Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 14, 2023

Investors check your burn rate to assess your efficiency, and project your remaining runway before you run out of money and into a brick wall. Don’t wait until you are almost out of cash before managing every dollar spent or looking for the next refueling from investors. Cash flow is a basic survival metric for every startup.

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Burn Rate Hockey Stick Management Salary 258

Up and Running

MARCH 14, 2018

I know what it’s like to pitch to investors—both angels and venture capitalists. I’ve raised close to $1 million from angel investors for my previous technology startups. Sometimes you only get 10 minutes to pitch your business opportunity to the investors (or less in some cases). Image via WOCinTechChat. Create a presentation.

Hockey Stick 164

Hockey Stick Exit Strategy Technical Review Angel Investor 164

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 9, 2021

As a mentor to startups and new entrepreneurs, I continue to hear the refrain that business plans are no longer required for a new startup, since investors never read them anyway. For the more traditional investor, or for that chance meeting in a real elevator or meeting, you need a two-page brochure (two-sided page).

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Elevator Pitch Entrepreneur Due Diligence Angel Investor 390

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2022

Even then private market investors can paper over valuation changes by investing at the same price but with more structure so it’s hard to understand the “headline valuation.” And it WILL be deployed, that’s what investors do. But rest assured valuations get reset. Except the music stopped. What Happens Next? What is a VC To Do?

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Technical Review Pre-Money Valuation San Francisco Valuation 416

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 3, 2011

Angel investors and venture capitalists don’t invest in non-profits. The simple reason is that it’s impossible to make money for investors when the goal of the company is to not make money. For a non-profit, bootstrapping is self-funding from donations and fund-raising. Individual and institutional donations.

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Angel Investor Technical Review Exit Strategy Equity 238

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 11, 2014

Let’s be honest, when it comes to funding, it’s never as straightforward as business advisors, lenders, backers, and investors might have you think. We’ve collated a number of different stories to show you how you can go about getting funding to grow your business or to launch a new venture.

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Cofounder Green Small Business Administration Business Plan 137

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 26, 2022

For example, Bill Gates founded and grew Microsoft, and Michael Dell built a great technology company, both with no outside funding until they went successful enough to go public years later and sell shares to common stockholders. Investors want board seats and a vote on key decisions.

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Cost Bootstrapping Advisory Board Startup 267

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 7, 2021

Some aspiring entrepreneurs are so desperate for funding, or naïve, that they ignore the obvious signs of scams and rip-offs on the Internet, praying for a windfall. Use the common sense suggestions to avoid the pain: Decoy investor scam. Off-shore unsolicited investor offers. Professional investors don’t work this way.

Technical Review 371

Technical Review Due Diligence Non-disclosure Agreement Term Sheet 371

Gust

JUNE 19, 2012

Thoughts on startups by investors that fund them & entrepreneurs that run them. God help the investor who has my sense of what’s coming for the future. Don’t believe the urban myth that you can sketch your idea on a napkin, and professional investors will throw money at you. Angel Investor , Frontier Angel Fund.

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Startup Forecast Angel Investor Software 180

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2022

The problem is that professional investors (angels and venture capital) want a proven business model before they invest, ready to scale, rather than early projections and product development. Self-funding or bootstrapping is still the most common and safest approach for startups Keep your day job until real revenue flows.

Intellectual Property 341

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 341

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 19, 2022

Even if you ignore all the hype around crowdfunding, there can be no doubt that it is a real alternative for entrepreneurs to achieve visibility and funding today. only accredited investors can use crowdfunding sites such as EquityNet to buy ownership in their favorite startup. Startup equity model. In the U.S.,

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Accredited Investor Startup SEC Equity 352

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 28, 2021

Entrepreneurs who require funding for their startup have long counted on self-accredited high net worth individuals (“angels”) to fill their needs, after friends and family, and before they qualify for institutional investments (“VCs”). I still don’t see it happening any time soon. Neither does David S. All startups always need more money.

