Agile VC

MAY 26, 2011

Google is still a private company (their IPO was Aug 2004). In another we decended into a debate about our 5 year forecasts (I built the models so fielded most of these questions), and it became clear they probably weren’t the best fit for our Series A round (this group is no longer in the early-stage VC business).

Term Sheet 178

Term Sheet Silicon Valley Technical Review Social Network 178

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 13, 2011

In fact, a business plan is needed more by you than investors, as the blueprint for your company, team communication, and progress metrics. Clearly define the customer, channel, and revenue model associated with this solution. In this section, you need to be passionate about revenue, profit, and volume growth. Exit strategy.

Business Plan 290

Business Plan Sweat Equity Exit Strategy Intellectual Property 290

Startup Lessons Learned

JUNE 5, 2009

And so the spreadsheet is built with conservative assumptions, including a final revenue target. No matter how low we make the revenue projections for this new product, it’s extremely unlikely that they are achievable. In a startup context, numbers like gross revenue are actually vanity metrics, not actionable metrics.

San Francisco 102

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment Startup 102

Gust

AUGUST 5, 2012

In fact, a business plan is needed more by you than investors, as the blueprint for your company, team communication, and progress metrics. Clearly define the customer, channel, and revenue model associated with this solution. In this section, you need to be passionate about revenue, profit, and volume growth. Exit strategy.

Business Plan 182

Business Plan Sweat Equity Exit Strategy Intellectual Property 182

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2010

In fact, a business plan is needed more by you than investors, as the blueprint for your company, team communication, and progress metrics. Clearly define the customer, channel, and revenue model associated with this solution. In this section, you need to be passionate about revenue, profit, and volume growth. Exit strategy.

Business Plan 186

Business Plan Exit Strategy Sweat Equity Intellectual Property 186

BeyondVC

NOVEMBER 17, 2006

I am not sure if you saw the news , but Salary.com recently filed for an IPO to raise up to $50 million. From April 2001 through June 30, 2006, we achieved 21 consecutive quarters of revenue growth. While the Salary.com numbers are strong ( read the S-1 here), they are not close to those metrics. million, $0.9 million and $1.8

IPO 60

IPO Investment Bankers Demand Revenue 60

Cracking the Code

SEPTEMBER 2, 2008

The Deutsche Bank report has a very interesting chart on the topic presenting the Free Cash Flow margins vs. the revenue growth four years post IPO for select software leaders: As you can see, with 20% Free Cash Flow margin and a 50% growth rate, Salesforce is well positioned in the pack! SaaS business metrics: why are they different?

Software Review 48

Software Review Software Technical Review Cloud 48

Ben's Blog

AUGUST 17, 2020

OH in South Park, San Francisco (or on Zoom from Big Sky, Montana): “OMG, crazy – that firm just paid 100x revenue to invest in [insert hot startup here] – what could they be thinking?” A multiple is a company value divided by a metric. cash flows beyond that forecast period).

Valuation 36

Valuation Balance Sheet Cofounder Forecast 36

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 2, 2018

As an investor myself, I look for a balanced story focused on the major elements that drive profitability, including the following: A 5-year financial forecast achieving a positive cash flow early. You need some innovative new approaches, including digital marketing, as well as metrics to measure effectiveness.

Intellectual Property 48

Intellectual Property Initial Public Offering Merger Acquisition 48

Tim Keane

JANUARY 12, 2010

Next, they carefully consider the range of multiples being used today to value companies being acquired or doing IPOs in the market that the business is in.   In a bottom up approach, the forecast is built from actual user projections.   Pre-bubble Siliicon Valley deals were popularly valued at multiples of revenue.

Term Sheet 68

Term Sheet Valuation Dividend Liquidation Preference 68

Startup Lessons Learned

JUNE 9, 2020

This was supposed to be Airbnb's biggest year by many measures, including its IPO, which was one of the most anticipated since the 2008 financial crisis. A complete collapse of revenue that simultaneously affects your employees and your customers, your partners, your investors, everyone all at once and all the news is bad.

Silicon Valley 60

Silicon Valley Hosting Cofounder Employee 60

Startup Lessons Learned

OCTOBER 30, 2008

Get 18 months or more of cash (runway) in the business against a conservative forecast. Not just about expenses, about increasing revenue. Make sure for planned revenues you have "leading indicators" to know if you will hit it. This can take the form of a traditional sales pipeline or a registration-activation-revenue chart.

Lean 121

Lean San Francisco Continuous Deployment DC 121

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 9, 2009

We were focused on revenue, but we didnt understand that revenue is not important for its own sake in an early stage company. Almost all of them got scooped up by pre-IPO Google this time. That year, right before the IPO, those months mattered a great deal in terms of financial outcomes. About spot trends. all about luck.

San Francisco 94

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment DC 94