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

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 11, 2022

In the US, a nonprofit is technically any company who qualifies as tax exempt through IRS Section 501(c). The grant source often gets overlooked, but it should be a major focus these days when relevant due to the Obama administration initiatives on alternative energy and healthcare. Government grants.

Angel Investor 327

Angel Investor Equity Technical Review Exit Strategy 327

Haystack

DECEMBER 29, 2018

It’s that time of year, time to look back and reflect on the most significant storylines in the tech, startup, and VC world. And, with that warning, I offer to you, the big stories in the startup and investing ecosystem of 2018, written in ascending order of importance and magnitude…. 6/ Venture Capital In Expansion Phase.

Technical Review 165

Technical Review Venture Capital Russia China 165

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 12, 2019

Over the past month a colleague ( Chang Xu ) and I sifted through data on the venture capital industry (as we do every year) and made a bunch of calls to VCs and LPs to confirm our hypotheses. As a result of the IPO window shifting we saw a massive inflow of public-market capital into the latest stages of venture.

Venture Capital 328

Venture Capital Technical Review Seed Stage IPO 328

David Teten

MAY 16, 2017

A few years ago, I presented at an Invesco conference on Emerging GPs, and one of the highlights was a presentation by Laurie Weir summarizing CALPERS’ selection criteria under their Private Equity Emerging Manager Program Review. Sapphire Ventures’ Top 10 tips for pitching an LP . Katherine Barr: 5 00 Startups’ Premoney.

Private Equity 60

Private Equity Venture Capital Technical Review Equity 60

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

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

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. According to Knowledge.VC , under 5% of US VCs have a full-time team member focused on technology. . Why is it now more feasible to use technology in the VC investing process?

Private Equity 60

Private Equity Venture Capital Equity Technical Review 60

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

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 5, 2017

At the outset, it is worth noting that when it comes to the world of venture funding, I am a bit of an outsider. Until a handful of years ago, I didn’t even know what venture capital was, let alone anything about the complicated process of actually acquiring VC funding. I don’t know this world on an intimate, personal level.

Venture Capital 82

Venture Capital Lean Cofounder Technical Review 82

Growthink Blog

MAY 20, 2011

I received an email last week from an entrepreneur (let's call him Mike) Now to begin, I was pretty impressed with Mike since he used a nice technique to get his email in my inbox (due to the volume of emails I receive, they are screened by others before they get to me). Getting a $100 Million valuation is impossible for a startup.

Venture Capital 109

Venture Capital Valuation NDA Non-disclosure Agreement 109

VC Cafe

JANUARY 24, 2021

Covid-19 accelerated the adoption of entertainment tech, gaming and commerce. The move to remote work forced quick adoption of cloud technology and tools that were once having difficulties selling to large corporates, saw explosive growth – from Zoom to Hopin, new unicorns were born in record time. 2020… where to start?

Technical Review 207

Technical Review Audio Forecast Social Media 207

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 8, 2019

In the US, a nonprofit is technically any company who qualifies as tax exempt through IRS Section 501(c). The grant source often gets overlooked, but it should be a major focus these days when relevant due to the Obama administration initiatives on alternative energy and healthcare. Government grants.

Equity 235

Equity Angel Investor Technical Review Exit Strategy 235

David Teten

SEPTEMBER 6, 2018

Just as with any company, the most important issue is the team; see “ How to Negotiate a Partner Role at a Venture Capital or Private Equity Firm “ . Another critical design consideration is your tech stack. See How Private Equity and Venture Capital Investors Are Eating Their Own Dogfood. .

Technical Review 60

Technical Review Private Equity Management Cap Table 60

David Teten

SEPTEMBER 6, 2018

Just as with any company, the most important issue is the team; see “ How to Negotiate a Partner Role at a Venture Capital or Private Equity Firm “ . Another critical design consideration is your tech stack. See How Private Equity and Venture Capital Investors Are Eating Their Own Dogfood. .

Technical Review 60

Technical Review Private Equity Management Cap Table 60

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. Valuation. ” I highly recommend reading it.

Burn Rate 383

Burn Rate Balance Sheet .Net Valuation 383

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

According to the Angel Capital Association: Angels (private money) invest in 55,000 startups each year versus 1,500 companies by VC (venture capital) funding. Angels invest in one out of every forty deals they review (2.5%) versus the one out of 400 by VC’s (0.25%). Title III, Title III!” Go for the gut.

Angel Investor 159

Angel Investor Technical Review Software Review Accredited Investor 159

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 21, 2009

On the third Wednesday of every month I co-chair a meeting called the SoCal VCA (venture capital alliance), which represents participants from all of the top venture capital firms in Southern California as well as prominent members of the Tech Coast Angels (TCA). We feature a prominent speaker at every event.

