ReadWriteStart

JUNE 1, 2020

The primary source of your funds should be your paying customers, i.e., your business should generate enough revenues and profits to fund the growth and expansion. Reasons for funding. ? Once the order is fulfilled and paid for, the funds can be paid back. ? Research and development. Incubators and Accelerators.

Startup 150

Startup Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Seed Stage 150

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 4, 2020

Angel investors will perk up if you have a prototype or a few real customers, while venture capitalists will likely choose to wait until you have achieved several million in revenue or customer count. Here is where projections of cost, pricing, volumes and cash flow are critical. Can you justify your use of funds to this investor?

Startup 337

Startup Preferred Stock Exit Strategy Equity 337

Berkonomics

JUNE 22, 2023

Is it the advantage of time – years of development ahead of any competitor? Can this business grow to above $20MM to $50MM in annual revenues? Early cell phones were large bricks that required a large carrying case and cost up to a dollar a minute to use. Is there an exit strategy for the investor(s) over time?

Exit Strategy 114

Exit Strategy Technology Revenue Conversion 114

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 25, 2023

Yet one of the first things a potential equity investor asks about is your exit strategy. Here are three important reasons for the question: Good investment paybacks normally require an exit event. Most experts don’t recommend this approach as your default strategy anymore. You can kick-off your next startup.

Exit Strategy 264

Exit Strategy Private Equity Equity Technical Review 264

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 28, 2018

It won’t work, it costs time and money, and hurts your credibility when you need them later. Every entrepreneur needs help and support along the way, from developing the initial idea, to selling off the successful business (exit strategy). They are not trying to make money, but simply to recoup their costs over time.

Incubator 236

Incubator Exit Strategy Institutional Investors Angel Investor 236

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 17, 2007

They are quite happy with a business that will turn into a profitable $20M company and dont necessarily need an obvious exit strategy. Technology Advisor Technology Roles in Startups Pricing Customer Acquisition Sunk Costs and More -. This is something Ive always wondered about. He has twenty years’ experience as a CTO.

Incubator 150

Incubator Technical Cofounder Southern California Los Angeles 150

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 25, 2020

Yet one of the first things a potential equity investor asks about is your exit strategy. Here are three important reasons for the question: Good investment paybacks normally require an exit event. Most experts don’t recommend this approach as your default strategy anymore. You can kick-off your next startup.

Exit Strategy 376

Exit Strategy Startup Private Equity Equity 376

YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 24, 2018

At some point in your business’s development, you may need an office space, a retail storefront, a warehouse, or even an entire factory. While one entrepreneur may be focused exclusively on buying a property within budget and in decent shape, another might have a strong need to choose a good location — no matter how much it costs.

Exit Strategy 149

Exit Strategy Finance Cost Security 149

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 15, 2013

It won’t work, it costs time and money, and hurts your credibility when you need them later. Every entrepreneur needs help and support along the way, from developing the initial idea, to selling off the successful business (exit strategy). They are not trying to make money, but simply to recoup their costs over time.

Incubator 256

Incubator Entrepreneur Exit Strategy Institutional Investors 256

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 28, 2016

Solution development and delivery. Products and services for a business need to be attuned to customer requirements, cost and quality tradeoffs, with milestones for pricing and completion. Hobbies are developed ad-hoc, driven by personal needs. Team building status and plan. No mention usually means no plan and not competitive.

Exit Strategy 155

Exit Strategy Metrics Operations Cost 155

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2020

To be clear, I define a product specification as the technical definition of your product, to be used for development and testing purposes, with a quick business summary for context. For example, “We just patented a new battery technology that will cut your smartphone charge time and cost in half.” You need both to survive.

Business Plan 423

Business Plan Product Intellectual Property Elevator Pitch 423

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 27, 2016

It won’t work, it costs time and money, and hurts your credibility when you need them later. Every entrepreneur needs help and support along the way, from developing the initial idea, to selling off the successful business (exit strategy). They are not trying to make money, but simply to recoup their costs over time.

Incubator 120

Incubator Startup Exit Strategy Institutional Investors 120

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 16, 2012

It won’t work, it costs time and money, and hurts your credibility for when you need them later. Every entrepreneur needs help and support along the way, from developing the initial idea, to selling off the successful business (exit strategy). They are not trying to make money, but simply to recoup their costs over time.

