Up and Running

JULY 18, 2017

As a founder, you’ve probably been focused on writing your business plan , building out your financial forecasts to position yourself to get funding, and managing the day-to-day minutia of running a business. Founders of young organizations sometimes feel like they’re under a microscope. It’s not going to happen overnight.”

Founder 115

Founder United Kingdom Leadership Washington 115

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 5, 2018

Jeff Katzenberg has a great track record – head of the studio at Paramount, chairman of Disney Studios, co-founder of DreamWorks and now chairman of NewTV. Tech IPO prices exploded and subsequent trading prices rose to dizzying heights as the stock prices became disconnected from the traditional metrics of revenue and profits.

Lean 335

Lean Burn Rate Startup IPO 335

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 18, 2019

Depending on the composition of the founding team, you might or might not have near-term holes in certain functions at the exec level – e.g. you’ll most likely need to bring on a CTO/VP of Engineering shortly after the seed round if you don’t have a technical co-founder.

Part-Time VPE 195

Part-Time VPE Seed Stage CTO Hire Forecast 195

Steve Blank

APRIL 23, 2018

The entrepreneur who founded and grew the largest startup in the world to $10 billion in revenue and got fired is someone you have probably never heard of. If you’re following Tesla, you might be interested to know that Sloan wasn’t the founder of GM. The founder of what became General Motors was William (Billy) Durant.

Michigan 268

Michigan Cofounder Stock Forecast 268

David Teten

JANUARY 19, 2021

More and more startups are pursuing Revenue-Based VCs , but “RBI” doesn’t fit everyone. From RBI, Flexible VCs borrow the ability to reap meaningful returns without demanding founders build for an exit. Flexible VC 101: Equity Meets Revenue Share. Where else can fast-growing companies get funding?

Cofounder 78

Cofounder Technical Review Equity Dividend 78

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 4, 2016

The good news is that everyone expects entrepreneurs to make mistakes, since founders explore uncharted territory. In fact, investors recognize that founders usually learn more from mistakes than from success, so a well-explained startup failure can improve their odds of funding the next time around.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Startup Forecast Angel Investor 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 4, 2015

Most aspiring entrepreneurs understand that you can’t build a business if you won’t commit to delivering a product or service, but many are hesitant or refuse to commit to any financial forecasts. Yet every business requires revenue and volumes, as certainly as it requires a product to sell. Forecast sales-volume expectations.

Forecast 120

Forecast Entrepreneur Burn Rate Widget 120

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 12, 2017

Many of these companies are pre-revenue and in the cash burn stage as they try to establish their technology and market. When investors believe in the founders, products, or ideas they will provide companies with funding. Company growth and future forecasts are a critical component of going concern analysis.

San Francisco 133

San Francisco Forecast Early Stage Term Sheet 133

OnlyOnce

SEPTEMBER 8, 2022

In most startups, the founder is the first salesperson and while it may be difficult to let that go you’ll eventually scale, add sales reps, or maybe some form of a Sales Manager once there are more than a couple of reps. If your board asks you if you’re ready to step on the gas and scale your revenue engine (e.g.,

Revenue 62

Revenue Hiring Forecast Early Stage 62

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 23, 2017

by Joe Duncan, founder of Duncan Capital LP. An early example occurred in 2010 when UBS Analyst Neil Currie accessed satellite imagery to monitor activity in Walmart parking lots, running the data thru a mathematical regression to translate it into customer activity for better earnings forecasts. We need smarter humans than we did.”.

Technical Review 154

Technical Review Artificial Inteligence Software Review IPO 154

Gust

JUNE 19, 2012

One of my earliest excursions into market research was working for a research firm doing a 1979 forecast on ATMs. Tim Berry , Founder, Palo Alto Software. Martin Zwilling , Founder and CEO, Startup Professionals. Tim Berry , Founder, Palo Alto Software. Martin Zwilling , Founder and CEO, Startup Professionals.

Startup 180

Startup Forecast Angel Investor Software 180

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 17, 2011

This person can do budgeting, forecasting, strategic planning, legal, HR, office moves, etc. “We’re all equal co-founders and we don’t care about titles.&# I usually encourage people to think about titles like, “Founder & CTO&# or “Founder & VP Marketing.&#. and my favorite].

