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Praying to the God of Valuation

Both Sides of the Table

I started my first company in 1999 and was admittedly swept up in all of this: Magazine covers, fancy conferences, artificial valuations and easy money. I suppose if I loved spreadsheets and valuations and benchmarking I would work in the even more lucrative world of late-stage private equity. If we took them public we are naked now.

Valuation 466
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Should You Share Equity with Consultants?

www.inc.com

Should You Share Equity with Consultants? To grow his cash-strapped start-up, Parker ended up sharing equity -- not only with employees, but also with consultants and vendors. Parker found that equity as compensation helped build loyalty to his company -- even among consultants. But sharing equity can have pitfalls, too.

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Bubble watch: a comparison of 1999 and 2013

The Equity Kicker

The data points below show that in terms of the IPO market at least the heat is nothing like what it was in 1999. Median sales of company at time of IPO — $12m in 1999 vs. $106m in 2013. in 1999 vs. 5.5x Total # of tech IPOs — 369 in 1999 vs 45 in 2013. billion in 1999 vs $8.5 Total IPO proceeds raised — $33.5

IPO 119
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Revisiting Paul Graham’s “High Resolution” Financing

Both Sides of the Table

When I first read Paul Graham’s blog post on “High Resolution&# Financing I read it as a treatise arguing that convertible notes are better than equity. He’s fine with equity provided it’s cheap to paper it legally. Photo credit: D. Blanchard/O’Reilly Media.

Finance 286
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Equity Investing in 2013

Growthink Blog

Last week, my column received quite a reaction as I pointed out how much of a disaster the public equity markets have been these past 14 years. Given that inflation since then has reduced purchasing power by over 37%, the net return for the period has been significantly negative.

Equity 66
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Today's Webinar: Equity Investing in 2014

Growthink Blog

We’re hosting a webinar today at 4 pm PT about equity investing in 2014, and you’re invited to attend. To register, click here: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/638414410

Equity 63
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What is the Right Burn Rate at a Startup Company?

Both Sides of the Table

by Michael Woolf that is worth any startup founder reading to get a sense of perspective on the reality warp that is startup world during a frothy market such as 1997-1999, 2005-2007 or 2012-2014. So money spent should add equity value or create IP that eventually will. (it is also the title of a fabulous book from Internet 1.0

Burn Rate 383