Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 8, 2016

Remember you can’t sustain a business or social cause with no revenue or profit. Investors look for sales at full price, to people you don’t know, to validate demand, price, and margin. Generate a 5-year financial forecast from opportunity data. Be able to differentiate your offering from competitors.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Exit Strategy 120

David Teten

SEPTEMBER 23, 2017

Close to 80% responded that manual processes, such as tracking down support, preparing reports and pulling data from different sources, are the biggest pain points they face in the valuation process. Kushim , Totem , and VisibleVC focus on serving this need among VCs.

Private Equity 60

Private Equity Venture Capital Equity Technical Review 60

abovethecrowd.com

JULY 10, 2014

Financial models, especially valuation models, are interesting in that they can be particularly precise. While it may seem like a tough question to answer, I would argue that most practitioners of valuation analysis would state “not very high.” It is not my aim to specifically convince anyone that Uber is worth any specific valuation.

San Francisco 111

San Francisco San Jose Marketing Technical Review 111

Steve Blank

APRIL 1, 2020

Your revenue plans are no longer valid. What’s your monthly cash burn at your new low revenue level? Forecasted recovery date. Sales pipeline/forecast. The CEO should dial through as many of the largest existing customers to get a firsthand understanding of the magnitude of any revenue shortfall. Unemployment %.

South Korea 334

South Korea Salary Business Model China 334

www.mint.com

MARCH 9, 2010

If the answer to the question centers around “We will achieve revenue soon so our net will improve and give us more runway,” it means the company is in trouble because no product ever ships on time nor achieves the company’s “conservative forecast.” What is the post-money valuation of your last round? That’s cool.

Software Review 68

Software Review Startup Post-Money Valuation Technical Review 68

Cracking the Code

JANUARY 22, 2009

While it may make sense to offer very slight adjustments for favorable payment terms and one time revenue, net additions to MRR should dominate the sales rep’s thoughts. 1 of MRR generates $12 of annual revenue, so $1 commission equals 1/12=8.3% of Year One Revenue Sounds high, but is that considered a reasonable package?

Software Review 91

Software Review Clawback Sales Salary 91

ReadWriteStart

DECEMBER 26, 2012

It took a few years – and a few thousand failed consumer internet startups – but investors have gone back to the basics and now demand that companies they fund have income, not just a lot of Web users or app downloads. “You won’t see crazy valuations,” he says. The Enterprise Will Strike Back.

Silicon Valley 60

Silicon Valley Chile Startup Turkey 60

Seeing Both Sides

AUGUST 3, 2012

With over $1 billion in revenue, 2000 employees and a market capitalization of over $6 billion, Akamai has become a role model for scalable start-ups. In 2012, analysts forecast the company will achieve nearly $1.5 billion in revenue, over $1 billion in gross profit and $500 million in EBITDA. Gross Profit. $(60). Market Cap.

Distribution 49

Distribution Lean Massachusetts Cofounder 49

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2016

Valuing any company can be difficult because it requires a degree of forecasting future growth & competition and ultimately the profits of the organization. I have been talking about my concerns about valuations for the past couple of years because, well, they’ve been rising very rapidly the past two years! Mostly, no.

Valuation 150

Valuation Down Round Startup Later Stage 150

Up and Running

MAY 15, 2019

A new system might be subject to delays, especially if demand from other breweries is high, but you’ll be able to design to your needs and specifications, and you’ll have support when issues arise (and they will). Within any model, there are things breweries can focus on to stand out and increase revenue. Metrics: Know your numbers.

Oregon 24

Oregon Jordan Software Review Distribution 24

www.paulgraham.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

And those who do raiseVC rounds will be able to get higher valuations when they do. Ifthe best startups get 10x higher valuations when they raise seriesA rounds, that would cut VCs returns from winners at least tenfold. [ A typical big angel round might be $600k on a convertible note witha valuation cap of $4 million premoney.

Valuation 92

Valuation Stock Partner Founder 92

Ben's Blog

MAY 24, 2021

Small” IPOs — companies with less than $50m in annual revenue at the time of IPO – have declined from more than 50% of all IPOs in the 1980-2000 timeframe to about 25% of IPOs from 2001-2016; Companies are staying private much longer — the median time to IPO from founding hovered around 6.5 Time Period IPO Pop* 1980-1989 6.1%

SEC 36

SEC Accredited Investor IPO Technical Review 36