Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 25, 2010

When I first read Paul Graham’s blog post on “High Resolution&# Financing I read it as a treatise arguing that convertible notes are better than equity. I talked about this in my social proof post where I gave some suggestions about how to get the early guys off of the fence. Photo credit: D. and not a min.

Finance 286

Finance Term Sheet Technical Review Warrant 286

Gust

DECEMBER 1, 2011

When meeting with early stage entrepreneurs for the first time, after reviewing a demo or hearing their pitch, I often ask them to articulate what they’re most focused on building. What: The foundational corporate formation, governance, equity issuance and intellectual property assignment documents. What is a startup really?

IP 114

IP Intellectual Property Equity Liquidity Event 114

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 21, 2010

You never got around to agreeing exact equity splits but you had many conversations about it. Shame about not getting it in legal writing that you owned the original IP. They want to lock in future clients at an early stage. I write about some of the lessons in my post on Startup Mistakes. Our lives are intertwined.

Southern California 318

Southern California Silicon Valley IP Stock Options 318

NZ Entrepreneur

SEPTEMBER 29, 2021

Both of these liquidity options are about seeing the venture on to its next stage of value creation, while enabling those very early stage investors to recover their capital to deploy in the next generation of startup companies. This equity will vest over 2-3 years. 0.75% for directors and 1-2% for the chair.

Technical Review 88

Technical Review Software Review New Zealand Due Diligence 88

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 14, 2011

And while there are currently there are seven incubators under the program, including Neoteny Labs and Plug and Play , the effort to boost the pool of investors and incubators should see more early-stage, high-tech startup companies in Singapore get nurtured. ” The flow is not limited to money as well. Ongoing Challenges.

Singapore 198

Singapore Technical Review Technology Incubator 198

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 20, 2018

Why are you so strongly sold on royalty licensing as the most effective way to finance a tech-based early stage company? 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 ?

IP 54

IP Intellectual Property Investment Bankers Product 54

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 20, 2018

Why are you so strongly sold on royalty licensing as the most effective way to finance a tech-based early stage company? 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 ?

IP 48

IP Intellectual Property Investment Bankers Product 48

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

Plus, most early-stage M&A fails so this isn’t likely a good use of capital for a young company). So money spent should add equity value or create IP that eventually will. We want a strong balance sheet (um, ok. but that’s our firm’s money on your balance sheet.

Burn Rate 383

Burn Rate Balance Sheet .Net Valuation 383

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 17, 2019

years we have generated $533 million in cash proceeds (more expected by year end) and that has come by having early conviction, following our winners, maintaining ownership and being patient, long-term capital partners. Defensible IP becomes insanely valuable?—?particularly Over the past 2.5 particularly as you achieve scale.

IP 223

IP Intellectual Property IRR Cofounder 223

www.greenhornconnect.com

OCTOBER 3, 2011

1) You and your partners have developed IP critical to your business. Intellectual property is the most valuable asset most startups possess, so it is crucial that the startup, not the founders, own IP developed for the business. 2) You’re hiring employees. are not met. 4) You’re ready to raise money. in Forex Brokers.

IP 40

IP Intellectual Property Limited Liability Company Boston 40

Austin Startup

AUGUST 20, 2017

Early stage startups have to survive one day at a time and are often presented with limited choices of the moment that enable them to continue. At early stages you probably don’t have an assembly line and can’t clearly define any particular job. But, later on they often wish they had the ability to erase many of them.

Technical Review 48

Technical Review Software Review Cap Table Securities and Exchange Commission 48

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014

“But lawyers will charge much more for equity.” Try doing THAT with equity. I have never come across a sophisticated A, B or C round venture capitalist who thinks convertible notes are a smart move for entrepreneur or investor. And so forth. ” Not in my experience. A few M&A transactions. Employment.

Venture Capital 417

Venture Capital Liquidation Preference Valuation Term Sheet 417

YoungUpstarts

APRIL 18, 2019

But early-stage startup founders can’t think this way, because when immediate goals are unrealistic or unachievable, a startup is bound to crash and burn. Sure, IP and patents are the marks of a company with great value—but that’s only true when they’re associated with the right people. This isn’t something we talk about enough.

Cofounder 127

Cofounder Startup Private Equity Equity 127

mashable.com

OCTOBER 16, 2010

All of this is according to Paul Graham, co-founder of the early-stage investment fund Ycombinator. We are coaching VCs and Angel Investors everyday who call us wanting to understand our Early Stage LPO versus late stage IPO approach to business. SCVNGR Makes Major Enhancements to iP.

Angel Investor 84

Angel Investor Venture Capital Social Media Technical Review 84

mashable.com

OCTOBER 16, 2010

All of this is according to Paul Graham, co-founder of the early-stage investment fund Ycombinator. We are coaching VCs and Angel Investors everyday who call us wanting to understand our Early Stage LPO versus late stage IPO approach to business. SCVNGR Makes Major Enhancements to iP.

Angel Investor 83

Angel Investor Venture Capital Social Media Technical Review 83

infochachkie.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

Instead of hearing from your long lost third-cousin, you will be inundated with an avalanche of ‘congratulatory’ emails, calls and letters from people who want to relieve you of the burden of your hard-earned equity round. Many such ‘congratulations’ will come from consultants. Their story, market positioning, products, etc. Pyramid Power.

