Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 17, 2011

Build qualified advisory board. If you can convince a couple of domain experts, or a couple of experienced executives to join your board and be your advocate, that’s traction. A CEO who has “been there and done that” is traction, especially if teamed with a financial lead (CFO) and a product lead (CTO).

Intellectual Property 253

Intellectual Property Sweat Equity CTO Hire Fractional CTO 253

VC Cafe

JULY 5, 2010

Ultimately it is up to the Management Team, Advisory Board and Board of Directors to make the investment decisions, manage the capital investments and oversee portfolio company development. VC Cafe: What’s your time frame for exists? Janvest: We are looking at an average holding period of 3-5 years.

Technical Review 106

Technical Review Software Review Seed Stage 106

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 22, 2010

Build qualified advisory board. If you can convince a couple of domain experts, or a couple of experienced executives to join your board and be your advocate, that’s traction. A CEO who has “been there and done that” is traction, especially if teamed with a financial lead (CIO) and a product lead (CTO).

Intellectual Property 222

Intellectual Property Sweat Equity CTO Hire Fractional CTO 222

Steve Blank

MAY 19, 2015

While he kept bringing the conversation back to their big valuation I tried to steer the conversation back to how they were going to deal with: training the influx of new hires – in both culture and job specific tasks. They had doubled headcount from 100 to 200 in the last year and were planning to double again.) Is that feasible?

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Salary Early Stage Software Review 120

David Teten

JANUARY 19, 2021

Yes, via conversion rights at a valuation cap. Yes, via conversion rights at a valuation cap. Disclosures: Blue Future Partners is a member of the Advisory Board of ff Venture Capital , where David Teten was formerly a Partner. Flexible VC: Compensation-based. 2-5x return cap + path to uncapped equity returns.

Cofounder 78

Cofounder Technical Review Equity Dividend 78

ConversionXL

AUGUST 11, 2021

A sponsorship strategy should cover five areas: Assets Audience data Asset valuation Activations Market identification. Asset valuation. It contains the story of your property, mission statement, sponsor benefits, demographics, marketing plan, goals, media opportunities, advisory board, and the sponsor fees.”.

Audience 139

Audience Social Media Email Ruby 139

thinkspace.com

SEPTEMBER 7, 2012

Equity for Board of Directors and Advisory Board. Typically for an Advisory Board it ranges from 1/10th of percent to 1/2% and for Board of Directors from 1/2% to 2%. already some initial funding does the company already have a valuation? Commitment & Risk 7 0 0 7 49. Responsibilities 6 0 0 6 36.

Equity 62

Equity Employee Founder CTO Hire 62

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 22, 2016

Build an inside advisory board of influencers and experts. If Bill Gates has agreed to be on the board of your software startup, that’s major traction, even with no paying customers. Traction is the measure of how many of these have been validated, and their projection to your business valuation.

Metrics 143

Metrics Advisory Board Startup Lean 143

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 16, 2015

As a member of the advisory board for several startups and a mentor to other entrepreneurs, I’ve accumulated my own list of strategies and recommendations on where “going the extra mile” can save you from disaster or supercharge your startup for maximum growth under any circumstances. No proprietary content is death.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Advisory Board Startup Algorithm 120

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 13, 2016

Include advisory board member qualifications and key industry connections. Justify funding requirements, use of funds and specify a current valuation estimate. A highly investable team has prior experience in the same business domain as well as credentials and skills in their roles. Investors invest in people more than the idea.

Sweat Equity 120

Sweat Equity Advisory Board Liquidity Event Startup 120

venturehacks.com

MARCH 21, 2008

Normal advisors are also assembled by naive entrepreneurs who think the mere presence of an advisory board will create social proof and help them raise money. But investors don’t take these mock advisory boards seriously. If I gave you advisory shares, I would have to give them to all the investors.

Advisory Board 44

Advisory Board Cap Table Vesting Equity 44

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2012

Include Advisory Board members and key industry people connections. Include a current valuation estimate. Investors invest in people - not just ideas. Convince investors that your team is experienced in starting a new business, and have great expertise in the selected business domain. See where your cashflow bottoms out.

