Feld Thoughts

JULY 11, 2010

Over the past 24 months, a deplorable activity in the money management business came to light. It got the name “pay to play&# , but was just another form of bribery. However, for some reason, the definition of this expanded to include any campaign contributions to any state or local officials, regardless of the size. It is now even more important to have a firm-wide policy against political contributions to these officials / candidates.

SEC 134

SEC Pay to Play Colorado Campaign 134

View from Seed

JANUARY 13, 2021

The reality is that seed investing as a strategy was not a new thing back in 2011, and one could point to multiple prior waves where this sort of investing just didn’t work. The objection goes something like this: “yes, I can see rookie founders turning to you for a seed round.

LP 254

LP Dilution Portfolio Later Stage 254

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 7, 2020

Unfortunately the success and lavish lifestyle of some current well-known entrepreneurs, including Richard Branson and Elon Musk , lead many who are not so well prepared to jump in with both feet, only to be shocked and severely tested by the unexpected rigors and high risk. There is no better way to feel the pressures and unknowns, as well as the excitement, of a startup than to work in one as an employee, and realize that the highs and lows are even greater for the founder.

Entrepreneur 215

Entrepreneur Silicon Valley Flash Stock Options 215

A Crowded Space

MAY 31, 2016

All of these entities have been buying small pieces of preferred shares with $100K - $1M checks and have been doing phenomenally well when there was tons of Series A and Series B money to go around. The majority of the seed companies they funded went on to raise later rounds at often big markups. But, this year we’ve seen the greed of the last several years switch to fear. Given the fear by many investors, it’s getting harder for companies to raise more capital.

Cram Down 76

Cram Down Warrant Pay to Play Angel Investor 76

Haystack

OCTOBER 7, 2018

Many of the most storied brands in venture capital made their name by being the investor of record in a specific company’s “Series A” round — largely thought of as the round after friends, after family, and more recently, after seed, where the new investor would lead the round, set terms, join the board, reserve capital, and make a long-term commitment to the company.

Cap Table 118

Cap Table Portfolio Pay to Play Government 118

Duct Tape Marketing

FEBRUARY 19, 2019

What Local Businesses Need to Know About the State of Local SEO written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing. What role does proximity play in search results? At what point does this all become pay to play? How changes at Google have thrown off business’s abilities to track attribution to their website. Why “people also asked” is a key signal for local marketers to understand.

SEO 57

SEO Search Pay to Play Portfolio 57

Brandanew

NOVEMBER 22, 2016

Using a digital plan to support digital transformation and lead it towards your objectives is the first step to take. Here’s a rundown on what you can do to rise and shine online as a brand, and more importantly, why you do NEED a plan… Not sure where to begin? You need to develop digital strategies in 2017. The best approach to developing a digital strategy is benchmarking. Compare your current position to where you need to be in the future.

Affiliate 164

Affiliate PPC Startup Social Media 164

Hearpreneur

JANUARY 20, 2021

We continue to experience different trends in consumer behavior as well as entrepreneurship. Relationship troubles and high tensions during the pandemic will lead to an abundance of divorce filings in the United States. Thanks to Olivia Summerhill, Summerhill Wealth Management ! #2-

Colombia 93

Colombia Kentucky United States North America 93

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 20, 2020

Harry was gracious enough to invite me back so this past week we recorded an episode discussing the current market environment. Please download the episode here , if for no other reason than to make Harry happy :) but I’ve also included some quick notes below including a few notes I didn’t share in the podcast (and vice versa by the way?—?if Topics we covered: B2B Companies You haven’t seen the full extent to how the correction is going to affect you.

Marketing 184

Marketing LP Churn Rate Balance Sheet 184

Feld Thoughts

JULY 14, 2015

Assuming equity is raised at or above that cap, the total dilution, before the new money, is 16.6% (equivalent to an equity financing of $1m at a $6m post money valuation. They go out to raise a Series A, but there are no takers. One of their angel investors, who happens to be a VC firm, decides to invest another $500,000 in the company. The new money comes in at a pre-money valuation of $100, but includes a complete refresh of founder equity to 40% of the company.

Recapitalization 154

Recapitalization Cap Table Valuation Pre-Money Valuation 154

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 15, 2018

With social media a marketing staple for businesses in all industries and across all parts of the globe, it has become more competitively critical than ever for brands to get their acts together. Working as a social media strategist for the past eight years has given me an opportunity to work with many clients that take social media seriously and have put processes in place to facilitate success. Content themes to guide the kinds of posts you will create.

