Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

So if your costs are $500,000 per month and you have $350,000 per month in revenue then your net burn (500-350) is equal to $150,000. But those of us with longer memories remember that the revenue line can move south very quickly when the market overall turns south. Gross burn is the total amount of money you are spending per month.

Burn Rate 383

Burn Rate Balance Sheet .Net Valuation 383

This is going to be BIG.

JANUARY 18, 2024

On the other hand, they could be the opposite—much more focused on near-term cash distributions than long-term equity appreciation. They might not understand how a pre-revenue startup could be worth anything, let alone be valued at $5mm.

.Net 88

.Net Cap Table Startup Technical Review 88

David Teten

JANUARY 21, 2021

This essay is part of a series on alternative VC: I: Revenue-Based Investing: a new option for founders who care about control. II: Who are the major Revenue-Based Investing VCs? III: Why are Revenue-Based VCs investing in so many women and underrepresented founders? IV: Should your new VC fund use Revenue-Based Investing?

Equity 78

Equity Revenue Cofounder Colorado 78

View from Seed

APRIL 30, 2015

Glen Mello: Venture debt is a good complement to equity. It’s generally got a lower cost compared to equity capital and can help support growth. So it makes it a lot more challenging when you have debt on the books that isn’t as longer term as equity. Traction and revenue? What are some pros and cons?

Term Sheet 120

Term Sheet Equity Startup Seed Stage 120

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 3, 2010

I can save tons of development time and I think I can buy it for all equity. How much dilution should I take for it?&# My friend’s company was pre-revenue. Me: “Zero dilution. I’m not saying there are never reasons to buy another company for cash and/or equity. You’re in control.

Merger 276

Merger Technical Review Early Stage Dilution 276

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 17, 2011

I know it’s much sexier to race around talking about buying up companies than it is tweaking your business operations to accelerate revenue, reduce churn and grow faster. Dilute your cash, equity or both. But it will not help your business grow faster. What will it do?

Operations 292

Operations CTO Hire Startup Early Stage 292

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. Ancillary objectives, like retiring existing debt, buying a building or paying salaries to people with equity ownership will not get traction.

Startup 337

Startup Preferred Stock Exit Strategy Equity 337

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 4, 2014

Equity for the future? If you are the person staying how resentful will you become working your arse off for equity that your co-founder who leaves will get value from. He felt the CEO was willing to “sell his soul” for revenue and wanted things to be more pure. We sat down the three of us.

Founder 340

Founder Sacramento Cofounder Technical Review 340

ReadWriteStart

JANUARY 27, 2011

And, oh by the way, we also really like the idea of the 1M/1M entrepreneurs building valuation and negotiating leverage through these business development efforts, instead of signing off large chunks of their company in form of equity early on. million in revenue. The business is already profitable with $2.9

Dilution 114

Dilution Revenue Finance Entrepreneur 114

David Teten

AUGUST 21, 2019

Most founders who are raising capital look first to traditional equity VCs. Or should they look to one of the new wave of Revenue-Based Investors? Revenue-Based Investing (“RBI”) is a new form of VC financing, distinct from the preferred equity structure most VCs use. Who are the major Revenue-Based Investing VCs?

Revenue 60

Revenue Liquidation Preference Equity Cofounder 60

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 1, 2009

Consumer spending is 70% of the economy and will continue to be stretched – We can look all we want at tech innovation, VC funding cycles and hot M&A deals, but ultimately growth and therefore investment must be underpinned by revenue. We spent our future since the equity was artificial. Consumer spending is where I’m dubious.

Technical Review 269

Technical Review Stock Hawaii Early Stage 269

Up and Running

JULY 1, 2020

Lenders and equity investors are less emotionally involved in the plan as people within the company. The investment expenses precede the revenues they will ultimately produce and may lead to cash or profitability constraints. Will marketing for the expansion dilute marketing of your brand or other products?

Business Plan 152

Business Plan Forecast Operations Dilution 152

Austin Startup

MAY 8, 2018

Background reading: Founder Compensation: Cash, Equity, Liquidity Fatal Errors in Early Startup Hiring Early Hires: Options or Stock Given how deeply involved we are with early-stage startups hiring their first key employees, I figured it would be helpful to outline a few key principles to help entrepreneurs navigate the topic.

