Mucker Lab

AUGUST 27, 2014

As an entrepreneur himself, founding and operating printed circuit board factories in Taiwan, my father was debating between two places to immigrate to and build his next new venture: Los Angeles (“The Valley” aka San Fernando Valley) and Santa Clara (“Silicon Valley”).

Los Angeles 138

Los Angeles Southern California Silicon Valley Technical Review 138

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

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 26, 2021

Every entrepreneur seeking funding loves the challenge of getting customers and investors excited, but dreads the thought of negotiating the terms of a deal with potential investors. On the other hand, when negotiating a financing for your company, you should never present your term sheet first.

Term Sheet 328

Term Sheet Bootstrapping Finance Startup 328

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2012

A few angel investors have slipped or fallen from their lofty perch, so entrepreneurs must take great care to validate the character and reputation of every prospective investor. Many entrepreneurs believe all money is created equal. If the term sheet process turns to pure torture, it may be time to respectfully bow out.

Angel Investor 281

Angel Investor Term Sheet Entrepreneur Due Diligence 281

View from Seed

MAY 17, 2019

There are two distinct chapters to venture fundraising – the first is entrepreneurs pitching their startup to multiple firms to generate interest and ultimately secure a term sheet; then, the period after a term sheet has been signed progressing to close.

Term Sheet 149

Term Sheet Reputation Security Conversion 149

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

View from Seed

MAY 31, 2023

A couple of years later, as reported by the Harvard Business Review in 2011 , a survey of ~500 entrepreneurs in the UK found that serial founders frequently refrain from learning from their failures to minimize the psychological impact. Do not conflate your identity with the failure of your business.”

Silicon Valley 156

Silicon Valley Cofounder Term Sheet Founder 156

Diego Basch

FEBRUARY 28, 2012

It’s one of the big nightmares of an entrepreneur: Big Company shows interest in Startup. We could have insisted on a term sheet, even though term sheets are non-binding. I believe the startup should have pushed for the term sheet as soon as possible. Acquisition talks go well.

Term Sheet 56

Term Sheet Redemption Acquisition Reputation 56

The Next Web

SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

Many Asian entrepreneurs tell me that they want to raise funds from Silicon Valley firms because they perceive the valuations to be higher. Asia’s entrepreneurs and investors have a much longer history of being scrappy and building massive businesses with very little upfront resources, because capital has always been so scarce.

Asia 132

Asia Silicon Valley India Term Sheet 132

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 26, 2012

Every entrepreneur seeking funding loves the challenge of getting customers and investors excited, but dreads the thought of negotiating the terms of a deal with potential investors. On the other hand, when negotiating a financing for your company, you should never present your term sheet first.

Entrepreneur 248

Entrepreneur Term Sheet Finance Bootstrapping 248

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 21, 2010

I recently read a post over on VentureHacks titled, “ Top Ten Reasons Entrepreneurs Hate Lawyers &# written by Scott Walker (who blogs on legal issues for entrepreneurs ). Because many great entrepreneurs work with lawyers in registering their companies they have their ear to the pavement on the earliest of company formations.

Southern California 318

Southern California Silicon Valley IP Stock Options 318

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 26, 2013

A few angel investors have slipped or fallen from their lofty perch, so entrepreneurs must take great care to validate the character and reputation of every prospective investor. Many entrepreneurs believe all money is created equal. If the term sheet process turns to pure torture, it may be time to respectfully bow out.

Angel Investor 263

Angel Investor Term Sheet Due Diligence Early Stage 263

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 17, 2019

Image via Pixabay Every entrepreneur seeking funding loves the challenge of getting customers and investors excited, but dreads the thought of negotiating the terms of a deal with potential investors. On the other hand, when negotiating a financing for your company, you should never present your term sheet first.

Term Sheet 201

Term Sheet Bootstrapping Finance Reputation 201

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 3, 2010

A few angel investors have slipped or fallen from their lofty perch, so entrepreneurs must take great care to validate the character and reputation of every prospective investor. Many entrepreneurs believe all money is created equal. If the term sheet process turns to pure torture, it may be time to respectfully bow out.

