Berkonomics

JANUARY 7, 2021

How many of them, particularly in technology, were able to start a company, supply all the funding, and share no management tasks or equity with others, and still grow the company to any significant size, worthy of a multi-million-dollar opportunity to cash out at exit? It starts with sharing the opportunity and upside.

Liquidity Event 96

Liquidity Event Pre-Money Valuation Cofounder Initial Public Offering 96

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 13, 2020

For example, every investor I know can tell you about meeting a passionate entrepreneur who is pitching a great technology innovation, but has not done the financial homework on making it a good business. Define an exit strategy for investors to liquidate their share. Back up your projections with a simple financial model.

Liquidity Event 308

Liquidity Event Forecast Exit Strategy Bootstrapping 308

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 19, 2017

They allow you to hire more people, purchase new technology, and establish new business connections, among many other benefits. Proposed private equity deal: Eventually, this business will require private equity to provide sufficient funding to develop some of the more robust aspects of the technology that will attract Fortune 500 clients.

Private Equity 94

Private Equity Pre-Money Valuation Equity Startup 94

David Teten

MARCH 14, 2018

VC is a “get rich slow” business, because most VC Partners will not see a carry check for 5-10 years, after waiting for both liquidity events and for LPs to be paid first. For more on this, see The 9 Steps of Using Technology to Improve Investing in Private Companies. This requires a real financial sacrifice. – Go public.

Private Equity 60

Private Equity Venture Capital Equity Cofounder 60

Gust

DECEMBER 1, 2011

In most cases, the answers are (1) an outstanding product or technology; (2) a successful growth business built around that product; and (3) a top-notch team to build and execute the business. To add insult to injury, the more spectacularly successful the company, the more costly the mistakes can be.

IP 114

IP Intellectual Property Equity Liquidity Event 114

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 27, 2018

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

Product Intellectual Property Liquidity Event Exit Strategy 145

Steve Blank

JULY 15, 2010

Number of Venture Backed Liquidity Events 1991-2000. The public markets for venture-backed technology stocks never really recovered after the collapse of the dot-com boom. Number of Venture Backed Liquidity Events 2000-2010. Other VC’s who invest in Information Technology have taken a different approach.

Venture Capital 299

Venture Capital IPO Liquidity Event Entrepreneur 299

Pascal's View

DECEMBER 17, 2012

My concern, based on my direct experience negotiating half a dozen acquisitions sine 2008 (three in 2012), both inside and outside of technology, is that the negotiating environment for such ‘ acquisition-ready ’ companies is fraught with challenge from the seller’s perspective.

Acquisition 38

Acquisition Merger Covenant Liquidity Event 38

Steve Blank

JULY 19, 2010

Where’s My Liquidity Event. Some VC’s feel that if a startup has grown past the founder’s ability to manage and scale (and hasn’t had a liquidity event,) they should be able to remove the founding CEO and (at best) walk them out the door with only the stock they vested to that day.

Vesting 255

Vesting Liquidity Event Venture Capital Founder Vesting 255

Hunter Walker

MARCH 8, 2014

At a more mature technology company you’re protecting and extending your business model. The Early Team Still There and They’ll Be Your Tribe for Years : The founders and early team are still in place because there hasn’t been a liquidity event and the work is still exciting for them.

Liquidity Event 134

Liquidity Event Early Stage Seed Stage Startup 134

Steve Blank

JUNE 23, 2016

Capital is returned to these investors through liquidity events (originally public offerings, but today mostly acquisitions). It’s possible that by the end of this decade history might repeat itself in Intel’s most profitable segment. Risk capital has provided financing for new ideas in the form of startups.

Architecture 227

Architecture IRR Balance Sheet Liquidity Event 227

Steve Blank

JULY 2, 2009

As Peter began to speak extemporaneously our mouths slowly fell open as he described the video game market, its size, its demographics, the state of the technology, and the state of games. Of course, they could be useful in creating liquidity events, but absent bubbly environment and disrupting marketplace what is the point?

Silicon Valley 120

Silicon Valley Technical Review RSS Software Review 120

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2015

In every case, the relevant pitch needs to start by highlighting a real customer problem, then outlining a new solution, with all the features and disruptive technology. Your solution may be a technological marvel, but if it is vulnerable to competitors, potential investors will likely walk away.

