Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 21, 2020

Biggest Advice I Give to Portfolio Founders? We spent time talking about why “pay-to-play” deals are back on the table and why these deals happen. Paying close attention to the psychology of founders. In short, many founders have “naive optimism,” which is to say “they don’t know what they don’t know.”

Marketing 263

Marketing Valuation Churn Rate Balance Sheet 263

Feld Thoughts

FEBRUARY 9, 2016

I’ve seen every imaginable type of liquidation preference structure, pay-to-play dynamic, preferred return, ratchet, share/option bonus, option repricing, and carveout. I have two simple rules for founders in my head from this experience. You might have it in the bank already.

Cap Table 70

Cap Table Down Round Liquidation Preference Founder 70

Hearpreneur

JANUARY 20, 2021

I am the CEO and co-founder of a dating app called So Syncd that is based on matching compatible personality types. Additionally, I have a lot of conviction that influencer marketing is going to play a huge role for consumer brands, but that it won’t look or feel quite like what you think of when you think of influencer marketing today.

Entrepreneur 149

Entrepreneur United States Software Review Technical Review 149

Hunter Walker

AUGUST 8, 2023

Restructures, Down Rounds, and Pay to Plays. Funds will get rightsized , which helps better align investors and founders in what defines a successful outcome. Whatever gets reported is just the tip of the iceberg. And fascinating new advances (and needs) in AI, climate, biology, etc are driving tech-IP driven startups.

Portfolio 98

Portfolio Cap Table LP Valuation 98

YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 13, 2018

by Rachel Strella, founder of Strella Social Media. Pay to play” — the path to more exposure. Pay attention to social media trends, but before you jump on the bandwagon, carefully evaluate if incorporating them in your marketing strategy will be consistent with your brand and practical for your business.

Social Media 232

Social Media Media SEO Channel 232

Austin Startup

FEBRUARY 1, 2018

Answering questions on behalf of the Dashtag is Dirk van den Berg , the CMO and co-founder of this startup. With more than 50.000 students, the city offers a big pool of young, talented, enthusiastic, job-seeking employees and co-founders. To talk about the outdated pay-to-play system in sports in the U.S. for example.

Netherlands 54

Netherlands Startup Philadelphia Cofounder 54

This is going to be BIG.

FEBRUARY 7, 2010

Founder Collective raises $40 million in September ‘09. Well, remember the dust up a while back with the backlash against “pay to play” pitch events where startups had to pay to meet angels? First Growth Venture Network formed to mentor high potential seed and early stage companies. So what is the Open Angel Forum?

New York City 69

New York City New York Angel Investor Early Stage 69

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 29, 2009

No doubt they spent countless hours arguing for reduced burn rates sometimes with founders, sometimes with investors. If they wanted to fund a company but other investors didn’t then they got involved in protracted negotiations over issues such as “pay-to-play” provisions. It is no wonder why they had less time for new deals.

Burn Rate 263

Burn Rate Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Private Equity 263

Haystack

OCTOBER 7, 2018

In order to play the Series A game, take a board seat, and credibly lead those rounds from Series A to Series B, these new firms will have to build a strong roster of GPs who are qualified to sit on these boards — this would have to be done in a time when many of the very top tier VC brands are struggling to recruit the types of folks they would (..)

Cap Table 147

Cap Table Venture Capital Portfolio Pay to Play 147

A Crowded Space

MAY 31, 2016

We expect there to be an increase in down rounds, flat rounds, inside rounds and various pay-to-play scenarios. Founders that raised party rounds are quickly discovering the downside of not having any larger, more committed investors. They have no more money. Well, this is a happy outcome.

Cram Down 60

Cram Down Pay to Play Angel Investor Warrant 60

blog.simeonov.com

FEBRUARY 22, 2010

Simeon, can you tell us how you structure ownership and control so you can fire your co-founders if necessary? The first part will dispel some myths, address the lifecycle of founder agreements and the key compensation and control parameters in them. Let’s start by dispelling some myths: There is a standard founder agreement.

Founder 44

Founder Vesting Agile Startup 44

Hearpreneur

SEPTEMBER 9, 2015

Also, I had the opportunity to present my “Organic Reach is Dead: Learn to Pay to Play Like a Pro” Masterclass to a standing room only (or sold out) crowd on the main stage at the Social Media Week Los Angeles conference. We look forward to Cosmoprof every year! 6 – Wonderful & Productive Summer.

Los Angeles 48

Los Angeles Las Vegas Entrepreneur Phoenix 48

Duct Tape Marketing

FEBRUARY 14, 2018

With the two major platforms becoming largely pay-to-play for local businesses, email offers one of the best remaining opportunities for organic visibility — and actually makes paid visibility cheaper and more effective. He’s a co-founder of the Local University conference series.

Email 49

Email Technical Review Marketing SEO 49

Feld Thoughts

JULY 14, 2015

The new money comes in at a pre-money valuation of $100, but includes a complete refresh of founder equity to 40% of the company. So the new investment gets 60%, the founders get 39.9%, and the $1m of seed money gets 0.1%. and the investors, who put up $1m in a convertible note, get 0.1%. Sure – it happens.

Recapitalization 70

Recapitalization Pre-Money Valuation Post-Money Valuation Angel Investor 70

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2010

Chris Dixon made the point that he thinks investors should look for the founders to have the domain knowledge rather than them having domain knowledge themselves. But while I prefer a certain naive optimism in founders I can’t see the logic that this extends to angel investors. So where are we now? It’s hard to say.

