APRIL 13, 2022

Don’t get me wrong—I don’t mean trust in the sense that VCs think founders are just going to get a fake passport and move to Fiji, or that investors are secretly plotting to take over the company. Founders suffer enough from imposter syndrome without investors constantly getting all up in their s**t as if they don’t trust them.

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Founder Fiji CTO Hire Term Sheet 159

View from Seed

OCTOBER 5, 2016

Whether an entrepreneur is raising a smaller (pre-)seed round entirely from individuals or she has a seed-stage or larger VC firm involved in (leading) the seed syndicate, it’s somewhere between necessary and optimal to have multiple individual angel investors involved. First and foremost, angels can provide capital.

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Angel Investor Boston Seed Stage Syndicate 332

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 5, 2014

Investors check your burn rate to assess your efficiency, and project your remaining runway before you run out of money and into a brick wall. Don’t wait until you are almost out of cash before managing every dollar spent, or looking for the next refueling from investors. burn rate business cashflow entrepreneur investor startup'

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Burn Rate Hockey Stick Entrepreneur Salary 262

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 8, 2019

Angel investors and venture capitalists don’t make equity investments in nonprofit good causes. The simple reason is that it’s impossible to make money for investors when the goal of the company is to not make money. You still start the process with a business plan, but then you look for a philanthropist rather than an investor.

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Equity Angel Investor Technical Review Exit Strategy 235

VC Adventure

JUNE 14, 2022

Top among them is generally access to capital, but often on the list is the hope that raising capital from experienced (and well-networked) investors will have other positive impacts on their business. Certainly from the venture perspective, VCs (Foundry included) pitch themselves to companies, co-investors, and LPs as more than just capital.

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Technical Review Due Diligence Portfolio Venture Capital 150

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 30, 2017

The key is to look hard outside the world of “professional investors,” to regular people who share your vision and dreams, friends and family who believe in you, and crowd funding your ideas that have a popular appeal. Create the ideal investor profile for your unique business. Prepare properly for meeting and closing with investors.

Technical Review 220

Technical Review Accredited Investor Due Diligence Equity 220

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 22, 2018

Yet everyone has limits, and every investor implicitly has similar limits on what makes a startup investable, or one to avoid at all costs. If you need investors, it’s important that you understand their filters, and even if you are funding your own efforts, you need to recognize the red flags. Marginal legality or public image.

New York City 202

New York City Silicon Valley Bootstrapping Technical Review 202

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 1, 2017

In fact, what happened is activist investors. In 2015 Trian Partners, an activist investor, bought $2.5 In 2015 Trian Partners, an activist investor, bought $2.5 Activist Investors. The “corporate raiders” of the 20 th century have rebranded themselves as “activist investors” of the 21 st. of the company.

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Institutional Investors Dividend Stock Technical Review 233

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

Many new entrepreneurs are so excited by their latest idea that they can’t resist contacting every investor they know, assuming the investor will be equally excited and want to contribute immediately. Others will work hard on a business plan, and then mail it indiscriminately to every potential investor they can find on the Internet.

Technical Review 299

Technical Review Entrepreneur Business Plan Angel Investor 299

Up and Running

JULY 29, 2019

Are you wondering how to land funding from angel investors? This article focuses on angel investors in the U.S., Angel investors are a wide range of different investors, not as formally established as venture capitalist firms, and not as homogenous a group, either. Finish your business plan. Look for potential angels.

Angel Investor 119

Angel Investor Venture Capital Technical Review Software Review 119

YoungUpstarts

SEPTEMBER 20, 2019

by Alejandro Cremades , cofounder of Panthera Advisors and author of “ The Art of Startup Fundraising: Pitching Investors, Negotiating the Deal, and Everything Else Entrepreneurs Need to Know “ Why should entrepreneurs intentionally be generous when negotiating with investors? Generosity is nowhere on their radar.

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Technical Cofounder Entrepreneur Cofounder Post-Money Valuation 127

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 10, 2017

In today’s investment climate, it’s getting even harder to raise money from investors. Many young startups might believe they just don’t have the exposure to reach investors, but more than likely, the inability to raise investor dollars stems from their books. If the books look good, investors will throw money at the company.

Software Review 124

Software Review Technical Review Due Diligence Startup 124

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

Even though the color of their money is always green, all startup investors are not the same. Struggling entrepreneurs are often so happy to get a funding offer that they neglect the recommended reverse due diligence on the investors. If your investor is unknown, or peers offer no positive attributes, take it as a red flag.

Technical Review 257

Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Offshore 257

ReadWriteStart

MARCH 31, 2020

Moreso, there is a lot of competition with investors doing all they can to determine the viability of a business before putting their money into it. When anyone asks what investors look for in startups , typical answers include an experienced management team, a large market for their product or service, growth potentials, uniqueness.

Technical Review 175

Technical Review Artificial Inteligence Startup Term Sheet 175

The Startup Magazine

JANUARY 30, 2020

As a leader in the online trading education industry, Market Traders Institute spends countless hours demonstrating how investors should examine market trends. Smart investors are always reading. Another wonderful tactic in investor fact-finding is regular networking. New Trends in Trading Information. Search Engines.

Institutional Investors 92

Institutional Investors Marketing Stock Software Review 92

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 5, 2018

Many new entrepreneurs are so excited by their latest idea that they can’t resist contacting every investor they know, assuming the investor will be equally excited and want to contribute immediately. Others will work hard on a business plan, and then mail it indiscriminately to every potential investor they can find on the Internet.