Angel Investor 244

Angel Investor Term Sheet Due Diligence Early Stage 244

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 4, 2013

Every entrepreneur seeking funding loves the challenge of getting customers and investors excited, but dreads the thought of negotiating the terms of a deal with potential investors. On the other hand, when negotiating a financing for your company, you should never present your term sheet first. Marty Zwilling.

Term Sheet 246

Term Sheet Bootstrapping Finance Reputation 246

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 29, 2010

This is part of my series on what makes an entrepreneur successful. I originally posted it on VentureHacks , one of my favorite websites for entrepreneurs. I started the series talking about what I consider the most important attribute of an entrepreneur : Tenacity. Entrepreneurs play to win and they take losing seriously.

Entrepreneur 296

Entrepreneur Silicon Valley Term Sheet France 296

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 20, 2017

Every entrepreneur seeking funding loves the challenge of getting customers and investors excited, but dreads the thought of negotiating the terms of a deal with potential investors. On the other hand, when negotiating a financing for your company, you should never present your term sheet first.

Search 146

Search Term Sheet Bootstrapping Finance 146

View from Seed

MARCH 12, 2015

So how can entrepreneurs do research on us VCs? Yes, sometimes these are generalities about how we back talented entrepreneurs building great companies, but taking a look at a VC’s portfolio can tell you a lot about the types of companies in which they invest. Here are four key areas to consider. or “Who are your LPs?”.

Term Sheet 120

Term Sheet Cofounder SEC Portfolio 120

abovethecrowd.com

APRIL 20, 2016

Many modern entrepreneurs have limited exposure to the notion of failure or layoffs because it has been so long since these things were common in the industry. The Sharks Arrive With Dirty Term Sheets. The typical Silicon Valley term sheet does not include such terms. Who are the Sharks?

IPO 40

IPO Term Sheet Silicon Valley Valuation 40

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 18, 2012

It’s what life was like as an entrepreneur. But this is nothing like the stress of being an entrepreneur. What’s it really like being an entrepreneur? You probably follow some high-profile entrepreneurs on Instagram and Twitter and see conference pictures of them in Davos, Mexico, Monaco or wherever.

Monaco 420

Monaco Cofounder Chicago Mexico 420

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 26, 2011

For any entrepreneur, these super-mentors are one of the secret weapons that can make a difference: answering difficult questions, making key introductions, or offering sage advice. And reading a term sheet has all the entertainment value of watching dried paint get even drier. It is not a how-to manual or a collection of tips.

Antidilution 148

Antidilution Term Sheet Silicon Valley Widget 148

View from Seed

MAY 12, 2015

For entrepreneurs setting out to raise a round of VC financing, with some diligent research, it’s reasonably straightforward to put together a list of target firms to pitch. ultimately, a term sheet) when pitching any given firm? Always take into account an individual VC’s reputation. Always consider tenure at the firm.

Partner 120

Partner Term Sheet Reputation Deal Flow 120

mashable.com

JUNE 11, 2013

Lucky for you, time-strapped entrepreneur, weve gathered some tips from the pros to help you avoid some of the most common, game-ending mistakes committed by young startups. But dont underestimate the importance of achieving a basic threshold of "this looks good (and reputable)." As an entrepreneur, theres a lot going on.

Cofounder 111

Cofounder Technical Review Startup Software Review 111

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 3, 2010

I know many super experienced entrepreneurs who don’t understand the basics of how fund size and age can affect them so I thought it was worth establishing a baseline. I believe these VC funds have suffered some amount of reputation fall out. We used the Y Combinator open source term sheet. Let me explain: 1.

Venture Capital 265

Venture Capital Term Sheet Early Stage Silicon Valley 265

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 1, 2011

Every entrepreneur seeking funding loves the challenge of getting customers and investors excited, but dreads the thought of negotiating the terms of a deal with potential investors. On the other hand, when negotiating a financing for your company, you should never present your term sheet first.

Term Sheet 232

Term Sheet Bootstrapping Finance Startup 232

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 27, 2012

Then there is the EIR (entrepreneur in residence) who is usually at a VC for a temporary period of time and other individuals such as venture partners or operating partners. While this post is written about raising venture capital (which I always remind entrepreneurs IS a sales process) the lessons can be applied to any sale or biz dev deal.

