VC Cafe

FEBRUARY 27, 2023

2023 will be one of the best VC seed vintages, but most institutional LP's are not leaning in. Seed and pre-Seed investment levels and valuations remain healthy, there’s more talent in the market and less competition. It’s time to build, and take venture back to basics: helping founders build large sustainable companies.

Venture Capital 215

Venture Capital Technical Review LP Institutional Investors 215

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 1, 2020

Bootstrapping inculcates the entrepreneurial discipline and financial responsibility to run a lean business. ? 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. Crowdfunding. Bridge or exit stage.

Startup 150

Startup Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Seed Stage 150

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2011

In addition to FOMO it is partly driven by massive increase in valuations for earlier-stage companies who raised money at bit seed prices but who still have product risk. million pre-money valuation is now raising $1 million at a $12 million valuation the next investor has nowhere to go but up (or sit out the investment).

Saudi Arabia 309

Saudi Arabia Valuation IPO Technical Review 309

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.

Pre-Money Valuation 471

Pre-Money Valuation Valuation Venture Capital Early Stage 471

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 12, 2019

This is why many VCs are waiting and letting deals mature a bit before leaning into rounds. thus the rise of “pre seed” investing). With seed up massively between 2006–2014 and A and B rounds relatively flat what you see is a widening of the funnel going into traditional venture.

Venture Capital 328

Venture Capital Technical Review Seed Stage IPO 328

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 2, 2011

Because of this, I've always tried to stay up-to-speed on how early-stage investors look at valuation of companies. Bill Payne is an expert on how early-stage investors should look at valuation. He just post: Establishing the Pre-money Valuation of Pre-revenue Startups. What are they really looking for? is a requirement.

Valuation 198

Valuation Revenue Pre-Money Valuation Early Stage 198

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 15, 2023

Adding free users or customers to increase valuation makes sense for a venture-backed startup looking to go public, but will kill bootstrapping. Bootstrapping does require a full confidence in your own passion to make decisions and change the world with no investors to lean on or blame. You can have fun without spending big money.

Equity 349

Equity Hockey Stick Bootstrapping Sweat Equity 349

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 5, 2017

Being an outsider, I also wanted to lean heavily on the actual research available on the subject, as well as the voices of women both in the tech space and who have successfully received venture funding. What about “leaning in”? There is an argument that women need to “ lean in ” (thanks, Sheryl Sandburg).

Venture Capital 82

Venture Capital Lean Cofounder Technical Review 82

Venture Chronicles

MAY 26, 2010

Back in March, Ben Horowitz of Andreessen Horowitz wrote a post called The Case For The Fat Startup, where he outlined some of the reasons why a fledging company might want to consider taking a large amount of funding — a strategy that contrasts with the ‘lean startup’ model that has become common in Silicon Valley.

Lean 40

Lean Early Stage Valuation Startup 40

The Equity Kicker

AUGUST 6, 2018

In it he argues that lean thinking has been overdone and that startup CEOs should be more aggressive raising capital and investing in building value in their companies. Running lean means going slower, increasing the chances that another company takes that coveted number one spot. Most of our investments are pre-product market fit.

Lean 68

Lean Portfolio Revenue Valuation 68

Austin Startup

SEPTEMBER 10, 2017

TL;DR: Using a “tiered” valuation cap structure in a convertible note or SAFE can provide flexibility that bridges the gap between (i) what founders expect their company to be worth in the near future, and (ii) what investors are comfortable accepting now. Did you get a “good” valuation? What a valuation cap isn’t.

Valuation 48

Valuation Dilution Silicon Valley Seed Stage 48

Up and Running

JULY 14, 2015

Any investor will put their valuation on your business based on a number of factors, including looking at important metrics for your business, patents, or assets. But raising too much money will cause the valuation to increase. Let’s say the valuation an investor puts on your business is $2 million. Assessing need.

Technical Review 60

Technical Review Valuation Due Diligence Finder 60

Mucker Lab

MAY 28, 2020

These lost startups land higher valuations, have larger teams, outsource more product development and spend more money on customer acquisition than their peers. Sometimes founders misapply lean startup methodology. Before you indulge in marketing, sales and blinged-out offices, find product-market fit.

