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8 Tips To Get the Most Out of Your Investors and Board

Both Sides of the Table

In his tenure as CEO of DataSift we have never missed a monthly revenue figure. He has grown our US operations from 1 employee (him) to a global organization of 75 employees that will finish the year with 8-digit revenues (90+% recurring) and more than 350% year-over-year growth. That in itself is quite a challenge.

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Cliff Notes S-1: Kayak ? AGILEVC

Agile VC

How They Make Money: Majority of Kayak’s revenue actually comes from advertising on their site (55%), not lead generation or referral fees to travel suppliers as you might think (more on this below). Financial Snapshot: 2010 Revenue: $170 million. Revenue growth: 51% YoY (2010), 1% YoY (2009), 131% YoY (2008).

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Startup Funding – A Comprehensive Guide for Entrepreneurs

ReadWriteStart

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. Any custom manufactured IoT device would require software development as well as hardware customization. Both of which are expensive and time-consuming.

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Cram Down – A Test of Character for VCs and Founders

Steve Blank

Some even insisted that all prior preferred stock had to be converted to common stock. For the common shareholders (employees, advisors, and previous investors), a cram down is a big middle finger, as it comes with reverse split – meaning your common shares are now worth 1/10th, 1/100th or even 1/1000th of their previous value.

Cram Down 408
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Venture Capital Q&A Session

Both Sides of the Table

People buy companies for 3 primary reasons: 1) they want the management team / talent 2) they want the technology or 3) they want the market traction (revenue, customer base, profits, etc). The downside is that people need to buy their stock. In fact, far better if you haven’t raised venture capital. Do it early.

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Startup Stock Options – Why A Good Deal Has Gone Bad

Steve Blank

We slept under the tables, and pulled all-nighters to get to first customer ship, man the booths at trade shows or ship products to make quarterly revenue – all because it was “our” company. Not everyone got the same amount of stock. The founders got most of the common stock. Today, that’s not true.

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Startups and IP Ownership Issues

Scott Edward Walker

electronic files, prototypes, customer lists, etc.). prior to incorporation is typically assigned to the company as part of the founder’s restricted stock purchase agreement (or a separate assignment agreement). Founders should also make sure that when they leave their prior employer they don’t take anything with them (e.g.,

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