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

Austin Startup

MAY 19, 2018

As Bryan stated below, there are no shortage of “How to pitch” or “How to behave” articles by VCs but really very little advice for VCs by founders. Anyone notice there's a ton of VCs giving founder advice, and almost no founder advice for VCs? Lines Not Dots Raising money from a fund is a process, most founders get that.

Founder 75

Founder Early Stage Software Review Deal Flow 75

David Teten

JANUARY 19, 2021

From RBI, Flexible VCs borrow the ability to reap meaningful returns without demanding founders build for an exit. Every Flexible VC structure allows founders to access immediate risk capital while preserving exit, growth trajectory, and ownership optionality. . Flexible VC 102: Variations.

Cofounder 78

Cofounder Technical Review Equity Dividend 78

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

I’m over-paying for every check I write into the VC ecosystem and valuations are being pushed up to absurd levels and many of these valuations and companies won’t hold in the long term. On the one hand, you’re over paying for every investment and valuations aren’t rational. two founders in a garage?—?(HP

Pre-Money Valuation 471

Pre-Money Valuation Valuation Venture Capital Early Stage 471

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 15, 2016

There is much talk these days that startup valuations have decreased and may continue to do so and that the amount of time it takes to fund raise may take longer. The earlier the round, the less capital you need and the more reasonable your valuation the less time that is needed generally to raise capital. Only you know.

Burn Rate 150

Burn Rate Cap Table Valuation Software Review 150

David Teten

DECEMBER 3, 2019

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. Russell Rothstein, Founder and CEO, IT Central Station , a product review site, said, “We see VCs on our site very often. 3) Raise capital.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Software Review Analytics Private Equity 78

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

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 30, 2017

by Les Trachtman, author of “ Don’t F**k It Up: How Founders and Their Successors Can Avoid the Clichés That Inhibit Growth “ Money. Valuations are always astronomical for other companies (i.e., Just because you are a founder, does not mean you deserve to run an organization (unless you are the only employee).

Warrant 195

Warrant Valuation Metrics Startup 195

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014

There were no metrics. Him: On metrics. Me: There is no rational explanation for valuations of A round companies by ANY objective financial measure. If we priced it based on any metrics your company would likely be worth less than 7 figures at your A round. People seem concerned about valuation. Your A round?

Venture Capital 417

Venture Capital Liquidation Preference Valuation Term Sheet 417

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

Up and Running

MARCH 21, 2016

If they seem interested in your business, they will keep the conversation going,” says Diana. Have co-founders. Angels and VCs often look for talented co-founders, as opposed to a single founder, which is a rarer case,” says Ben Lang of Mapme. Get them to agree that the metrics make sense and then hit them.

Cofounder 60

Cofounder Metrics Angel Investor Silicon Valley 60

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. Many of these Founders we wouldn’t have had an opportunity to connect with if we hadn’t launched this program.

Cofounder 178

Cofounder Syndicate Syndication Alabama 178

crowdSPRING Blog

DECEMBER 21, 2012

B t Metrics – [link]. 10 Lessons I’ve Learned During My First Three Months As a Founder (by Len Kendall) | Technori - [link]. This is a very useful valuation tool from AngelList (browse startup valuations) - [link]. The One Conversational Tool That Will Make You Better At Absolutely Everything - [link].

Social Media 100

Social Media Small Business Design Media 100

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 16, 2013

It goes like this, “If your next round investor can see how fast you’re scaling then you can raise money based on your user traction and your valuation can hit the sky. The minute you try to monetize now they have metrics with which to beat you up and say you’re business has limitations.” Fair point.

Burn Rate 412

Burn Rate Dilution Revenue Valuation 412

View from Seed

OCTOBER 15, 2014

So, rather than try and fill time unnecessarily and create a lengthy deck just because you’re “supposed to,” Rob — and we’d guess many other VCs as well — will often suggest that a founder create a simple one-sheeter that might start small and build over time. However, these are important updates for your board to know.

