Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 20, 2016

Thus the top priority of every entrepreneur who wants funding should be to build and highlight their “dream team” of co-founders, executives and advisers, to attract the biggest and best investors. Solo entrepreneurs rarely find an investor. Do your networking with investors well before the funding pitch.

Sweat Equity 152

Sweat Equity Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Software Review 152

Gust

DECEMBER 16, 2012

Every new startup I know dreams of being funded early by one of the 318,000 active Angel investors in the USA alone. Most of these investors are members of Angel groups that have a rigorous filtering and screening process, to select the top 3% and most fundable proposals. Build an investor presentation and summary.

Angel Investor 179

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Elevator Pitch Angel Groups 179

Duct Tape Marketing

APRIL 6, 2022

Steve is the CEO of Founders Space, one of the world’s leading startup accelerators with over 50 partners in 22 countries. Founders Space was ranked the #1 incubator for overseas startups by Forbes and Entrepreneur Magazines. 18:05] How does the Founder Space operate? [20:21] He's the CEO of founders space.

San Francisco 97

San Francisco Technical Review Incubator Silicon Valley 97

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 1, 2020

In very few specific cases, depending on the nature of the business, the business model might demand a considerable gestation period or extensive research and development. For these businesses, it is imperative to get funding from the start without which the company cannot be set up. Equity investors.

Startup 150

Startup Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Seed Stage 150

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 27, 2016

There is an old saying in the startup investor community, “Smart investors invest in the team, not the idea.” As an angel investor, I’ve learned to believe in this approach, since I have seen great ideas go astray, due to poor execution and I have seen apparently marginal ideas make millions, managed by a savvy entrepreneur.

Technical Review 134

Technical Review Intellectual Property Due Diligence Angel Investor 134

Austin Startup

FEBRUARY 13, 2019

But every startup’s journey towards getting to the Series A point is certainly unique in its own way, and when I reflect on what it took to reach this goal, there were four key strategies, related to raising funds and seeking out investors, that really set us up for successes and helped us get there not just faster, but smarter.

Strategic Investors 49

Strategic Investors Austin Angel Investor Bootstrapping 49

Austin Startup

SEPTEMBER 29, 2018

business model and team. I usually don’t back a business unless there are founders that can build, sell, and service the new solution that is being brought to market. In this case, they could build and service it but they needed a third co-founder to sell it. Momentum has a way of building?

Bootstrapping 52

Bootstrapping IPO Business Model Software Review 52

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 31, 2014

One of the groups I spoke to was the Australian Sports Technology Network. However, in meeting some of the sports startups one of the things that struck me is that most of the founders who said they wanted to grow big hadn’t given much thought about how they would go about building size and scale. Regional Ecosystems.

Global 335

Global Australia Silicon Valley China 335

JANUARY 9, 2014

No clear vision or purpose This should be the starting point for any startup founder, but it’s often overlooked. Whilst the tide is turning, there’s still a need to educate startup founders about the competitive advantage well-designed products and services can bring. Quote from John Wilshire, Artefact Cards 4.

Early Stage 102

Early Stage Startup Cofounder Design 102

Steve Blank

JANUARY 20, 2014

Working in the Valley, I took for granted the constant and real time networking opportunities, the volume of deals, and the ability to access nearly every corner of the tech industry – no surprise to anyone who has spent any time in the Valley. In this region, these are the majority of new startups I see.

Silicon Valley 314

Silicon Valley Oregon Lean Venture Capital 314

www.informationarbitrage.com

FEBRUARY 24, 2010

Main February 23, 2010 Advice for CTO Founders: Dont Let Business Kill the Business Founding a technology company is an amazing thing. Too often, however, I have found CTO / Founders paired with business people who not only don't add value, but frequently detract from the value of the business.

CTO Hire 40

CTO Hire Founder Cap Table Vesting 40

Austin Startup

APRIL 27, 2019

this post is all about the resilience required to keep going as an entrepreneur, not as an angel investor. Bob Fabbio was the founder and CEO of eRelevance and he was the man in the arena here?—?and For all of us Austin fans, I’m talking about Cotter Cunningham, the founder and CEO of RetailMeNot. But I digress?—?this

B2C 51

B2C Austin Cofounder IPO 51

Steve Blank

JUNE 1, 2011

Reinventing the board meeting may offer venture-backed startups a more efficient, productive way to direct and measure their search for a profitable business model. Rather than invent a new form of corporate governance, venture investors adopted the traditional board meeting structure from large corporations. The Wrong Metrics.