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Angel Investor Accredited Investor IRR Angel Groups 361

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2022

I still have to tell some entrepreneurs that even with the best idea, they have to move to Silicon Valley to find the investors they need, or they need to move to the U.S. Having a great idea in the wrong place won’t get you the funding you need, the experienced domain experts you want, or the pilot market results you need for survival.

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Las Vegas Silicon Valley Arizona Montana 309

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 21, 2016

After listening to hundreds of startup pitches, and reading even more business plans, most new venture investors develop their own favorite list of “red flags” that signal the beginning of the end of their interest. Don’t forget that investors look as much at the people as the idea. Skip the hype.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Valuation Technical Review Equity 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 11, 2022

Angel investors and venture capitalists don’t make equity investments in nonprofit good causes. The simple reason is that it’s impossible to make money for investors when the goal of the company is to not make money. For a nonprofit, bootstrapping is self-funding from donations and fund-raising. Government grants.

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Angel Investor Equity Technical Review Exit Strategy 327

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 5, 2018

Many new entrepreneurs are so excited by their latest idea that they can’t resist contacting every investor they know, assuming the investor will be equally excited and want to contribute immediately. Others will work hard on a business plan, and then mail it indiscriminately to every potential investor they can find on the Internet.

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Technical Review Angel Investor Business Plan Social Media 157

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 11, 2023

pexels You need to have enough resources by having a seed-stage investor who will financially support your company in the long run. I will tell you brief details about seed stage funding, and deal sourcing on this page, so read the conclusion until the end. What exactly is the seed funding? Hence they will miss the finish line.

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Seed Stage Technical Review Early Stage Due Diligence 126

Up and Running

JANUARY 2, 2013

I know what it’s like to pitch to investors – both angels and venture capitalists. I’ve raised close to $1 million from angel investors for my previous technology start-ups. Sometimes you only get 10 minutes to pitch your business opportunity to the investors (or less in some cases). How much will it cost?

Hockey Stick 164

Hockey Stick Exit Strategy Technical Review Due Diligence 164

Steve Blank

JANUARY 17, 2023

He said that from what he read, the path to building and funding a company seemed to be: 1) come up with an idea, 2) form a team, 3) start testing minimal viable products, 4) raise seed funding, 5) then obtain venture capital. In some cases the accelerator provides initial funding themselves.) Comparing Startup Funding Options.

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Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 346

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 24, 2020

As a frequent advisor to new entrepreneurs and startups, I often hear your frustration with being treated differently from other startups by investors, on expectations for valuation , traction, and market size. Valuations here are always low, and funding generally depends on friends and family, or a few forward-thinking angels.

Artificial Inteligence 436

Artificial Inteligence Marketing Valuation Startup 436

View from Seed

APRIL 14, 2020

This led to a number of repercussions that most VC’s have lamented during this time, including higher prices, larger rounds, shoddy due diligence, and many companies raising large sums of venture capital that probably aren’t suited to VC funding. These might be $100-$500K small checks from funds that are typically writing $5-15M checks.

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Early Stage Software Review Technical Review Due Diligence 374

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. Pre-Requisites of Funding. Gone are the days where you can get funded based on an idea. Funding is just a stepping stone.

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Startup Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Seed Stage 150

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 12, 2021

As a startup mentor and investor, I am approached regularly by aspiring entrepreneurs who assert that business plans take too much time, are inaccurate, and rarely add value. Most of these scenarios involve attracting outside investors, strategic partners, or key team members: You are the team and you don’t need outside funding.

Business Plan 316

Business Plan Technical Review Angel Investor Due Diligence 316

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 7, 2020

Yet everyone has limits, and every investor implicitly has similar limits on what makes a startup investable, or one to avoid at all costs. If you need investors, it’s important that you understand their filters, and even if you are funding your own efforts, you need to recognize the red flags. If you want U.S.

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New York City Silicon Valley Startup Bootstrapping 315

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 22, 2021

Most entrepreneurs have learned that it’s almost always quicker and easier to get cash from someone you know, rather than angel investors or professional investors (VCs). In fact, most investors “require” that you already have some investment from friends and family before they will even step up to the plate.

