Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 6, 2019

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Consider licensing your product or intellectual property, and “white labeling.”

Finance 320

Finance Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 320

YoungUpstarts

MARCH 14, 2016

As an entrepreneur, though, you should look no further than Fab.com as a cautionary tale of venture capital. The Drawbacks of Venture Capital. It was able to reinvest that cash into the business, creating immediate and dramatic revenue growth. If VC were the key to success, then Fab would have had it wrapped up.

Venture Capital 100

Venture Capital Securities and Exchange Commission New York City Cofounder 100

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 11, 2022

Something happened in the past 7 years in the startup and venture capital world that I hadn’t experienced since the late 90’s — we all began praying to the God of Valuation. How might our next phase of the journey seem brighter, even with more uncertain days for startups and capital markets? What happened? Until we weren’t.

Valuation 466

Valuation San Francisco Ratchet Liquidation Preference 466

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 1, 2017

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Consider licensing your product or intellectual property, and “white labeling.”

Product Development 177

Product Development Cost Developer Product 177

David Teten

JANUARY 21, 2021

This essay is part of a series on alternative VC: I: Revenue-Based Investing: a new option for founders who care about control. II: Who are the major Revenue-Based Investing VCs? III: Why are Revenue-Based VCs investing in so many women and underrepresented founders? IV: Should your new VC fund use Revenue-Based Investing?

Equity 78

Equity Revenue Cofounder Colorado 78

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 4, 2022

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Consider licensing your product or intellectual property, and “white labeling.”

Intellectual Property 261

Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator Bootstrapping 261

VC Cafe

FEBRUARY 27, 2024

especially if the startup already has a product and revenue? Seed is about showing initial product market fit. To reduce the impact of dilution, the expectation is that startup valuation should more or less double between the pre-seed to the seed, and seed to series A (ideally backed by reasonable traction/ revenue multiples).

Valuation 186

Valuation Software Review Generative AI Technical Review 186

David Teten

AUGUST 20, 2019

A new wave of Revenue-Based Investors are emerging who are using creative investing structures with some of the upside of traditional VC, but some of the downside protection of debt. I’ve been a traditional equity VC for 8 years, and I’m now researching new business models in venture capital. ” .

Revenue 60

Revenue Cofounder Founder Venture Capital 60

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 24, 2021

It has historically been the case that VCs would rather fund the promise of 100x in a company with almost no revenue than the reality of a company growing at 50% but doing $20+ million in sales. The Valley has obsessed with a quick up-and-to-right momentum story because we were thought to live in “winner take most” markets.

Venture Capital 363

Venture Capital LP Valuation Later Stage 363

David Teten

AUGUST 19, 2019

So you’re interested in raising capital from a Revenue-Based Investor VC. A new wave of Revenue-Based Investors (“RBI”) are emerging. I’ve been a traditional equity VC for 8 years, and I’m now researching new business models in venture capital. Alternative Capital. “ Bigfoot Capital. ARR of $500K+.

Revenue 60

Revenue Technical Review Software Review Equity 60

Feld Thoughts

AUGUST 25, 2015

In January, Jerry Neumann wrote a long and detailed analysis of his view of the VC industry in the 1980’s titled Heat Death: Venture Capital in the 1980’s. There are five key risks in any deal: Market, Product (a/k/a technology), Management, Business Model, and Capital. This isn’t correct either.

Venture Capital 70

Venture Capital SBIC Technical Review Silicon Valley 70

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2021

As a simple example, the Wal-Mart website now shows shoppers more products that they may like, based on previous purchases. Short-term earnings per share may be low, even as revenues and cash burned are high. Find funders who seek long-term returns. Money-making is different in the digital age.

Software Review 355

Software Review Algorithm Global IPO 355

SoCal CTO

MARCH 20, 2007

Product Manager Entrepreneur Mark Geller SEO for Startups Startup Version 1.0 Social Media for Service Professionals LearnTrends Speakers and Topics Accounced Tags not Folders - LinkedIn Saved Profiles Product Management for Startups in Los Angeles – S. ► February (2) CTO Founders / Cofounders Part-Time Startup CTO?

