Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2016

Every startup dreams of achieving that milestone, when they can focus more on scaling the business and enjoying their earnings, rather than fighting for another investment infusion. Should they focus on increasing revenues and profitability, or entice more and more users with “free” services, to increase their valuation.

Revenue 145

Revenue Valuation Startup Viral 145

Hunter Walker

MAY 13, 2023

“Worst case scenario we’ll sell to a larger startup or public company for about ~$1.5m I was on both sides of these transactions – buying startups for Google/YouTube and angel investing in high quality technical founders. per engineer.” of the time my answer is no f **g way]. Emotional I guess.

Early Stage 118

Early Stage Cap Table Acquisition Sales 118

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 22, 2008

Master of 500 Hats: Startup Metrics for Pirates (SeedCamp 2008, London) This presentation should be required reading for anyone creating a startup with an online service component. In my opinion, every startup needs to "pick a major" among these three drivers of growth. Choose one. The AARRR model (hence pirates, get it?)

San Francisco 167

San Francisco CPA SEM CTO Hire 167

crowdSPRING Blog

NOVEMBER 30, 2012

These posts and videos are about logo design , web design , startups, entrepreneurship, small business, leadership, social media, marketing, and more! Small Business and Startups: 5 DIY Things To Do For Your Brand! How To Choose A Market For Your Startup Or Small Business – [link]. Are Startups Recession-Proof?

Social Media 100

Social Media Small Business Central African Republic Design 100

Tim Keane

MARCH 9, 2011

Startups and angels: Along the way to success. It’s a deceptively simple question:  what is the optimal way to finance a new startup? It’s a deceptively simple question:  what is the optimal way to finance a new startup?     Posted at 08:30 AM in Funding startups | Permalink. . 

Finance 83

Finance Bootstrapping Startup Equity 83

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 10, 2014

Every startup dreams of achieving that milestone, when they can focus more on scaling the business and enjoying their earnings rather than fighting for another investment infusion. Should they focus on increasing revenues and profitability, or entice more and more users with free services to increase their valuation.

Revenue 246

Revenue Entrepreneur Valuation Viral 246

www.avc.com

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

This is NOT your 409a valuation (we call that "fair value"). This "best value" can be the valuation on the last round of financing. Startups should be able to dramatically increase the value of their equity over the four years a stock grant vests. Or it can be the discounted value of future cash flows.

Equity 64

Equity Employee CTO Hire Fractional CTO 64

Austin Startup

AUGUST 20, 2017

August 20, 2017: This is another in my series of posts all leading up to a book on Startup Decision Making. One of the most common mistakes I see in startups is making decisions that lose sight of the context , including the past, present, and future. Compensation decisions obviously affect hiring and retention.

Technical Review 48

Technical Review Software Review Cap Table Securities and Exchange Commission 48

Up and Running

OCTOBER 13, 2022

Employee retention, for both startups and established businesses, is more important than ever. This is especially pertinent for startups, who want to foster company & employee growth, but cannot provide high salaries to staff. Get a 409a valuation. Get board approval.

Vesting 88

Vesting Stock Valuation Stock Options 88

Gust

NOVEMBER 4, 2011

Entrepreneurs and investors who have spent any time dealing with convertible debt seed financing transactions are likely to have encountered the subject of valuation caps. Valuation caps can come into play in settings other than seed-stage convertible note financing rounds. Read on for a fuller explanation. by February 2006).

Valuation 98

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Merger Vesting 98

VC Cafe

SEPTEMBER 26, 2022

The past year was a wild ride for startups and founders, giving a whole new meaning to the ”rollercoaster” aspect of being an entrepreneur. A combination of competition for top talent and an effort to bring employees back to the office drove startups in Israel to throw extravagant parties and all-inclusive retreats abroad.

Founder 187

Founder Startup Valuation Pre-Money Valuation 187

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

DECEMBER 16, 2014

Was there any startup founder who didn’t feel depressed when that happened? Another collective sigh shudders through the ranks of startup founders, as we grumble over our trifling grindstones. Instagram had 13 employees when they sold for a billion dollars. Yes, depressed. They’re next!

Metrics 246

Metrics Early Stage Retention Revenue 246

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2013

For the past 5 years or so Google, Facebook and a handful of tech industry giants have been quietly buying scores of early-stage startups for their talent. I’m supposed to believe that my best innovation can only come from scores of startup founders who just made millions and have now become CVOs at my company? Go do a startup.

