VC Cafe

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

Traditional brands, namely eCommerce/luxury fashion and CPG brands are trying to figure out how to get in the action. It takes a LOT of courage to say no to potential revenue, especially in the very early stages of a startup. Revenue in Q2 2021 was up 127% to $454.1m. . million to 42.1 billion to 9.7

Technical Review 178

Technical Review South Korea Due Diligence IP 178

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2013

Don’t expect them to believe your $100M revenue projection, if you are still waiting for the first revenue dollar. Get a real customer and real revenue. Funding for pre-revenue startups used to be the domain of angel investors, but they have moved up-stage. Only real results count. Attract a well-rounded team.

Intellectual Property 281

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Sweat Equity CTO Hire 281

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 8, 2023

Most entrepreneurs have found by now one or more of the many popular crowdfunding sites , and have the name and contact information for at least one of the big venture capital firms. Here are eight key insights that will help you find a productive match: Angels want equity ownership, not causes.

Venture Capital 265

Venture Capital Accredited Investor Syndicate Syndication 265

Steve Blank

MARCH 16, 2016

Risk capital takes equity (stock ownership) in your company instead of debt (loans) in exchange for cash. Founders can now access the largest pool of risk capital that ever existed –in the form of Private Equity (Angel Investors, family offices , Venture Capitalists (VC’s) and Hedge Funds.). If so, how is the revenue measured?

Liquidity Event 120

Liquidity Event Founder Liquidation Preference Venture Capital 120

www.inc.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

Naming a Business. Will Work for Equity. Dave Graham Business Venture Capital Private Equity GlobalLogic Inc. Determined not to miss another opportunity, Graham has begun waiving fees and instead taking equity in clients he thinks have a good shot at success. Theres a huge opportunity cost in not taking equity," he says.

Arizona 40

Arizona Equity Iowa Venture Capital 40

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 10, 2013

American business magazine Forbes has announced its list of “ The Best Small Companies in America “ for 2013, with Questcor Pharmaceuticals, Inc topping the rankings of 100 small businesses based on earnings growth, sales growth and return on equity in the past 12 months and over five years.

America 154

America United States Technical Review Boston 154

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 31, 2012

Don’t expect them to believe your $100M revenue projection, if you are still waiting for the first revenue dollar. Get a real customer and real revenue. Funding for pre-revenue startups used to be the domain of angel investors, but they have moved up-stage. Only real results count. Attract a well-rounded team.

Intellectual Property 260

Intellectual Property Sweat Equity CTO Hire Fractional CTO 260

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 22, 2020

For example, if you have a proven product, real revenue, a big potential market, and are ready to scale up the business, every investor will be interested. On the other hand, if you are a new entrepreneur, still in the idea stage, professional investors will only tell you to come back later when you have traction (customers and revenue).

Angel Investor 370

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Investment Bankers Private Equity 370

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 29, 2019

Bank provides two types of finances, namely, working capital and funding. The working capital loan is required to run a complete cycle of revenue-generating operations. People nowadays are also offering incentives, coupons, and equity to the people involved in startup funding. Bank loans.

Startup 95

Startup Government Valuation Technical Review 95

YoungUpstarts

APRIL 22, 2014

This enables the owner to readily name the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) that exist in the business. Shark Question #2: What were your total revenues for the last quarter and last 12 months, including profit margins? Shark Question #4: How much equity and debt is there in your business?

CPA 160

CPA Technical Review Later Stage Equity 160

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 13, 2021

The business tenants of the sharing economy, with alternative names including collaborative consumption, peer-to-peer economy, or “we-conomy,” always imply these five basic principles and assumptions: Sharing economy platforms create reciprocal economic value. There is value in the “idling capacity” of all assets.

Cuba 316

Cuba Venture Capital Community Valuation 316

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2010

The cost of giving up more equity early is often more than offset by the increased flexibility to recover from mistakes. Pay people with equity or future revenue. Another one to avoid cash burn for software development is a contract for percent of future revenue. Great strategy. Do it yourself and barter for services.

Burn Rate 120

Burn Rate Startup Salary Equity 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 17, 2011

Don’t expect them to believe your $100M revenue projection, if you are still waiting for the first revenue dollar. Get a real customer and real revenue. Funding for pre-revenue startups used to be the domain of angel investors, but they have moved up-stage. Only real results count. Attract a well-rounded team.

