Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 30, 2022

Every business owner and entrepreneur I meet in my consulting rounds dreams of finding that “ disruptive ” innovation that will supercharge their business and move it into the ranks of business unicorns (billion-dollar valuations), such as SpaceX and Apple. If you don’t keep it top of mind today, then you are going to be left behind.

Technical Review 252

Technical Review Silicon Valley Software Review Metrics 252

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. Seed and pre-Seed investment levels and valuations remain healthy, there’s more talent in the market and less competition. Luck favours the bold!

Venture Capital 215

Venture Capital Technical Review LP Institutional Investors 215

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

VC Cafe

JANUARY 24, 2021

Covid-19 accelerated the adoption of entertainment tech, gaming and commerce. The move to remote work forced quick adoption of cloud technology and tools that were once having difficulties selling to large corporates, saw explosive growth – from Zoom to Hopin, new unicorns were born in record time. 2020… where to start?

Technical Review 207

Technical Review Audio Forecast Social Media 207

VC Adventure

JUNE 14, 2022

Indeed, many firms even institutionalize the practice of providing help to portfolio companies through extensive platforms that may include PR, talent, marketing, technical, and other help (sometimes offered for free, sometimes offered ads a pay-for-service, but often at below-market rates for those services).

Technical Review 150

Technical Review Due Diligence Portfolio Venture Capital 150

Hearpreneur

JANUARY 22, 2023

We've also seen extensive use of technology and increased remote working. As a result, businesses in this field should leverage technology to provide interactive, easy-to-understand educational content that can help customers make health-related decisions and maintain healthy habits. Thanks to Erik Pham, Health Canal ! #2-

Artificial Inteligence 124

Artificial Inteligence Technical Review Entrepreneur Social Media 124

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 23, 2014

We are in a bubble (with so many private $1bn+ valuations). Limited Partners or LPs (the people who invest into VC funds) have taken notice as 2014 is by all accounts the busiest year for LPs since the Great Recession began. Twitter spread through the tech crowds at SxSW and raised its first venture capital round led by Fred Wilson.

Technical Review 398

Technical Review Venture Capital Valuation Pre-Money Valuation 398

David Teten

SEPTEMBER 6, 2018

Just as with any company, the most important issue is the team; see “ How to Negotiate a Partner Role at a Venture Capital or Private Equity Firm “ . Another critical design consideration is your tech stack. On Copper (our deal board), a due date of two business days is automatically set for us to review the opportunity.

Technical Review 60

Technical Review Private Equity Management Cap Table 60

David Teten

SEPTEMBER 6, 2018

Just as with any company, the most important issue is the team; see “ How to Negotiate a Partner Role at a Venture Capital or Private Equity Firm “ . Another critical design consideration is your tech stack. On Copper (our deal board), a due date of two business days is automatically set for us to review the opportunity.

Technical Review 60

Technical Review Private Equity Management Cap Table 60

Haystack

DECEMBER 29, 2018

It’s that time of year, time to look back and reflect on the most significant storylines in the tech, startup, and VC world. Technology is, like water, flowing and seeping into nearly every sector and eventually into most of the global economy. companies, more sensitivity around technology IP and security.

Technical Review 165

Technical Review Venture Capital Russia China 165

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 12, 2019

You might like to think that a bunch of savvy venture capitalists saw a market niche for raising smaller funds or perhaps there was a generational shift where disgruntled junior partners spun out of bigger firms to start their own gigs. So What Impact Did the Drop in Tech Founding Costs Have on VC?

Venture Capital 328

Venture Capital Technical Review Seed Stage IPO 328

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 30, 2016

How much you raise determines valuation I know it sounds crazy but at the earliest stages of a company your valuation often is determined by how much money you raise. A $15–20 million valuation sounds better than an $8 million valuation, doesn’t it? But people never do. Justin is right. But it’s actually not that silly.

Pre-Money Valuation 292

Pre-Money Valuation Valuation Early Stage Startup 292

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2015

In a new book, “ The Leadership Capital Index ,” Dave Ulrich, a best-selling author, business consultant, and business school professor, provides some real insights and metrics on what makes up the elements of goodwill in the minds of top valuation experts. I have paraphrased his key points here as follows: Leader personal impact.

