View from Seed

APRIL 30, 2015

Glen Mello: Venture debt is a good complement to equity. It’s generally got a lower cost compared to equity capital and can help support growth. So it makes it a lot more challenging when you have debt on the books that isn’t as longer term as equity. NVV: Let’s talk about the seed stage specifically.

Term Sheet 120

Term Sheet Equity Startup Seed Stage 120

Austin Startup

MAY 8, 2018

Background reading: Founder Compensation: Cash, Equity, Liquidity Fatal Errors in Early Startup Hiring Early Hires: Options or Stock Given how deeply involved we are with early-stage startups hiring their first key employees, I figured it would be helpful to outline a few key principles to help entrepreneurs navigate the topic.

Employee 48

Employee Seed Stage Startup Equity 48

Gust

NOVEMBER 15, 2012

And there are others that people think are teeny little wannabes with a dozen or so employees…that have $25 million in highly profitable revenues with hockey stick growth and zero debt!

Seed Stage 131

Seed Stage Hockey Stick Cap Table Liquidation Preference 131

David Teten

JULY 10, 2019

pre-launch, BIG equity, big peeps involved–ANY TIPS?? Do you have a great team at your seed startup, but your product just isn’t working? As a VC, I’m interested in working with companies with large-scale revenue potential, and that’s the company we envision. And how do you split the equity? A nonprofit?

America 60

America Technical Review Advisory Board Due Diligence 60

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. So angel and seed stage investors’ returns will be dependent on good times continuing or on the ability of their portfolio companies to get financed.

LP 311

LP Technical Review Early Stage Silicon Valley 311

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

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 23, 2019

*This post is part of our “pitch deck” series where we dissect the seed stage pitch deck and discuss the ideal flow for a pitch. To provide relevant perspective, listing past convertible note(s) and/or equity financing(s) including total round size and valuation (caps) is helpful. Here we are, at (one of) the final slides.

Cap Table 211

Cap Table Seed Stage Valuation Dilution 211

Agile VC

APRIL 17, 2011

How They Make Money: Majority of Kayak’s revenue actually comes from advertising on their site (55%), not lead generation or referral fees to travel suppliers as you might think (more on this below). Financial Snapshot: 2010 Revenue: $170 million. Revenue growth: 51% YoY (2010), 1% YoY (2009), 131% YoY (2008).

Pre-Money Valuation 113

Pre-Money Valuation Liquidation Preference Dividend Common Stock 113

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2011

If you are new to the entrepreneurial world of startups, you are likely confused by the terminology of seed-stage, lean startups, micro-VCs, and Super Angels. Seed-stage means promising companies that don’t yet have a revenue stream, and may not yet have a proof of concept. Early-stage startup. Super Angels.

Early Stage 231

Early Stage Seed Stage Angel Investor Silicon Valley 231

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 16, 2012

If you are new to the entrepreneurial world of startups, you are likely confused by the terminology of seed-stage, lean startups, micro-VCs, and Super Angels. Seed-stage means promising companies that don’t yet have a revenue stream, and may not yet have a proof of concept. Early-stage startup. Super Angels.

Early Stage 253

Early Stage Finance Seed Stage Entrepreneur 253

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 4, 2014

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 232

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Investment Bankers Private Equity 232

VC Cafe

FEBRUARY 27, 2024

A founder asked me what makes a $2M round “pre-seed”? especially if the startup already has a product and revenue? And why do we still sometimes hear about pre-seed rounds that look more like a series A in pricing and size? So far there’s not much that has changed, so why should pre-seed look any different in 2024?

Valuation 186

Valuation Software Review Generative AI Technical Review 186

K9 Ventures

JUNE 12, 2012

While it it may not feel that way, the data suggest that there is indeed too much capital in the system — especially so at the seed stage, with more and more individuals and larger funds trying to invest in companies at this stage.). In fact, it becomes a vicious circle. The VC focus on quick growth is not without reason.

Venture Capital 117

Venture Capital Silicon Valley Founder Seed Stage 117

K9 Ventures

JUNE 12, 2012

While it it may not feel that way, the data suggest that there is indeed too much capital in the system — especially so at the seed stage, with more and more individuals and larger funds trying to invest in companies at this stage.). In fact, it becomes a vicious circle. The VC focus on quick growth is not without reason.

