Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 27, 2023

When an entrepreneur first incorporates a business, they may find themselves the proud owner of 10 million shares of common stock, commonly called founder’s shares. Startup owners need to assume a three to five year wait for a liquidity event, such as acquisition or going public, before they can cash out. In the U.S.,

Stock 240

Stock .Net Vesting Founder Vesting 240

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 26, 2022

One of the myths I often hear as an advisor to many entrepreneurs is that their lifestyle would somehow be better if they could more easily find other people’s money to build their startup. Usually it pays to move a startup slower rather than risk relationships. Many times friends and family have been broken by failed investments.

Cost 267

Cost Bootstrapping Advisory Board Startup 267

ReadWriteStart

APRIL 14, 2023

Yet, we know tech startups will weather the storm. For startups that sell to businesses, however, this pain creates new opportunities as forward-thinking companies look for permanent, technical solutions to these cyclical problems. Part of this shift is due to the impact of tighter monetary policy on tech stocks.

Technical Review 148

Technical Review Ukraine Software Review ChatGPT 148

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 29, 2020

One of the myths I often hear as an advisor to many entrepreneurs is that their lifestyle would somehow be better if they could more easily find other people’s money to build their startup. Usually it pays to move a startup slower rather than risk relationships. Many times friends and family have been broken by failed investments.

Bootstrapping 310

Bootstrapping Advisory Board Venture Capital Startup 310

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 26, 2020

Despite the fact that the number of IPOs (Initial Public Offerings) for startups have continued to stay low, I still hear it touted often as the preferred exit strategy. The public company corporate culture may not fit you and your startup. Most startup founders voluntarily exit or are pushed out, and the fun is gone.

Cost 319

Cost IPO Exit Strategy Initial Public Offering 319

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 6, 2023

For the elite startups and entrepreneurs who manage to attract the investor they dream of, and survive the term sheet negotiation, there is still one more hurdle before the money is in the bank. Make sure everyone accurately posts their role with your startup on social media profiles, resumes, and references.

Technical Review 296

Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Bankruptcy 296

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 31, 2019

In the old days, every entrepreneur dreamed of easily taking their startup public, and making it big. Today the rate of startups going public (IPO – Initial Public Offering) is up from the dead zone, but is still half the rate back before 2000. Startups going public are laid open to competitors and critics.

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IPO SEC Prospectus Startup 210

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 8, 2022

Most entrepreneurs struggle with many startup founders quandaries in building their business, and these key dilemmas are probably the biggest source of pain and failure for the entrepreneur lifestyle. Should you start a company solo or find co-founders to help you? The co-founder relationship dilemma.

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Founder Hockey Stick Cofounder Liquidity Event 325

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 15, 2012

I recently read Brad Feld’s thought provoking piece encouraging founders to sit on the board of another startup company. I found it thought provoking because I’ve always believed startup founders need extreme focus on only their company to succeed. We have Ian Rogers , the CEO of Topspin Media on our board.

Founder 294

Founder Vesting Startup Stock 294

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 5, 2018

Reading the NY Times article “ Jeffrey Katzenberg Raises $1 Billion for Short-Form Video Venture, ” I realized it was time for a new startup heuristic: the amount of customer discovery and product-market fit you need to find is inversely proportional to the amount and availability of risk capital. It’s the antithesis of the Lean Startup.

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Lean Burn Rate Startup IPO 335

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2023

I always tell entrepreneurs that two heads are better than one, so the first task in many startups is finding a cofounder or two. The default answer, to keep peace in the family, is to split everything equally, but that’s a terrible answer, since now no one is in control, and startups need a clear leader. Now comes the reality check.

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Technical Cofounder Equity Distribution Cofounder 247

The Startup Magazine

MARCH 14, 2022

And with the technology available these days, it is convenient to invest in emerging startups. Are you wondering how to invest in startups in India? The digital startup craze. The world is about to see a new generation propagating the Indian startup investing industry. Sectors witnessing a startup boom. Media tech.

Technical Review 142

Technical Review Due Diligence India Startup 142

ReadWriteStart

JULY 5, 2023

Neko Health is well positioned to achieve its goals, as the board of directors recently welcomed notable investors such as Niklas Zennstrom, co-founder of Skype, and Klaus Hommels, founder of the venture capital firm Lakestar.

