Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 12, 2019

As a result of the IPO window shifting we saw a massive inflow of public-market capital into the latest stages of venture. The reality is that as a result of two major trends the costs of starting a technology startup went down massively. So What Impact Did the Drop in Tech Founding Costs Have on VC?

Venture Capital 328

Venture Capital Technical Review Seed Stage IPO 328

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 23, 2014

We are in a bubble (with so many private $1bn+ valuations). pre-money valuation you certainly would want to exercise your right to continue investing if you had prorata rights. But the biggest changes in our industry have been driven by technical changes themselves to which we are just observers and fortunate beneficiaries.

Technical Review 398

Technical Review Venture Capital Valuation Pre-Money Valuation 398

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 5, 2018

A version of this article first appeared in the Harvard Business Review. As a reminder, the Dot Com bubble was a five-year period from August 1995 (the Netscape IPO ) when there was a massive wave of experiments on the then-new internet, in commerce, entertainment, nascent social media, and search. IPOs dried up.

Lean 335

Lean Burn Rate Startup IPO 335

Haystack

DECEMBER 29, 2018

It’s that time of year, time to look back and reflect on the most significant storylines in the tech, startup, and VC world. Technology is, like water, flowing and seeping into nearly every sector and eventually into most of the global economy. More and more angels will be minted as the 2019 IPO class emerges.

Technical Review 165

Technical Review Venture Capital Russia China 165

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 23, 2017

This combinatorial model works because it’s diversified, can best withstand bear markets, benefits from technological synergies, and it’s the mix of products and services clients value. To dig deeper, let’s first review the influence of technology on the core components. However each component will change dramatically.

Technical Review 154

Technical Review Artificial Inteligence Software Review IPO 154

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 21, 2009

On the third Wednesday of every month I co-chair a meeting called the SoCal VCA (venture capital alliance), which represents participants from all of the top venture capital firms in Southern California as well as prominent members of the Tech Coast Angels (TCA). We feature a prominent speaker at every event.

Technical Review 241

Technical Review IPO Southern California Venture Capital 241

Version One Ventures

DECEMBER 14, 2016

Every announcement – whether it was a funding round, exit or layoffs – was analyzed within the context that the tech bubble has definitely burst or that we’re still in the bubble. In other words, any correction in public valuations happened quickly and has now stabilized. The industry entered the year bracing for an apocalypse.

Technical Review 60

Technical Review Early Stage Portfolio Valuation 60

The Startup Magazine

SEPTEMBER 4, 2020

For startups and entrepreneurs, awareness of the stock exchanges will help prepare you for a potential public financing of your company through an initial public offering, known as an IPO. The NYSE is also called ‘The Big Board’ as per etoro review. ’ Its valuation is $13.8 Its total valuation is 4.9

Stock 90

Stock Initial Public Offering New York China 90

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2011

2 preamble issues having read the comments on TC today: 1: I know that the prices of startup companies is much great in Silicon Valley than in smaller towns / less tech focused areas in the US and the US prices higher than many foreign markets. As the risks below get eliminated the higher the valuation investors are prepared to pay.

Pre-Money Valuation 336

Pre-Money Valuation Valuation Silicon Valley Stock 336

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2011

Responses ranged from, “hey, they’re in a HUGE market&# to “it is an amazing company and their technology rocks.&# It’s like people arguing that there’s a beautiful beach house in 2006 that represents great long-term value due to scarcity of similar property. But everything has intrinsic value.

Saudi Arabia 309

Saudi Arabia Valuation IPO Technical Review 309

thebarefootvc

JANUARY 27, 2014

Do I think we are in a valuation bubble? I think that later stage valuations are frothy (for reasons I explain below) while earlier stage valuations are starting to stabilize from previous highs (with the exception of the superstar serial entrepreneur) - turns out scaling in a sea of competition (both startup and entrenched) is not so easy.

Technical Review 63

Technical Review Valuation Venture Capital Investment Bankers 63

Ben's Blog

JUNE 18, 2011

In reading my friend Steve Blank’s arguments, I found the bubble definition quite compelling: “A tech bubble is the rapid inflation in the valuation of public and private technology companies that exceeds their fundamental value by a large margin.&#. So I looked to find evidence to support the bubble hypothesis.

Technical Review 74

Technical Review IPO Silicon Valley Valuation 74

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 14, 2009

Posted on September 14, 2009 by steveblank Over the last 30 years Wall Street’s appetite for technology stocks have changed radically – swinging between unbridled enthusiasm to believing they’re all toxic. On top of all this it was considered very bad form not to have at least four additional consecutive quarters of profits after an IPO.)

