This is going to be BIG.

SEPTEMBER 30, 2012

How would they know unless they surveyed a critical mass of startups all at the same stage now and then three years ago or so to compare? David's firm most recently participated in the $77 million second round financing of SoFi, a one year old startup focusing on student loans. Needless to say, he's having some trouble raising.

Venture Capital 114

Venture Capital Marketing Term Sheet Software Review 114

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 6, 2011

Many believe that entrepreneurs are born, not made. While I agree that successful company builders usually have a natural inclination to be entrepreneurs, a good education helps polish that apple. We can all point to examples of successful entrepreneurs who dropped out of college, but still went on to make a big impact.

Entrepreneur 264

Entrepreneur Seed Money Social Network Business Plan 264

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 14, 2014

If you knew entrepreneur Marquis Hayes 10 years ago, you would barely recognize him today. But he chose to move forward with a positive attitude, raise seed money for his company, and network his way to a profitable future. Here are six things you can do to make your startup look attractive to potential investors: 1.

Bootstrapping 249

Bootstrapping Startup Seed Money New York 249

Gust

JANUARY 13, 2013

Many believe that entrepreneurs are born, not made. While I agree that successful company builders usually have a natural inclination to be entrepreneurs, a good education helps polish that apple. We can all point to examples of successful entrepreneurs who dropped out of college, but still went on to make a big impact.

Entrepreneur 180

Entrepreneur Seed Money Social Network Business Plan 180

cdixon.org

SEPTEMBER 17, 2011

Why you shouldn’t keep your startup idea secret. A frequent question entrepreneurs have when they are just starting their company is: how secretive should I be about my idea? This includes investors, entrepreneurs, people who work in similar areas, friends, people on the street, the bartender, etc. (I Eric Stromberg.

Stealth 68

Stealth Startup NDA Cofounder 68

Version One Ventures

DECEMBER 14, 2016

At the same time, seed money is still abundant due to the proliferation of micro VC over the past few years. Mattermark (a portfolio company) looked at the matriculation rates for a class of startups. Mattermark found that, on average, around 31 of the initial startups raised a Series A. Looking ahead to 2017.

Technical Review 60

Technical Review Early Stage Portfolio Valuation 60

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2011

By John Williams Fast Company magazine recently reported that PayPal founder Paul Thiel is giving away $100,000 to twenty-four young men and women to finance startup businesses. The caveat is that these young entrepreneurs have to drop out of college to do it. Your mortgage and grocery bill depend on it.

Sweat Equity 231

Sweat Equity Startup Angel Investor Seed Money 231

BeyondVC

SEPTEMBER 29, 2011

Increasingly I am seeing many startups who were ably seed funded get caught in "No Man's Land" between the seed round and a true Series A round led by a venture capitalist. This is happening because there are way too many companies raising seed capital but not enough executing their way to a Series A.

Seed Capital 133

Seed Capital Angel Investor Seed Money Startup 133

BeyondVC

SEPTEMBER 29, 2011

Increasingly I am seeing many startups who were ably seed funded get caught in "No Man's Land" between the seed round and a true Series A round led by a venture capitalist. This is happening because there are way too many companies raising seed capital but not enough executing their way to a Series A.

Seed Capital 133

Seed Capital Angel Investor Seed Money Startup 133

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 12, 2010

Many believe that entrepreneurs are born, not made. While I agree that successful company builders usually have a natural inclination to be entrepreneurs, a good education helps polish that apple. We can all point to examples of successful entrepreneurs who dropped out of college, but still went on to make a big impact.

Seed Money 225

Seed Money Social Network Networking Business Plan 225

Berkonomics

OCTOBER 15, 2015

Let me tell you a few short hair-raising stories of entrepreneurs who have raised money and regretted it later. Here are some rules that entrepreneurs almost always ignore to their future peril. There’s a common expectation among entrepreneurs that seed money from family is great – letting close relatives in at the ground floor.

Valuation 48

Valuation Startup Seed Money Early Stage 48

Startup Lessons Learned

MAY 31, 2019

He’ll be speaking at this year’s Lean Startup Conference , and also has a new book (for which I very happily wrote a short foreword) coming out next month: Secrets of Sand Hill Road: Venture Capital and How to Get It. You've seen how venture capital works from both sides--as an entrepreneur and a venture capitalist.

Lean 108

Lean Venture Capital Conversion IPO 108

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 28, 2010

One of the most difficult things to do as a first time entrepreneur is to get to know the investors you might be working with if you accept money. He got into the industry through the same traits required for entrepreneurs – persistence & resiliency. Venture Financings we Discussed.

San Francisco 230

San Francisco Los Angeles Cofounder SMS 230

VC Adventure

APRIL 23, 2012

There’s been plenty of chatter over the past few years about the potential pitfalls for entrepreneurs taking seed money from VCs. But by essentially ignoring these seed companies some investors are showing them that perhaps they’re not the value added VC that they claimed to be. I find this pretty amusing.

Institutional Investors 93

Institutional Investors Seed Money Finance Entrepreneur 93

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 1, 2010

I’ve done 4 seed investments in the past year and they are 100% referenceable. Many firms do it in a way that can be more detrimental to entrepreneurs. I think the issue was mostly framed initially by Chris Dixon in his article The Problem with Taking Seed Money from Big VC s.

Post-Money Valuation 298

Post-Money Valuation Term Sheet Warrant Partner 298

VC Adventure

APRIL 23, 2012

There’s been plenty of chatter over the past few years about the potential pitfalls for entrepreneurs taking seed money from VCs. But by essentially ignoring these seed companies some investors are showing them that perhaps they’re not the value added VC that they claimed to be. I find this pretty amusing.

Institutional Investors 48

Institutional Investors Seed Money Finance Entrepreneur 48

Rob Go

MARCH 20, 2013

What are some common-sense tips for startups as they seek to avoid the “ Trough of Sorrow ” that Brian Balfour has blogged about? There really aren’t many easy answers – honestly, most startups face some sort of trough of sorrow. Find good financing partners. Rob Go] This is a great question!

Bootstrapping 46

Bootstrapping Finance Dividend Vesting 46

Version One Ventures

JANUARY 28, 2013

With headlines declaring that more than 1,000 seeded startups will soon be orphaned, it’s only natural that startups are concerned about the future funding landscape. Seed financing grew from 89 fundings in Q1 2009 to more than 500 in Q3 2012. I recently had lunch with an entrepreneur who asked what he should do.

Burn Rate 140

Burn Rate San Francisco Vesting Finance 140

www.businessinsider.com

SEPTEMBER 6, 2012

Your Money. Heres What That Led To Explosive Growth For Chinese And Indian Entrepreneurs. Heres What That Led To Explosive Growth For Chinese And Indian Entrepreneurs. Top Startup Advisor Paul Graham Just Warned Against Taking Googles Money. Paul Graham is warning startups against "lowball offers.".

Silicon Valley 54

Silicon Valley Startup Valuation Venture Capital 54

pandodaily.com

NOVEMBER 29, 2012

Essentially, we got here by entrepreneurs having too much of a good thing. The number of seed and angel investors has exploded in recent years, buoyed up by a number of factors. Essentially they became micro-VCs, still investing at the seed level but with much greater resources behind them. A name like 500 Startups says it all.

Technical Review 93

Technical Review Silicon Valley Incubator Syria 93