Incubator 237

Incubator Startup Exit Strategy Institutional Investors 237

Berkonomics

APRIL 13, 2017

Is it the advantage of time – years of development ahead of any competitor? Can this business grow to above $20MM to $50MM in annual revenues? Early cell phones were large bricks that required a large carrying case and cost up to a dollar a minute to use. Is there an exit strategy for the investor(s) over time?

Exit Strategy 116

Exit Strategy Technology Revenue Conversion 116

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 24, 2015

Solution development and delivery. Products and services for a business need to be attuned to customer requirements, cost and quality tradeoffs, with milestones for pricing and completion. Hobbies are developed ad-hoc, driven by personal needs. Team building status and plan. No mention usually means no plan and not competitive.

Exit Strategy 120

Exit Strategy Metrics Operations Cost 120

Transformify

AUGUST 7, 2022

Lots of entrepreneurs consider subsidiaries overseas to tap into a new talent pool or optimize costs. When you are developing your projections, you need to be conservative in the estimation of revenues and liberal in estimating expenses. It is especially more difficult if you are planning to start a business abroad.

Due Diligence 52

Due Diligence Exit Strategy Singapore Government 52

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2015

Every customer understands that your solution has to generate more revenue than cost, but you should not put that data in a customer pitch. Of course, these should never be in a customer pitch, but investors expect an overall strategy with specific budgets, milestones and metrics.

Product 120

Product Intellectual Property Liquidity Event Burn Rate 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 13, 2011

It won’t work, it costs time and money, and hurts your credibility for when you need them later. Every entrepreneur needs help and support along the way, from developing the initial idea, to selling off the successful business (exit strategy). They are not trying to make money, but simply to recoup their costs over time.

Incubator 230

Incubator Startup Exit Strategy Institutional Investors 230

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 5, 2016

Every startup I know has pivoted at least once, so learning from your mistakes should be a positive experience, rather than a painful error that will cost you credibility. Don’t quit your day job until the revenue is flowing. Keep your exit strategy options open as you learn.

Bootstrapping 120

Bootstrapping Entrepreneur Startup Exit Strategy 120

www.inc.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

Pricing Strategy. Exit Strategies. Strategy and Planning. Research & Development. Theres a huge opportunity cost in not taking equity," he says. He prefers to work with companies that are building Web-based applications and have relatively low start-up costs. Office and Operations. Legal Issues.

Arizona 40

Arizona Equity Iowa Venture Capital 40

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 13, 2016

Entrepreneurs who are looking to attract investors need to develop and pitch a plan -- preferably written -- that answers every potential investor question about your startup before it is asked. What are your forecasts for revenue, expenses and cash flow? Who are your competitors, and how do you win?

Sweat Equity 120

Sweat Equity Advisory Board Liquidity Event Startup 120

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 7, 2015

Angel investors will perk up if you have a prototype or a few real customers, while venture capitalists will likely choose to wait until you have achieved several million in revenue or customer count. Here is where projections of cost, pricing, volumes and cash flow are critical. Can you justify your use of funds to this investor?

Preferred Stock 120

Preferred Stock Exit Strategy Equity Angel Investor 120

David Teten

SEPTEMBER 23, 2017

Sources like Crunchbase , Angel List , and Seed Invest even give this data away for free or very low cost. produced this analysis of engineering representation within VC firms: Selected VCs with Highest Representation of Developers in Workforce. VC Firm. $ Tech % of workforce. Google Ventures (GV). 17% (13 / 80). Greylock Partners.

Private Equity 60

Private Equity Venture Capital Equity Technical Review 60

www.virtuosimedia.com

MARCH 8, 2012

Developers. If the idea was reliant on ad revenue for profit, it quickly becomes apparent that there will be no incoming money at all. Gather quotes from multiple (at least 3) development companies for building a minimum feature prototype. Research the cost of advertising your product. Newsletters. Write For Us.

Technical Cofounder 41

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Technical Review NDA 41

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 12, 2014

Yet one of the first things a potential equity investor asks about is your exit strategy. Here are three important reasons for the question: Good investment paybacks normally require an exit event. Most experts don’t recommend this approach as your default strategy anymore. You can kick-off your next startup.

