Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 5, 2018

Reading the NY Times article “ Jeffrey Katzenberg Raises $1 Billion for Short-Form Video Venture, ” I realized it was time for a new startup heuristic: the amount of customer discovery and product-market fit you need to find is inversely proportional to the amount and availability of risk capital. It’s the antithesis of the Lean Startup.

Lean 335

Lean Burn Rate Startup IPO 335

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 29, 2018

Cash flow is a basic survival metric for every startup. Yet it always amazes me that I can find two different startups, seemingly working on the same problem, with one having a burn rate several times higher than the other. They understand startup realities. Desperate entrepreneurs lose their leverage and die young.

Burn Rate 223

Burn Rate Hockey Stick Startup Salary 223

Steve Blank

JUNE 27, 2017

As more and more companies face disruption from globalization, new technology, and startups that have more capital than the incumbents, the continuing cry from Wall Street investors is, “Why can’t companies be as innovative as startups?”. Here’s one reason why: Startups can do anything. Startups can do anything.

Startup 282

Startup New York City Valuation Distribution 282

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 11, 2023

These investments are a tremendous help to your startup because they will serve as a stepping stone to reach your target eventually. Some return value must be offered to the investors for startup seed funding to be considered acceptable. When considered, “seed funding” describes the initial sums of funds a startup raises.

Seed Stage 148

Seed Stage Technical Review Early Stage Due Diligence 148

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2020

Cash flow is a basic survival metric for every startup. Yet it always amazes me that I can find two different startups, seemingly working on the same problem, with one having a burn rate several times higher than the other. They understand startup realities. Desperate entrepreneurs lose their leverage and die young.

Burn Rate 310

Burn Rate Hockey Stick Salary Angel Investor 310

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 8, 2019

Personal loans from individuals, employees and board members. As in any company, they can lead to employee problems, or messy legal issues. This could work to get you legal or accounting services, but won’t get you cash to pay employee salaries. Personal loans are certainly an option, but should be avoided if possible.

Equity 235

Equity Angel Investor Technical Review Exit Strategy 235

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 22, 2012

I think I’ve read Paul Graham’s post on “ Startup = Growth ” three or four times now. “The growth of a successful startup usually has three phases: There’s an initial period of slow or no growth while the startup tries to figure out what it’s doing. I talked about some of that here.

Silicon Valley 390

Silicon Valley Venture Capital Startup Technical Review 390

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 11, 2022

Personal loans from individuals, employees and board members. As in any company, they can lead to employee problems, or messy legal issues. This could work to get you legal or accounting services, but won’t get you cash to pay employee salaries. Personal loans are certainly an option, but should be avoided if possible.

Angel Investor 327

Angel Investor Equity Technical Review Exit Strategy 327

Steve Blank

APRIL 23, 2014

For decades large companies have gone shopping in Silicon Valley for startups. What can companies learn from others’ failed efforts to integrate startups into large companies? The answer - there are two types of integration strategies, and they depend on where the startup is in its lifecycle. The Innovation Portfolio.

Acquisition 332

Acquisition Intellectual Property Silicon Valley Startup 332

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

Nearly every successful tech startup I’ve observed over the past 20 years has gone through a similar growth pattern: Innovate, systematize then scale operations. Innovate In the early years of a startup there is a lot of kinetic energy of enthusiastic innovators looking to launch a product that changes how an industry works.

Operations 286

Operations New York City Technical Review Startup 286

Steve Blank

JULY 11, 2017

After the director left, I must have looked pretty surprised as the CFO explained, “We have tens of thousands of employees, and at the rate we’re growing it’s almost impossible to keep up with our space needs in the Bay Area. By coincidence, the CEO was an intern at one of my startups more than two decades ago.) Adult Supervision.

Part-Time VPE 314

Part-Time VPE Liquidity Event Stock Engineer 314

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 6, 2016

I even prefer to fund entrepreneurs who have experience some level of set-backs in their careers or startups because I think it brings a humility to decision-making that I find healthy. You also ran the risk that if you hired employees quickly and then demand wasn’t as strong as expected it was incredibility hard to fire people.