Technical Review 157

Technical Review Angel Investor Business Plan Social Media 157

NZ Entrepreneur

MAY 31, 2021

Participants heard about both the theory and reality of portfolio management from three different experiences: Marcel van den Assum provided the angel investor perspective, having invested in over 50 companies over 15 years. The post Portfolio Management – Learning from experienced investors appeared first on NZ Entrepreneur Magazine.

Portfolio 81

Portfolio New Zealand Management Technical Review 81

YoungUpstarts

JANUARY 4, 2017

An angel investor who also has experience in the start-up world has a much greater understanding of how businesses work, what fears and concerns the start-up owner or owners have and much more. 3 Great Examples of Entrepreneurs Turned Investors. 3 Great Examples of Entrepreneurs Turned Investors. Varsha Rao. Mark Andreessen.

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Angel Investor Entrepreneur Software Engineering Operations 208

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 15, 2023

As an advisor to entrepreneurs and active angel investor, I often get questions about the realism of the Shark Tank TV series, compared to professional investor negotiations. The simple answer is that with all the staging of TV lights and billionaire investors, it’s nothing like Silicon Valley.

Entrepreneur 279

Entrepreneur Due Diligence Angel Investor Silicon Valley 279

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 6, 2023

That’s not as high as the failure rate with professional investors, but it should convince entrepreneurs that crowdfunding is still no panacea for funding. Have you ever wondered what professional startup investors think about all this? Investors cannot verify accountability or governance.

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Angel Groups Accredited Investor Due Diligence Equity 201

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 5, 2023

One of the biggest myths I have found in the entrepreneur community is that every startup needs one or more outside investors for credibility and success, and perhaps is even entitled to at least one. It clearly identifies potential investors who meet your profile, and provides contact information.

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Angel Investor Stealth Bootstrapping Early Stage 246

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 11, 2022

After many years of working with angel investors seriously trying to find new ventures worthy of their hard-earned money, I find their frustration often exceeds that of entrepreneurs sincerely looking for financial help. Here is my list of red flags that cause many investors to look elsewhere: No well-defined need or viable customer set.

Due Diligence 271

Due Diligence Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Preferred Stock 271

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

Angel investors come from a variety of ages, backgrounds, and professions. million people qualify as accredited investors. of the total qualified investors to which they could have access. However, entrepreneurs still need to approach angel investors offline for larger amounts of capital. I’m not your average angel.

Angel Investor 159

Angel Investor Technical Review Software Review Accredited Investor 159

Up and Running

MARCH 14, 2018

I know what it’s like to pitch to investors—both angels and venture capitalists. I’ve raised close to $1 million from angel investors for my previous technology startups. Sometimes you only get 10 minutes to pitch your business opportunity to the investors (or less in some cases). Image via WOCinTechChat. Create a presentation.

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Hockey Stick Exit Strategy Technical Review Angel Investor 164

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 7, 2023

Young entrepreneurs often are so excited by new technology or their latest invention that they forget to translate it into a value proposition that their customers or potential investors can understand and relate to. Quantifying the return on investment (ROI) is “top of mind” for every investor and executive. Martin Zwilling

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Elevator Pitch Social Network Agile Technology 272

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 2, 2022

Quite a while back, I outlined “ The 10 Best Sources of Cash to Start Your Business ” for startups, listing angel investors as alternative six. I still get a lot of questions on these mysterious and often invisible investors, so here is another attempt to bring them out of the ether. If you need more, you need VCs or a flock of angels.

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Angel Investor Advisory Board Database Institutional Investors 384

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 28, 2021

As an angel investor in early-stage startups, I’ve long noticed my peers apparent bias toward the strength and character of the founding entrepreneurs, often overriding a strong solution to a painful problem with a big opportunity. The return on character in business is well worth the investment. Marty Zwilling.

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Entrepreneur Angel Investor Leadership Early Stage 414

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 9, 2021

As a mentor to startups and new entrepreneurs, I continue to hear the refrain that business plans are no longer required for a new startup, since investors never read them anyway. For the more traditional investor, or for that chance meeting in a real elevator or meeting, you need a two-page brochure (two-sided page).

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Elevator Pitch Entrepreneur Due Diligence Angel Investor 390

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 8, 2023

As an active angel investor, I can tell you what doesn’t work is broadcasting your idea description to flocks of angels, hoping that one will swoop down to anoint you with funding. By definition, angels are accredited investors, who invest their own money for a percentage of the business. Your pitch and business plan are important.

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Venture Capital Accredited Investor Syndicate Syndication 265

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 13, 2022

They approach key potential investors way too early, trying to talk their way up the hill, with no supporting business plan, and before they have a support team around them. The first rule is to separate your advisors from your investors. Before you meet a potential investor, check them out on the Internet and through your advisors.

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Elevator Pitch Angel Investor Venture Capital Business Plan 316

Gust

APRIL 27, 2014

Even when your startup is a one-man show and lots of fun, a “business” needs some discipline and controls to keep it from being defined as a hobby by investors, and assure some financial return. Invested Interests entrepreneur funding investor processes' Software Development Process via Wikipedia. Funding process.

Startup 187

Startup Institutional Investors Angel Investor Bootstrapping 187

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 7, 2023

Entrepreneurs looking for investor funding often fail to realize that all money comes with strings. You may think this question is just an artifact of good television, but let me assure you that in my experience as an angel investor, it’s a standard “make or break” inquiry posed to every entrepreneur.

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Elevator Pitch Salary Angel Investor Viral 228