Exit Strategy 289

Exit Strategy Entrepreneur IPO Startup 289

YoungUpstarts

MAY 7, 2015

Many ESOPs are as small as 12-15 employees with less than $1 MM in annual revenue. The company just needs to be large enough to generate a profit to substantiate the annual costs of maintaining the ESOP. In profitable S-corporation ESOP companies, the tax savings should be more than enough to offset such annual costs.

Stock 100

Stock Employee Private Equity Valuation 100

Startup Company Lawyer

MAY 4, 2009

Startup companies consume resources intelligently, put people to work in efficient ways, and produce market driven products at lower costs. The application fee is $50, which only partially offsets costs associated with processing applications. Bubba Muraka – Business Development, Facebook. Exit Strategies.

Founder 28

Founder Warrant San Francisco Intellectual Property 28

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 27, 2016

Yet one of the first things a potential equity investor asks about is your exit strategy. Here are three important reasons for the question: Good investment paybacks normally require an exit event. Most experts don’t recommend this approach as your default strategy anymore. You can kick-off your next startup.

Equity 120

Equity Exit Strategy Private Equity Startup 120

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 28, 2015

If the elements of your business aren't expertly developed and aligned, even the best dream will be in jeopardy. Here is my list of those elements, which every entrepreneur needs to develop before charging into the marketplace with high hopes and (sadly) a business that will likely get lost in the throng.

Exit Strategy 120

Exit Strategy Technical Review Distribution Viral 120

Up and Running

MAY 1, 2014

Whether you’re trying to raise money for your business or are developing a plan for strategic growth, a solid business plan is a key component to every successful business. You can use this simple formula to develop a positioning statement: For [target market description] who [target market need], [this product] [how it meets the need].

Business Plan 163

Business Plan Forecast Balance Sheet Distribution 163

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 1, 2009

Sloan put in place GM’s management accounting system (borrowed from DuPont) that for the first time allowed the company to: 1) produce an annual operating forecast that compared each division’s forecast (revenue, costs, capital requirements and return on investment) with the company’s financial goals.

Silicon Valley 161

Silicon Valley United States RSS Customer Development 161

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 13, 2020

In that context, I offer the following financial projection strategies, from my own experience: Forecast a business that has plenty of room to grow quickly. Find some credible opportunity statistics that can support your own revenue expectations of between $20 million and $100 million in the fifth year.

Liquidity Event 308

Liquidity Event Forecast Exit Strategy Bootstrapping 308

Up and Running

AUGUST 19, 2015

In my business, I always tell my clients that they are going to get increased revenue and profitability opportunities, enhanced prestige in their markets, and the chance to significantly reduce their sales cycles. See Also How to Develop Your Business Strategy. See Also Planning for the Future: Your Exit Strategy.

Small Business 60

Small Business Audience Exit Strategy Sales Cycle 60

Up and Running

NOVEMBER 12, 2018

The subscription box industry is growing rapidly thanks to a steady revenue model and tapping into people’s love for surprises. Financial summary : Project your revenue for the first few years. Companies that become a big subset of your revenue are likely strategic alliances, though, which is a later section. Key customers.

Business Plan 63

Business Plan Curation Balance Sheet Intellectual Property 63

Up and Running

OCTOBER 3, 2018

Financial Summary: Explain your business model, startup costs, revenues, and liabilities to the company. The solution: PARE shoulders the cost of renovations for young people who do not have the time, knowledge, or money to do it themselves. Your funding ask and exit strategy, if applicable. Be specific.

El Paso 61

El Paso Business Plan Technical Review Forecast 61

Up and Running

MAY 15, 2018

Your business model must show the potential to increase the revenue with minimal expenditure in the coming months or years. This means being able to increase profits without increasing costs at an equal (or higher) rate. You should forecast the expected cost the investment or loan will cover, and the returns it will generate in future.

SBA 84

SBA Angel Investor Technical Review Startup 84

David Teten

DECEMBER 3, 2019

This provides us more time to develop meaningful relationships with prospects and customers. Tribe Capital has developed A Quantitative Approach to Product Market Fit. . Capital has built a free online tool for founders to calculate their cost of capital. 3) Raise capital. An example of a tech-enabled VC is Corl.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Software Review Analytics Private Equity 78