Feld Thoughts

FEBRUARY 9, 2016

Mark Suster wrote a great post yesterday titled The Resetting of the Startup Industry. Then, if you end up doing a down round, it suddenly matters a lot. Don’t worry about this too much, until you do a down round. Then use the down round to clean up your preference overhang.

Cap Table 70

Cap Table Down Round Liquidation Preference Founder 70

Steve Blank

APRIL 26, 2022

Cram downs are back – and I’m keeping a list. At the turn of the century after the dotcom crash, startup valuations plummeted, burn rates were unsustainable, and startups were quickly running out of cash. A cram down is different than a down round. Cram downs are done by VC bottom feeders.

Cram Down 404

Cram Down Founder Venture Capital Recapitalization 404

VC Cafe

MAY 29, 2022

Building on my post on ‘ Advice for startups in a downturn (May 2022 edition) ‘, this week I continued to follow with interest the impact of the current correction on startups and venture capital, particularly in early stage. Which Startup Investors Pulled Back The Most So Far In 2022? The bull market is over.

Venture Capital 183

Venture Capital Early Stage Valuation Startup 183

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 6, 2023

Now there are dozens of online equity portals, including WeFunder and Microventures , already geared up to help regular people buy equity in a startup, without qualifying as an accredited investor. Have you ever wondered what professional startup investors think about all this? Lack of checks and balances on startup valuations.

Angel Groups 201

Angel Groups Accredited Investor Due Diligence Equity 201

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 25, 2020

Now there are dozens of online equity portals, including WeFunder and Microventures , already geared up to help regular people buy equity in a startup, without qualifying as an accredited investor. Have you ever wondered what professional startup investors think about all this? Lack of checks and balances on startup valuations.

Equity 411

Equity Angel Groups Accredited Investor Due Diligence 411

YoungUpstarts

JUNE 26, 2020

by Rizwan Virk, author of “ Startup Myths and Models: What You Won’t Learn in Business School “. If you are building a startup, you’ll find no shortage of people who are willing to give you advice, particularly when it comes to raising financing. Unfortunately, most startups don’t meet their initial rosy projections.

Finance 180

Finance Silicon Valley Valuation Startup 180

crowdSPRING Blog

MAY 10, 2013

These posts and videos are about logo design , web design , startups, entrepreneurship, small business, leadership, social media, marketing, and more! 10 Myths about Startups – [link]. How a 1-Page Business Model Will – and Won’t–Help Your Lean Startup | by Kevin Dewalt – [link]. “Embrace skeptics.

Social Media 93

Social Media Small Business Design Media 93

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 29, 2010

The A round was done in February 2000 (end of the bull market) and my B round was done in April 2001 (bear market). As a result I had to do a down round. Down rounds are psychologically really difficult on companies and can make it harder to do later rounds. I eventually needed more money.

Venture Capital 282

Venture Capital Term Sheet Valuation Stock Options 282

NZ Entrepreneur

SEPTEMBER 16, 2020

No one can predict the future and it’s especially true in the startup world. The statistics show that even though most founders bet their time and resources that their startups will be the best in the world, 90% of those new startups won’t be in operation in 10-15 years. Sensitivity Analysis: “What if my assumptions are wrong?”.

Startup 69

Startup Sales Cycle Down Round Revenue 69

Feld Thoughts

APRIL 21, 2016

Also, they have a strong belief that any sign of weakness (such as a down round) will have a catastrophic impact on their culture, hiring process, and ability to retain employees. Their own ego is also a factor – will a down round signal weakness?

Marketing 70

Marketing Down Round Startup IRR 70

VC Cafe

OCTOBER 31, 2022

It’s a tough time for a lot of startup founders right now. Many companies are now having to resort to tough measures in order to stay afloat, including layoffs, down rounds and tough terms from current investors. The pressure to protect portfolio startups seen as potential fund returners will be profound.

Founder 173

Founder Technical Review Down Round Liquidation Preference 173

ithacaVC

NOVEMBER 14, 2014

I have written about startup valuations previously. If you are advising startup founders, I strongly suggest having them read all 4 of the posts to get the lay of the startup valuation land. A founder is about to raise their first round and asking me how to value their company. [1]. Here is a post from October 2012.

