Hippoland

AUGUST 9, 2016

One question that seed investors love to ask is if you have a lead investor in your seed round. I’ve written before about what every entrepreneur needs to clarify when answering this question. But once you figure out why an investor is asking, tactically speaking, what do you do?

Lead Investor 48

Lead Investor Term Sheet Due Diligence Convertible Security 48

Hearpreneur

AUGUST 27, 2023

We asked entrepreneurs and business owners about how they create the space to think, strategize and grow their organizations. This person conducts regular one-on-one meetings with the chairman and lead investor. Here are the responses. #1- Thanks to Thomas Samuels, Cardinal Expo ! #7-

Entrepreneur 106

Entrepreneur Australia Lead Investor Management 106

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 7, 2013

And I had been telling my partners for a couple of years that I thought Ethan was one of the more talented entrepreneurs I had come across in San Francisco. I told Ethan on the spot that I wanted to be the lead investor in his new company. We like to be able to see the concept.

Southern California 359

Southern California San Francisco CTO Hire SEM 359

ReadWriteStart

FEBRUARY 19, 2020

The government creates programs to help entrepreneurs. In 2012, the national government created the programs iNNpulsa and apps.co, both promote innovation , business, and technological developments in Colombia by providing funds and coaching programs to promising entrepreneurs. Ayenda Rooms.

Colombia 146

Colombia America Technical Review Startup 146

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 26, 2013

When my co-founders and I got the company scalable and repeatable, we hired an operating executive as the CEO and returned a billion dollars to each of our two lead investors. Now when I listen to entrepreneurs who’ve cratered a company, I listen for their stories of failure and redemption. Lessons Learned.

Redemption 330

Redemption Cofounder Silicon Valley Burn Rate 330

View from Seed

FEBRUARY 26, 2020

In previous blog posts I’ve written about the two main approaches to building a seed round syndicate – the subscription method (where an entrepreneur presets a structure with a convertible note or SAFE and recruits investors who subscribe to the round, all without a term-driving lead investor) and a term-driving lead investor approach.

Syndicate 257

Syndicate Syndication Lead Investor Venture Capital 257

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

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 12, 2017

No entrepreneur wants to think that their business won’t last, but as they burn cash in the developing years they need to consider future implications — particularly funding. During the audit process, the company needs to address the risk that it may not be able to continue as a “going concern.”

San Francisco 133

San Francisco Forecast Early Stage Term Sheet 133

View from Seed

JANUARY 27, 2021

We believe that this fund is the perfect size for us to be the best possible partners to early-stage entrepreneurs today. Investors take chances when they invest in seed stage companies, but founders take a profoundly larger chance when selecting a lead investor or board member for their company.

LP 411

LP Early Stage Seed Stage Venture Capital 411

Gust

SEPTEMBER 27, 2014

To begin with, it is important to understand some basic facts about the world of entrepreneurial finance: There are many more entrepreneurs than there are investors, with the result that only one company out of every 400 that seeks venture funding actually receives it.

Angel Groups 159

Angel Groups Elevator Pitch Software Review Deal Flow 159

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 26, 2013

When my co-founders and I got the company scalable and repeatable, we hired an operating executive as the CEO and returned a billion dollars to each of our two lead investors. Now when I listen to entrepreneurs who’ve cratered a company, I listen for their stories of failure and redemption. Lessons Learned.

Redemption 222

Redemption Cofounder Silicon Valley Burn Rate 222

YoungUpstarts

MAY 1, 2020

Money is constantly on the mind of any entrepreneur: how to raise it, where to invest it, and how to make more of it. Given that mindset, it’s only natural that most entrepreneurs jump at the first chance they get to secure early-stage startup funding. by Ash Rust , founder and managing partner of Sterling Road.

Early Stage 165

Early Stage Security Angel Investor Lead Investor 165

Rob Go

SEPTEMBER 4, 2018

Lead investors are few. Leads that are true force-multipliers are exceedingly rare. Although seed funding has exploded since we started Nextview, we continue to hear the refrain from founders that there are tons of investors that will pile-in on a round that is coming together, but that lead investors are few and far between.