Technical Review 241

Technical Review IPO Southern California Venture Capital 241

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

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. Due to the economy as well, traditional individual angel investors haven’t been able to fill the gap.

Technical Review 215

Technical Review Early Stage Venture Capital Startup 215

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

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

David Teten

JANUARY 19, 2021

More and more startups are pursuing Revenue-Based VCs , but “RBI” doesn’t fit everyone. Every Flexible VC structure allows founders to access immediate risk capital while preserving exit, growth trajectory, and ownership optionality. . Our categorization is not a technical one. Yes, via conversion rights at a valuation cap.

Cofounder 78

Cofounder Technical Review Equity Dividend 78

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

San Francisco 256

San Francisco Valuation Technical Review Los Angeles 256

Version One Ventures

DECEMBER 20, 2021

And if you haven’t seen it already, you can read our Year in Review post, where we reflect on the incredible pace of the start-up market in 2021. . Everyone (investors and founders alike) has underestimated the size of the addressable market for tech over the past decade. Our top three topics from the year: . 1/ Is 10x the new 3x?

Venture Capital 60

Venture Capital Technical Review Software Review IPO 60

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 25, 2012

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 257

Technical Review Bootstrapping Venture Capital Incubator 257

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 16, 2017

Every tech or major news journal in the country is preparing to write their Snap, Inc (creators of Snapchat, Spectacles, etc) stories and many of them seem to want a “How does it feel to have missed this investment story.” We felt proud to be the lead investor in Maker Studios at a sub $5 million valuation. Another firm funded them.

IPO 214

IPO Los Angeles Technical Review Silicon Valley 214

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2011

2 preamble issues having read the comments on TC today: 1: I know that the prices of startup companies is much great in Silicon Valley than in smaller towns / less tech focused areas in the US and the US prices higher than many foreign markets. As the risks below get eliminated the higher the valuation investors are prepared to pay.

Pre-Money Valuation 336

Pre-Money Valuation Valuation Silicon Valley Stock 336

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. Dave Berkus is a founding member of the Tech Coast Angels in Southern California, a lecturer and educator. Add to Pre-money Valuation. Zero to $0.5

Valuation 79

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Intellectual Property Southern California 79

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 25, 2010

Having re-read it, I believe his real premise instead is, “Fixed-size, multi-investor angel rounds are such a bad idea for startups that one wonders why things were ever done that way.&#. Either would be fine with startups, so long as they can easily change their valuation. When I’m in, I’m in.

Finance 286

Finance Term Sheet Technical Review Warrant 286

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 20, 2019

In the startup world, opportunities are fleeting, and obstacles are ubiquitous. Competition from other startups and established incumbents, constraints on time and capital, and limited access to talent and technology resources are just a few of the hurdles nearly every first-time founder faces while trying to build a business.

Technical Review 140

Technical Review Due Diligence Early Stage Differentiation 140

David Teten

AUGUST 20, 2019

I’ve been a traditional equity VC for 8 years, and I’m now researching new business models in venture capital. I have been impressed by how these venture capitalists are accomplishing a major social impact goal…without even trying to. I contacted every RBI venture capital investor I could identify, and learned: .

Revenue 60

Revenue Cofounder Founder Venture Capital 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

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

Venture Capital is a tricky industry. I know – I was there when the first people debating funding it at less than a $5m valuation. Periodically we do portfolio reviews to evaluate whether we have enough diversified risk across the fund. Far from it. Almost nobody believed and now look at it. Online education.

Technical Review 362

Technical Review America Partner United States 362

View from Seed

DECEMBER 4, 2019

If you aren’t familiar with these metrics, I recommend reading the original post to get a sense of the numbers that I’ll be reviewing here. Over the last 10 years, we’ve been in a bull market with considerable froth in late stage financing activity and valuations. This would suggest that TVPI would be performing well.

LP 256

LP IRR Distribution Portfolio 256

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 19, 2017

Capital investments are like gasoline on a startup business’s metaphorical fire. They allow you to hire more people, purchase new technology, and establish new business connections, among many other benefits. If you’re like most startup CEOs, your startup has been your personal fiefdom and baby.

Private Equity 94

Private Equity Pre-Money Valuation Equity Startup 94

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 15, 2015

In the US, a non-profit is technically any company who qualifies as tax exempt through IRS Section 501(c). The grant source often gets overlooked, but it should be a major focus these days when relevant due to the Obama administration initiatives on alternative energy and healthcare. Government grants. That’s a higher calling.

Angel Investor 120

Angel Investor Equity Technical Review Exit Strategy 120