Valuation 69

Valuation Startup Down Round Early Stage 69

View from Seed

FEBRUARY 19, 2015

Below, he gives an honest take about what he’d do differently and what he’d do again as a startup CEO. Now that Backupify has had a nice exit and my life is in a different place, I agreed to write this post, full of my own advice based on my experience as a startup CEO. Startups are incredibly hard. Keep at it.

Founder 120

Founder Startup Cofounder Business Model 120

Hunter Walker

AUGUST 8, 2023

Our estimates were not out of line with new data from top firms like USV who, according to reports, “ marked down the value of seven of its funds by nearly 26%.” Restructures, Down Rounds, and Pay to Plays. And fascinating new advances (and needs) in AI, climate, biology, etc are driving tech-IP driven startups.

Portfolio 98

Portfolio Cap Table LP Valuation 98

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 30, 2018

I thought I’d write a post about how to talk about valuation at a startup and give you some sense of what might be on the mind of the person considering funding you. Of course, unlike cars there is no direct comparison across each startup so these are just some general guidelines to try and even the information field.

Valuation 324

Valuation Post-Money Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Cofounder 324

OnlyOnce

JANUARY 18, 2022

I won’t go deep on extending the metaphor to a bad night of blackjack, but I’m sure it has a lot in common with down rounds and ultimately things like Chapter 11. The post The Blackjack Table appeared first on The Startup CEO blog.

Down Round 62

Down Round Finance .Net Startup 62

The Equity Kicker

JANUARY 25, 2016

Startups everywhere will need to adjust their fundraising strategies and good investors will be helping them to adjust quickly – it’s much less painful that way. However severe our current situation is, I’m sure there will be plenty of short term negatives, including more job losses, company failures and down rounds.

Venture Capital 60

Venture Capital Angel Investor Startup Participating Preferred 60

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2011

New investors hate down rounds. For others it feels like a two-speed economy, where rules apply to hot tech startups that don’t apply elsewhere. They will enter the “triage phase&# of the market where they figure out which of their existing deals will survive. Many good companies will not get funded.

Saudi Arabia 309

Saudi Arabia Valuation IPO Technical Review 309

VC Cafe

SEPTEMBER 26, 2022

The past year was a wild ride for startups and founders, giving a whole new meaning to the ”rollercoaster” aspect of being an entrepreneur. A combination of competition for top talent and an effort to bring employees back to the office drove startups in Israel to throw extravagant parties and all-inclusive retreats abroad.

Founder 187

Founder Startup Valuation Pre-Money Valuation 187

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014

And now I have to explain to team that they’re taking more dilution than they expected if we do a down round. A down round? Startup Lessons' Raising lower seems kind of like something is wrong. Me: More dilution? I thought it was a convertible note with a cap? We never thought about it.

Venture Capital 417

Venture Capital Liquidation Preference Valuation Term Sheet 417

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 8, 2016

Much has changed in the past four months of the technology startup world and how outsiders value the business. Don’t assume that you can “just do a down round” if necessary. Down rounds are corrosive. The days of easy money may be slowing down. Insiders hate them and fight them.

Burn Rate 150

Burn Rate Cap Table Dilution Balance Sheet 150

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 20, 2016

At least ten online portals are already gearing up to help regular people buy startup equity, without abiding by accredited investor rules. Have you ever wondered what professional startup investors think about all this? Lack of checks and balances on startup valuations. Investors cannot verify accountability or governance.

Angel Groups 136

Angel Groups Accredited Investor Equity Due Diligence 136

Berkonomics

AUGUST 3, 2023

Some businesses require very little capital and the founder can self-finance the enterprise and retain 100% of its ownership and control from ignition through liquidity event (startup through sale). And even with the significant cost of credit card debt, many entrepreneurs aggressively use existing cards to finance a startup.

Private Equity 118

Private Equity Valuation Cap Table Accredited Investor 118

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 2, 2009

For those of you who have been following the discussion, a Lean Startup is Eric Ries ’s description of the intersection of Customer Development , Agile Development and if available, open platforms and open source. Over its lifetime a Lean Startup may spend less money than a traditional startup. Lets see why.

Lean 244

Lean Silicon Valley Startup RSS 244

This is going to be BIG.

AUGUST 21, 2023

At 43, I’m pretty darn proud of that and you might think that’s pretty fast—but if I equate that into startup terms, no one would fund me at that pace. That’s why down rounds exist. The highest statistical likelihood for any startup is that no one gets a payout—because hard things are hard. of people in that race.

