David Teten

JANUARY 19, 2021

(co-written with Jamie Finney, Founding Partner at Greater Colorado Venture Fund. 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. Flexible VC 101: Equity Meets Revenue Share.

Cofounder 78

Cofounder Technical Review Equity Dividend 78

The Startup Magazine

FEBRUARY 21, 2024

Arif Bhalwani is the co-founder and CEO of Third Eye Capital (TEC) in Toronto, Canada. As an investor, these experiences have honed my ability to see beyond spreadsheets and valuations, to the core of what makes businesses thrive: the people, the vision, and the relentless pursuit of excellence. The firm has made more than $4.5

Technical Review 132

Technical Review Due Diligence Bankruptcy Intellectual Property 132

Hunter Walker

DECEMBER 13, 2020

If things are going great, you still may get a lower valuation or smaller round. It doesn’t matter what industry, what product, what revenue model, what stage of development. Can your lack of interest or skill in “selling” be counter-balanced by a cofounder or team that’s great at it? How does this harm occur? Yes and No.

Technical Cofounder 145

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Startup Matching 145

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. Not all startups need outside investment to grow.

Cofounder 429

Cofounder Seed Stage Valuation Metrics 429

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. — 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.

Founder 245

Founder Technical Review CTO Hire IPO 245

ReadWriteStart

JANUARY 28, 2022

This article will assist you in gaining a fundamental understanding of equity valuation, kinds of equity, and other related topics. The market regards equity as an ownership “share” in a corporation’s income revenue stream. Equity for Co-founders. This range decreases if there are more founders.

Valuation 108

Valuation Equity Warrant Common Stock 108

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2018

Those that do it right also have the unprecedented opportunity to join the elite ranks of 250 unicorns (relatively new companies with a current valuation of over $1 billion). Co-mingling personal and business funds and accounts creates legal risk and tax liability, and makes your efforts look like a hobby.

Technical Cofounder 184

Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property Silicon Valley LLC 184

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

As the idea went from innovating on software & systems to launching a company to rolling it out in the field brought on Rahul Gandhi as his co-founder to physically launch the company. An example of the systems companies build are pricing & revenue management tools to best help to optimize yield.

Operations 286

Operations New York City Technical Review Startup 286

ReadWriteStart

MAY 30, 2022

While investors can seem like a solution to countless problems you encounter as a founder, don’t be too hasty to start eating from their hands. Your employees and cofounders deserve their stakes since they’ve helped you scale to an exit. If you’re in a rush to sell, will your investors allow you to accept less than your valuation? .

Bootstrapping 147

Bootstrapping Startup Equity Silicon Valley 147

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2017

They come at the early stage while a startup has no revenue or valuation, so professional investors are hard to find. Provides networking with cofounders and strategic partners. In today’s fast moving market, the basic product development cost and time are critical to survival.

Technical Cofounder 153

Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property Wiki Cofounder 153

Agile VC

APRIL 17, 2011

Kayak was started here in my backyard of Boston… co-founder & CTO Paul English and the product/engineering team is based here in Concord MA. Co-founder & CEO Steve Hafner and the business team are based in Norwalk, CT. Financial Snapshot: 2010 Revenue: $170 million. 2010 Net Income: $8 million.

Pre-Money Valuation 113

Pre-Money Valuation Liquidation Preference Dividend Common Stock 113

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

They come at the early stage while a startup has no revenue or valuation, so professional investors are hard to find. Network with potential cofounders and strategic partners. Here are some key positives from an entrepreneur perspective: Shorten the time and cost from idea to prototype.

Startup 397

Startup Cofounder Incubator Early Stage 397

YoungUpstarts

APRIL 22, 2018

by Thomas Smale, founder of FE International. What if there was somewhere you could go where you can be surrounded by founders just like you? Or where you can network with established, successful founders and investors? Or where you can network with established, successful founders and investors? Here are the top 10: 1.

Las Vegas 124

Las Vegas Software Review Affiliate Cofounder 124

Berkonomics

JANUARY 28, 2021

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve walked away from deals where the entrepreneur insists on a start-up pre-money valuation that is so high, no angel could expect to make a return upon the investment, even with a reasonable sales price for the company down the road. Why fight about valuation, or disappoint the founder at the outset?

