Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 30, 2020

Most aspiring entrepreneurs look to their alma mater, or any university, as a source of classes that can help them, but neglect to think outside the box or take advantage of all the other resources to be found there. Access to entrepreneurs-in-residence, business mentors. Access to intellectual property and current research.

Arizona 310

Arizona Intellectual Property Accredited Investor Dividend 310

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 10, 2016

Is there a real customer willing to give a testimonial? Don’t be sidetracked by potential customers in the middle of a free trial, or friends of the founder. These questions are the key ones in every due diligence effort, always done by accredited investors, but almost never done by key employees and new partners.

Sweat Equity 120

Sweat Equity Burn Rate Technical Review Intellectual Property 120

ReadWriteStart

APRIL 26, 2011

The service is meant to help investors from all over the country - both accredited investors and what the company calls "sophisticated investors" - gain access to deal that they wouldn't ordinarily see. MicroVentures says it makes the process of fundraising easier for entrepreneurs too.

Software Review 122

Software Review Accredited Investor Due Diligence Burn Rate 122

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 12, 2013

Many entrepreneurs I know don’t realize that the language they learned in the corporate world, or even their recent MBA class, won’t get them ahead in the startup world today. As a reality check, try this quick test of your entrepreneur savvy. As a reality check, try this quick test of your entrepreneur savvy. Super-angels.

Entrepreneur 274

Entrepreneur Accredited Investor Silicon Valley Angel Investor 274

Gust

FEBRUARY 22, 2014

However, there is actually much more to Gust than is apparent on the surface, or even from the viewpoint of a current user (either entrepreneur or investor). This is a completely insane and complex vision (but what the heck, we’re entrepreneurs!)

Belarus 107

Belarus Kazakhstan Portugal Accredited Investor 107

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2016

Most aspiring entrepreneurs look to their alma mater, or any university, as a source of classes that can help them, but neglect to think outside the box or take advantage of all the other resources to be found there. Access to entrepreneurs-in-residence, business mentors. Access to intellectual property and current research.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Accredited Investor Entrepreneur Incubator 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 16, 2012

The hard part for entrepreneurs is figuring out what it takes to play. Here is just a sampling of the latest terminology and lingo that I gleaned from Dave, and from some additional research on the Internet, that I think every entrepreneur should know, who may be looking for funding now, or down the road: Micro-VCs. Crowd funding.

Early Stage 253

Early Stage Finance Seed Stage Entrepreneur 253

Gust

NOVEMBER 8, 2012

As a business lawyer working with startups in technology and digital media every day, I’m fortunate to have a front-row seat as entrepreneurs create value out of thin air. Political candidates can give all the stump speeches they want, but ultimately, the prescription is simple (though not easy): Entrepreneurial innovation.

Silicon Valley 187

Silicon Valley San Francisco Intellectual Property Accredited Investor 187

Feld Thoughts

MAY 9, 2011

As with anything tax related, there are endless politics involved and many of the things that actual get rolled out are so obscure that they either never get implemented or are to difficult for investors to understand. Make it simple – eliminate capital gains if an individual (who is an accredited investor) invests equity (i.e.

Government 143

Government Technical Review Intellectual Property Accredited Investor 143

Up and Running

NOVEMBER 26, 2018

Normally you have to have a team in place, have made progress toward idea validation , or—better still—traction (paying customers). So you do a lot of work before you get investors. The rare exception is a special case, in which investors know an entrepreneur well and are ready to invest in them at an early stage.

SBA 161

SBA Venture Capital Angel Investor Technical Review 161

Gust

JULY 8, 2012

The hard part for entrepreneurs is figuring out what it takes to play. Here is just a sampling of the latest terminology and lingo that I gleaned from Dave, and from some additional research on the Internet, that I think every entrepreneur should know, who may be looking for funding now, or down the road: Micro-VCs. Crowd funding.

Early Stage 177

Early Stage Finance Seed Stage Entrepreneur 177

Berkonomics

AUGUST 3, 2023

Money from these sources is relatively easy to come by, and most often comes with no strings as to oversight by a formal board composed of these investors and management. And even with the significant cost of credit card debt, many entrepreneurs aggressively use existing cards to finance a startup.

Private Equity 118

Private Equity Valuation Cap Table Accredited Investor 118

Up and Running

JUNE 14, 2012

These are some of the most frequent questions about co-founders that I have heard from entrepreneurs over the years. You have a great idea to start a new venture and the theory goes that if you can’t convince at least one other person to join the venture with you, how will you convince customers to buy into your vision and product/service.