Partner 308

Partner Term Sheet Sales Portfolio 308

This is going to be BIG.

SEPTEMBER 1, 2010

Sure, if you’re Jack Dorsey, creator of Twitter, you can dictate your terms, but last I checked, most of the entrepreneurs First Round and most of the seed stage firms back don’t have that same kind of track record. I think the entrepreneurs were just happy to close and move on to building great companies.

Equity 104

Equity Term Sheet Seed Stage Angel Investor 104

SoCal CTO

JULY 13, 2010

How-to learn about angel/vc term sheets - Gabriel Weinberg , June 28, 2010 I think every startup entrepreneur (and angel investor) should have a good understanding of financing term sheets. You’re Not a Real Entrepreneur - Steve Blank , June 10, 2010 Who is an entrepreneur really? Let's see why.

Cofounder 175

Cofounder Technical Cofounder Term Sheet Startup 175

David Teten

SEPTEMBER 6, 2015

There is a possibility that Amex may explore acquisitions within the Amex Ventures portfolio, but those discussions will be on market terms similar to those with other potential acquirers.”. Entrepreneurs today expect more than just capital from their investors. Corporate VC networks extend beyond their own parent companies.

Venture Capital 60

Venture Capital Balance Sheet Technical Review Portfolio 60

www.vccafe.com

MARCH 11, 2013

A group of Seedcamp entrepreneurs started a startup tools wiki for that purpose, and we thought it would be well suited here. WSGR Term Sheet Generator. Orrick, Herrington Term Sheet Generator. Founders Institute Plain Preferred Term Sheet â?? List of Angel/SuperAngel Investors for entrepreneurs.

Software Review 53

Software Review Technical Review Startup 53

Hunter Walker

OCTOBER 13, 2019

Part of being an insider meant you needed to be trusted by entrepreneurs with early looks at their businesses. And if your reputation’s present value was the sum total of all future startups brought to you, well, putting that dealflow at risk was an expensive proposition.

Portfolio 57

Portfolio Term Sheet Seed Stage Vertical 57

Feld Thoughts

JULY 14, 2015

The term sheet converts all the convertible debt into a post-money valuation of $100, essentially making the convertible debt worthless. In some cases this turned into nothing, but in a few cases it had magnificent outcomes for me and my gang, along with the entrepreneurs. So they recapitalize the company.

Recapitalization 70

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

Gust

OCTOBER 2, 2014

It’s what life was like as an entrepreneur. But this is nothing like the stress of being an entrepreneur. What’s it really like being an entrepreneur? You probably follow some high-profile entrepreneurs on Instagram and Twitter and see conference pictures of them in Davos, Mexico, Monaco or wherever. And so it goes again.

Monaco 122

Monaco Cofounder Chicago Mexico 122

This is going to be BIG.

NOVEMBER 11, 2013

It''s more often the case that founders are repeat entrepreneurs on the west coast. While I believe that personal branding is important for everyone, especially entrepreneurs and investors, I''m really bothered by the credence people put into a deal being "hot", especially given my own personal experience with "hotness".

Columbus 112

Columbus Venture Capital Viral Term Sheet 112

Genuine VC

MARCH 25, 2010

I had coffee with an entrepreneur friend the other day who is in the early stages of putting a company together, and he recounted how his informal conversations with a venture capitalist had quickly escalated into a full partner pitch in just a few weeks. Make connections to people who will be able to improve your business in some way.

Early Stage 123

Early Stage Venture Capital Term Sheet Conversion 123

Rob Go

AUGUST 9, 2016

I’m often surprised that entrepreneurs don’t do the same with anywhere near the same intensity and diligence. Entrepreneurs are typically only choosing one lead investor and board member per round. The best approach is to do your own research and reach out to the entrepreneur directly. This is not always easy to do.

Term Sheet 28

Term Sheet Due Diligence Lead Investor Portfolio 28

Genuine VC

MARCH 25, 2010

I had coffee with an entrepreneur friend the other day who is in the early stages of putting a company together, and he recounted how his informal conversations with a venture capitalist had quickly escalated into a full partner pitch in just a few weeks. Make connections to people who will be able to improve your business in some way.

Early Stage 121

Early Stage Venture Capital Term Sheet Conversion 121