Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 15, 2016

I know it sounds obvious but just so you understand: There are more capital sources available for earlier-stage capital, the information on which they are evaluating the investment is less (it is almost certainly just team and product) and the risk of the investor getting things wrong is diminished. You are in a classic cap table pinch.

Burn Rate 150

Burn Rate Cap Table Valuation Software Review 150

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2016

I think I’m better at the product stage of a business and helping with strategy, marketing, pricing, feature sets and so forth than I am at evaluating later-stage businesses based on financial results and business metrics and priced accordingly. But hope it helps you think about how one investor approaches his job.

Early Stage 254

Early Stage Non-Compete LP Later Stage 254

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 14, 2021

This post is inspired by some of the earliest conversations I have had with the team here at NextView and since the beginning of my VC journey. Warning – this assumes some basic knowledge of VC performance metrics. Early-stage valuations are up 70%, and late-stage valuations are up 103% (source Pitchbook ).

Valuation 295

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Distribution Early Stage 295

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. Do you have other efficiency metrics that you look at when you evaluate businesses to check the quality of growth and the quality of the revenues? . Later stage, public companies are right-sizing their teams, so there are many opportunities out there.

Partner 132

Partner Cofounder Retention Acquisition 132

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 14, 2021

This post is inspired by some of the earliest conversations I have had with the team here at NextView and since the beginning of my VC journey. Warning – this assumes some basic knowledge of VC performance metrics. Early-stage valuations are up 70%, and late-stage valuations are up 103% (source Pitchbook ).

Valuation 156

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Distribution Early Stage 156

Austin Startup

AUGUST 30, 2018

So while the number of dollars pouring into Austin may be increasing, that metric is only favorable to businesses that warrant those sized-rounds. Of these rounds, nearly every one was classified as a Series B or later-stage round, with the exception of a few debt and equity financing rounds. What does this information mean?

Austin 48

Austin Early Stage San Francisco Later Stage 48

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 24, 2016

What you Before Sets the Course for How Well the Day Goes Make sure you send your financial and operating metrics no less than 72 hours before the board meeting — even better if it can be a week in advance. If you’re slightly later stage it might be 5–6 hours. I would start the conversation by asking somebody to weigh in.

Metrics 196

Metrics Strategic Investors Later Stage Management 196

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 17, 2018

You get to have interesting conversations with founders and review business plans and then see how these businesses evolve over the years. The other day I posted some advice on Twitter that I just did free-formed from thoughts going through my head from recent conversations. There’s many more concepts I could have written about.

Founder 242

Founder Dilution Software Review Later Stage 242

ConversionXL

MAY 1, 2019

Trend lines aren’t impressive if they track metrics that appear distant from business goals. Focus offline conversations on high-value points of differentiation. Catalog the information you’ll need to convey at a later stage. How you present information on your website frames the conversation that takes place beyond it.

Marketing 124

Marketing Sales Cycle Retention Differentiation 124

David Teten

DECEMBER 3, 2019

Data companies focused on early-stage startups include Aingel , fundsUP , Preseries , PredictLeads , and Sploda. Later stage investors are using for sourcing private company marketplace services focused on more established companies, listed below under “Step 11: Exit”. They read reviews of the products of target investments.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Software Review Analytics Private Equity 78

ConversionXL

FEBRUARY 11, 2016

A paid ad could be what triggers a decision, but the actual conversion could take place online, for example. Instead, I predict 2016 will be the year of alterna-metrics.” (via Acquisio). Before you can write ads and create conversion funnels that work, you need to step back and look at the bigger picture.

PPC 48

PPC Matching Campaign San Francisco 48

Reid Hoffman

JUNE 11, 2020

The following essay is a condensed version of that conversation. In initial conversations, Jeff thought he might contribute better as a board member and give me advice. If you added it up, it was about 30 hours of conversations. How did Jeff become CEO at LinkedIn? Jeff is driven, strategic, and smart.

Cofounder 36

Cofounder Leadership Metrics Later Stage 36

ConversionXL

JUNE 2, 2022

ABM must target the entire buying committee, not just one or two individuals who may never be involved in sales conversations. Does your company clearly understand current CAC , LTV, CAC payback period, and other core growth metrics? Individuals don’t make B2B buying decisions; groups do. Clearly define what ABM means to your company.

Customer 98

Customer Marketing Channel Acquisition 98

Duct Tape Marketing

SEPTEMBER 22, 2022

17:16] Is there a small set of metrics that you rely on? [19:43] Time in the second square we're on behalf our conversation, right? I don't have the result yet, which is kind of a let down for this kind of conversation. Is there a small set of metrics that you rely on as. He is the CMO of Semush. We'll talk about that.

SEO 84

SEO Channel Campaign Audience 84

Duct Tape Marketing

JANUARY 4, 2023

17:16] Is there a small set of metrics that you rely on? [19:43] That half our conversation, right , it's an online visibility management SaaS platform that is used by millions of marketers worldwide, including this one. Is there a small set of metrics that you rely on as. He is the CMO of S e m, rush Sam Rush.

SEO 87

SEO Audience Channel Campaign 87

Austin Startup

JUNE 26, 2019

Even though most of this message was already drafted, we also had a Hail Mary of a final acquisition conversation that closed the following morning. The Whole Enchilada For those of you interested in more than The Skinny, keep reading… Countless conversations have been had with key users, customers, advisors, mentors, family and friends.

Silicon Valley 54

Silicon Valley Startup B2C Sweat Equity 54

Startup Lessons Learned

DECEMBER 6, 2008

In order to prevent people from bunching up in the later stages of the work pipeline, those leaders need to be focused on automation and continuous improvement. Between cycles, put some pressure on those later teams to do more with fewer people. Make sure you keep track of whether thats happening.

San Francisco 74

San Francisco SCRUM Lean Continuous Deployment 74

View from Seed

MARCH 10, 2015

NVV: Even though BR was a later-stage startup at that point, you mentioned being that proverbial “startup within a startup.” NVV: What key metrics did you track to make sure you were heading in the right direction? But in general, startups need to be great about having direct customer conversations.

Mobile 120

Mobile San Francisco Curation Seed Stage 120

Reid Hoffman

JANUARY 19, 2021

As the company matures, it may even involve having a hard conversation about the need for a CEO change. As we discussed earlier, CEO changes rarely make sense in the early stages of a startup. I am the invited partner in the room who is here to help this company succeed.”. In the early days of the Web 2.0

Startup 36

Startup Cofounder Advertising Hiring 36

David Teten

JANUARY 13, 2015

There’s a dialect and lexicon in African American households that many people are unfamiliar with, so when these words creep out of your mouth during professional conversations and pitches, your intelligence is often being unfairly downgraded – it sadly is! For early-stage founders, I suggest AngelList and Crunchbase.

Venture Capital 60

Venture Capital Advisory Board Greece Cofounder 60

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. They cover funding for small businesses from the initial funding stage to later stages of growth, and other areas in between. Which metrics do you most rely on to understand your business itself.

Small Business 95

Small Business Finance Forecast Metrics 95