Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 13, 2011

If you are going to do the tour up and down Sandhill Road to try and raise your 1st round of financing you need a pitch deck because the vast majority of those meetings you are going to be sitting around a table and you will be presenting to one or more partners and that is going to be your first engagement.”. Is that when it became big?

Technical Review 288

Technical Review Venture Capital Silicon Valley Software Review 288

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 21, 2010

If you’re a startup and you don’t have a close relationship with a few law firms you’re really missing one of the most important relationships that any entrepreneur can have. I write about some of the lessons in my post on Startup Mistakes. I know that people have an allergy to lawyers out of fear of being screwed.

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Southern California Silicon Valley IP Stock Options 318

Reid Hoffman

JULY 27, 2021

I have a standard aphorism I share when I speak with a group of MBA students: “There are two things that need to be explained away in order for me to invest in your startup: An MBA or a background in management consulting.”. Greylock Partners · Reid Hoffman | Philosopher Versus MBA. TOP DRAWBACKS OF AN MBA PROGRAM.

Silicon Valley 69

Silicon Valley Venture Capital Balance Sheet Cofounder 69

Reid Hoffman

JULY 27, 2021

I have a standard aphorism I share when I speak with a group of MBA students: “There are two things that need to be explained away in order for me to invest in your startup: An MBA or a background in management consulting.”. Greylock Partners · Reid Hoffman | Philosopher Versus MBA. TOP DRAWBACKS OF AN MBA PROGRAM.

Silicon Valley 69

Silicon Valley Venture Capital Balance Sheet Cofounder 69

View from Seed

APRIL 30, 2015

There’s been a lot of digital ink spilled around the various types of capital available to startups today. As a startup grows, venture debt becomes a viable option to continue that growth. Below, we talk to Glen Mello , Managing Director of Silicon Valley Bank’s accelerator team in Boston.

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Term Sheet Equity Startup Seed Stage 120

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 5, 2009

Unfortunately in early stage startups the drive for financing hijacks the corporate DNA and becomes the raison d’etre of the company. Chasing funding versus chasing customers and a repeatable and scalable business model, is one reason startups fail. The goal of their startup in this stage becomes “getting funded.”

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Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 262

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 28, 2015

by John Vrionis, partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners. This article highlights their advice on issues ranging from financing to patent trolls: While startups may believe lawyers are too costly, working with one early on avoids potentially serious problems later. Lightspeed is in the business of encouraging entrepreneurship.

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Convertible Security IP Technical Review Software Review 100

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2009

On December 2nd, 2006 I wrote the blog post published later in this post when I was CEO of startup Koral about my experiences in pitching VCs. I had really positive experiences such as working with Greg Gretsch at Sigma Partners where he championed us to a partners’ meeting where we sort of got crucified.

Venture Capital 274

Venture Capital Term Sheet San Diego Viral 274

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 16, 2012

And I also now have to raise money myself, but this time from bigger institutions that our industry calls LPs (limited partners). Partners make investment decisions. Also recognize that WITHIN a VC you have partners who focus on different areas. I now observes the fund raising process as a profession. Meet in person.

Developer 366

Developer Silicon Valley PR Las Vegas 366

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 23, 2015

One of the questions we discussed is, “How much capital should a startup raise?” We talked in the full interview about some of Fred’s partners and the role that they play in the firm. Startup Lessons' Last week Fred Wilson and I sat down in Santa Monica for an hour+ discussion with the video cameras rolling.

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Los Angeles Silicon Valley Term Sheet Video 150

mashable.com

JUNE 11, 2013

16 Common Mistakes Young Startups Make. Are you working on a startup? In fact, recent research shows that 75% of startups fail (based on a study of 2,000 startups that received VC funding from 2004 to 2010). Some startups are destined for failure. Whats This? By Lauren Drell 2013-06-10 14:46:07 UTC.

Cofounder 111

Cofounder Technical Review Startup Software Review 111

Eric Friedman

AUGUST 18, 2021

He is also co-founder and Managing Partner of Deciens Capital, an early stage investment fund. I think there are some real virtues to that, however, when I talk to my business partner, Ishan [Sachdev], about it, I use a slightly different metaphor: I talk about Jiro [Ono], Nobu [Matsuhisa], and Benihana. On Dan’s Former Startup.

Silicon Valley 88

Silicon Valley Venture Capital Cofounder Africa 88

steveblank.com

JULY 8, 2011

Useful blogs and links for startups Click Here ————– 2.