Employee 48

Employee Seed Stage Startup Equity 48

The Startup Magazine

MARCH 30, 2022

Growth financing can also be described as revenue-based financing, which essentially allows you to upfront your annual recurring revenue (ARR) and make it available right now, rather than forcing you to wait weeks or months until your end-of-year earnings are accessible. A quick overview of growth financing.

Finance 142

Finance Dilution Green Revenue 142

Austin Startup

FEBRUARY 4, 2019

A finalist in the Social and Culture category , which will pitch at 11 am Saturday, March 9, EnrichHER Funding , based in Atlanta, is fueling the growth of women-led businesses by enabling women founders to secure capital in an affordable and non-dilutive way. Investors of EnrichHER get no equity.

Startup 50

Startup Cofounder Technical Review Equity 50

The Startup Magazine

JULY 1, 2022

Production or service is the business’s core activity, which generates revenue. The most common types of financing are debt financing, equity financing, and venture capital. Equity financing is when you sell a part of your company for cash. Marketing and sales are how you reach and sell to your target market.

Technology 142

Technology Venture Capital Finance Startup 142

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 23, 2019

To provide relevant perspective, listing past convertible note(s) and/or equity financing(s) including total round size and valuation (caps) is helpful. Plus, any other non-standard items here should be called out, too, like non-dilutive grants, as applicable. First, it’s helpful to enumerate the startup’s funding history to date.

Cap Table 211

Cap Table Seed Stage Valuation Dilution 211

ReadWriteStart

SEPTEMBER 10, 2010

They already have several customers including some telcos, and are at about $350,000 in revenues. Whether it is credit or equity, funding is very, very tight. You can get cash without diluting your ownership in the company. Because customer financing equals revenue, not equity. Kir Devries. Very encouraging!

Cloud 115

Cloud Silicon Valley Incubator Finance 115

ReadWriteStart

JULY 18, 2011

He believes that equity need not be distributed equally, as long as everyone involved is happy with their arrangement. And as long as founders don't have an argument about equity shares in front of the investors they are pitching. You can also follow Kedrosky on Twitter. Are all co-founders equal, Clavier asked?

Investment Bankers 153

Investment Bankers Technical Review Cofounder Due Diligence 153

Austin Startup

FEBRUARY 13, 2019

Either way, if you know you’re going to fail, it’s much better to do so with your own money on the line than money that also costs you in dilution, perpetuity or more. Consider convertible debt Before diving into a seed round, you may want to consider convertible debt over equity financing. I speak from experience.

Strategic Investors 49

Strategic Investors Austin Angel Investor Bootstrapping 49

Hunter Walker

JANUARY 2, 2017

The total value of these deals might look higher than when a tech company makes an acquihire but the premium tends to go to retention rather than the cap table (especially since (a) the acquirer might not be seen as an ‘attractive’ place to work and (b) there’s assumption of less equity upside post-acquisition).

Technical Review 115

Technical Review Cap Table Acquisition Startup 115

K9 Ventures

JUNE 12, 2012

You get a situation whether investors are incentivized to put in more money into a company, not only to buy more equity, but also to fund the quick growth. Founders typically get their equity in a company once — at the time of founding and then get diluted with each subsequent round of financing.

Venture Capital 117

Venture Capital Silicon Valley Founder Seed Stage 117

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 29, 2009

Huge downturns have a real impact on the revenue line of start-ups and therefore the pressure on valuations. This came in part due to the huge influx of money into VC but also because hedge funds and private equity shops with no VC experience wanted part of the action. I argued for literally a year to slash burn.

Burn Rate 263

Burn Rate Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Private Equity 263

Version One Ventures

FEBRUARY 6, 2019

This aggressive ownership target is one reason more and more founders are looking for capital from IT/tech VCs who don’t demand as much equity. Then, the revenue you earn from these partners/customers can cover your operating costs while you develop your own drug to bring to market – which is where the most value is captured in biotech.

Dilution 132

Dilution Artificial Inteligence IPO Valuation 132

Berkonomics

MARCH 21, 2019

If you are a going business with a track record of revenues, then the importance of accurate current financial statements cannot be overstated. If there is no record of revenues, see the “The Berkus Method” available with any search query for valuing the business before revenues. Let’s start with the basics.

