Berkonomics

JANUARY 28, 2021

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve walked away from deals where the entrepreneur insists on a start-up pre-money valuation that is so high, no angel could expect to make a return upon the investment, even with a reasonable sales price for the company down the road. The post Don’t get hung up on early stage valuation.

Early Stage 62

Early Stage Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Cofounder 62

The Startup Magazine

SEPTEMBER 12, 2019

While the rewards may be a boon to their company in the short term, the consequences of accepting outside funding too early can be debilitating. There’s a reason why I refer to early-stage VC funding as vulture capital, and to be honest it’s pretty accurate. Money in Exchange for Control. It certainly was for us.

Early Stage 85

Early Stage Venture Capital Bootstrapping Pre-Money Valuation 85

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. ValuatIon should be a function of value, not ego. Kawasaki’s Law of Pre-Money Valuation: for every full-time engineer, add $500,000; for every full-time M.B.A.,

Founder 187

Founder Startup Valuation Pre-Money Valuation 187

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 19, 2017

That’s because obtaining a pre-money valuation for a concept level technology company in excess of $1 million is difficult, particularly for a startup founder without a proven track record. Background: Adam Carlson is a serial entrepreneur who has successfully raised private capital at three different technology startups.

Private Equity 94

Private Equity Pre-Money Valuation Equity Startup 94

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 23, 2014

pre-money valuation you certainly would want to exercise your right to continue investing if you had prorata rights. Because this is all VCs do and if we intend to work with all of our fellow VCs and entrepreneurs when the rain ends and the sun shines again our reputations matter greatly.

Technical Review 398

Technical Review Venture Capital Valuation Pre-Money Valuation 398

ReadWriteStart

OCTOBER 7, 2010

Before I do, however, I want to talk about a thumb rule that I'd like to propose to entrepreneurs about raising money. Bottom line, early stage equity is very, very expensive. As a thumb rule, try to get enough validation so that you can get to at least a $2 million pre-money valuation before raising equity capital.

Valuation 119

Valuation Silicon Valley Pre-Money Valuation Bootstrapping 119

David Teten

SEPTEMBER 16, 2014

Angel investors are generally former entrepreneurs and/or executives, who invest in privately-held, early-stage companies. Villalobos & Payne: “Startup Pre-Money Valuation: The Keystone to Return on Investment” 117. Angels are likely to lose some or all of their money on any given investment.

Angel Investor 114

Angel Investor Technical Review Venture Capital Pre-Money Valuation 114

Gust

JULY 23, 2014

So, putting all that together, to get a pitch meeting with me, an entrepreneur would probably have the best result with the following strategy: Read up on the kinds of investments I make, and the kinds of opportunities I am seeking. Invested Interests Power Pitches angel investor business David Rose entrepreneur meeting pitch startup'

Angel Investor 153

Angel Investor Elevator Pitch Pre-Money Valuation Technical Review 153

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 15, 2016

This has led VC & entrepreneur bloggers alike to similar conclusions: start raising capital early and be careful about having too high of a burn rate because that lessens the amount of runway you have until you need more cash. I’m surprised how few entrepreneurs have this open conversation with their investors.

Burn Rate 150

Burn Rate Cap Table Valuation Software Review 150

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 26, 2012

Once you have a potential investor excited about your team, your product, and your company, the investor will inevitably ask “What is your company’s valuation?” Many entrepreneurs stumble at this point, losing the deal or most of their ownership, by having no answer, saying “make me an offer,” or quoting an exorbitant number.

Valuation 270

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation NPV Intellectual Property 270

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 27, 2014

I believe the middle isn’t being “gutted” but rather is being supplemented by “opportunity funds” and “growth funds” that sit side-by-side “core funds” allowing the firms to stay small and nimble while still being able to grab prorata rights of their best early-stage investments.

Valuation 309

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Later Stage Non-Compete 309

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2011

Once you have a potential investor excited about your team, your product, and your company, the investor will inevitably ask “What is your company’s valuation?” Many entrepreneurs stumble at this point, losing the deal or most of their ownership, by having no answer, saying “make me an offer,” or quoting an exorbitant number.

Pre-Money Valuation 246

Pre-Money Valuation Valuation NPV Intellectual Property 246

Berkonomics

JANUARY 7, 2021

Think of startups and early stage businesses whose entrepreneurs you know. One: The entrepreneur. First, there is the entrepreneur , the visionary, and force behind the venture from start to finish. Reward for early risk. It starts with sharing the opportunity and upside. Two: Co-management.