Social Media 173

Social Media Media Channel Audience 173

Start Up Blog

OCTOBER 19, 2010

I’ve never been a fan of the so called ‘Free’ business mode l, and often a bigger fan of the so called ‘pay to play’ business model. While catching up with Mick Liubinskas of Pollenizer fame I heard a much better way to describe what all business models on the web should do. It just reminds us that all startups must build something of value and then find a way to capture that value.

Pay to Play 67

Pay to Play Business Model Advertising Web 67

Up and Running

AUGUST 11, 2020

For nonprofits , especially new ones, donations contribute to the organization’s lifeblood. With that in mind, it would make sense for nonprofit leaders to accept any donations that help them reach goals and continue to operate. Find a nonprofit to model your organization after.

Partner 88

Partner Pay to Play Operations Community 88

Berkonomics

APRIL 28, 2012

These include forcing early investors to “pay to play,” or invest their pre-rata amounts to keep their original percentages, or suffer the consequences of being diluted to the extreme and losing preferences in a liquidation. The reaction to bad news by VC’s controlling the board by virtue of their power to supply additional money, often includes the threat – or reality – of starting the process to find a replacement CEO.

Dilution 62

Dilution Angel Investor Early Stage Pay to Play 62

ithacaVC

JUNE 28, 2011

When a company has a bunch of investors (like the above hypo), it is important to understand that it is likely that not all of them will want to invest in future rounds (and this is particularly true with a mix of institutional and individual investors). Even is the Series B is an “up” round (simply meaning that the per share price of the Series B is higher than that of the Series A), some investors might not want to participate.

Warrant 48

Warrant Stock Dilution Liquidation Preference 48

SoCal CTO

AUGUST 4, 2011

Almost every day I'm talking to early stage startup founders (see Free Startup CTO Consulting Sessions ) about what they plan to do. I tend to ask a lot of questions, challenge aspects, make suggestions. Yet, I'm often the first person who's asking them questions that I consider to be pretty basic. It needs to be a conversation. What have you done so far to validate the concept? How will you be taking this to market? are you going to leverage?

Developer 314

Developer Founder Oauth Viral 314

SoCal CTO

AUGUST 4, 2011

Almost every day I'm talking to early stage startup founders (see Free Startup CTO Consulting Sessions ) about what they plan to do. I tend to ask a lot of questions, challenge aspects, make suggestions. Yet, I'm often the first person who's asking them questions that I consider to be pretty basic. It needs to be a conversation. What have you done so far to validate the concept? How will you be taking this to market? are you going to leverage?

Developer 306

Developer Founder Oauth Viral 306

Steve Blank

MARCH 22, 2016

Getting people to buy in to your startup vision takes a thick skin, perseverance and willingness to learn. Entrepreneurs refuse to take no for an answer. It follows the journeys of founders who share what it takes to build a startup – from restaurants to rocket scientists, to online gifts to online groceries and more. Listen to the full interviews with Nigel and Vaughn and with Kerry by downloading them from SoundCloud here and here.

Customer Development 191

Customer Development North America Entrepreneur Silicon Valley 191

The Equity Kicker

MARCH 18, 2014

The free-to-play model is far more effective for monetization than a pay-to-play model. My friends love Airbnb because they get to stay in cheaper and more unique places than what traditional hotels offer. It’s so fun to guess which Secrets are from which of your friends. Investors can say ‘that’s a compelling micro-view, but how does it link to the macro-view I have of trends in the market?’

eCommerce 81

eCommerce Framework Pay to Play Entrepreneur 81

Eric Friedman

JUNE 18, 2014

( cross posted to Medium to see what happens). At it’s core, it’s a photo and video messaging tool that lets you very easily create content to share with friends. Upon signing up for Slingshot you are greeted with a prompt to enter your mobile number, confirmed with a code, then on to create a new username. Noticeably missing from this process is an easy signup with Facebook button that would connect you to your FB graph.

Video 89

Video Pay to Play Mobile Metrics 89

Feld Thoughts

FEBRUARY 9, 2016

One of my favorite lines in buried in the middle: “I’ve heard enough companies say “we simply can’t cut costs or it will hurt the long-term potential of the business” to get a wry smile. ” Many companies have hired ahead of their growth rate because they had the cash to do so. “If you need to clean up your own cap table first – while very hard to do – it will make outside funding easier” Again, go read the post now – I’ll wait.

