Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 6, 2022

Finally, it’s an opportunity to “give back” what you have learned in your own career for the next generation. Many negotiate a board seat for themselves as part of the investment term sheet. Think long-term. Most angel investors only invest in companies and people local to their geography.

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Liquidity Event Angel Investor SEC Accredited Investor 300

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 28, 2010

If your startup is great enough to get a term sheet from angel investors or a venture capitalist, the next step for the investor is to complete the dreaded due diligence process. You need to brief the investor ahead of time if there are career anomalies or personnel situations that could be a problem. Don’t surprise the team.

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Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Angel Investor 229

This is going to be BIG.

AUGUST 21, 2023

There’s a term sheet. And then, even when they have, they still remain “interested” should Sequoia decide to throw down a term sheet.) was a term sheet. You should be working on it because you’re obsessed with the problem and there was just no way you could go on in your career without giving it a shot.

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Cap Table Term Sheet Database Option Pool 78

Mucker Lab

AUGUST 27, 2014

Encyclopedic knowledge of term sheets and startup buzzwords can be quickly learned, trained, and packaged. Having spent the bulk of our careers as entrepreneurs, we relish the opportunity to roll up our sleeves and help. This lack of “sophistication” does not always correlate with the lack of success.

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Los Angeles Southern California Silicon Valley Technical Review 138

View from Seed

AUGUST 17, 2021

But it’s getting harder and harder as I advance in this career, and I really need to keep reminding myself that it’s still day one. I was speaking to the former CFO of one of our most valuable portfolio companies the other day, and she recounted how this company once pitched 70 investors to barely get a term sheet.

IRR 205

IRR Dilution Founder Portfolio 205

crowdSPRING Blog

JUNE 6, 2013

Making the Leap: Old Career to New! A founder-friendly term sheet – [link]. Making the Leap: Old Career to New! How To Avoid Bad Advice That Can Kill Your Small Business Or Startup – [link]. 4 A/B Testing Mistakes That Can Kill Your Business – And How to Avoid Them | KISSMetrics Blog – [link].

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Social Media Small Business Design Media 95

View from Seed

AUGUST 17, 2021

But it’s getting harder and harder as I advance in this career, and I really need to keep reminding myself that it’s still day one. I was speaking to the former CFO of one of our most valuable portfolio companies the other day, and she recounted how this company once pitched 70 investors to barely get a term sheet.

IRR 156

IRR Dilution Founder Portfolio 156

Austin Startup

NOVEMBER 12, 2017

In that case, you are not making a specific offer; you are soliciting a terms sheet. Those investors will have terms sheets at the ready, and most of them will have some pesky MBA’s who will grind through all your assumptions, models, and market data.

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Term Sheet Technical Review Due Diligence Merger 48

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 12, 2009

But Cafepress’s most memorable moment was when the founders used a “Lessons Learned” VC pitch to raise their second round of funding and got an 8-digit term sheet that same afternoon. The VC firm delivered a term sheet for an 8-digit second round that afternoon. Here’s how they did it. And learn from it.”

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Venture Capital Silicon Valley RSS Hockey Stick 209

View from Seed

AUGUST 17, 2021

But it’s getting harder and harder as I advance in this career, and I really need to keep reminding myself that it’s still day one. I was speaking to the former CFO of one of our most valuable portfolio companies the other day, and she recounted how this company once pitched 70 investors to barely get a term sheet.

IRR 136

IRR Dilution Founder Portfolio 136

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 6, 2019

Finally, it’s an opportunity to “give back” what you have learned in your own career for the next generation. Many negotiate a board seat for themselves as part of the investment term sheet. Think long-term. Most angel investors only invest in companies and people local to their geography.

Liquidity Event 224

Liquidity Event SEC Entrepreneur Accredited Investor 224

Scott Edward Walker

JUNE 26, 2012

That’s generally not something you can discover in a few days while you are evaluating several term sheets.” - Sean Dalton (p. I am handing you a part of my career. I can only focus on eight things at a time, so you have one-eighth of my career in your hands. .” - Sean Dalton (p. It is hard to do.” - Harry Weller (p.117)

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Term Sheet Technical Review Due Diligence Cofounder 72

Gust

SEPTEMBER 29, 2011

The most successful serial entrepreneurs in the world may found three or four, perhaps even eight or ten venture-backed startups over the course of their careers. By contrast, venture capitalists and angel investors typically make scores or even hundreds of investments over the course of their careers. There are two principal reasons.