Sweden 126

Sweden Artificial Inteligence Cofounder Technical Review 126

ReadWriteStart

JULY 12, 2023

Canoo, an EV startup based in California that debuted its futuristic-looking electric van in 2021 , is having a hard time making ends meet. In spite of this, the federal government has kept doing business with the startup, saving it from certain doom. The state of Canoo’s finances has been preoccupying for some time.

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United States Government Startup California 127

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 18, 2020

As part of The Startup Magazine Female Founder series , we sat down with award-winning entrepreneur Elizabeth Colón. He never invested in stocks, but he knew his numbers and he went on to open a local mom and pop grocery store and his children were required to work at the store after school. I could not agree more.

Founder 158

Founder Chicago LLC Leadership 158

Steve Blank

APRIL 26, 2022

At the turn of the century after the dotcom crash, startup valuations plummeted, burn rates were unsustainable, and startups were quickly running out of cash. They offered desperate founders more cash but insisted on new terms, rewriting all the old stock agreements that previous investors and employees had.

Cram Down 404

Cram Down Founder Venture Capital Recapitalization 404

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 27, 2011

I was asked by a reader how much equity he should give out to early employees and to service providers in a very early stage startup. Founders vs. Early Employees To help with this discussion, let me start with a definition of "early employee." the better the startup will be. Which means n = (i - 1)/i.

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Early Stage Equity CTO Hire Sweat Equity 391

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 24, 2021

For the elite startups and entrepreneurs who manage to attract the investor they dream of, and survive the term sheet negotiation, there is still one more hurdle before the money is in the bank. Make sure everyone accurately posts their role with your startup on social media profiles, resumes, and references.

Technical Review 379

Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Bankruptcy 379

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 1, 2022

Wouldn’t you like to be one of the lucky people who joined Google and Facebook when these were startups, and now be a multi-millionaire or better? So people ask me “How many shares should I ask for or expect when I join a startup today?” Your compensation is the total package of stock plus salary plus benefits.

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Stock Options Advisory Board Stock Startup 343

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 9, 2020

In my years of advising startups and occasional investing, I’ve seen many great ideas start and fail, but the right team always seems to make good things happen, even without the ultimate idea. You need to have a technical genius on the team to get your startup product off the ground. Outsourcing your core competency does not work.

Technical Cofounder 308

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Stock Options 308

Steve Blank

JULY 11, 2017

By coincidence, the CEO was an intern at one of my startups more than two decades ago.) Before the rapid rise of Unicorns, (startups with a valuation over a billion dollars), when boards were still in control, they “encouraged” the hiring of “adult supervision” of the founders after they found product/market fit. The founders.

Part-Time VPE 308

Part-Time VPE Liquidity Event Stock Engineer 308

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 1, 2020

I have often been asked about Startup Funding by entrepreneurs. Many myths surround the subject of startup funding. Here is Startup Funding, a Comprehensive Guide for Entrepreneurs. You must have seen a lot of startups giving out promotions, discounts, and incentives at the early phase of their business. Debt investors.

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Startup Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Seed Stage 150

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2019

One of the things that founders have the most angst about is whom they should have on their board and at what stage of the business. Why you should set up a board at the seed round of funding I know these days with SAFE documents and rolling convertible notes many founders prefer not to set up a board early on.

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Venture Capital Startup Angel Investor Silicon Valley 236

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 9, 2014

If you think you are the perfect fit for the entrepreneur lifestyle, but you’re not yet sure if you’re ready to start your own, then I recommend that you take a job with an existing startup first to validate the culture realities against your dream. Running or working for a startup is more of a lifestyle than a career choice.

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Technical Review Stock Options Due Diligence Silicon Valley 250

ReadWriteStart

OCTOBER 2, 2021

If you’re thinking about starting a tech startup you already know — there are a lot of things to consider. But what if a tech startup uses the LLC structure? Why should a founder entertain this idea? In addition, they can neither issue stocks nor bonds. Most SaaS , AI, and IoT enterprises are corporations.