North America 36

North America Seed Stage Early Stage Lead Investor 36

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 7, 2015

One of my favorite entrepreneur-Twitterer weighed in, “You want to keep tapping into their collective intelligence so you keep saying ‘Thank you for the feedback’ and they keep sending it,” Ms. million from more than 30 investors. We tell them very explicitly, they should prefer a small number of investors,”. Morrill said.

Cap Table 150

Cap Table Cofounder Silicon Valley Startup 150

This is going to be BIG.

MAY 17, 2012

That means investors are going to buy that much of your company at a time. It means lead investors can get to 10, 15 or 20% ownership depending on whatever math they have that makes their own success model work. More often, its probably closer to 25%, but since this is a blog post, I'll try to look more entrepreneur friendly.

Venture Capital 116

Venture Capital Framework Dilution Equity 116

View from Seed

FEBRUARY 23, 2021

The classic scenario is when a VC has a signed term sheet to lead a round, but has left room open for another meaningful investor. At this point, the investor and the entrepreneur work together to develop their perfect list of potential partners, and then do targeted outreach to try to bring this investor into the round.

Syndicate 207

Syndicate Syndication Term Sheet Cofounder 207

Berkonomics

JANUARY 25, 2024

Entrepreneurs will have a relative willing to devote time, a school friend with business experience, professionals who charge for the service, investors with a reason to promote your success and more.

SBA 62

SBA Warrant Stock Options Vesting 62

Lightspeed Venture Partners

APRIL 12, 2016

He studied physics and materials engineering at Harvard and MIT and received his MBA from Harvard Business School; so, Alex combines a deep technical background with terrific business and consumer sensibilities, as well as a passion for helping entrepreneurs build their dreams into reality. As a team, the next ten will be even better.

Technical Cofounder 60

Technical Cofounder Cofounder SCRUM Committed Capital 60

Pascal's View

JULY 9, 2017

Andrew Krowne and I recently co-wrote an article in Tech Crunch , Why SAFE Notes Are Not Safe for Entrepreneurs. At its core, this issue points to the lack of understanding about the importance of post-money valuation by both entrepreneurs and investors.

Post-Money Valuation 49

Post-Money Valuation Valuation Cap Table Covenant 49

The Next Web

DECEMBER 4, 2012

We not only want to work with great engineers, but also enable them to make the jump from developer to entrepreneur.” million , with its most recent round coming earlier this summer, with the lead investor being iNovia Capital. ” Dare to take the risk, but with a bit of comfort? To date, AppDirect has raised $11.75

Incubator 119

Incubator Engineer Developer San Francisco 119

Scott Edward Walker

AUGUST 9, 2013

To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our weekly series “ Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.” Each week, we share a favorite video of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of topics. This week, we present Mike Hirshland , the founder of Resolute Ventures and a very smart investor.

Seed Stage 53

Seed Stage Entrepreneur Dilution Valuation 53

David Teten

MARCH 31, 2012

I’m exceptionally excited to announce that I’m now Chairman and lead investor with some other angels in a new company, Spright Governance Inc. I spoke with a range of Singaporean entrepreneurs, many who felt that the U.S. (An aerial view of Parliament House in Singapore. Photo credit: Wikipedia).

Government 154

Government Singapore New York City Non-Compete 154

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 18, 2017

The opening keynote session will define directions on Aligning the Role of Government Policymakers, Incumbent Banks, FinTech Innovators, Investors, Multilateral Agencies, MNOs and the Private Sector to Create a Dynamic Ecosystem for FinTech in Africa.

Africa 62

Africa Ethiopia Elevator Pitch Technical Review 62

Hippoland

APRIL 9, 2017

Winning over investors is not just about showing traction / progress (although that is a big component to getting investors onboard). Fundamentally, investors have to trust you in order to invest in you. And, I think most investors will give entrepreneurs the benefit of the doubt…until they cannot.

Cofounder 48

Cofounder Early Stage Software Review Naming 48

View from Seed

JANUARY 11, 2021

As high-conviction, seed stage investors, we are inherently relationship-driven, and we value meeting exceptional founders face-to-face. With the onset of COVID-19, we, along with the broader ecosystem of venture capitalists and entrepreneurs, have been pushed to rapidly adapt, forge connections, and do our jobs remotely.

