Cracking the Code

OCTOBER 1, 2020

The company’s success has been largely driven by its developer-led freemium model, going from Series A funding to a valuation of $2.6B Once we had the user (developer) and the buyer (security team) on board, the freemium model really accelerated and made it quite resilient to this crisis. in just 30 months.

Early Stage 62

Early Stage Open Source Development Team Review Security 62

Seeing Both Sides

JULY 21, 2014

For me and my Jewish CEO boss, though, as officers of a public software company, September 30 was a tough day to be out of the office, sitting in synagogue atoning for a year full of sins. But many years later, I began to appreciate that one of our core flaws was our business model. This allowed our revenue to skyrocket from $1.8

Revenue 54

Revenue Valuation Churn Rate Portfolio 54

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 14, 2009

Five Quarters of Profitability During the 1980’s and through the mid 1990’s startups going public had to do something that most companies today never heard of – they had to show a track record of increasing revenue and consistent profitability. There was now a public market for companies with no revenue, no profit and big claims.

Silicon Valley 217

Silicon Valley IPO Technical Review Venture Capital 217

Steve Blank

MARCH 18, 2011

The signals are loud and clear : seed and late stage valuations are getting frothy and wacky, and hiring talent in Silicon Valley is the toughest it has been since the dot.com bubble. VC’s worked with entrepreneurs to build profitable and scalable businesses, with increasing revenue and consistent profitability – quarter after quarter.

Internet 334

Internet IPO Silicon Valley Agile 334

VC Cafe

FEBRUARY 27, 2024

especially if the startup already has a product and revenue? Everyone moved to earlier stage – part of the decline in late stage investing is the ‘baggage’ of companies that previously raised money at inflated valuations that they would struggle to justify in today’s market.

Valuation 186

Valuation Software Review Generative AI Technical Review 186

crowdSPRING Blog

APRIL 8, 2012

Entrepreneurs, by definition, take an idea or a concept and strive to make that idea into a operating business. To do this, we spend a great deal of time laying the groundwork: researching, modeling, testing, and (finally) executing to turn all of that work into a revenue-generating enterprise.

Software Review 112

Software Review Entrepreneur Incubator Valuation 112

ReadWriteStart

SEPTEMBER 10, 2010

They already have several customers including some telcos, and are at about $350,000 in revenues. And EVEN if you ARE an experienced entrepreneur, all but just a few VCs still want to see customer validation, business model validation and traction, before they will invest. Because customer financing equals revenue, not equity.

Cloud 115

Cloud Silicon Valley Incubator Finance 115

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 22, 2016

According to most experts , business traction is evidence that somebody really wants your product. It’s business momentum, independent of whether you have a product delivered, proven the business model, or significantly penetrated the opportunity. Validate every key element of your business model.

Metrics 143

Metrics Advisory Board Startup Lean 143

Feld Thoughts

AUGUST 25, 2015

Not really; it was a result of an industry investing into a frothy market at higher and higher valuations in expectation of near term liquidity, and suddenly the IPO window shutting, leading to no exits and little additional capital to support these companies. “By January 1984, investors had turned away from hardware toward software.”

Venture Capital 70

Venture Capital SBIC Technical Review Silicon Valley 70

View from Seed

APRIL 30, 2015

” Venture debt gives you those options, and particularly for companies that wind up doing well, then on your same cash-out date, you’d likely have achieved a better milestone thanks to fueling your spend, which would translate into a better valuation. Traction and revenue? Business model?

Term Sheet 120

Term Sheet Equity Startup Seed Stage 120

Version One Ventures

OCTOBER 7, 2014

Rick Perreault of my portfolio company Unbounce recently called my attention to an interesting comparison between two SaaS models: Hubspot & Moz – A Tale of Two (Very Different) SaaS Business Models. However, as Scott Krager points out in his post, the companies have vastly different approaches for generating revenue.

Initial Public Offering 148

Initial Public Offering IPO SEC Valuation 148

VC Cafe

SEPTEMBER 16, 2021

Let’s start with a short definition: [the creator economy] is defined as the class of businesses built by over 50 million independent content creators, curators, and community builders including social media influencers, bloggers, and videographers, plus the software and finance tools designed to help them with growth and monetization.

