Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 10, 2020

According to most definitions, an entrepreneur is one who envisions a new and different business, meaning one that is not a copy of an existing business model. Even fewer are able to grow the startup into a viable business. Here is a summary of the key stages along the way: Idea and seed stage.

Matching 317

Matching Seed Stage Angel Investor Business Model 317

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 14, 2020

After many years of working with angel investors seriously trying to find new ventures worthy of their hard-earned money, I find their frustration often exceeds that of entrepreneurs sincerely looking for financial help. Undefined business model or very low gross margins. Solution development undefined or incomplete.

Due Diligence 308

Due Diligence Intellectual Property Preferred Stock Seed Stage 308

Up and Running

JUNE 14, 2010

conference at which a couple of professional venture capitalists and a couple of successful angel investors talked about trends. And the beneath-the-surface rumblings were about how it was screwing up the venture capital business model. About three years ago I attended a Web 2.0

Disintermediation 66

Disintermediation Venture Capital Angel Investor Seed Stage 66

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2018

Different types of investors tend to specialize in capitalizing on businesses at different stages. Venture capital firms look for the most mature companies they can find, Angel investors typically deal a tier lower, while friends and family are most likely to help you get started. Congratulations!

Angel Investor 184

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Investment Bankers Private Equity 184

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 4, 2014

Different types of investors tend to specialize in capitalizing on businesses at different stages. Venture capital firms look for the most mature companies they can find, Angel investors typically deal a tier lower, while friends and family are most likely to help you get started. Congratulations!

Angel Investor 232

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Investment Bankers Private Equity 232

Up and Running

MARCH 11, 2015

Bill Gurley of Benchmark Capital doesn’t publish frequently, but his essays on market trends and Benchmark portfolio companies are a window into how VCs view the world and the kinds of business models that they find most interesting. Follow Bill on Twitter @billgurley. Follow Paul on Twitter @paulg. Sam Altman.

Venture Capital 60

Venture Capital Technical Review Silicon Valley Cofounder 60

Tim Keane

DECEMBER 14, 2009

By Tim Keane, Angel Investor, Golden Angels Investors, LLC.   He is a partner in a pretty much exclusively software seed stage fund, Y Combinator that you can read more about.  Greg Gianforte: Bootstrapping Your Business: Start And Grow a Successful Company With Almost No Money.

Burn Rate 60

Burn Rate Angel Groups Seed Stage Startup 60

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2016

Different types of investors tend to specialize in capitalizing on businesses at different stages. Venture capital firms look for the most mature companies they can find, Angel investors typically deal a tier lower, while friends and family are most likely to help you get started. Congratulations!

Matching 120

Matching Angel Investor Intellectual Property Investment Bankers 120

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 20, 2016

According to most definitions, an entrepreneur is one who envisions a new and different business, meaning one that is not a copy of an existing business model. Even fewer are able to grow the startup into a viable business. Here is a summary of the key stages along the way: Idea and seed stage.

Seed Stage 120

Seed Stage Startup Angel Investor Business Model 120

VC Cafe

FEBRUARY 27, 2024

What’s the difference between an angel round and pre-seed round and why do I believe we’ll see more pre-seed rounds taking place in 2024? While the answers are somewhat semantic, the pre-seed funding round is making a comeback in 2024 startup financing.

Valuation 186

Valuation Software Review Generative AI Technical Review 186

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 1, 2016

After many years of working with angel investors seriously trying to find new ventures worthy of their hard-earned money, I find their frustration often exceeds that of entrepreneurs sincerely looking for financial help. Undefined business model or very low gross margins. Solution development undefined or incomplete.

Due Diligence 120

Due Diligence Intellectual Property Preferred Stock Seed Stage 120

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 13, 2015

According to most definitions, an entrepreneur is one who envisions a new and different business, meaning one that is not a copy of an existing business model. Even fewer are able to grow the startup into a viable business. Here is a summary of the key stages along the way: Idea and seed stage.

Entrepreneur 120

Entrepreneur Seed Stage Angel Investor Business Model 120

Professor VC

JANUARY 27, 2011

I strongly believe (at least for very early stage technology ventures) that you will get diminishing returns and arguably negative returns once you get past an initial threshold of team, product, market and financial diligence. What does it take to be an Angel Investor? work at home. May 1, 2011 10:32 PM. ► July. (1).

Technical Review 31

Technical Review Due Diligence Silicon Valley San Jose 31

Gust

DECEMBER 28, 2011

In the “good old days,” angels invested in seed-stage startups and teed up promising companies for subsequent venture capital financing. If the company was successful, this quickly led to an IPO – a very happy ending for the entrepreneur, the angels, and the venture capitalists. My, my…how the world has changed.

IPO 153

IPO Venture Capital Entrepreneur Angel Investor 153

K9 Ventures

JULY 19, 2012

which was a $6.25M fund designed to be deployed over 3-4 years, making initial investments between $100K – $250K in concept and seed stage technology companies located in the San Francisco Bay Area. This will allow us to potentially lead the seed round, while maintaining an active engagement with these companies (as with Fund I).