Startup 78

Startup Cofounder Burn Rate Technical Review 78

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 18, 2020

Adding free users or customers to increase valuation makes sense for a venture-backed startup looking to go public, but will kill bootstrapping. Bootstrapping does require a full confidence in your own passion to make decisions and change the world with no investors to lean on or blame. You can have fun without spending big money.

Hockey Stick 423

Hockey Stick Bootstrapping Sweat Equity Intellectual Property 423

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 4, 2016

Who would not want to joint 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. But for founders who do their homework, the cost of entry is lower and the opportunity is higher than ever.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Startup Angel Groups Social Media 120

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 22, 2008

The law of large numbers (of customers) says you cant help but make at least some money - your valuation is determined by how well you monetize the tidal wave of growth. The spread between your LTV and blended CPA determines either your profitability or your rate of growth, and a high valuation depends on balancing these two factors.

San Francisco 167

San Francisco CPA SEM CTO Hire 167

VC Cafe

JANUARY 24, 2021

Companies like iHeartMedia, SiriusXM, and Spotify are investing in and leading the evolution of audio, focused on music streaming (on-demand and lean-back modalities), podcasting and content production. Audio will be a key component of the next wave of content and consumption, and it is set to continue to grow.

Technical Review 207

Technical Review Audio Forecast Social Media 207

Feld Thoughts

JUNE 22, 2011

financings, IPOs, valuations, and bubbles (or not bubbles). It was with this backdrop that I read The Lean Startup by Eric Ries over the weekend. We spend a lot of time on this at TechStars and you see a lot of the lean startup principles reflected in the stories in Do More Faster: TechStars Lessons to Accelerate Entrepreneurship.

Lean 136

Lean Startup IPO Early Stage 136

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2010

Another topic we debated early in the program was “lean startup” vs. “ fat startup ” where we both took the obvious hedge and said “it depends.” But truthfully both Dana and I are more aligned with the lean startup principles and believe you only go FAT when you’ve really proved out your product / market fit.

Partner 240

Partner New York City Cofounder Syndicate 240

ConversionXL

AUGUST 11, 2021

A sponsorship strategy should cover five areas: Assets Audience data Asset valuation Activations Market identification. Asset valuation. Lean on your professional networks too. It ensures you’re targeting the right companies with an offer that makes sense for both parties. Your most obvious asset is the product itself.

Audience 139

Audience Social Media Email Ruby 139

The Startup Magazine

JUNE 1, 2023

There are currently tons of “zombie” startups that have runway, but growth has slowed and they have valuations that they won’t be able to grow into. Lean” doesn’t come to mind when you think of a business that needs trucks, warehouses, cross-docks, and thousands of employees to run efficiently.

Early Stage 110

Early Stage Los Angeles Silicon Valley Cofounder 110

The Next Web

SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

Many Asian entrepreneurs tell me that they want to raise funds from Silicon Valley firms because they perceive the valuations to be higher. Thus, one can say the concept of a “ lean startup ” existed in Asia far longer than in the Valley – it’s just that no one ever wrote a book about it. Finally, don’t over-optimize on valuation.

Asia 132

Asia Silicon Valley India Term Sheet 132

Startup Lessons Learned

OCTOBER 28, 2008

Ill exclude those non- lean startups who basically exist for the purpose of raising bigger and bigger sums of money. Most important slide: valuation Promising results Key questions: can you monetize that traffic? (or How does a lean start-up find the all-star team worthy of pitching? Youre not one of those are you?)

San Francisco 128

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment DC 128

Steve Blank

MARCH 18, 2011

The signals are loud and clear : seed and late stage valuations are getting frothy and wacky, and hiring talent in Silicon Valley is the toughest it has been since the dot.com bubble. Underwriters realized that as long as the public was happy snapping up shares, they could make huge profits from the inflated valuations. Carpe Diem.

Internet 334

Internet IPO Silicon Valley Agile 334

Startup Lessons Learned

APRIL 25, 2019

I’m an entrepreneur and the author of The Lean Startup. Since writing The Lean Startup, I’ve traveled around the world, helping companies of every size adopt the Lean Startup approach. In just five years, the Lean Startup movement has grown and transformed in ways I never could have imagined.

