View from Seed

FEBRUARY 19, 2015

In 2010, we were recruiting for a Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Backupify, and it was clear that many of the people I was interviewing wanted the CEO role. I called the recruiter running the search and told him I was going to step down and hire a CEO. Disclosure: NextView was not an investor in Backupify.).

Founder 120

Founder Startup Cofounder Business Model 120

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 2, 2009

For those of you who have been following the discussion, a Lean Startup is Eric Ries ’s description of the intersection of Customer Development , Agile Development and if available, open platforms and open source. And most startup code and features end up on the floor as customers never really wanted them.

Lean 244

Lean Silicon Valley Startup RSS 244

Business Plan Blog

OCTOBER 8, 2013

In order to launch a successful business and raise the capital needed to do so, a startup needs to consider several aspects of the business including the management team , the size of the opportunity, the product/service/technology, the market/sales/distribution channels, the competitive environment and several other factors.

Business Plan 67

Business Plan NDA Exit Strategy Valuation 67

Growthink Blog

MAY 23, 2011

With this seed capital – more often than not totaling between $100,000 and $1,000,000 - the company accomplishes a number of key technical milestones, gets a beta customer or two, and then goes on a "road show" to venture capitalists around the country for capital to “scale” the business.

Angel Investor 112

Angel Investor Venture Capital Sweat Equity Cram Down 112

thebarefootvc

AUGUST 26, 2015

As someone who invested through the 2001 and 2008 crashes I can assure you that down rounds and fire sales are not fun for anyone involved. Build solid relationships with strategic partners and customers. Don’t be penny wise, pound foolish.

Marketing 40

Marketing Investment Bankers Valuation China 40

thebarefootvc

AUGUST 26, 2015

As someone who invested through the 2001 and 2008 crashes I can assure you that down rounds and fire sales are not fun for anyone involved. Build solid relationships with strategic partners and customers. Don’t be penny wise, pound foolish.

Marketing 40

Marketing Investment Bankers Valuation China 40

thebarefootvc

JULY 26, 2015

As someone who invested through the 2001 and 2008 crashes I can assure you that down rounds and fire sales are not fun for anyone involved. Build solid relationships with strategic partners and customers. Don’t be penny wise, pound foolish.

Marketing 40

Marketing Investment Bankers Valuation China 40

VC Cafe

SEPTEMBER 26, 2022

Sustainable growth: Prioritise sales efficiency over growth at all costs. Before product-market fit… just care about speed of iteration according to your customer feedback. Put your users first: pretend that your customers have a seat at the table when you design your product roadmap. Need for Speed, indeed.

Founder 187

Founder Startup Valuation Pre-Money Valuation 187

Berkonomics

JANUARY 20, 2010

Some businesses require very little capital and the founder is able to self-finance the enterprise and retain 100% of its ownership and control from ignition through liquidity event (startup through sale). For you who fit that description, nice work. There is a lot to say about retaining control.

Private Equity 69

Private Equity Valuation Cap Table Accredited Investor 69

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 30, 2016

forward sales with some as high as 12x sales. Collectively we chose growth and the market was rewarding high growth rates over any other factor so we felt that we ought to bring in an experienced CEO who had taken companies public, who had led large, international sales organizations and who was poised to take Invoca to the next level.

Balance Sheet 150

Balance Sheet Burn Rate Valuation Forecast 150

Reid Hoffman

JUNE 8, 2021

At the time, they said, it’s not enough to design a product that’s good for sales, it must also be good for the environment. And then how would you prompt other entrepreneurial leaders to think more broadly about stakeholders than even just investors, employees, customers, which tends to be the typical trifecta? BC: Exactly, Reid.

Silicon Valley 69

Silicon Valley Hosting Rhode Island Design 69

Scalable Startup

FEBRUARY 1, 2013

So originally the customer was the Department of Defense. It was the first customer for the computer. The advantage of the consumer businesses is they tend to be much broader-based, much larger number of customers, that tend to over time be a lot more predictable. But I would say the market is schizophrenic.

Software Review 22

Software Review Startup Venture Capital Stock 22

www.paulgraham.com

APRIL 28, 2010

By which I meannot that it has to make something physical, but that it has to haveone thing it sells to many people, rather than doing custom workfor individual clients. Custom work doesnt scale. An advantage of consulting, as a way to develop a product, is thatyou know youre making something at least one customer wants.

Technical Review 76

Technical Review Startup Software Review Angel Investor 76

Reid Hoffman

JUNE 8, 2021

At the time, they said, it’s not enough to design a product that’s good for sales, it must also be good for the environment. And then how would you prompt other entrepreneurial leaders to think more broadly about stakeholders than even just investors, employees, customers, which tends to be the typical trifecta? BC: Exactly, Reid.

Silicon Valley 36

Silicon Valley Hosting Rhode Island Design 36

VC Cafe

MAY 18, 2022

Down rounds are coming. What is your plan if half your current customers go bankrupt? Thomasz Tunguz from Redpoint Capital shared 4 scenarios that startups should be contemplating now depending on their sales efficiency and cash reserves. Source: Pitchbook NVCA Venture Monitor. Gil Dibner, Angular Ventures.

Term Sheet 190

Term Sheet Startup Valuation Ukraine 190