YoungUpstarts

MAY 1, 2020

Given that mindset, it’s only natural that most entrepreneurs jump at the first chance they get to secure early-stage startup funding. Most startups will need a viable product and proof of credibility before they can expect early-stage investors to really bite. Instead, approach your fundraising in tiers.

Early Stage 165

Early Stage Security Angel Investor Lead Investor 165

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 23, 2019

Our startup, TempaGoGo , a comparison website for temporary agency recruitment, won 3 awards within 6 months, including the Innovator of the Year award from Hounslow Chamber of Commerce , in partnership with Heathrow. Early-stage startups might want to consider local opportunities first before plunging into national awards!

Technical Review 147

Technical Review Startup Balance Sheet Early Stage 147

VC Cafe

OCTOBER 31, 2022

It’s a tough time for a lot of startup founders right now. Mature startups with proven business models and the potential to reach the public markets within a few years will be the safest place to park any new venture capital that comes into the ecosystem. Startups, Don’t Pin Your Hopes on VC Dry Powder ( Source ).

Founder 173

Founder Technical Review Down Round Liquidation Preference 173

SoCal CTO

MAY 21, 2012

So, here goes: Dr. Tony Karrer Over the past 15 years, Tony has been a part-time CTO for more than 30 startups. Select Startup CTO Speaking Topics Ten Lessons from Working on 30+ Startups Over the Past 15 Years Tony looks back over his experience working with startups and extracts elements that have led to success or failure.

Fractional CTO 175

Fractional CTO CTO Hire Startup Social Network 175

View from Seed

FEBRUARY 9, 2022

You have a strong network in the NYC startup ecosystem that is additive to our team. You have an authentic passion for startups and a deep respect for entrepreneurship. You have an edge in the highly competitive world of early stage investing that comes from some combination of your experience, industry knowledge, and personal network.

Technical Review 156

Technical Review North America Seed Stage Bandwidth 156

Steve Blank

MAY 29, 2011

He set up Blackbox.vc, a seed accelerator for technology startups (and one of the tour stops for entrepreneurs from around the world.) They went to work gathering deep knowledege of what makes successful Internet startups. Max and his partners interviewed and analyzed over 650 early-stage Internet startups.

Technical Cofounder 333

Technical Cofounder Early Stage Startup Silicon Valley 333

OnlyOnce

DECEMBER 8, 2021

I divided my response into “early stage” and “later stage” founders. Here’s a summary of what I said about early stage founders. Have you run your idea or wireframes by different segments, different buyers, different sizes of company (if B2B) or lots of different demographics (if B2C)?

Early Stage 62

Early Stage Founder Later Stage B2C 62

YoungUpstarts

MAY 21, 2020

You envision your business as the next Uber or Spotify, yourself as the next Steve Jobs or Elon Musk, reaching that prestigious ‘unicorn’ startup status in record time. For a B2B product, this means figuring out what kinds of businesses are suited for your product. “It’s genius! It’s the next thing!” How is it done?

Product 264

Product Cofounder Audience Product Development 264

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 4, 2018

It occurred to me that although we mentioned our new thematic approach when we raised our last fund in 2017, we haven’t really shared a broader manifesto about how we are approaching the early stage market. It’s been an interesting several years in the early stage venture eco-system, and the sands have shifted considerably.

North America 120

North America Seed Stage Early Stage Lead Investor 120

David Teten

MARCH 18, 2021

A typical VC thesis: “we invest in tech startups in Europe at an early stage” However, our experience shows that in many cases: . “Tech” means B2B Saas/Fintech or Consumer apps. For example, Point Nine Capital focuses on B2B SaaS and marketplaces at the seed stage, across many industries.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Cofounder Venture Capital Deal Flow 78

View from Seed

APRIL 8, 2020

Stevens has held roles across verticals such as head of sales, marketing, product, and professional services at five startups over twenty years. He has experience in B2B, supply chain, robotics, SaaS, and IoT spaces. He helps early-stage startups with sales, marketing, and general “go to market” topics.

B2B 156

B2B Angel Investor Vertical Early Stage 156

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 1, 2009

It affects even B2B companies because ultimately most must sell to companies who sell to consumers and if they suffer they cut back on suppliers. So I believe that now is the perfect time to build a company and the perfect time for early-stage investors to bet on innovation. Consumer spending is where I’m dubious.