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Technical Cofounder Southern California Los Angeles 150

VC Cafe

JUNE 10, 2022

For the past few week I’ve been sharing here the impact of the current downturn that started in the public markets on startups and venture capital. Dealroom shared very interesting data in the “ State of VC in 2022 ” on the slow down in Venture Capital activity in Q2 2022, particularly in the growth stage.

Valuation 151

Valuation Marketing Venture Capital 151

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 5, 2018

Reading the NY Times article “ Jeffrey Katzenberg Raises $1 Billion for Short-Form Video Venture, ” I realized it was time for a new startup heuristic: the amount of customer discovery and product-market fit you need to find is inversely proportional to the amount and availability of risk capital. ” Fire, Ready, Aim.

Lean 335

Lean Burn Rate Startup IPO 335

David Teten

SEPTEMBER 23, 2017

Private equity and venture capital investors are copying our sisters in the hedge fund and mutual fund world: we’re trying to automate more of our job. HOF Capital uses some of the data-tracking services I list above for analyzing competitors and funding trends. But we’re doing it slowly.

Private Equity 60

Private Equity Venture Capital Equity Technical Review 60

VC Cafe

MAY 29, 2022

Building on my post on ‘ Advice for startups in a downturn (May 2022 edition) ‘, this week I continued to follow with interest the impact of the current correction on startups and venture capital, particularly in early stage. How much of the slowdown in venture capital is real vs. ‘doom and gloom’ headlines.

Venture Capital 183

Venture Capital Early Stage Valuation Startup 183

ReadWriteStart

OCTOBER 20, 2023

Yet, navigating this landscape requires more than just a unique product or service. The Venture Capital Influence The role of venture capital (VC) has become increasingly prominent in shaping the tech startup scene. Diversify Revenue Streams Relying on a single income source can be risky.

Technical Review 137

Technical Review Startup Silicon Valley Agile 137

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 11, 2023

It is necessary to cover the early stages of product development, thorough market research, and other processes during the initial step. Seed capital is a component of the initial investments made in young businesses. The criteria change after a company reaches the growth stage when it is deemed to have attained product market fit.

Seed Stage 138

Seed Stage Technical Review Early Stage Due Diligence 138

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 30, 2019

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Consider licensing your product or intellectual property, and “white labeling.”

Intellectual Property 219

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 219

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 25, 2023

Investors know that the fun of a startup turns into managing production processes, sales processes, and personnel in a few years. According to National Venture Capital Association statistics , only 16% of venture-backed startups recently used this alternative, due to high liability concerns, demanding shareholders, and high costs.

Exit Strategy 264

Exit Strategy Private Equity Equity Technical Review 264

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 19, 2013

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Consider licensing your product or intellectual property, and “white labeling.”

Intellectual Property 309

Intellectual Property Technical Review Venture Capital Startup 309

ReadWriteStart

DECEMBER 15, 2022

Client work serves as an additional source of revenue to form new startups. This outside work provides a valuable source of revenue able to be used to fund operations. Over time, this revenue reduces the dependency on outside venture capital sources. The Advantages of the Digital Agency Model for a Startup Studio.

Incubator 188

Incubator Startup Software Developers Software Development 188

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 12, 2019

As there was no venture capital, these early startups were funded by early sales to weapon systems prime contractors and subcontractors. Within a decade, the rise of venture capital in Silicon Valley enabled startups to find commercial customers rather than military ones.

Government 313

Government Artificial Inteligence Silicon Valley North Korea 313

VC Cafe

FEBRUARY 21, 2023

It’s not just the competition against the incumbents and the large tech platforms that founders has to worry about, but most importantly is the company’s performance and product market fit. A high retention rate indicates that customers find the product or service valuable and are likely to continue using it in the future.