Seed Stage 331

Seed Stage Cap Table Metrics Burn Rate 331

ConversionXL

AUGUST 11, 2021

All companies that This Week in Startups’ audience of entrepreneurs, company founders, and marketers would be interested in. A sponsorship strategy should cover five areas: Assets Audience data Asset valuation Activations Market identification. Asset valuation. Their podcast is all about discussing the startup news that matters.

Audience 139

Audience Social Media Email Ruby 139

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2013

For starters let me use “CEO” as a proxy to include her “inner circle” which might mean co-founders or might just mean senior execs of the business. The Mind of the Founder. The mind of a founder is wired differently than most people. The startup CEO was not the original founder. It was not.

Startup 417

Startup Dilution San Diego Stock Options 417

Gust

NOVEMBER 4, 2011

Entrepreneurs and investors who have spent any time dealing with convertible debt seed financing transactions are likely to have encountered the subject of valuation caps. Valuation caps can come into play in settings other than seed-stage convertible note financing rounds. Read on for a fuller explanation.

Valuation 98

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Merger Vesting 98

Gust

SEPTEMBER 17, 2014

There were no metrics. Him: On metrics. Me: There is no rational explanation for valuations of A round companies by ANY objective financial measure. If we priced it based on any metrics your company would likely be worth less than 7 figures at your A round. People seem concerned about valuation. Your A round?

Liquidation Preference 153

Liquidation Preference Valuation Term Sheet Stock 153

Austin Startup

FEBRUARY 12, 2019

I gained nearly 20 pounds during those two years, in part because of the growing frustration I felt when I would leave yet another meeting with VCs who I felt didn’t genuinely listen to, understand, or value my experience as a black founder and CEO. startups with billion-dollar valuations) in recent years.

Silicon Valley 48

Silicon Valley Technical Review Venture Capital San Francisco 48

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 28, 2011

It’s seeing quick adoption among advertisers and users, and conversion rates on its recently launched subscription product are exceeding expectations. Based on its recent funding, the success of its predecessors, and its quick adoption, we estimate a $100 million valuation.

Valuation 67

Valuation Startup Venture Capital Metrics 67

betashop.com

OCTOBER 8, 2012

1 year later we sat down and had an honest conversation with ourselves and realized that our One Thing, the thing we were most passionate about, that we could realistically be the best in the world at, and that was a huge untapped market opportunity was: Design. Have amazing co-founders who are better at what they do than you could ever be.

Technical Review 108

Technical Review Technology Software Review Valuation 108

Version One Ventures

SEPTEMBER 6, 2017

I don’t remember the exact conversation, but it went something like this: Me: I didn’t find three companies because my goal was to build a model that identifies more companies in a scalable way. And lastly, most business metrics, which are rich in information, are kept private (and this leads to unavailable data).

Seed Stage 126

Seed Stage Later Stage Algorithm API 126

ReadWriteStart

AUGUST 26, 2022

We’ll have a fun conversation over the next 40-45 minutes. So, think of the typical two founders with a pitch book in a garage. And this is one of the pillars we talk about internally, but also to our founders. I love how you’re very clear about the centering metrics in your mind with revenues, which reflect scale.

Partner 132

Partner Cofounder Retention Acquisition 132

YoungUpstarts

JANUARY 11, 2018

But even with those in place, we still see founders trying to go wide too early. Typically, marketing dollars are spent in two ways: on awareness building (letting people know your product exists) and conversion (getting them to buy it). Part of this is avoidable by setting, prioritizing, and achieving the mile. You minimize risk.

Los Angeles 133

Los Angeles Investment Bankers Cofounder Viral 133

Up and Running

DECEMBER 9, 2014

Maybe you are wondering which metrics to track, or whether or not you should take out a loan for your business. My founders and I started the company about three years ago. Which metrics do you most rely on to understand your business itself. I really think of entrepreneurship as the chance to solve a problem. What do you do?

