Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 7, 2013

I told Ethan on the spot that I wanted to be the lead investor in his new company. And I had been telling my partners for a couple of years that I thought Ethan was one of the more talented entrepreneurs I had come across in San Francisco. We like to be able to see the concept.

Southern California 359

Southern California San Francisco CTO Hire SEM 359

David Teten

SEPTEMBER 5, 2014

Prabhdeep Singh: We were founded in 1998 to serve top professionals — then it was investors — who weren’t really learning from the dry, one-dimensional, one-size-fits-all industry reports and conferences available to them. And on the periphery, we like to help our members with some basic resources, at no additional cost.

New York 114

New York Technical Review Networking Advisory Board 114

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 29, 2016

On the positive side, friends and family probably won’t be as demanding on your financial projections as a professional investor, and they likely will be satisfied with an initial offer of a convertible note (loan with option to convert to equity later), so you don’t have to give away the store before you get started.

Elevator Pitch 151

Elevator Pitch Exit Strategy Angel Investor Equity 151

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

View from Seed

AUGUST 12, 2015

The early traction may be interesting, but investors fear that demand is driven by a relatively small niche with idiosyncratic tastes or needs. In other words, the investors just don’t believe in that scenario my mentor mentioned: that you can simply sell lots and lots of games.

Seed Stage 120

Seed Stage Marketing Angel Investor Term Sheet 120

View from Seed

AUGUST 12, 2015

The early traction may be interesting, but investors fear that demand is driven by a relatively small niche with idiosyncratic tastes or needs. In other words, the investors just don’t believe in that scenario my mentor mentioned: that you can simply sell lots and lots of games.

Seed Stage 120

Seed Stage Marketing Angel Investor Term Sheet 120

Genuine VC

JULY 30, 2012

By communicating pricing expectations with potential lead investors, I mean sharing either an “ask” or even stated floor for the pre-money valuation of the company (with a priced preferred round) or explicitly stating a valuation cap (for convertible note round).

Valuation 136

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Angel Investor Syndicate 136