Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2013

A cautious person wouldn’t try to pry people out of Twitter right before their IPO to” join my cause!!” Good press and industry mojo wasn’t enough to overcome the financial metrics of the business and the offers came in at more like $10 million. Dilution / valuation. It was not. I wasn’t surprised.

Startup 417

Startup Dilution San Diego Stock Options 417

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 5, 2010

Brant and Patrick undertook a difficult challenge: to provide a generally accessible introduction to Customer Development, without diluting its impact or dumbing-down its principles. On the minus side, that has made it a wee bit hard to understand. I think theyve succeeded. The Entrepreneur’s Guide is an easy read.

Customer Development 166

Customer Development Developer San Francisco Customer 166

Startup Lessons Learned

AUGUST 24, 2009

Despite all the energy invested in talking to authors about the size of their platform, very few gatekeepers have a rigorous set of metrics for measuring it. And as everyone’s attention starts to focus on those same indicators, their value is being diluted. My blog has over 14000 subscribers, for example. Is that a lot?

San Francisco 113

San Francisco Lean Technical Review Distribution 113

Tim Keane

JANUARY 12, 2010

Next, they carefully consider the range of multiples being used today to value companies being acquired or doing IPOs in the market that the business is in.   A full ratchet anti-dilution clause is very unfriendly to entrepreneurs; it requires them to make up the entire difference in price from their own holdings.

Term Sheet 68

Term Sheet Valuation Dividend Liquidation Preference 68

Gust

SEPTEMBER 17, 2014

There were no metrics. Him: On metrics. If we priced it based on any metrics your company would likely be worth less than 7 figures at your A round. 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? Maybe an IPO – who knows?

Liquidation Preference 153

Liquidation Preference Valuation Term Sheet Stock 153

Startup Lessons Learned

OCTOBER 26, 2009

Every time you listen to customers, you fear diluting your vision. Every time you listen to customers, you fear diluting your vision. ► August (2) SXSW Case Study: SlideShare goes freemium ► July (4) Case Study: kaChing, Anatomy of a Pivot Some IPO speculation Founder personalities and the “first-class man&# th.

Advisory Board 151

Advisory Board Customer San Francisco Lean 151

K9 Ventures

OCTOBER 10, 2017

If the Micro-VCs are looking for Series A-like metrics, what does a company do when it’s just getting started? In order for a company to attract a full Seed round ($2M – $3M), that company needs to show an almost completed product, an advanced prototype, or some kind of traction/demand metrics.

Seed Stage 82

Seed Stage Finance Later Stage Equity 82

Startup Lessons Learned

JUNE 15, 2009

In fighting to have developers checking in code dictate production releases, you risk looking unreasonable and diluting a powerful message that everyone should agree on: "small batches of changes that are automatically and continuously tested" June 15, 2009 7:55 PM Matthew D Edwards said.

Continuous Deployment 167

Continuous Deployment Software Review San Francisco Lean 167

Ben's Blog

AUGUST 17, 2020

A multiple is a company value divided by a metric. If an investor could have identified Salesforce’s ability to maintain such prolonged growth upfront, invested in its 2004 IPO, and then held on through to today, they could have made ~70x returns: equivalent to ~30% IRRs over a 16 year period. Not too shabby!

Valuation 36

Valuation Balance Sheet Cofounder Forecast 36

abovethecrowd.com

APRIL 20, 2016

The pressures of lofty paper valuations, massive burn rates (and the subsequent need for more cash), and unprecedented low levels of IPOs and M&A, have created a complex and unique circumstance which many Unicorn CEOs and investors are ill-prepared to navigate. In Q1 of 2016 there were zero VC-backed technology IPOs.

IPO 40

IPO Term Sheet Silicon Valley Valuation 40

Reid Hoffman

JUNE 8, 2021

Airbnb was preparing for an IPO right when the pandemic hit, and everything changed in a matter of days. The burden [should] just be that we care; that if we learn something, we improve it, and that we don’t only use single output metrics and its growth at all costs. Obviously, the challenges of 2020 were next level.

Silicon Valley 69

Silicon Valley Hosting Rhode Island Design 69

Reid Hoffman

JUNE 8, 2021

Airbnb was preparing for an IPO right when the pandemic hit, and everything changed in a matter of days. The burden [should] just be that we care; that if we learn something, we improve it, and that we don’t only use single output metrics and its growth at all costs. Obviously, the challenges of 2020 were next level.

Silicon Valley 36

Silicon Valley Hosting Rhode Island Design 36

Seeing Both Sides

JANUARY 13, 2015

Always testing and trying to run fast tests to put up some strong metrics before running out of money (did I mention we''re running out of money?). The founders are getting restless because they have been diluted, have less responsibility and realize that the company isn''t going to reach $1 billion in 3 years. 50-100 million.

Mezzanine 20

Mezzanine IPO Finance Business Model 20