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. This is wrong.

Venture Capital 282

Venture Capital Term Sheet Valuation Stock Options 282

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

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 11, 2023

These investments are a tremendous help to your startup because they will serve as a stepping stone to reach your target eventually. Some return value must be offered to the investors for startup seed funding to be considered acceptable. When considered, “seed funding” describes the initial sums of funds a startup raises.

Seed Stage 124

Seed Stage Technical Review Early Stage Due Diligence 124

VC Cafe

JUNE 10, 2022

The market correction has come for series A and seed startups. 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. Until now, early stage startups were relatively unaffected.

Valuation 151

Valuation Marketing Venture Capital 151

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 1, 2016

At the Upfront Summit in early February, we had a chance to have many off-the-record conversations with Limited Partners (LPs) who fund Venture Capital (VC) funds about their views of the market. LPs Still Believe Strongly in Venture Capital as a Diverse Source of Returns.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital LP Silicon Valley Marketing 150

Gust

OCTOBER 20, 2011

Individual accredited investors in typical angel deals put personal capital at risk for an equity share of growth-oriented, start-up companies. In 2011, the valuation of pre-revenue, start-up companies is typically in the range of $1.5–$2.5 Scorecard Valuation Methodology. million for pre-revenue companies.

Valuation 146

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Intellectual Property Technical Review 146

YoungUpstarts

MARCH 14, 2016

If you read startup news, then you might believe “getting funded” is the ultimate goal of any business. As an entrepreneur, though, you should look no further than Fab.com as a cautionary tale of venture capital. The Drawbacks of Venture Capital. by Keith Smith, co-founder and CEO of Payability. Go it alone.

Venture Capital 100

Venture Capital Securities and Exchange Commission New York City Cofounder 100

Gust

OCTOBER 18, 2011

This is the first of a six part series on different methods used by angel investors to arrive at pre-money startup valuations. The Venture Capital Method. The Venture Capital Method (VC Method) was first described by Professor Bill Sahlman at Harvard Business School in 1987 in a case study and has been revised since.

Valuation 174

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Southern California Post-Money Valuation 174

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

I was reading Danielle Morrill’s blog post today on whether one’s “ Startup Burn Rate is Normal. I love how transparently Danielle lives her startup (& encourages other to join in) because it provides much needed transparency to other startups. ” I highly recommend reading it.

Burn Rate 383

Burn Rate Balance Sheet .Net Valuation 383

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. Case in point, Procore just went public and is trading at an $11 billion valuation. It literally drove FOMO. Instagram selling to Facebook.

Venture Capital 363

Venture Capital LP Valuation Later Stage 363

Growthink Blog

MAY 20, 2011

So, Mike tells me he wants to raise a first round of venture capital based on a $100 million valuation. Now, anyone who knows anything about venture capital will literally laugh when they read a line like that. Getting a $100 Million valuation is impossible for a startup. you have customers).

Venture Capital 109

Venture Capital Valuation NDA Non-disclosure Agreement 109

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 22, 2012

I think I’ve read Paul Graham’s post on “ Startup = Growth ” three or four times now. Viewing the article through the lens of a venture capitalist there’s much to agree with under the mantra of “growth!” Eventually a successful startup will grow into a big company. Growth, again.

Silicon Valley 390

Silicon Valley Venture Capital Startup Technical Review 390

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 1, 2020

I have often been asked about Startup Funding by entrepreneurs. Many myths surround the subject of startup funding. Here is Startup Funding, a Comprehensive Guide for Entrepreneurs. You must have seen a lot of startups giving out promotions, discounts, and incentives at the early phase of their business.

Startup 150

Startup Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Seed Stage 150

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. Which Startup Investors Pulled Back The Most So Far In 2022?

Venture Capital 183

Venture Capital Early Stage Valuation Startup 183

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

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 12, 2023

Too many entrepreneurs tell me they are looking for an investor, and can’t differentiate between venture capital (VC) investors versus accredited angel investors. They fail to realize that the considerations are quite different for each, which can make or break their investment efforts, and ultimately their startup.

Angel Investor 246

Angel Investor IRR Venture Capital Valuation 246

Steve Blank

APRIL 23, 2014

For decades large companies have gone shopping in Silicon Valley for startups. What can companies learn from others’ failed efforts to integrate startups into large companies? The answer - there are two types of integration strategies, and they depend on where the startup is in its lifecycle. The Innovation Portfolio.

Acquisition 332

Acquisition Intellectual Property Silicon Valley Startup 332

VC Cafe

SEPTEMBER 22, 2022

“The Centaur is a business that reaches $100 million of annual recurring revenue (ARR)—a rare breed of cloud business, part of an elite subset of the growing unicorn herd.” But becoming a Unicorn, or receiving a billion dollar valuation is no longer an indication of growth. Israeli startups raised a record of $26.6

Software Review 109

Software Review B2C Open Source 109

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. But if you want to add some in the comments section on Medium and I’ll make sure to read them.

Founder 242

Founder Dilution Software Review Later Stage 242

Gust

NOVEMBER 7, 2011

We recently started a series of posts on establishing the pre-money valuation of pre-revenue startup companies for purposes of investment by seed and startup investors. This calculator uses 25 questions to size up the progress of the new venture and calculate a pre-money valuation for investment purposes.

Valuation 87

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Venture Capital Technical Review 87

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 23, 2014

There has been much discussion in the past few years of the changing structure of the venture capital industry. The rise of alternative sources of capital (crowd funding and the like). We are in a bubble (with so many private $1bn+ valuations). On the surface the narratives have been. Where are we today? billion). .”

