Tim Keane

MARCH 9, 2011

How should I finance my new venture? It’s a deceptively simple question:  what is the optimal way to finance a new startup? This seems like an easy topic – debt where there is appropriate cash flow, equity when there isn’t.  What are the reasons to choose one financing structure over another?

Finance 83

Finance Bootstrapping Startup Equity 83

ReadWriteStart

MARCH 31, 2020

Every expert agrees that VC investing faced a huge setback last year with the IPO flops of major companies such as WeWork, Uber, Slack, and Lyft as the facts show. This may probably drive entrepreneurs to alternative funding options, such as equity crowdfunding. However, things have not been all rosy in the VC market.

Technical Review 175

Technical Review Artificial Inteligence Startup Term Sheet 175

View from Seed

MARCH 24, 2021

How to Divide Founder Equity: 4 Criteria to Discuss “The first thing to remember in dividing founder equity is that equitable doesn’t mean equal … The goal should be an equitable result – one that is both fair and impartial – not exactly the same for all.” ” (Rob Go). ” (Dave Beisel).

Seed Stage 177

Seed Stage Hiring IPO Analytics 177

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2012

They don’t realize that this option would likely be their worst nightmare, since it costs millions for the road show, usually dilutes your equity to a tiny fraction, and takes away all your entrepreneurial control. IPOs in 2008, the market was up to a still trivial 159 in 2011. After a record low of 39 U.S.

Exit Strategy 239

Exit Strategy IPO Investment Bankers Entrepreneur 239

Agile VC

NOVEMBER 6, 2013

Twitter’s IPO has garnered a ton of attention in the tech and popular press. So their revenue figures, pre IPO financing and ownership, and other info is all widely available. Growth IPOs Are Back. From Google Finance. Instagram hadn’t built a true business (e.g. A couple things factor into this.

IPO 194

IPO Aggregator B2B Internet 194

Altgate

JUNE 25, 2012

—————– Dead equity — equity held by employees and founders no longer working at the company — is a large and growing problem. Facebook’s IPO minted many millionaires and even billionaires. Choe opted to forgo a cash payment “in the thousands” for the equity equivalent at the time.

Equity 44

Equity Vesting Cap Table Technical Review 44

www.startuplessonslearned.com

MAY 4, 2012

Founders Dilemmas: Equity Splits. The following is an exclusive excerpt which sets up a common pitfall regarding equity splits. In Noam’s dataset, 73% of founding teams split equity within a month of founding, a striking number given the big uncertainties early in the life of any startup. Lessons Learned. by Eric Ries.

Equity 72

Equity Founder Technical Cofounder Cofounder 72

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2011

But this mania to not miss out on the next big thing is driving some investors to pay growth-equity prices for traditional market risk (as in, they’re paying up before it is clear there is product / market fit). And this is happening in mezzanine (pre-IPO) deals as well. Or worse yet they may never get financed.

Saudi Arabia 309

Saudi Arabia Valuation IPO Technical Review 309

Altgate

AUGUST 25, 2012

—————– Dead equity — equity held by employees and founders no longer working at the company — is a large and growing problem. Facebook’s IPO minted many millionaires and even billionaires. Choe opted to forgo a cash payment “in the thousands” for the equity equivalent at the time.

Equity 28

Equity Vesting Cap Table Technical Review 28

Up and Running

NOVEMBER 12, 2014

Common exit strategies include being acquired by another company, the sale of equity, or a management or employee buyout. Initial Public Offering (IPO). If it’s not too much hassle and if your decision to liquidate is not related to finances, think instead about selling the business to the public. Who needs an exit strategy?

Exit Strategy 117

Exit Strategy Lock-up Period Merger IPO 117

www.mattbartus.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

Equity for Consultants – Keep it Simple! posted Feb 3 in Equity , People issues. for every hour works, consultant accrues [hourly wage]in debt that will convert to equity in the next round). Cooley Report Reviews Second Quarter Venture Capital Financing Trends. Blog blog archive. Quora Answers. About Matt.

Equity 40

Equity Vesting Silicon Valley Intellectual Property 40

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 12, 2010

In the technology world there are a few websites that most startups track to keep up with the latest financings, acquisitions, product announcements and gossip: BusinessInsider, TechCrunch, Mashable, GigaOm, etc. In the VC & Private Equity world there’s a small number, too, with one of the most respected being PEHub.

