Both Sides of the Table

JULY 7, 2015

I love how open Danielle has been throughout the development of her startup Mattermark including honest reflections of when she has changed her opinion. Founder fighting, IP lawsuits, high-profile resignations, trouble fund raising, bad product release, 409a complications, community is rebelling against the CEO: You.

Cap Table 150

Cap Table Cofounder Silicon Valley Startup 150

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 17, 2013

I’ve written a lot about recruiting and hiring at startups including my controversial post on whom not to hire and my rapid response to the flame war. Sales & Marketing Advice Startup Advice' One of the questions I’m most often asked by CEOs is how to hire sales people. Photo credit on 500px to Roof Topper.

Sales Cycle 375

Sales Cycle Sales Technical Review Campaign 375

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 23, 2015

But not everybody has the right skills to build a highly successful and valuable startup from scratch. For some aspiring to be tech entrepreneurs, I often suggest a two-step process, as I argued in this post that “ The First Startup Founder You Need to Invest in Is You.” In fact, I would argue that most people don’t.

Technical Review 150

Technical Review Liquidation Preference Silicon Valley IP 150

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 17, 2019

I had just left Salesforce.com where I was VP, Products, after they had acquired my second startup. Bank as well as many startups like Gusto and MakeSpace and innumerable massive clients that weren’t on my approved list of clients I could disclose ;) but we partner with Google, Adobe, Salesforce and many others. Over the past 2.5

IP 223

IP Intellectual Property IRR Cofounder 223

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 25, 2010

Having re-read it, I believe his real premise instead is, “Fixed-size, multi-investor angel rounds are such a bad idea for startups that one wonders why things were ever done that way.&#. Either would be fine with startups, so long as they can easily change their valuation. When I’m in, I’m in. rings true to me.

Finance 286

Finance Term Sheet Technical Review Warrant 286

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 5, 2010

A caller dialed in to ask us questions about his startup. He was from South America but living in Switzerland and had launched a startup while holding down a day job at a consulting firm (McKinsey if memory serves). I was recently on TWiST with Jason Calacanis. He wanted to raise angel money. I told him to quit his job first.

Entrepreneur 293

Entrepreneur CTO Hire South America Salary 293

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 14, 2018

I know that you can use an email system with this to track my open rate, whether I forwarded the email, the IP address where I read it, whether I was on a mobile device or a wired computer and you can tell who else read the document. What should be in your deck?

IP 239

IP Differentiation Salary Sales 239

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 2, 2015

You transition from “startup” to real business and it turns out that having an entire team be efficient is more important than that boundless energy but destructive nature of constantly changing direction from the CEO. Great startups have budgets. Legal threats from other IP holders? Budgeting & Planning.

Operations 150

Operations Metrics Early Stage Non-Compete 150

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 25, 2011

So pervasive has this thinking become that on several occasions startup companies with profitable & fast growing services businesses have come to me wanting to show me the product businesses they created internally to see whether they would be financeable or whether they might be able to create “spin outs&# that could be financed.

Silicon Valley 332

Silicon Valley IP Dividend Finance 332

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2013

Most startups I know that work in the Apple iOS ecosystem complain because Apple takes a 30% slice of their revenue and yet I often point out that 30% has for years been a common revenue share for one who provides “distribution.” So can you successfully build a YouTube network? ” YouTube takes 45%. ” Don’t.

Networking 366

Networking Media Distribution Video 366

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014

Startup Lessons' Lawyers don’t make money on your seed round in any instance. They are investing in your relationship in hopes that you do an A, B and C round. A few M&A transactions. Employment. Stock Option plans. Maybe an IPO – who knows? Well … the reason I want to do notes is so I can do multiple closings.

Venture Capital 417

Venture Capital Liquidation Preference Valuation Term Sheet 417

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 6, 2010

If you save the punch line that you’re from the industry, did CS at MIT, worked for 3 startups, whatever, then they don’t have that powerful knowledge as part of their evaluation set. What about Product / IP? Tags: Raising Venture Capital Startup Advice. All these “m’s&# and you never spoke about product?

