View from Seed

JANUARY 13, 2021

As seed has become the mainstream path to early-stage financing, the definition of seed has changed, and if one is to be a credible first institutional seed investor, he or she would need a fund big enough to be competitive and write $1-2M initial checks. This is because the market actually has changed.

Dilution 399

Dilution Later Stage Portfolio Technical Review 399

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. Super Angels. Business accelerator.

Early Stage 253

Early Stage Finance Seed Stage Entrepreneur 253

View from Seed

MAY 2, 2019

As the seed stage that atomized and series A rounds have become larger and more traction based, the paths to series A have changed. 500K in angel or pre-seed funding -> Raise a $2–3M institutional seed -> Raise an A. This is the logical path that one would think is pretty “standard” for early stage companies.

Early Stage 215

Early Stage Dilution Valuation .Net 215

View from Seed

JANUARY 11, 2023

With three accelerator cohorts under our belts and 17 graduated teams to turn to for feedback, we’re more confident than ever that our white-glove approach has lent itself well to the kind of program our industry was lacking. Read on to learn more and decide whether this is the right program for you.

Programming 156

Programming Sacramento San Francisco Founder 156

View from Seed

JUNE 10, 2020

Many of these Founders we wouldn’t have had an opportunity to connect with if we hadn’t launched this program. When the point of the program is a Demo Day show at the end, all of the participating companies need to be in lock-step. all designed to scale, it requires a logistical effort with a rigid timeline.

Cofounder 178

Cofounder Syndicate Syndication Alabama 178

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. Super Angels. Business accelerator.

Early Stage 177

Early Stage Finance Seed Stage Entrepreneur 177

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 13, 2010

Investment in training, adherence to process, global knowledge sharing systems, quality control / partner reviews and campus recruitment programs that attracted the right talent. “Reality is, at the seed stage, most rocketships look more like the cardboard variety you’d make as a kid than something NASA developed.

Turkey 302

Turkey Differentiation IP Technical Review 302

View from Seed

OCTOBER 21, 2014

As the seed-stage startup fundraise process has received more transparency in recent years, ranging from published advice on how to raise seed capital to increased availability through AngelList, Funders Club, and various accelerator programs, I’ve noticed another trend emerging.

Valuation 336

Valuation Founder Seed Stage Angel Investor 336

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 26, 2022

Size Matters But why have we decided to run separate funds for Seed and for Early Growth and why didn’t we just lump it all into one fund and invest out of just one vehicle? That was a question I had been asked by LPs in 2015 when we began our Early Growth program.

San Francisco 408

San Francisco Early Stage Venture Capital Los Angeles 408

techcrunch.com

SEPTEMBER 2, 2012

There has been no shortage of controversy and criticism around the convertible note, a popular investing vehicle that’s used by seed stage and angel investors. As a refresher, a convertible note is a loan that automatically converts into equity upon the closing of a Series A round of financing.

Equity 87

Equity San Francisco Technical Review Angel Investor 87

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. Super Angels. Business accelerator.

Early Stage 231

Early Stage Seed Stage Angel Investor Silicon Valley 231

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 6, 2017

In case you’re keeping score at home — that’s approximately the size of 65 US seed-stage funds managed by one company. Those two investments represent the equivalent of another 32 US seed-stage funds just in two deals. WeWork raised $690 million from Chinese investors, NextVR $80 million and Meta AR $50 million.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Saudi Arabia Kuwait Burn Rate 150

Diego Basch

MARCH 14, 2013

I prefer investing in health, transportation, education, and (under some very specific circumstances) finance. Thirty years after writing my first program in Basic I still code for fun, and I doubt I’ll ever stop. If your seed-stage company fits the criteria above, please contact me. Some lawyers, even.

San Francisco 55

San Francisco Startup Silicon Valley Seed Stage 55

Women Entrepreneurs Can

MAY 9, 2019

These folks are accessible across any industry and are particularly useful for entrepreneurs who have moved beyond the seed stage of financing, but don’t yet have the significant revenue needed to court venture capital funding. The post 5 Signs You Need to Create Your Startup Sponsorship Program appeared first on WECAN.