Venture Capital 105

Venture Capital Silicon Valley Founder Seed Stage 105

The Next Web

FEBRUARY 27, 2014

your equity in a hot new patented technology business), the higher the demand (e.g., As an example, a new restaurant may get valued at 3-4x EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) and a hot dot com business with meteoric traffic growth could get valued at 5-10x revenues. Supply and demand.

Valuation 167

Valuation Forecast Seed Stage .Net 167

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2016

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).

Matching 120

Matching Angel Investor Intellectual Property Investment Bankers 120

Gust

JULY 8, 2012

If you are new to the entrepreneurial world of startups, you are likely confused by the terminology of seed-stage, lean startups, micro-VCs, and Super Angels. Seed-stage means promising companies that don’t yet have a revenue stream, and may not yet have a proof of concept. Early-stage startup. Super Angels.

Early Stage 177

Early Stage Finance Seed Stage Entrepreneur 177

K9 Ventures

APRIL 9, 2014

Instead, it was more of a result of over-funding at the seed stage. There was simply too much money coming in to the seed stage, which increased the supply of companies at the seed stage. Threshold for an IPO is higher Ten years ago, if you had $20M in revenue you were ready to go public.

Mezzanine 134

Mezzanine Seed Stage Early Stage IPO 134

Genuine VC

JANUARY 3, 2013

According to all of the blogosphere chatter over the past month, seed-funded internet startups are entering this year gearing up for the now-near-infamous Series A Crunch. to become not just ramen-profitable, but sustainably profitable. In the end, just as always: startups are risky and a majority of them do not survive.

Seed Stage 166

Seed Stage Venture Capital Audience New York 166

K9 Ventures

OCTOBER 10, 2017

A Seed round today — like the Series A round of yesteryear — requires some kind of traction or product. In contrast, you *don’t* need much to qualify as a Pre-Seed stage company. Pre-Seed investors should *not* be looking for any kind of traction. 6M-$15M used to scale customer acquisition and revenue).

Seed Stage 82

Seed Stage Finance Later Stage Equity 82

This is going to be BIG.

MARCH 16, 2020

As a seed stage investor, I know the math. The business will be much simpler, focused on our strength—the growing revenues and customer loyalty at our shops, which are profitable when you subtract the costly overhead of a big factory. Half the companies I invest in won’t provide a financial return.

Bankruptcy 95

Bankruptcy Private Equity Seed Stage Dilution 95

View from Seed

JANUARY 26, 2016

In the next post, I’ll talk about how we think about pre-seeds at NextView. It’s become increasingly common for startups to raise several seed rounds, and this has led to a bifurcation in the seed stage between what are known as “pre-seed” (or “genesis”) and institutional seed rounds.

Seed Stage 120

Seed Stage Early Stage Cofounder Finance 120

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. .” Convertible debt? It doesn’t bear interest or require repayment upon maturity.

Finance 134

Finance Convertible Security Equity Seed Stage 134

Hippoland

MAY 16, 2018

on the state of Q2 2018 seed-stage fundraising. Here’s what’s happening in the equity world (from my perspective): 1) Token sales in the crypto-world do affect “equity” raises. I put “equity” in quotes because I include convertible notes and convertible securities in this category.)

Seed Stage 48

Seed Stage Valuation Convertible Security Equity 48

Hippoland

MAY 16, 2018

on the state of Q2 2018 seed-stage fundraising. Here’s what’s happening in the equity world (from my perspective): 1) Token sales in the crypto-world do affect “equity” raises. I put “equity” in quotes because I include convertible notes and convertible securities in this category.)

Seed Stage 48

Seed Stage Valuation Convertible Security Equity 48

Agile VC

JANUARY 27, 2012

There’s lot of anecdotal evidence for this: Seed stage investors (including NextView and many of our peers) are seeing more startups progress from seed to Series A stage in 6-9 months rather than 12-18. Multi-billion dollar valuations for late stage startups like Dropbox, et al. Read More ».