Technical Review 158

Technical Review LLC IPO Stock 158

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 12, 2020

Yet despite the overarching negative outlook, startups seem to be weathering the storm. Quartz mentions that startups seem to be dealing with the pressures of the pandemic far more effectively than larger businesses and conglomerates. Much of this success is due to the flexibility of startups and their ability to adapt.

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Bankruptcy Startup Agile Technical Review 165

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 10, 2018

I always tell entrepreneurs that two heads are better than one, so the first task in many startups is finding a co-founder or two. Giving a co-founder a salary won’t get you the “fire in the belly” you want. The value in a startup is all about tangible results, so I see no equity value in the idea alone.

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Equity Cofounder Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property 238

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 22, 2010

Things like “ participating preferred stock &# in legalese unsurprisingly never actually call out, “hey, this is the participating preferred language.&# We got a3x participating liquidation preference with interest (not participating with a 3x cap, but 3x participating. Investors own 25%, the founders own 75%.

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Valuation Liquidation Preference Pre-Money Valuation Term Sheet 405

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 18, 2018

In my years of advising startups and occasional investing, I’ve seen many great ideas start and fail, but the right team always seems to make good things happen, even without the ultimate idea. You need to have a technical genius on the team to get your startup product off the ground. Outsourcing your core competency does not work.

Technical Cofounder 144

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Startup 144

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 11, 2014

In my years of advising startups and occasional investing, I’ve seen many great ideas start and fail, but the right team always seems to make good things happen, even without the ultimate idea. You need to have a technical genius on the team to get your startup product off the ground. Outsourcing your core competency does not work.

Technical Cofounder 245

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Startup 245

YoungUpstarts

MARCH 22, 2019

Without the resources to hire a full time bookkeeper and little understanding of how to get their heads above water, many of these small businesses will founder having struggled due to lack of cash flow and poorly managed accounts. Provide real-time stock and inventory levels. One-stop-shop” accounting software. Staff requirements.

Software Review 176

Software Review Due Diligence Startup Stock 176

VC Cafe

FEBRUARY 27, 2023

Taking stock of the venture capital market in 2023, it’s clear to see that we’re in a transition point. For the past 10 years, with interest rates near zero, VC investors plowed record amounts into tech startups and enjoyed a seemingly ‘easy’ investing environment. Don’t just take it from me.

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Venture Capital Technical Review LP Institutional Investors 215

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 23, 2023

If you find an A-player CIA officer jumping into a founder role mid-way in their career (or decide to start something yourself,) they’ll probably go on to do great things. Advisory Board members are often paid in a balance of equity (stock options) and cash (“cash” is the industry term for money wired to your bank account).

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Government Advisory Board Salary Sales Cycle 212

Steve Blank

MARCH 16, 2016

There are many reasons to found a startup. There are many reasons to work at a startup. To most founders a startup is not a job, but a calling. But startups require money upfront for product development and later to scale. Traditional lenders (banks) think that startups are too risky for a traditional bank loan.

Liquidity Event 120

Liquidity Event Founder Liquidation Preference Venture Capital 120

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 19, 2017

Capital investments are like gasoline on a startup business’s metaphorical fire. If you’re like most startup CEOs, your startup has been your personal fiefdom and baby. Background: Justin Klemm’s analytics and website uptime startup, Ghost Inspector , wants to revolutionize the way businesses manage their ecommerce funnels.

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Private Equity Pre-Money Valuation Equity Startup 94

Scott Edward Walker

OCTOBER 19, 2020

Over the past six months, my firm has been engaged by a number of startups with significant intellectual property (“IP”) problems. In a couple of cases, the founders played lawyer on their own; in the other cases, the founders either used (i) a Web service that did not address IP issues or (ii) an inexperienced law firm.

IP 52

IP Software Review Founder Technical Review 52

Steve Blank

APRIL 10, 2019

VC’s have just changed the ~50-year old social contract with startup employees. In doing so they may have removed one of the key incentives that made startups different from working in a large company. For most startup employee’s startup stock options are now a bad deal. Why Startups Offer Stock Options.

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Stock Options Stock Vesting Common Stock 333