Operations 292

Operations CTO Hire Startup Early Stage 292

NZ Entrepreneur

DECEMBER 10, 2020

Kiwi inventory forecasting software StockTrim achieved international sales in the UK, Australia and US immediately after launching in 2017. That’s where the founder thing comes in, whereas the Angels are more focused on growth projections and risk.”. It’s been growth ever since, and in 2020 the company pitched for funding to scale up.

Technical Review 103

Technical Review Software Review Due Diligence Startup 103

Duct Tape Marketing

FEBRUARY 10, 2022

Jason is a Co-founder of Thriveal, a firm that helps entrepreneurial CPA firms connect, learn and grow. Does that muddy up the forecasting, the models, or the accounting? [12:31] He's a co-founder of Thriveal firm that helps entrepreneurial CPA firms connect, learn and grow. Marketing Podcast with Jason Blumer.

CPA 73

CPA Technical Review Revenue Forecast 73

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 27, 2016

Who would have forecast that entrepreneur Gary Ross Dahl would make millions by starting a “ pet rock ” business way back in 1975? Even social entrepreneurs need milestones, quantifiable results, and revenue to sustain their value. Giving the wrong people money doesn’t help at the idea level. Focus on customer needs.

Technical Review 134

Technical Review Intellectual Property Due Diligence Angel Investor 134

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2010

Founded in November 2007 in New York City by Alexis Maybank and Kevin Ryan (co-founder of DoubleClick); CEO is Susan Lyne (ex-CEO Marta Stewart Living Omnimedia) Revenue estimates: $50mm in 2008; $170mm in 2009 (versus budget of $150mm); $450mm forecasted for 2010. Note that these are “gross” revenue numbers.

Partner 240

Partner New York City Cofounder Syndicate 240

Up and Running

JULY 1, 2020

Businesses start when their founders see a need for a product or service that they can provide. Financial projections: You’ll need to forecast how the expansion will improve future profitability. The investment expenses precede the revenues they will ultimately produce and may lead to cash or profitability constraints.

Business Plan 152

Business Plan Forecast Operations Dilution 152

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 15, 2015

by Richard Milam , the Founder and CEO of EnableSoft Incorporated. Multiple small sales form the drivers of profitable revenue growth, plus, builds employees’ confidence so they are more prepared to take advantage of “home run” opportunities when they do come along. Here are five things to look at: 1. Review What Worked.

Technical Review 100

Technical Review Software Review Forecast Database 100

YoungUpstarts

MAY 20, 2019

Today, more than one-quarter of all software revenue is derived from the SaaS model, and it is growing twice as fast as traditional software growth. While these may sound like a reading of the tea leaves, they are based on positive forecasts and recent history.

India 113

India Silicon Valley Global Software 113

Feld Thoughts

OCTOBER 7, 2011

The co-founders decided to divide-and-conquer, with Dick tackling expense projections and Jane tackling revenue projections. Jane asked Josh, who provided SayAhh with solid advice on setting up their accounting systems , for help in creating the revenue side of their financial forecast. What other problems do you see?

Revenue 130

Revenue Forecast Cofounder Business Model 130

Up and Running

JULY 26, 2016

Between January 2015 and January 2016, we grew our platform Slidebean from $1K to $20K in monthly recurring revenue. Getting the first tracks of revenue is one of the toughest processes of building a startup. See Also: A Complete Guide to Forecasting Sales for Your Monthly Subscription (SaaS) Business. Lean marketing.

Revenue 60

Revenue Acquisition Channel Campaign 60

YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 22, 2014

DSO is the average number of days that a company takes to collect revenue after a sale has been made. According to The Economist forecast for 2015, ASEAN will add USD 335 billion and become the fourth largest economy in the world. Forecast cash flow. The higher the number, the more efficient your collection. Anthony Coundouris.

Singapore 191

Singapore Asia Management China 191

Steve Blank

MARCH 17, 2020

Next, take a look at your actual revenue each month – not forecast, but real revenue coming in each month. Subtract your monthly gross burn rate from your monthly revenue to get your net burn rate. All your assumptions about customers, sales cycle and most importantly, revenue, burn rate and runway are no longer true.

Burn Rate 436

Burn Rate Startup Valuation Sales Cycle 436

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 6, 2014

When you first start your company and raise initial venture capital your board probably consists of 1-3 founders and 1-2 VCs. Most experienced VCs won’t push you to give up founder control at this stage of the business nor should they. Founder’s perspective. How to build a great forecast. Experience.