Leadership 120

Leadership Technical Review Due Diligence Valuation 120

Version One Ventures

DECEMBER 14, 2016

Every announcement – whether it was a funding round, exit or layoffs – was analyzed within the context that the tech bubble has definitely burst or that we’re still in the bubble. In other words, any correction in public valuations happened quickly and has now stabilized. The industry entered the year bracing for an apocalypse.

Technical Review 60

Technical Review Early Stage Portfolio Valuation 60

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

I know – I was there when the first people debating funding it at less than a $5m valuation. And rather than a small group of our partners and associates all thinking it’s a good idea we don’t mind if there is strong internal debate and at Upfront there often is. Almost nobody believed and now look at it. 6SensorLabs.

Technical Review 362

Technical Review America Partner United States 362

NZ Entrepreneur

MAY 31, 2021

The Angel Association of New Zealand ( AANZ ) is co-hosting with New Zealand Growth Capital Partners ( NZGCP ) a series of workshops on early-stage investment. Negotiating reasonable terms and valuations that look to the long-term. Capital (strategy): are you sufficiently incentivised to do the work and help the company?

Portfolio 81

Portfolio New Zealand Management Technical Review 81

David Teten

MAY 16, 2017

Historically, the process of winning capital from limited partners has been opaque. A few years ago, I presented at an Invesco conference on Emerging GPs, and one of the highlights was a presentation by Laurie Weir summarizing CALPERS’ selection criteria under their Private Equity Emerging Manager Program Review. ” .

Private Equity 60

Private Equity Venture Capital Technical Review Equity 60

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 20, 2019

by Lu Zhang, founder and managing partner of Fusion Fund. Competition from other startups and established incumbents, constraints on time and capital, and limited access to talent and technology resources are just a few of the hurdles nearly every first-time founder faces while trying to build a business. Be ready when it counts.

Technical Review 140

Technical Review Due Diligence Early Stage Differentiation 140

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2010

Our guest this week on #TWiVC was Dana Settle , partner at Greycroft Partners , a venture capital firm with offices in New York and Los Angeles. It’s always fun debating companies with Dana because she’s always so knowledgeable on deals – particularly those in the digital media, ad-tech and eCommerce spaces.

Partner 240

Partner New York City Cofounder Syndicate 240

The Equity Kicker

SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

We see this all the time at Forward Partners where we invest right from the idea stage and most of the companies get a first version of their product live for less than £30k (that generally includes founder salaries and time spent doing customer research). Forward Partners and Crowdcube are both attacking elements of these problems.

Early Stage 119

Early Stage Development Team Review Technical Review Software Review 119

The Startup Magazine

NOVEMBER 1, 2021

You need to know the risk factors when picking affiliate partners, otherwise you run the risk of losing revenue. These can include webinars, email marketing , product review blogs, and creating YouTube videos. Establish a Robust Affiliate Network. The more platforms you use, the better. Optimise Product Pages for Conversions.

Affiliate 183

Affiliate Marketing Technical Review Software Review 183

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 19, 2015

I usually envision a 50-50 ownership split for their efforts, but every engineer believes the technology side deserves the majority share. If you consider yourself a technologist, you probably believe and may be propagating one of the following myths: The first priority for funding should be to develop the technology.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Intellectual Property Cofounder Bootstrapping 120

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 5, 2018

A version of this article first appeared in the Harvard Business Review. Since NewTV won’t be making the content, they will be licensing from and partnering with traditional entertainment producers. NewTV will depend on partners like telcos to distribute the content. Then the cycle repeats with a new set of technologies.

Lean 335

Lean Burn Rate Startup IPO 335

ReadWriteStart

JULY 2, 2022

Successfully running your business in 2022 is not easy due to the new norms of people’s lives. Conforming with Torchbankz, the dropshipping industry is expected to reach a market valuation of $557.9 All you have to do is partner with wholesalers and manufacturers to sell their products under your brand name.

Cost 140

Cost Software Review Technical Review Cloud 140

David Teten

SEPTEMBER 23, 2017

VCs tout themselves as frontier technology investors, but most are using the same infrastructure tools they have used for the past 20+ years: Excel and recent college grads searching Google. According to Knowledge.VC , under 5% of US VCs have a full-time team member focused on technology. . But we’re doing it slowly.