Technical Review 338

Technical Review Elevator Pitch Due Diligence Angel Investor 338

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2023

Yet everyone has limits, and every investor implicitly has similar limits on what makes a startup investable, or one to avoid at all costs. If you need investors, it’s important that you understand their filters, and even if you are funding your own efforts, you need to recognize the red flags. If you want U.S.

New York City 246

New York City Silicon Valley Bootstrapping Technical Review 246

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 21, 2023

The average length of a funding pitch to angel investors is ten minutes. The biggest complaint I hear from fellow investors is that startup founders often talk way too long, and neglect to cover the most relevant points. Investors are more interested in your solution and your business, rather than your technology.

Technical Review 369

Technical Review Elevator Pitch Angel Investor Matching 369

View from Seed

JANUARY 13, 2021

Like a number of funds of our era, early fundraising was not terribly easy. I want to share the top 3 most common areas of push-back that we faced as a new institutional seed fund and share some perspective on what we’ve learned in the last 10 years that might shed some insight into the years ahead. Objection #1: Adverse Selection.

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Dilution Later Stage Portfolio Technical Review 399

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 10, 2021

A while back I received a discouraging note from an entrepreneur with a patent and a medical software application who couldn’t find a dime of investment, and was grousing that seed funding just wasn’t available anymore. Fundraising is indeed brutally tough at all stages, and seed funding is the hardest to find.

Software Review 307

Software Review Due Diligence Elevator Pitch Early Stage 307

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 2, 2022

As a long-time mentor to entrepreneurs, here is my collection of smart risks that investors and I look for in new startups: Focus on a tough customer problem rather than a fun technology. Investors hate technology solutions looking for a problem, due to the high risk of no customers. Build your business with minimum outside funding.

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Forecast Stock Options Technical Review Metrics 304

View from Seed

OCTOBER 11, 2023

It’s no surprise, then, that the funding round which the company just announced also included endorsement from notable insider venture groups and angel investors alongside NextView. Their recent partnership with The Trade Desk to develop a Made-for-Advertising (MFA) detection model is an example of Sincera’s collective ethos.

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Metadata Technical Review Advertising Angel Investor 177

The Startup Magazine

DECEMBER 25, 2023

The best investors can adapt to market changes, analyze data, and use their intuition to make informed decisions. But what makes a successful fund manager? What sets them apart from other investors? In this blog post, financial expert Alfred Sollami will share top tips from successful fund managers who have mastered the game.

Artificial Inteligence 124

Artificial Inteligence Technical Review Management Due Diligence 124

VC Cafe

FEBRUARY 27, 2023

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. And young investors who left careers in banking or consulting to enter venture feel disillusioned – they didn’t think it would be this hard.

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Venture Capital Technical Review LP Institutional Investors 215

The Startup Magazine

SEPTEMBER 15, 2020

Many companies need venture capital funding, including startups. The process of getting venture capital funding may be difficult, but it pays off in a cash infusion for your business which may be able to make the difference between failure and success. What is Venture Capital Funding? Steps Toward Venture Capital Funding.

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Venture Capital Technical Review Software Review Security 144

The Startup Magazine

MARCH 14, 2022

A business plan is drawn up to attract investors and partners. The legalities of starting the business are addressed to create a structure for attracting funding. As the seed funding has been raised by this time, the company starts its operations and gradually expands. 1) Pre-seed funding round. 2) Seed funding.

Technical Review 145

Technical Review Due Diligence India Startup 145

ReadWriteStart

OCTOBER 6, 2010

Identifying the right investors to approach for funding your startup can be challenging. ChubbyBrain hopes to make make that a little easier and equip entrepreneurs with more information and options with the launch today of its Funding Recommendation Engine. Interested in trying it out?

Software Review 120

Software Review Engineer Due Diligence Algorithm 120

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2018

The most important advice I could give you before you set out in fund raising mode is to understand that fund-raising a sales & marketing process and needs to be managed. I always tell founders … “An investors job is to deploy capital and make a return. How Many Investors Should You Speak With?

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Term Sheet Due Diligence Campaign Sales 332