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Finance Term Sheet Preferred Stock Bridge Financing 178

This is going to be BIG.

OCTOBER 24, 2021

In the beginning of my venture career, I knew of a firm that was involved in a highly competitive funding round that they ultimately failed to win. Well, the very next company they saw in that space got a term sheet from the firm that missed out. Sometimes it all seems like magic.

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Founder Term Sheet Early Stage Business Model 127

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 16, 2017

Finally, it’s an opportunity to “give back” what you have learned in your own career for the next generation. Many negotiate a Board Seat for themselves as part of the investment Term Sheet. Think long-term. Most angel investors only invest in companies and people local to their geography.

Liquidity Event 184

Liquidity Event SEC Accredited Investor Angel Investor 184

View from Seed

JANUARY 30, 2020

Once a VC has given you a term sheet or told you that they want to invest, it’s fair game to ask VC’s to introduce you to founders they have worked that you can reference. For very senior partners that are later in their career, my questions would center around their level of focus and engagement. Are they prepared?

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Due Diligence Partner Term Sheet Finance 195

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 5, 2009

By definition, an entrepreneur in their 20′s only gets 5 or 6 “5 year decisions&# in their career. & Raising Capital Pitch Perfect 4 ways to get automatically rejected by an angel investor Raising Money Using Customer Development Due Diligence Checklist Term Sheet Archives (from Brad [.]

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Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 262

Up and Running

MARCH 29, 2017

He reminded us that with our newfound knowledge and degree, our careers had a solid baseline. With that baseline, the way to maximize the expected value of our careers was to increase their volatility. Those two terms determine how much of the company you’re giving away. Seed round funding mechanics follow a pattern.

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Term Sheet Venture Capital Liquidation Preference Valuation 60

Steve Blank

APRIL 9, 2009

Reply How to close a term sheet quickly - Venture Hacks , on April 28, 2009 at 10:43 am Said: [.] At some point in my career as I began to formulate thoughts about mission and intent, I started to think about the broader role of marketing in a growing technology company. The Sharp End of the Stick? It became [.]

Silicon Valley 259

Silicon Valley Technical Review RSS PR 259

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 26, 2011

I have been extraordinarily fortunate throughout my career to have been blessed with amazing mentors. And reading a term sheet has all the entertainment value of watching dried paint get even drier. For example, the right way to think about a term sheet is as a negotiation over just two things: economics and control.

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Antidilution Term Sheet Silicon Valley Widget 148

This is going to be BIG.

JUNE 4, 2017

You can't get to that one founder that keeps pushing themselves back up to the top of your inbox, because you have four term sheets out and you're trying to help someone close a round, and someone else hire a COO. You've got friends or family waiting--and sometimes, you just need to put the e-mail down.

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Reputation Cap Table Term Sheet Green 67

abovethecrowd.com

NOVEMBER 28, 2022

Never in my career have I seen such a complete failure of corporate controls and such a complete absence of trustworthy financial information as occurred here. Nearly every situation in which I have been involved has been characterized by defects of some sort in internal controls, regulatory compliance, human resources and systems integrity.

Venture Capital 113

Venture Capital Non-Compete Government Delaware 113

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 1, 2013

Finally, it’s an opportunity to “give back” what you have learned in your own career for the next generation. Many negotiate a Board Seat for themselves as part of the investment Term Sheet. Think long-term. Today you still need to be registered with the SEC as an “ accredited ” investor to legally buy any startup equity.

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Accredited Investor Liquidity Event SEC Stock 219

management.fortune.cnn.com

AUGUST 7, 2012

The price you pay for an Olympic-caliber career. Term Sheet. Business School. Management. Executive Dream Team. Why many entrepreneurs come across as jerks August 7, 2012: 10:57 AM ET. By Anthony Tjan. The rise of the chief culture officer. Anne Fisher | Ask Annie. When you are a beloved employees replacement. Howd you recover?

Entrepreneur 54

Entrepreneur Technical Review Iran Term Sheet 54

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 19, 2011

Lawyers : So you got your big term sheet signed and you’re now in the drafting. You thought it was going to be as easy as just having term sheet transferred to a longer form document. I not only encourage this, but I’ve spent my career fostering these important relationships.

