Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 30, 2021

I was reading an old article written by marketing guru Seth Godin a while back where he mentions that “it takes about six years of hard work to become an overnight success”. Six years later, he managed to land a contract with IBM to provide their IBM PC base operating system. had its initial public offering, raising $33.8

Initial Public Offering 317

Initial Public Offering California .Net Business Plan 317

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 6, 2013

I was reading an old article written by marketing guru Seth Godin a while back where he mentions that “it takes about six years of hard work to become an overnight success”. Six years later, he managed to land a contract with IBM to provide their IBM PC base operating system. had its initial public offering, raising $33.8

Initial Public Offering 297

Initial Public Offering Startup California .Net 297

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 26, 2011

I was reading an article written by marketing guru Seth Godin a while back where he mentions that “it takes about six years of hard work to become an overnight success”. Six years later, he managed to land a contract with IBM to provide their IBM PC base operating system. had its initial public offering, raising $33.8

Initial Public Offering 295

Initial Public Offering California .Net Business Plan 295

YoungUpstarts

MAY 31, 2016

Oliver, author of “ Mantra Design ” and “ Mantra Leadership “ Successful businesses are not a result of chance, but are the by-product of an effective and evolving strategic plan, complimented by an equally effective operating infrastructure, and supported by exceptional human talent. Is a marketing plan important?

Technical Review 100

Technical Review Leadership Early Stage Initial Public Offering 100

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 12, 2019

I was reading an old article written by marketing guru Seth Godin a while back where he mentions that “it takes about six years of hard work to become an overnight success”. Six years later, he managed to land a contract with IBM to provide their IBM PC base operating system. had its initial public offering, raising $33.8

Initial Public Offering 277

Initial Public Offering Startup California .Net 277

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 9, 2012

I was reading an article written by marketing guru Seth Godin a while back where he mentions that “it takes about six years of hard work to become an overnight success”. Six years later, he managed to land a contract with IBM to provide their IBM PC base operating system. had its initial public offering, raising $33.8

Entrepreneur 263

Entrepreneur Initial Public Offering California .Net 263

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 19, 2012

The job changes from creating a “work of art” to operating a “cookie cutter.” Initial Public Offering (IPO). The ideal buyer is someone who has more skills and interest on the operational side of the business, and can scale it. This used to be the preferred mode, and the quick way to riches. Make it your cash cow.

Exit Strategy 241

Exit Strategy Initial Public Offering IPO Startup 241

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 11, 2013

In the old days, every entrepreneur dreamed of someday taking their startup public, and making it a multi-national powerhouse. Typical costs for startups today range from $250,000 to $1 million, even if the offering does not go through. Startups going public are laid open to competitors and critics.

IPO 242

IPO SEC Prospectus Startup 242

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 5, 2011

The job changes from creating a “work of art” to operating a “cookie cutter.” Initial Public Offering (IPO). The ideal buyer is someone who has more skills and interest on the operational side of the business, and can scale it. This used to be the preferred mode, and the quick way to riches. Make it your cash cow.

Exit Strategy 231

Exit Strategy Initial Public Offering Startup IPO 231

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2012

Even though the Initial Public Offering (IPO) alternative for a successful startup seems to be coming back into vogue, it is relatively rare. IPOs in 2008, the market was up to a still trivial 159 in 2011. Consider the recent example of Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg. After a record low of 39 U.S.

Exit Strategy 239

Exit Strategy IPO Investment Bankers Entrepreneur 239

Steve Blank

MARCH 18, 2011

The Golden Age (1970 – 1995): Build a growing business with a consistently profitable track record (after at least 5 quarters,) and go public when it’s time. Dot.com Bubble ( 1995-2000): “ Anything goes” as public markets clamor for ideas, vague promises of future growth, and IPOs happen absent regard for history or profitability.

Internet 335

Internet IPO Silicon Valley Agile 335

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 2, 2018

Tiny markets may excite your passion but won’t sustain a business or leave you with a long-term positive legacy. Investors look for a team with business, financial, marketing, and operational skills, as well as a social passion. Includes balanced and hard-hitting marketing and sales.

