Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 14, 2012

I expect that should seem intuitive to all entrepreneurs, but every investor I know has many stories about startup funding requests with major business model elements missing. I support her assertion that a business model consists of at least the first seven of the following ten basic elements: Value proposition.

Business Model 242

Business Model Distribution Viral Green 242

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 29, 2011

I expect that should seem intuitive to all entrepreneurs, but every investor I know has many stories about startup funding requests with major business model elements missing. I support her assertion that a business model consists of at least the first seven of the following ten basic elements: Value proposition.

Business Model 246

Business Model Distribution Viral Green 246

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 16, 2009

In it, I got asked a question I often hear: “What if we have a web-based business that doesn’t have revenue or paying customers? And without revenue how do we know if we achieved product/market fit to exit Customer Validation?” However the Customer Development Model and the Lean Startup work equally well for startups on the web.

Customer Development 228

Customer Development Web Developer Customer 228

Up and Running

NOVEMBER 15, 2017

Even if you already know what a SWOT analysis is and what it’s used for, it can be tough to translate that information and examine your own business with a critical eye. Reading an example SWOT analysis for a business that is either in your industry or based on a comparable business model can help get you started.

Botswana 148

Botswana Business Plan Oregon Distribution 148

Steve Blank

MARCH 31, 2014

As the venture capital business has come roaring back in the last 5 years, startups are awash in available capital. Companies horde cash and squeeze the most revenue and margin from the money they use. Instead of measuring success in dollars of profit, …firms focus on measuring capital efficiency.

Private Equity 330

Private Equity Metrics China Intellectual Property 330

The Startup Magazine

JULY 1, 2022

Production or service is the business’s core activity, which generates revenue. All three of these components are essential to the success of a business. How To Create A Business Model And Identify Your Target Market. Creating a business model is an essential step in starting a business.

Technology 142

Technology Venture Capital Finance Startup 142

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 14, 2009

Over the same 30 years, Venture Capital firms have honed their skills and strategies to match Wall Streets needs to achieve liquidity for their portfolio companies. One of the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make is misunderstanding the role of venture capital investors. What Do VC’s Do?

Silicon Valley 237

Silicon Valley IPO Technical Review Venture Capital 237

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 25, 2016

It turns out that to build a successful company you ultimately need this strange thing called “revenue” that people don’t just hand you: You need to earn it. And there’s this other thing called “gross margin,” which shows the quality of your revenue. How much ad revenue does TripAdvisor make?

Startup 150

Startup Seed Money DC Software Review 150

VC Cafe

SEPTEMBER 16, 2021

I’ve also shared my insights with Techcrunch, in “ 5 creator economy VCs see startup opportunities in monetization, discovery and much more “ As venture capital investors, one question we think about a lot at Remagine Ventures is “where are the opportunities for startups in the Creator Economy?”

Startup 207

Startup Social Media Venture Capital Audio 207

YoungUpstarts

JULY 16, 2020

The COVID-19 crisis has caused many businesses of all sizes to re-evaluate their plans and pivot their business models. If your company has been suffering from losses or is exposed to risks because of this pandemic, you may want to consider changing your business entity. by Dustin Ray of Incfile.

LLC 255

LLC Bankruptcy Venture Capital Stock 255

Austin Startup

OCTOBER 15, 2017

What seems to be the best way to create customers and revenue may result in a business model that is out of vogue with the investment world and shortchanges you on enterprise valuation. Heck, there was no venture capital in Dixie in that era. A good example is the marketing technology sector.

Technical Review 48

Technical Review Software Review Nevada Silicon Valley 48

Steve Blank

AUGUST 5, 2010

Consumer Internet investing seems to have split off from traditional Venture Capital, and is creating a new category of VC’s: Lean VC’s. Electron-based Venture Capital. When I first came to Silicon Valley the world of Venture Capital looked pretty simple. Here’s why. They build a minimum feature set.

Lean 266

Lean Internet Silicon Valley Venture Capital 266

crowdSPRING Blog

NOVEMBER 30, 2012

Start With a Business Model, Not a Business Plan | WSJ – [link]. The danger of waiting to long to find a business model? Want Venture Capital Funding? How PRWeb Helps Distribute Crap Into Google & News Sites – [link]. Red All Over: Newspaper Revenues Fall In Q3 – [link].