Cofounder 90

Cofounder Technical Cofounder Accredited Investor Equity 90

Gust

SEPTEMBER 27, 2014

To begin with, it is important to understand some basic facts about the world of entrepreneurial finance: There are many more entrepreneurs than there are investors, with the result that only one company out of every 400 that seeks venture funding actually receives it.

Angel Groups 159

Angel Groups Elevator Pitch Software Review Deal Flow 159

The Startup Magazine

MARCH 22, 2019

Most entrepreneurs are aware that securing investments in their companies could be essential to the short-term growth and long-term success of their venture. It can often be confusing to know which investment type might work best for an entrepreneur and business. The question of venture capitalist versus angel investor often arises.

Angel Investor 122

Angel Investor Venture Capital Accredited Investor Equity 122

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 25, 2016

On the other hand, if you are a new entrepreneur, a well-written and complete business plan demonstrates that you understand the issues and have a real plan for execution. Outside investors bet more on the team than the solution. Entrepreneurs with exciting new technologies too often assume that the technology will sell itself.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Accredited Investor Angel Investor Reputation 120

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 16, 2015

Most entrepreneurs have found by now one or more of the many popular crowdfunding sites , and have the name and contact information for at least one of the big venture capital firms. By definition, angels are accredited investors, who invest their own money for a percentage of the business. Most share expertise as well as money.

Angel Investor 120

Angel Investor Accredited Investor Venture Capital Startup 120

Gust

JANUARY 15, 2014

Unfortunately, there isn’t (and since Google hasn’t fixed Gmail yet, if you’re actually a paying customer for Google Apps, instead of a free customer, you have strictly limited Gmail mail storage, and are not allowed to purchase more, at any price!) But I digress [harumph].

Angel Investor 119

Angel Investor Belarus Portugal Accredited Investor 119

Growthink Blog

FEBRUARY 20, 2014

On that day, in an email to over 80,000 entrepreneurs, I predicted that Crowdfunding (which had just begun) was going to be huge. Entrepreneur success stories, like Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook, are now mainstream media. Top entrepreneurs have gained the public status formerly only occupied by actors, musicians and athletes.

Accredited Investor 89

Accredited Investor SEC Equity Viral 89

Gust

JANUARY 15, 2014

Unfortunately, there isn’t (and since Google hasn’t fixed Gmail yet, if you’re actually a paying customer for Google Apps, instead of a free customer, you have strictly limited Gmail mail storage, and are not allowed to purchase more, at any price!) But I digress [harumph].

Angel Investor 70

Angel Investor Belarus Portugal Accredited Investor 70

Hippoland

FEBRUARY 19, 2017

One of the things I didn’t realize as an entrepreneur was that at the seed stage, *anyone* could potentially be an investor. A lot of entrepreneurs just think to pitch to VCs or well-known angel investors or people who have signaled they are angels on Angelist.

Angel Investor 48

Angel Investor Accredited Investor Elevator Pitch Silicon Valley 48

Hippoland

DECEMBER 16, 2016

Similar to the discussions I did with Pocket Sun and Ellie Galbut of SoGal, I will invite a curated group of entrepreneurs to join me in a discussion with Pedro. But, the entrepreneurs we invite to this discussion will also have a chance to ask their questions over video conference with Pedro as well – like one big hangout.

San Francisco 48

San Francisco Accredited Investor B2B Cofounder 48

Berkonomics

JUNE 8, 2017

composed of these investors and management. However, most often, these funds are solicited by a well-meaning entrepreneur from investors who are not qualified as accredited investors under the law (currently requiring a proved income of $200,000 a year or $1 million in net worth for an individual investor).

Private Equity 106

Private Equity Valuation Cap Table Accredited Investor 106

Growthink Blog

MARCH 19, 2012

The result is that far too many entrepreneurs can't start or grow their ventures—and can't provide jobs and new products and services to spur our economy. The businesses would get access to tens of millions more potential investors, and could reach out to them at little or no cost through online outlets like Facebook. million U.S.

Equity 88

Equity Securities and Exchange Commission Private Equity SEC 88

Scott Edward Walker

JUNE 23, 2011

Similarly, if a startup collects sales taxes from its customers and then fails to remit it to the applicable state taxing authority, founders could be charged with theft of state funds. Conclusion This post was originally part of my “ Ask the Attorney ” series which I am writing for VentureBeat (one of my favorite websites for entrepreneurs).

