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

VC Cafe

APRIL 4, 2024

As Andrew Chen points out in this tweet: WHY INVESTORS DON'T FUND AI STARTUPS you might know A16Z is running a seed-stage startup accelerator called SPEEDRUN where we're funding 40+ companies in the next 2 months with $750k per company. apply here: [link] ).

Generative AI 78

Generative AI Artificial Inteligence Technical Review ChatGPT 78

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 1, 2020

Funding might be a need in some cases — but it’s not an absolute necessity. ? The business should be self-sustainable. The primary source of your funds should be your paying customers, i.e., your business should generate enough revenues and profits to fund the growth and expansion. Seed stage.

Startup 150

Startup Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Seed Stage 150

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 26, 2020

You (think) you have product-market fit with real customers and real revenue and need money to grow and expand. What most founders don’t realize is: Every stage of a startup requires a different set of metrics and milestones and founder skills. Series B is about proving your net revenue model (can you be profitable?).

Cofounder 429

Cofounder Seed Stage Valuation Metrics 429

VC Cafe

SEPTEMBER 2, 2022

Market size Team Traction Competition – be honest and knowledgeable about your competitive landscape Business model/ financials The Ask – how much are you raising? Spend the time to do a proper bottoms-up analysis of what you can sell annually to different customer segments. .

Technical Review 166

Technical Review Early Stage Cofounder Portfolio 166

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2023

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 270

Matching Entrepreneur Startup Seed Stage 270

Hunter Walker

AUGUST 31, 2023

The idea of working at a company whose entire business model revolves around catering to buyers in the HR space felt like such a breath of fresh air. HW: I’m always surprised when someone considering ‘joining a startup’ has put a lot of thought into industry/vertical but not into stage of company.

Employee 113

Employee Startup Vertical Leadership 113

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 17, 2023

For example, if you have a proven product, real revenue, a big potential market, and are ready to scale up the business, every investor will be interested. On the other hand, if you are a new entrepreneur, still in the idea stage, professional investors will only tell you to come back later when you have traction (customers and revenue).

Angel Investor 313

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Investment Bankers Private Equity 313

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 11, 2022

Getting investors to trust you with their money is always a challenge, and it’s even more difficult in the early stages, where you don’t have a significant revenue stream, a few customers, or maybe even a product yet. At these stages, it’s all about you, and your ability to communicate and execute effectively.

Due Diligence 271

Due Diligence Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Preferred Stock 271

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

JULY 22, 2020

For example, if you have a proven product, real revenue, a big potential market, and are ready to scale up the business, every investor will be interested. On the other hand, if you are a new entrepreneur, still in the idea stage, professional investors will only tell you to come back later when you have traction (customers and revenue).

Angel Investor 370

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Investment Bankers Private Equity 370

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 14, 2020

Getting investors to trust you with their money is always a challenge, and it’s even more difficult in the early stages, where you don’t have a significant revenue stream, a few customers, or maybe even a product yet. At these stages, it’s all about you, and your ability to communicate and execute effectively.

Due Diligence 308

Due Diligence Intellectual Property Preferred Stock Seed Stage 308

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 16, 2020

Have a jaw dropping customer value proposition with a competition crushing business model. In other words, something that is 10X better, faster, or more convenient , and a business with accumulating returns to scale. We invest at the seed stage, and so product/market fit is always a significant risk.

Seed Stage 254

Seed Stage Early Stage Founder Portfolio 254

Hippoland

FEBRUARY 12, 2018

I’ll give you an example with my own startup LaunchBit and how our understanding of the problem and the customer became more refined over time: V1: Helping online marketers get customers profitably. V2: Helping online marketers who have previously bought ads in email lists get customers profitably. Or in between?

Seed Stage 48

Seed Stage Business Model B2B Email 48

Hippoland

FEBRUARY 12, 2018

I’ll give you an example with my own startup LaunchBit and how our understanding of the problem and the customer became more refined over time: V1: Helping online marketers get customers profitably. V2: Helping online marketers who have previously bought ads in email lists get customers profitably. Or in between?

Seed Stage 48

Seed Stage Business Model B2B Email 48

Austin Startup

MAY 11, 2017

We make a majority of our investments in those sectors and prioritize proven business models. We invest in companies that sell to both enterprise/SMB customers as well as direct to consumers. 645 Ventures: A New Era of Venture Capital Investing Arena Growth Partners We help great leaders build great businesses.

Private Equity 48

Private Equity Venture Capital Technical Review Seed Stage 48

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 11, 2019

*This post is part of our “pitch deck” series where we dissect the seed stage pitch deck and discuss the ideal flow for a pitch. Now it’s time to set the stage with the early traction you have. Seed stage VCs are realistic about how much traction a very raw company might have. B) Post-Product Companies.

Seed Stage 149

Seed Stage B2B Seed Capital Revenue 149

Mucker Lab

AUGUST 27, 2014

My partner Erik Rannala has had a similar experience, having worked as a VC at Harrison Metal before moving down to LA to co-found our seed stage venture firm. Furthermore, entrepreneurs don’t necessary build their businesses to be venture-funded. Oftentimes they see a market need and simply want to serve those customers.

Los Angeles 138

Los Angeles Southern California Silicon Valley Technical Review 138

View from Seed

MARCH 15, 2017

VC evaluation of seed-stage startups can seem arbitrary or imitative at times. Internally, the scarcity of tangible business metrics – product usage or revenue multiples for example – can make an investment decision feel daunting. Any seed stage company’s strategy is a constant work-in-progress.