Liquidation Preference 357

Liquidation Preference Early Stage Retention Lock-up Period 357

www.mint.com

MARCH 9, 2010

If you are considering working at a startup, you should ask these questions. What is the post-money valuation of your last round? Post-money valuation” is the value of the company after the last round of money was put in (again, lines of credit and promises don’t count). The right answer is, “We’re a startup.

Software Review 68

Software Review Startup Post-Money Valuation Technical Review 68

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 25, 2019

A few potential slides which can be included in the Appendix: Exit Analysis: Not always as important during the early startup stage since an exit event is presumably in the distance away. Other Questions: Every startup is different. Which is why each investor pitch is going to yield questions which are specific to that company.

Seed Stage 166

Seed Stage Retention Restful Valuation 166

Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 21, 2019

First, few startups can use that much money today with all the virtual services available and increasingly inexpensive methods of development, prototyping and marketing. I cannot tell you how many times I have seen executive summaries of business plans in which the entrepreneur seeks $5,000,000 to build the business.

Dilution 48

Dilution Retention Valuation Startup 48

This is going to be BIG.

MARCH 30, 2015

Will this bubble also end in a blaze of glory with companies shutting down left and right in a massive startup apocalypse? I have a feeling that a lot of these "on demand" companies aren''t going to be as gamechanging as we think--and will come back down to earth with valuations that look more like temp agencies than the next big thing.

Hockey Stick 60

Hockey Stick Valuation Startup Maryland 60

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 5, 2016

Too many entrepreneurs put their best creative thinking into the startup idea, and believe that the business implementation simply requires following tried and true business practices. In my experience as a startup advisor, nothing could be further from the truth. Search for recognizable patterns in disconnected domains.

Retention 120

Retention Valuation Equity Analytics 120

The Equity Kicker

FEBRUARY 27, 2014

Whatsapp, which following last week’s $16bn acquisition by Facebook is now the largest startup M&A deal in history, makes a good case study. This is from a post about the company and exit from their investor Sequoia: From the moment they opened the doors of WhatsApp, Jan and Brian wanted a different kind of company.

Product 123

Product Valuation Retention Acquisition 123

View from Seed

OCTOBER 15, 2014

Over the summer, based on feedback from our portfolio and the broader startup community, NextView created pre-formatted board deck templates for seed-stage startups — part of our Growth Guides series. A seed-stage mobile startup’s housekeeping section might look something like this: Section 3: Core Metrics.

Seed Stage 331

Seed Stage Cap Table Metrics Burn Rate 331

David Teten

AUGUST 6, 2015

financial statement summaries, valuation analysis, ratio analysis, etc.) Datavore is a New York startup which is working to improve on the functionality of existing tools like Microsoft Excel by creating a visual display of the calculations comprising complex analyses such as a financial model. once a model has been finalized.

Balance Sheet 60

Balance Sheet Software Review Forecast Acquisition 60

Gust

JULY 23, 2012

To qualify for a deduction, the donation must be accompanied by an independent valuation appraisal. These challenges can include finding the right charity, time to facilitate the internal transfer process as well as retaining a valuation or tax expert to confirm tax savings and optimize the donation amount. in excess of $25,000).

Stock 114

Stock Capital Gains Warrant Stock Options 114

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 1, 2017

Advantages for your business include a stable revenue stream, customer retention, and increasing customer investment over time. This is a very popular model today for Internet services, with monthly or yearly payments, in lieu of one higher up-front price. The customer advantage is a lower entry cost.

Revenue 166

Revenue Affiliate Advertising Retention 166

ReadWriteStart

AUGUST 26, 2022

I founded a startup years ago, and that’s how I started getting a taste of it. The startup didn’t work out, but I found ways to be around it, whether it was on the sales side in Goldman for a few years. How does that translate into advice that you give to your startups? But stuff like retention is super important.

Partner 132

Partner Cofounder Retention Acquisition 132

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 16, 2017

All stakeholders see this as an advantage, encouraging new investors and raising the valuation of your business. Improves employee retention and attracts better candidates. Increases customer advocacy and loyalty in all markets. These days, existing customer advocacy is a key attractor of new customers.