Startup 207

Startup Social Media Venture Capital Audio 207

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? … Checking In on Foursquare’s Valuation – [link]. Red All Over: Newspaper Revenues Fall In Q3 – [link]. Just got acquired? – [link].

Social Media 100

Social Media Small Business Central African Republic Design 100

Austin Startup

AUGUST 20, 2017

Keep the valuations consistent with company progress. The bottom line is that the pedigree of your investors will have much to do with your ultimate valuation and with your enjoyment of the startup experience. Your business works as intended if you can attract customers that fit into the context of your operation.

Technical Review 48

Technical Review Software Review Cap Table Securities and Exchange Commission 48

ReadWriteStart

JANUARY 27, 2011

And, oh by the way, we also really like the idea of the 1M/1M entrepreneurs building valuation and negotiating leverage through these business development efforts, instead of signing off large chunks of their company in form of equity early on. The business is already profitable with $2.9 million in revenue. LetsGiftIt.

Dilution 114

Dilution Revenue Finance Entrepreneur 114

Ben's Blog

AUGUST 17, 2020

OH in South Park, San Francisco (or on Zoom from Big Sky, Montana): “OMG, crazy – that firm just paid 100x revenue to invest in [insert hot startup here] – what could they be thinking?” How valuation multiples work Why did multiples become a shortcut-heuristic for estimating valuations in the first place?

Valuation 36

Valuation Balance Sheet Cofounder Forecast 36

Cracking the Code

NOVEMBER 13, 2008

Thoughts from a Venture Capitalist on Software, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Cloud Computing, Internet and more. It is time to fix your key SaaS metrics: P&L: MRR = MRE: you control your destiny when your monthly revenue equals your monthly expenses Sales & Marketing: Your cost of capital doubled, so if a CAC ratio > 0.5

Software Review 48

Software Review Technical Review Valuation Portfolio 48

crowdSPRING Blog

NOVEMBER 1, 2013

Small Business and Startups: The Trends for 2014 (Pt II) - crowdspring.co/1atXci8. Amazon and the “profitless business model” fallacy – crowdspring.co/1aQZQ04. Entrepreneur PSA – Advertising Businesses are Hard | Seth’s Blog - crowdspring.co/1aHHgHS. But a nearly $4 billion valuation?

Social Media 94

Social Media Small Business Design Media 94

Scalable Startup

AUGUST 26, 2014

As further market proof of the power of Drupal in the enterprise, Acquia has received about $100 million in funding in the past 3 months, which puts its valuation at over $1 billion. They kind of invented this business model. Google has optimized this open source to freemium model in almost all of its products.

Founder 42

Founder Los Angeles PHP Open Source 42

www.inc.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

Internet and Online Business. Business Software. 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. Human Resources (HR). Employee Benefits. SALES & MARKETING. Online Marketing. Advertising.

Arizona 40

Arizona Equity Iowa Venture Capital 40

Steve Blank

APRIL 1, 2020

But other businesses like law firms, contracting firms, real estate firms, will take hits, too. Your revenue plans are no longer valid. What’s your monthly cash burn at your new low revenue level? Others are cutting their valuations. Days 3 and 4: Prepare new business model and operating plan.

South Korea 333

South Korea Salary Business Model China 333

Steve Blank

JULY 15, 2010

Most of the startups they invested in either died by running out of money before they found a scalable business model or ended up in the “land of the living dead” by never growing (failing to Pivot.). Until 1995 startups going public typically had a track record of revenue and profits. Startup lifecycle in an IPO Market.

Venture Capital 297

Venture Capital IPO Liquidity Event Entrepreneur 297

Version One Ventures

OCTOBER 7, 2014

Rick Perreault of my portfolio company Unbounce recently called my attention to an interesting comparison between two SaaS models: Hubspot & Moz – A Tale of Two (Very Different) SaaS Business Models. However, as Scott Krager points out in his post, the companies have vastly different approaches for generating revenue.

Initial Public Offering 78

Initial Public Offering IPO SEC Valuation 78

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

MARCH 21, 2017

Revenue multiples, profit multiples, premium over the previous financing — these are metrics used by sellers to help determine a minimum acceptable price. Even for startups, it takes years for a new product to become good enough to demand many millions of dollars in revenue.).