Intellectual Property 253

Intellectual Property Sweat Equity CTO Hire Fractional CTO 253

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 9, 2019

Your valuable brand equity takes time to accrue and it shouldn’t be squandered lightly and without good reason. As we explained previously , A brand is much more than the name and logo of a business. In today’s crowded market, it can be hard to find a strong business name that isn’t already taken. So, why rebrand your company?

Reputation 124

Reputation Audience Naming Design 124

Hearpreneur

JANUARY 1, 2023

As I've taken the time to invest in companies and programs that can manage various facets of my business on my behalf, I've been able to increase my revenue and provide better financial insulation for my firm to help it withstand the negative effects of a recession. This will keep them sustainable should revenues take a dive.

Entrepreneur 92

Entrepreneur Software Review Technical Review Revenue 92

ConversionXL

JUNE 2, 2022

GumGum now also lists similar clients, including Vodafone and Sprint, a sign of how one big-name client can attract others. It’s proven to drive more revenue , improve customer experience , and power growth. Does the client offer more than revenue? Is your industry open season or are you up against established names.

Lead Generation 94

Lead Generation Marketing Sales Cycle Campaign 94

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2015

Make sure you name your key players and advisors, and include any prior startup experience and prior experience in the relevant business domain. Project revenues, costs and investment expectations. Highlight why your team is the best for this challenge. Current and past titles don’t convey this information.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Elevator Pitch Angel Investor Technical Review 120

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 4, 2014

Equity for the future? If you are the person staying how resentful will you become working your arse off for equity that your co-founder who leaves will get value from. He felt the CEO was willing to “sell his soul” for revenue and wanted things to be more pure.

Founder 340

Founder Sacramento Cofounder Technical Review 340

NZ Entrepreneur

SEPTEMBER 29, 2021

Addressing real world problems, they thrive in uncertainty, generating new jobs and new revenue streams in new markets. Remuneration will reflect the stage of the startup but it’s generally at a rate of about $500-1000 a meeting or directors might be paid in equity at about 0.5-0.75% This equity will vest over 2-3 years.

Technical Review 88

Technical Review Software Review New Zealand Due Diligence 88

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2011

The corporate entity lends itself best to the concept of “sharing” equity required by investors, and unincorporated entities don’t get funding. Get your Internet domain name and website. Reserve the company name on social networks to protect it. Line up an experienced team. Variables for “what if” questions add credibility.

Intellectual Property 249

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Technical Review Elevator Pitch 249

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 22, 2010

Don’t expect them to believe your $100M revenue projection, if you are still waiting for the first revenue dollar. Get a real customer and real revenue. Funding for pre-revenue startups used to be the domain of angel investors, but they have moved up-stage. Only real results count. Attract a well-rounded team.

Intellectual Property 222

Intellectual Property Sweat Equity CTO Hire Fractional CTO 222

David Teten

OCTOBER 1, 2015

Sometimes, equity in a new company can mean more to these shops than another $100-500K in revenue for simply building out a minimum viable product (MVP). On the other side — there are shops who build apps like you need for a living, and would love to take a stab at more than just service-based revenue.

Software Developers 60

Software Developers Software Development Software Developer 60

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 27, 2021

Most entrepreneurs have found by now one or more of the many popular crowdfunding sites , and have the name and contact information for at least one of the big venture capital firms. Here are eight key insights that will help you find a productive match: Angels want equity ownership, not causes.

Search 317

Search Accredited Investor Angel Investor Venture Capital 317

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 23, 2010

The corporate entity lends itself best to the concept of “sharing” equity required by investors, and unincorporated entities don’t get funding. Get your Internet domain name and website. Reserve the company name on social networks to protect it. Line up an experienced team. Variables for “what if” questions add credibility.

Angel Investor 224

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Technical Review Elevator Pitch 224

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 2, 2019

The business tenants of the sharing economy, with alternative names including collaborative consumption, peer-to-peer economy, or “we-conomy,” always imply these five basic principles and assumptions: Sharing economy platforms create reciprocal economic value. There is value in the “idling capacity” of all assets.