South Korea 261

South Korea Silicon Valley Los Angeles Japan 261

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 30, 2022

Every business owner and entrepreneur I meet in my consulting rounds dreams of finding that “ disruptive ” innovation that will supercharge their business and move it into the ranks of business unicorns (billion-dollar valuations), such as SpaceX and Apple. Before you act, shut up and listen to employees, customers, and futurists.

Technical Review 252

Technical Review Silicon Valley Software Review Metrics 252

Hunter Walker

DECEMBER 13, 2020

If things are going great, you still may get a lower valuation or smaller round. You’re spending much of your time selling: the vision to employees, the opportunity to investors, the story to the press, the offering to the customers, the relationship to partners. How does this harm occur?

Technical Cofounder 145

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Startup Matching 145

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?” How much is NewCo worth to investors at this point (pre-money valuation)? This is the most concrete valuation element, usually called the asset approach.

Valuation 270

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation NPV Intellectual Property 270

ReadWriteStart

JANUARY 13, 2024

Startups in the cybersecurity sector are facing a daunting market environment , contending with decreased valuations and increasing pressure to sell while competing for vital funding and collaborations.

Down Round 154

Down Round Marketing Artificial Inteligence Startup 154

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 14, 2016

Cash flow is a basic survival metric for every startup. Yet it always amazes me that I can find two different startups, seemingly working on the same problem, with one having a burn rate several times higher than the other. They understand startup realities. Desperate entrepreneurs lose their leverage and die young.

Burn Rate 120

Burn Rate Hockey Stick Startup Salary 120

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 19, 2017

Capital investments are like gasoline on a startup business’s metaphorical fire. If you’re like most startup CEOs, your startup has been your personal fiefdom and baby. Background: Justin Klemm’s analytics and website uptime startup, Ghost Inspector , wants to revolutionize the way businesses manage their ecommerce funnels.

Private Equity 94

Private Equity Pre-Money Valuation Equity Startup 94

Steve Blank

MARCH 17, 2020

With the Covid-19 virus a worldwide pandemic, if you’re leading any startup or small business, you have to be asking yourself, “What’s Plan B? Large companies are sending employees to work at home. If you’re running a startup or small business, your first priority (after your family) is keeping your employees and customers safe.

Burn Rate 436

Burn Rate Startup Valuation Sales Cycle 436

Hunter Walker

SEPTEMBER 3, 2023

Holiday weekend here in the US means links for you to read Playing Different (Stupider) Games The Other End Of The Valuation Stick [Kyle Harrison, Contrary Capital] – Kyle puts out a new essay (almost) every Saturday and I really enjoy his consistent and clear eyed POV on venture capital.

Technical Cofounder 79

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Coder Canada 79

VC Cafe

FEBRUARY 26, 2023

” – Marc Andreessen In the book “ Super Founders “, author Ali Tamaseb, studied 200 Unicorns, aka startups valued at over $1 billion, started between 2005 to 2018. They should be able to identify a gap in the market that their product can fill, and be able to communicate this to investors and employees.

Founder 89

Founder Cofounder Seed Stage Valuation 89

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 4, 2016

The number of startups rose in 2015 for the first time in five years, with the largest year-over-year increase in two decades. Who would not want to joint the unicorns (recent startups with a current valuation of over $1 billion)? Rounding out the team with employees and freelancers.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Startup Angel Groups Social Media 120

Haystack

DECEMBER 29, 2018

It’s that time of year, time to look back and reflect on the most significant storylines in the tech, startup, and VC world. And, with that warning, I offer to you, the big stories in the startup and investing ecosystem of 2018, written in ascending order of importance and magnitude…. 6/ Venture Capital In Expansion Phase.

Technical Review 165

Technical Review Venture Capital Russia China 165

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2015

For early-stage startups, the goodwill component can easily exceed the size of all the financial elements together, or can just as easily mark a company with good financials as not investable. For startups, the entrepreneur and founder is almost always the face of the company. Performance accountability processes.