Silicon Valley 217

Silicon Valley IPO Technical Review Venture Capital 217

David Teten

JANUARY 19, 2021

Our categorization is not a technical one. Additionally, Flexible VC can accommodate all types of companies, not just asset-lite, tech-enabled companies.”. The value ascribed by subsequent investors (in a secondary); buyers (acquisition); or the public markets (IPO). Yes, via conversion rights at a valuation cap.

Cofounder 78

Cofounder Technical Review Equity Dividend 78

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 1, 2016

We All Know That Dollars into Venture Have Gone Up … As a starting point, we know that the dollars into venture have steadily rebounded to pre great-recession levels, with just under $30 billion committed to US technology venture capital in 2015. LPs See The Over-Valuations and Don’t Like It.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital LP Silicon Valley Marketing 150

Growthink Blog

MARCH 13, 2014

I then offered to share some of our research findings as to the selection strategies that early-stage technology investors like Sequoia now utilize to identify companies with this kind of return potential. And how Sequoia’s return on that $60 million was close to $3 billion, or more than 50 times its original investment. Investing Jay Turo'

Technical Review 91

Technical Review IPO Early Stage Valuation 91

Feld Thoughts

AUGUST 25, 2015

The key reason for the explosion in capital flowing into the industry, and therefore the large increase in practitioners, had nothing to do with 1970’s performance, early stage investing, or technology. So contrary to the piece, it wasn’t VC were good at early stage technology, it was that they had newfound capital and a big exit window.

Venture Capital 70

Venture Capital SBIC Technical Review Silicon Valley 70

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 12, 2014

Prorata rights are one of the most important rights of a private market technology investors and yet are seldom fully understood. Also, because the entire industry has changed because it is cheaper to start a tech company these days – there are simply way more angel rounds. Why prorata rights are becoming a bigger deal to angels.

Technical Review 336

Technical Review Later Stage Early Stage LP 336

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 12, 2010

In the technology world there are a few websites that most startups track to keep up with the latest financings, acquisitions, product announcements and gossip: BusinessInsider, TechCrunch, Mashable, GigaOm, etc. Specifically we talked about Slide having gotten a $550 million valuation before being sold to Google for $182 million.

Seed Stage 232

Seed Stage Valuation Private Equity Venture Capital 232

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 1, 2009

Consumer spending is 70% of the economy and will continue to be stretched – We can look all we want at tech innovation, VC funding cycles and hot M&A deals, but ultimately growth and therefore investment must be underpinned by revenue. Bad stock markets mean less IPO’s and lower prices for M&A.

Technical Review 269

Technical Review Stock Hawaii Early Stage 269

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2010

If I’m interested I get to spend more time with them, if I’m not I don’t have to – A few companies per month come in that have fascinating business ideas that warrant my spending more time trying to understand their people, company, technology and market. Tags: Tech Market Analysis VC Industry.

Technical Review 312

Technical Review Due Diligence Spain Warrant 312

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.

Term Sheet 68

Term Sheet Valuation Dividend Liquidation Preference 68

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 29, 2009

They should heed the age old advice that raising slightly more money while you can is always better than trying to optimize future valuations. Should VC’s really be impacted by public market valuations when the money that they’re investing today should be for returns in 7-10 years? Short answer – yes.

Burn Rate 263

Burn Rate Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Private Equity 263

Growthink Blog

MAY 29, 2012

Unfortunately, lost in too much of the "dramatic" coverage of the Facebook IPO has been the real lessons to be learned for those interested in successful technology and growth company investing. Part of the confusion is understandable.

IPO 85

IPO Stock Technical Review Valuation 85

www.entrepreneur.com

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

Money Money Home Financing Taxes Accounting Basics Personal Finance Money Management Payments & Collections IPOs and DPOs Will Crazy Market Moves Kill IPOs and Slash VC Investment? Technology Technology Home Online Business Tools Security Phones & Mobile Gadgets Tech Tips Technology The Future of Facebook -- Streaming Live Now.

Sweat Equity 55

Sweat Equity Equity Fractional CTO CTO 55

Altgate

JUNE 25, 2012

Facebook’s IPO minted many millionaires and even billionaires. Facebook’s situation is far from unique, even among recent tech IPOs. We analyzed the dead-equity data from a total of 733 tech startups: 257 from our 2008 survey and 476 from the 2011 survey. A Significant – and Growing – Problem.

