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Instead of sticking a fork in the venture market, realize. there is no fork

This is going to be BIG.

How else can you explain this headline matching a story about a professional social network still trying to explore revenues raising $17mm on an $80mm valuation? The industry has made it very easy for companies to raise seed money through online marketplaces like Angel List, accelorators. Perhaps I need to rethink that.

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Startups Should Make Their First Dollar Before They Raise Their First Dollar

ReadWriteStart

How can either of you confidently give a valuation of a business that doesn’t make money? Therefore, founders should raise money when they have figured out what the market opportunity is and who the customer is, and when they have delivered a product that matches their needs and is being adopted at an interestingly rapid rate.”.

Startup 130
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Startups Should Make Their First Dollar Before They Raise Their First Dollar

ReadWriteStart

How can either of you confidently give a valuation of a business that doesn’t make money? Therefore, founders should raise money when they have figured out what the market opportunity is and who the customer is, and when they have delivered a product that matches their needs and is being adopted at an interestingly rapid rate.”.

Startup 78
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Understanding a VC’s Seed Funding Policy is Critical

Both Sides of the Table

They either do too many seed investments (for which they can spend no quality time with any) or they treat it as an option (“if you succeed come back and see us and we’ll match any term sheet you get&# ) – they view it as a sort of “right of first refusal.&#. The signaling affect is overrated.

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How to Start a Startup

www.paulgraham.com

They all use the same simple-minded model.They seem to have approached the problem by thinking about how todo database matches instead of how dating works in the real world.An Andyet theres a lot of money at stake. Usually you get seed money from individual rich people called"angels." This is calledseed capital.

Startup 105
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To Follow On or Not to Follow On

This is going to be BIG.

In the late 90's, it wasn't surprising that companies with no revenue that were funded at 100 million dollar valuations didn't survive. If you're doing seed deals, how often does a down round in a seed deal even happen? But that's when you've actually proven this thing is a viable company and there's work worth protecting.

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Top Startup Advisor Paul Graham Just Warned Against Taking Google's Money

www.businessinsider.com

This Chart Shows Why VCs Are Willing To Give Hyped Startups Absurd Valuations. Parse, one of the most-anticipated startups in Silicon Valley these days , went through Y Combinator last year and raised seed money from Google Ventures , for example. But the convertible cap has increasingly been used as a guide for valuation.