Gust

JUNE 17, 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 164

Technical Review Bootstrapping Venture Capital Incubator 164

Gust

SEPTEMBER 12, 2011

Since this is my inaugural post here, I decided it would fit the occasion to list the five things I value most in an startup investment proposal. Startup experience. I want to see people on the team who have been through a startup. I want somebody who knows what it feels like to work in a startup. Respect for the exit.

Technical Review 70

Technical Review Software Review Angel Investor Exit Strategy 70

Gust

MARCH 19, 2014

The most important is that venture capital firms simply do not fund business plans. But I wish you luck with your venture! Invested Interests business plan entrepreneurs startups US venture capital firms visa' The disappointing fact is that this is a highly, highly unlikely scenario, for several reasons.

Venture Capital 122

Venture Capital Business Plan Green Entrepreneur 122

Gust

DECEMBER 6, 2011

Idea, pre-seed, startup. Pre-seed, startup. Center for Venture Research. Most for startups and growth stages. Startup and growth stages. Venture Capital. $20 Most for startups and growth stages. So, generally, these three major sources of capital are complementary, not competitive.

Angel Investor 179

Angel Investor Venture Capital Valuation Software Engineering 179

Gust

DECEMBER 22, 2011

So you’ve chosen a name for your startup, product, or both. Tech startups are at the other extreme. The gulf has widened with the proliferation of social Internet / user-generated content and mobile application startups. Most of our early-stage startup clients fit this description. Instagram is a textbook example.)

Intellectual Property 149

Intellectual Property Technical Review Software Review IP 149

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

Gust

JANUARY 13, 2023

Good news for startups building from within New York State! New York State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) and it's venture capital management arm, NY Ventures is providing support and capital of $30 million for it's Pre-seed and Seed Matching Fund Program to help early stage startups who are registered in New York.

Matching 91

Matching Programming New York Early Stage 91

Gust

OCTOBER 12, 2014

Obviously, a key factor is always the state of the economy and the mood of the venture capital community. According to the Silicon Valley Venture Capitalist Confidence Index® for the First Quarter 2014, the Q1 increase marks seven consecutive quarters of positive sentiment among Silicon Valley venture capitalists.

Silicon Valley 182

Silicon Valley Venture Capital Massachusetts California 182

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. The Dave Berkus method is useful as one such method.

Valuation 79

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Intellectual Property Southern California 79

Gust

DECEMBER 25, 2013

To start with, a pre-revenue mobile company cannot expect to raise anything from “the VCs” Venture capital funds invest in only one out of every 400 companies seeking funding, so the odds of your particular startup getting funded are astronomically against you. Good luck with your venture!

Revenue 136

Revenue Angel Investor Mobile Venture Capital 136

Gust

FEBRUARY 22, 2014

There are literally hundreds of platforms currently operating that connect investors and startups, and there have been at least a hundred others that have come and gone. Gust News David Rose Gust investors replicate startups' .” With that in mind… No: It’s a similar situation in the entrepreneurial funding space.

Belarus 107

Belarus Kazakhstan Portugal Accredited Investor 107

Gust

MARCH 11, 2014

According to analysis by my partner Jamie Davidson on typical periods between financings peaks around 9 months so the follow on rates for Series Bs should be accurate up until the 2011 class, which gives these startups more than 2 years to raise their B. Invested Interests content marketing saas Startup Funding startup management'

Seed Stage 169

Seed Stage Seed Capital Startup Green 169

Gust

OCTOBER 18, 2012

The problem isn’t that VCs should look like entrepreneurs, but rather that (as is pointed out in the question details) the current venture capital system is pretty much broken. original post can be found on Quora @ : [link] *.

Lean 152

Lean Venture Capital Startup Entrepreneur 152

Gust

DECEMBER 1, 2011

For years there has been a pervasive opinion across the entrepreneurial landscape that the US has a shortage of capital required to startup and grow new ventures. It is suggested that companies cannot find the cash necessary to start new and exciting ventures.