Early Stage 62

Early Stage Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Cofounder 62

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. That’s when everything changed.

Lean 334

Lean Customer Development Startup Silicon Valley 334

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 19, 2015

That’s why I recommend that they find a co-founder who loves business challenges, including marketing and finance. Thus it’s a waste of time for most entrepreneurs to be looking for investors until they have a product and some customer revenue. Most founders bootstrap product development.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Intellectual Property Cofounder Bootstrapping 120

Cracking the Code

SEPTEMBER 12, 2021

As the company announces its $530 million Series F at a valuation of $8.5 What was your approach to picking co-founders, and what advice would you give entrepreneurs on this? I think having a co-founder is very important. The co-founder / marriage analogy is apt. The entrepreneurship journey is hard.

Community 62

Community Cofounder Security Open Source 62

David Teten

AUGUST 20, 2019

I’ve been a traditional equity VC for 8 years, and I’m now researching Revenue-Based Investing and other new approaches to VC. The question I’m asking myself: should a new VC fund use Revenue-Based Investing, traditional equity VC, or possibly both (likely from two separate pools of capital)? Greater transparency to limited partners.

Revenue 60

Revenue SBIC Cofounder Venture Capital 60

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2010

Founded in November 2007 in New York City by Alexis Maybank and Kevin Ryan (co-founder of DoubleClick); CEO is Susan Lyne (ex-CEO Marta Stewart Living Omnimedia) Revenue estimates: $50mm in 2008; $170mm in 2009 (versus budget of $150mm); $450mm forecasted for 2010. Note that these are “gross” revenue numbers.

Partner 240

Partner New York City Cofounder Syndicate 240

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 13, 2011

Revolution is a “stage agnostic&# fund (means they invest early or late) funded entirely by Steve Case , the founder of AOL and co-founded by two other individuals, Tige Savage (yes, pronounced like the golfer, minus the “r&# ) and Donn Davis. And we also talked about what it’s like to work with Steve Case.

Cofounder 277

Cofounder Merger Founder Venture Capital 277

The Startup Magazine

JUNE 1, 2023

By Daniel Sokolovksy, Co-Founder and CEO, WARP and Troy Lester, Co-Founder and CRO, WARP The dissolution of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) was more than just a bank collapse, it was a reality check for both startups and the VCs that fund them. We’re hitting record revenue months, weeks, and margins. That includes us.

Early Stage 110

Early Stage Los Angeles Silicon Valley Cofounder 110

Feld Thoughts

JANUARY 7, 2015

Companies were being bought (and valued) at 10x forward revenue only to be valued at between 0.5x revenue several years later. We were bought for a more reasonable 1x revenue (and about 4x pre-tax income) when the value of the AmeriData stock, options, and cash we took out were factored in. I’d argue the 0.5x

Stock Options 70

Stock Options Cofounder Revenue Hosting 70

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. At this point, the very pregnant cofounder was weeping. They won a design award at a trade show, but have no revenue and no orders.

Technical Review 110

Technical Review Technical Cofounder Valuation Pre-Money Valuation 110

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 1, 2011

Mike is a no BS guy, has all the attributes I look for in a founder and says things like, openly shares knowledge and opines without a filter including this one, “whoever invented uncapped convertible debt should be spanked!&# This is an interview you’re not going to want to miss, I promise. Contest details here :

Semantic 302

Semantic Acquisition Valuation Angel Investor 302

VC Cafe

SEPTEMBER 24, 2021

billion a 125% increased compared to the equivalent period in 2020, the number of Unicorns, private companies valued at $1 billion or more has grown significantly, with several companies achieving “Decacorn” status – achieving valuations of $10 billion and up, including eToro , soon to complete a SPAC merger, and Rapyd payments.