Hockey Stick 63

Hockey Stick Liquidity Event Valuation Balance Sheet 63

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 20, 2018

Since I am a proponent of using equity as a tool and he is so much opposed, this week it is his turn to make the case. Do I understand the royalty replaces the need for equity investors ? That party is only concerned with its royalty revenues and growth – and not profit from or valuation of its business.

IP 54

IP Intellectual Property Investment Bankers Product 54

K9 Ventures

JUNE 12, 2012

You get a situation whether investors are incentivized to put in more money into a company, not only to buy more equity, but also to fund the quick growth. Founders typically get their equity in a company once — at the time of founding and then get diluted with each subsequent round of financing.

Venture Capital 105

Venture Capital Silicon Valley Founder Seed Stage 105

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014

Revenue multiple? And now I have to explain to team that they’re taking more dilution than they expected if we do a down round. Me: More dilution? “But lawyers will charge much more for equity.” Try doing THAT with equity. How will you price the next round? Your A round? Him: On metrics.

Venture Capital 417

Venture Capital Liquidation Preference Valuation Term Sheet 417

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 20, 2018

Since I am a proponent of using equity as a tool and he is so much opposed, this week it is his turn to make the case. Do I understand the royalty replaces the need for equity investors ? That party is only concerned with its royalty revenues and growth – and not profit from or valuation of its business.

IP 48

IP Intellectual Property Investment Bankers Product 48

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 5, 2016

You don’t have to fight for your equity, and no one can slow you down in decision making. Don’t quit your day job until the revenue is flowing. Don’t let early funding increase risk and dilute your potential. Spread your equity internally to build the team. Bootstrapping doesn’t mean that you don’t share equity.

Bootstrapping 120

Bootstrapping Entrepreneur Startup Exit Strategy 120

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 21, 2010

Plus, we’re all allured by the false sense that our contract with BigCo is going to “make us&# because once they start using us it will spread like wildfire and the revenue will flow in. They negotiate a “master agreement&# to work with your company with some maybe minimum guarantees in terms of revenue.

Warrant 298

Warrant Dilution Startup Stock Options 298

Austin Startup

MARCH 23, 2017

To briefly recap: 3/12 : Fred Wilson discussed why he dislikes convertible notes and SAFEs, and how priced equity rounds make more sense at the seed level. 3/20 : danprimack provided detail on Wal-mart/Jet.com’s acquisition of ModCloth, and how substituting (rather than supplementing) debt for equity can cause problems.

Dilution 54

Dilution Equity Warrant Distribution 54

VC Cafe

FEBRUARY 27, 2024

especially if the startup already has a product and revenue? In smaller funds, ticket sizes tend to be lower, so pre-seed is the only stage where micro funds are able to secure their minimum equity targets. A founder asked me what makes a $2M round “pre-seed”?

Valuation 186

Valuation Software Review Generative AI Technical Review 186

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. Ancillary objectives, like retiring existing debt, buying a building or paying salaries to people with equity ownership will not get traction.

Preferred Stock 120

Preferred Stock Exit Strategy Equity Angel Investor 120

The Next Web

FEBRUARY 27, 2014

your equity in a hot new patented technology business), the higher the demand (e.g., As an example, a new restaurant may get valued at 3-4x EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) and a hot dot com business with meteoric traffic growth could get valued at 5-10x revenues. Supply and demand.

Valuation 167

Valuation Forecast Seed Stage .Net 167

Austin Startup

NOVEMBER 25, 2018

It was there that I met Eric Simone (one of the first investors in Bazaarvoice) as well as Josh Baer (one of the first investors in Bazaarvoice through his team building our first solution and getting paid primarily in equity versus cash). I failed to do that with Coremetrics and I paid dearly for it with dilution.

Bootstrapping 48

Bootstrapping Austin Equity Cofounder 48

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 14, 2012

You are either bought for stock or for equity. Is your crappy little 12-person company really worth they and their shareholders diluting by 2% given more than a decade they’ve put in building one of the Internet’s most solid business social networks? You just said, “nobody would take 1-2% dilution.”

Valuation 316

Valuation Balance Sheet Dilution Term Sheet 316