Cap Table 78

Cap Table Term Sheet Database Option Pool 78

VC Cafe

FEBRUARY 27, 2024

A founder asked me what makes a $2M round “pre-seed”? especially if the startup already has a product and revenue? And why do we still sometimes hear about pre-seed rounds that look more like a series A in pricing and size? Defining the pre-seed round It’s futile to look for ‘one true’ definition.

Valuation 186

Valuation Generative AI Software Review Technical Review 186

Ben's Blog

JULY 16, 2013

If you run a startup and are currently raising money, you probably planned for a somewhat different fundraising environment than the one you find yourself in today. When you go to fundraise, you will need to consider the possibility of a valuation lower than the valuation of your last round, i.e., the dreaded down round.

Down Round 78

Down Round Marketing Preferred Stock Post-Money Valuation 78

For Entrepreneurs

APRIL 7, 2011

Introduction This post aims to help startup CEOs optimize their funding strategy by examining how investors value startups, and explaining how to avoid the common cash management pitfalls. Note: The concepts in this post will likely be obvious to experienced CEOs and entrepreneurs.

Finance 167

Finance Startup Cost Entrepreneur 167

The Equity Kicker

MARCH 24, 2015

YC’s Sam Altman explained why in a post last year: Startups are usually a pass-fail course — either you succeed or you don’t. And don’t forget the prime directive of fundraising strategy: set things up so that you never do a down round. Startup general interest' We think about valuation the same way.

Valuation 60

Valuation Down Round Dilution Venture Capital 60

ithacaVC

FEBRUARY 1, 2018

It is highly typical for a startup to have small investors on its cap table. The treatment of the friends, family and angels (FFA) as the startup matures and raises larger rounds of financing over time is interesting. Startups often get stuck, restart, pivot/change/move, etc., So not very good odds.

Preemptive Right 45

Preemptive Right Cap Table Valuation Dilution 45

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 14, 2010

This clause attempts to protect the conversion price of stock of angel investors, prior to additional financing, from being reduced to a price equal to the price per share paid in a later “down” round. Tags: entrepreneur startup angel investment term sheet business. But some dilution is almost inevitable. Right of first refusal.

Term Sheet 227

Term Sheet Pre-Money Valuation Due Diligence Post-Money Valuation 227

Berkonomics

MARCH 5, 2020

Here we expand the definitions a bit to encompass businesses that are still early stage, but perhaps beyond startup. And fifth: Competitive risk. . You may recognize these five as a slight variation on the “Berkus Method” which is often published and used by investors when valuing pre-revenue businesses.

Valuation 62

Valuation Down Round Early Stage Demand 62

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 4, 2016

” There are a lot of data points that one can observer to get a sense of the venture capital markets – both LP fundings into venture and VC financings of startups. Let’s start with the money slide: 10 years ago there was about the same money pouring into VC as found its way into startups but in the past two years 2.5

LP 150

LP Valuation Burn Rate Pre-Money Valuation 150

Lightspeed Venture Partners

OCTOBER 7, 2012

As Cuban pointed out, this is a “down round” Zomm is seeking $2M for 10% of the company, implying an $18M pre money valuation today. Some partial answers came up, including spending on a new version of the product with additional features, and excessively high inventories relative to actual sales in holiday 2011.

Technical Review 110

Technical Review Technical Cofounder Valuation Pre-Money Valuation 110

The Equity Kicker

JANUARY 22, 2014

You fall into the spiral of death: head of sales gets replaced (at least once), CEO gets replaced (at least once), a down-round financing happens (if lucky). Startup general interest Venture Capital' Investors who paid up for your financing are not happy. It’s counter-intuitive, but too much money can kill a company.

Venture Capital 102

Venture Capital Down Round Valuation Lean 102

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 27, 2012

This clause attempts to protect the conversion price of stock of Angel investors, prior to additional financing, from being reduced to a price equal to the price per share paid in a later “down” round. But some dilution is almost inevitable. Right of first refusal.

Term Sheet 223

Term Sheet Pre-Money Valuation Due Diligence Post-Money Valuation 223

The Equity Kicker

NOVEMBER 20, 2015

So the share price has been trending down for some time before popping after the IPO. The interesting question for me is what this means for startup valuations more generally. I say that because investors in the $6bn round in Square have still made money on the deal.

IPO 60

IPO Matching Ratchet Valuation 60