Programming 40

Programming Sweat Equity Startup Private Equity 40

Feld Thoughts

MAY 8, 2012

Yesterday I sent emails out passing on participating in two seed rounds for companies I really like. They had lots of investors trying to invest and each company was competitive with two other seed stage companies we’ve seen in the past 30 days. So – what do we do?

Seed Stage 138

Seed Stage LP Warrant Syndicate 138

mashable.com

SEPTEMBER 12, 2011

million in venture financing. No doubt early-stage companies can be started on a shoestring by low-paid entrepreneurs, but when financing a scalable, sustainable product, a free application server won’t make much of a difference. In fact, it’s barely even the beginning for most companies in their seed stage financings.

Startup 79

Startup Social Media RSS Social Network 79

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

The popularity of convertible notes is increasing in the world of startup financing, especially in seed-stage companies. It is attractive for seed-stage companies that have not had time to show much traction in terms of their product or revenue. For any (early stage) startup, the team is the most critical asset.

Cap Table 112

Cap Table Pre-Money Valuation Stock Options Option Pool 112

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 11, 2019

Ann Miura-Ko is a founding partner at Floodgate , a seed-stage VC firm. That meant that if the change was starting on the founders side, then there had to be a change on the financing side. I'm a co-director now for the Mayfield Fellows Program, which runs for nine months at Stanford. Well, I think it's a few things.

Founder 68

Founder Lean Venture Capital Cofounder 68

mashable.com

NOVEMBER 3, 2010

For the first-time entrepreneur or founder looking for seed stage funding, this circle can be especially difficult to penetrate. Mashable Mashable reached out to angels, seed stage investors and VC firm partners and asked them to share their wisdom with the rest of us. and Path Intelligence.

Angel Investor 80

Angel Investor Startup San Francisco Social Media 80

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 15, 2020

Robert and I talked about how it's working, the science of pseudoviruses and reporter genes, how his father's example in science and business set him on his path, and how to bridge the gap between science and finance. Now they have a $500 million program to try to make an antigen diagnostic, which is exactly what I'm working on.

Technical Review 68

Technical Review Software Review Finance Technology 68

Hunter Walker

MARCH 8, 2014

If you’re graduating this spring and starting a career in tech, I’ve got one piece of advice: go work at a midstage startup (I’ll define that as B/C rounds of financing – eg Twilio, Stripe, Airbnb, Warby). Here’s why: 1. You have the resources to build and launch, which means your work will see the light of day.

Liquidity Event 134

Liquidity Event Early Stage Seed Stage Startup 134

Campus Entrepreneurship

MARCH 15, 2012

From Aberman : By taking away from the equation the coupling of a business model from acceptance to accelerator program, Y Combinator is taking away one of the pillars that seed stage investors use to evaluate an entrepreneurial team.

Seed Stage 44

Seed Stage Partner Virginia DC 44

Professor VC

SEPTEMBER 26, 2011

Below is a short description of their philosophy: "The part of our philosophy that makes us most different from other startup investors is that we dont believe gut feel is a reliable indicator of potential at the seed stage. I also teach Entrepreneurial Finance at San Jose State.

Technical Review 38

Technical Review Early Stage San Jose Angel Investor 38

mashable.com

NOVEMBER 2, 2011

Joshua Baer is the co-founder and CEO of Otherinbox , a prolific angel investor and the director of Capital Factory , Austin’s seed-stage incubator. Money and Finance Lists. Programming and Web Development Lists. Share on Tumblr email share Share on Tumblr email share. You can follow Joshua on Twitter @joshuabaer.

Social Media 80

Social Media Startup Angel Investor RSS 80

Steve Blank

APRIL 13, 2013

If there ever was any question about the value of China’s Torch Program walk around Zhongguancun. If it’s driven by profit then the ecosystem needs both entrepreneurs as well as Venture Finance. Several VC’s mentioned that there’s a funding gap for seed stage investments. China Venture Capital. innovation in the U.S.

Silicon Valley 272

Silicon Valley China Venture Capital Merger 272

Scott Edward Walker

APRIL 23, 2012

.” [link] I’m proud of the team that I’ve built at my firm: [link] “I don’t think these big VC seed programs benefit anyone.”

