Both Sides of the Table

JULY 23, 2014

We are in a bubble (with so many private $1bn+ valuations). pre-money valuation you certainly would want to exercise your right to continue investing if you had prorata rights. 15 years ago we were at the peak of Internet hype with the launch of many over-capitalized businesses with a market size & opportunity was limited.

Technical Review 398

Technical Review Venture Capital Valuation Pre-Money Valuation 398

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 12, 2019

As a result of the IPO window shifting we saw a massive inflow of public-market capital into the latest stages of venture. thus the rise of “pre seed” investing). A rounds (first chart) have been largely flat in terms of deals and dollars as have B rounds (second chart).

Venture Capital 328

Venture Capital Technical Review Seed Stage IPO 328

The Startup Magazine

SEPTEMBER 4, 2020

For startups and entrepreneurs, awareness of the stock exchanges will help prepare you for a potential public financing of your company through an initial public offering, known as an IPO. ’ Its valuation is $13.8 TSE has approximately 3,575 listed firms that have taken their market valuation to 5.67 Trillion overall.

Stock 90

Stock Initial Public Offering New York China 90

Agile VC

APRIL 30, 2019

2019 is off to an exciting start for IPOs of VC-backed startups. In some respects though Zoom has had the most “successful” IPO of the three companies, which has surprised some folks. In the last decade or so, high profile consumer IPOs have often gotten lofty valuations. Reading Time: 3 minutes.

IPO 100

IPO B2B B2C Institutional Investors 100

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2011

2: As expected at least one person accused me of writing this post because I want to see lower valuations. As the risks below get eliminated the higher the valuation investors are prepared to pay. So rounds tend to be “range bound&# where the top end of the valuation spectrum often being done in boom markets (i.e.

Pre-Money Valuation 336

Pre-Money Valuation Valuation Silicon Valley Stock 336

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 14, 2016

The fact is that valuations are largely set by top venture capital investors and financial firms, and they all have their own proprietary formulas for assigning value. If your new venture is still in the idea or development stages, don’t even think about a high valuation. You have to earn a billion-dollar valuation, not declare it.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Valuation Merger Exit Strategy 120

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. I suspect the exuberance for an IPO is still being driven by the highly visible successes of a few companies several years ago, including Facebook, Yelp, and Twitter.

Exit Strategy 128

Exit Strategy IPO Initial Public Offering SEC 128

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2011

In addition to FOMO it is partly driven by massive increase in valuations for earlier-stage companies who raised money at bit seed prices but who still have product risk. million pre-money valuation is now raising $1 million at a $12 million valuation the next investor has nowhere to go but up (or sit out the investment).

Saudi Arabia 309

Saudi Arabia Valuation IPO Technical Review 309

The Startup Magazine

MARCH 14, 2022

Here, the company’s valuation benchmark is set, and funding is solicited accordingly. There are various crowdfunding platforms through which investors can participate in funding rounds for deserving companies. Promoters try to raise this funding majorly from Angel Investors. 3) Series A, B, C funding.

Technical Review 144

Technical Review Due Diligence India Startup 144

VC Adventure

AUGUST 31, 2017

So no surprise that when River Cities Capital released an overview of SaaS operating and valuation benchmarks, I hung on every juicy detail. The valuation metrics show this clearly. At IPO only 7 of 39 companies that have gone publics since 2013 had positive EBITDA. If you read my blog regularly you know I love (LOVE) metrics.

IPO 113

IPO Vertical Balance Sheet Valuation 113

ReadWriteStart

JULY 15, 2020

New talk of capital efficiency is gratifying, but there was another lesson from pre-COVID-19 valuation struggles. Venture capitalists and early-stage investors have told all of us, founders are critical to a startup’s valuation. WeWork’s founder was been accused of self-dealing, which in turn has thrown the company’s IPO into question.

Valuation 91

Valuation South Carolina San Jose Balance Sheet 91

Version One Ventures

DECEMBER 14, 2021

Round sizes increased significantly across all stages, as did valuations. We had our first IPO ( Coinbase ), quickly followed by a second one ( Cazoo ). Start-up funding hit an all-time high as did fundraising for new VC funds (coincidentally, we also raised two new funds for a total of $100m in fresh capital ).

Technical Review 87

Technical Review North America Portfolio IPO 87

Hunter Walker

DECEMBER 18, 2020

[I originally published this on Medium pre-IPO, so the tense is outdated, but I think the framework holds]. Every big tech IPO results in predictable Twitter chatter. Meaning, she knew the Year One performance required to sustain that valuation was beyond the company’s likely results over the next quarters.

