Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 9, 2011

A while back I received a discouraging note from an entrepreneur with a patent and a medical software application who couldn’t find a dime of investment, and was grousing that seed funding just wasn’t available anymore. Failure to prepare for due diligence. Not doing due diligence on the funding source.

Software Review 246

Software Review Due Diligence Elevator Pitch Early Stage 246

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 30, 2016

It seemed as though venture capitalists were throwing money at any Internet idea they could find – no business plan required. In a flash of brilliance, we took our dial-up filter technology and built a software product that would run on any computer regardless of its Internet connection type. We wanted in.

Software Review 188

Software Review Technical Review Due Diligence Startup 188

David Teten

DECEMBER 3, 2019

However, in private markets, there is more room to optimize across all 11 steps of the investing process: firm management , marketing, fundraising , origination , manage relationships, due diligence, negotiation, monitoring, portfolio acceleration , reporting, and. They read reviews of the products of target investments.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Software Review Analytics Private Equity 78

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 3, 2010

Yesterday I received a discouraging note from an entrepreneur with a patent and a medical software application who couldn’t find a dime of investment, and was grousing that seed funding just wasn’t available anymore. Failure to prepare for due diligence. Not doing due diligence on the funding source.

Software Review 239

Software Review Due Diligence Elevator Pitch Startup 239

Up and Running

JULY 29, 2019

Finish your business plan. If you haven’t already written a business plan , start now. We recommend using a Lean Planning approach. You need a business plan for a few reasons: To help you estimate how much money you need. This is no time for mail-merge or mass-emailing software.

Angel Investor 119

Angel Investor Venture Capital Technical Review Software Review 119

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

Angels invest in one out of every forty deals they review (2.5%) versus the one out of 400 by VC’s (0.25%). They are professionals with full-time jobs, who often don’t have time for due diligence (and may not even know how to do it) and often make decisions through trusted referrals or based on gut feelings (more on gut feelings later).

Angel Investor 159

Angel Investor Technical Review Software Review Accredited Investor 159

Up and Running

JULY 24, 2017

An executive summary is the brief introduction to a business plan. It should describe your business, the problem that it solves, your target market, and financial highlights. Start with your business’s name, location, and contact information. What you offer and the problem your business solves. Who you are.

Software Review 151

Software Review SBA Due Diligence Business Plan 151

Up and Running

MAY 9, 2018

That’s the moment when many entrepreneurs realize that getting the help of a professional business plan writer can take their business concept from daydream to day job. Another vital question to consider at this stage is, what makes your business idea or model unique ? Who are you? Competition. Leadership.

Business Plan 71

Business Plan SBA Software Review Small Business Administration 71

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

Here are my 10 tips (oh, and by the way, I did raise venture capital for Palo Alto Software at one point, and I’ve been a consultant to venture capital for 35 years). That idea dates back to the 1980s when people imagined that VCs were looking at business plans coming in unsolicited. Are you still with me? Not any more.

Software Review 124

Software Review Due Diligence Venture Capital Elevator Pitch 124

VC Cafe

JULY 5, 2010

The workshop participants, of which there were about 30, brought diverse experience and expertise to the table – from young entrepreneurs with just a few years of experience in the consumer web, to seasoned executives with decades of experience in semiconductors, telecommunications and enterprise software.

Software Review 116

Software Review Technical Review Community Due Diligence 116

Up and Running

MAY 28, 2015

We recently had Tim Berry, Palo Alto Software founder and business planning expert, present our Bplans audience with his latest advice on lean business planning. It’s all about making your business life easier, doing what works best, getting the best results by tracking what works and always improving.

Lean 60

Lean Business Plan Video Software Review 60

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 1, 2020

In very few specific cases, depending on the nature of the business, the business model might demand a considerable gestation period or extensive research and development. For these businesses, it is imperative to get funding from the start without which the company cannot be set up. The next form of debt is a commercial loan.

Startup 150

Startup Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Seed Stage 150

Women Entrepreneurs Can

MAY 6, 2019

Step three is to turn the spotlight on your business strengths, and identify what uniquely differentiates your startup from your competitors. Maybe your proprietary tech runs a software algorithm with unique results that only your startup delivers? Do you supply some particular feature unmatched by any other company?

