The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 11, 2023

The following is a condensed explanation of seed funding: Seed money is a form of early-stage financing that new businesses receive from investors in exchange for a share of ownership in the company. The term “seed financing” refers to the stage of funding that comes from first equity. What exactly is the seed funding?

Seed Stage 138

Seed Stage Technical Review Early Stage Due Diligence 138

The Startup Magazine

SEPTEMBER 15, 2020

It is a type of financing that investors can provide to startups and small businesses which are believed to have the potential for success in the long term. A venture capital term sheet is a “non-binding listing of preliminary terms for venture capital financing”. What is Venture Capital Funding? Understand VC Term Sheets.

Venture Capital 147

Venture Capital Technical Review Software Review Security 147

Feld Thoughts

JUNE 9, 2021

Matt was the co-founder/CEO of Return Path. The founders of each company talked and, in between efforts to decimate the other, agreed it might be worth merging to survive. It’s a follow-up to his previous book, Startup CEO: A Field Guide to Scaling Up Your Business. I’ve been working with Matt since 2000.

Fractional CTO 195

Fractional CTO Cofounder Startup Lead Investor 195

View from Seed

DECEMBER 4, 2019

The top quartile has distributed 2.03x (vs. 1.68) and the median fund now has distributed 1.27X (vs. The longer the portfolio maintains the same value without distributing back cash, the worse the fund’s ultimate IRR. Based on that metric, the top quartile fund has now distributed 2.03X after 12 years. 2 years ago).

LP 256

LP IRR Distribution Portfolio 256

The Startup Magazine

JULY 1, 2020

Here’s another from The Startup Magazine Founder Series. We interviewed entrepreneur Mr. Peter Agarwal, President/Owner of LED Phantom Distribution, a distributor of high quality LEDs, lighting, and lighting control products. Peter: We distribute commercial LED lighting for indoor and outdoor applications.

Green 183

Green Founder Distribution Business Model 183

Steve Blank

APRIL 23, 2018

When Sloan arrived at GM in 1920 he realized that the traditional centralized management structures organized by function (sales, manufacturing, distribution, and marketing) were a poor fit for managing GM’s diverse product lines. Sloan kept the corporate staff small and focused on policymaking, corporate finance, and planning.

Michigan 296

Michigan Cofounder Stock Forecast 296

Hunter Walker

MARCH 27, 2017

Here’s a question I recommend founders ask Seed or Series A VCs during their fundraising: “What’s a risk you’re more comfortable with than the average VC?” Here are two: We’re more comfortable with certain types of founder risk (first time, non-traditional) than some funds. Financing risk.

Founder 48

Founder Technical Review Cofounder Distribution 48

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

As the idea went from innovating on software & systems to launching a company to rolling it out in the field brought on Rahul Gandhi as his co-founder to physically launch the company. We realized that operating a business in distributed markets presented multi-city coordination efforts that we weren’t prepared for.

Operations 286

Operations New York City Technical Review Startup 286

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 9, 2021

A breadth of understanding of common business principles, such as management, personnel and finance, is more important than a depth of knowledge in a technical area. Peers won’t be able to help you much in finding external investors, co-founders with prior experience and industry connections for distribution and marketing.

Entrepreneur 373

Entrepreneur Chad Incubator Dilution 373

David Teten

JANUARY 19, 2021

From RBI, Flexible VCs borrow the ability to reap meaningful returns without demanding founders build for an exit. Every Flexible VC structure allows founders to access immediate risk capital while preserving exit, growth trajectory, and ownership optionality. . Flexible VC 102: Variations.

Cofounder 78

Cofounder Technical Review Equity Dividend 78

Feld Thoughts

JUNE 9, 2021

Matt was the co-founder/CEO of Return Path. The founders of each company talked and, in between efforts to decimate the other, agreed it might be worth merging to survive. It’s a follow-up to his previous book, Startup CEO: A Field Guide to Scaling Up Your Business. I’ve been working with Matt since 2000.

Fractional CTO 70

Fractional CTO Cofounder Startup Lead Investor 70

Startup Company Lawyer

MARCH 14, 2010

After the recent announcement of the Series Seed Financing documents by Marc Andreesen, Brad Feld points out that there are now four sets of “open source&# equity seed financing documents: TechStars Model Seed Funding Documents (by Cooley). Y Combinator Series AA Equity Financing Documents (by WSGR). under $500K).

Finance 70

Finance Software Review Term Sheet Liquidation Preference 70

The Startup Magazine

JULY 29, 2021

As part of our Founder Interview series, The Startup Magazine caught up with entrepreneur Ola Sars, Founder and CEO of music-tech leader, Soundtrack Your Brand. Ola Sars, Founder and CEO of Soundtrack Your Brand. TSM: What is the most important thing you tell other startup founders? Ola: Stay focused.