Lock-up Period 218

Lock-up Period Merger IPO 218

David Teten

DECEMBER 3, 2019

To learn more about this space, I suggest join an online community I co-founded, PEVCTech. . Tim Friedman, Founder, PE Stack , said, “If I could offer one piece of advice to today’s managers, it would be to take the time to understand the demands of the modern institutional LP. The 11 Steps of Investing in Private Companies.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Software Review Analytics Private Equity 78

YoungUpstarts

SEPTEMBER 27, 2013

Quoting an inflated valuation. . When your valuation is too high, investors think you are either greedy or you don’t know what you are doing. In both cases, a high valuation can end a conversation. If you’ve accomplished very little and are still a few years away from revenue, VCs aren’t going to invest in your deal.

Venture Capital 180

Venture Capital Technical Cofounder Milwaukee Valuation 180

Lightspeed Venture Partners

OCTOBER 29, 2012

The company sought to raise $125,000 for 25% of the comapny, implying a $375,000 pre money valuation. Unsurprisingly, all the sharks passed, based on market size and valuation expectations. The founder, Shelton Wilder (in the middle below), sought to raise $60,000 for 20% of the company to build inventory.

Pre-Money Valuation 97

Pre-Money Valuation Offshore Valuation Cofounder 97

Pascal's View

JULY 9, 2017

Andrew Krowne and I recently co-wrote an article in Tech Crunch , Why SAFE Notes Are Not Safe for Entrepreneurs. This is a fundamental issue that does, indeed, boil down to understanding the post-money valuation of a company. This is very common when the company is still in its infancy and the valuation goalposts remain distant.

Post-Money Valuation 49

Post-Money Valuation Valuation Cap Table Covenant 49

This is going to be BIG.

SEPTEMBER 30, 2012

How else can you explain this headline matching a story about a professional social network still trying to explore revenues raising $17mm on an $80mm valuation? Did I mention it only took the founder a month? venture capitalists are now asking tougher questions about start-ups' revenue and profits.". Is this an opinion?

Venture Capital 114

Venture Capital Marketing Term Sheet Software Review 114

Gust

JULY 23, 2014

So even if my own mother asked me to meet with you, and you were pitching me a biotech opportunity for a $10 million investment at a $90 million valuation, I might take the meeting, but it wouldn’t be particularly useful for either of us. Now comes the really tricky part: getting me to review all that stuff you just neatly uploaded.

Angel Investor 153

Angel Investor Elevator Pitch Pre-Money Valuation Technical Review 153

Duct Tape Marketing

FEBRUARY 3, 2022

Amanda is the Co-founder at Barney an M&A firm that specializes in the digital marketing space. 17:49] Have you ever experienced a transaction where a Founder sold the company to their existing team? [18:35] She's the co-founder at Barney, an M & A firm that specializes in the digital marketing space.

Entrepreneur 79

Entrepreneur Technical Review Cofounder Valuation 79

Berkonomics

JULY 10, 2014

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve walked away from deals where the entrepreneur insists on a start-up premoney valuation that is so high, no angel could expect to make a return upon the investment, even with a reasonable sales price for the company down the road. Why fight about valuation, or disappoint the founder at the outset?

Valuation 71

Valuation Cofounder Founder Revenue 71

Agile VC

MAY 26, 2011

Many assume it was a cakewalk, based on the success LinkedIn has enjoyed over time and the current stature of our founder/CEO Reid Hoffman (now Chairman). Yes… he was a very successful PayPal exec and previously co-founder & VP Product of SocialNet. It was a pretty good valuation for the time. It was a $4.7M

Term Sheet 178

Term Sheet Silicon Valley Technical Review Social Network 178

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.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Salary Early Stage Software Review 120

ReadWriteStart

SEPTEMBER 17, 2021

Generating solid revenue streams early on will make many of the fundraising problems much easier to handle later on. 4 Reasons to Focus on Revenue Before Fundraising. Along those same lines, revenue also makes investor negotiations much easier to navigate. More Independence. More Leverage. More Choice.

Startup 130

Startup Revenue Cofounder Angel Investor 130

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 10, 2016

Funding challenges and other issues founders face in the early days of starting up were the focus of interviews with the latest guests on Entrepreneurs are Everywhere , my radio show on SiriusXM Channel 111 (airing weekly Thursdays at 1 pm Pacific, 4 pm Eastern). Will Zell , co-founder and CEO of Nikola Labs wireless power company.

Silicon Valley 120

Silicon Valley Ohio Columbus Entrepreneur 120