IPO 90

IPO Stock Retention Framework 90

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 17, 2022

VCs tend to carry their partners much longer, in hopes of a big public offering (IPO) that could produce a windfall. Super angels sometimes drive up valuations.

Angel Investor 342

Angel Investor Venture Capital Silicon Valley Portfolio 342

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 6, 2023

Lack of checks and balances on startup valuations. A startup that is listed on a crowdfunding platform gets no formal pushback or negotiation on its declared valuation. Unreasonably high early valuations hurt the entrepreneurs, as well as professional investors, later when a second round becomes a down round or can’t be negotiated.

Angel Groups 201

Angel Groups Accredited Investor Due Diligence Equity 201

Version One Ventures

DECEMBER 20, 2021

Over the past 18 months, the pandemic has reset these expectations, leading to huge increases in valuations for both public and private tech companies…not to mention venture capital returns that are far better than what we have traditionally seen! Looking back at V1’s first IPO, an unusual investment at the time: Coinbase.

Venture Capital 60

Venture Capital Technical Review Software Review IPO 60

Steve Blank

JULY 11, 2017

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. Adult Supervision. And those early employees got rewarded as their stock turned into cash.

Part-Time VPE 308

Part-Time VPE Liquidity Event Stock Engineer 308

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 17, 2023

The new investors you need at this stage are investment bankers, private equity, or competitors, to buy you out via merger or acquisition (M&A), or to go public with an Initial Public Offering (IPO). Obviously, maturity and growth are a continuum, so the rules are never absolute.

Angel Investor 313

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Investment Bankers Private Equity 313

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 25, 2020

Lack of checks and balances on startup valuations. A startup that is listed on a crowdfunding platform gets no formal pushback or negotiation on its declared valuation. Unreasonably high early valuations hurt the entrepreneurs, as well as professional investors, later when a second round becomes a down round or can’t be negotiated.

Equity 411

Equity Angel Groups Accredited Investor Due Diligence 411

Agile VC

NOVEMBER 6, 2013

Twitter’s IPO has garnered a ton of attention in the tech and popular press. So their revenue figures, pre IPO financing and ownership, and other info is all widely available. Growth IPOs Are Back. Instagram hadn’t built a true business (e.g. Value of Media vs E-Commerce vs Premium Services.

IPO 194

IPO Aggregator B2B Internet 194

VC Cafe

JANUARY 24, 2021

It’s enough to see the rapid adoption of new social platforms from Signal in messaging to Clubhouse’s $1 billion valuation in less than a year. In 2021, optimism on investing in social media has returned. Read A16Z’s social strikes back series to get a feel of just how much movement is in this space.

Technical Review 207

Technical Review Audio Forecast Social Media 207

Tim Keane

JANUARY 12, 2010

Term-sheets and Valuations: Thinking about Negotiations.   I’ve sat down with entrepreneurs and a copy of a term sheet guide I like [ “Term Sheets & Valuations - A Line by Line Look at the Intricacies of Venture Capital Term Sheets & Valuations ” by Alex Wilmerding, Aspatore Press.] The Valuation Question.

Term Sheet 68

Term Sheet Valuation Dividend Liquidation Preference 68

View from Seed

MARCH 24, 2021

What Are Your Valuation Expectations? But mainly we did it because these corporate VCs were among the only groups willing to invest at PayPal’s somewhat inflated post-money valuation, during the middle of the dot-com crash when traditional VCs pulled back sharply and other sources of funding were constrained.” ” (Rob Go).

Seed Stage 177

Seed Stage Hiring Analytics IPO 177

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 3, 2015

For financial reasons alone, an IPO is a statistically rare phenomenon, happening just 275 times in 2014 , out of almost 500,000 startups. As an advisor and mentor to startups, I try to make sure entrepreneurs understand both the pros and cons of an IPO as an exit strategy. Control moves to external directors and the public.

IPO 120

IPO Initial Public Offering Entrepreneur Private Equity 120

The Equity Kicker

DECEMBER 6, 2013

Venturebeat reported yesterday that US startup valuations have reached ten year highs. You can see from the charts above that median valuations have been increasing at all stages from seed through to Series D or later.