Software Review 110

Software Review Startup Silicon Valley Analytics 110

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 26, 2020

Not all startups need outside investment to grow. What most founders don’t realize is: Every stage of a startup requires a different set of metrics and milestones and founder skills. Here’s the first 2½ years of a startup journey. The Startup Investment Landscape. Still, there are some benchmarks to keep in mind.

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Cofounder Seed Stage Valuation Metrics 429

ReadWriteStart

OCTOBER 6, 2011

She is a Silicon Valley entrepreneur and strategy consultant. The $1,000 annual fee grants paying members unlimited usage of the service I have learnt a great deal being based in the heart of Silicon Valley for the last 15 years and having access to its inner circle. From 2008 to 2010, Mitra was a columnist for Forbes.

Silicon Valley 118

Silicon Valley India San Francisco Entrepreneur 118

www.vccafe.com

MARCH 11, 2013

Startup Resources (Updated Mar 2013). Venture Capital Cafe > Startup Resources (Updated Mar 2013). VC & Startup Resources. Seed Startups. VC Cafe covers early stage Israeli and European tech & mobile startups. Hundreds of startups featured since 2005, will yours be next? About VC Cafe.

Software Review 53

Software Review Technical Review Startup 53

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 8, 2011

Launchpad LA today announces it will accept applications for its third class of Los Angeles-based tech startups. To give visibility to these companies to: Sources of funding (angels / VCs), business development partners, mentors who have themselves built successful companies, the press and potential employees to hire.

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Los Angeles Silicon Valley Incubator Startup 287

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 17, 2012

If anything using the word “Silicon” seems a bit derivative to NorCal. Interestingly, nobody I know in NorCal EVER calls it Silicon Valley, “Silicon Valley.” Oblong, led by Kwin Kramer, which houses more MIT grads per startup than probably any other in LA. Don’t you think?

Community 304

Community Los Angeles Startup Silicon Valley 304

Life Beyond Code

SEPTEMBER 27, 2011

In 1M/1M, we offer a case-study-based online educational program, video lectures, and methodology, online strategy consulting at public and private online roundtables, as well as introductions to customers, channel partners and investors (pre-seed, seed, angel, VC, bank, alternative financing).

Programming 116

Programming Silicon Valley Bootstrapping Technical Review 116

abovethecrowd.com

APRIL 20, 2016

In February of last year, Fortune magazine writers Erin Griffith and Dan Primack declared 2015 “ The Age of the Unicorns ” noting — “Fortune counts more than 80 startups that have been valued at $1 billion or more by venture capitalists.” Next came Rolfe Winkler’s deep dive “ Highly Valued Startup Zenefits Runs Into Turbulence. ”

IPO 40

IPO Term Sheet Silicon Valley Valuation 40

David Teten

AUGUST 19, 2019

In 2019 we partnered with several revenue-based lending providers, effectively creating a marketplace. “. According to Brian Parks, “Bigfoot provides RBI, term loans, and lines of credit to SaaS businesses with $500k+ ARR. We have a special program if you are pre-seed and need product development. Bigfoot Capital.

Revenue 60

Revenue Technical Review Software Review Equity 60

Reid Hoffman

DECEMBER 10, 2020

If I’m going to find out that a set of founders lack integrity, don’t behave like partners, take on unacceptable risks that might harm their customers or society, or simply aren’t the kinds of people I want to spend a decade with, I want to know those facts before I start down the path of evaluating that investment. I think David’s wrong.”.

Hosting 69

Hosting Hockey Stick IPO Silicon Valley 69

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 11, 2010

I recently wrote a blog post about why I believe that startup teams in close proximity perform better. I’m surprised how few people talk about valuations, term sheet terms, how much to pay recruiters, etc. It’s what Silicon Valley / San Fran entrepreneurs get for free.

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San Francisco Incubator Silicon Valley Startup 285

www.mattbartus.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

A View from the Valley. Perspectives on issues affecting founders, startups and investors from a veteran startup lawyer in Silicon Valley. I have moved my startup practice to Cooley from Dorsey. Startups writing patents: Patent Office Announces “Prioritized” Examination for a Fee. Term Sheets.

Equity 40

Equity Vesting Silicon Valley Intellectual Property 40

Scott Edward Walker

AUGUST 31, 2011

Thanks, Scott Question We’re a startup based in Palo Alto, and we just received a Series A term sheet for a $725,000 investment. The investor is kind of insisting that we use his lawyer at a big Valley firm to represent us. Answer Welcome to the world of the Silicon Valley! Any advice would be appreciated.

