ReadWriteStart

OCTOBER 7, 2010

Bottom line, early stage equity is very, very expensive. So at any point, if you are trying to raise money, and you are hearing from investors that you are too early and have too little validation, it may be a good thing. That is debt financing that converts into equity at the Series A valuation once the price for that is set.

Valuation 119

Valuation Silicon Valley Pre-Money Valuation Bootstrapping 119

View from Seed

OCTOBER 21, 2014

Using NextView as an example, since we both seek to lead the seed round and only lead during this round, I’ve seen this trend manifest in one of two ways: In a priced round, the entrepreneur will often share their valuation ask (or a stated floor) for the pre-money valuation of their company much sooner in the process.

Valuation 336

Valuation Founder Seed Stage Angel Investor 336

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2011

2: As expected at least one person accused me of writing this post because I want to see lower valuations. I have conversations with entrepreneurs and other VCs on a daily basis about fund raising, the prices of deals, how much companies should raise, etc. You can be pissed off, but I don’t set prices. That’s stupid.

Pre-Money Valuation 336

Pre-Money Valuation Valuation Silicon Valley Stock 336

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 26, 2016

The key to being able to run a business that isn’t yet profitable (on operating margin) is availability of capital to finance losses and preferably at a cost that isn’t too punitive to the founders and employees. So it might actually be more productive for you to improve your conversion than to improve your ad buying, for example.

Metrics 150

Metrics Cost Acquisition Startup 150

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

As an early-stage VC I love this phase. This financial leader could well have come through the finance org at another startup or at a larger company but they often also can come from strategy consulting (Bain, BCG or McKinsey) or through investment banking (Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, etc.).

Operations 286

Operations New York City Technical Review Startup 286

David Teten

JANUARY 19, 2021

Yes, via conversion rights at a valuation cap. Yes, via conversion rights at a valuation cap. Seed-stage compatible: Like traditional equity VC investors, Flexible VCs accomodate early-stage investment risk within their portfolios better than a traditional RBI funder. Flexible VC: Compensation-based.

Cofounder 78

Cofounder Technical Review Equity Dividend 78

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 28, 2015

This article highlights their advice on issues ranging from financing to patent trolls: While startups may believe lawyers are too costly, working with one early on avoids potentially serious problems later. “And if you have a valuation cap; a higher cap is always better than a lower cap.” Convertible Securities.

Convertible Security 100

Convertible Security IP Technical Review Software Review 100

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 19, 2017

That’s because obtaining a pre-money valuation for a concept level technology company in excess of $1 million is difficult, particularly for a startup founder without a proven track record. By contrast, obtaining a pre-money valuation of $5 million for a business with a new viable product and even very minimal sales is somewhat reasonable.

Private Equity 94

Private Equity Pre-Money Valuation Equity Startup 94

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 22, 2020

Offering debt is better than offering direct equity, especially in early stages when you have no valuation for setting equity percentages. Many use a convertible loan note that may be converted into equity upon the closing of the first formal angel or VC round of financing, with a more realistic valuation.

Management 308

Management Cram Down Angel Investor Equity 308

Tim Keane

JANUARY 12, 2010

Term-sheets and Valuations: Thinking about Negotiations.   I’ve sat down with entrepreneurs and a copy of a term sheet guide I like [ “Term Sheets & Valuations - A Line by Line Look at the Intricacies of Venture Capital Term Sheets & Valuations ” by Alex Wilmerding, Aspatore Press.] The Valuation Question.

Term Sheet 68

Term Sheet Valuation Dividend Liquidation Preference 68

View from Seed

JANUARY 11, 2021

billion across 2,288 deals in Q3, with deal count exceeding Q2’s at nearly every stage. . Early stage deal activity showed real resilience coming off of a slow Q2, with deal count at angel and seed stage in 2020 now about at par with the same period in 2019. Familiar loops offered invaluable, pre-seeded confidence.

Venture Capital 350

Venture Capital Cofounder Early Stage Seed Stage 350

Austin Startup

FEBRUARY 13, 2019

Consider convertible debt Before diving into a seed round, you may want to consider convertible debt over equity financing. You benefit from the capital and investors benefit from a nice discount at conversion, usually in the range of 20 percent. We were able to raise $750k this way.