Leadership 120

Leadership Technical Review Due Diligence Valuation 120

ReadWriteStart

JULY 15, 2020

Startup founders are trying to figure out how to fundraise through a pandemic and economic crash. New talk of capital efficiency is gratifying, but there was another lesson from pre-COVID-19 valuation struggles. Venture capitalists and early-stage investors have told all of us, founders are critical to a startup’s valuation.

Valuation 91

Valuation South Carolina San Jose Balance Sheet 91

Steve Blank

APRIL 26, 2022

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. They offered desperate founders more cash but insisted on new terms, rewriting all the old stock agreements that previous investors and employees had. They’re Back.

Cram Down 408

Cram Down Founder Venture Capital Recapitalization 408

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 15, 2022

There are many benefits of selling your startup through a mergers and acquisitions advisor. In many cases, your advisor will identify key employees and create a business plan to help you find a buyer and negotiate the best price possible. Identifying key employees. Source: Pixabay. Creating a business plan.

Merger 158

Merger Acquisition Due Diligence Valuation 158

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 21, 2021

When you see startups like SpaceX and Pinterest grow from a low valuation to a billion dollars in just a few years, it’s easy to assume that if you just keep doing what you are doing, you can get there as well.

Merger 379

Merger Due Diligence SEC IPO 379

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 15, 2015

Personal loans from individuals, employees and board members. As in any company, they can lead to employee problems, or messy legal issues. This could work to get you legal or accounting services, but won’t get you cash to pay employee salaries. donation equity grant investment non-profit philantropy startup'

Angel Investor 120

Angel Investor Equity Technical Review Exit Strategy 120

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 14, 2020

Non-credible funding request or unreasonable valuation. Future unproven projections don’t set today’s valuation. Being first to market is not a strong competitive argument for startups, since larger existing players can easily overrun this position. Investors are looking to buy a chunk of the business, not the product.

Due Diligence 308

Due Diligence Intellectual Property Preferred Stock Startup 308

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?” How much is NewCo worth to investors at this point (pre-money valuation)? This is the most concrete valuation element, usually called the asset approach.

Valuation 234

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation NPV Startup 234

Tim Keane

JANUARY 12, 2010

Startups and angels: Along the way to success. Term-sheets and Valuations: Thinking about Negotiations. The Valuation Question. When companies seeking their first round of serious funding are good enough to receive a term-sheet from an investor, the first issue that always arises is valuation. Let’s start at the end.

Term Sheet 68

Term Sheet Valuation Dividend Liquidation Preference 68

ReadWriteStart

JULY 2, 2022

Since most startups in 2022 are going online, you need to think about starting your business on the Internet. A startup on online platforms is an excellent idea for those who like flexible working hours and complete control over their income. Before preparing to launch for a startup, consider the following factors: Expertise.

Cost 140

Cost Software Review Technical Review Cloud 140

YoungUpstarts

MARCH 11, 2015

With the daily demands of running a business along with the financial pressures and challenges inherent in early-stage companies, a business valuation may not be the first thing an entrepreneur thinks of when he awakes each morning. When does a startup company need a business valuation?

Valuation 100

Valuation Stock Options CPA Merger 100

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 5, 2014

Cashflow is a basic survival metric for every startup. Yet it always amazes me that I can find two different startups, seemingly working on the same problem, with one having a burn rate several times higher than the other. They understand startup realities. Desperate entrepreneurs lose their leverage and die young.

Burn Rate 262

Burn Rate Hockey Stick Entrepreneur Salary 262

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 25, 2023

Every startup dreams of achieving that milestone, when they can focus more on scaling the business and enjoying their earnings, rather than fighting for another investment infusion. Should they focus on increasing revenues and profitability, or entice more and more users with “free” services, to increase their valuation.

Valuation 235

Valuation Revenue Viral Retention 235

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?” How much is NewCo worth to investors at this point (pre-money valuation)? This is the most concrete valuation element, usually called the asset approach.

Valuation 187

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation NPV Intellectual Property 187