Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 18, 2021

If your startup is great enough to get a term sheet from angel investors or a venture capitalist, the next step for the investor is to complete the dreaded due diligence process. Some startups do nothing to prepare for the due diligence process, assuming the people and business plan documents will speak for themselves.

Technical Review 380

Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Angel Investor 380

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 4, 2012

After you have successfully attracted angels or venture capital with your business case, your million dollar product idea, and you have a signed term sheet, there is still one more hurdle to overcome before investors write the check. This is the dreaded “due diligence” process. Product or service readiness. Waste no time.

Technical Review 237

Technical Review Due Diligence Intellectual Property Private Equity 237

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 22, 2010

After you have successfully attracted angels or venture capital with your business case, your million dollar product idea, and you have a signed term sheet, there is still one more hurdle to overcome before investors write the check. This is the dreaded “due diligence” process. Product or service readiness. Waste no time.

Technical Review 225

Technical Review Due Diligence Intellectual Property Private Equity 225

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 29, 2012

If your startup is great enough to get a term sheet from angel investors or a venture capitalist, the next step for the investor is to complete the dreaded due diligence process. Some startups do nothing to prepare for the due diligence process, assuming the people and business plan documents will speak for themselves.

Technical Review 245

Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Startup 245

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 28, 2012

When is it appropriate for a VC to call your customers? If you show a list of key customers or key business partners and if this list is sensitive (READ: If you don’t want VCs calling them) then you need to make it explicit with the VCs. “We are sharing with you our list of key customers / biz dev partners.

Technical Review 316

Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Cap Table 316

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 28, 2010

If your startup is great enough to get a term sheet from angel investors or a venture capitalist, the next step for the investor is to complete the dreaded due diligence process. Some startups do nothing to prepare for the due diligence process, assuming the people and business plan documents will speak for themselves.

Technical Review 229

Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Angel Investor 229

The Startup Magazine

SEPTEMBER 15, 2020

It is not always a financial transaction; sometimes it comes in the form of managerial or technical expertise. It is possible to attract a venture capital partner with an idea for a business, but most deals are closed after the business has a founding team , a minimum viable product or MVP, and customers. Understand VC Term Sheets.

Venture Capital 144

Venture Capital Technical Review Software Review Security 144

Gust

NOVEMBER 14, 2011

After you have successfully attracted angels or venture capital with your business case, your million dollar product idea, and you have a signed term sheet, there is still one more hurdle to overcome before investors write the check. This is the dreaded “due diligence” process. Product or service readiness. Waste no time.

Technical Review 152

Technical Review Due Diligence Intellectual Property Private Equity 152

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

Struggling entrepreneurs are often so happy to get a funding offer that they neglect the recommended reverse due diligence on the investors. Taking on equity investors to fund your company is much like getting married – it is a long-term relationship that has to work at all levels. It’s no fun for either side. Marty Zwilling.

Technical Review 257

Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Offshore 257

David Teten

DECEMBER 3, 2019

When I met my now-wife, I realized that any technology that can find me a spouse is a killer app. I’d argue that the same type of technologies that have revolutionized dating can revolutionize our industry. . I walk through below how progressive investors are using technology and analytics throughout all of their operations.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Software Review Analytics Private Equity 78

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 27, 2016

Struggling entrepreneurs are often so happy to get a funding offer that they neglect the recommended reverse due diligence on the investors. Taking on equity investors to fund your company is much like getting married – it is a long-term relationship that has to work at all levels. It’s no fun for either side.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Offshore 120

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 24, 2018

Usually after a Monday partner meeting you get a pretty strong: Yes, term sheet coming No, sorry we’re passing Maybe, we need to do more due diligence / analysis / work I always counsel founders that “good news comes early” so if you haven’t heard by Tuesday at noon chances are it wasn’t likely a clean “yes.”

Technical Review 314

Technical Review Due Diligence Partner Term Sheet 314

Mucker Lab

FEBRUARY 24, 2021

When meeting with founders, we often find ourselves answering questions about what to expect with our diligence process and timeline between the first conversation and a term sheet. Today, Emotive announces their $50M Series B closed just 7 months after to accelerate growth after a transformative year for eCommerce brands.

