Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 8, 2019

Thus I’m getting more questions on new mechanisms, like crowd funding, or going public through the side door as a reverse merger. Most public shells ready for sale are not listed on a national securities exchange, but are instead traded in a less glamorous setting, such as the OTC Bulletin Board.

Merger 303

Merger OTC IPO Due Diligence 303

Up and Running

NOVEMBER 12, 2014

Common exit strategies include being acquired by another company, the sale of equity, or a management or employee buyout. Initial Public Offering (IPO). See Also What Startups Need to Know About Exit Strategies. Who needs an exit strategy? An exit strategy is a way to get your money back. Types of exit strategies.

Exit Strategy 117

Exit Strategy Lock-up Period Merger IPO 117

Berkonomics

OCTOBER 4, 2018

I’ve been involved with well over twenty successful exits and four initial public offerings over the years, some of them with monstrous gains, some more modest. I cannot recall ever attending a closing dinner for a sale in which we returned only a portion of the investor group’s money. But the silence….

Sales 54

Sales Investment Bankers Initial Public Offering Early Stage 54

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 13, 2018

Thus I’m getting more questions on new mechanisms, like crowd funding, or going public through the side door as a reverse merger. Most public shells ready for sale are not listed on a national securities exchange, but are instead traded in a less glamorous setting, such as the OTC Bulletin Board.

Merger 198

Merger OTC IPO Due Diligence 198

Berkonomics

JANUARY 7, 2021

Investments in small companies involve a much greater degree of risk than investment in public companies, which provide immediate liquidity if needed and a ready measure of value at any time. That risk deserves reward if there is a profitable sale or even an initial public offering, rare as that event is.

Liquidity Event 96

Liquidity Event Pre-Money Valuation Cofounder Initial Public Offering 96

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 26, 2018

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. Everyone dreams of becoming a billionaire overnight.

Exit Strategy 128

Exit Strategy IPO Initial Public Offering SEC 128

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 3, 2014

A reverse merger is the acquisition of an already public company (usually a dormant shell) to avoid the Initial Public Offering (IPO) process and cost, to quickly get your startup on a public exchange for fund raising through visibility and selling stock. Reverse mergers may not get your startup on the Nasdaq.

Merger 246

Merger OTC IPO Stock 246

Berkonomics

JUNE 15, 2017

From the moment such an investor looks seriously at your company, the investor or VC partner is thinking of the end game, the ultimate sale of the company or even of an eventual initial public offering. There is no middle ground. Taking money from these sources involves resetting priorities over time.

Liquidity Event 97

Liquidity Event Initial Public Offering Dividend Valuation 97

Steve Blank

JUNE 15, 2011

Today, the signs of the new bubble are the Linked-In initial public offering (IPO), Facebook’s stratospheric valuation and the rapid rise of early-stage startup valuation. In December 2010, Youku—the YouTube of China —went public, with a valuation of $4.4 million in 2010 sales). million in 2010 sales).

Silicon Valley 327

Silicon Valley Stealth Valuation Mississippi 327

SiliconHills

JUNE 17, 2013

RetailMeNot has filed a registration statement with federal regulators for an initial public offering worth an estimated $230 million. The Austin-based online coupon site, formerly Whale Shark Media, has applied to have its stock listed on the Nasdaq market under the ticket symbol “SALE.”

IPO 82

IPO Initial Public Offering Austin Stock 82

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2016

Despite the fact that the number of IPOs (Initial Public Offerings) for startups have continued to decrease, I still hear it touted often as the preferred exit strategy. The public company corporate culture may not fit you and your startup. Everyone dreams of becoming a billionaire overnight.

IPO 120

IPO Initial Public Offering SEC Stock Options 120

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2012

At this stage, your startup better be selling a commercial offering, have price and cost validated, with significant customer sales and a real revenue stream. At this stage, you need investment bankers to negotiate a merger or acquisition (M&A), go private, or help you go public with an Initial Public Offering (IPO).

