Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 29, 2018

Cash flow is a basic survival metric for every startup. Waiting until you have something to sell before bringing on a sales and operations staff. For example, a software development startup raising $250,000 from angel investors better be able to operate on $25,000 per month. Social media is not rocket science.

Burn Rate 223

Burn Rate Hockey Stick Startup Salary 223

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? Few buyers will get excited about a company currently operating at a loss. Minimizing losses in the year before you begin shopping around for buyers will increase profit and help you get that higher valuation.

Valuation 145

Valuation Technical Review Exit Strategy Metrics 145

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 24, 2017

A CPA provides input on tax structure and metrics, and assists with due diligence related to your industry. Is it prudent to have a set formula for valuation before you know how the company will perform or will you require the company to pay for an expert to value the company if one side wants to sell? Lump sum at closing?

Partner 208

Partner Technical Review Intellectual Property Due Diligence 208

The Startup Magazine

JANUARY 14, 2020

According to the World Green Building Council (WGBC), the following findings support a case for green building: Lower operating cost – the construction of green buildings can help building owners and occupiers save money thanks to efficient energy and water usage.

Green 138

Green California Government Valuation 138

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 5, 2018

Tech IPO prices exploded and subsequent trading prices rose to dizzying heights as the stock prices became disconnected from the traditional metrics of revenue and profits. Lean was designed to inform the founders’ vision while they operated frugally at speed. Some have labeled this period as irrational exuberance. The result?

Lean 335

Lean Burn Rate Startup IPO 335

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 5, 2014

Cashflow is a basic survival metric for every startup. Waiting until you have something to sell before bringing on a sales and operations staff. For example, a software development startup raising $250,000 from angel investors better be able to operate on $25,000 per month. Social media is not rocket science.

Burn Rate 262

Burn Rate Hockey Stick Entrepreneur Salary 262

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 18, 2023

New startup founders keep all the operating metrics they need in their head. Your valuation and salability depends on the credibility of this effort. Exiting this startup is not the end, and may be the beginning of something even better, like Bill Gates philanthropy, or your next plan to change the world.

Exit Strategy 248

Exit Strategy Valuation Acquisition Metrics 248

VC Adventure

AUGUST 31, 2017

If you read my blog regularly you know I love (LOVE) metrics. So no surprise that when River Cities Capital released an overview of SaaS operating and valuation benchmarks, I hung on every juicy detail. They took the 92 public SaaS companies and analyzed their key operating metrics. The methodology here was great.

IPO 113

IPO Vertical Balance Sheet Valuation 113

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 9, 2021

New startup founders keep all the operating metrics they need in their head. Your valuation and salability depends on the credibility of this effort. Exiting this startup is not the end, and may be the beginning of something even better, like Bill Gates philanthropy, or your next plan to change the world.

Exit Strategy 434

Exit Strategy Valuation Acquisition Metrics 434

NZ Entrepreneur

MAY 31, 2021

For example, Movac has a number of Operating Partners who are able to provide sector-specific expertise for the portfolio companies, and potentially get their hands into the companies themselves to provide operational support. Negotiating reasonable terms and valuations that look to the long-term.

Portfolio 81

Portfolio New Zealand Management Technical Review 81

YoungUpstarts

JUNE 16, 2020

Business valuation is defined as a way to determine the overall economic value of a company , and is a necessary component of a sound business plan and strategy. Any of these situations will demand a valuation to determine current and future projected value. . Three Methods of Valuation. Life happens to all of us.

Valuation 162

Valuation CPA Software Review Revenue 162

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 14, 2016

Cash flow is a basic survival metric for every startup. Waiting until you have something to sell before bringing on a sales and operations staff. For example, a software development startup raising $250,000 from angel investors better be able to operate on $25,000 per month. Social media is not rocket science.

Burn Rate 120

Burn Rate Hockey Stick Startup Salary 120

View from Seed

MARCH 24, 2021

In this comprehensive template and guide we break down each of the nine core sections in the deck: intro , team , what do you do , is it working , why does it matter (market) , can you be the best in the world (product, growth, financial metrics) , where are you going , what do you want (the ask) , and appendix. ” (Rob Go).