Hockey Stick 113

Hockey Stick Seed Stage Silicon Valley Syndicate 113

ReadWriteStart

JANUARY 28, 2022

With the rise of startups and growing businesses , it has become more critical for investors to have a thorough understanding of equity to be aware of all of the advantages they are receiving from the companies they have invested in. What is Company Equity? Types of equity. Common stock. Preferred shares.

Valuation 108

Valuation Equity Warrant Common Stock 108

The Equity Kicker

APRIL 21, 2016

But it got me thinking about the trade off between short term clarity and long term upside in seed stage investing. That plan will show short term activities that generate value and significant revenues in the out years. Not when they’re at the seed stage.

Seed Stage 60

Seed Stage Venture Capital eCommerce Partner 60

Hippoland

DECEMBER 18, 2016

When you own such a large equity stake in your own company, you should be looking at the tradeoff of short term gains (your salary) vs. long term gains (the worth of your company and what it could be with the extra investment of cash that you are not taking as salary) I understand that you may have paid a pretty penny for your MBA.

Las Vegas 48

Las Vegas Salary Burn Rate San Francisco 48

Feld Thoughts

NOVEMBER 2, 2016

So – for early stage companies (Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A), the terms tend to be clean and simple, and valuation is in a modest range that probably has a median around $5m. Most importantly from my frame of reference, the amount of activity at the early and seed stage seems to be extremely robust.

Venture Capital 70

Venture Capital Private Equity Early Stage Valuation 70

The Equity Kicker

AUGUST 30, 2016

Investors like to see evidence that the revenue strategy works because it removes a major risk in the business (that nobody will pay) and because it improves capital efficiency and hence investor returns. Ash and Mark are spot on to advise ignoring partnerships before Seed and to then only focus on targeted partnerships until after Series A.

Seed Stage 81

Seed Stage Revenue Restful Founder 81

The Equity Kicker

NOVEMBER 28, 2016

With seed stage investments and later it’s usually obvious how value will be created – by maintaining current growth in revenues or engagement. Hence spending time thinking hard about short term value creation is mostly a discipline for the pre-seed stage.

Seed Stage 60

Seed Stage Later Stage Early Stage Partner 60

Agile VC

FEBRUARY 2, 2012

I’ll focus for now on the business itself, there’s plenty of other info on the web if you care to understand the equity ownership or financing history of Facebook and frankly this has been fairly well known for awhile. ==. Financial Snapshot : 2011 Revenue: $3.71 2011 YoY Revenue Growth: 88%. Facebook, Inc.

IPO 100

IPO South Korea Venezuela Revenue 100

dondodge.typepad.com

JANUARY 15, 2011

Community is more powerful than money or technology » August 11, 2007 How much equity for investors and employees? Entrepreneurs face some pretty tough questions at a very early stage. How much equity should I give up? How much equity should I grant to early employees? How much equity should be given to employees?

Equity 40

Equity Employee Dilution Valuation 40

View from Seed

OCTOBER 22, 2015

Also, it will take at least three months to raise the next round of financing, whatever it is (Series A, seed extension, etc.). So fundraising time needs to be taken into account, as well as potential offsetting of expenses by revenue, though here, the most conservative of estimates is best. Escape the time-based model vacuum.

Seed Capital 120

Seed Capital Seed Stage Demand Finance 120

Agile VC

MARCH 18, 2012

Costolo clearly wants to position Twitter as a complementary part of the media ecosystem (which it is by and large) rather than a competitor, and there remains a chance that Twitter will have other forms of revenue besides ads. Here’s why: Virtually all of Twitter’s revenue comes from advertising.

Media 113

Media Advertising Silicon Valley Revenue 113

techcrunch.com

OCTOBER 13, 2012

He is on the board of the Angel Resource Institute, and is a partner with Montlake Capital (a late stage growth capital fund) and with Revenue Capital Management (a royalty based lender). Best case: equity investment (whether angel or VC) is a tremendous asset with a commensurate financial obligation.

Angel Investor 103

Angel Investor Venture Capital Seed Stage Silicon Valley 103