Investment Bankers 241

Investment Bankers Venture Capital Startup Initial Public Offering 241

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 15, 2015

Thus I’m getting more questions on new mechanisms, like crowd funding, or going public through the backdoor as a reverse merger. Most public shells ready for sale are not listed on a national securities exchange, but are instead traded in a less glamorous setting, such as the OTC Bulletin Board.

Merger 120

Merger OTC IPO Due Diligence 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 16, 2011

It has been at least a decade since going public via an Initial Public Offering (IPO) has been considered a credible exit strategy for startups. If you have been giving stock options, employees will want you to be a public company, to exercise their rights to buy the stock and sell it at a profit.

IPO 223

IPO Social Media Media Exit Strategy 223

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 13, 2010

At this stage, your startup better be selling a commercial offering, have price and cost validated, with significant customer sales and a real revenue stream. At this stage, you need investment bankers to negotiate a merger or acquisition (M&A), go private, or help you go public with an Initial Public Offering (IPO).

Investment Bankers 231

Investment Bankers Venture Capital Startup Initial Public Offering 231

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 13, 2012

by Christopher Wallace, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Amsterdam Printing. For years, the most desirable exit strategy for startup companies was to go public through an initial public offering. Just two years later, Groupon reportedly turned down a $6 billion buyout offer from Google.

IPO 162

IPO Exit Strategy San Francisco Startup 162

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 24, 2017

20th Century Tech Liquidity = Initial Public Offering. In the 20th century tech companies and their investors made money through an Initial Public Offering (IPO). Twenty-five years ago, to go public you had to sell stuff – not just acquire users or have freemium products. Hire a CEO to Go Public.

Founder 245

Founder Technical Review CTO Hire IPO 245

Berkonomics

JUNE 12, 2014

Investments in small companies involve a much greater degree of risk than investment in public companies, which provide immediate liquidity if needed and a ready measure of value at any time. That risk deserves reward if there is a profitable sale or even an initial public offering, rare as that event is.

Liquidity Event 85

Liquidity Event Pre-Money Valuation Cofounder Initial Public Offering 85

Gust

NOVEMBER 22, 2011

At this stage, your startup better be selling a commercial offering, have price and cost validated, with significant customer sales and a real revenue stream. At this stage, you need investment bankers to negotiate a merger or acquisition (M&A), go private, or help you go public with an Initial Public Offering (IPO).

Venture Capital 171

Venture Capital Investment Bankers Angel Investor Initial Public Offering 171

YoungUpstarts

MARCH 14, 2012

IPO stands for Initial Public Offering, and is the first sale of a private stock to the public. Several on- and offline resources serve as references and reminders of this important framework; a simple search can help you fall into the GAAP. What You Thought It Meant: Giant Awesome Animatronic Porcupine.

Non-disclosure Agreement 202

Non-disclosure Agreement NDA IPO Covenant 202

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 2, 2018

It probably had more to do with the fact that they had doubled their sales annually for several years, and still managed to squeeze out a profit of $11M in their year of acquisition. Includes balanced and hard-hitting marketing and sales. Zappos, impressively, has given away 26 million pairs of shoes in 127 countries and all 50 states.

Intellectual Property 48

Intellectual Property Initial Public Offering Merger Acquisition 48

Berkonomics

SEPTEMBER 23, 2011

I’ve been involved with well over a dozen successful exits and four initial public offerings over the years, some of them with monstrous gains, some more modest. In fact, I don’t recall any formal post-sale meeting at all; even to digest the lessons learned from the entire experience, a missed opportunity for all.

Investment Bankers 63

Investment Bankers Initial Public Offering Early Stage Cofounder 63

ReadWriteStart

APRIL 2, 2012

IPOs by year, 1980-2011, with pre-IPO last 12-month sales less than (small firms) or greater than (large firms) $50 million (2009 purchasing power). The real truth is, since the "Internet bubble" burst in 2001, initial public offerings have not resumed the vitality levels of the late 1980s, let alone the boom years of the '90s.

IPO 121

IPO Startup Florida Seed Capital 121

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. Hopefully this lays out the different types of funding you can get and when.

