Steve Blank
OCTOBER 24, 2017
None of this was law, and nothing in writing required this; this was just how these firms did business to protect their large institutional customers who would buy the stock. This required a repeatable and scalable sales process, which required a professional sales staff and a product stable enough that customers wouldn’t return it.
Startup Professionals Musings
NOVEMBER 30, 2015
A C-corporation is more complex and expensive, and is recommended only if you expect to pitch to professional investors who demand preferred stock, or to more than 100 potential shareholders. If your strength is technology, find a co-founder who has a comparable strength in business, finance or marketing.
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Steve Blank
APRIL 26, 2022
They offered desperate founders more cash but insisted on new terms, rewriting all the old stock agreements that previous investors and employees had. For existing investors, sometimes it was a “pay-to-play” i.e. if you don’t participate in the new financing you lose. A cram down is different than a down round. They’re Back.
Both Sides of the Table
SEPTEMBER 5, 2012
To better understand the arguments for / against convertible equity I suggest you read my posts on those topics: Is convertible debt preferable to equity? Was Paul Graham right in his “high resolution” financing post? Some thoughts on raising angel money. So let me weigh in more loudly than in the past.
David Teten
AUGUST 19, 2019
Does the traditional VC financing model make sense for all companies? 2018 also had the fewest number of angel-led financing rounds since before 2010. John Borchers, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Decathlon Capital, claims to be the largest revenue-based financing investor in the US. Absolutely not.
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. Any custom manufactured IoT device would require software development as well as hardware customization. Both of which are expensive and time-consuming.
Both Sides of the Table
JULY 29, 2010
People buy companies for 3 primary reasons: 1) they want the management team / talent 2) they want the technology or 3) they want the market traction (revenue, customer base, profits, etc). The downside is that people need to buy their stock. In fact, far better if you haven’t raised venture capital. Do it early.
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