Product 120

Product Intellectual Property Liquidity Event Burn Rate 120

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2012

Many entrepreneurs scare away potential investors by claiming that their technology represents “truly disruptive technology.” These investors want to know that you are thinking about a liquidity event – when and how they will get their money out, with ROI. Exit strategy. For a family business, don’t project an exit.

Business Plan 283

Business Plan Sweat Equity Exit Strategy Intellectual Property 283

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 13, 2016

Just because your technology is exciting and potentially disruptive doesn’t mean you are ready to build a business. If you don’t plan a liquidity event, you won’t find many investors interested. What is the business problem you are solving? This may seem obvious, but I still hear too many “solutions looking for a problem.”

Sweat Equity 120

Sweat Equity Advisory Board Liquidity Event Startup 120

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 28, 2017

As you follow these insights from ignition to liquidity event, you’ll detect a continuing theme, emphasizing the need for deep and wide relationships that the CEO and senior staff can call upon for advice and guidance. Forming business relationships at the highest level.

Balance Sheet 97

Balance Sheet Liquidity Event Government Restful 97

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 13, 2011

Many entrepreneurs scare away potential investors by claiming that their technology represents “truly disruptive technology.” These investors want to know that you are thinking about a liquidity event – when and how they will get their money out, with ROI. Exit strategy. For a family business, don’t project an exit.

Business Plan 290

Business Plan Sweat Equity Exit Strategy Intellectual Property 290

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 22, 2011

Walk by the Terman Engineering building to stand next to ground zero of technology entrepreneurship. Small but important, this museum is the real deal with almost every artifact of the computing and pre-computing age (make sure you check out their events calendar.) Go to a Techcrunch event. Talk yourself into a job. Never leave.

Silicon Valley 335

Silicon Valley San Francisco San Jose Venture Capital 335

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 17, 2020

In most cases, these applicants for equity funding must be rooted in technology to apply to this limited discussion. VCs often invest no less than $2 million in a single deal, finding it difficult to put less money to work and still spend time on boards and coaching entrepreneurs to a successful liquidity event.

Equity 62

Equity Finance Liquidity Event Angel Groups 62

Gust

AUGUST 5, 2012

Many entrepreneurs scare away potential investors by claiming that their technology represents “truly disruptive technology.” These investors want to know that you are thinking about a liquidity event – when and how they will get their money out, with ROI. Exit strategy. For a family business, don’t project an exit.

Business Plan 182

Business Plan Sweat Equity Exit Strategy Intellectual Property 182

BeyondVC

MAY 5, 2005

I had lunch with a friend of mine yesterday who is an officer with a public technology company. The panel focused on exits or liquidity events and how VCs thought about them. As we started discussing his business, one of the topics of conversation was Sarbanes Oxley. This brings me to another point.

Liquidity Event 60

Liquidity Event Technical Review New York Hosting 60

Pascal's View

AUGUST 28, 2010

warned a technology forum this week that without a change in U.S. In a Wall Street Journal editorial, Otellini’s Lament , dated August 27,2010, the editor quotes Intel CEO Paul Otellini’s recent comments: “…Otellini. government policy ‘thenext big thing will not be invented here. Jobs will not be created here.

Venture Capital 56

Venture Capital America Initial Public Offering IPO 56

Steve Blank

MARCH 18, 2011

The reward for doing so was a liquidity event via an Initial Public Offering. Filed under: Technology , Venture Capital. VC’s worked with entrepreneurs to build profitable and scalable businesses, with increasing revenue and consistent profitability – quarter after quarter. You have to deliver.

Internet 334

Internet IPO Silicon Valley Agile 334

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2010

Many entrepreneurs scare away potential investors by claiming that their technology represents “truly disruptive technology.” These investors want to know that you are thinking about a liquidity event – when and how they will get their money out, with ROI. Exit strategy. For a family business, don’t project an exit.

Business Plan 186

Business Plan Exit Strategy Sweat Equity Intellectual Property 186

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 1, 2018

Those that pay off handsomely (congratulations if so), those marginal exits that selvage technology, brand and jobs – better than nothing. Consider the kinds of exits. Email readers, continue here…] Now, there are three kinds of exits.