Liquidity Event 96

Liquidity Event Pre-Money Valuation Cofounder Initial Public Offering 96

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2015

In the old days VCs funded off of a “pre-money” valuation. If you add the pre-money valuation (let’s say $8 million) to the amount of money you’re raising (let’s say $2 million) you get the post-money valuation. It’s very simple. No problem.

Pre-Money Valuation 150

Pre-Money Valuation Option Pool Post-Money Valuation Dilution 150

Agile VC

MAY 26, 2011

I also joke with Reid Hoffman that this was back in the days before he was “Reid” Reid’s an incredible entrepreneur, startup investor, and human being. It’s truly a privilege to have known him for more than a decade as my mentor, boss, and friend going back to the early PayPal days. It was a $4.7M

Term Sheet 178

Term Sheet Silicon Valley Technical Review Social Network 178

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 6, 2010

Once you have a potential investor excited about your team, your product, and your company, the investor will inevitably ask “What is your company’s valuation?” Many entrepreneurs stumble at this point, losing the deal or most of their ownership, by having no answer, playing coy, or quoting an exorbitant number. Marty Zwilling.

Valuation 234

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation NPV Startup 234

Gust

NOVEMBER 18, 2012

Once you have a potential investor excited about your team, your product, and your company, the investor will inevitably ask “What is your company’s valuation?” Many entrepreneurs stumble at this point, losing the deal or most of their ownership, by having no answer, saying “make me an offer,” or quoting an exorbitant number.

Valuation 187

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation NPV Intellectual Property 187

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 18, 2016

As an entrepreneur looking for professional investors, one of the quickest ways to lose credibility and get rejected is to start with a ridiculously high pre-money valuation. Equally bad is professing no valuation estimate at all, asking investors to “make me an offer.”

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Startup 120

YoungUpstarts

SEPTEMBER 4, 2017

For startup founders and CEO’s it’s also just as common to see them place too much focus on the amount of money raised, and the pre-money valuation, rather than the value that each investor can bring to the table. Entrepreneurs, business owners, senior managers at large corporations.

Pre-Money Valuation 187

Pre-Money Valuation Seed Stage IP Deal Flow 187

Hippoland

AUGUST 31, 2018

A few months ago, I was talking with a friend of mine who is a successful serial entrepreneur. So, I thought it might make sense to take a step back and talk about all the stages of early stage fundraising here in the Silicon Valley. And there’s a huge difference in valuation. This was surprising to me.

Pre-Money Valuation 90

Pre-Money Valuation Valuation Silicon Valley Early Stage 90

Gust

OCTOBER 12, 2011

During the summer of 2010, I developed a workshop, A New ACEF Valuation Workshop for Angels and Entrepreneurs. To provide some reference points, I surveyed thirteen angels groups in North American to determine their recent experience in negotiating the pre-money valuation of pre-revenue companies.

Angel Groups 125

Angel Groups Valuation Pre-Money Valuation St. Louis 125

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 17, 2011

This conversation seems to come up very frequently these days both with portfolio companies and with entrepreneurs just looking for mentorship. I like to tell entrepreneurs that the “fairway&# of fund raising is 25-33% per round. million and you’re an early stage business this is probably a fair deal.

Pre-Money Valuation 303

Pre-Money Valuation Dilution Valuation PR 303

View from Seed

OCTOBER 21, 2014

As the seed-stage startup fundraise process has received more transparency in recent years, ranging from published advice on how to raise seed capital to increased availability through AngelList, Funders Club, and various accelerator programs, I’ve noticed another trend emerging. Lower-Than-Market Value. Above-Market Value.

Valuation 336

Valuation Founder Seed Stage Angel Investor 336

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 30, 2018

One of the hardest things about the fund-raising process for entrepreneurs is that you’re trying to raise money from people who have “asymmetric information.” As an entrepreneur it can feel as intimidating as going to buy a car where the dealer knows the price of every make & model of a car and you’re guessing at how much to pay.

Valuation 324

Valuation Post-Money Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Cofounder 324

Tim Keane

JANUARY 12, 2010

Term-sheets and Valuations: Thinking about Negotiations. Please see later version of this post on May 16, 2010 Entrepreneurs are often not experts in the area of term-sheet negotiations and all of the surrounding issues.   Investors sometimes “present” the terms they’d like and expect the entrepreneurs to react.