Equity 40

Equity Silicon Valley Cofounder Technical Review 40

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2015

” Today I want to talk about how a VC thinks about equity pricing on your round and particularly if you’re coming off of a convertible note. In the old days there usually weren’t convertible notes on early-stage deals and there weren’t party rounds with 20 angels or 6 seed funds. It’s very simple.

Pre-Money Valuation 150

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

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 10, 2010

Michael is a very accomplished corporate executive in his own right having run Sega Gameworks and helped IPO EuroDisney as well as having been on the founding team of DreamWorks SKG (where he helped them raise their first $900 million in equity). Shame they didn’t like his suggested name for the company: DreamWorks SKG-MM.

IPO 242

IPO Venture Capital Private Placement Cofounder 242

Scalable Startup

MARCH 7, 2012

Investor groups are cutting out the management, bus dev, sales, and marketing professionals, trying to get raw, young engineering teams that have never negotiated a term sheet to give away their IP rights and equity for next to nothing. Some of these projects will produce amazing companies.

Software Review 26

Software Review Technical Review Los Angeles Due Diligence 26

Gust

SEPTEMBER 17, 2014

They only people I have heard promoting them tend to be super early stage investors or accelerators and often when I talk to them about the structure they’ve never given much thought beyond “they’re easier,” “they’re cheaper” or “it’s faster to raise this way” none of which is actually true. Try doing THAT with equity.

Liquidation Preference 153

Liquidation Preference Valuation Term Sheet Stock 153

Early Growth Financial Services

JUNE 11, 2015

They’ll want to know what’s unique about your IP and … Continue reading → They are interested in whether or not your business solves a problem. In terms of investing criteria, they also want to get a read on the quality of your management team including: backgrounds, domain expertise, track record, and how cohesive you are.

Angel Investor 28

Angel Investor IP Early Stage Finance 28

Tim Keane

JANUARY 12, 2010

The investors and the entrepreneurs are – or should be – aware that the price of the company’s equity is set by the market – in simplest terms, what an informed buyer is willing to pay.   Note that this applies only to earl stage Series A-type equity financings and assumes no cash dividends are paid to investors.

Term Sheet 68

Term Sheet Valuation Dividend Liquidation Preference 68

www.readwriteweb.com

OCTOBER 7, 2007

But when done well it can really help get a company going fast, professionally and without the founders having to give up much (if any) equity - or bankrupting themselves. The founders may believe they are onto such a good idea that they don’t want to give up any equity. To keep the equity we out-sourced.

Bootstrapping 41

Bootstrapping Offshore Startup EC2 41

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 5, 2011

Chris Devore & Andy Sack have created Founder’s Coop with the goal of funding, incubating & launching more early-stage ventures in Seattle. I see this emerging in Seattle and the passion of “a few key individuals&# who can help shift the game. They’re doing stuff – just not enough. Elder Statesmen.

Seattle 317

Seattle Silicon Valley Technical Review Los Angeles 317

www.metamorphblog.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

Here’s how the pitch sounds from the engineer’s perspective: ‘For ten whole percent of equity, you will slave away to build a prototype out of my shitty idea, not have any say in the decision-making process…and oh yeah, you could be fired at any point.’ Date for a bit, then split the equity. Remember that.

Founder 51

Founder Startup Cofounder Vesting 51

Up and Running

MARCH 16, 2016

According to Pitchbook, the data and technology provider for the global private equity and venture capital markets, the year’s total for this region was a record $2.4 Madrona focuses its efforts on funding early-stage companies, especially ones that they determine to have the potential to innovate and disrupt markets.

Southern California 60

Southern California Silicon Valley Venture Capital Early Stage 60

maplebutter.com

JANUARY 8, 2013

When it comes to early stage investing – it’s all gut. Does it make sense to spend this time speaking about your early stage start-up when your product has not even entered Alpha testing? Typically its way more important to build product, and pull in early users to give you that feedback vs. speaking about it.

Technical Review 44

Technical Review Startup Cofounder Software Review 44

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 15, 2020

On the one hand, I do think that there's a role for basically high risk tolerance faster, like early stage investment mentality and research and academia. Before venture, equity financing was seen as a pretty unfriendly business. These corporate raiders, and these leverage buyouts and this private equity hatchet bin.

Technical Review 68

Technical Review Software Review Finance Technology 68

www.currentlyobsessed.com

MAY 28, 2010

It hardly deserves any attention at all in the early stages. The net effect was more money raised, higher valuation and the same percentage of equity sold. For some closing thoughts, I’ll just add that: Valuation tends to be too much of a focus for most early stage companies.

Valuation 42

Valuation Channel Pre-Money Valuation Term Sheet 42

Steve Blank

MAY 4, 2009

My way of explaining our support and service role to the marketing department was that: Sales is the sharp end of the stick, and marketing at best, is the stick. But while the sales team works for commission, the rest of the employees have equity (stock) in the company. No one was confused after that. Who’s on the Sharp End?

Silicon Valley 127

Silicon Valley RSS Non-Compete California 127

www.vccafe.com

MARCH 11, 2013

VC Cafe covers early stage Israeli and European tech & mobile startups. IP Location Tools. YCombinator Series AA Equity Financing Documents. Seed Stage Valuation Guide. Founder Equity Issues. Venture Hacks equity section. Legal, Equity, etc. VC & Startup Resources. Seed Startups.

Software Review 53

Software Review Technical Review Startup 53