Founder 158

Founder B2C B2B Audio 158

Feld Thoughts

SEPTEMBER 2, 2011

As Finance Fridays continues, we are introducing the concept of the Cap Table. The founders each have common shares that will vest over four years. The vesting schedule protects each of the co-founders in case one gets hit by a bus or decides to drop the project after a short period of time. Time to update the cap table.

Cap Table 133

Cap Table CTO Hire Technical Cofounder Cofounder 133

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 5, 2023

Estate planning is often associated with allocating how your assets and resources will be distributed upon your death in a way that complies with your wishes, avoids burdensome taxation, and allows your beneficiaries to avoid the lengthy and complicated probate process. Estate planning can be exactly that.

Security 154

Security Entrepreneur Intellectual Property Cofounder 154

Transformify

APRIL 21, 2017

Developers, designers, and finance experts from around the world go through a rigorous process that includes live screening and weeks-long test projects before being invited to join Toptal’s network. We have arguably the largest distributed workforce in the world. Why did you prioritize finance over another capability?

Technical Review 40

Technical Review Silicon Valley Software Review Cofounder 40

Scott Edward Walker

MAY 15, 2012

This post is the third part of a three-part primer on convertible note seed financings. Part 1, entitled “ Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Convertible Note Seed Financings (But Were Afraid To Ask) ,” addressed the basics. Part 2, entitled “ Convertible Note Seed Financings: Econ 101 for Founders ,” addressed the economics.

Finance 64

Finance Founder Accredited Investor Preferred Stock 64

VC Cafe

JUNE 6, 2024

It’s not a surprise, given that entrepreneurs are obsessed with data and metrics, but in the conservative VC market of 2024, it feels even more important for founders to know what ‘good’ looks like and what investors expect. Always happy to connect with pre-seed founders and provide VC friendly feedback.

B2B 78

B2B Burn Rate Generative AI Retention 78

View from Seed

AUGUST 10, 2021

We first invested in co-founders Ben Forgan & Pat Wilbur in early 2015, when NextView led a $1.3M Here in 2021 startups operate in a more distributed fashion earlier in their lifecycle, a trend which preceded COVID but certainly was accelerated by the remote work environment for knowledge workers brought on by the pandemic.

Chicago 178

Chicago Cofounder Miami B2B 178

BeyondVC

JANUARY 6, 2018

2017 was another year of growing, learning, investing and partnering with amazing founders. Once again, we are grateful to have the opportunity to work with so many amazing founders, advisors, co-investors, and other collaborators to bring the boldstart family together. 2017 Recap. 2 exits including yhat (sold to Alteryx?

Cloud 60

Cloud Cofounder Portfolio Advisory Board 60

View from Seed

AUGUST 10, 2021

We first invested in co-founders Ben Forgan & Pat Wilbur in early 2015, when NextView led a $1.3M Here in 2021 startups operate in a more distributed fashion earlier in their lifecycle, a trend which preceded COVID but certainly was accelerated by the remote work environment for knowledge workers brought on by the pandemic.

Chicago 156

Chicago Cofounder Miami B2B 156

YoungUpstarts

JUNE 11, 2015

by Eyal Shinar, CEO & Founder of Fundbox. These days, it’s not uncommon for companies large and small to be completely distributed, i.e., have a wholly remote workforce. Everything big must first be small. The largest, most successful businesses today were once small, start-ups with grand visions.

Technical Review 100

Technical Review Small Business Entrepreneur Pennsylvania 100

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 23, 2017

by Joe Duncan, founder of Duncan Capital LP. Blockchain is a distributed ledger technology (DLT) wherein all network participants can have separate copies of the entire record of transactions on the network. Fintech is triggering a profound rethink for financial institutions, from retail to investment banking. Transaction Processing.

Technical Review 154

Technical Review Artificial Inteligence Software Review IPO 154

Up and Running

JUNE 14, 2017

Then, about two weeks before launch, I distributed a survey to those 256 partners. Furthermore, as I was proving the viability of Recycler Spotter through the free version, I could have pre-sold the paid membership at a discount for another layer of validation that would have also helped finance product development.

Technical Review 96

Technical Review Distribution Redemption Demand 96

YoungUpstarts

FEBRUARY 1, 2020

by Bryce Welker, founder of Crush The CPA Exam. You are sure to be happy when your business reaches a Series B financing round because it usually means your company has a higher valuation. Bryce Welker is an active speaker, blogger, and tutor on accounting and finance. A certified public accountant (CPA) will perform the audit.

