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. Royalty based investment.

Startup 150

Startup Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Seed Stage 150

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2011

Ah, but today’s Internet companies have real revenue! New investors hate down rounds. Huge structural under-employment in much of the country and full employment in some niche tech markets where it’s impossible to hire developers, designers or sales professionals. I said that at the Founder Showcase, too.

Saudi Arabia 309

Saudi Arabia Valuation IPO Technical Review 309

Lightspeed Venture Partners

OCTOBER 7, 2012

The founders were very sympathetic; a man, laid off from his job, and his very pregnant wife, who sold their house and investing $150k into the business and are working hard to make a go of it. He had been at it for 6 months and had no sales or distribution lined up yet. He did $5M in 2011 sales and is projected $7.2m

Technical Review 110

Technical Review Technical Cofounder Valuation Pre-Money Valuation 110

Scalable Startup

JANUARY 27, 2011

And by growth I mean revenue growth. Flat to negative revenue growth is a real red flag, especially for early stage companies. If you’re venture funded, things get kind of ugly -unhappy board members, cut off from communications, down- rounds to keep you going, or no more funding. And protection form death.

Revenue 22

Revenue Early Stage Down Round Software Review 22

NZ Entrepreneur

SEPTEMBER 16, 2020

For example, “How will unit cost affect our capital requirements and how will product pricing affect revenue?” It isn’t good enough to just say ‘what does halving my revenue do to the business?’ Key Variables to Consider: Sales units. Founders are typically ambitious when projecting sales volumes.

Startup 69

Startup Sales Cycle Down Round Revenue 69

View from Seed

FEBRUARY 19, 2015

In 2010, we were recruiting for a Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Backupify, and it was clear that many of the people I was interviewing wanted the CEO role. I called the recruiter running the search and told him I was going to step down and hire a CEO. Think more about business models. Keep at it.

Founder 120

Founder Startup Cofounder Business Model 120

Growthink Blog

MAY 23, 2011

This venture capital financing - usually between $3 and $10 million - is the first of a number of rounds of outside investment over a period of three to five years. With this capital, the company propels itself to $50 million+ in revenues, and to either a sale to a strategic acquirer or to an initial public offering.

Angel Investor 112

Angel Investor Venture Capital Sweat Equity Cram Down 112