SBIR 120

SBIR Startup New York City Angel Investor 120

Gust

DECEMBER 29, 2013

I’ve been advising and mentoring startups and growth companies for years, and find myself always pushing them to try something new, for the sake of growth and survival. Even early in the startup process, you need someone like-minded but complementary in skills to help you with the startup plans. Image via HealthyBodyLife.com.

Startup 183

Startup Intellectual Property LLC Burn Rate 183

Gust

JANUARY 22, 2014

At the moment, Gust for individual angels is only available to Accredited Investors who either (a) belong to an official angel group, venture fund or other organization that provides verification of their investor status, or (b) have already invested in (or been invited by) a startup using Gust for its investor relations communications.

Angel Investor 150

Angel Investor Angel Groups Accredited Investor Early Stage 150

Gust

DECEMBER 28, 2011

In the “good old days,” angels invested in seed-stage startups and teed up promising companies for subsequent venture capital financing. If the company was successful, this quickly led to an IPO – a very happy ending for the entrepreneur, the angels, and the venture capitalists. My, my…how the world has changed.

IPO 153

IPO Venture Capital Entrepreneur Angel Investor 153

Gust

NOVEMBER 22, 2011

Different types of investors look for startups at different levels of maturity. If your startup is at the wrong stage for the investor you are approaching, fishing for money is a waste of time for both of you. You also will find that the stage your startup is in dictates where you go to seek funding. Early or embryonic stage.

Venture Capital 171

Venture Capital Investment Bankers Angel Investor Initial Public Offering 171

Gust

AUGUST 10, 2014

However, making no projections, or non-credible projections will get your startup marked as unfundable. Here are some basic rules of thumb that every Angel or venture capital equity investor uses, to help you anticipate their reactions. Venture capital requests that get satisfied are even lower.

Liquidity Event 176

Liquidity Event Equity Venture Capital Merger 176

Gust

APRIL 2, 2014

Remember that only 1 out of every 400 startup companies , not ideas , get funded. For a more in-depth discussion of this (and a great post by Derek Sivers , please read my answer to Venture Capital: Is it possible for an idea to be funded by a VC? original post can be found on Quora @ [link] *.

Web 137

Web Venture Capital Startup Entrepreneur 137

Gust

SEPTEMBER 27, 2014

Browse through the many hundreds of video answers to startup questions that we’ve filmed from the world’s leading VCs and angels. You really should have spent a heck of a lot of time beforehand in thinking through all of the issues surrounding your startup.

Angel Groups 159

Angel Groups Elevator Pitch Software Review Deal Flow 159

Gust

FEBRUARY 15, 2014

While anything is technically possible, the reality is that venture capital firms do not fund “ideas” There are many wonderful ideas, and even many people having the same idea in the market at any given time. So what VCs fund is execution.

Venture Capital 130

Venture Capital Startup Marketing 130

Gust

JANUARY 22, 2014

At the moment, Gust for individual angels is only available to Accredited Investors who either (a) belong to an official angel group, venture fund or other organization that provides verification of their investor status, or (b) have already invested in (or been invited by) a startup using Gust for its investor relations communications.

Angel Investor 89

Angel Investor Angel Groups Accredited Investor Early Stage 89

Gust

DECEMBER 13, 2011

Here are the trends in venture capital financings from 2006 through 2010 – the number of seed stage deals funded and total investment by region in millions of dollars. . In fact, my sense is that in most regions, angels and VCs are cooperating and sometimes co-funding startups. All Seed-VC. Silicon Valley. New England.

Seed Stage 162

Seed Stage Southern California San Diego Silicon Valley 162

Gust

SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

It’s also used by over 300 venture capital funds. …and for a discussion of the investor-side tools, see my answer to: What are some ways you keep track of startups you are evaluating/diligencing/in vesting in?

Management 115

Management Vesting Angel Investor Venture Capital 115

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. original post can be found on Quora @ [link] *.