Strategic Investors 49

Strategic Investors Austin Angel Investor Bootstrapping 49

Gust

SEPTEMBER 29, 2011

It should therefore come as no surprise that an asymmetry of information exists, mostly gleaned from experience, between founders and investors in a venture financing deal. A term sheet for a convertible note deal may run two or three pages, versus 8-10 pages for a typical Series A Preferred Stock financing.

Finance 178

Finance Term Sheet Preferred Stock Bridge Financing 178

ithacaVC

NOVEMBER 14, 2014

I have written about startup valuations previously. If you are advising startup founders, I strongly suggest having them read all 4 of the posts to get the lay of the startup valuation land. Here is Walla’s post: I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had this conversation. Valuations of other companies like you.

Valuation 69

Valuation Startup Down Round Early Stage 69

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014

It’s like we need a finance 101 course for entrepreneurs. Me: There is no rational explanation for valuations of A round companies by ANY objective financial measure. In finance they call it “terminal value” but the truth is the price is as arbitrary at your A round as it is at your seed round. Him: $12 pre.

Venture Capital 417

Venture Capital Liquidation Preference Valuation Term Sheet 417

View from Seed

JUNE 10, 2020

of teams’ online pitch decks and recorded videos, as well as loved the dozens of second-round video conversations which we had with Founders working on quite compelling startups. To Participating Founders : To avoid signaling issues, we intentionally will not lead the next round of financing.

Cofounder 177

Cofounder Syndicate Syndication Alabama 177

Gust

OCTOBER 12, 2011

Last week , we took the plunge and began dissecting an example term sheet for a convertible debt financing round piece by piece. In Part II, we looked at the mandatory conversion language that is at the heart of any convertible debt financing. First, a word about the maturity date.

Finance 107

Finance Term Sheet Pre-Money Valuation Early Stage 107

Feld Thoughts

JULY 29, 2011

Finance Friday’s gets off the ground with today’s post by introducing you to an imaginary startup, the entrepreneurs that we’ll being following throughout the series, and their first challenges: splitting up the founders’ equity and addressing the case where one of the founders provides the initial seed capital for the business.

Equity 137

Equity Finance Pre-Money Valuation Denver 137

Gust

SEPTEMBER 5, 2012

How to finance a new seed-stage startup? ” Ressi in particular seems to be passionate about removing the “debt” component from convertible debt seed financing transactions. .” I won’t rehash all of the customary convertible note financing deal terms and points of negotiation here. (For

Finance 134

Finance Convertible Security Equity Seed Stage 134

The Equity Kicker

MAY 14, 2012

Twice in the last week I found myself coaching founders on how to build a financing plan around value creation milestones so I thought I would share what I said here. Given that the valuation of a startup increases when milestones like these are hit it makes sense to build a financing plan based on when they are likely to come in.

Finance 118

Finance Valuation Venture Capital Dilution 118

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 9, 2018

Offering debt is better than offering direct equity, especially in early stages when you have no valuation for setting equity percentages. Many use a convertible loan note that may be converted into equity upon the closing of the first formal angel or VC round of financing, with a more realistic valuation.

Cram Down 148

Cram Down Angel Investor Equity Dividend 148

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 10, 2014

Offering debt is better than offering direct equity, especially in early stages when you have no valuation for setting equity percentages. Many use a convertible loan note that may be converted into equity upon the closing of the first formal Angel or VC round of financing, with a more realistic valuation.

Founder 254

Founder Cram Down Angel Investor Equity 254

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2015

I am reminded of this problem every time my firm does a financing where a note went before us but more specifically I was reminded by this great post by Brad Feld to talk about the pre-money vs. post-money conversion issue. In the old days VCs funded off of a “pre-money” valuation. It’s very simple.

Pre-Money Valuation 150

Pre-Money Valuation Option Pool Post-Money Valuation Dilution 150

Gust

OCTOBER 21, 2011

In Parts II and III, we looked at commonly used mandatory and voluntary conversion language in convertible notes. To account for scenarios in which the startup is acquired before it has a chance to complete a priced equity financing round, most term sheets and deal documents contain a “ change in control ” provision.

Finance 79

Finance Pre-Money Valuation Term Sheet Liquidity Event 79

Gust

OCTOBER 5, 2011

Last week , we gave some attention to the “why” behind convertible note financing for early stage startups. As with so many subjects in law and finance, mastering the jargon is half the battle. This may seem like a no-brainer now that you understand the basic structure of a convertible debt financing.