Early Stage 360

Early Stage Startup Venture Capital Seed Stage 360

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 17, 2009

To the best of my knowledge US law allows you to work on your own resources and in your own hours and let you personally own your IP. In some countries outside the US (the UK for example) employers can specify in an employment contract that ANY IP you develop while you’re employed by that company is owned by them.

Founder Vesting 365

Founder Vesting Intellectual Property Stock Options IP 365

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 17, 2012

Well – he had this awesome platform that was super technical – great IP. He has the “perfect business for me” given my blog commentary. Would I hear him out? He was from Harvard. Smart – check. He had raised a few million dollars – social proof.

Vesting 336

Vesting IP Restful Entrepreneur 336

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2015

Over the years I’ve written extensively about the downsides of convertible notes for startups such as here , here and here. Of course investors care about controls (board, protective provisions, IP assignments, non-solicitation) but these are all pretty standard. Those are the big three. Size of my check.

Pre-Money Valuation 150

Pre-Money Valuation Option Pool Post-Money Valuation Dilution 150

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 8, 2014

I have never been more optimistic about the impact that the tech startup community is having on cities in America or about the role that cities outside of San Francisco / Silicon Valley can play in our future. Changes in the Startup Ecosystem. So the startup work moves to where the startup founders live and not vice versa.

Silicon Valley 390

Silicon Valley Kansas City Startup Venture Capital 390

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 13, 2018

Compelling. Visually stunning (in this day and age this is becoming a sine qua non ).

Portfolio 261

Portfolio IP Later Stage Email 261

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 13, 2010

Most of the Internet startup consulting firms went bankrupt. It’s why as an investor I look for talented teams with long-term vision, a unique point-of-view, differentiated IP and a desire to build something enduring. Double-down on great people, process & IP. Many “me, too&# companies will perish.

Turkey 302

Turkey Differentiation IP Technical Review 302

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 5, 2011

I’m inspired by the enthusiasm of the young, emerging startup ecosystem that is here. And I think about the “Seattle issue&# as a metaphor for startups and business in general. I was meeting with a first-time CEO of a very promising young startup recently and offering my advice on what his priorities should be.

Seattle 317

Seattle Silicon Valley Technical Review Los Angeles 317

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2010

I never implied that startups are all great and job hoppers are all at fault. Most of what I learned about operating startups I learned from the really tough years at my first company from 2001-2003. That is when no customers wanted to work with Internet startups because we as an industry had burned so many customers.

Venture Capital 285

Venture Capital Hiring Software Review Stock Options 285

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 29, 2010

6 months afterwards they laid off 75% of their staff and are existing on fumes to protect their IP to this day. Tags: Entrepreneur Advice Start-up Advice Startup Advice. We backed off our investment consideration because we were convinced that Company B was going to be a very fierce competitor (amongst other reasons).

Entrepreneur 296

Entrepreneur Silicon Valley Term Sheet France 296

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 18, 2013

While way too many startup companies (and investors) are focused on “social TV” or on “Instagram for TV” I believe they are missing the more fundamental shift in our industry. And I’ve opined on why the traditional media companies aren’t well poised to win at this new TV world. and again here.

Video 380

Video Audience Global Distribution 380

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 10, 2015

There is not a single case I’ve been involved with in any of the startups I’ve backed that has even a small bit of merit. This also happens out of “startup weekends” where it’s unclear who contributed to the IP and where many people don’t continue with the idea beyond the first 30 days.

Vesting 150

Vesting Cofounder IP Stock Options 150

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 25, 2010

If it’s a biz deal you might care about IP protection, revenue share, investment commitments to joint marketing – whatever. This is part of my ongoing series with Startup Advice (although this also applies tightly with Raising Venture Capital ). I’m not saying to throw in the towel and not negotiate points. ABC: Always Be Closing.

Technical Review 301

Technical Review Term Sheet Due Diligence Venture Capital 301

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 10, 2011

In my ongoing quest to get you good transcripts of the wonderful interviews we’ve done in the past, I present you with one amazing interview here with Tom McInerney – a friend, co-investor, former entrepreneur turned angel investor and “wizard of Oz&# behind the scenes at the uber hot startup Klout.

Angel Investor 302

Angel Investor Cofounder Southern California .Net 302