Intellectual Property 48

Intellectual Property Initial Public Offering Merger Acquisition 48

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 5, 2011

Even though the Initial Public Offering (IPO) alternative for a successful startup seems to be coming back into vogue, it is still extremely rare. Opening your company to the public will change the way you do business, from reinvesting returns for the future, to maximizing growth each quarter. Only about a dozen U.S.

Exit Strategy 235

Exit Strategy IPO Entrepreneur Investment Bankers 235

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2013

Even though the Initial Public Offering (IPO) alternative for a successful startup seems to be coming back, it is relatively rare. IPOs in 2008, the market was up to a still trivial 128 in 2012 (compared to 675 in 1996). Consider the recent example of Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg. After a record low of 39 U.S.

IPO 224

IPO Founder Exit Strategy Investment Bankers 224

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 29, 2010

I was reading an article written by marketing guru Seth Godin a while back where he mentions that “it takes about six years of hard work to become an overnight success”. Six years later, he managed to land a contract with IBM to provide their IBM PC base operating system. had its initial public offering, raising $33.8

Initial Public Offering 221

Initial Public Offering Startup California .Net 221

The Startup Magazine

OCTOBER 29, 2021

We can trace the Midwest’s renaissance to Sprout Social’s successful initial public offering (IPO) , which saw the company debut on public markets at a price of $17 per share and rise to over $120 per share today. The national labor market has evolved since the pandemic. Today, Sprout is a $6.6

Silicon Valley 190

Silicon Valley Kansas City Chicago Denver 190

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 22, 2011

None of these investment banks offer traditional banking services, as you would expect from one of the following: Retail banks Commercial banks Credit unions Savings and loans As startup founders, you first need to deal with one of these banks, probably a commercial bank. Commercial banking is also known as business banking.

Silicon Valley 211

Silicon Valley Private Equity Initial Public Offering Startup 211

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 10, 2013

None of these investment banks offer traditional banking services, as you would expect from one of the following: Retail banks Commercial banks Credit unions Savings and loans As startup founders, you first need to deal with one of these traditional banks, probably a commercial bank. Commercial banking is also known as business banking.

IPO 205

IPO Silicon Valley Private Equity Initial Public Offering 205

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 16, 2023

None of these investment banks offer traditional banking services, as you would expect from one of the following: Retail banks Commercial banks Credit unions Savings and loans As startup founders, you first need to deal with one of these traditional banks, probably a commercial bank. Commercial banking is also known as business banking.

Early Stage 182

Early Stage Silicon Valley Private Equity Initial Public Offering 182

YoungUpstarts

MARCH 14, 2012

The more market-savvy professionals already know some of these standard shortened phrases, and business glossaries abound. But if the initial jargon has got you down, just KISS (keep it simple, stupid), and check out these nine business acronyms that you need to know. And the language of business can be hard to understand.

Non-disclosure Agreement 202

Non-disclosure Agreement NDA IPO Covenant 202

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 31, 2016

I was reading an old article written by marketing guru Seth Godin a while back where he mentions that “it takes about six years of hard work to become an overnight success”. Six years later, he managed to land a contract with IBM to provide their IBM PC base operating system. had its initial public offering, raising $33.8

Initial Public Offering 148

Initial Public Offering California .Net Business Plan 148

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 3, 2015

The visibility of Google, Facebook and a few others continues to propagate the myth that the ultimate objective of every entrepreneur should be to take their startups public via an initial public offering at the earliest opportunity. All strategy and operational moves become public.

IPO 120

IPO Initial Public Offering Entrepreneur Private Equity 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 31, 2010

None of these investment banks offer traditional banking services, as you would expect from one of the following: Retail banks Commercial banks Credit unions Savings and loans As startup founders, you first need to deal with one of these banks, probably a commercial bank. Commercial banking is also known as business banking.

Silicon Valley 120

Silicon Valley Private Equity Startup Initial Public Offering 120

ReadWriteStart

JULY 20, 2023

In this article, we delve into the world of tech-ish companies and explore the seismic impact of initial public offerings (IPOs) on their growth and profitability. Despite not being a traditional tech company, Cava’s IPO shattered expectations and sent shockwaves through the market.

