VC Cafe

OCTOBER 31, 2022

This is largely due to several major stock market crashes and global economic uncertainties. Many companies are now having to resort to tough measures in order to stay afloat, including layoffs, down rounds and tough terms from current investors. It’s an investors market. Funding crunch intensified in Q3 2022.

Founder 173

Founder Technical Review Down Round Liquidation Preference 173

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014

Me: There is no rational explanation for valuations of A round companies by ANY objective financial measure. It’s simply what a market is willing to pay based on a future belief that your company will grow and non-linear rates and be worth much more in the future. A down round? These are all real conversations.

Venture Capital 417

Venture Capital Liquidation Preference Valuation Term Sheet 417

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 4, 2016

” There are a lot of data points that one can observer to get a sense of the venture capital markets – both LP fundings into venture and VC financings of startups. But these data points are often lagging indicators and perhaps a better barometer of the future would be to gather data on VC perceptions in the market right now.

LP 150

LP Valuation Burn Rate Pre-Money Valuation 150

Gust

SEPTEMBER 17, 2014

Me: There is no rational explanation for valuations of A round companies by ANY objective financial measure. It’s simply what a market is willing to pay based on a future belief that your company will grow and non-linear rates and be worth much more in the future. A down round? These are all real conversations.

Liquidation Preference 153

Liquidation Preference Valuation Term Sheet Stock 153

ithacaVC

NOVEMBER 14, 2014

Here is Walla’s post: I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had this conversation. A founder is about to raise their first round and asking me how to value their company. [1]. You evaluate the team, product, market and other variables – then, make a general guess. Market size. Don’t risk a down round.

Valuation 69

Valuation Startup Down Round Early Stage 69

Business Plan Blog

OCTOBER 8, 2013

In order to launch a successful business and raise the capital needed to do so, a startup needs to consider several aspects of the business including the management team , the size of the opportunity, the product/service/technology, the market/sales/distribution channels, the competitive environment and several other factors.

Business Plan 67

Business Plan NDA Exit Strategy Valuation 67

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 2, 2009

In times when venture capital is hard to get, investors extract high costs for failure (down-rounds, cram downs , new management teams, shut down the company.) Marketing demand creation programs (Search Engine Marketing, Public Relations, Advertising, Lead Generation, Trade Shows, etc.)

Lean 257

Lean Silicon Valley Startup RSS 257

Rob Go

JUNE 1, 2016

Things are starting to go sideways, or the market has turned. No worries – insiders do a $20M round to get the company another year. The fund does a $5M chunk of this round. Where I think funds do start having hard conversations around follow-ons is when they need to lead inside rounds or protect themselves in down rounds.

Term Sheet 28

Term Sheet Portfolio Valuation Warrant 28

Reid Hoffman

JUNE 8, 2021

You can listen to the conversation on the Greymatter podcast here. And all of the other smart and operational decisions that have enabled Airbnb to weather the storm and go on to have one of the most successful public market debuts. It’s a market. And I thought, well, no one’s marketing. I always saw it as the opposite.”.

Silicon Valley 69

Silicon Valley Hosting Rhode Island Design 69

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2016

The funding environment for tech startups is an ever shifting ground as we go through predictable shifts that go hand-in-hand with the slowing of the overall market. This works in a booming market or in a company that never hits any headwinds. Non VC Growth Rounds. The market eventually slowed down. VC Infighting.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Silicon Valley Burn Rate LP 150

Reid Hoffman

JUNE 8, 2021

You can listen to the conversation on the Greymatter podcast here. And all of the other smart and operational decisions that have enabled Airbnb to weather the storm and go on to have one of the most successful public market debuts. It’s a market. And I thought, well, no one’s marketing. I always saw it as the opposite.”.

Silicon Valley 36

Silicon Valley Hosting Rhode Island Design 36

Bryce Dot VC

APRIL 21, 2016

“Why the Unicorn financing market just became dangerous…for all involved.” This wasn’t the first time that Bill has sounded this alarm, nor is he the only one to have been calling out bad behavior in the VC funding market. But his post was detailed and thorough and took the conversation to a level few have pressed.

Silicon Valley 40

Silicon Valley Dilution Term Sheet Down Round 40

www.quora.com

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

There's more visibility for the company, sure, but how clear is that vision after they've raised a seed round? This is a far cry from a sustainable business, product-market fit, and a long ways from profitability in most cases. They've got a handful of customers, maybe a few thousand users, and some initial traction.

Equity 40

Equity Employee Founder Cofounder 40