Angel Investor 284

Angel Investor Early Stage Cap Table Deal Flow 284

Scott Edward Walker

SEPTEMBER 14, 2011

It is important for founders to understand that VC term sheets are usually deemed to be “non-binding” (other than perhaps a few provisions, such as the “no-shop” provision and legal fees and expenses). What Are the Key Issues for Founders? Fourth, founders should button-down all of the key issues in the term sheet.

Term Sheet 76

Term Sheet Due Diligence Liquidation Preference Redemption 76

Berkonomics

APRIL 28, 2012

These include forcing early investors to “pay to play,” or invest their pre-rata amounts to keep their original percentages, or suffer the consequences of being diluted to the extreme and losing preferences in a liquidation. Email readers, continue here.]

Angel Investor 69

Angel Investor Dilution Early Stage Pay to Play 69

Up and Running

APRIL 3, 2017

For example: Mentorship and apprenticeship with the founders of our family-owned bagel shop. Pay to play: Set a daily budget of $20 for two to three weeks to start. What you offer as an employer doesn’t need to be limited to salary or employee benefits. People are increasingly looking for purpose in the world of work.

Social Media 96

Social Media Employee Media Hiring 96

Scott Edward Walker

JUNE 9, 2011

What Are the Key Issues for Founders? There are several issues founders should focus on in connection with mandatory (or automatic) conversion rights. First, founders should push for a low multiple of the Original Purchase Price (e.g., Conversion Rights What Are Conversion Rights?

Term Sheet 60

Term Sheet Conversion Rights Venture Capital Liquidation Preference 60

Steve Blank

MARCH 22, 2016

It follows the journeys of founders who share what it takes to build a startup – from restaurants to rocket scientists, to online gifts to online groceries and more. Nigel and Vaugn Caldon , co-founders of BallStar social network for basketball players. Nigel Caldon. Joining me in SiriusXM’s studio in New York were. Vaughn Caldon.

Entrepreneur 120

Entrepreneur North America Cofounder Silicon Valley 120

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 14, 2010

Chris Dixon made the point that he thinks investors should look for the founders to have the domain knowledge rather than them having domain knowledge themselves. But I prefer a certain naive optimism in founders but I can’t see that this extends to angel investors. So where are we now? It’s hard to say.

Angel Investor 152

Angel Investor Cap Table Early Stage Deal Flow 152

Tim Keane

JANUARY 12, 2010

These include: ·       Vesting of Founder Stock. Especially in situations where the founders have a large position and are key employees, it is not uncommon for investors to request that they agree to have some portion of their holdings vest on a schedule.

Term Sheet 68

Term Sheet Valuation Dividend Liquidation Preference 68

Scott Edward Walker

JULY 7, 2011

What Are the Key Issues for Founders? There are several issues founders should focus on in connection with redemption rights. First, founders should push back to knock them out entirely because, as noted above, they are not the norm and rarely implemented. Again, the founders should push back hard.

Term Sheet 49

Term Sheet Redemption Venture Capital Preferred Stock 49

Duct Tape Marketing

MARCH 30, 2023

The Power Of Play In Business Culture written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing Marketing Podcast with Kristi Herold In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast , I interview Kristi Herold. She's the founder and CEO of JAM, a multi-million dollar global business that has connected millions of people through play.

Retention 75

Retention Canada Channel Pay to Play 75

Duct Tape Marketing

OCTOBER 27, 2016

Although it does seem that Facebook is making businesses pay to play, there are still ways that SMBs can get their content seen by their respective audiences without having to rely solely on boosted posts. When he isn’t working, he’s traveling the world, meditating, or dreaming (in code).

Social Media 28

Social Media Algorithm Audience Advertising 28

Scott Edward Walker

JULY 27, 2011

Indeed, whether a minority common stockholder is a founder, an advisor or even a friends/family investor, such stockholder will usually not be contractually granted any of the rights that are typically granted to preferred stockholders.

Delaware 49

Delaware Liquidation Preference Redemption Los Angeles 49

This is going to be BIG.

NOVEMBER 16, 2023

That’s how it feels when your hot deal from two years ago winds up running low on cash and gets into a pay-to-play round that wipes out the cap table. You're competing against other top tier VCs for your deal flow--as top founders look to get backed by top investors. You can call BS quickly by carefully listening to founders.

Non-Compete 97

Non-Compete Cofounder Cap Table Reputation 97

ConversionXL

OCTOBER 19, 2021

We’ll look at how to thrive with organic content and how to extend your reach with pay-to-play. Play into this by giving them content they won’t get anywhere else. With organic reach hard to come by, paying for ads is likely a matter of time. The building blocks of a successful Facebook marketing strategy.

Marketing 134

Marketing Audience Social Media Algorithm 134

Professor VC

MARCH 11, 2013

The founding duo of SocialParent (Reza Raji and Gerry Gutt) were also co-founders of iControl Networks , where I was also an investor and part-time CFO. I'm surprised it is still around in 2013, but am sure the selectivity criteria has changed to whoever is willing to pay.

Silicon Valley 28

Silicon Valley San Francisco Social Network SEC 28

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2016

Many founders don’t understand why inside rounds are so difficult. So inside rounds get delayed and when there are non-participants you often find “recaps” or “structure” or “pay-to-play” provisions. Why Inside Rounds are Difficult? Call it high-stakes chicken.

Valuation 150

Valuation Down Round Startup Later Stage 150

ConversionXL

JANUARY 18, 2022

They know there’s pay-to-play stuff. As FeverBee founder Richard Millington notes: “The secret to a thriving community is relevance. They know there are affiliate links. They know that the vendor’s blog isn’t objective. And so, when people are making buying decisions, they make those searches elsewhere. Image source.

Social Media 145

Social Media Audience Media Marketing 145