Gust

APRIL 27, 2014

Software Development Process via Wikipedia. Even when your startup is a one-man show and lots of fun, a “business” needs some discipline and controls to keep it from being defined as a hobby by investors, and assure some financial return.

Startup 187

Startup Institutional Investors Angel Investor Bootstrapping 187

Gust

DECEMBER 13, 2012

A good list of just about everything you could possibly want to have in your arsenal is listed in the answer to What materials or software should I use to pitch a VC? If you are going around personally to talk to potential high net worth investor to whom you have an introduction, you probably don’t need a video.

Early Stage 149

Early Stage Video Elevator Pitch Angel Investor 149

Gust

JUNE 8, 2022

Looking at SaaS specifically, Byron Deeter, partner at Bessemer Venture Partners, said the median company in their index of subscription software stocks is down 53%, […]. How to protect your SaaS business during market uncertainty Public tech stocks have been on a downward trend the last few months in the US & Europe.

Europe 91

Europe Marketing Stock Partner 91

Gust

DECEMBER 22, 2011

It’s possible to have a company with literally millions of customers (users) that employs only a handful of people, working in a small rented office, with hardware and software costing in the tens of thousands rather than millions of dollars. (Instagram is a textbook example.) Most of our early-stage startup clients fit this description.

Intellectual Property 149

Intellectual Property Technical Review Software Review IP 149

Gust

NOVEMBER 8, 2012

Patent reform is high on the list of priorities for most of the tech industry, particularly in the areas of software, Internet and mobile technology. Giving privately held companies maximum room to maneuver as they raise funding from accredited investors and participate in secondary markets can only strengthen the startup ecosystem.

Silicon Valley 187

Silicon Valley San Francisco Intellectual Property Accredited Investor 187

Gust

JUNE 5, 2012

Like the problem solver I had been trained as in my software development days, I parsed his issue. He openend with his first issue. I listened to why he didn’t agree to that particular term and what he preferred in stead. I saw where he was coming from and from our side why our ask was what it was. I talked too much. He talked too much.

Software Developers 115

Software Developers Software Development Software Media 115

Gust

DECEMBER 6, 2011

An experienced software engineer, for example, can develop a new mobile app with his or her own resources and market the product on the web with very little capital. The resources required to start a company vary significantly , depending on the type of company and growth rate anticipated by the entrepreneur.

Angel Investor 179

Angel Investor Venture Capital Valuation Software Engineering 179

Gust

NOVEMBER 15, 2011

And designers, as another example … the designer for hardware and consumer tech is definitely enhanced by the degree, especially engineering; but in web and software, not so much.

Angel Investor 101

Angel Investor Software Review Technical Review Engineer 101

Gust

AUGUST 9, 2014

A Software-as-a-Service company using open source and cloud computing technologies. Software will be created in these 6 different areas: Browser-based operating system. There are 4 main competitors to our business: (1) MSN, (2) Yahoo, (3), Google, and (4) Amazon. Contestant B. Web-based Productivity Applications.

Startup 131

Startup Database Open Source Equity 131

Gust

SEPTEMBER 27, 2014

One excellent way to do this (with a good bit of help from the experts), is to create a draft business plan using LivePlan from Palo Alto Software.

Angel Groups 159

Angel Groups Elevator Pitch Software Review Deal Flow 159

Gust

OCTOBER 16, 2012

Pre-revenue software, internet, mobile and telecom deals. In this survey, the median and the average for all deals, the software/Internet/mobile/telecom deals and for deals in the “other” category were essentially the same, while the average was much higher than the median for life science and energy/clean tech deals. Organization.

Angel Groups 169

Angel Groups Valuation Pre-Money Valuation North Dakota 169

Gust

SEPTEMBER 12, 2011

I don’t mean necessarily geographically close to me or conceptually close to my experience (software, web, etc.), I want something that can continue to sell in volume even while we all sleep. Closeness. but one or the other.

Technical Review 70

Technical Review Software Review Angel Investor Exit Strategy 70

Gust

APRIL 12, 2014

SIIA (the US Software and Information Industry Association) named Gust the Best Collaboration Solution of 2013, at the gala during the All About The Cloud annual conference in San Francisco on Thursday.

San Francisco 142

San Francisco Cloud Naming Software 142

Gust

NOVEMBER 11, 2011

I suspect it’s almost like the way everybody agrees to software terms every time they install, and nobody reads them. It’s apparently way too easy for founders to focus only on the prize money, and winning, and therefore acknowledge terms sheets without reading or thinking about them.

Software Review 79

Software Review Term Sheet Due Diligence Angel Investor 79

Gust

JUNE 10, 2012

I come from a high-tech software background, and only a few years ago, it would cost at least a million dollars ($1M) for a team of professionals to produce any commercial software product. Now, with open source software components, and low-cost development tools, the same job can be done by one good hacker for a few thousand dollars.

Cost 139

Cost Burn Rate SEM Startup 139

Gust

APRIL 23, 2014

That’s likely why SWIFT, the international banking consortium, this year named Gust the world’s most innovative financial technology startup, and why the US software industry has awarded Gust the CODiE for Best Collaboration Solution for two years in a row.

Angel Groups 127

Angel Groups Accredited Investor Private Equity Deal Flow 127

Gust

OCTOBER 25, 2011

I’m an angel investor now, but I also had a small piece of co-founder equity in a software company that went public, and whole ownership of a software company that grew and prospered but remained private. But angel investment isn’t for everybody. My own experience keeps me open minded on this point.

Cofounder 133

Cofounder Angel Investor Equity Software 133

Gust

OCTOBER 26, 2014

Spend the absolute minimum for what you need (equipment, software, and services) to keep your business running. If you can, start your business in your home office, basement or garage (Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and many other legends used this approach). Think minimum spending. If you do, there probably won’t ever be a long run!