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Term Sheet PR Liquidation Preference Stock Options 319

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 24, 2012

Finally, it’s an opportunity to “give back” what you have learned in your own career for the next generation. Many negotiate a Board Seat for themselves as part of the investment Term Sheet. Think long-term. Today you still need to be registered with the SEC as an “ accredited ” investor to legally buy any startup equity.

Portfolio 228

Portfolio Accredited Investor Liquidity Event SEC 228

Scott Edward Walker

SEPTEMBER 1, 2019

For the bulk of my career, I have been representing startups and emerging-growth companies in seed financings, venture capital financings, mergers and acquisitions, and other transactions. Most founders get very excited when they receive a term sheet for a financing or an acquisition. the money). They should: it is exciting.

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Founder Private Equity New York City Term Sheet 45

Haystack

FEBRUARY 9, 2019

The story behind the deal is just as interesting — as you can imagine, Gade and Paka had a lot of interest in their round, so given that I knew Gade well from before, I did a few things I’ve never done before — I wrote a term sheet, committed my largest ever first check (gulp!),

Artificial Inteligence 107

Artificial Inteligence Algorithm Term Sheet Cofounder 107

This is going to be BIG.

MAY 26, 2022

They’ll obviously see the value of what you built and will be compelled to offer a term sheet on the spot. That’s just not how it works. There are so many companies out there and the reality is, many of them kind of look like each other.

Founder 103

Founder .Net Term Sheet Aggregator 103

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 6, 2015

Finally, it’s an opportunity to “give back” what you have learned in your own career for the next generation. Many negotiate a Board Seat for themselves as part of the investment Term Sheet. Think long-term. Most Angel investors only invest in companies and people local to their geography.

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Accredited Investor Liquidity Event SEC Entrepreneur 120

David Teten

MAY 19, 2017

Stephane Levy, Partner at Cooley , is currently teaching a series on ‘ Introduction to Term Sheets ’ in New York with the New York City Venture Connection. TheDeal Corporate Governance Conference. PrivCapAcademy. RAISE conference/Fundapalooza. PROGRAMS/DEGREES. Kauffman Fellows. PrivCapAcademy.

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Private Equity Venture Capital Equity New York City 60

techcrunch.com

NOVEMBER 2, 2010

I wouldn’t recommend this if you’re meeting with more than 2 people, but this meeting was one of my best and resulted in a term sheet. Or have they been in venture their entire career? Instead of looking unprepared and asking to borrow an adaptor, I decided to adjust my plan and use my laptop screen to walk through the slides.

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Technical Review San Francisco Framework Term Sheet 100

Startup Lessons Learned

AUGUST 17, 2020

As Kristin told me, "every child deserves access to an incredible education and every chance in the world to build the life and career of their dreams. We literally started just as we got our first term sheet for investment on the day that we graduated from business school in June of 2006. So it was a big day.

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Cofounder Security Founder Entrepreneur 60

View from Seed

MAY 12, 2015

ultimately, a term sheet) when pitching any given firm? The flip side is that some of the very senior partners towards the tail ends of their careers are going to be less prolific in making new investments given the long term aspect of the commitment involved. How do you optimize your chance of success (i.e.

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Partner Term Sheet Reputation Deal Flow 120

mashable.com

JUNE 11, 2013

Legal Privacy Policy Terms of Use. Sites Jobs Events Social Good Summit Media Summit Career Expos. We spent six months fundraising only to walk away once we had a term sheet in hand because we realized we were making enough money to sustain and grow the business on our own terms. Advertise Advertise. Whats This?

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Cofounder Technical Review Startup Software Review 111

Hunter Walker

JULY 6, 2015

I’ve got a term sheet waiting for this girl as soon as she’s ready! What Francis refers to as her ‘‘cookie-­selling career’’ has led to multiple job offers and motivational-­speaking gigs. How To Sell The Most Cookies (via NYTimes). Look and act like a professional, even if you’re just a child.

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Oklahoma City Oklahoma Sales Term Sheet 48

Haystack

SEPTEMBER 1, 2018

Those founders can often choose from a few term sheets. A company is starting to get its sea legs, they’re booking revenues and growing, and they raise a hefty seed round of, say, $3M-ish dollars. In today’s funding environment, these kinds of rounds are quite common.

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Burn Rate Term Sheet Acquisition Revenue 76