Startup Professionals Musings

article thumbnail

Will Your Startup Get Venture Capital or IPO in 2013?

Startup Professionals Musings

Based on the final report for 2012 from Thomson Reuters and the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), it may appear that IPOs are back as a viable startup exit strategy. billion from 49 listings, and represented the strongest annual period for IPOs since 2000. Marty Zwilling.

article thumbnail

6 Reasons Smart Entrepreneurs Think Twice Before IPO

Startup Professionals Musings

For financial reasons alone, an IPO is a statistically rare phenomenon, happening just 275 times in 2014 , out of almost 500,000 startups. As an advisor and mentor to startups, I try to make sure entrepreneurs understand both the pros and cons of an IPO as an exit strategy.

IPO 120
Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

article thumbnail

Startups Need To Be Skeptical Of Bank Funding Offers

Startup Professionals Musings

A few, like Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), despite recent failures, actually do provide management services to startups, invest in startups, or provide early-stage venture capital, but that is not called an investment service and is part of a function called Emerging Technologies, or sometimes Private Equity.

article thumbnail

Should An Entrepreneur Seek Out An Investment Bank?

Startup Professionals Musings

A few, like Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), actually do provide management services to startups, invest in startups, or provide early-stage venture capital, but that is not called an investment service and is part of a function called Emerging Technologies, or sometimes Private Equity.

article thumbnail

Can An Investment Bank Enhance Your Startup Future?

Startup Professionals Musings

A few, like Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), actually do provide management services to startups, invest in startups, or provide early-stage venture capital, but that is not called an investment service and is part of a function called Emerging Technologies, or sometimes Private Equity. investment bank entrepreneur startup funding IPO'

IPO 205
article thumbnail

Why Pitching Your Product Is Not Enough For Investors

Startup Professionals Musings

As a technology buff, I’m all too sensitive to the common investor complaint that technical people often end up selling yet another “solution looking for a problem,” because they are so impressed with their technology. Your solution may include leading technology, but if available to competitors, the lead won’t last.

Product 145
article thumbnail

Adding Slides Does Not Enhance Your Investor Pitch

Startup Professionals Musings

Solution product & technology. Describe your technology patents and “secret sauce”. What is the planned exit strategy (IPO, merger, sale, including likely candidates)? Fuzzy terms like “not user-oriented” or “too expensive” are not helpful. Make sure to communicate the relevance of your product / services to market needs.