Bootstrapping 176

Bootstrapping Startup Merger Salary 176

Gust

NOVEMBER 18, 2012

NewCo has filed a patent on one of their software tool algorithms, which is very positive, and puts them several steps ahead of others who may be venturing into the same area. Assign real value to intellectual property. The value of patents and trademarks is not certifiable, especially if you are only at the provisional stage.

Valuation 187

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation NPV Intellectual Property 187

Gust

JANUARY 26, 2014

I have used this approach with high-tech roles, like software design, as well as business development roles. If you are a problem solver by nature, like Richard Branson, this requires you to change your mindset from giving the “answer,” to helping someone else understand the process, and come to an even better solution.

Partner 161

Partner Leadership Software Design 161

Gust

AUGUST 12, 2012

For software, websites, and high-tech products, this is the “meat” of what you intend to build. Because it addresses an internal audience, it can use technical jargon and assume the reader understands the technology. Here are the key components of a good product plan: Detailed features.

Product 150

Product Business Plan Differentiation Business Model 150

Gust

JANUARY 26, 2014

I have used this approach with high-tech roles, like software design, as well as business development roles. If you are a problem solver by nature, like Richard Branson, this requires you to change your mindset from giving the “answer,” to helping someone else understand the process, and come to an even better solution.

Partner 116

Partner Leadership Software Design 116

Gust

NOVEMBER 28, 2011

You may have great credentials as a public servant in your home town, but that won’t get you money to build a social network on the Internet, or start a software company. Experience and expertise in this business area.

Startup 147

Startup Bootstrapping Social Network Internet 147

Gust

JULY 8, 2012

This is a concept coined (and trademarked) by Eric Ries a few years ago, primarily for software and web applications. The business accelerator model is YCombinator and TechStars , who select only the best applicants, have a demanding process, provide experienced coaching/mentoring, some seed funding, with a required exit in about six months.

Early Stage 177

Early Stage Finance Seed Stage Entrepreneur 177

Gust

OCTOBER 2, 2014

People seldom understand that when enterprise customers choose your software it isn’t just a purchase order. He has staked his reputation on a project to use the software of some shitty 2-year-old startup company because he believes! It’s a human being inside the buying organization who has trusted you.

Monaco 122

Monaco Cofounder Chicago Mexico 122

Gust

MARCH 5, 2024

But most businesses require some money before they can be started—to pay for software, buy tools or equipment, lease office space, or pay for the time worked by employees or outside contractors.

Equity 160

Equity Software Small Business Employee 160

Gust

OCTOBER 7, 2011

After a night of drinking (the event was held in Las Vegas, after all), we realized that we did have some pretty powerful software for manipulating complex images, and that we could continue to focus on that without the expense of hardware development. We were broke and product-less.

Las Vegas 70

Las Vegas Algorithm PR Internet 70

Gust

SEPTEMBER 29, 2011

In a convertible debt financing, the investment is made without placing an explicit valuation on the startup; instead, the investor makes the company a loan, which will convert as part of the next priced equity round into the type of security issued to investors in that round, whomever they may be.

Finance 178

Finance Term Sheet Preferred Stock Bridge Financing 178

Gust

OCTOBER 12, 2011

Biotech, life science and medical devices are usually funded at higher pre-money valuations than, say, software and Internet companies. Groups focused on the life science sector, as an example, will likely fund deals at higher valuations than those funding a broader set of deals.

Angel Groups 125

Angel Groups Valuation Pre-Money Valuation St. Louis 125

Gust

DECEMBER 27, 2012

A comprehensive list of things you might want is listed in the answer to What materials or software should I use to pitch a VC? , and these can all be neatly gathered into a confidential investor relations site, such as you can create with Gust.com. Now, and only now, are you prepared to start fundraising.

Software Review 164

Software Review Term Sheet Technical Review Angel Investor 164

Gust

JANUARY 6, 2013

An expert in software is considered high risk in manufacturing, and a Fortune 100 executive running a startup is high risk. I’ve said many times that investors fund people, not ideas. They look for people with real experience in the business domain of the startup, and people with real experience running a startup.

Russia 186

Russia Startup Software Review Government 186

Gust

SEPTEMBER 21, 2014

Been there, done that” - Building a software company is much different than a manufacturing one, or services. It will be a long time before you have in-house counsel, and you can’t afford an outside law firm for every NDA to sign. So, choose a CFO who is very comfortable with legal documents, as well as finance.

NDA 147

NDA CPA SEC Startup 147

Gust

SEPTEMBER 23, 2012

Software as a service (SaaS) has now pretty much replaced the old licensing model, but offering it was a strategic risk for SalesForce.com. Every new product you add stretches your ability to deliver winning function and quality. Yet a great initial product, with no follow-on, will not keep you ahead of competitors. Take the strategic risk.

Forecast 188

Forecast Viral Social Network Business Model 188

Gust

OCTOBER 8, 2014

She designed a software solution that she was planning on selling to enterprises for $100,000 a year. The best way to do this is to define a trajectory towards success and then set milestones that demonstrate you’re moving in the right direction. Recently, I met with an entrepreneur to discuss her financing strategy.

Venture Capital 163

Venture Capital Finance Early Stage .Net 163

Gust

SEPTEMBER 13, 2011

Matt Harris of Village Ventures put it perfectly in an article about our launch this morning on Bloomberg News: “As a business plan, having software that investors use and tacking on an entrepreneur-facing entity, that’s sort of the dream, that’s what OpenTable did for restaurants.”.

Angel Investor 79

Angel Investor Silicon Valley Venture Capital Finance 79