Angel Groups 127

Angel Groups Accredited Investor Private Equity Deal Flow 127

Gust

NOVEMBER 29, 2011

In the sum, substantial amounts of money (as much as a million dollars) can be raised for each startup company. Those US residents who do not meet accredited standards have been precluded from investing in startup companies. The Pros: So, why should the “laws of the land” be altered to legalize crowd funding of US startup companies?

Securities and Exchange Commission 154

Securities and Exchange Commission Accredited Investor Angel Investor Due Diligence 154

Gust

NOVEMBER 28, 2011

Fortune 1000 CEOs usually don’t make good startup CEOs, and vice versa. The startup road is guaranteed to be long and hard. What if you can’t convince Jim Clark (Silicon Graphics, Netscape, WebMD, MyCFO, Juniper Networks) to run your startup? The size of the race is also important. Bundles of energy, money, and talent.

Startup 147

Startup Bootstrapping Social Network Internet 147

Gust

OCTOBER 8, 2014

If you want a great primer on how the VC and startup funding scene changed here’s a great primer. If you raised $1m, then $1m, then $500k over a 2-year period they will most likely assume you had a hard time raising capital. It’s hard building a startup. Invested Interests cap table venture capital'

Cap Table 136

Cap Table Silicon Valley Term Sheet Non-Compete 136

Gust

DECEMBER 21, 2011

Boston, New York City, Seattle and Southern California spawn many exciting startups…but do not exceed the Valley in any measure of entrepreneurial achievement. And, while being the undisputed leader in breeding and growing startups, the Valley is not the only place in the world (or the US) where entrepreneurs thrive.

Silicon Valley 107

Silicon Valley Southern California Tucson Seattle 107

Gust

OCTOBER 31, 2011

But recently I was asked about success factors for services startups, and I quickly realized that there is very little published to help the thousands of startups that fall in this category. In addition, the statistics show that over half of new startups, perhaps as high as 75%, provide services only (no product).

Angel Investor 143

Angel Investor Venture Capital Partner Networking 143

Gust

NOVEMBER 11, 2011

Startups and investors discover each other, and the community wins because the event becomes visible evidence of new business and new jobs locally. Or the in-kind winning includes legal work or management consulting, but the startup that wins has its own providers. Investors and startup winner end up never agreeing on terms.

Software Review 79

Software Review Term Sheet Due Diligence Angel Investor 79

Gust

NOVEMBER 15, 2011

Best practice for angels investing in pre-revenue ventures is to use multiple methods for establishing the pre-money valuation for seed/startup companies. We will wrap up this series with a post summarizing the multiple valuation methods for establishing the pre-money valuation of seed and startup companies in an upcoming post.

Valuation 102

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Ohio Early Stage 102

Gust

OCTOBER 8, 2014

A founder with a startup focused on selling groceries online should begin their pitch by describing the total money projected to be spent on groceries online over the coming years. When I set about to raise money for my first startup, sixdegrees, I spoke with over 200 high-net-worth individuals– all of whom rejected me. Stay In Touch.

Venture Capital 163

Venture Capital Finance Early Stage .Net 163

Gust

OCTOBER 2, 2014

The Truth About Building Startups from msuster. As a startup founder you rarely have much money in your bank accounts. I recently had coffee with a young friend who just finished his first startup. He has staked his reputation on a project to use the software of some shitty 2-year-old startup company because he believes!

Monaco 122

Monaco Cofounder Chicago Mexico 122

Gust

OCTOBER 20, 2011

This method compares the target company to typical angel-funded startup ventures and adjusts the average valuation of recently funded companies in the region to establish a pre-money valuation of the target. Such comparisons can only be made for companies at the same stage of development, in this case, for pre-revenue startup ventures.

Valuation 146

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Intellectual Property Technical Review 146

Gust

NOVEMBER 1, 2011

Credibility with startups begins with startup experience. A good team almost always has at least one person who’s been through a startup before. It doesn’t take startup success, ironically, because going through a startup failure is still great real-world experience. Do you have a credible team?

Angel Investor 93

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Finance Web 93