Silicon Valley 292

Silicon Valley Business Model Venture Capital Balance Sheet 292

Steve Blank

JUNE 1, 2011

Reinventing the board meeting may offer venture-backed startups a more efficient, productive way to direct and measure their search for a profitable business model. Rather than invent a new form of corporate governance, venture investors adopted the traditional board meeting structure from large corporations. The Wrong Metrics.

Silicon Valley 263

Silicon Valley Business Model Venture Capital Balance Sheet 263

Tim Keane

DECEMBER 14, 2009

Startups and angels: Along the way to success. By Tim Keane, Angel Investor, Golden Angels Investors, LLC.   Individual angels can get sucked into situations that a group's experience might have avoided.    Angels can allow founders to partially cash out if they choose to. 

Burn Rate 60

Burn Rate Angel Groups Seed Stage Startup 60

ReadWriteStart

FEBRUARY 18, 2020

When starting a business, it’s typical to look for venture capital, angel investors, and even co-founders to help get the company up and running. While funding is necessary for almost all businesses, seeking it out yourself isn’t necessarily the right path for everyone. Hire for Attitude.

Bootstrapping 145

Bootstrapping Startup Cofounder Angel Investor 145

Gust

JANUARY 4, 2012

Many thanks to David Rose , Ilana Grossman , Justin Stanwix , and the whole Gust team for making the Gust Blog such a valuable platform and resource for entrepreneurs and angel investors. I’m proud to contribute to the effort and always enjoy reading what the other authors have to say.

Intellectual Property 143

Intellectual Property IP Startup United States 143

The Startup Magazine

JULY 16, 2018

Earlier this year at the FUND Conference in Austin, Texas, over 100 startups presented their early-stage companies in front of hundreds of investors and industry leaders. FUND is a national connector of entrepreneurs, VCs, angel investors, and industry experts with a focus on deal flow and making connections.

Startup 77

Startup Texas Angel Investor Mobile 77

Transformify

JULY 23, 2018

When speaking of startups’ funding, most founders first consider VC or Angel Investor funding. The good news is that startups from all sectors of the economy can apply and leverage on novel combinations of existing business models and technologies. Do you have access to networks, supporters, advisors, etc.?

Intellectual Property 66

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Dilution Startup 66

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 15, 2008

Paring down products, target customers, business models etc takes courage, but it must be done to have any chance of success. Eric, As you touch on, the lean venture has been the basic model employed by entrepreneurs throughout history until the past 12 years or so when venturing became institutionalized.

Lean 168

Lean San Francisco Startup Continuous Deployment 168

Steve Blank

AUGUST 8, 2016

And no amount of business success is enough if you don’t have time with your family. Values – who and what founders and customers hold dear – were the focus on today’s Entrepreneurs are Everywhere radio show. Ryan Smith , co-founder of Qualtrics insight platform. Ryan Smith. Joining me in the Stanford University studio were.

Cofounder 146

Cofounder New York City Entrepreneur New York 146

Growthink Blog

MAY 23, 2011

Through connections, or through a chance meeting at a networking or social event, an angel investor hears the entrepreneur's story, likes them and their technology, and on the spot, writes a check to provide the company with its first outside financing. Venture capitalists Have Very Different Objectives than Angel Investors.

Angel Investor 112

Angel Investor Venture Capital Sweat Equity Cram Down 112

View from Seed

JANUARY 24, 2018

The concept our Guilds is simple: We want to bring together small groups of Product and Go-to-Market experts to lend their time to support our portfolio company founders and key operators. Pierre Valade, Co-Founder of Sunrise & Mobile Designer at Microsoft. Pierre Valade, Co-Founder of Sunrise & Mobile Designer at Microsoft.

Operations 176

Operations Cofounder Technical Review Angel Investor 176

Steve Blank

AUGUST 8, 2016

And no amount of business success is enough if you don’t have time with your family. Values – who and what founders and customers hold dear – were the focus on today’s Entrepreneurs are Everywhere radio show. Ryan Smith , co-founder of Qualtrics insight platform. Ryan Smith. Joining me in the Stanford University studio were.

Cofounder 120

Cofounder New York City Entrepreneur New York 120

Professor VC

SEPTEMBER 16, 2010

With all of the new ways to see early companies such as TechCrunch and YCombinator, I had a feeling that much of the luster was gone and debated whether it was worth the time to attend.The last time I went to DEMO was in 2005 for the launch of one of my companies, iControl Networks. Negotiating an Angel Deal in your PJ's.