Social Media 100

Social Media Small Business Central African Republic Design 100

Steve Blank

JULY 19, 2010

The customary vesting model has founders vest their stock over 4-years , and when the founding CEO gets in over their head the VC’s bring in professional management. The fallacy is believing that a founders value is evenly distributed over four years. And that they’ll emerge from this fog of war with a scalable business model.

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Vesting Liquidity Event Venture Capital Founder Vesting 265

Steve Blank

MARCH 18, 2011

VC’s worked with entrepreneurs to build profitable and scalable businesses, with increasing revenue and consistent profitability – quarter after quarter. With Netscape’s IPO , there was suddenly a public market for companies with limited revenue and no profit. 1970 – 1995: The Golden Age. The New Exits.

Internet 335

Internet IPO Silicon Valley Agile 335

Up and Running

MAY 3, 2012

From a young person’s perspective, with tight labour markets, decreasing barriers to entry, low capital-intensive business models and immediate free access to a global market, the appeal is also compelling. based venture capital fund had just invested in 17 companies. What is there not to like? The list goes on.

Entrepreneur 82

Entrepreneur Technical Review Silicon Valley Lean 82

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 25, 2016

The trend toward launching without planning may be why the failure rate for venture capital-backed businesses is as high as 75 percent. Yet, if you take too much time to plan, you may never launch your business at all. The steps focus you on developing your business model. How many customers are there?

Bootstrapping 100

Bootstrapping LLC Equity Revenue 100

www.inc.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

Dave Graham Business Venture Capital Private Equity GlobalLogic Inc. Venture Capital Firms. Over the past year or so, work-for-equity arrangements have become an integral part of Arizona Bays business model. Arizona Bay has also blended equity payments with revenue-sharing deals.

Arizona 40

Arizona Equity Iowa Venture Capital 40

SoCal CTO

MARCH 22, 2007

It seems that four different models of "discussion creation" have occurred: Organice Discussion - someone posts something interesting, lots of bloggers post on the topic, distributed discussion ensues. Open Source Business Models, speakers for Web 2.0 See Five Things Meme as an example. event I did last fall.

Technical Cofounder 150

Technical Cofounder Southern California Los Angeles CTO Hire 150

Steve Blank

AUGUST 31, 2009

Startups don’t fail because they lack a product; they fail because they lack customers and a profitable business model. Look at the Product Development model and you might wonder, “Where are the customers?” customers aren’t buying it, the cost of distribution is too high, etc.) before you ship.

Customer Development 246

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 246

Reid Hoffman

MARCH 19, 2019

Finally, and importantly, society is better off because Amazon makes the system for distributing books (and other products) vastly more productive, freeing up resources for other value-creating investments. Microsoft and Apple believed that microprocessors would allow consumers to have their own computers.

Cofounder 28

Cofounder Business Model IPO Non-Compete 28

www.forentrepreneurs.com

FEBRUARY 2, 2010

Business Model I would like to propose that in addition to team, product, and market, there is actually a fourth, equally important, core element of startups, which is the need for a viable business model. It appears that LTV should be about 3 x CAC for a viable SaaS or other form of recurring revenue model.

Acquisition 103

Acquisition Cost Customer Entrepreneur 103

Mucker Lab

DECEMBER 2, 2015

The iPod model will separate IoT platforms from fads. 20 years ago, a majority of “Sand Hill” venture capital went into enterprise-focused startups. However, the rise of the Internet equalized if not flipped the ratio as the web (and mobile) created a new product category and distribution platform.

Vertical 60

Vertical Widget Distribution China 60

The Next Web

OCTOBER 2, 2013

Distribution and cashflow pose challenges in China. That’s why the free business model is so popular in China. Furthermore, the steady cashflow in the Western market also comes about because of one key factor: the distribution model. He explains how the Chinese in general are consumers who are less willing to pay.

China 122

China Developer Intellectual Property Mobile 122

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 29, 2020

Wikipedia.com defines a “startup company (startup or startup) is an entrepreneurial venture which is typically a newly emerged, fast-growing business that aims to meet a marketplace need by developing a viable business model around an innovative product, service, process, or a platform.”.

Bootstrapping 85

Bootstrapping Global Startup Hungary 85

Growthink Blog

MAY 23, 2011

With this seed capital – more often than not totaling between $100,000 and $1,000,000 - the company accomplishes a number of key technical milestones, gets a beta customer or two, and then goes on a "road show" to venture capitalists around the country for capital to “scale” the business.