Silicon Valley 45

Silicon Valley Term Sheet Liquidation Preference Redemption 45

ReadWriteStart

MAY 8, 2012

Approaching investors for the first time is a daunting exercise for any startup. The best way to do that is to leverage the hard-won experience of real-world startup. Turns out that while every startup is unique, they share some common difficulties in trying to find just the right strategies and tactics for funding their companies: 1.

Cofounder 140

Cofounder Startup San Francisco Silicon Valley 140

reidhoffman.org

NOVEMBER 12, 2013

× At Greylock , my partners and I are driven by one guiding mission: always help entrepreneurs. In a single year, the classic general partner in a venture firm is exposed to around 5,000 pitches; decides to look more closely at 600 to 800 of them; and ends up doing between 0 and 2 deals. Reid Hoffman. we had no revenue.

Entrepreneur 111

Entrepreneur Revenue Viral Networking 111

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2016

.” “Mark has a vested interest in talking down valuations of startups.” When I was an entrepreneur there was no public information about how term sheets worked or how investors thought. In 2015 in the US there were $77 billion written into startup tech companies. goes into a startup. What hogwash.

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Valuation Down Round Startup Later Stage 150

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 1, 2010

a term sheet has been signed, the legal documents are being drafted and the deal will close some time in the near future). Since the average VC partner (excluding higher volume, earlier-stage VCs) only does 2-3 deals per year it is clear they can’t land every deal. The VC might have an airplane on final descent (e.g.

Venture Capital 275

Venture Capital Sacramento San Francisco Silicon Valley 275

Professor VC

JULY 25, 2013

It is the story of the founding of the venture capital industry in Silicon Valley and features many of the iconic companies created including Apple, Intel, Genentech and Cisco. Startup outcomes tend to be very binary. An entrepreneur received two Series A term sheets, one lead by an international investor and the other from SH.

Term Sheet 46

Term Sheet Silicon Valley Syndicate Syndication 46

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 3, 2010

First, if the VC does 15-20 of these under one partner then it is certain he can’t spend any time with these investments. We used the Y Combinator open source term sheet. We signed the term sheet within 48 hours and had funded in under 2 weeks. True was my top pick in Silicon Valley.

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Venture Capital Term Sheet Early Stage Silicon Valley 265

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 18, 2011

I learned that he was originally with William Morris as a junior talent rep but wanted to be more in the business of helping digital startups. I asked him to present to my partners. Within 48 hours of meeting him we had a term sheet agreeing to fund $1.6 They loved his vision, too. I still do.

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Term Sheet Mobile Cofounder Early Stage 303

Gust

OCTOBER 8, 2014

A-rounds back then seemed to be anywhere from $2-3 million (LA or NYC) or up to $5 million in Silicon Valley. $5 If you want a great primer on how the VC and startup funding scene changed here’s a great primer. It’s hard building a startup. If you''re newer to VC math here''s a great primer].

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Cap Table Silicon Valley Term Sheet Non-Compete 136

OnlyOnce

DECEMBER 14, 2011

One of the most important things you can do as an entrepreneur is to surround yourself with a great lawyer (as I mentioned in my posting on negotiating term sheets ) and a great accountant. It’s not that they’re necessarily bad, they’re just not compatible with startups. Picking Professional Services Firms.

Silicon Valley 67

Silicon Valley Term Sheet Finance Partner 67

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 29, 2010

Company B had already lined up a significant funding round ($20 million) from some of the most elite VCs on Sand Hill Road but hadn’t signed the term sheet. She asked if she could fly the next day to meet with me and my partners. Brand name Silicon Valley firms had put in about $20 million into Company A.

Entrepreneur 296

Entrepreneur Silicon Valley Term Sheet France 296

Agile VC

FEBRUARY 28, 2012

AGILEVC My idle thoughts on tech startups. Startups in NextView’s portfolio frequently receive inbound interest from other VC investors who are intrigued about what they’re doing, and I often talk with other early-stage entrepreneurs how to approach similar situations. How to Evaluate Firms for a Seed VC.

Early Stage 100

Early Stage Syndicate Syndication Silicon Valley 100

Steve Blank

APRIL 16, 2009

We were about to be partners in building a new product family. The change in his demeanor – from trying to kill me – to laughing, as it dawned on him where I was going, could only be described as hysterical relief. “40%?” Yes, yes and yes.

Silicon Valley 134

Silicon Valley Product RSS Engineer 134