Feld Thoughts

FEBRUARY 9, 2016

Once again, as we find ourselves in the middle of a significant public market correction, especially around technology stocks, there’s an enormous amount of noise in the system, as there always is. I suffered through the next financing after implementing a complex structure, or a sale of the company, or a liquidation.

Cap Table 70

Cap Table Down Round Liquidation Preference Founder 70

www.readwriteweb.com

DECEMBER 29, 2011

While certainly not every business needs to raise venture financing, it is the path for many high-growth technology startups. Therefore, going down the fundraising path is something many technology entrepreneurs will need to do and is a critical step in the development of their business.

Cap Table 47

Cap Table Term Sheet Liquidation Preference Technical Review 47

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2013

Have the breakthrough technology. The don’t understand VC liquidation preferences or multiple return expectations. Dilution / valuation. I hate when companies publish too much information about the total stock option allocations, the company valuations, the dilution faced in every round, etc. Are tacking.

Startup 417

Startup Dilution San Diego Stock Options 417

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 4, 2009

Let’s assume that the company raised it at a normal VC valuation, which means it gave up 33% of the company and thus $5 million / 33% = $15 million post-money valuation. BTW, this ignores liquidation preferences which actually mean you’ll earn less. OK, you would own 0.25% of the stock. you won the lottery).

Stock Options 418

Stock Options Stock Liquidation Preference Option Pool 418

genylabs.typepad.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

Small Business Labs, from Emergent Research , covers the key social, technology and business trends impacting small business. I wont bother going into details on start-up financing terms ( see this post for an overview of typical VC terms) except to say if you dont know and understand: the firms cap table and valuation.

Equity 40

Equity Technical Review San Jose Stock 40

K9 Ventures

MARCH 23, 2011

Since the financing would likely happen in short order, there was no need to have a valuation cap in the note. The founders’ interest is to maximize the valuation of the company at the time of a follow-on financing, thereby minimizing founder dilution. Notes may have fewer rights associated with them, but they come with one big hammer.

Pre-Money Valuation 132

Pre-Money Valuation Valuation Equity Liquidation Preference 132

Altgate

DECEMBER 16, 2010

@altgate Startups, Venture Capital & Everything In Between Skip to content Home Furqan Nazeeri (fn@altgate.com) ← More on Liquidation Preferences Happy Holidays → Where Do Tech VCs Invest? I also looked at average valuation across the segments and you can find that chart here. Bookmark the permalink.

Liquidation Preference 59

Liquidation Preference Early Stage Venture Capital Later Stage 59

abovethecrowd.com

FEBRUARY 24, 2015

Every successful technology company raises money throughout its lifecycle, perhaps starting with a seed investment and progressing through Series A, B, C, late-stage investments, and, for the most successful companies, an IPO. An unprecedented 80 private companies have raised financings at valuations over $1B in the last few years.

IPO 40

IPO Liquidation Preference Valuation Technical Review 40

abovethecrowd.com

APRIL 20, 2016

One key to this population growth has been the remarkable ease of the Unicorn fundraising process: Pick a new valuation well above your last one, put together a presentation deck, solicit offers, and watch the hundreds of million of dollars flow into your bank account. By January of 2016, that number had ballooned to 229.

IPO 40

IPO Term Sheet Silicon Valley Valuation 40

thestartuplawyer.com

FEBRUARY 24, 2010

About the Author Ryan Roberts is a startup lawyer and represents technology companies through all phases of the startup process, including incorporation, seed & venture financings, and exit transactions. He obviously never launched a startup and got shafted by a co-founder. Click here to learn more about his practice.

Cofounder 40

Cofounder Founder Preferred Stock Startup 40

dondodge.typepad.com

JANUARY 15, 2011

Don Dodge on The Next Big Thing Thoughts on business and technology Home Archives Profile Subscribe About Me « Boston VCs gets first look at Y Combinator Demo Day | Main | Digg-nation is HUGE! Community is more powerful than money or technology » August 11, 2007 How much equity for investors and employees?

Equity 40

Equity Employee Dilution Valuation 40

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2016

There is much discussion online and also in small, private groups, about why the price of technology companies – public and private – are falling. I have been talking about my concerns about valuations for the past couple of years because, well, they’ve been rising very rapidly the past two years! Mostly, no.

Valuation 150

Valuation Down Round Startup Later Stage 150

The Equity Kicker

DECEMBER 30, 2013

The corollary of this is that when valuations get too high, or the amount of cash raised gets too high then the asymmetry between the upside and the downside disappears. Most venture capitalists employ this strategy.”. The optionality is therefore lost and the investment becomes less attractive. Griffin puts it this way: 7.

Finance 129

Finance Liquidation Preference Valuation Harvest 129

Up and Running

MARCH 29, 2017

I spent a couple years running a digital agency that built custom software and just dove in head-first, teaching myself to program (which would serve me well later), figuring out how to effectively run a software team, and understanding the landscape of technologies available to entrepreneurs as I helped them make their product goals reality.

Term Sheet 60

Term Sheet Venture Capital Liquidation Preference Valuation 60