Balance Sheet 242

Balance Sheet Vertical Acquisition Revenue 242

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

Agile VC

NOVEMBER 6, 2013

So their revenue figures, pre IPO financing and ownership, and other info is all widely available. I thought I’d provide a little analysis of Twitter based on their S-1, but also strive to put it in a broader context of other consumer internet businesses and where we are in the current tech cycle.

IPO 194

IPO Aggregator B2B Internet 194

ReadWriteStart

MAY 30, 2011

As an entrepreneur it can be dizzying to watch Groupon and Living Social grow so quickly, raising huge venture rounds at massive valuations while contemplating multiple billion dollar acquisitions and IPOs. eBay certainly has enabled purchases and built a very large business doing this. The Last Shift: License Revenue to Advertising.

Advertising 116

Advertising Business Model Revenue Mobile 116

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 24, 2017

— Unremarked and unheralded, the balance of power between startup CEOs and their investors has radically changed: IPOs/M&A without a profit (or at times revenue) have become the norm. Typically, this caliber of bankers wouldn’t talk to you unless your company had five profitable quarters of increasing revenue. Board Control.

Founder 245

Founder Technical Review CTO Hire IPO 245

Cracking the Code

DECEMBER 16, 2006

Thoughts from a Venture Capitalist on Software, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Cloud Computing, Internet and more. The theme was "the future of software". He is a great speaker and I enjoyed the speech, but after 40mn, I was still waiting to hear about the future of software. Cracking The Code. Saturday, December 16, 2006.

Software Review 48

Software Review Silicon Valley Technical Review Software 48

BeyondVC

JULY 20, 2006

It is always helpful to get benchmark data on your competitors and on other companies that have a similar business model. We encourage you to invite your software industry portfolio companies to participate in the SIIA Software Industry Financial Survey , conducted with assistance from Deloitte & Touche LLP and its affiliates.

Software 60

Software SEC Affiliate Early Stage 60

Tim Keane

JUNE 22, 2006

Testing to Increase Valuations. If lowered risk translates into higher valuations when the business either attracts investors or is sold, then lowering risk for the lowest possible dollars creates very high returns. If customer interest can be obtained in a live test involving revenue, valuation may rise again.

Valuation 60

Valuation Wisconsin Angel Investor Startup 60

David Teten

DECEMBER 3, 2019

Technographics vendors such as Builtwith , Datanyze , HG Data , Stackshare, and Stacklist help CEOs identify the right tech platform on which to build their business; they’re also helpful for investors to due diligence a company’s tech stack choices. Lighter Capital, a Revenue Based Investing VC, offers a Cost of Capital Calculator.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Software Review Analytics Private Equity 78

Agile VC

JANUARY 13, 2016

Was this simply a shift in sentiment among the tech & business media? A realignment of valuations by late stage investors? It used to take 5-10 years for a great startup to go from $0 to $75-100M+ in annual revenue. Revenue is revenue, right? What happened? The beginning of a tech downturn?

Technical Review 157

Technical Review .Net Revenue Software Review 157

Hearpreneur

AUGUST 5, 2020

The global automakers and suppliers will be adapting their business models accordingly, forming new partnerships and investing in new technologies. 9- Online management and accountability software. However, actual business productivity and real-time performance trackers are yet to adapt to remote work environments.

Technical Review 157

Technical Review Software Review Entrepreneur China 157

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 23, 2012

If you want to understand the details of why this is, I covered it in detail in this post, Understanding Changes in the Software Industry. When I was graduated from university in 1991 it was only the really committed who eschewed the corporate world for creating tech startup businesses. They compete on features, price and execution.

Venture Capital 347

Venture Capital Technical Review LP Mobile 347

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 26, 2020

There are two reasons to raise money: You have a killer idea that is only partially validated, that you think can get to $50M+ of revenue in 5 years with 80%+ gross margins (if margins are lower, you need a lot more revenue)and you need money to get to product-market fit, or. Team, Product, Traction, Business Model and Market.

Cofounder 429

Cofounder Seed Stage Valuation Metrics 429

Up and Running

APRIL 11, 2016

While traditional business models provide a more regular income, in the real estate world, it might be three months before you get paid—and it could even be longer. When it comes to technology, great Customer Relationship Management software seems to be the real estate agent’s prized possession.

Reputation 60

Reputation Cofounder Naming Business Plan 60