View from Seed

JANUARY 26, 2016

For now, it’s fine to think about pre-seed rounds as relatively small ($750K or less), early (pre-product), and typically followed by a larger round within 12 months ($1M – $3M). Series A investors invested quite early, often before product/market fit. The reasons for the shift are: Late-stage financing froth.

Seed Stage 120

Seed Stage Early Stage Cofounder Finance 120

www.mint.com

MARCH 9, 2010

If the answer to the question centers around “We will achieve revenue soon so our net will improve and give us more runway,” it means the company is in trouble because no product ever ships on time nor achieves the company’s “conservative forecast.” Life is challenging for a company that has undistinguished products and services.

Software Review 68

Software Review Startup Post-Money Valuation Technical Review 68

View from Seed

JUNE 16, 2015

My conviction in investing in a company is a function of my belief in the team, the traction of the company, and how the product/opportunity resonates with me personally. My POV is that every VC has a core product. For NextView specifically, we say that we are a one-product company.

Boston 120

Boston Syndicate Syndication eCommerce 120

David Teten

JANUARY 21, 2021

(co-written with Jamie Finney, Founding Partner at Greater Colorado Venture Fund. This essay is part of a series on alternative VC: I: Revenue-Based Investing: a new option for founders who care about control. III: Why are Revenue-Based VCs investing in so many women and underrepresented founders?

Equity 78

Equity Revenue Cofounder Colorado 78

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 24, 2017

Why do these founders get to stay around? Because the balance of power has dramatically shifted from investors to founders. VCs competing for unicorn investments have given founders control of the board. Twenty-five years ago, to go public you had to sell stuff – not just acquire users or have freemium products.

Founder 252

Founder Technical Review CTO Hire IPO 252

Startup Lessons Learned

MAY 31, 2019

Many very successful, non-technology companies have also been products of venture capital, including Home Depot, Starbucks, and Staples. The reality today is that capital is more available than ever and entrepreneurs have become more sophisticated, so founders are looking for more than just cash from their venture backers.

Lean 108

Lean Venture Capital Conversion IPO 108

Ben's Blog

AUGUST 17, 2020

When speaking with founders and private growth investors, we hear countless references to “multiples paid” on current or near-term revenue; both obsess over this because a higher multiple translates to a higher valuation. 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

David Teten

DECEMBER 3, 2019

To learn more about this space, I suggest join an online community I co-founded, PEVCTech. . Automation allows you to spend less time on tedious tasks and will help boost productivity, especially within a small marketing team. They read reviews of the products of target investments. 1) Manage the firm . 3) Raise capital.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Software Review Analytics Private Equity 78

Reid Hoffman

JUNE 11, 2020

My Blitzscaling co-author and friend Chris Yeh helped me record a Greymatter podcast episode where I share some of the great memories of and learnings from working with Jeff. I gave a critique of Yahoo’s products and strategy, and explained all the things that I thought Yahoo should do differently. Jeff said, “There’s something wrong.

Cofounder 36

Cofounder Leadership Metrics Later Stage 36

Austin Startup

MARCH 7, 2021

It seems like every day there is a new headline about an exceptional startup founder, investor, or corporate headquarters moving to Texas. The Innovation Center at Houston’s TMC (TMCx), co-located with Johnson and Johnson’s J-Labs, and the Center for Medical Device Innovation, drive medical innovation. Joe Lonsdale. Drew Houston.

Texas 90

Texas San Antonio Houston Dallas 90

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 3, 2013

I’m super proud to announce that DataSift has just completed a $42 million financing round coming at the end of a year where its revenue grew several hundred percent year-over-year. We co-led the A-round with IA Ventures. Tim, my former co-founder and long-time colleague & friend who joined as global head of products.

Iran 358

Iran API San Francisco Nigeria 358

Reid Hoffman

JANUARY 19, 2021

I’ve encountered many of the different ways boards can interact under different circumstances, whether it’s problem executives, problem investors, CEO misbehavior, financing issues, business crises and more. At this stage, you need a true founder who fervently believes they’re going to make the company successful. No, no, no.

Startup 36

Startup Cofounder Advertising Hiring 36

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2016

The principle of microeconomics is that at a market-clearing price for any product the right amount of sellers and buyers will emerge and a price will be set. Some products are “inelastic” meaning when prices go up demand doesn’t fall much (think cigarettes, alcohol or even illicit drugs). And so it goes.

Valuation 150

Valuation Down Round Startup Later Stage 150

Version One Ventures

MAY 22, 2018

Some of the best later-stage investors walk founders through an institutionalized “reverse” pitch. Are you looking for help and expertise in hiring, product strategy, customer development, fundraising, coaching, therapy, etc.? What are the experiences of other founders in the investor’s portfolio?

Cap Table 60

Cap Table Cofounder Syndicate Syndication 60

David Teten

JANUARY 13, 2015

I’m speaking on a panel this afternoon on fundraising for minority founders at the Rainbow PUSH Wall Street Project. Fundraising is always difficult for all founders; the median PE/VC fund sources and reviews 87 companies before investing in 1. This young, talented girl is given no chance of being the founder of the next Facebook.”. “I

Venture Capital 60

Venture Capital Advisory Board Greece Cofounder 60

Up and Running

DECEMBER 9, 2014

They cover funding for small businesses from the initial funding stage to later stages of growth, and other areas in between. Bates: Good morning and welcome to our CEO panel, “How to Fine-Tune Your Small Business Finances From Funding to Growth” which I think is the direction that we would all like to be going.

Small Business 95

Small Business Finance Forecast Metrics 95

techcrunch.com

FEBRUARY 19, 2010

Tweet View Comments Sarah Lacy Feb 19, 2010 Pepperdine has a new study out that attempts to shed some light on the clubby, shadowy world of private finance. Paglia, Pepperdiine’s Denney Academic Chair and Associate Professor of Finance. Think Again. Not a big shock, but things don’t look pretty, especially in the venture capital world.

Venture Capital 62

Venture Capital Technical Review Sweat Equity Valuation 62

Steve Blank

MAY 9, 2017

And to today, when its major product is simply innovation. When the product and channel are bits, adoption by 10’s and 100’s of millions and even billions of users can happen in years versus decades. The second thing that’s changed is that we’re now Compressing the Product Development Cycle.

Restful 227

Restful Silicon Valley Puerto Rico San Jose 227

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 30, 2016

I have been evangelizing to founders for years to be more thoughtful about how startups update investors and run board meetings so I would be pretty hypocritical if I wasn’t willing to try and be more effective myself. And of course we put a few portfolio companies on stage each year to present to us and inspire us.

Community 150

Community Los Angeles LP Portfolio 150

pandodaily.com

NOVEMBER 29, 2012

But at a macro level, widespread failure this early is far less painful than if it came at later stages. “Founders don’t think their problems are due to trends. And in fact, overall trends are a second-order effect for founders.” Sarah Lacy is the founder and editor-in-chief of PandoDaily.

Technical Review 93

Technical Review Silicon Valley Incubator Syria 93