Retention 109

Retention Conversion Churn Rate B2C 109

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 24, 2011

I just read the Q1 2011 report from CB Insights , which shows venture capital is back. Your friends and family are really the only answer until you have a significant revenue stream. Back to VCs, Silicon Valley venture capital firms are still the most active. Overall, investors put $7.5 That represents a $1.5

Venture Capital 233

Venture Capital Revenue Elevator Pitch Silicon Valley 233

VC Cafe

MARCH 4, 2024

With NVIDIA’s Israel-1 AI supercomputer, a broad range of innovative companies in Israel will create AI that can transform the productivity and business models of enterprises around the world.” manufacturing facilities as part of a multi-year roadmap to support domestic EV battery production. Wiz is valued at over $10 billion.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Cofounder Venture Capital 78

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 17, 2018

" Revenue doesn't pay your bills, GM does  —  @msuster 2/ Founders obsess with revenue as a vanity metric. Some even grow "bad" revenue just to show growth. More people aren't the answer if your core business isn't already productive. Usually a terrible idea as runway extension.

Founder 242

Founder Dilution Software Review Later Stage 242

The Startup Magazine

MARCH 30, 2022

Photo by RODNAE Productions from Pexels. Of course this is why a lot of investors choose to hedge their bets and avoid having to make the tricky decisions regarding which startups to back themselves by putting their money into angel investment or venture capital (VC) funds. Timing is crucial.

Technical Review 149

Technical Review Due Diligence Angel Investor Startup 149

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 14, 2014

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Consider licensing your product or intellectual property, and “white labeling.”

Entrepreneur 283

Entrepreneur Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 283

VC Cafe

JULY 26, 2020

“After the crash, venture capital was scarce to non-existent. In a capital scarce environment following the Dot Com crash, startups needed to do more with less and survive long enough to generate revenue. Maximum Viable Product. Most of the funds that started in the late part of the boom would be underwater).

Lean 214

Lean Seed Capital Startup Burn Rate 214

David Teten

APRIL 6, 2015

There are multiple reasons for that, but a major one is that both VC and research funding is concentrated in areas where there appears to be short-term revenues, as opposed to areas that will save more lives and quite likely generate both long-term revenues and savings for society. Source: NIH, CB Insights.

Venture Capital 60

Venture Capital Technical Review Non-Compete Philadelphia 60

online.wsj.com

SEPTEMBER 23, 2012

Consumer Products. Paper & Forest Products. SIGNIFICANCE PROMINENT. --> The Venture Capital Secret: 3 Out of 4 Start-Ups Fail. An entrepreneur with a hot technology and venture-capital funding becomes a billionaire in his 20s. Broadcasting & Entertainment. Computer Hardware. Computer Software. Hospitality.

Venture Capital 107

Venture Capital Software Review Rhode Island North Dakota 107

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 12, 2018

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Consider licensing your product or intellectual property, and “white labeling.”

Intellectual Property 134

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 134

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 25, 2020

Investors know that the fun of a startup turns into managing production processes, sales processes, and personnel in a few years. According to National Venture Capital Association statistics , only 16% of venture-backed startups recently used this alternative, due to high liability concerns, demanding shareholders, and high costs.

Exit Strategy 376

Exit Strategy Startup Private Equity Equity 376

Steve Blank

APRIL 10, 2019

As Venture Capital emerged as an industry in the mid 1970’s, investors in venture-funded startups began to give stock options to all their employees. And Mark Suster of Upfront Capital has a great post that summarizes these changes. It’s called Growth capital. Lessons Learned.

Stock Options 334

Stock Options Stock Vesting Common Stock 334

Steve Blank

JANUARY 22, 2014

as a distribution channel have vastly reduced the amount of capital a startup needs at the early stage when the risk is greatest. Startups still need capital to scale once they find good product-market fit and a repeatable-scalable business model.). This is true whether the company is concept stage or ramping revenue.

Early Stage 292

Early Stage Silicon Valley Oregon Technical Review 292