Equity 44

Equity Vesting Cap Table Technical Review 44

Cracking the Code

NOVEMBER 10, 2009

While poised with a limited number of transactions this year, the world of public Cloud Computing and SaaS companies has been marked by two events in the past few months: the acquisition of Omniture by Adobe and the high profile IPO of LogMeIn, a leading provider of PC remote access and support with a very interesting freemium model.

Software Review 48

Software Review Technical Review IPO Cloud 48

abovethecrowd.com

JULY 10, 2014

Financial models, especially valuation models, are interesting in that they can be particularly precise. While it may seem like a tough question to answer, I would argue that most practitioners of valuation analysis would state “not very high.” It is not my aim to specifically convince anyone that Uber is worth any specific valuation.

San Francisco 111

San Francisco San Jose Marketing Technical Review 111

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 24, 2017

A version of this article is in the Harvard Business Review. — Unremarked and unheralded, the balance of power between startup CEOs and their investors has radically changed: IPOs/M&A without a profit (or at times revenue) have become the norm. 20th Century Tech Liquidity = Initial Public Offering.

Founder 245

Founder Technical Review CTO Hire IPO 245

Altgate

AUGUST 25, 2012

Facebook’s IPO minted many millionaires and even billionaires. Facebook’s situation is far from unique, even among recent tech IPOs. We analyzed the dead-equity data from a total of 733 tech startups: 257 from our 2008 survey and 476 from the 2011 survey. A Significant – and Growing – Problem.

Equity 28

Equity Vesting Cap Table Technical Review 28

Altgate

DECEMBER 16, 2010

@altgate Startups, Venture Capital & Everything In Between Skip to content Home Furqan Nazeeri (fn@altgate.com) ← Pre-Money Valuation vs Number of Founders Where Do Tech VCs Invest? But first, let’s look at pre-money valuation by liquidation preference. and 2X had an average pre-money valuation of $8.6

Liquidation Preference 39

Liquidation Preference Pre-Money Valuation Term Sheet Valuation 39

Cracking the Code

FEBRUARY 27, 2009

Detailed SaaS Spreadsheet (Valuation and CAC benchmark). SaaS 13 Index Valuation. In search of Europe's next tech stars. Churchill Club 2008 Top 10 Tech Trends. Best Venture and Technology Podcasts for 2007. My Yelp reviews. S&M productivity (CAC ratio) for the SaaS 13 Index. My Investments.

Software Review 48

Software Review Partner United States Venture Capital 48

Austin Startup

JUNE 27, 2017

Valuations in startups increased dramatically during the Dot Com boom and then both valuations and the availability of investment capital nationally collapsed in 2001 with the Dot Com bust and 9/11. Altounian has over 30 years of experience in the technology sector with roles at Dell, Motorola, Compaq and Ashton-Tate.

Venture Capital 54

Venture Capital Austin Texas Private Equity 54

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 20, 2019

There is additional encouraging news for aspiring entrepreneurs on many fronts, just in case you are thinking about joining the existing ranks: Valuations of successful startups have hit an all-time high. Initial Public Offerings (IPO) are back as an exit strategy. Most now routinely buy startups for new technology and new products.

North America 320

North America Incubator Initial Public Offering Exit Strategy 320

Seeing Both Sides

SEPTEMBER 26, 2010

As you might expect, the wolves have the edge in the encounter, due to superior market information or negotiating position. Facebook, LinkedIn, Groupon, Zynga, Twitter and many others are able to raise capital at extraordinary valuations. But the VCs, and in turn their LPs, are left holding an illiquid bag.

IRR 36

IRR IPO Entrepreneur LP 36

Tim Keane

MARCH 9, 2011

But, this should lead to a thorough, well-planned review of bootstrapping alternatives, since bootstrapping can reduce cash requirements in the pre-cash flow phase. Example four: substantial milestone-based progress that does not generate cash but will attract an acquirer or facilitate an IPO.  and won’t repeat it all here.

Finance 83

Finance Bootstrapping Startup Equity 83

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 23, 2012

I have been close to the tech & startup sectors for more than 20 years and I can’t think of a period in which I felt more optimistic about the innovation and value creation I see in front of us. IPO markets had burned an entire cycle of retail stock investors and many institutional investors to boot. The Exit Problem.

Venture Capital 347

Venture Capital Technical Review LP Mobile 347