Seed Stage 135

Seed Stage Term Sheet eCommerce Technical Review 135

VC Cafe

AUGUST 11, 2022

If you agree that the top founders are likely to receive multiple term-sheets, then the importance of founder-investor fit increases. Sooner or later, one stall is going to start offering different donuts, covered in sprinkles to attract more customers. Personal fit. Choose a partner, not just a fund.

Founder 187

Founder Term Sheet Cofounder Venture Capital 187

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 29, 2015

Typically these subject matter experts might include: Business development executive: This is often a CEO or a technology transfer professional from a university who puts the deal together. Scientific/Technical expert: This person provides a range of expertise that makes him the go-to person for due diligence research.

Technical Review 100

Technical Review Intellectual Property Due Diligence Los Angeles 100

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 29, 2009

You finally get your first term sheet. They’re giving me 48 hours to sign the term sheet or it expires? Will they really pull the term sheet if I don’t sign? Will they really pull the term sheet if I don’t sign? First, every term sheet has an expiration date in it.

Term Sheet 197

Term Sheet Technical Review Due Diligence Venture Capital 197

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 10, 2018

I remind founders that the no’s come early because it’s super easy to qualify out a deal that you know is unlikely due to stage, focus, geography, competitive deal you’ve done or even just the fact that you’re too busy right now. When you finally get a term sheet you get three. These are the “lemons that ripen early.”

Term Sheet 232

Term Sheet France Technical Review Restful 232

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 5, 2009

Chasing funding versus chasing customers and a repeatable and scalable business model, is one reason startups fail. Chasing funding versus chasing customers and a repeatable and scalable business model, is one reason startups fail. Are there customers for what you are building? How many are there? Can it scale?”

Customer Development 262

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 262

Tim Keane

JANUARY 12, 2010

Term-sheets and Valuations: Thinking about Negotiations. Please see later version of this post on May 16, 2010 Entrepreneurs are often not experts in the area of term-sheet negotiations and all of the surrounding issues.   Investors sometimes “present” the terms they’d like and expect the entrepreneurs to react.

Term Sheet 68

Term Sheet Valuation Dividend Liquidation Preference 68

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 25, 2010

These days there are many lawyers that will do equity deals cheaply as long is it is a standardized, simplified term sheet, early stage, no serious investor / management debates, limited IP / customers / due diligence and as long as they perceive you as a “hot&# company that’s likely to need legal services for many years ahead.

Finance 286

Finance Term Sheet Technical Review Warrant 286

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 13, 2011

My initial desire to blog came from something that’s always been my approach to investing – I’m a nerd and I love to play with the technology and part of my approach has really been to understand things both at a user level and at a reasonably deep tentacle level. Brad on blogging. How did you start blogging? “My Is that when it became big?

Technical Review 288

Technical Review Venture Capital Silicon Valley Software Review 288

Version One Ventures

MARCH 3, 2021

It’s a way to increase your visibility with prospective investors, talent and customers. Quotes from your investors, customers, etc. For example, one of our portfolio companies delayed their announcement due to the inauguration. Most popular tech publication = TechCrunch. Fortune Term Sheet. TV news outlets.

Social Media 147

Social Media Technical Review Term Sheet PR 147

David Teten

AUGUST 19, 2019

Factoring, MCAs and receivables financing are all short-term oriented with pay-back periods measured in weeks, months or quarters, while RBI is generally measured in years. At maturity, which is typically 3 to 5 years, any unpaid amount of the cap is due. He said, . “[W]e the amount of the financing (this multiple is called the “cap”).

Revenue 60

Revenue Term Sheet Founder Technical Review 60

David Teten

AUGUST 19, 2019

Since 2017 we’ve managed $3 million in revenue-based financing, which helps cash-strapped technology companies grow. According to Brian Parks, “Bigfoot provides RBI, term loans, and lines of credit to SaaS businesses with $500k+ ARR. Investment Criteria: B2B SaaS or tech-enabled services with proven, recurring contracts.

Revenue 60

Revenue Technical Review Software Review Equity 60

Mucker Lab

AUGUST 27, 2014

At the time, LA and Santa Clara were both the epicenter of the technology industry due to the significant overlap between the aerospace/military industry (Los Angeles) and the computing business (Silicon Valley). Given our backgrounds, we often get asked about what makes the tech scene in Los Angeles different from that in the Valley.

