Austin Startup

SEPTEMBER 17, 2017

There are about 32 million left-handers in the US, you have a special product for them, and surely you can get just 5% of that market and have 1.6 Very, very early in my career a friend and I looked at a small manufacturing business where we liked the product and the owner and thought we might want to participate with her.

Valuation 48

Valuation Forecast Seed Money Business Model 48

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 1, 2010

I think the issue was mostly framed initially by Chris Dixon in his article The Problem with Taking Seed Money from Big VC s. The fact that I invest less just means the company is earlier stage and needed/wanted less or without a product/market fit we weren’t yet prepared to invest more heavily.

Post-Money Valuation 298

Post-Money Valuation Term Sheet Warrant Partner 298

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 3, 2010

Chris Dixon provided some commentary on Twitter that he believes I missed “the most important point about fund size.&# He’s specifically referring to his point of view that entrepreneurs shouldn’t take seed money from “big VC’s&# (he defines them as > $100 million).

Venture Capital 265

Venture Capital Term Sheet Early Stage Silicon Valley 265

Rob Go

MARCH 10, 2012

I think that over time, this is the best way to handle market swings as a seed stage investor who is a) playing in a highly unpredictable part of the market and b) has a very long time horizon. Valuation Discipline. We have a pretty strong sense of what realistic valuation ranges are and aren’t for seed stage companies.

Seed Stage 49

Seed Stage Syndicate Syndication Marketing 49

Seeing Both Sides

MARCH 2, 2011

At the same time, the foursquare team was incredibly skilled at applying lean start-up best practices, specifically: Product-obsessed founders : both Dennis and Naveen were consumed with the product. Minimum viable product: they didn't wait years and years to perfect the product but instead got it out there to solicit user feedback.

API 44

API Valuation Lean Burn Rate 44

www.paulgraham.com

APRIL 28, 2010

It wasnt because they werent accredited investors that I didntask my parents for seed money, though. When we were starting Viaweb,I didnt know about the concept of an accredited investor, anddidnt stop to think about the value of investors connections.The reason I didnt take money from my parents was that I didntwant them to lose it.

Technical Review 76

Technical Review Startup Software Review Angel Investor 76

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 9, 2013

If you’re a venture-backed tech company or even an early-stage business fueled by angel or seed money I assume you have a good group of board members or advisors who will give you time to be helpful and they want to be helpful. Deal with company admin: 409a valuations, approve stock options, vote on key measures (15%).

Advisory Board 337

Advisory Board Valuation Stock Options Seed Money 337

www.paulgraham.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

During the Internet Bubble there were a number of startups founded by business people who then wentlooking for hackers to create their product for them. In nearly every failed startup, the real problem was that customersdidnt want the product. Probably because the product wasa dog, or never seemed likely to be done, or both.

Startup 105

Startup Cofounder Software Stock 105

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 20, 2011

He’s struggling to raise money. People are raising in record times and with wacky valuations. It might also be that your product isn’t complete enough, you don’t have enough evidence of success (by what ever measure is appropriate). His company had raised seed money already.

Dilution 284

Dilution Valuation Seed Money Differentiation 284

Feld Thoughts

JULY 14, 2015

A company raises $1m of seed money from angels in a convertible note with a $6m cap. Assuming equity is raised at or above that cap, the total dilution, before the new money, is 16.6% (equivalent to an equity financing of $1m at a $6m post money valuation. The product gets a lot better.

Recapitalization 70

Recapitalization Pre-Money Valuation Post-Money Valuation Angel Investor 70

Version One Ventures

JANUARY 10, 2013

With a small round, you’ll end up thinking more about future funding than developing your product. Many new founders think that because they’ve secured their seed round, it will be easy to find investors for the next round, and the next… However, a startup needs to demonstrate significant progress between funding rounds.

Dilution 154

Dilution Valuation Bootstrapping Channel 154

This is going to be BIG.

SEPTEMBER 7, 2012

Reality is that venture is a bunch of individual stories, individual assessments of teams, unique products, and a whole lot of stars lining up for particular companies for success to happen. 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.

Later Stage 99

Later Stage Down Round Pre-Money Valuation Early Stage 99

www.businessinsider.com

SEPTEMBER 6, 2012

This Chart Shows Why VCs Are Willing To Give Hyped Startups Absurd Valuations. Grahams startups go through a months-long process of coaching to help them build products and raise money. If the convertible debt has a " valuation cap " feature, the price at which the investors debt converts into shares has a maximum.

Silicon Valley 54

Silicon Valley Startup Valuation Venture Capital 54

pandodaily.com

NOVEMBER 29, 2012

If you are raising a seed round now, there are a few things you can do to protect yourself. There are still the same debates on whether or not you should take seed money from VCs. Lastly, seed-stage entrepreneurs who have pushed for the maximum valuation possible haven’t done themselves any favors.

Technical Review 93

Technical Review Silicon Valley Incubator Syria 93