Technical Review 269

Technical Review Stock Hawaii Early Stage 269

Austin Startup

JULY 6, 2018

Background Reading: Why startups need signals. See: Startup Accelerator Anti-Dilution Provisions; The Fine Print. However, for the most in-demand startups, over-committing on future participation rights can become a problem because it can require you to raise more money than you really need to. Anti-Dilution.

Dilution 48

Dilution Startup Technical Review Equity 48

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 9, 2019

To refresh your memory, angel investors are typically high net worth individuals, accredited by the SEC and willing to invest their own money in a high-potential startup for a share of the ownership. They don’t get excited by early stage research, development, or marketing hype. Crowdfunding is not the best platform here.

Non-disclosure Agreement 299

Non-disclosure Agreement Angel Investor Bootstrapping SEC 299

YoungUpstarts

JANUARY 4, 2019

Startups usually enjoy a high level of enthusiasm especially during the early stages of working on an innovative idea. In the B2B world, multiple leaders usually make the calls. As companies grow, it becomes more challenging to identify what problems need to be solved and how to come up with the most effective solution.

B2B 127

B2B Customer Early Stage Partner 127

View from Seed

APRIL 20, 2020

We at NextView Ventures are sensitive to the challenges which all startups face during these times brought upon us by the current Coronavirus crisis. As we have discussed elsewhere, the world of early stage investing is shifting from FOMO ( F ear O f M issing O ut) to FOLD (Fear Of Looking Dumb).

B2B 436

B2B Seed Stage B2C Programming 436

The Next Web

JANUARY 6, 2013

A lot of noise is being made lately about the trend that venture money is flowing away from consumer startups and flowing into enterprise startups. This article is intended for enterprise startups that want to get their first few high-caliber customers without having to burn through cash and resources hiring salespeople.

Early Stage 141

Early Stage Customer Startup B2B 141

YoungUpstarts

SEPTEMBER 10, 2018

The experience of participating in these programs can vary depending on factors such as your work experience and career background, the stage of your company, as well as the industry you are attempting to disrupt. Pitch it to someone with a startup or business related background, but who doesn’t have experience in your industry.

Programming 124

Programming Chile B2B B2C 124

View from Seed

AUGUST 10, 2021

Here in 2021 startups operate in a more distributed fashion earlier in their lifecycle, a trend which preceded COVID but certainly was accelerated by the remote work environment for knowledge workers brought on by the pandemic.

Chicago 177

Chicago Cofounder Miami B2B 177

View from Seed

MARCH 3, 2015

Ellie Mirman was the first marketer hired by the CMO of HubSpot, the Boston-based marketing software startup that IPOed in 2014. Below, she shares lessons learned from the earliest days of marketing the company and how this has translated to her second startup role as VP of Marketing at Toast. Where do you land on that spectrum?

Marketing 120

Marketing Sales Cycle Startup CTO Hire 120

View from Seed

AUGUST 10, 2021

Here in 2021 startups operate in a more distributed fashion earlier in their lifecycle, a trend which preceded COVID but certainly was accelerated by the remote work environment for knowledge workers brought on by the pandemic.

Chicago 156

Chicago Cofounder Miami B2B 156

Austin Startup

JUNE 26, 2019

New business are hard: 50% succeed in the first 5 years Startups are hard: 10% succeed?—?only only 1% ever receive outside capital (and not all businesses are built for outside capital) Marketplaces are hard Raising money for a women-led startups is hard: only 2% of all venture funding is invested in (white) female founders (.02%

Silicon Valley 54

Silicon Valley Startup B2C Sweat Equity 54

SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 11, 2009

She is a go to person for me when I have questions around technology or early stage marketing and branding. We do a lot of B2B and also have an "Early Stage Branding" practice for technology startups. Oh, and I forget to mention in my introduction about B2B. Maybe ten years. Foreign Service.

Early Stage 150

Early Stage Southern California Los Angeles Marketing 150

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 29, 2012

They were mostly a B2B platform enabling game publishers to deliver via Internet streaming their traditional games built for game consoles. 23:00 Question from the audience: Do VCs have a preference for startups that choose to work with incubators? But my take: Gaikai had superior technology & a superior business strategy.

Southern California 279

Southern California Detroit Los Angeles California 279

Reid Hoffman

AUGUST 6, 2020

The term “early-stage” covers a lot of territory in venture investing, from incubating a brand-new idea, to investing in a Series A. WHAT’S DIFFERENT ABOUT EARLY-STAGE INVESTING IN THIS MOMENT? We actually have this amazing opportunity as mostly early stage investors (or for our listeners, early stage entrepreneurs).