Accredited Investor 82

Accredited Investor Sweat Equity Los Angeles Finder 82

Startup Company Lawyer

MAY 26, 2012

.” Title III enables “crowdfunding,” or the ability to sell securities in small amounts to a large number of investors. Despite the buzz among entrepreneur communities, various restrictions may make crowdfunding impractical for companies raising money and the intermediaries that facilitate the process.

SEC 58

SEC Securities and Exchange Commission Accredited Investor Private Placement 58

Berkonomics

JANUARY 20, 2010

Money from these sources is relatively easy to come by, and most often comes with no strings as to oversight by a formal board composed of these investors and management. And even with the significant cost of credit card debt, many entrepreneurs aggressively use existing cards to finance a startup.

Private Equity 69

Private Equity Valuation Cap Table Accredited Investor 69

Gust

OCTOBER 20, 2011

Individual accredited investors in typical angel deals put personal capital at risk for an equity share of growth-oriented, start-up companies. These angel investors generally invest $25,000 to $100,000 in a round totaling $250,000 to $1,000,000. Strength of Entrepreneur and Team. TARGETCOMPANY. Competitive Environment.

Valuation 146

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Intellectual Property Technical Review 146

thestartuplawyer.com

FEBRUARY 24, 2010

Entrepreneurs often believe their startup company faces legal threats from only external sources. Even so, I believe the negative experience can end up producing a better entrepreneur if he or she applies lessons learned to current and future startups. He obviously never launched a startup and got shafted by a co-founder.

Cofounder 40

Cofounder Founder Preferred Stock Startup 40

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 17, 2016

That suggests, potentially, more early stage capital for entrepreneurs. As a VC and angel investor, I believe deeply in entrepreneurs. The entrepreneurs I mentor ask me frequently about equity crowdfunding. What do I need beyond capital, to build a successful company and where do I get it, if not from investors?

Equity 100

Equity United Kingdom Cap Table Oklahoma 100

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 9, 2011

Rose, who has been described as "the Father of Angel Investing in New York" by Crain's New York Business, and a "world conquering entrepreneur" by BusinessWeek. It sounds like you could be a full-time Angel investor, but I know you have other activities as well. David: Being an entrepreneur is tough.

New York 221

New York Accredited Investor Advisory Board IRR 221

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 12, 2013

For maximum credibility, start networking for potential investors to build relationships a few months before you start asking for money. They also favor entrepreneurs who are experienced in starting a company, and experienced in the business domain of the startup. entrepreneurs startups angel investors business'

Angel Investor 252

Angel Investor Accredited Investor Silicon Valley Venture Capital 252

ReadWriteStart

AUGUST 16, 2019

Less risk for the new startup investors. According to Entrepreneur, “ Seventy-five percent of venture-backed startups fail.” ” Investing in startups is a risky affair, yet investors are will to take these risks because of the potential of significant upsides.

Artificial Inteligence 115

Artificial Inteligence Accredited Investor Startup SEC 115

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 11, 2023

As an advisor to many entrepreneurs, I still hear frequently the irrational exuberance that crowdfunding is the quick alternative for startups that are passed over by overly demanding angels or venture capital investors. Thus crowdfunding is clearly not the panacea for funding and success that many entrepreneurs envision.

Accredited Investor 252

Accredited Investor SEC Campaign Equity 252

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 26, 2020

As an advisor to many entrepreneurs, I still hear frequently the irrational exuberance that crowdfunding is the quick alternative for startups that are passed over by overly demanding angels or venture capital investors. Thus crowdfunding is clearly not the panacea for funding and success that many entrepreneurs envision.

Accredited Investor 378

Accredited Investor SEC Campaign Equity 378

The Next Web

AUGUST 14, 2013

If you aren’t ready to get investors yet, then you have to find other ways to survive. The best way to survive is to have customers paying you. There’s a couple places you can find other investors: Your customers. Often times your customers/users have money to invest or have been running companies that have raised money.

Founder 142

Founder Incubator Cofounder Accredited Investor 142

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 16, 2015

Boy wearing Oculus Rift via Wikipedia As an advisor to many entrepreneurs, I still hear frequently the irrational exuberance that crowdfunding is the quick alternative for startups that are passed over by overly demanding angels or venture capital investors. He points out that the word crowd precedes funding in crowdfunding.

Accredited Investor 120

Accredited Investor SEC Campaign Equity 120