Angel Investor 112

Angel Investor Venture Capital Sweat Equity Cram Down 112

Tim Keane

JANUARY 12, 2010

  I’ve sat down with entrepreneurs and a copy of a term sheet guide I like [ “Term Sheets & Valuations - A Line by Line Look at the Intricacies of Venture Capital Term Sheets & Valuations ” by Alex Wilmerding, Aspatore Press.]   Pre-bubble Siliicon Valley deals were popularly valued at multiples of revenue.

Term Sheet 68

Term Sheet Valuation Dividend Liquidation Preference 68

Austin Startup

MARCH 23, 2017

I point back to Fred Wilson’s blog, specifically a guest post by Andy Sack on revenue based financing. Revenue based financing is a form of debt that comes without the strings that pushed companies like ModCloth into trouble. If revenue increases, the payments amounts increase and the loan is repaid sooner.

Dilution 54

Dilution Equity Warrant Distribution 54

Growthink Blog

JUNE 14, 2017

For recurring revenue, Uber. Trailing twelve month revenues for the company is over $100 million and the company was valued at over $1.2 For recurring revenue, Uber. Because of their well-publicized internal troubles and management dysfunction, Uber these days is everyone's favorite business punching bag. Warby Parker.

Disintermediation 59

Disintermediation Business Model B2B Revenue 59

Up and Running

APRIL 24, 2018

If you’ve never written a business plan before, take a look at these sample medical startup business plans. At first, you need to focus on developing your business model and validating it. That’s why having a revenue-minded focus from the early stages helps to secure funding.

SBIR 73

SBIR Startup Artificial Inteligence Intellectual Property 73

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 29, 2011

Yesterday I wrote Part 1 of the series on the changes to the software industry over the past decade that has led to changes in the venture capital industry itself. In addition it is much easier to get distribution than it was in the pre Facebook, pre iPhone world. This led to an explosion in startups.

Venture Capital 296

Venture Capital Software LP Early Stage 296

ReadWriteStart

MARCH 8, 2016

The hottest open source companies are focused on big data, with companies like DataStax, Cloudera , and MongoDB bagging billion-dollar valuations as they earn ever-increasing revenues. Both companies offer Hadoop distributions, but Cloudera has been much more willing to offer proprietary add-ons to complement its open source platform.

Software 60

Software Open Source Valuation Analytics 60

Steve Blank

APRIL 30, 2009

SuperMac sold our graphic boards for the Macintosh through multiple distribution channels: direct sales to major accounts, national chains, independent rep firms, etc. Initially your job is to understand each of the parts of your business model before you hire someone to do it. Worry about the sales results. What did we learn?

Sales 120

Sales Silicon Valley RSS Las Vegas 120

abovethecrowd.com

APRIL 17, 2013

With each hand, a small percentage of the pot is scraped off by the dealer, which in essence becomes the “revenue” for the casino. While casinos use the term “rake,” a plethora of interesting word choices exist which all describe the same thing – keeping a little bit of the revenue for the company that is running the service.

Europe 101

Europe Social Network Technical Review IPO 101

K9 Ventures

JULY 19, 2012

Several of the portfolio companies have gone on to do their Series A (HighlightCam, Zimride, Occipital), Series B (CrowdFlower, DNAnexus) and Series C (Twilio, Lytro) rounds led by top tier venture firms, and the seed-stage companies all continue to track well on building product, team, and/or, revenue (imagine that!).

Technology 132

Technology Seed Stage San Francisco Limited Partner 132

K9 Ventures

JULY 19, 2012

Several of the portfolio companies have gone on to do their Series A (HighlightCam, Zimride, Occipital), Series B (CrowdFlower, DNAnexus) and Series C (Twilio, Lytro) rounds led by top tier venture firms, and the seed-stage companies all continue to track well on building product, team, and/or, revenue (imagine that!).

Technology 132

Technology Seed Stage San Francisco Limited Partner 132

David Teten

DECEMBER 3, 2019

Private equity and venture capital investors are copying our sisters in the hedge fund world: we’re trying to automate more of our job. . Lean Case provides standard business models & metrics, so you can apply a standard approach to business planning, modeling, and profitability tracking.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Software Review Analytics Private Equity 78