Small Business 95

Small Business Finance Forecast Metrics 95

Haystack

DECEMBER 26, 2018

” “Multiples and valuations are out of control!” ” Pick your favorite doomsday one-liner, and it’s likely to fit the conversation. For those founders who’ve made it to the Bay Area, seed funding is plentiful. ” “Most of the country doesn’t have any savings!”

IPO 76

IPO Private Equity Valuation Acquisition 76

Ben's Blog

APRIL 28, 2010

In this post, I describe why we prefer to fund companies whose founder will run the company as its CEO. As we looked at the history of great technology companies, we discovered that founders ran an overwhelming majority of them for a very long time, including: Acer—Stan Shih. Thomas Watson, Sr. The innovation business.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Cofounder Technical Cofounder Software Review 78

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 5, 2009

This post describes how companies using the Customer Development model can increase their credibility, valuation and probability of getting a first round of funding by presenting their results in a “Lesson Learned&# venture pitch. What are Early Stage VC’s Really Asking? If they’re not busy looking at their Blackberry’s/iPhone’s.)

Customer Development 267

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 267

Startup Lessons Learned

OCTOBER 28, 2008

Most important slide: valuation Promising results Key questions: can you monetize that traffic? (or Most important slide: about the founders In a pitch meeting, try to spend as much time as possible talking about the key questions for your pitch. how big is the market? can your team execute the growth plan? who is the competition?

San Francisco 128

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment DC 128

steveblank.com

JULY 8, 2011

signup, upgrade, trial pricing Zuora – online subscription management FeeFighters – find the cheapest credit card processors HealPay – Collections made easy Customer Support Tender – support, knowledgebase tool for your site GetSatisfaction - conversations between companies / customers.

Software Review 110

Software Review Startup Silicon Valley Analytics 110

Feld Thoughts

APRIL 21, 2016

“Many Unicorn founders and CEOs have never experienced a difficult fundraising environment — they have only known success. ” Fred and I have had some version of this conversation many times over the past twenty years as we both strongly believe the punch line. Long term is not a year. It’s not two years.

Marketing 70

Marketing Down Round Startup IRR 70

Austin Startup

SEPTEMBER 19, 2017

For startup founders, it’s never too early to start thinking about putting together a target market advisory board. As founders, your job includes selling product to customers, stock to investors, and opportunity to employees. You might consider starting with an offer to invest at a low valuation before discussing sweat equity.

Advisory Board 48

Advisory Board Sweat Equity Marketing Vertical 48

Duct Tape Marketing

DECEMBER 14, 2017

He is the founder and CEO of Stackify. I said in the intro and it’s funny how many founders of companies start companies because they can’t find something or they can’t get something solved, so they just solve it by creating a company. As a founder of a company, a CEO of a company. Go check it out.

Kansas City 38

Kansas City CTO Hire Las Vegas Software Developers 38

Austin Startup

SEPTEMBER 17, 2017

Every model has a happy outcome when a founder is trying to convince himself or herself, a team, an investor, or even a spouse that the venture ahead is a good idea. The converse of calculating exactly how you will make the first sale, and then the first 10,000, and ultimately work your way up to 1.6 million customers.

Valuation 48

Valuation Forecast Seed Money Business Model 48

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2011

I was hanging out the other day with my buddy Jody Sherman, founder & CEO of EcoMom. Might as well cut off our conversation and just restart it 48 hours later on camera for This Week in VC. EcoMom’s metrics improved throughout this process and that’s when I decided to invest. Through this process he raised $2 million.

Valuation 292

Valuation Deal Flow Lead Investor Cofounder 292

Reid Hoffman

JANUARY 19, 2021

That’s because the making of the company relies on the founders, the CEO, the executives, the team members–in other words, the people who are putting in 80 to 100 hours per week, rather than the board members who are putting in one to two hours per week. Right now, our whole bet is on the CEO and the founders and making them successful.

Startup 36

Startup Cofounder Advertising Hiring 36