Audio 108

Audio Lean Cofounder IPO 108

YoungUpstarts

JULY 14, 2020

More importantly, it decreases your channel risk through diversification and also helps increase the overall valuation of your business. In addition to serving as a potential new source of customers for your store, a multichannel approach can also considerably up the value of your ecommerce business. Connect With Your Audience.

eCommerce 200

eCommerce Channel LLC Curation 200

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 17, 2011

When times are really good for fund raising many teams delay to maximize their valuation. Are you in the “lean&# phase? I’m a very big believer in the “Lean Startup&# principles as espoused by Steve Blank and Eric Ries. 5 million raised at a $9 million pre-money valuation or 35.7% 25% dilution).

Pre-Money Valuation 303

Pre-Money Valuation Dilution Valuation PR 303

VC Adventure

APRIL 2, 2020

Everyone is being cautious about valuations. Anecdotally I’ve heard that early stage valuations are already down 30-50%. But the data are clear that average investment returns increase in the years after a downturn (although part of the lesson here is clearly not to lean in too quickly).

Valuation 118

Valuation Portfolio Database Early Stage 118

Hunter Walker

MAY 13, 2023

And during our first few years we leaned in to help teams find the right home when it didn’t work out for them as an independent company. And when they’re giving stock to existing shareholders instead of cash it’s at high 2021 valuations, buried below a preference stack. of the time my answer is no f **g way].

Early Stage 118

Early Stage Cap Table Acquisition Sales 118

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 22, 2016

While thinking about the parameters of traction, and how to measure it, I was impressed with a new book, “ Scaling Lean: Mastering the Key Metrics for Startup Growth ” by Ash Maurya, a serial entrepreneur, and creator of the one-page business modelling tool Lean Canvas. Show increasing acceptance by major consumer outlets.

Metrics 143

Metrics Advisory Board Startup Lean 143

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 14, 2009

Underwriters realized that as long as the public was happy snapping up shares, they could make huge profits on the inflated valuations (regardless of whether or not the company should have ever been public.) The valuations for acquisitions were nothing like the Internet bubble, but there was a path to liquidity, difficult as it was.

Silicon Valley 217

Silicon Valley IPO Technical Review Venture Capital 217

Feld Thoughts

NOVEMBER 18, 2013

Convertible debt financings have become an increasingly attractive approach for seed rounds because it delays the valuation discussion, costs less from a legal standpoint, and is an easier financial instrument to “keep raising more small amounts of money” on. One of them used to be a lead developer at [insert hot consumer tech company here].

Burn Rate 152

Burn Rate Equity Software Review Early Stage 152

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2014

You have to decide where to lean in on follow-on rounds. If we got an offer to raise $25 million to grow would she take it or be too worried about exit price, dilution, valuation expectations, etc. The number of $200m, $300m, $500m, $1 billion valuations these days is just pure insanity in my mind.

Cofounder 374

Cofounder Syndicate Syndication Early Stage 374

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 15, 2014

Even a small investor in the early days will take a large equity percentage, due to that pesky valuation challenge. Focusing on the burn rate and prioritizing every possible expense will keep overhead down, help you stay lean, and achieve a higher profit earlier. Don’t give up a chunk of your company and control before you start.

Bootstrapping 276

Bootstrapping Entrepreneur Startup Burn Rate 276

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 5, 2013

At this stage you were expecting to be working on creating a good business valuation to attract future buyers, or at least funding college accounts for your kids. Keep you office running lean and mean. It’s no fun on this plateau, just “making payroll,” and watching some employees make more then you as the Founder.

Entrepreneur 234

Entrepreneur Vertical Reputation Valuation 234

crowdSPRING Blog

NOVEMBER 30, 2012

The problem with a Lean Startup: the Minimum Viable Product | Paul Kortman – [link]. … Checking In on Foursquare’s Valuation – [link]. Ad Nauseum Leadership: Use Repetition to Reiterate What’s Important – [link]. Just got acquired? 10 adjustments to make when working for a Big Co. – [link].

Social Media 100

Social Media Small Business Central African Republic Design 100

The Startup Magazine

DECEMBER 7, 2023

Core Tactics of Risk Management Companies To navigate the turbulences of the finance industry, institutions increasingly lean on risk management companies. Engaging with risk management companies has emerged as a trusted approach for financial institutions to safeguard themselves against the inherent challenges of the sector.

Security 134

Security Management Forecast Finance 134