Seed Stage 177

Seed Stage Hiring IPO Analytics 177

Steve Blank

MARCH 31, 2014

In fact, it was only 7 years ago that Apple shipped its first iPhone and Google introduced its Android operating system. Metrics like Return on Net Assets, Return on Capital and Internal Rate of Return are the guiding stars of the board and CEO. Look at the valuations of companies like Tesla, Illumina, and Twitter.

Private Equity 325

Private Equity Metrics China Intellectual Property 325

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. dot-com bonanza.

Pre-Money Valuation 471

Pre-Money Valuation Valuation Venture Capital Early Stage 471

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 15, 2016

There is much talk these days that startup valuations have decreased and may continue to do so and that the amount of time it takes to fund raise may take longer. The earlier the round, the less capital you need and the more reasonable your valuation the less time that is needed generally to raise capital. Only you know.

Burn Rate 150

Burn Rate Cap Table Valuation Software Review 150

Haystack

DECEMBER 29, 2018

Also during this time, the underlying metrics in that business can change positively, potentially trapping companies to accept the initially-agreed upon valuation. Governments blocking acquisitions, the curtailment of company expansion, more scrutiny on overseas operations of U.S. That will take a long time to settle.

Technical Review 165

Technical Review Venture Capital Russia China 165

YoungUpstarts

MAY 29, 2011

Startups that have helpful mentors, track metrics effectively, and learn from startup thought leaders raise 7x more money and have 3.5x Investors who provide hands-on help have little or no effect on the company’s operational performance. Here are 14 of the report’s key findings: 1. Founders that learn are more successful.

Silicon Valley 230

Silicon Valley Cofounder Technical Cofounder Startup 230

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 22, 2021

They need to believe your valuation, based on current revenue and intellectual property, and feel the equity offered gives them a real return for the risk. These show a focus on the business elements required for success, and metrics for ensuring accountability, management control, and feedback along the way.

Intellectual Property 352

Intellectual Property Equity Bootstrapping Valuation 352

Steve Blank

MARCH 17, 2020

Here are a few thoughts about operating in uncertainty in a pandemic. What are the new financial metrics? Revise your sales revenue goals, product timelines and create a new business model and operating plan – and communicate them clearly to your investors and then to your employees. And what’s in my lifeboat?”.

Burn Rate 436

Burn Rate Startup Valuation Sales Cycle 436

David Teten

JANUARY 19, 2021

This structure allows for alignment on the front end, and real-time flexibility for performance metrics,” says Samira Salman , a family office investor and advisor. . Flexible VCs have created structures based on other company performance metrics than revenues, such as profits or founder salaries. Flexible VC 102: Variations.

Cofounder 78

Cofounder Technical Review Equity Dividend 78

The Startup Magazine

APRIL 24, 2020

Whether you’re interested in selling a website you built from scratch, or want to sell your Amazon-based B2C brand, there are many different baseline factors that go into determining an appropriate website valuation number. While it’s true that valuations can get quite technical, the basics are relatively easy to understand.

eCommerce 91

eCommerce Valuation B2C Revenue 91

Version One Ventures

JULY 20, 2015

I often get asked about how to determine the valuation for a marketplace startup that is starting to scale. Our assumptions for this valuation: Scale: > $1b GMV. Bessemer offers a good overview of current valuations for different business models: SaaS, marketplaces, consumer, and ecommerce. YoY growth of at least 30%.

Valuation 60

Valuation Early Stage IPO eCommerce 60

SoCal CTO

JUNE 9, 2010

While Google fights on the edges, Amazon is attacking their core - Chris Dixon , May 22, 2010 Google is fighting battles on almost every front: social networking, mobile operating systems, web browsers, office apps, and so on. it’s about measuring online influence and I’m big on metrics as a key element of business planning; 2.)

Fractional CTO 248

Fractional CTO Startup Venture Capital Cofounder 248

YoungUpstarts

APRIL 5, 2019

Are you fresh out of Y Combinator with $1 million in funding at a $10 million valuation? But flattering media attention too easily shifts focus away from the metrics that matter. Call me old school, but I believe in metrics like growth, revenue, and profit. All other metrics are irrelevant. You must be the man (or woman)!

