Both Sides of the Table

JULY 29, 2010

We received so much positive feedback from our This Week in Venture Capital show walking through valuation calculations & term sheets that we decided to do a Q&A show this week to address topics that entrepreneurs want to learn about. The best thing to get is a “right sized&# valuation. A: It’s not best.

Venture Capital 282

Venture Capital Term Sheet Valuation Stock Options 282

Tim Keane

JANUARY 12, 2010

Term-sheets and Valuations: Thinking about Negotiations.   I’ve sat down with entrepreneurs and a copy of a term sheet guide I like [ “Term Sheets & Valuations - A Line by Line Look at the Intricacies of Venture Capital Term Sheets & Valuations ” by Alex Wilmerding, Aspatore Press.] The Valuation Question.

Term Sheet 68

Term Sheet Valuation Dividend Liquidation Preference 68

YoungUpstarts

JUNE 26, 2020

To do that you have to show how your market is big enough (a multi-billion dollar market) to support that kind of valuation. When a VC’s website says they do “early stage” – to a VC that means a product has already been built and generating some revenue, while to an entrepreneur it means “just an idea.”. I was wrong.

Finance 205

Finance Silicon Valley Valuation Startup 205

Lightspeed Venture Partners

OCTOBER 7, 2012

Week three’s breakdown covered topics like how hard momentum is to turn around, and how participating preferred stock works. They won a design award at a trade show, but have no revenue and no orders. That’s why most entrepreneurs do not make a specific ask on valuation, but wait to hear offers from investors.

Technical Review 110

Technical Review Technical Cofounder Valuation Pre-Money Valuation 110

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 1, 2016

Getting investors to trust you with their money is always a challenge, and it’s even more difficult in the early stages, where you don’t have a significant revenue stream, a few customers, or maybe even a product yet. Non-credible funding request or unreasonable valuation. Future unproven projections don’t set today’s valuation.

Due Diligence 120

Due Diligence Intellectual Property Preferred Stock Seed Stage 120

View from Seed

OCTOBER 15, 2014

Examples of housekeeping include the following list, though not every item will appear every time: Finance: Cash out date, burn rate, 409A valuation, cap table, common/preferred stock dashboard. However, these are important updates for your board to know. The seed stage is all about traction.

Seed Stage 331

Seed Stage Cap Table Metrics Burn Rate 331

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 7, 2015

Angel investors will perk up if you have a prototype or a few real customers, while venture capitalists will likely choose to wait until you have achieved several million in revenue or customer count. The average valuation for angel investments is $2 million, which will get you $500,000 for 20 percent of your startup.

Preferred Stock 120

Preferred Stock Exit Strategy Equity Angel Investor 120

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 20, 2018

Arthur: The usual royalty revenue sharing funding agreement is for an agreed period – and commences on the generation of revenues by the royalty issuer (company licensing the IP.) That party is only concerned with its royalty revenues and growth – and not profit from or valuation of its business.

IP 54

IP Intellectual Property Investment Bankers Product 54

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 24, 2017

— Unremarked and unheralded, the balance of power between startup CEOs and their investors has radically changed: IPOs/M&A without a profit (or at times revenue) have become the norm. Typically, this caliber of bankers wouldn’t talk to you unless your company had five profitable quarters of increasing revenue.

Founder 245

Founder Technical Review CTO Hire IPO 245

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 20, 2018

Arthur: The usual royalty revenue sharing funding agreement is for an agreed period – and commences on the generation of revenues by the royalty issuer (company licensing the IP.) That party is only concerned with its royalty revenues and growth – and not profit from or valuation of its business.

IP 48

IP Intellectual Property Investment Bankers Product 48

ReadWriteStart

JANUARY 28, 2022

This article will assist you in gaining a fundamental understanding of equity valuation, kinds of equity, and other related topics. The market regards equity as an ownership “share” in a corporation’s income revenue stream. Founders can compensate them in either equity or salary as per their preference.

Valuation 108

Valuation Equity Warrant Common Stock 108

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 14, 2010

In straight preferences the investors only get this money in a “downside&# scenario as protection that they get their money back if your company isn’t successful. Take liquidation preferences head on. Talk openly about valuation and what they’ll accept so you know what you’re dealing with. Brain damage.

Venture Capital 289

Venture Capital Liquidation Preference Common Stock Dividend 289

Lightspeed Venture Partners

OCTOBER 1, 2012

pre money valuation). Cuban has interest in a gluten free diet, and claimed that he liked the company, but his only concern was valuation. Since an early exit caps the upside potential, getting in at the right, low valuation is necessary to be able to make a high multiple on your investment. This would never happen in real life.

Pre-Money Valuation 158

Pre-Money Valuation Valuation Participating Preferred Preferred Stock 158

Ben's Blog

JULY 16, 2013

You probably thought that valuations would be roughly the same as they were the last time you raised money. Perhaps you are caught in the “Series A crunch” or perhaps you are a consumer company and expected that you would be valued on users rather than revenue like the last time. But they most certainly are not. Things change.

Down Round 78

Down Round Marketing Preferred Stock Post-Money Valuation 78

Ben's Blog

JULY 16, 2013

You probably thought that valuations would be roughly the same as they were the last time you raised money. Perhaps you are caught in the “Series A crunch” or perhaps you are a consumer company and expected that you would be valued on users rather than revenue like the last time. But they most certainly are not. Things change.

Marketing 46

Marketing Preferred Stock Post-Money Valuation Down Round 46

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

Furthermore, there are various forms of equity, such as preferred stock, common stock, and convertible notes, which influence the present and potential future investors. For instance, the cap table will help you with various possibilities while running business activities like available options and pre-money valuations faster.

Cap Table 112

Cap Table Pre-Money Valuation Stock Options Option Pool 112

abovethecrowd.com

FEBRUARY 24, 2015

As a result, a “late-stage” financing is no longer reserved for high-revenue, pre-profitability companies getting ready for an IPO; it is simply any large round of financing done at a high price. 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

www.paulgraham.com

APRIL 28, 2010

There never has to be atime when you have no revenues. Another concept we need to introduce now is valuation. I say "in theory" because in early stageinvesting, valuations are voodoo. As a company gets more established,its valuation gets closer to an actual market value. Startups valuations aresupposed to rise over time.

Technical Review 76

Technical Review Startup Software Review Angel Investor 76