Private Equity 60

Private Equity Venture Capital Equity Technical Review 60

Steve Blank

JUNE 27, 2017

This article originally appeared in the Harvard Business Review. As more and more companies face disruption from globalization, new technology, and startups that have more capital than the incumbents, the continuing cry from Wall Street investors is, “Why can’t companies be as innovative as startups?”. What can a company do?

Startup 275

Startup New York City Valuation Distribution 275

YoungUpstarts

JUNE 17, 2015

By Janis Kestenbaum , a partner in Perkins Coie. Privacy issues that come to light in the course of the due diligence process for an acquisition can also threaten their valuation. Privacy issues that come to light in the course of the due diligence process for an acquisition can also threaten their valuation.

Software Review 100

Software Review Technical Review Due Diligence Startup 100

David Teten

JANUARY 19, 2021

(co-written with Jamie Finney, Founding Partner at Greater Colorado Venture Fund. Our categorization is not a technical one. Additionally, Flexible VC can accommodate all types of companies, not just asset-lite, tech-enabled companies.”. Yes, via conversion rights at a valuation cap. Of the Inc. 5000 companies, only 6.5%

Cofounder 78

Cofounder Technical Review Equity Dividend 78

YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 14, 2016

by Jeff Stark, Audit Partner at Sensiba San Filippo. In addition to setting a solid baseline for historical financial information, an audit engagement is a good test run to experience what the due diligence process may look like for management going through an acquisition for the first time. Contracts and obligations.

Acquisition 100

Acquisition Intellectual Property Technical Review Due Diligence 100

View from Seed

OCTOBER 31, 2018

The main value propositions are: user experience and value – home sellers can manage the entirety of their selling activities through its app and cloud-based platform, from valuation to showing scheduling to negotiation and closing, while paying a $5,000 flat fee vs. the industry tradition of 3% commission.

Atlanta 159

Atlanta Cofounder Software Review Technical Review 159

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 28, 2015

by John Vrionis, partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners. Law firms that focus on emerging technology companies understand their legal issues from multiple perspectives and offer excellent advice. “And if you have a valuation cap; a higher cap is always better than a lower cap.” ” The Cost of Financing.

Convertible Security 100

Convertible Security IP Technical Review Software Review 100

YoungUpstarts

JUNE 20, 2016

Before the advent of cloud technology and the Internet, company files had to be stored away in physical data rooms (PDRs). A 2012 study done by IBISWorld revealed that VDRs experienced a steady growth of about 17 percent annually as a result of technological advancements as well as the growth of global demand for these storage services.

Software Review 100

Software Review Technical Review Due Diligence Security 100

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 16, 2017

Every tech or major news journal in the country is preparing to write their Snap, Inc (creators of Snapchat, Spectacles, etc) stories and many of them seem to want a “How does it feel to have missed this investment story.” My job as a VC isn’t to beat myself up or any other partner up for the one deal we didn’t do.

IPO 214

IPO Los Angeles Technical Review Silicon Valley 214

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 22, 2012

Growth will slow, partly due to internal limits and partly because the company is starting to bump up against the limits of the markets it serves.” After all, growth equals high valuations and loads of venture capital! It might be for technical reasons or it might be for customer adoption reasons. And headlines.

Silicon Valley 390

Silicon Valley Venture Capital Startup Technical Review 390

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

Angels invest in one out of every forty deals they review (2.5%) versus the one out of 400 by VC’s (0.25%). They are professionals with full-time jobs, who often don’t have time for due diligence (and may not even know how to do it) and often make decisions through trusted referrals or based on gut feelings (more on gut feelings later).

Angel Investor 159

Angel Investor Technical Review Software Review Accredited Investor 159

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2013

Due to the struggling economy as well, traditional individual Angel investors haven’t been able to fill the gap. It’s higher risk, but higher return, to pick the big winners early, before Angels have set unreasonable valuations and restrictive terms. Technology costs are plummeting, meaning you can do more with less.

Angel Investor 231

Angel Investor Entrepreneur Early Stage Silicon Valley 231

View from Seed

AUGUST 17, 2021

It’s by far the longest time I’ve spent working on any one thing, and I feel very blessed to have been able to work with my partners, colleagues, founders, and collaborators. My partners will tell you that I am an incredibly impatient person. Effective post money is the effective valuation of an investor’s dollars at any one time.

IRR 205

IRR Dilution Founder Portfolio 205