Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 11, 2022

We had nascent revenues, ridiculous cost structures and unrealistic valuations. I had realized that I didn’t have it within me to be as good of a player as many of them did but I had the skills to help as mentor, coach, friend, sparing partner and patient capital provider. Until we weren’t. Nobody cared about our valuations any more.

Valuation 466

Valuation San Francisco Ratchet Liquidation Preference 466

Agile VC

APRIL 17, 2011

How They Make Money: Majority of Kayak’s revenue actually comes from advertising on their site (55%), not lead generation or referral fees to travel suppliers as you might think (more on this below). Financial Snapshot: 2010 Revenue: $170 million. Revenue growth: 51% YoY (2010), 1% YoY (2009), 131% YoY (2008).

Pre-Money Valuation 113

Pre-Money Valuation Liquidation Preference Dividend Common Stock 113

Steve Blank

MARCH 16, 2016

VC’s raise money from their investors (limited partners like pension funds) and then spread their risk by investing in a number of startups (called a portfolio). BTW, Angel investors do not have limited partners, and often invest for reasons other than just for financial gain (e.g., If so, how is the revenue measured?

Liquidity Event 120

Liquidity Event Founder Liquidation Preference Private Equity 120

David Teten

AUGUST 21, 2019

Or should they look to one of the new wave of Revenue-Based Investors? Revenue-Based Investing (“RBI”) is a new form of VC financing, distinct from the preferred equity structure most VCs use. For more background, see Revenue-Based Investing: A New Option for Founders who Care About Control. But should they?

Revenue 60

Revenue Liquidation Preference Equity Cofounder 60

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 1, 2016

At the Upfront Summit in early February, we had a chance to have many off-the-record conversations with Limited Partners (LPs) who fund Venture Capital (VC) funds about their views of the market. In bad markets, they can be wiped out by recaps and liquidation preferences unless they save enough reserves to protect their positions.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital LP Silicon Valley Marketing 150

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 14, 2010

That means that the likely have a minimum of $15 million in liquidation preferences. It will usually be higher because the liquidation preference has a dividend so if the deal is long in the tooth assume that the liquidation preference might be $20-22 million. Take liquidation preferences head on.

Venture Capital 289

Venture Capital Liquidation Preference Common Stock Pre-Money Valuation 289

K9 Ventures

JUNE 5, 2015

As the check size increases, investors tend to look for more traction, established revenue models, proven unit-economics, and other metrics that were previously associated with later stage companies. Moving up stream is a natural evolution of a venture fund, especially as you get more money and more partners. Implications for Founders.

Seed Stage 48

Seed Stage Venture Capital Early Stage Valuation 48