Equity 88

Equity Mezzanine Later Stage Venture Capital 88

Berkonomics

JANUARY 27, 2010

From the moment such an investor looks seriously at your company, the investor or VC partner is thinking of the end game, the ultimate sale of the company or even of an eventual initial public offering. There is no middle ground. Taking money from these sources involves resetting priorities over time.

Liquidity Event 67

Liquidity Event Initial Public Offering Dividend Valuation 67

Steve Blank

APRIL 10, 2019

Instead of a startup going public six to eight years after it was founded to raise capital to grow the company, today companies can to $50M+ funding rounds is a deferring the need for an Initial Public Offering to 10 or more years after a company is founded. The End of the High-Commitment/High-Performance Work System?

Stock Options 333

Stock Options Stock Vesting Common Stock 333

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. This venture capital financing - usually between $3 and $10 million - is the first of a number of rounds of outside investment over a period of three to five years.

Angel Investor 112

Angel Investor Venture Capital Sweat Equity Cram Down 112

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2013

What’s most realistic these days is an exit via sale to an existing major company for which you solve a meaningful problem. That means merger and acquisition (M&A), not initial public offering (IPO). That goes back to the strength of the management team as the #1 threshold. Exit strategy.

Cram Down 269

Cram Down Angel Investor Intellectual Property Venture Capital 269

YoungUpstarts

APRIL 20, 2012

Examples of firms that historically have been Bankable Advisors could include Goldman Sachs (initial public offerings), McKinsey (strategy consulting), and IBM (computing). One is a sales executive who is considered the ‘most connected’ individual in the industry he serves.

IPO 154

IPO Initial Public Offering Naming Reputation 154

Scott Edward Walker

OCTOBER 13, 2011

The more time the lawyers bill, the better the sales numbers. Big firms are great for huge, complicated corporate projects – like an initial public offering, a tender offer or a public company merger. Remember that lawyers are selling time. Don’t Use a Big Law Firm.

Los Angeles 85

Los Angeles San Francisco New York City Silicon Valley 85

Gust

DECEMBER 16, 2011

And, a bit misty-eyed, this old war veteran can actually remember the glory days: Venture capitalists would commit tens of millions for a startup to buy expensive infrastructure; hire sales and marketing teams as products were still being built; and lease out big slugs of office space for the coming hiring spree.

IPO 87

IPO .Net Social Network Mobile 87

Reid Hoffman

MARCH 19, 2019

And from a financial perspective, any investor would be better off buying stock in Amazon than buying and share of a corner bookshop; if you invested $100 in Amazon’s 1997 initial public offering (IPO), those shares would have been worth about $120,000 in 2018. The third is high gross margins.

Cofounder 28

Cofounder Business Model IPO Non-Compete 28

YoungUpstarts

MAY 31, 2016

With limited personnel and so many things to accomplish such as developing your product or technology, getting approval to sell or promote your goods, developing your marketing plan, establishing your sales channel, building inventory along with executing the business plan can be outright over whelming to so few employees.

Technical Review 100

Technical Review Leadership Early Stage Initial Public Offering 100

VC Cafe

MARCH 11, 2010

T aking a company through an initial public offering (IPO) is not an easy task. By contrast, sales had jumped 43 percent the year before. It requires months of preparation from management and a tiring roadshow process, in order to convince potential investors on the viability of the company and its plans for growth.

IPO 68

IPO SEC Initial Public Offering Stock 68

Gust

JANUARY 5, 2012

But, this SEC limit has created some problems for these high-tech phenoms, both in raising additional capital and in private sales through secondary markets in which early investors resell shares to a large number of smaller US buyers.

SEC 131

SEC Angel Groups Technical Review Private Equity 131

Pascal's View

OCTOBER 6, 2009

Grant Thornton LLP’s Capital Markets Group today announced the release of Market Structure is Causing the IPO Crisis , a white paper examining the demise of initial public offerings in the United States, and offering remedies to resurrect the IPO market. which was published in November 2008.

IPO 37

IPO SEC Initial Public Offering United States 37

online.wsj.com

JULY 11, 2012

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% million products as of June, and this year expects to do $140 million in sales. Sales Jobs |. BlackRock Inc.

Silicon Valley 42

Silicon Valley Founder Software Review Technical Review 42