Retention 120

Retention Government Valuation Employee 120

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

OCTOBER 23, 2012

Witness, for example, this terrific Fast Company article on Bill Nguyen , serial entrepreneur who’s seventh startup “Color” famously raised $41m for a new mobile app before it even launched. The launch, by the way, was a failure. And it’s now bankrupt.) Is your company building something of lasting value?

IPO 240

IPO Flash Bootstrapping Private Equity 240

Startup Company Lawyer

FEBRUARY 21, 2010

In response to the problem of worthless common stock, some companies have implemented employee retention plans, which are also referred to as M&A carveout plans. This was particularly common from 2001 to 2003, after the dot-com crash when companies had raised a large amount of venture financing at high valuations. Participation.

Retention 31

Retention Liquidation Preference Employee Common Stock 31

View from Seed

NOVEMBER 18, 2020

One of the most highly anticipated startup IPOs of recent years, we now get a peek inside Airbnb’s business. Airbnb has pretty strong revenue retention… their cohort data shows them getting 35-45% of first year revenue in years 2, 3, 4, and 5. Airbnb’s public S-1 dropped Monday afternoon.

North America 401

North America IPO Prospectus Europe 401

Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 24, 2012

First, few startups can use that much money today with all of the virtual services available and increasingly inexpensive methods of development, prototyping and marketing. I cannot tell you how many times I have seen executive summaries of business plans in which the entrepreneur seeks $5,000,000 to build the business.

Dilution 72

Dilution Retention Valuation Equity 72

Steve Blank

APRIL 1, 2020

So here’s a five-day playbook to help CEOs of cash-flow negative startups, or ones about to go negative, assess the new normal and respond with speed and urgency. For companies burning cash, such as startups, how much cash do you have? For startups: source of VC money? Others are cutting their valuations.

South Korea 333

South Korea Salary Business Model China 333

The Equity Kicker

MAY 15, 2012

When I read on Techcrunch this morning that Quora has raised $50m at a $400m valuation I thought “‘wow’, that’s interesting, I haven’t heard much about them recently, I wonder how they are getting on”. Here are some of the highlights: they had a ‘fundamental understanding’ of their product and why people use it.

Viral 108

Viral Framework Aggregator Retention 108

SoCal CTO

OCTOBER 5, 2010

Great content again in September that meets at the intersection of startups, technology, product and being a Startup CTO. Chris Dixon , September 12, 2010 My most useful career experience was about eight years ago when I was trying to break into the world of VC-backed startups. Why You Should Write. Your service: the game.

Technology 191

Technology Product San Francisco CTO Hire 191

The Next Web

SEPTEMBER 24, 2013

Waterloo, Canada-based Kik recently passed 80 million users, which was given particular significance from local media who noted that it took the 4-and-a-half year old startup past BlackBerry and its BBM mobile messaging solution. Far from a publicity stunt, the deal was a win-win for Kik’s investment and the startup scene in general.

Entrepreneur 167

Entrepreneur CTO Hire Startup Mobile 167

Austin Startup

MARCH 20, 2017

Beyond the sky-high valuation, unicorns have other similarities in company culture — Casual dress code, young employees, exposed brick walls, local food, dog-friendly offices and open-concept work spaces. Sounds cushy, doesn’t it? Dogs running around. A weekly push up club.

Silicon Valley 48

Silicon Valley Austin Community Hosting 48

Rob Go

NOVEMBER 30, 2015

WSJ: Fidelity Sees Big Gains from Hot Startups – Oct. Fortune: Fidelity Marks Down Even More Popular Tech Startups – Nov. There is greater variability in the size, valuation, and stage of companies that raise seed rounds, and often, companies raise 2 or 3 seed rounds before a series A.

Later Stage 28

Later Stage Marketing Early Stage Ratchet 28

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.

Cofounder 429

Cofounder Seed Stage Valuation Metrics 429

Agile VC

FEBRUARY 2, 2012

AGILEVC My idle thoughts on tech startups. I recently wrote a post noting that while the growth cycle of startups has clearly accelerated in the last 5 years, the number of truly monster new businesses (a company ultimately worth $75-100B) remains about the same … it’s a once in a decade sort of thing. February 2, 2012.

IPO 100

IPO South Korea Venezuela Revenue 100