Technical Review 398

Technical Review Venture Capital Valuation Pre-Money Valuation 398

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. The only problem that faces startup investors now is how to mine this new data layer efficiently to increase returns.”. But we’re doing it slowly. are using AngelMob.co

Private Equity 60

Private Equity Venture Capital Equity Technical Review 60

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 28, 2018

There are many things a VC is looking for in reviewing your business plan but beyond things the like the quality of revenue, margins, OPEX and CAPEX there’s a really simple rule I call, “Cash In, Cash Out, Milestones Achieved.” Conversely many VCs believe that constraining cash can often lead to increases in creative solutions at a startup.

Burn Rate 247

Burn Rate Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Dilution 247

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 24, 2011

I just read the Q1 2011 report from CB Insights , which shows venture capital is back. billion jump in funding over the same quarter of 2010 with a similar number of deals, so it clearly shows a trend to larger deal sizes for fewer startups. Back to VCs, Silicon Valley venture capital firms are still the most active.

Venture Capital 233

Venture Capital Revenue Elevator Pitch Silicon Valley 233

Gust

NOVEMBER 2, 2011

We recently started a series of posts on establishing the pre-money valuation of pre-revenue startup companies for purposes of investment by seed and startup investors. He has invested in more than 70 startup ventures. Add to Pre-money Valuation. If present, then Dave’s valuation is sound.

Valuation 79

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Intellectual Property Southern California 79

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 28, 2018

How could Bird really be worth the reported $2 billion valuation that I read about in this press? While I promised not to comment on the exact valuation you can assume that it is very large and perhaps the fastest rise from zero to what some have called a “unicorn” valuation. Forget the valuation?—?I Not at all.

San Francisco 256

San Francisco Valuation Technical Review Los Angeles 256

VC Cafe

AUGUST 2, 2022

As an early stage investor in the world of gaming and metaverse technology at Remagine Ventures, I find these companies have the potential to set the agenda, become the potential platforms for developers building in this space and future acquirers/consolidators of startups building the next generation of the Internet. Here we go!

IP 206

IP Cofounder Valuation Acquisition 206

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014

On the phone … Me: So, you raised venture capital? Revenue multiple? Me: There is no rational explanation for valuations of A round companies by ANY objective financial measure. People seem concerned about valuation. Why don’t they set a valuation then? Startup Lessons' About $1 million.

Venture Capital 417

Venture Capital Liquidation Preference Valuation Term Sheet 417

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2013

It is no secret that the world of venture capital (VCs) was turned upside down by the recent Recession, and many other changes in the marketplace. Every early-stage startup should explore this new funding alternative. Venture capital dispensed quarterly to startups actually declined again in the first quarter of 2013 to $6.3

Angel Investor 231

Angel Investor Entrepreneur Early Stage Silicon Valley 231

David Teten

JANUARY 19, 2021

More and more startups are pursuing Revenue-Based VCs , but “RBI” doesn’t fit everyone. Flexible VC 101: Equity Meets Revenue Share. By tying payments to actual revenues, founders and investors remain aligned around the company’s real-time performance, good or bad. Of the Inc. 5000 companies, only 6.5% Funder Category.

Cofounder 78

Cofounder Technical Review Equity Dividend 78

Gust

NOVEMBER 15, 2011

The Risk Factor Summation Method the fifth methodology for estimating the pre-money valuation of pre-revenue companies we have described in recent posts. Readers may have noted that both the Scorecard Method and the Dave Berkus Method considered a narrow set of important criteria for investment in arriving at a pre-money valuation.

Valuation 102

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Ohio Early Stage 102

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 16, 2011

Money to build the business is the number one challenge for most startups. A large percentage of startups never apply to either. You need to explore more common and more productive approaches for getting your startup moving forward. Self-funding is the preferred source of cash for your startup – if you can do it.

Technical Review 233

Technical Review Bootstrapping Startup Venture Capital 233

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 14, 2016

Based on some good estimates of how many new ventures have been started in the last five years, the statistical odds of any individual startup making it to this level are less than one in a million. If your new venture is still in the idea or development stages, don’t even think about a high valuation.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Valuation Merger Exit Strategy 120

Steve Blank

APRIL 26, 2022

At the turn of the century after the dotcom crash, startup valuations plummeted, burn rates were unsustainable, and startups were quickly running out of cash. Except, that is, for the bottom feeders of the Venture Capital business – investors who “ cram down ” their companies. They’re Back. Why do VCs Do This?

Cram Down 404

Cram Down Founder Venture Capital Recapitalization 404

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 9, 2010

It is no secret that the world of venture capital (VCs) has been turned upside down by the recession, and the many other changes in the marketplace. Every early-stage startup should explore this new funding alternative. Business Week ran a more thorough analysis of this movement a while back, which I am summarizing here.

Technical Review 215

Technical Review Early Stage Venture Capital Startup 215

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 22, 2020

Luckily, not all investors are looking for the same thing, so it pays to know what type of investors are most interested in what your startup brings to the table. The key is understanding how potential investors see you, and especially how they view the maturity stage of your startup. Congratulations!

Angel Investor 370

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Investment Bankers Private Equity 370

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 17, 2023

Luckily, not all investors are looking for the same thing, so it pays to know what type of investors are most interested in what your startup brings to the table. The key is understanding how potential investors see you, and especially how they view the maturity stage of your startup. Congratulations!

Angel Investor 313

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Investment Bankers Private Equity 313