Term Sheet 68

Term Sheet Valuation Dividend Liquidation Preference 68

Hippoland

AUGUST 31, 2018

A few months ago, I was talking with a friend of mine who is a successful serial entrepreneur. So, I thought it might make sense to take a step back and talk about all the stages of early stage fundraising here in the Silicon Valley. And there’s a huge difference in valuation. This was surprising to me.

Pre-Money Valuation 48

Pre-Money Valuation Valuation Silicon Valley Early Stage 48

BeyondVC

APRIL 12, 2005

Therefore, it remains quite difficult for the larger funds to dole out money in $2-4 million chunks, and the valuations are quite attractive at this stage. Considering that I am an early stage VC, I will have to play the later part of the barbell with personal investments in the public markets.

LBO 60

LBO Pre-Money Valuation Technical Review Software Review 60

Gust

OCTOBER 21, 2011

This week we move on to something near and dear to the hearts of entrepreneurs and investors alike: The exit, more formally known as a “ liquidity event.” Entrepreneurs generally don’t ask for this kind of language, but most sophisticated investors will insist on it in one form or another.

Finance 79

Finance Pre-Money Valuation Term Sheet Liquidity Event 79

Gust

OCTOBER 20, 2011

In 2011, the valuation of pre-revenue, start-up companies is typically in the range of $1.5–$2.5 million and is established by negotiations between the entrepreneur and the angel investors. Such comparisons can only be made for companies at the same stage of development, in this case, for pre-revenue startup ventures.

Valuation 146

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Intellectual Property Technical Review 146

K9 Ventures

MARCH 23, 2011

Obviously, both the founders and the note holders have the common objective of getting the company funded; but assuming the company is fundable, there is a basic misalignment of incentives when it comes to valuation. The typical fix for this problem is to put in a cap in the note for the pre-money price for conversion.

Pre-Money Valuation 132

Pre-Money Valuation Valuation Equity Liquidation Preference 132

Feld Thoughts

JULY 14, 2015

But instead of adding it on to the note or doing an equity round with a price, which could still be an early stage price but below the cap, they make the argument that since the company couldn’t raise a round, the company is worthless. So the new investment gets 60%, the founders get 39.9%, and the $1m of seed money gets 0.1%.

Recapitalization 70

Recapitalization Pre-Money Valuation Post-Money Valuation Angel Investor 70

Gust

OCTOBER 12, 2011

Particularly when there are multiple closings taking place over a period of months, the fuse burns awfully quickly on a 12-month note given the many competing priorities of early stage entrepreneurs. First, a word about the maturity date.

Finance 107

Finance Term Sheet Pre-Money Valuation Early Stage 107

Professor VC

JANUARY 17, 2008

I think the title of this post is a TV show, but fitting as there has been much debate in the venture community as to the whether angel investors are good or bad for entrepreneurs and VCs. One group charges entrepreneurs "an administrative fee" to present to the group. Touched by an Angel.

Pre-Money Valuation 28

Pre-Money Valuation Angel Investor Angel Groups Valuation 28

Rob Go

AUGUST 29, 2016

When I first started out as a VC nearly 9 years ago, most early stage company valuations were expressed as pre-money valuations. That is, the valuation of the company prior to the investment of new capital. Today, nearly all early stage term sheets I see are expressed as post-money valuations.

Post-Money Valuation 52

Post-Money Valuation Valuation Cap Table Term Sheet 52

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 5, 2012

My initial reaction to Adeo when we spoke was that while it may have solved some issues (debt versus equity) it didn’t solve the ones that I’ve been warning entrepreneurs about most loudly. A standard entrepreneur retort I heard back then (2008-09) was “I don’t know what my company is worth now.

Ratchet 354

Ratchet Liquidation Preference Equity Stock 354

David Teten

NOVEMBER 15, 2013

I have frequently heard the expression from other investors, “We can put a lot of money to work here.” This is the psychology that drives VCs to load up a company with more capital, rationalizing that $5m at a $20m pre-money valuation is little different than $10m at a $40m pre-money valuation.

Management 114

Management Pre-Money Valuation Venture Capital New Hampshire 114

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 4, 2016

Originally created in the mid 1990’s to help with the imprecise problem of how to value early stage companies, especially those in technology, I developed what soon became known as “The Berkus Method” when published in the popular book, “Winning Angels” by Harvard’s Amis and Stevenson with my permission in 2001.

Valuation 48

Valuation North Carolina Oklahoma City Silicon Valley 48