Cuba 246

Cuba Venture Capital Community Valuation 246

Berkonomics

JANUARY 26, 2017

The most striking example was the one hundred–million–dollar purchase of one of my companies by a New York private equity investor using only five million of its cash. You name the price; I’ll name the terms. But I learned it again and again in my various business lives. Ask for extended terms well beyond sixty or ninety days.

Naming 48

Naming Warrant Private Equity Valuation 48

Duct Tape Marketing

AUGUST 23, 2023

They're hard to forget your last name. Marketing was like me, and we bootstrapped this business to 10 million in revenue through building this traction community where we're bringing our ICP, our audience together around their aspiration and their goals. I asked their chief revenue officer, how do you do attribution on this community?

Community 54

Community Kuwait Cofounder Bootstrapping 54

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2018

For example, if you have a proven product, real revenue, a big potential market, and are ready to scale up the business, every investor will be interested. On the other hand, if you are a new entrepreneur, still in the idea stage, professional investors will only tell you to come back later when you have traction (customers and revenue).

Angel Investor 184

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Investment Bankers Private Equity 184

ReadWriteStart

OCTOBER 7, 2010

Bottom line, early stage equity is very, very expensive. As a thumb rule, try to get enough validation so that you can get to at least a $2 million pre-money valuation before raising equity capital. That is debt financing that converts into equity at the Series A valuation once the price for that is set. (I

Valuation 119

Valuation Silicon Valley Pre-Money Valuation Bootstrapping 119

Steve Blank

MARCH 31, 2014

I’m sure many of you have heard his name. Companies horde cash and squeeze the most revenue and margin from the money they use. Today billions of dollars that companies could have invested in innovation are sitting in the hands of private equity funds. Let’s start with Joseph Schumpter.

Private Equity 325

Private Equity Metrics China Intellectual Property 325

VC Cafe

APRIL 28, 2021

And elsewhere creator monetisation tools and revenue streams continue to expand: Ads and bran deals – Youtube reported $6 billion in revenue for Q1 2021 , a 50% growth rate from the equivalent period last year. The sum is equivalent to the combined annual revenue of Snap and Twitter for 2020. (@hunterwalk) April 27, 2021.

Audio 167

Audio Valuation Stealth B2C 167

YoungUpstarts

JUNE 6, 2013

If you have a deal that is related to bringing in sales and you do want to have a perpetual compensation you can use some version of a Lehman Formula that incentives the person upfront as they are bringing in revenue for you, then caps it off on an ongoing basis. Balance the risks to your reputation.

Technical Review 164

Technical Review Securities and Exchange Commission Non-disclosure Agreement Due Diligence 164

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 23, 2019

To provide relevant perspective, listing past convertible note(s) and/or equity financing(s) including total round size and valuation (caps) is helpful. For example, stating “angels” is fine, and even highlighting notable names can be useful, but it’s unnecessary to share an exhaustive list.

Cap Table 211

Cap Table Seed Stage Valuation Dilution 211

ReadWriteStart

JULY 18, 2011

Years later Clavier's name now comes up all the time when one of his portfolio companies finds success; his exits include Mint, Tapulous, and UserPlane, other investments include Mashery (a ReadWriteWeb sponsor), Rapleaf, Fitbit, bitly, GroupOn, Twitter and many more. You can also follow Kedrosky on Twitter.

Investment Bankers 153

Investment Bankers Technical Review Cofounder Due Diligence 153

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 25, 2023

Yet one of the first things a potential equity investor asks about is your exit strategy. Equity investments are not loans, so there is no loan payback period or interest payments. Equity investments are not loans, so there is no loan payback period or interest payments. Find a private equity firm or friendly individual.

Exit Strategy 264

Exit Strategy Private Equity Equity Technical Review 264

YoungUpstarts

MAY 17, 2019

But every year thousands of entrepreneurs become millionaires by buying and growing businesses without the startup headaches of venture capitalists, zero revenue, and no business processes. Listen to if they mention the business owner’s name more than the business name itself.

Due Diligence 185

Due Diligence Forecast Deal Structure Valuation 185

Growthink Blog

MAY 10, 2012

When seeking equity investments, the source of capital is, for the most part, tied to the stage of capital being raised. You see, equity capital is raised in stages or rounds. Mezzanine Financing Most companies that raise equity capital and are eventually acquired or go public receive multiple rounds of financing first.

Equity 88

Equity Mezzanine Later Stage Venture Capital 88