Valuation 162

Valuation Cofounder Metrics SEC 162

Up and Running

JULY 14, 2015

Any investor will put their valuation on your business based on a number of factors, including looking at important metrics for your business, patents, or assets. But raising too much money will cause the valuation to increase. Let’s say the valuation an investor puts on your business is $2 million.

Technical Review 60

Technical Review Valuation Due Diligence Finder 60

Steve Blank

MAY 29, 2011

Founders that learn are more successful : Startups that have helpful mentors, track metrics effectively, and learn from startup thought leaders raise 7x more money and have 3.5x Investors who provide hands-on help have little or no effect on the company’s operational performance. Startup Genome Report. better user growth.

Technical Cofounder 333

Technical Cofounder Early Stage Startup Silicon Valley 333

The Startup Magazine

OCTOBER 22, 2020

Data analysis helps keep a detailed product portfolio whereby you can assess your products on several different metrics. Each function of an organization needs statistics to operate adequately. Each product has a diverse customer base and demand trends. Not every product aims at the entire market.

Analytics 132

Analytics Portfolio Advertising Technical Review 132

The Next Web

SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

Many Asian entrepreneurs tell me that they want to raise funds from Silicon Valley firms because they perceive the valuations to be higher. Valuations are based more on typical later-stage type of metrics. Finally, don’t over-optimize on valuation. Third, investors are generally much more conservative in Asia.

Asia 132

Asia Silicon Valley India Term Sheet 132

The Equity Kicker

FEBRUARY 8, 2012

With earlier stage companies investors generally don’t have the luxury of being able to rely on hard metrics and instead have to rely on gut feel – i.e. ‘direct’ evaluation. VCs without experience (which can come from either investing or operating) often struggle to differentiate between a good product and a bad one. Related articles.

Technical Review 123

Technical Review Product Venture Capital Valuation 123

Genuine VC

JULY 19, 2010

The difference now is that given the structural changes in the market, seed-stage investors are more likely to be rewarded in valuation given the value which is created during this segment of the company’s life cycle. During an initial seed round, companies are able to test and validate live product/market theses.

Seed Stage 175

Seed Stage Technical Review Dilution Offshore 175

David Teten

SEPTEMBER 23, 2017

An investor had few hard metrics other than the actual financials, and little technology to make the process scaleable. Over the past few decades, better metrics became available, and investors could take a more analytical, data-driven approach. ” Historically, investing was a manual, artisan process.

Private Equity 60

Private Equity Venture Capital Equity Technical Review 60

View from Seed

JUNE 10, 2020

The NextView Accelerator Doesn’t Operate in Strict Cohorts. . Most accelerators operate in class cohort “batches.” When the culmination of an accelerator is a Demo Day show, then that is what teams prepare for and the resulting metrics by which they’re measured.

Cofounder 177

Cofounder Syndicate Syndication Alabama 177

K9 Ventures

JUNE 5, 2015

Low supply of companies with traction drove the valuations and deal sizes up. So while the infrastructure cost and startup costs may have declined, the operating costs have increased. Valuations are rising to match. So if the Micro-VCs are looking for Series A-like metrics, what does a company do when it’s just getting started?

Seed Stage 48

Seed Stage Venture Capital Early Stage Valuation 48

Gust

NOVEMBER 4, 2011

Entrepreneurs and investors who have spent any time dealing with convertible debt seed financing transactions are likely to have encountered the subject of valuation caps. Valuation caps can come into play in settings other than seed-stage convertible note financing rounds. Read on for a fuller explanation. by February 2006).

Valuation 98

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Merger Vesting 98

500hats.com

AUGUST 2, 2012

Other angel investors and smaller funds also copied this innovation, and many of these new Micro-VC fund managers (like me) came from operational backgrounds at companies like PayPal/eBay, Yahoo, Amazon, or Google, rather than finance backgrounds from investment banking or Wall Street. They are operators, through and through.

Silicon Valley 74

Silicon Valley Early Stage Venture Capital Valuation 74

Reid Hoffman

MARCH 23, 2021

The metrics from the dashboard are the key inputs for collective decisions. You can always instrument your business and gather metrics, but that doesn’t mean the data you gather will be useful. Just track metrics that help you improve the product. They’re how you understand if you’re making progress or not. Don’t do that.

Venture Capital 46

Venture Capital Metrics Investment Bankers Framework 46