David Teten

JANUARY 19, 2021

More and more startups are pursuing Revenue-Based VCs , but “RBI” doesn’t fit everyone. From RBI, Flexible VCs borrow the ability to reap meaningful returns without demanding founders build for an exit. From traditional equity VC, Flexible VC borrows the option to pursue and reap the rewards of an outsized exit.

Cofounder 78

Cofounder Technical Review Equity Dividend 78

Steve Blank

MARCH 16, 2016

To most founders a startup is not a job, but a calling. Risk capital takes equity (stock ownership) in your company instead of debt (loans) in exchange for cash. Risk capital takes equity (stock ownership) in your company instead of debt (loans) in exchange for cash. What does this mean for startup founders?

Liquidity Event 120

Liquidity Event Founder Liquidation Preference Venture Capital 120

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. Sources of Funding.

Startup 150

Startup Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Seed Stage 150

Steve Blank

APRIL 26, 2022

Most existing investors (those still in business) hoarded their money and stopped doing follow-on rounds until the rubble had cleared. Except, that is, for the bottom feeders of the Venture Capital business – investors who “ cram down ” their companies. W hy would any founder agree to this? Why do VCs Do This? You Have a Choice.

Cram Down 408

Cram Down Founder Venture Capital Recapitalization 408

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 18, 2019

Depending on the composition of the founding team, you might or might not have near-term holes in certain functions at the exec level – e.g. you’ll most likely need to bring on a CTO/VP of Engineering shortly after the seed round if you don’t have a technical co-founder.

Part-Time VPE 195

Part-Time VPE Seed Stage CTO Hire Forecast 195

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 19, 2017

When you accept outside money, particularly a private equity (PE) investment, however, that changes. In this article, I’ll provide some personal stories of how investors have navigated the balance between raising private equity capital and not losing control of their startup. You make all the decisions, when you want, how you want.

Private Equity 94

Private Equity Pre-Money Valuation Equity Startup 94

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 21, 2016

They expect to hear about founders and team member’s prior experience in building a startup, and knowledge in the relevant solution domain. They know it’s especially hard to provide a financial return with a free business model. Many naïve startup founders believe that they can make good money with low margins.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Valuation Technical Review Equity 120

The Startup Magazine

FEBRUARY 21, 2024

Arif Bhalwani is the co-founder and CEO of Third Eye Capital (TEC) in Toronto, Canada. The goal is to transform dormant or underutilized assets into active capital that supports your business. It is also the time to take a hard look at your business model. Are there new revenue streams you can tap into?

Technical Review 135

Technical Review Due Diligence Bankruptcy Intellectual Property 135

Steve Blank

MARCH 12, 2014

We realized that past K-12 Entrepreneurial classes taught students “the lemonade stand” version of how to start a company: 1) come up with an idea, 2) execute the idea, 3) do the accounting (revenue, costs, etc.). We wanted to teach our students how to think like entrepreneurs not accountants.

Lean 334

Lean Customer Development Startup Silicon Valley 334

NZ Entrepreneur

SEPTEMBER 29, 2021

Startup founders are our ambitious problem solvers. Addressing real world problems, they thrive in uncertainty, generating new jobs and new revenue streams in new markets. experiments to build a product, find customers, test business models and hire amazing people. This equity will vest over 2-3 years.

Technical Review 88

Technical Review Software Review New Zealand Due Diligence 88

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 18, 2023

Some argue the only way to start is to drop everything and jump in with both feet, while others recommend an overlapped approach to the lifestyle, including not quitting your day job until you have revenue and a proven business model. McGinnis, a well-known venture capitalist and private equity investor.

Private Equity 255

Private Equity Salary Cofounder Equity 255

David Teten

JANUARY 21, 2021

This essay is part of a series on alternative VC: I: Revenue-Based Investing: a new option for founders who care about control. II: Who are the major Revenue-Based Investing VCs? III: Why are Revenue-Based VCs investing in so many women and underrepresented founders? Revenue-Based Flexible VCs. not VC).

Equity 78

Equity Revenue Cofounder Colorado 78

View from Seed

APRIL 30, 2015

What is it, and how should founders think about it? Glen Mello: Venture debt is a good complement to equity. It’s generally got a lower cost compared to equity capital and can help support growth. So it makes it a lot more challenging when you have debt on the books that isn’t as longer term as equity.