Seed Stage 232

Seed Stage Valuation Private Equity Venture Capital 232

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 16, 2010

So even within the “alternative class&# our LPs are looking at other asset investment choices such as distressed buyout funds, private equity or hedge funds. You invest low amounts of capital and the company gets to IPO (96-99) or trade sale (05-08) without raising too much capital and certainly not on punishing terms.

LP 311

LP Technical Review Early Stage Silicon Valley 311

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 5, 2015

I challenge any entrepreneur, for example, to define the difference between "seed-stage" and "early-stage" financing. These funders often offer convertible notes, rather than the traditional priced equity. Yet, knowing this distinction is important. Business accelerator funding.

Seed Stage 120

Seed Stage Finance Early Stage Startup 120

Gust

DECEMBER 28, 2011

In the “good old days,” angels invested in seed-stage startups and teed up promising companies for subsequent venture capital financing. If the company was successful, this quickly led to an IPO – a very happy ending for the entrepreneur, the angels, and the venture capitalists. My, my…how the world has changed.

IPO 153

IPO Venture Capital Entrepreneur Angel Investor 153

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 17, 2020

Let’s take a few minutes to examine the kind of equity financing available to small or early stage businesses. In most cases, these applicants for equity funding must be rooted in technology to apply to this limited discussion. The post When should you go for equity financing? Friends and family investors.

Equity 62

Equity Finance Liquidity Event Angel Groups 62

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 14, 2009

3) invest in and take equity stakes in exchange for capital. On top of all this it was considered very bad form not to have at least four additional consecutive quarters of profits after an IPO.) The IPO Bubble – August 1995 – March 2000 In August 1995 Netscape went public, and the world of start ups turned upside down.

Silicon Valley 223

Silicon Valley IPO Technical Review Venture Capital 223

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

And the loosening of federal monetary policies, particularly in the US, has pushed more dollars into the venture ecosystems at every stage of financing. What Has Changed in Financing? even before the pandemic itself has been fully tamed. We have global opportunities from these trends but of course also big challenges.

Pre-Money Valuation 471

Pre-Money Valuation Valuation Venture Capital Early Stage 471

Pascal's View

MARCH 18, 2010

Susan Mangiero , CEO of Investment Governance’s Fiduciary X , asked me the following: Question: Do you think than anemic IPO market will remain a deterrent to VC investing? I believe that an entire generation of American innovation is at risk as a result of the lack of IPO’s. equity markets. Yes I do. Share and Enjoy:

IPO 28

IPO Government SEC Venture Capital 28

The Equity Kicker

SEPTEMBER 27, 2013

Whilst that’s not an outrageous increase from $10.5bn from what we know of Twitter’s finances it seems pretty spicy from a multiples perspective – just north of key comps Facebook, LinkedIn and Yelp on a revenue basis at 15x the 2014 estimate of $1bn, and 65x estimated 2014 EBITDA (Facebook 36x, LinkedIn 159x).

IPO 98

IPO Valuation Stock Advertising 98

Austin Startup

NOVEMBER 6, 2017

C-Corp largely because (i) VCs have historically favored C-Corps for nuanced tax and other reasons, and (ii) virtually all of the standardized legal infrastructure around startup finance and equity compensation assumes a C-Corp. Everyone is trying to be a billion-dollar company that will eventually get acquired or go IPO.

Delaware 48

Delaware LLC Startup Silicon Valley 48

Gust

SEPTEMBER 5, 2012

How to finance a new seed-stage startup? Convertible equity? ” Ressi in particular seems to be passionate about removing the “debt” component from convertible debt seed financing transactions. .” A convertible note financing is not a loan in the conventional sense. Convertible debt?

Finance 134

Finance Convertible Security Equity Seed Stage 134

Business Plan Blog

NOVEMBER 13, 2013

The first milestone in a new startup’s financing is called ‘Seed Capital’ which refers to the initial investment raised by the founders from their friends and family, or commonly referred to as FFF (Friends, Family and Founders), who mostly use their personal assets. The return only happens when there is an exit via acquisition or an IPO.

Finance 93

Finance Accredited Investor Angel Investor Seed Capital 93

Rob Go

DECEMBER 28, 2011

And that’s true pretty much across the board – from exits, late stage financings, scaling companies, and seed activity. IPO’s/Exits. Kayak: Registered for an IPO but on hold. Raised $174M in its IPO in April, current market cap ~$550M. in its IPO, current market cap of $282M. market cap.

Technical Review 54

Technical Review Boston Software Review IPO 54

Agile VC

FEBRUARY 2, 2012

Facebook S-1: The Most Anticipated IPO in a Decade. Here’s my first look at Facebook viewed through the lens of their IPO filing. Without knowing more details about the employee equity plans, it’s unclear how much more cash of this nature could come in during 2012 or 2013. How to Evaluate Firms for a Seed VC.