IPO 107

IPO Startup Initial Public Offering eCommerce 107

online.wsj.com

JULY 11, 2012

Loading… Markets. About 14% of the technology firms that have held initial public offerings between January 2011 and the end of June 2012 went public with at least two share classes—more than twice the 6.4% In just a year of operations, Fab has signed up nearly 5 million members, sold 1.8

Silicon Valley 42

Silicon Valley Founder Software Review Technical Review 42

Austin Startup

FEBRUARY 12, 2019

Just this week, entrepreneur and investor Tim O’Reilly wrote a powerful piece in which he challenged Hoffman’s blitzscaling strategy, which often encourages companies to grow as fast as possible by raising venture capital to dominate new markets, a strategy leveraged by Uber among other unicorns (i.e. Certainly.

Silicon Valley 48

Silicon Valley Technical Review Venture Capital San Francisco 48

Growthink Blog

MAY 23, 2011

With this capital, the company propels itself to $50 million+ in revenues, and to either a sale to a strategic acquirer or to an initial public offering. Technical progress and market traction are much slower and cost a lot more than anticipated. There are a lot of dark, hard days.

Angel Investor 112

Angel Investor Venture Capital Sweat Equity Cram Down 112

YoungUpstarts

MARCH 11, 2015

This compensation can come in the form of a stock option , a stock appreciation right, or a similar financial instrument, which can potentially be quite lucrative for employees at the time of a merger, acquisition or initial public offering (IPO). When does a startup company need a business valuation?

Valuation 100

Valuation Stock Options CPA Merger 100

VC Cafe

JANUARY 15, 2024

With the IPO window closed, growth funding severely dwindled and multiples down as a result of the public market, unicorns face tough choices in 2024. M&A/ Exits – This situation is compounded by a narrowing window for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and initial public offerings (IPOs).

IPO 88

IPO Valuation Israel Private Equity 88

Growthink Blog

MAY 10, 2012

If it's not your plan to get venture capital down the road, then you'll probably stop in Stage 2-receiving enough funding to boost your marketing, sales, and infrastructure to grow organically from there to the point where you are satisfied or ready to sell. Series B is the round that follows series A in early stage financing.

Equity 88

Equity Mezzanine Later Stage Venture Capital 88

Reid Hoffman

MARCH 19, 2019

There are times when small and slow is the right strategy for a specific market opportunity. When the market conditions are right, you should blitzscale for the benefit of all stakeholders: customers, employees, investors, and society. Blitzscaling is a response to market dynamics, not the cause.

Cofounder 28

Cofounder Business Model IPO Non-Compete 28

Rob Go

OCTOBER 1, 2014

It’s the eve of Wayfair’s Initial Public Offering, and I’m so excited for the company. Big congrats to the entire team there, especially NextView Venture Advisors Niraj and Steve (who were among the first people to get behind NextView in the early days).

Initial Public Offering 51

Initial Public Offering Metrics Revenue Operations 51

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. According to TheStreet , US IPO market results in Q2 2020 posted a strong bounce-back from Q1 with 58 IPOs, after a slow start due to the Covid19 pandemic.

Cost 319

Cost IPO Exit Strategy Initial Public Offering 319

Berkonomics

JULY 8, 2021

How do roundtables operate? It was an Internet CEO roundtable in early 2000 (almost a year before the crash of the stock market) where it became obvious before the public was aware, that the bubble was just beginning to burst for such tech businesses.

Initial Public Offering 62

Initial Public Offering Angel Investor Stock Email 62

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 11, 2017

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 of 15 years ago. Startups going public are laid open to competitors and critics.

IPO 218

IPO SEC Prospectus Technical Review 218

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.

IPO 210

IPO SEC Prospectus Startup 210

Version One Ventures

JULY 20, 2015

Etsy had a market cap of about $2.22B as of July 20, with a revenue multiple of 8.2 Bessemer offers a good overview of current valuations for different business models: SaaS, marketplaces, consumer, and ecommerce. Consensus estimate of approximately $270M for 2015 revenue. for 2015 GMV. Take rate of about 11%.

Valuation 60

Valuation Early Stage IPO eCommerce 60