Technical Review 40

Technical Review Software Review Due Diligence Startup 40

Up and Running

JULY 23, 2014

That usually means talking, in the pitch and in the business plan, about how similar companies in similar markets have been able to exit via selling out to a larger company. The more sophisticated plans and pitches will mention recent exits and offer information about how the companies that exited were valued when they were bought.

Exit Strategy 131

Exit Strategy Software Review Angel Investor Startup 131

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 13, 2011

It’s interesting that the question is pitch deck’s being obsolete versus business plans being obsolete. So very few investors want Business Plans any more. If you are outside internet software we are not going to invest. And so you really have a log of software algorithmic stuff that is very, very difficult.”.

Technical Review 288

Technical Review Venture Capital Silicon Valley Software Review 288

Gust

NOVEMBER 11, 2011

In most of the events that I’ve participated in, that the appearance of a business plan contest is to some extent illusion. It’s not just a one-time pitch or plan contest. In fact, before the final event, the investors have already done due diligence. Decisions are made before the actual event.

Software Review 79

Software Review Term Sheet Due Diligence Angel Investor 79

Hearpreneur

JANUARY 12, 2020

You make can either make or break the future of a business hence due diligence is necessary before making any moves. We asked entrepreneurs and business owners how they are bold in their business and here are the responses. #1- However, staying in business is all about being courageous and confident.

Entrepreneur 118

Entrepreneur Software Review Technical Review SEO 118

Gust

DECEMBER 27, 2012

These range from outbound materials, such as pitch emails and funding applications, to presentations of your venture in different forms for different purposes, to detailed back-up information that you will be asked to supply during due diligence.

Software Review 164

Software Review Term Sheet Technical Review Angel Investor 164

Up and Running

NOVEMBER 12, 2014

There’s also the added bonus that you’ll have to do a lot less due diligence. Having management or employees buy your business is a good idea if legacy matters most to you. In fact, this is exactly what happened at Palo Alto Software. Passing Palo Alto Software on to family was more fortuitous than carefully planned.

Exit Strategy 117

Exit Strategy Lock-up Period Merger IPO 117

Up and Running

MARCH 11, 2015

.” Our featured speaker was Caroline Cummings, the VP of Business Development at Palo Alto Software. She is regularly invited to participate as a judge for business plan competitions, as well as speak on topics including entrepreneurship, angel investing, social media, and authentic self promotion.

Technical Review 60

Technical Review Software Review Due Diligence Exit Strategy 60

Up and Running

DECEMBER 18, 2013

They have a stringent screening process with many requirements for approval—an experienced management team, a sizeable market, a business plan complete with financial projections, and satisfaction of their due diligence process—but the payoff is in the potential of hundreds of thousands of dollars of funding.

Kenya 119

Kenya Angel Investor Technical Review Software Review 119

Business Plan Blog

DECEMBER 12, 2013

Group members meet regularly to review business proposals and watch presentations of the selected businesses. And members work together to implement due diligence to validate plans, statements, and history of entrepreneurial team. They do all share some of the same characteristics.

Angel Groups 51

Angel Groups Angel Investor Software Review Accredited Investor 51

www.reincubate.com

FEBRUARY 1, 2010

Contribute to development of primary business plan, with input on focus, costing and approach (platform, build vs. buy, resourcing, hosting strategy, time & cost). Design and maintain a roadmap of projects to meet demanding business objectives, taking advantage of trends and new technology where appropriate.

Fractional CTO 40

Fractional CTO CTO Technical Review CTO Hire 40

rapidrollout.wordpress.com

JANUARY 15, 2011

Investors use a consulting CTO for technical due diligence. Why Use a Consulting CTO A consulting CTO can help you complete a business plan by estimating costs and timelines for the company’s technology development and deployment. Not all software developers are suited to the role of startup CTO.

Fractional CTO 40

Fractional CTO CTO CTO Hire Fractional VPE 40

Business Plan Blog

DECEMBER 12, 2013

Group members meet regularly to review business proposals and watch presentations of the selected businesses. And members work together to implement due diligence to validate plans, statements, and history of entrepreneurial team. They do all share some of the same characteristics.

Angel Groups 40

Angel Groups Angel Investor Software Review Accredited Investor 40

www.xconomy.com

JUNE 9, 2012

Here’s some big news for San Diego’s innovation economy: There’s a new venture capital firm in town—and its investment methodology represents a fundamentally different approach to the conventional business model for venture investing. The firm, Correlation Ventures, is using predictive analytics technology to tilt the odds in its favor.