Technical Review 69

Technical Review Seed Stage Software Review Early Stage 69

View from Seed

AUGUST 10, 2021

Here in 2021 startups operate in a more distributed fashion earlier in their lifecycle, a trend which preceded COVID but certainly was accelerated by the remote work environment for knowledge workers brought on by the pandemic.

Chicago 136

Chicago Cofounder Miami B2B 136

David Teten

SEPTEMBER 6, 2018

See best practices in building financial models , a template financial model , and valuing startup employee options. 10) Time, market, and exit investment. See my overview of sales technology tools useful for B2B sales. See my summary on how lead investors think about building out their syndicate. . 6) Due diligence.

Technical Review 60

Technical Review Private Equity Management Cap Table 60

David Teten

SEPTEMBER 6, 2018

See best practices in building financial models , a template financial model , and valuing startup employee options. 10) Time, market, and exit investment. See my overview of sales technology tools useful for B2B sales. See my summary on how lead investors think about building out their syndicate. . 6) Due diligence.

Technical Review 60

Technical Review Private Equity Management Cap Table 60

Genuine VC

DECEMBER 3, 2014

This entrepreneurial HubSpot spirit has — and will continue to have — a ripple effect throughout the Boston early stage startup ecosystem. I can’t tell you how many pitch decks from local startups I’ve received over the past decade that barely even touch upon the key subject of distribution.

Boston 279

Boston IPO B2B Cofounder 279

The Next Web

AUGUST 19, 2013

Sales are the bloodstream for most businesses, and tech startups are no exception. However, figuring out the way your startup should make money could be challenging, especially for us left­-brained founders. However, figuring out the way your startup should make money could be challenging, especially for us left­-brained founders.

Belarus 137

Belarus Viral Channel Startup 137

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 5, 2009

Unfortunately in early stage startups the drive for financing hijacks the corporate DNA and becomes the raison d’etre of the company. Chasing funding versus chasing customers and a repeatable and scalable business model, is one reason startups fail. The goal of their startup in this stage becomes “getting funded.”

Customer Development 262

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 262

VC Cafe

MARCH 31, 2021

Israeli startups raised over $2 billion in March 2021 alone. As the startup ecosystem in Israel scales, so must the teams leading the growing number of Israeli unicorns. How should Israeli startups think about marketing? And running fast as an early stage start-up is so important. I focussed on small experiments.

Marketing 179

Marketing Early Stage Seed Stage 179

View from Seed

FEBRUARY 16, 2021

Out of hundreds of applications, we selected six pre-seed stage teams building companies shaping a brighter collective future by combining software and creativity to drive change in the lives of everyday people — their businesses include everything from empowering local main street businesses to making automobile insurance more accessible.

Seed Stage 285

Seed Stage Programming Finance B2B 285

View from Seed

NOVEMBER 7, 2019

Like many things in life, the VC/startup ecosystem is one of cycles. But let’s look back at the last decade in VC-backed startups… it’s easy to forget how predominant mindsets change throughout the cycle. VC funding for startups is drying up quickly. 2009-2011: Retrenchment. We’re only a few months past Sequoia’s famous “R.I.P.

IPO 202

IPO Early Stage Cofounder B2C 202

ConversionXL

APRIL 28, 2021

It is too early to tell how the impact of these features will move the needle for us, but based on anecdotal feedback we’ve received, users are following their trophy growth. Building a beloved product without email marketing might sound impossible to many startup founders. Gamification isn’t the domain of B2C or gaming sites alone.

Email 151

Email Product Marketing Cofounder 151

David Teten

DECEMBER 3, 2019

See Bessemer Venture Partners’ A comprehensive guide to security for startups. Many tools designed for B2B marketing in general are also relevant to investors. I previously posted a detailed presentation with sales technology tools useful for B2B sales. 2) Market . An example of a tech-enabled VC is Corl.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Software Review Analytics Private Equity 78

David Teten

SEPTEMBER 23, 2017

In venture capital in particular, early-stage companies are often operating in frontier industries, where the rules are unpredictable and conventional analytic frameworks may be misleading. The only problem that faces startup investors now is how to mine this new data layer efficiently to increase returns.”. 1) Market fund.

Private Equity 60

Private Equity Venture Capital Equity Technical Review 60