Business Plan 283

Business Plan Sweat Equity Exit Strategy Intellectual Property 283

betashop.com

OCTOBER 8, 2012

Never, ever, choose your investors based on valuation. Alignment of business objectives and personal relationships means tons more than valuation. That means if you’re taking money with a $5M post-money valuation, the expectation is that you are building for a minimum $50M exit. $10M 10M post-money valuation = $100M target.

Technical Review 108

Technical Review Technology Software Review Valuation 108

David Teten

NOVEMBER 17, 2011

Download the Startup Options Valuation model here. It’s very powerful to have a model that you can email to everyone in the firm, because then everyone sees clearly that you’re communicating the exact same message to the whole team (including outside consultants and the advisory board, if any). Financial Model.

Employee 155

Employee IRR Startup Mexico 155

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 13, 2011

Include Advisory Board members and key industry people connections. Include a current valuation estimate. Investors invest in people - not just ideas. Convince investors that your team is experienced in starting a new business, and have great expertise in the selected business domain. See where your cashflow bottoms out.

Business Plan 290

Business Plan Sweat Equity Exit Strategy Intellectual Property 290

Austin Startup

JUNE 27, 2017

Valuations in startups increased dramatically during the Dot Com boom and then both valuations and the availability of investment capital nationally collapsed in 2001 with the Dot Com bust and 9/11. But the timing of the launch of these new funds almost assured their failure regardless of their investing acumen.

Venture Capital 54

Venture Capital Austin Texas Private Equity 54

The Startup Lawyer

FEBRUARY 4, 2011

The following are some issues to consider and actions to take before accepting an incubator’s offer: (1) Calculate Valuation and Determine Value. Pre-money valuations startups receive from incubators are typically low…really low. The “revised for the cash investment only&# pre-money valuation is $600,000. (2)

Incubator 105

Incubator Pre-Money Valuation Option Pool Advisory Board 105

steveblank.com

JULY 8, 2011

Grainger - Industrial supplies Fastenal - more industrial supplies Octopart – search engine for electronic parts Freelance Help Amazon Mechanical Turk – set up any task and get answers Elance – find/hire freelancers Odesk – hire low-cost international engineering talent Freelancer – outsourcing for small business VWorker (..)

Software Review 110

Software Review Startup Silicon Valley Analytics 110

Gust

AUGUST 5, 2012

Include Advisory Board members and key industry people connections. Include a current valuation estimate. Investors invest in people – not just ideas. Convince investors that your team is experienced in starting a new business, and have great expertise in the selected business domain.

Business Plan 182

Business Plan Sweat Equity Exit Strategy Intellectual Property 182

Austin Startup

DECEMBER 29, 2018

Since I first wrote about the Golden Age in 2014, valuations for tech companies have only increased?—?rather Step Five: Have the humility and self-awareness to surround yourself with great mentors, from your angel investors, to your VC investors, to your Advisory Board, to your Board of Directors, and to your CEO or executive coach.

Cofounder 48

Cofounder Austin Technical Review Advisory Board 48

Austin Startup

MAY 19, 2018

It drives up valuations, creates interest in the category among other investors, and in a new space a well funded competitor is usually out there educating audiences about the very problem the startup solves. Disclose intentions early It’s not a big deal if you’re doing diligence on a competitor.

Founder 75

Founder Early Stage Software Review Deal Flow 75

Austin Startup

FEBRUARY 24, 2019

As I’ve helped entrepreneurs find their own product-market fit and connected them to potential clients, investors, and Advisory Board members, I’ve spent a lot of time telling them about the “cool kids”. In The Entrepreneur’s Essentials #10 , I cover the most proven way to hire well?—?it it isn’t easy. Respecting them deeply is a must.

Software Review 48

Software Review Sales Cofounder Analytics 48

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2010

Include Advisory Board members and key industry people connections. Include a current valuation estimate. Investors invest in people - not just ideas. Convince investors that your team is experienced in starting a new business, and have great expertise in the selected business domain. See where your cashflow bottoms out.