Stock Options 192

Stock Options Stock Distribution Programming 192

www.vccafe.com

MARCH 11, 2013

Every startup faces multiple choices and decisions when it comes to technology. Ad Serving Technology. Technology & Marketing Law Blog. SVPG : They want to share senior level experience and best practices with technology companies. Hundreds of startups featured since 2005, will yours be next? Preloaders.net.

Software Review 53

Software Review Technical Review Startup 53

Software By Rob

SEPTEMBER 22, 2009

The Startup Lottery I need to stop here and say this: with a “hot idea&# startup the odds are overwhelmingly against ever getting funding, much less having a liquidity event that puts money in your pocket. For example, you are leaving technology factor out of consideration. 6 comments ↓ #1 Anton on 09.22.09

Marketing 50

Marketing Software Review Technical Review Startup 50

Seeing Both Sides

SEPTEMBER 15, 2015

Decades ago, the thesis of Yossi Vardi , a prolific technology entrepreneur who has invested in 75 Israeli startups, was that Israeli entrepreneurs should seek quick exit opportunities through global corporations interested in buying a window into Israeli talent and technology. We think so. Today, this thesis is less relevant.

Cofounder 20

Cofounder Technical Review United States 20

David Teten

AUGUST 21, 2019

But you also can’t run the company forever, since investors need a liquidity event. Borchers points out: “Only 50% of our investment activity involves technology-based businesses. “When you raise early stage VC, you can’t sell early because the VCs won’t agree to it. Works for non-tech companies.

Revenue 60

Revenue Liquidation Preference Equity Cofounder 60

Berkonomics

MAY 26, 2010

That of course jumps to the top of the list for young, fast growing technology companies. If these weekly nuggets are providing a bit of insight for you or your associates, then purchase a copy of BERKONOMICS in book form, with 101 of these insights organized from startup through liquidity event. Email readers continue here.]

Employee 54

Employee Liquidity Event Stock Options Salary 54

Growthink Blog

MAY 13, 2012

And they'll want to invest if they believe your company has great potential to achieve a liquidity event, and one that enables them to earn a significant return on their investment. You prepare by making sure angel investors will want to invest in your company.

Angel Investor 93

Angel Investor Exit Strategy Liquidity Event Angel Groups 93

entrepreMusings

NOVEMBER 7, 2010

This past week, I had the chance to participate in two really neat entrepreneurial related events in Austin. One was the Entrepreneur’s Foundation of Central Texas (EF) annual fundraising Texas Hold ‘Em poker night event. The other event was the Idea to Product Competition (I2P).

Intellectual Property 43

Intellectual Property Incubator Liquidity Event Texas 43

Berkonomics

JULY 26, 2010

As you follow these insights from ignition to liquidity event, you’ll detect a continuing theme, emphasizing the need for deep and wide relationships that the CEO and senior staff can call upon for advice and guidance.

Balance Sheet 48

Balance Sheet Liquidity Event Government Restful 48

VC Cafe

NOVEMBER 9, 2011

An ipo is not really an exit, it is a liquidity event. If you don’t build the company as a standalone, then you are building a technology company that gets only 10s of millions in a buyout, on the other hand, if your technology is showing really good numbers then you can move up to the 100s of millions.

IPO 92

IPO Cofounder Europe 92

Berkonomics

AUGUST 27, 2015

Keepers are financed differently than Flippers, which are started with a plan to be acquired in a few years, once the value of the technology or business model is demonstrable. Being one or the other is neither good nor bad, but the needs and investment considerations are very different.

Intellectual Property 48

Intellectual Property Balance Sheet Stock Options Valuation 48

Berkonomics

JANUARY 31, 2019

If you are one of those watching the buyer’s success or failure with your baby over those first years, you will need to decide if you could revitalize the wayward business, or start over with a new, better product with non-obvious advances and without using any of the technology from your previous product.

Non-Compete 48

Non-Compete Bankruptcy Sales Employee 48

Berkonomics

JANUARY 31, 2019

If you are one of those watching the buyer’s success or failure with your baby over those first years, you will need to decide if you could revitalize the wayward business, or start over with a new, better product with non-obvious advances and without using any of the technology from your previous product.

Non-Compete 48

Non-Compete Bankruptcy Sales Employee 48