Technology 132

Technology Seed Stage San Francisco Limited Partner 132

K9 Ventures

JULY 19, 2012

which was a $6.25M fund designed to be deployed over 3-4 years, making initial investments between $100K – $250K in concept and seed stage technology companies located in the San Francisco Bay Area. This will allow us to potentially lead the seed round, while maintaining an active engagement with these companies (as with Fund I).

Technology 132

Technology Seed Stage San Francisco Limited Partner 132

www.informationarbitrage.com

FEBRUARY 24, 2010

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. And from my perspective as an engaged seed stage venture investor, this makes them unfundable.

CTO Hire 40

CTO Hire Founder Cap Table Vesting 40

Professor VC

SEPTEMBER 26, 2011

Below is a short description of their philosophy: "The part of our philosophy that makes us most different from other startup investors is that we dont believe gut feel is a reliable indicator of potential at the seed stage. What does it take to be an Angel Investor? ► July. (1). Where did Summer Go?

Technical Review 38

Technical Review Early Stage San Jose Angel Investor 38

Hippoland

JANUARY 29, 2016

Even though there are a lot of web resources on how to put together a pitch deck for seed-stage companies, most don’t address how many decks you need and for what purpose. In addition to the other slides from your email deck, include your business model, 1-2 key unit economics (LTV, CAC, churn, etc), etc.

Seed Stage 48

Seed Stage Angel Investor Entrepreneur Forecast 48

Hearpreneur

MAY 4, 2019

Why did you start your business? What I’ve learned from my experiences as a four-time entrepreneur and an angel investor in more than thirty startups is that while it often looks as if world-altering business opportunities emerge by accident, they can, in fact, be discovered and scaled in a methodical way.

Cofounder 66

Cofounder Founder Entrepreneur Venture Capital 66

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 26, 2020

In the seed round you have an early product and by the end you’ve found product/market fit and understand the scale of what you’re building and the levers that you can pull to accelerate growth. Series B is about proving your net revenue model (can you be profitable?). Team, Product, Traction, Business Model and Market.

Cofounder 429

Cofounder Seed Stage Valuation Metrics 429

Tim Keane

OCTOBER 3, 2012

Startups and angels: Along the way to success. By Tim Keane, Angel Investor, Golden Angels Investors, LLC. Technology versus market risk in angel investments.  One of his points is that angels tend to lose money because they take on companies with high market risk and low technical risk.

Technology 74

Technology Marketing Intellectual Property Montana 74

Hippoland

FEBRUARY 12, 2018

Etc… At the pre-seed stage, a big way to stand out is if you have a V3 statement (as opposed to a V1 statement). The way you get to a V3 statement is to start running the business and charging customers. Although this post is about what I look for, every investor (incl pre-seed investors) looks for this.

Seed Stage 48

Seed Stage Business Model B2B Email 48

Hippoland

FEBRUARY 12, 2018

Etc… At the pre-seed stage, a big way to stand out is if you have a V3 statement (as opposed to a V1 statement). The way you get to a V3 statement is to start running the business and charging customers. Although this post is about what I look for, every investor (incl pre-seed investors) looks for this.

Seed Stage 48

Seed Stage Business Model B2B Email 48

Professor VC

FEBRUARY 26, 2010

Seed stage investing is all about the team, so there may be something to this idea. What does it take to be an Angel Investor? I am an active angel investor and on the board of Sand Hill Angels. My first reaction is incredulity that limited partners would buy into this idea. ► July. (1).

San Jose 28

San Jose Silicon Valley Venture Capital Angel Investor 28

www.paulgraham.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

Microsofts originalplan was to make money selling programming languages, of all things.Their current business model didnt occur to them until IBM droppedit in their lap five years later. Usually you get seed money from individual rich people called"angels." Theyre not something you couldhand to someone else to execute.

Startup 105

Startup Cofounder Software Stock 105

mashable.com

NOVEMBER 3, 2010

This dynamic births serial entrepreneurs and motivates angels and venture capitalists to pull their friends into investment deals. For the first-time entrepreneur or founder looking for seed stage funding, this circle can be especially difficult to penetrate. What follows is the best advice and tips from these interviews.

Angel Investor 80

Angel Investor Startup San Francisco Social Media 80

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 10, 2015

Let’s face it, the rules for getting a startup funded at the seed stage aren’t very clear. Note: When I say “seed stage startup,” I’m specifically referring to software/app startups that are eitherpre-product or early product. TVR: The traditional way of raising seed funding. The New Way , called Traction.

Seed Stage 100

Seed Stage Silicon Valley Startup Venture Capital 100

steveblank.com

JULY 8, 2011

– Mike [link] Reply Jeff Skinner , on May 24, 2010 at 9:28 am said: Steve, you don’t know me though I use your ‘Customer Development process’ video in my classes (Entrepreneurship at London Business School). Jeff skinner Faculty, London Business School. Can we touch base on this.

Software Review 110

Software Review Startup Silicon Valley Analytics 110

www.vccafe.com

MARCH 11, 2013

List of Angel/SuperAngel Investors for entrepreneurs. Venture Hacks Angel List â?? raise money with angel investors. Guide to Super Angels -Â Chubby Brain. Seed Stage Valuation Guide. broken vc model. Business Culture. Business Model Canvas. Business plan.

Software Review 53

Software Review Technical Review Startup 53