Valuation 162

Valuation Venture Capital Startup Europe 162

VC Cafe

AUGUST 2, 2022

billion valuation) to invest in the Metaverse and build the future of digital entertainment Epic owns Fortnite, one of the most popular multiplayer games, enabling users to interact with each other online in an immersive way to play, socialise, attend to virtual concerts. In April 2022, the company announced it has raised $2 billion (at $31.5

IP 206

IP Cofounder Valuation Acquisition 206

YoungUpstarts

MARCH 11, 2015

With the daily demands of running a business along with the financial pressures and challenges inherent in early-stage companies, a business valuation may not be the first thing an entrepreneur thinks of when he awakes each morning. When does a startup company need a business valuation? The timing will vary depending on the purpose.

Valuation 100

Valuation Stock Options CPA Merger 100

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 30, 2011

A normalization of the venture capital market will bring more rational valuations over time but should produce more stable companies and better returns for VCs and LPs. It doesn’t feel like that now because we’ve entered a mini bubble in pre IPO valuations for a segment of the tech market but this, too, shall pass.

Venture Capital 289

Venture Capital Early Stage Valuation Angel Investor 289

Haystack

DECEMBER 29, 2018

More and more angels will be minted as the 2019 IPO class emerges. Also during this time, the underlying metrics in that business can change positively, potentially trapping companies to accept the initially-agreed upon valuation. by a mile, continued to soar in volume and valuation.

Technical Review 165

Technical Review Venture Capital Russia China 165

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

I’m over-paying for every check I write into the VC ecosystem and valuations are being pushed up to absurd levels and many of these valuations and companies won’t hold in the long term. On the one hand, you’re over paying for every investment and valuations aren’t rational.

Pre-Money Valuation 471

Pre-Money Valuation Valuation Venture Capital Early Stage 471

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 6, 2019

Valuations are out of control” is the mantra of others. If you look at some high-profile tech companies funded in the last big VC cycle you had eBay, Amazon, Salesforce & Google each go public having raised < $100 million in VC TOTAL prior to IPO and their last private-market valuation were all sub $400 million.

Venture Capital 292

Venture Capital IPO Mezzanine Early Stage 292

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 21, 2009

Projected IPOs for 2009 are an embarrassing 10 total deals, down from 86 just 2 years ago (it was 265 in the go-go years of 99-00) but at least up from 6 in 2008. Fred Wilson supports Montgomery’s view in this thoughtful post on the return of the tech IPO market. What have been your experiences in the past 6 months?

Technical Review 241

Technical Review IPO Southern California Venture Capital 241

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 12, 2010

Specifically we talked about Slide having gotten a $550 million valuation before being sold to Google for $182 million. Dan makes a point that you shouldn’t be telling everyone about your valuation as Slide did. He said it’s best to talk about valuation only when you sell (if at all). Minutes 4 – 8. Minutes 11-13.

Seed Stage 232

Seed Stage Valuation Private Equity Venture Capital 232

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 21, 2021

When you see startups like SpaceX and Pinterest grow from a low valuation to a billion dollars in just a few years, it’s easy to assume that if you just keep doing what you are doing, you can get there as well. Then there is the pressure to go public ( IPO ), and open your investment to thousands, maybe millions, of small investors.

Merger 379

Merger Due Diligence SEC IPO 379

Agile VC

APRIL 17, 2011

GameFly filed in 2010 and remains in registration, though 2011 has seen a positive start for VC-backed IPOs with 14 in Q1 2011. Now that Google’s acquisition of ITA is closed, following lenghty FTC review, it would appear Kayak is poised to proceed with their IPO in the coming months. =. Pre-money valuation was approx.

Pre-Money Valuation 113

Pre-Money Valuation Liquidation Preference Dividend Common Stock 113

View from Seed

DECEMBER 4, 2019

Over the last 10 years, we’ve been in a bull market with considerable froth in late stage financing activity and valuations. The cases of WeWork and Uber cast a cloud of doubt over funds that are largely driven by one or two outlier companies that may have a tremendous valuation, but shaky underlying business metrics.

LP 256

LP IRR Distribution Portfolio 256

YoungUpstarts

JANUARY 10, 2018

How do you find the balance between not too small to prove itself but not too big to have an off-putting valuation? You’ll find exceptions to this rule, like Snapchat, which was operating at a loss at its IPO, when it experienced high initial trading prices due to its huge popularity and untapped monetization capabilities.

Valuation 122

Valuation Technical Review Exit Strategy Metrics 122