Venture Capital 350

Venture Capital Cofounder Early Stage Seed Stage 350

The Next Web

JUNE 6, 2014

Whilst exact details remain unclear, Tech City declared that companies on the program have access to a team of leading investors, accounting firms and business leaders for ongoing advice and support. . Entrepreneur Europe Insider Analysis and Opinion' This story continues at The Next Web.

United Kingdom 141

United Kingdom Europe IPO Early Stage 141

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 29, 2016

Most entrepreneurs I know are so passionate about their new idea that they are surprised when family and friends don’t line up to invest in their new venture. Yet they tend to ignore this problem, and move on quickly to professional investors. Talking loudly is not enough. Outline the financial options and ask for the close.

Elevator Pitch 151

Elevator Pitch Exit Strategy Angel Investor Equity 151

View from Seed

JANUARY 7, 2020

About a year ago, my partner David Beisel talked about how seed fundraising is no longer a local game , and that the best entrepreneurs seek out the best investors for them outside of their home market. That being said, it’s much easier to put a seed round together when you have a local lead who can help catalyze the round.

New York 207

New York Boston Marketing Aggregator 207

www.xconomy.com

JUNE 9, 2012

Coats says they each had spent more than a decade in venture investing at that time, and agreed that the process of funding new companies had become “way too time-consuming” for entrepreneurs and most VCs. Morgan Stanley was a lead investor,” Coats deadpans, “and we had to start fund-raising all over again.”

San Diego 40

San Diego Venture Capital Technical Review San Francisco 40

This is going to be BIG.

FEBRUARY 27, 2011

This is where your business starts to incur real costs—but it’s also where entrepreneurs don’t like to be short term “sellers” of their equity. They’re hesitant to raise money—selling equity to investors—when things look great.

Dilution 104

Dilution Equity Hiring Partner 104

View from Seed

DECEMBER 6, 2018

So learning which investors are comfortable with concept stage pre-seed vs post-product seed vs small Series A vs big “momentum” A is an important part of qualifying potential investors. Investors love to maintain optionality for investing in the future if a startup does really well. When “Too Early” Isn’t a “No”.

Seed Stage 120

Seed Stage Early Stage Differentiation Lead Investor 120

Hunter Walker

DECEMBER 30, 2022

Not for competitive reasons (I don’t believe) but because they are primarily trying to help a startup find a lead investor, and we used to be that for them, but now rarely lead seed rounds. Side note: I did get ghosted by an entrepreneur on a potential personal angel deal and that stung (bee pun!)

Cap Table 67

Cap Table Venture Capital Cofounder Portfolio 67

Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 10, 2022

It is not uncommon for a sharp investor to discover a “stinky” clause or two in such agreements when reading them in preparation for signing. Bill Payne came across just such a stinky clause in a deal we both were joining as investors late in the process. Can you change a deal if not the lead investor?

Lead Investor 62

Lead Investor Hiring Email Entrepreneur 62

View from Seed

OCTOBER 21, 2014

In short, more and more entrepreneurs are signaling their price expectations earlier in their seed fundraise process. In theory, there are three levels of pricing for an entrepreneur to potentially signal to a prospective investor: 1. Or, in the case of a convertible note, they’ll explicitly state a valuation cap.

Valuation 336

Valuation Founder Seed Stage Angel Investor 336

A Crowded Space

OCTOBER 3, 2018

Very shortly after I joined, Greg Gretsch (now my partner at Jackson Square Ventures) co-led oDesk’s Series A along with Venky Ganesan (partner at Menlo Ventures and lead investor in Rev.com). Realistically for entrepreneurs, no matter how hard you try, you’re going to make hiring mistakes.

San Francisco 60

San Francisco Bangladesh Ukraine Philippines 60

YFS Magazine

OCTOBER 10, 2017

I use to think that transparency was overrated — not because I didn’t want to be open, but because I didn’t believe much value could come from it.

Entrepreneur 109

Entrepreneur Lead Investor Developer Leadership 109

reidhoffman.org

NOVEMBER 12, 2013

. × At Greylock , my partners and I are driven by one guiding mission: always help entrepreneurs. It doesn’t matter whether an entrepreneur is in our portfolio, whether we’re considering an investment, or whether we’re casually meeting for the first time. Entrepreneurs often ask me for help with their pitch decks.

Entrepreneur 111

Entrepreneur Revenue Viral Networking 111