Technical Review 325

Technical Review Early Stage Software Review Los Angeles 325

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 27, 2022

Hawkes, as the Founder of Growth River consulting, speaks from his experience helping to create high performance organizations around the world. The payback in team engagement, as well as customer revenue and loyalty, can be large. Keep focus on the journey to a common goal. Provide resources to implement initiatives.

Forecast 340

Forecast Agile Lean Distribution 340

Up and Running

OCTOBER 12, 2017

Tim Berry, founder of Palo Alto Software and Bplans, asked, “What’s the best way for entrepreneurs to demonstrate that they’ve thought through the essential aspects of their business, especially the financials?”. Without revenue, nothing else in your business can really go very far. The same is true for opportunities.

Metrics 128

Metrics Software Review Forecast Small Business 128

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 3, 2014

Specifically what is often not in the DNA of founders are sales skills. Founders think in options. That’s the most important thing in your business to get revenues up. And when you get their forecasts they’re always sandbagged. Most technology startups seem to be funded by product people or business people.

Sales 382

Sales Startup Technical Review Matching 382

View from Seed

FEBRUARY 27, 2019

Given the common challenges encountered by founders as they navigate through this hiring decision, I thought I’d outline some of my thoughts below that can hopefully serve as a simple framework when it comes to making the first Analytics hire at your startup. Many founders confuse the two as they both involve lots of numbers.

Analytics 149

Analytics Hiring SQL Forecast 149

YoungUpstarts

JUNE 3, 2015

by Eliot Burdett, co-founder and CEO of Peak Sales Recruiting. Job Forecast Study ranks sales jobs as the number one job employers are currently looking to fill, ranking 10% higher than technical positions. A new report from Forrester Research called “Death of a B2B Salesman,” predicts that one million U.S.

B2B 100

B2B Technology Cofounder Technical Cofounder 100

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 28, 2009

Our sales forecasts were revised downward – many times. I know that we haven’t brought in revenue as quickly as we had hoped. They haven’t hit their revenue targets. Reach out to the founders, not the staff. Our customers were generally happy but they were pushing us hard for promised features.

PR 331

PR Software Review Ireland Germany 331

Austin Startup

JANUARY 20, 2021

It is so important that not a week goes by without a successful investor/founder extolling the benefits of moving quickly. In 2006, I joined Yelp as employee #20 when the company had $1M in annual revenue. I had to throw out my desire to build a perfect strategy and forecast for the business. 2021 instead of 2022. The cost? ~10%

Sales 64

Sales Startup Sales Cycle Revenue 64

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 16, 2009

In it, I got asked a question I often hear: “What if we have a web-based business that doesn’t have revenue or paying customers? And without revenue how do we know if we achieved product/market fit to exit Customer Validation?” They’re putting money into web services/business – most without early revenue. End of theory.&#

Customer Development 219

Customer Development Web Developer Customer 219

ReadWriteStart

JULY 18, 2011

Clavier began his presentation at the beginning of a company's lifecycle, asking how many co-founders a startup ought to have. If you like this kind of advice, check out my coverage of a talk by Paul Palmieri, Co-Founder and CEO of mobile advertising service Millennial Media, titled " Investing in Your Influencers. ".

Investment Bankers 153

Investment Bankers Technical Review Cofounder Due Diligence 153

Duct Tape Marketing

NOVEMBER 16, 2023

Fortifying Profits: Strategies to Shield Your Business from Embezzlement written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast with John Janstch In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, I interviewed Todd Rammler, president and founder of Michigan CFO Associates. So what are you waiting for?

Michigan 73

Michigan CPA Small Business Hiring 73

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 11, 2017

Founders point to the great number of financial unknowns in any new business, and are reluctant to “commit” to any numbers which may come back to haunt them later. You need 5 percent or more of revenue for marketing, more for new development, and people costs will double as you add benefits, insurance, training, IT and processes.

Burn Rate 144

Burn Rate Forecast Angel Investor Revenue 144

YoungUpstarts

APRIL 4, 2013

We’d be the first to encourage entrepreneurs in their startup journeys, but we also feel that founders need to be cognizant of failure. Part of the process in understanding the chances of failure is to take a look at the survival track records of startups in different industries.

Forecast 228

Forecast Startup Global Revenue 228

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 15, 2013

They need to realize that investors ask for projections, not merely as predictions, but more as commitments from the founder and his team. This forecast is really their commitment. The holy grail is break-even, when revenues first catch up with the outflow. Plan to re-forecast every quarter. Margin is everything.

Forecast 238

Forecast Business Plan Burn Rate .Net 238