Due Diligence 265

Due Diligence Seed Stage Portfolio Metrics 265

David Teten

MARCH 18, 2021

2) Business model-defined funds. For example, Point Nine Capital focuses on B2B SaaS and marketplaces at the seed stage, across many industries. These firms also sometimes target startups that serve a specific kind of customer (e.g. B2B vs B2C) within the business model preference. .

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Cofounder Venture Capital Deal Flow 78

K9 Ventures

APRIL 28, 2010

– a seed-stage fund. is a $6.25M fund that is designed to do concept and seed-stage investments in technology companies. Direct Revenue : The company must have a direct revenue model. I’m pleased to announce the formation of K9 Ventures, L.P. K9 Ventures, L.P. No retail, no cleantech, no biotech etc.

Seed Stage 61

Seed Stage San Francisco IP Portfolio 61

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 16, 2019

*This post is part of our “pitch deck” series where we dissect the seed stage pitch deck and discuss the ideal flow for a pitch. In particular, think about a few specific areas: Double down on how much customers are loving your product. I mention this in more detail in this post about Competition Crushing business Models.

Seed Stage 192

Seed Stage Metrics PR Leadership 192

Agile VC

FEBRUARY 5, 2014

This is especially true for those with a media / ad based business model (e.g. Business facing companies typically provide software or an online service for which their customers pay a fee. Some potential customers won’t take your product seriously unless you’re charging for it.

Revenue 234

Revenue Product B2B Marketing 234

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

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2018

For example, if you have a proven product, real revenue, a big potential market, and are ready to scale up the business, every investor will be interested. On the other hand, if you are a new entrepreneur, still in the idea stage, professional investors will only tell you to come back later when you have traction (customers and revenue).

Angel Investor 184

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Investment Bankers Private Equity 184

View from Seed

AUGUST 2, 2017

Others take bets on certain verticals or business models, such as marketplaces, SaaS, or enterprise technology. For example, Upserve , a NextView portfolio company, is an all-in-one tech platform (POS, payments, CRM/loyalty, BI) to help restaurants better serve their customers. How We Plan to Invest in the Everyday Economy.

Seed Stage 273

Seed Stage Portfolio Cofounder B2B 273

Women Entrepreneurs Can

NOVEMBER 19, 2022

Pre-Seed Investments. Investing in a startup at the pre-seed stage is a great way to get in early on to the next big thing. Before raising pre-seed funding, you must prove that your idea is viable. You should also present your company’s progress data and demonstrate customer interest. Seed Rounds.

Venture Capital 52

Venture Capital Early Stage Liquidity Event SEC 52

Tim Keane

DECEMBER 14, 2009

  He is a partner in a pretty much exclusively software seed stage fund, Y Combinator that you can read more about.     We worked all day building market strategies for customers while we tried to embody our expertise on software that would expand the company's reach.  Starting Startups.

Burn Rate 60

Burn Rate Angel Groups Seed Stage Startup 60

YoungUpstarts

MAY 8, 2018

If investors express a strong preference changing your business model, product, or team, think twice. Don’t be surprised if you hear things like: “if you only had a few more customers,” or “we think you need a Chief of X or a VP of Y,” or “we really like this opportunity, but we’re currently raising a new fund, call us back in Q4.”

Seed Stage 133

Seed Stage Due Diligence Cofounder New York 133

Steve Blank

MAY 12, 2015

The SBIR/STTR program made ~6,200 seed stage investments in 2014, dwarfing the seed investments made by venture capital. The SBIR/STTR program represents a critical source of seed funding for U.S. In fact, half of all seed stages in tech companies in the U.S. Eleven U.S. were funded by the SBIR program.

SBIR 120

SBIR Maryland Lean Seed Stage 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 4, 2014

For example, if you have a proven product, real revenue, a big potential market, and are ready to scale up the business, every investor will be interested. On the other hand, if you are a new entrepreneur, still in the idea stage, professional investors will only tell you to come back later when you have traction (customers and revenue).

Angel Investor 232

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Investment Bankers Private Equity 232

View from Seed

JANUARY 11, 2023

Weekly, bespoke programming : As opposed to the typical ‘one-size-fits-all’ structure you see across most other programs, our weekly programming will be customized to fit the needs of the cohort we assemble come launch day. For this particular track, applicants need not apply with a fully baked business model. Let’s do this! .

Programming 156

Programming Sacramento San Francisco Founder 156

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 1, 2016

Getting investors to trust you with their money is always a challenge, and it’s even more difficult in the early stages, where you don’t have a significant revenue stream, a few customers, or maybe even a product yet. At these stages, it’s all about you, and your ability to communicate and execute effectively.

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

Hunter Walker

DECEMBER 25, 2016

In the spirit of clearing out some half-formed thoughts, I wanted to share my response to venture LPs who ask about the effect of “so much money” flowing into the seed space and how we think about its competitive impact upon our fund Homebrew.

Seed Stage 73

Seed Stage Cofounder Engineer Reputation 73

VC Cafe

MARCH 22, 2011

The CEO then needs to assess those opportunities, validating them through market research and customer development and if ultimately, one of those new opportunities proves to be larger than or incremental to the existing business opportunity, they need to clearly articulate that change of direction to the team and execute the transition rapidly.

Business Model 84

Business Model API Wiki Seed Stage 84

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2016

For example, if you have a proven product, real revenue, a big potential market, and are ready to scale up the business, every investor will be interested. On the other hand, if you are a new entrepreneur, still in the idea stage, professional investors will only tell you to come back later when you have traction (customers and revenue).

Matching 120

Matching Angel Investor Intellectual Property Investment Bankers 120