Term Sheet 120

Term Sheet Equity Startup Seed Stage 120

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 27, 2016

Investors look for entrepreneurs who talk about building a sustainable business, rather than highlighting the breakthrough elegance of the technology or the need for social change. Even social entrepreneurs need milestones, quantifiable results, and revenue to sustain their value. Plan includes a business model with good margins.

Technical Review 134

Technical Review Intellectual Property Due Diligence Angel Investor 134

Steve Blank

MARCH 17, 2020

But next the question is, ‘What happens to my business?”. The questions every startup or small business CEO needs to ask now are: What’s my Burn Rate and Runway? What does your new business model look like? Next, take a look at your actual revenue each month – not forecast, but real revenue coming in each month.

Burn Rate 436

Burn Rate Startup Valuation Sales Cycle 436

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 19, 2015

Most technologists have little interest in the mechanics of starting and building a business. That’s why I recommend that they find a co-founder who loves business challenges, including marketing and finance. Outside investors are most interested in scaling a proven business model, not research and development.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Intellectual Property Cofounder Bootstrapping 120

www.inc.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

Will Work for Equity. Dave Graham Business Venture Capital Private Equity GlobalLogic Inc. Last spring, Dave Graham , founder of software consulting firm Arizona Bay, learned that a major client, Jumpstart Automotive Media, had been acquired for more than $80 million. Honorees Resources. Apply. ); Topics >.

Arizona 40

Arizona Equity Iowa Venture Capital 40

Steve Blank

MARCH 31, 2014

Companies horde cash and squeeze the most revenue and margin from the money they use. In spite of this, private equity funds have used the rallying cry of efficiency to hijack corporate strategy and loot the profits that historically would have been reinvested into research and development and new products.

Private Equity 326

Private Equity Metrics China Intellectual Property 326

YoungUpstarts

SEPTEMBER 10, 2018

by Marc Pitart, founder and CEO of onlineresume.us. Acceleration and incubation programs are on the rise and have helped start and scale many successful businesses over the past 10 years. Pitch it to someone with a startup or business related background, but who doesn’t have experience in your industry. It was all hypothetical.

Programming 124

Programming Chile B2B B2C 124

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 30, 2020

Some argue the only way to start is to drop everything and jump in with both feet, while others recommend an overlapped approach to the lifestyle, including not quitting your day job until you have revenue and a proven business model. McGinnis, a well-known venture capitalist and private equity investor.

Entrepreneur 321

Entrepreneur Private Equity Startup Salary 321

David Teten

AUGUST 21, 2019

Most founders who are raising capital look first to traditional equity VCs. Or should they look to one of the new wave of Revenue-Based Investors? Revenue-Based Investing (“RBI”) is a new form of VC financing, distinct from the preferred equity structure most VCs use. RBI investors usually don’t take equity.

Revenue 60

Revenue Liquidation Preference Equity Cofounder 60

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2011

The corporate entity lends itself best to the concept of “sharing” equity required by investors, and unincorporated entities don’t get funding. If the founders are not experienced, find a couple of advisors from the business sector to fill the gap. Prepare an investment-grade business plan. Line up an experienced team.

Intellectual Property 249

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Technical Review Elevator Pitch 249

Steve Blank

MAY 19, 2015

I had lunch last week with Tom, the CEO of a startup that was quickly becoming a large company – last year’s revenue was $40M, this year likely to be $80M maybe even $100 million in ad revenue. to drive traffic to their site, which they then turned into ad revenue. Upgrade their salaries and equity ASAP.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Salary Early Stage Software Review 120

Steve Blank

MAY 20, 2010

It was the Internet bubble and after almost three years our startup had found a business model and we were scaling revenue and headcount fast. You’re Just the Founders. When the call was almost over my partner and I mentioned, “We want to remind you guys that we’ve been working at founders pay for almost three years.

Founder 276

Founder Cofounder Salary Naming 276

ConversionXL

JUNE 2, 2022

Alignment can make all the difference to a business. It’s proven to drive more revenue , improve customer experience , and power growth. As CXL founder Peep Laja notes in his CRO agency masterclass : “…it’s permission-based marketing. Does the client offer more than revenue? ABM forces teams to get on the same page.