SEC 45

SEC Seed Stage RSS Finance 45

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 29, 2011

I believe some VCs have entered the early-stage market as simply an option on future financing rounds. The Explosion in Early-Stage Innovation. I would put my firm, GRP Partners in with the group working with teams in different ways. But obviously I’m biased.

Venture Capital 296

Venture Capital Software LP Early Stage 296

Seeing Both Sides

SEPTEMBER 15, 2015

Understanding the market and establishing product/market fit is a critical seed-stage milestone. They spend more time on strategy, go-to-market, business development, and financing. Israeli funds often know how to work better with the early stage companies because they provide efficient capital, not necessarily more capital.”

Cofounder 20

Cofounder Technical Review United States 20

rapidrollout.wordpress.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

I have an interesting project idea, but it requires seasoned programming skills. Or you can find seed-stage investors who will give you the money to hire a developer. That’s why you need to be looking for seed-stage investors at the same time as technologists. I have a related dilemma.

Technical Review 40

Technical Review Fractional CTO Partner CTO Hire 40

www.vccafe.com

MARCH 11, 2013

easy business finance software. YCombinator Series AA Equity Financing Documents. Series Seed Documents â?? Fenwick & West Seed Investment Standard Forms, used by most angels. Seed Stage Valuation Guide. Startup Threads. Videos/presentations. SlideShare. Haiku Deck. GoAnimate *. Customer service.

Software Review 53

Software Review Technical Review Startup 53

steveblank.com

JULY 8, 2011

automatic links to generated images Rietveld - asynchronous code reviews on changesets Tech*if*er0*urs – blog on roadmap for learning rails Best free programming books Project Management Basecamp - web-based project management and collaboration tool. WebSequenceDiagrams - sketch sequence diagrams.

Software Review 110

Software Review Startup Silicon Valley Analytics 110

The Next Web

NOVEMBER 20, 2013

Furthermore, given the government’s programs to attract top notch VCs and tech companies, it has become a great place to raise capital and base your Asian operations over the past half-decade. There are a ton of seed-stage financing options available here. The region as a whole is the hottest market in Asia right now.

Asia 123

Asia Silicon Valley India China 123

Steve Blank

APRIL 13, 2013

If there ever was any question about the value of China’s Torch Program walk around Zhongguancun. If it’s driven by profit then the ecosystem needs both entrepreneurs as well as Venture Finance. Several VC’s mentioned that there’s a funding gap for seed stage investments. China Venture Capital. innovation in the U.S.

Silicon Valley 164

Silicon Valley China Venture Capital Merger 164

Professor VC

JULY 25, 2013

One area I''ve noticed a lot more recently are angel investors and seed stage funds trying to grab a little bit extra, whether it''s warrants for leading the round, advisor shares to go along with the investment, or a common stock stake for just being who they are. Company has now raised over $70 million and is growing rapidly.

Term Sheet 46

Term Sheet Silicon Valley Syndicate Syndication 46

pandodaily.com

NOVEMBER 29, 2012

Firms like Accel and Greylock and Menlo Ventures announced discovery or seed funds, while other firms like Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz pioneered stealthy scout programs to give entrepreneurs their money, whether they knew it or not. VCs have never liked them, arguing they misalign investors with entrepreneurs.

Technical Review 93

Technical Review Silicon Valley Incubator Syria 93

www.currentlyobsessed.com

MAY 28, 2010

Other factors such as your team, the market you are in, your ability to execute, and in fact other terms in your term sheet are much, much more important to your outcome and financial outcome than is the valuation of your company at the time of financing. That’s a nice way of putting it.

Valuation 42

Valuation Channel Pre-Money Valuation Term Sheet 42

dondodge.typepad.com

JANUARY 15, 2011

It isnt always possible to have a competitive bidding situation at each financing round so here are some guidelines for funding sources and percentages. Friends & Family can usually raise between $30K and $300K and usually take an interest bearing note that is convertible into stock at the next financing. 5% Managers -.25%

Equity 40

Equity Employee Dilution Valuation 40