San Diego 40

San Diego Venture Capital Technical Review San Francisco 40

www.vccafe.com

MARCH 11, 2013

VC Cafe highlights everything you need to know from hosting your code in hackathons to open source legal docs. Also includes the most popular platforms, based on a year of data on business buy and sell marketplace, Flippa.com. s the new way to code, and quite easy to learn. Code Igniter. Code Hosting and Version Control.

Software Review 53

Software Review Technical Review Startup 53

Up and Running

AUGUST 6, 2015

The good news is that if your business is having trouble maintaining a positive cash flow, it doesn’t necessarily mean the end of the world is approaching. For example, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) company could consider upping its subscription fees after undergoing a major upgrade and rolling out new features.

Management 60

Management Technical Review Software Review .Net 60

Babbling VC

JUNE 10, 2010

The heavy lifting which takes place on both sides as part of the due diligence process is not addressed with this post. Having worked in the real estate sector as well as software space, I simply liked what they were doing. As you can tell, not one of my deals is an unsolicited business plan.

Software Review 64

Software Review Due Diligence Venture Capital Germany 64

Austin Startup

AUGUST 20, 2017

Make your choices only after you’ve done some due diligence with other companies where they’ve served. Your original business plan will probably go out the window when you land your first customer. From time immemorial, or at least since programming became a profession, the creation of software has been a magical journey.

Technical Review 48

Technical Review Software Review Cap Table Securities and Exchange Commission 48

Tim Keane

OCTOBER 19, 2006

Due diligence: An Entrepreneurs Perspective » October 19, 2006. We tried to buy some software recently that the vendor wanted to price on the basis of third party uses, a category of activity uncontrolled by us. People bought the software but grumbled about the pricing idea. Thinking about pricing.

Software Review 60

Software Review Wisconsin Technical Review Angel Investor 60

Up and Running

MAY 12, 2015

Drawing on advice from our own Tim Berry, founder of Palo Alto Software and Josh Cochrane, our VP of Product Development, I’ve broken down a few of the different options for entrepreneurs looking for feedback on their pitch. See Also Bplans Small Business Loan Finder. See Also 5 Sure-fire Ways to Bomb Your Investor Pitch.

Angel Investor 60

Angel Investor Software Review Technical Cofounder Due Diligence 60

Steve Blank

DECEMBER 7, 2009

Our business model changed as we realized that to become a large company, we needed to automate more than just a few marketers. As we were out looking for our Series B round, our company had gotten the attention of “name of big VC firm here” who wanted a play in enterprise software. Are These Your Slides?

Silicon Valley 248

Silicon Valley Non-disclosure Agreement NDA Startup 248

www.paulgraham.com

APRIL 28, 2010

I wassurprised recently when I realized that all the worst problems wefaced in our startup were due not to competitors, but investors.Dealing with competitors was easy by comparison. Your natural tendency when an investor says yes willbe to relax and go back to writing code. They were helpful in negotiating deals, for example.

Technical Review 76

Technical Review Startup Software Review Angel Investor 76

blog.expensify.com

APRIL 24, 2012

The right sort of person is so passionate about coding, they can’t be stopped from doing it. But every day spent in that kitchen is a day NOT spent in a real kitchen, learning how to cook real food, and write real code. I currently work in information security, and I help teach developers how to write better, more secure code.

Java 107

Java PHP Software Review Coder 107

www.mint.com

MARCH 9, 2010

like courtney benson 460 days ago i agree that these are questions that one should ask but in the end result one can do all the due diligence possible and still wind up in a bad situation or the opposite can happen. It really comes down to the management, answers, instinct, experience and execution. You may not get a second chance.

Software Review 68

Software Review Startup Post-Money Valuation Technical Review 68

Up and Running

FEBRUARY 9, 2015

I had the opportunity to speak with Melinda Emerson, the “SmallBizLady” and America’s #1 small business expert, who took the opportunity to share with us her proven, step-by-step method to transition from employee to entrepreneur. This is Sabrina Parsons, the CEO of Palo Alto Software. You are your own secretary.

Social Media 60

Social Media Small Business Software Review Technical Review 60