Lead Generation 94

Lead Generation Marketing Sales Cycle Campaign 94

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 23, 2010

The corporate entity lends itself best to the concept of “sharing” equity required by investors, and unincorporated entities don’t get funding. If the founders are not experienced, find a couple of advisors from the business sector to fill the gap. Prepare an investment-grade business plan. Line up an experienced team.

Angel Investor 224

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Technical Review Elevator Pitch 224

K9 Ventures

JUNE 12, 2012

You get a situation whether investors are incentivized to put in more money into a company, not only to buy more equity, but also to fund the quick growth. This situation is not always in the best interest of founders. Some founders like to think that if they raise a lot of money now, they will never need to raise money again.

Venture Capital 117

Venture Capital Silicon Valley Founder Seed Stage 117

K9 Ventures

JUNE 12, 2012

You get a situation whether investors are incentivized to put in more money into a company, not only to buy more equity, but also to fund the quick growth. This situation is not always in the best interest of founders. Some founders like to think that if they raise a lot of money now, they will never need to raise money again.

Venture Capital 105

Venture Capital Silicon Valley Founder Seed Stage 105

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 6, 2021

Some thinkers have begun to talk about the “passion economy”, suggesting that you can build a business that caters on a shared passion with 1000 or even 100 “true fans”. Finding these true fans will enable your business to exist. Without them, you cannot earn any revenue. Develop a Business Model.

Limited Liability Company 164

Limited Liability Company Silicon Valley Business Model Stock Options 164

Austin Startup

FEBRUARY 13, 2019

The first one relates to the most important investor…you, the founder(s)! Not necessarily the entire business, but at some point, something will fail and you’ll either learn from it and grow or it will be the beginning of the end. Bootstrap if you can, for as long as you can As a startup you’ll likely fail.

Strategic Investors 49

Strategic Investors Austin Angel Investor Bootstrapping 49

crowdSPRING Blog

NOVEMBER 30, 2012

How Small Businesses Can Compete with Big Business – [link]. crowdSPRING’s Small Business Spotlight of the Week: mor.sl | crowdSPRING Blog – [link]. The Founders Lie About Comfort Zones – [link]. How To Choose A Market For Your Startup Or Small Business – [link]. Just got acquired?

Social Media 100

Social Media Small Business Central African Republic Design 100

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2011

I recently spoke at the Founder Showcase at the request of Adeo Ressi. I said that at the Founder Showcase, too. Ah, but today’s Internet companies have real revenue! And for many of these they were (over) funded 7-10 years ago and don’t necessarily all represent great returns for investors or founders.

Saudi Arabia 309

Saudi Arabia Valuation IPO Technical Review 309

Hearpreneur

MAY 7, 2020

Francie Jain is the founder and CEO of Terawatt , a business platform that connects business experts and coaches to professionals looking to improve upon specific soft skills in an affordable way. She is a graduate from Princeton University in Politics and The University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Two things:

Founder 63

Founder Indiana Naming Search 63

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 5, 2015

Asking for early-stage money before you have customers and revenue will likely kill your credibility with real investors. Seed-stage, meanwhil e, is technically that critical period when you need funding to do solution- and business-model development, to prove that your new product or service works, before you try to sell it to customers.

Seed Stage 120

Seed Stage Finance Early Stage Startup 120

Austin Startup

AUGUST 20, 2017

They’re looking to be paid properly in the context of the overall salary structure, including cash, benefits, and equity, and to be paid commensurate with performance. Kalanick, former investor BFF turned highly disappointed by founder behavior. You must choose what and how to measure yourself as a founder and your company.

Technical Review 48

Technical Review Software Review Cap Table Securities and Exchange Commission 48

VC Cafe

FEBRUARY 27, 2024

A founder asked me what makes a $2M round “pre-seed”? especially if the startup already has a product and revenue? In smaller funds, ticket sizes tend to be lower, so pre-seed is the only stage where micro funds are able to secure their minimum equity targets.

Valuation 186

Valuation Software Review Generative AI Technical Review 186

View from Seed

MAY 16, 2019

One of the key questions for me was how might Slack stack up against other great SaaS companies when it comes to average revenue per user (ARPU), and how ARPU and total addressable market (TAM) might drive Slack’s long run market cap. Revenue growth rate of 82% year over year. 10M+ daily active users (DAUs). So Slack generated $1.43

Lock-up Period 168

Lock-up Period Retention Azure .Net 168