Technical Review 38

Technical Review San Jose Angel Investor Silicon Valley 38

Professor VC

JANUARY 27, 2011

There are so many unknowns at this stage and the only known is that the business model is going to change at least once, or in the current most overused term in the Silicon Valley, there will be a "pivot". Don't Stop Believin' Is There Any Truth in "The Social Network"? work at home. May 1, 2011 10:32 PM.

Technical Review 31

Technical Review Due Diligence Silicon Valley San Jose 31

Professor VC

SEPTEMBER 26, 2011

Ive written previously about Right Side Capital Management (RCSM) , the latest in my post earlier this year, " How Much Diligence is Due. " (Full disclosure: I am an investor and adviser in RCSM.) Don't Stop Believin' Is There Any Truth in "The Social Network"? Negotiating an Angel Deal in your PJ's.

Technical Review 38

Technical Review Early Stage San Jose Angel Investor 38

rob.by

MARCH 8, 2012

He begins by explaining how he arrived at his conclusion: I began the hunt to find a technical co-founder – a software engineer who works for no cash – to help me build my dream website. Twelve months into my startup journey I had four half-built websites that had been built by my four ex-technical co-founders.

Technical Cofounder 42

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Software Engineering Fractional CTO 42

Professor VC

APRIL 1, 2010

In my experience, venture investors are more focused on percentage ownership, which obviously requires a trade-off with the amount invested and valuation. I had a discussi on with another angel investor a few months ago and he was bragging about the deal he just struck that included a 3X participating liquidation preference.

Term Sheet 32

Term Sheet Angel Investor San Jose Venture Capital 32

Professor VC

MARCH 10, 2009

In other parts of the country, this is business as usual: Identify a customer need Build a product Sell the product In the valley, the knee jerk reaction is to start with the powerpoint deck and look for the venture capital drug. Don't Stop Believin' Is There Any Truth in "The Social Network"? ► January. (1).

Bootstrapping 28

Bootstrapping San Jose Silicon Valley Software Review 28

Professor VC

JANUARY 17, 2008

Touched by an Angel. I think the title of this post is a TV show, but fitting as there has been much debate in the venture community as to the whether angel investors are good or bad for entrepreneurs and VCs. What would the VC corollary to Touched by an Angel, be. Negotiating an Angel Deal in your PJ's.

Pre-Money Valuation 28

Pre-Money Valuation Angel Investor Angel Groups Valuation 28

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 13, 2011

Reinventing the board meeting may offer venture-backed startups a more efficient, productive way to direct and measure their search for a profitable business model. Rather than invent a new form of corporate governance, venture investors adopted the traditional board meeting structure from large corporations.

Silicon Valley 117

Silicon Valley Balance Sheet Metrics Early Stage 117

Professor VC

NOVEMBER 13, 2008

This got me thinking about the business model that Mike Keiser has built at the resort and a lecture began to form in my head. Mike Keiser (the founder of Recycled Paper Greetings) had a vision to create a true links experience in the US. Labels: Bandon Dunes , business models , golf. Steve Bennet. at 12:00 PM.

Oregon 28

Oregon San Jose Angel Investor Silicon Valley 28

This is going to be BIG.

JANUARY 22, 2018

The responses I got came at a time when I've been having a lot of conversations with female founders as well about their fundraising experiences. At this moment, I'm in the process of backing three companies that have at least one female founder and I just finished a round for a black female founder in December. Ducks head.]

Founder 100

Founder Conversion Naming Term Sheet 100

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 11, 2016

And not keep investors informed about changes to your business model can have serious consequences. How to recognize when it’s time to pull the plug on your startup idea, and why founders can’t operate afford to operate in a vacuum were the focus on today’s Entrepreneurs are Everywhere radio show. Dan Miller.

Columbus 246

Columbus Entrepreneur Ohio Cofounder 246

Professor VC

JANUARY 27, 2008

In addition to the case study analysis, the students also have the opportunity to develop a business model and financial model for a new concept, which always proves a lot more challenging. As an angel investor and start-up CFO, I should have a good vantage point. Negotiating an Angel Deal in your PJ's.

San Jose 28

San Jose Technical Review Angel Investor Venture Capital 28

Professor VC

JUNE 6, 2008

It seems appropriate to have this discussion as Kent Desormeaux grabs Big Browns reins and goes after the Triple Crown tomorrow at Belmont.There is an age old debate in the venture business on whether it is better to bet on the horse (business/market) or the jockey (management team/founders).

San Jose 28

San Jose Technical Review Norway Angel Investor 28