Finance 79

Finance Preferred Stock Term Sheet Early Stage 79

Austin Startup

AUGUST 20, 2017

Early stage startups have to survive one day at a time and are often presented with limited choices of the moment that enable them to continue. At early stages you probably don’t have an assembly line and can’t clearly define any particular job. Keep the valuations consistent with company progress.

Technical Review 48

Technical Review Software Review Cap Table Securities and Exchange Commission 48

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 19, 2017

How Much Capital You Have Raised / Your Runway In general I recommend that in early-stage startups you try to raise at least 15-18 months of runway. In general you should allow yourself 4–6 months of time to fund raise (longer if you’re later stage and require a much bigger round) so calculating anticipated burn rate is pretty easy.

Burn Rate 212

Burn Rate Startup .Net Venture Capital 212

Feld Thoughts

SEPTEMBER 27, 2011

Usually we see 2-3x, but in later stage companies, this multiple can be even higher. Some sort of conversion does occur. In the case of an early-stage startup that hasn’t issued preferred stock yet, the debt converts into stock of the acquiring company (if it’s a stock deal) at a valuation subject to a cap.

Conversion 96

Conversion Sales Later Stage Preferred Stock 96

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 17, 2013

Offering debt is better than offering direct equity, especially in early stages when you have no valuation for setting equity percentages. Many use a convertible loan note that may be converted into equity upon the closing of the first formal Angel or VC round of financing, with a more realistic valuation.

Cram Down 230

Cram Down Angel Investor Equity Dividend 230

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 5, 2017

To draw titular inspiration from a New York Magazine article entitled Ellen Pao and the Sexism You Can’t Quite Prove (we’ll talk more about Pao later on), I entered into this topic less with the desire to try to “prove” a specific point, but rather to explore an issue that continues to rise to the top of conversation in the entrepreneurial space.

Venture Capital 82

Venture Capital Lean Cofounder Technical Review 82

Hunter Walker

DECEMBER 16, 2019

Now as we enter the 2020s, the majority of large firms have some operating support, core + opportunity funds that tip well past $1b and promote themselves with content and conversation. First Round went deep on “platform” far ahead of anyone else in this stage. Josh Kopelman. Will seed VC be a multigenerational game?

Silicon Valley 70

Silicon Valley Early Stage Valuation Cofounder 70

Gust

SEPTEMBER 17, 2014

It’s like we need a finance 101 course for entrepreneurs. Me: There is no rational explanation for valuations of A round companies by ANY objective financial measure. In finance they call it “terminal value” but the truth is the price is as arbitrary at your A round as it is at your seed round. There were no metrics.

Liquidation Preference 153

Liquidation Preference Valuation Term Sheet Stock 153

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 11, 2015

Offering debt is better than offering direct equity, especially in early stages when you have no valuation for setting equity percentages. Many use a convertible loan note that may be converted into equity upon the closing of the first formal Angel or VC round of financing, with a more realistic valuation.

Cram Down 120

Cram Down Angel Investor Equity Dividend 120

Up and Running

JUNE 14, 2017

Early stage idea validation can be accomplished without building an application. And that, by the way, was a great conversion rate for a simple survey-based research for the initial free subscription version of Recycler Spotter. Here’s what I learned from launching my first app, Recycle Spotter: 1.

Technical Review 96

Technical Review Distribution Redemption Demand 96

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 30, 2015

You raise a series of notes over 18 months and eventually are fortunate enough to raise $5 million at a $25 million valuation (this investor owns 16.67% and will likely have a 1x liquidation preference). On VC financings this term is explicit so entrepreneurs understand they’re getting screwed.

Liquidation Preference 150

Liquidation Preference Ratchet Angel Investor Entrepreneur 150

www.inc.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

Finance | Tuesdays. Financing a Small Business. Financing A Small Business. Personal Finance. In the past few years, hundreds of small companies have been snatched up by private equity firms willing to agree to ever-rising valuations. Create an Inc.com account: Subscribe to Inc.coms Free Newsletters. Franchises.

Arizona 40

Arizona Equity Iowa Venture Capital 40

YoungUpstarts

SEPTEMBER 4, 2017

For startup founders and CEO’s it’s also just as common to see them place too much focus on the amount of money raised, and the pre-money valuation, rather than the value that each investor can bring to the table. Do you have relationships with other investors at the next stage of the investment lifecycle?

Pre-Money Valuation 187

Pre-Money Valuation Seed Stage IP Deal Flow 187