Los Angeles 138

Los Angeles Southern California Silicon Valley Technical Review 138

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 4, 2018

Amidst the rise of new funds, new technologies, and potentially disruptive late stage players, I thought it was important to share what we consider to be our core operating principles here at NextView. . As seed funds have raised larger and larger funds, more have developed the muscle around issuing term sheets and “leading”.

North America 120

North America Seed Stage Early Stage Lead Investor 120

Agile VC

MAY 26, 2011

AGILEVC My idle thoughts on tech startups. This also appears as a guest post at Fortune’s Term Sheet. Silicon Valley is still emerging from the tech bubble and massive downturn of late 2000-2002. We got to term sheet a bit quicker, but from start to the close was basically June to Nov 2003.

Term Sheet 178

Term Sheet Silicon Valley Technical Review Social Network 178

Gust

DECEMBER 27, 2012

You should know EVERYTHING about your business, product, customers and competition. You should know every metric regarding customer acquisition, conversion and retention. The expectation is that in an era of increasing technology and decreasing costs, you will be bringing them an operating company with at least some traction.

Software Review 164

Software Review Term Sheet Technical Review Angel Investor 164

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 29, 2010

We received so much positive feedback from our This Week in Venture Capital show walking through valuation calculations & term sheets that we decided to do a Q&A show this week to address topics that entrepreneurs want to learn about. Q: “If you have a term sheet on the table how should you leverage with other VCs?&#

Venture Capital 282

Venture Capital Term Sheet Valuation Stock Options 282

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 28, 2015

Craig Schmitz, a partner in the Technology Companies Group at law firm Godwin Proctor LLP who works on corporate, governance, board and fundraising issues, and Erika Fisher, an associate in the firm’s Business Law Department who deals with IP, fielded questions about the legal issues startups face. Debt or convertible securities (e.g.,

Convertible Security 100

Convertible Security IP Technical Review Software Review 100

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 8, 2009

Traction can simply mean showing that you’re making progress with customers, product development, channel partners, initial revenue as a proof point, attracting well-known angel investors, winning industry awards / recognition. They get positive product reviews on TechCrunch, GigaOm or Paidcontent.org. They hire key staff.

Technical Review 309

Technical Review Term Sheet Venture Capital Revenue 309

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2009

It included one firm who I asked not to call Salesforce.com as a reference (they were our largest pilot customer) and in their kindness they called Marc Benioff (the CEO) and asked his opinion. We have also been very busy with our next release, which is due out by December 11th (but I’ll save that for a different post).

Venture Capital 274

Venture Capital Term Sheet San Diego Viral 274

The Next Web

AUGUST 26, 2012

The more your narrow down your target audience, the higher the chance is that you will be able to reach the crucial turning-point where you offer your customers enough added value to make them happy and returning. The metrics that matter the most are returning customers (user retention), turnover per customer and viral growth (k-factor).

Bankruptcy 121

Bankruptcy Technical Review Intellectual Property Due Diligence 121

View from Seed

AUGUST 17, 2021

at exit due to dilution. In some cases, great companies massively expand the definition or potential of the market with innovative products, technology leverage, and great execution. Competition matters when it comes to talent, customers, funders, partners, attention, and others. in a mid stage round at a $100M post.

IRR 205

IRR Dilution Founder Portfolio 205

Cracking the Code

JULY 5, 2016

Making an acqui-hire successful If successfully executed, combining resources from an acqui-hire will save years of work while broadening the technical and talent bench. Like any successful partnership, the acqui-hiring and -hired companies must fully align in terms of strategic goals, operational processes and culture.

Italy 59

Italy Technical Review Germany Poland 59

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 17, 2009

Ability to Pivot – I don’t like to invest in people that I’ve never met before who come through my office wanting to have a term sheet within 30 days. Yes, there is the mythical company you all heard about that walked into Sequoia and had a term sheet 24 hours later. I’m sure that happens.

Entrepreneur 291

Entrepreneur Term Sheet Early Stage Affiliate 291

Austin Startup

NOVEMBER 12, 2017

A frequent metaphor I use in customer acquisition, fundraising, or any kind of deal making is that you as the founder and promoter should present the finished meal on the dining table and not drag your counterparts into the kitchen. Most customers will sell themselves if you just give them half a chance.

Term Sheet 48

Term Sheet Technical Review Due Diligence Merger 48