IPO 100

IPO South Korea Venezuela Revenue 100

Hunter Walker

MAY 11, 2022

Think Of Your First Non-Investor Board Member As a Senior Hire, And Not Your IPO Board. Every company has a Board of Directors, whether it takes financing or not. So with a typical venture financing, a three person Board will be established (two ‘common’ seats — often the founders and one investor seat).

Startup 106

Startup IPO Finance Equity 106

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 5, 2011

They don’t realize that this option would likely be their worst nightmare, since it costs millions for the road show, usually dilutes your equity to a tiny fraction, and takes away all your entrepreneurial control. companies made the IPO transition in 2009, out of thousands of startups. Only about a dozen U.S.

Exit Strategy 235

Exit Strategy IPO Investment Bankers Entrepreneur 235

David Teten

APRIL 1, 2011

I hope that you can join us Monday night, April 4, midtown NYC, at a panel on “Innovation in Private Company Liquidity-Online Merger Markets, Social Media, Secondary Markets, Non-US Markets, Private Equity, and the Disappearing IPO” The program is sponsored by the HBS Club of New York and the HBS Angels of NY.

Private Equity 68

Private Equity Merger IPO Equity 68

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014

It’s like we need a finance 101 course for entrepreneurs. In finance they call it “terminal value” but the truth is the price is as arbitrary at your A round as it is at your seed round. I have them all the time. “But lawyers will charge much more for equity.” Maybe an IPO – who knows?

Venture Capital 417

Venture Capital Liquidation Preference Valuation Term Sheet 417

Gust

OCTOBER 25, 2014

A Venture Capital Insider Reveals How to Get from Start-up to IPO on Your Terms. Venture Capital, Private Equity, and the Financing of Entrepreneurship. Term Sheets & Valuations. A Line by Line Look at the Intricacies of Term Sheets & Valuations. Venture Deals. Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer and Venture Capitalist.

Term Sheet 132

Term Sheet Private Equity Exit Strategy Venture Capital 132

Pascal's View

AUGUST 28, 2010

6) The most efficient fuel for this IPO engine is venture capital. v) “Since 1999, over 60% of IPOs have been VC-backed. billion, followed by finance, 19 deals, and healthcare, 17 deals. Private-equity and venture capital firms have been hard hit too. Of the 85 IPOs priced so far this year, only 28 are up.

Venture Capital 56

Venture Capital America Initial Public Offering IPO 56

Growthink Blog

FEBRUARY 6, 2012

The biggest technology IPO in history has rightfully captured the imagination of both the general and investment public. As a private company, Facebook has been not obligated to disclose the exact prices at which it sold shares in its early financing rounds. The first lesson is sector. Folks, we're just getting started. read more.

Angel Investor 76

Angel Investor IPO Private Equity Early Stage 76

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 23, 2015

He wants a chance at changing life’s circumstances with building equity value that might free him and his family from the rat-race of 529 accounts, property taxes, summer-school tuitions and even spending some cash on aging parents. It will likely IPO in the coming years. He still has the dream. He has the hunger.

Technical Review 150

Technical Review Liquidation Preference Silicon Valley IP 150

Haystack

JULY 8, 2018

For employees at early-stage companies… the equity you’ve been granted is likely common stock, just like the founders. valuation, that’s sort of like a new IPO, but without the lockup period. You can read more about the types of stock granted in startups here.

Early Stage 95

Early Stage Dilution Private Equity Common Stock 95

Feld Thoughts

MARCH 14, 2018

Why do a play off the acronym IPO – call them something innocuous like “Papayas” instead. From where I sit, it seems like similar rules to selling private equity should apply to ICOs. In addition, there are some rules associated with selling public equity that should apply.

Advertising 86

Advertising SEC Private Equity Equity 86

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 29, 2009

Three reasons: There is a relative valuation between the price a VC pays and their expectations of what it will exit for in an IPO or trade sale. This came in part due to the huge influx of money into VC but also because hedge funds and private equity shops with no VC experience wanted part of the action. Short answer – yes.

Burn Rate 263

Burn Rate Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Private Equity 263

The Equity Kicker

MARCH 19, 2018

As you can see there’s been impressive growth in sub $100m exits, but the story with larger M&A exits and IPOs is less compelling. In the US companies are raising amounts of capital previously only possible through IPO with much greater frequency than they are here.

IPO 99

IPO Finance Cost Venture Capital 99