Business Plan 186

Business Plan Exit Strategy Sweat Equity Intellectual Property 186

Hunter Walker

MAY 2, 2016

Advisory Board lunch w our largest investors followed by a State of Homebrew, State of the Market, State of our Portfolio presentation. But we know valuations are just a moment in time based upon any number of market factors. Homebrew Annual Meeting 2015. Ok, now back to present day. Format for this year was pretty similar.

Advisory Board 48

Advisory Board LP Institutional Investors Portfolio 48

Hunter Walker

MAY 2, 2016

Advisory Board lunch w our largest investors followed by a State of Homebrew, State of the Market, State of our Portfolio presentation. But we know valuations are just a moment in time based upon any number of market factors. Homebrew Annual Meeting 2015. Ok, now back to present day. Format for this year was pretty similar.

Advisory Board 48

Advisory Board LP Institutional Investors Portfolio 48

Business Plan Blog

DECEMBER 10, 2013

A major piece of the business plan will be your capitalization strategy demonstrating the milestone timeline discussed above as well as the effects of accomplished milestones on the company’s future valuation. Founding Team, Key Hires, Advisory Board. Product Development.

Angel Investor 55

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Seed Capital Advisory Board 55

Business Plan Blog

NOVEMBER 22, 2013

A major piece of the business plan will be your capitalization strategy demonstrating the milestone timeline discussed above as well as the effects of accomplished milestones on the company’s future valuation. Founding Team, Key Hires, Advisory Board. A fair amount of your FFF funding will likely go towards product development.

Intellectual Property 55

Intellectual Property Advisory Board Startup Seed Capital 55

betashop.com

OCTOBER 8, 2012

Use them as a sounding board for corporate development issues. Advisory boards never amount to much. Don’t choose your investors based on valuation. That means if you’re taking money with a $5M post-money valuation, the expectation is that you are building for a minimum $50M exit. $10M

Post-Money Valuation 92

Post-Money Valuation Valuation Dilution Advisory Board 92

The Startup Toolkit

AUGUST 29, 2012

Don’t rush to “fill” your advisory board. 1] Advisors get paid on an exit just like investors, so the investability & valuation of a company is a good heuristic for the value of the advisor’s equity. [2] 2] Don’t quote me on this!

Equity 46

Equity Vesting Advisory Board Merger 46

www.vccafe.com

MARCH 11, 2013

Seed Stage Valuation Guide. Executive / Advisory Board Compensation. VentureHacks on Startup Advisory Boards â?? valuations. Useful blogs and links for startups. Best of Y-Combinator Startup Advice. Best of Y- Combinator Startup Advice. Raising Venture Capital. Mark Suster GRP Partners Advice. VC Experts.

Software Review 53

Software Review Technical Review Startup 53

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 9, 2013

Deal with company admin: 409a valuations, approve stock options, vote on key measures (15%). Ineffecient Board Meeting. In my nearly 15 years of attending board meetings I can tell you that the distribution of time actually spent on these activities while you’re in person is more like: 1. Between Board Meetings.

Advisory Board 337

Advisory Board Valuation Stock Options Seed Money 337

SoCal CTO

OCTOBER 5, 2010

Advisory Board. In the post he suggests that they are colluding to keep valuations down, terms intact, and traditional venture capital firms, such as ours, out of their deals. Along the way I also learned yet another way entrepreneurs see the world differently from their investors. Carpe Diem. What Does a CEO Do, Anyway?

Technology 191

Technology Product San Francisco CTO Hire 191

thestartuplawyer.com

FEBRUARY 24, 2010

Contact The Startup Lawyer: Home Page About Contact FAQs Glossary Ryan Roberts Law: Home Page Social Networks: Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Flickr Delicious Digg Last.FM He obviously never launched a startup and got shafted by a co-founder. He obviously never launched a startup and got shafted by a co-founder.

Cofounder 40

Cofounder Founder Preferred Stock Startup 40