CPA 165

CPA Stock Options Valuation Stock 165

The Next Web

DECEMBER 2, 2013

Founder Kevin Systrom launched Instagram with 25,000 beta users on October 6, 2010; two years later, the app continues to see massive growth, recently reporting 150 million active users. Ben Schippers is the co-founder of HappyFunCorp , a Web development company that has built sites for TeePublic , Of A Kind , Postography and Yeah TV! “If

Cost 168

Cost San Francisco New York City Ruby 168

Startup Lessons Learned

MAY 9, 2012

From Lean Startup Machine , Lean LA and San Diego Tech Founders , to countless speeches and workshops, I have seen the impact that their leadership has had first hand. Or will you need to staff and finance a whaling ship to be out at sea for months at a time to catch two or three whales (enterprise sales model)?

Entrepreneur 167

Entrepreneur Lean Southern California San Diego 167

Scott Edward Walker

DECEMBER 13, 2018

We had a busy 2018, including closing several significant M&A transactions and financings. The purpose of this post is briefly (i) to provide an overview of acquihires and (ii) to discuss the significant legal issues that founders must address. Will the Founders Receive any Purchase Price Proceeds? What is an Acquihire?

Founder 45

Founder Merger IP Liquidation Preference 45

Hunter Walker

JANUARY 2, 2017

.” But we also knew that most Fortune 500 M&A transactions aren’t at unicorn levels (actually well sub-$250m), so we advise founders to not over-raise capital until they’re using it to fund profitable growth (or a clear path to profitability). Next Level: Buying Customers/Revenue/Distribution. Cruise was this.

Technical Review 115

Technical Review Cap Table Acquisition Startup 115

Steve Blank

MARCH 31, 2014

Cheered on by finance professors, Wall Street analysts, investors and hedge funds, companies have learned how to make metrics like Internal Rate of Return look great by one; outsourcing everything, two, getting assets off their balance sheet, and three only investing in things that pay off fast. This never ends well.

Private Equity 329

Private Equity Metrics China Intellectual Property 329

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 8, 2010

Howard Lindzon weighed in with his comments : “As a CEO of a venture backed business myself and founder of many others, I would add one thing… Thick Skin. But this isn’t restricted to distributed teams, multi-country environments or even large companies. If you fail, you need to start all over.

Ireland 319

Ireland Sales Bankruptcy Germany 319

The Equity Kicker

MAY 14, 2012

Twice in the last week I found myself coaching founders on how to build a financing plan around value creation milestones so I thought I would share what I said here. signing distribution deals. demonstrating that signed distribution deals are working. achieving first revenues. achieving first international sales.

Finance 118

Finance Valuation Venture Capital Dilution 118

Lightspeed Venture Partners

OCTOBER 7, 2012

The founders were very sympathetic; a man, laid off from his job, and his very pregnant wife, who sold their house and investing $150k into the business and are working hard to make a go of it. He had been at it for 6 months and had no sales or distribution lined up yet. One of the founders asked for a minute to consider the deal.

Technical Review 110

Technical Review Technical Cofounder Valuation Pre-Money Valuation 110

View from Seed

AUGUST 10, 2021

We first invested in co-founders Ben Forgan & Pat Wilbur in early 2015, when NextView led a $1.3M Here in 2021 startups operate in a more distributed fashion earlier in their lifecycle, a trend which preceded COVID but certainly was accelerated by the remote work environment for knowledge workers brought on by the pandemic.

Chicago 136

Chicago Cofounder Miami B2B 136

View from Seed

DECEMBER 7, 2017

It includes, but isn’t limited to, what is traditionally referred to as personal finance. In its first two decades, the internet brought significant change to many aspects of personal finance — particularly retail banking, retail brokerage and asset management, payments, and consumer lending. Financing Life’s Big Tickets.

Finance 185

Finance Distribution Seed Stage Government 185

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 13, 2011

There was a lot of consumer internet activity again…resurgence of things, but it was still mysterious, venture capital was still kind of closed, 1st time entrepreneurs had a lot of questions that were unanswered, and there was still some sort of hand waiving around all the financing stuff and so we took it on….”. Distribution.

Technical Review 288

Technical Review Venture Capital Silicon Valley Software Review 288

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 1, 2018

Some companies, especially those financed by angel or VC investors, have good, formal stock option plans with properly priced options set to reward all employees and managers in the event of a corporate sale. So, I wrote into the final distribution instructions a surprise five figure bonus for each of the five executives.

Stock Options 192

Stock Options Stock Distribution Programming 192