Cap Table 111

Cap Table Down Round Liquidation Preference Founder 111

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 16, 2010

This is the fourth article in a series on what it takes to be a great angel investor (and why this should matter to entrepreneurs). Part 1 – Access to Great Deal Flow – is here. The first three skills I espoused were: access to the highest-quality deal-flow, domain knowledge of the topic area in which you’re investing and access to VCs to help fund the next stages of development. Easier to start companies, yes. Pay to play.

Cap Table 243

Cap Table Dilution Liquidation Preference Lean 243

OnlyOnce

AUGUST 4, 2011

The value is more complicated than some of the other ones we have, and although it is short, it has three components that worth breaking down: Making commitments: Goal setting, whether big company-wide goals, or smaller “I’ll have it to you by Tuesday&# goals, is the foundation for a well-run, aligned, and fast-paced organization. The prior two parts of this value statement are, in my mind, pay to play. More to come over time. Keeping Commitments.

Pay to Play 55

Pay to Play Audience Leadership Management 55

Up and Running

APRIL 3, 2017

At Bond Street , we’re experts in term loans , but we cover just about everything related to small business, including how to hire the perfect employees for your new company. For small business owners, committing to a new employee’s salary is daunting. Yet no matter who you are, it’s critical to invest in your business’s most important asset—the people. See Also: Is It Time to Hire an Employee? Write out three cohesive statements in response to each.

Social Media 113

Social Media Employee Media Differentiation 113

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 2, 2019

His practice focuses on providing counsel to FinTech and financial services firms, including financial technology, payments and emerging digital currency space. Consumers rely on search engines and pay-to-play rating sites to find legal counsel. Attorneys have a lot of options to market their services to consumers, but not all are effective. Consumers like its easy-to-navigate interface and the ability to book a consultation same-day at no cost.

New York City 94

New York City Founder Early Stage New York 94

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 5, 2010

Jason Calacanis started this initiative in response to the pay-to-play network of angel events that he despised. I’m a huge supporter of his initiative to help end this practice. These were my favorite two deals of the night and everyone I spoke to liked the same two deals. Jason & Tyler brought forward 5 high quality companies and super high quality ones rose to the top and quickly got funded.

San Francisco 239

San Francisco Los Angeles Aggregator Vertical 239

crowdSPRING Blog

MARCH 2, 2015

voted to place Internet Service under Title II of the Telecommunications Act, which means it will be governed as a public utility in the same way that telephone service is currently regulated. The new rules were designed to guarantee that no content would be blocked and to assure that the Internet can not be divided into “pay-to-play” fast lanes for the richest of companies and slow lanes for companies and organizations unable to afford the fees.

.Net 72

.Net Small Business Mobile Washington 72

OnlyOnce

SEPTEMBER 6, 2010

I’d like to build on that premise by adding two other dimensions to the list. Fred was kind enough to offer me a “guest blogger&# spot, so this post also appears today on his blog as well. Setting vision and strategy are key…but in order to do that, the CEO must remember the principle of NIHITO (Nothing Interesting Happens in the Office) and must spend time in-market. Get to know competitors well. What Does a CEO Do, Anyway?

Salary 105

Salary Pay to Play Metrics Matching 105

Feld Thoughts

SEPTEMBER 8, 2010

There were a bunch of good comments that caused me to realize that I wrote the post from the perspective of a VC, not an entrepreneur. Early stage VCs are often expected to play at least pro-rata in following rounds. But, when companies go sideways or struggle, the early investors are often expected, by their co-investors – to continue to participate pro-rata until the company either succeeds or fails. But to hand wave over the issue is illogical.

Entrepreneur 125

Entrepreneur Angel Investor Early Stage Equity 125

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2016

I’d like to explain as best I can my opinion on what is going on because most of what I hear from entrepreneurs is not only wrong but is reminiscent of what I heard in 1997-2000. ” and you can see that the balance of caution vs. optimism is 82% to 18%. Most are sitting on large portfolios of private companies that are raising money now or will need to do so in the future and they know that they’re up against some headwinds. Reversion to the Mean.

Valuation 240

Valuation Iran Down Round Burn Rate 240

Duct Tape Marketing

OCTOBER 27, 2016

The 3 Facebook Changes in 2016 SMBs Need to Know written by Guest Post read more at Duct Tape Marketing. As we enter the final quarter of 2016, let’s take a step back and see the biggest changes Facebook made this year, and try to look at what direction SMBs should take for the months to come. Last year, advertisers only had the option to deliver ads on other mobile apps. This is likely to entice other kinds of businesses to test it out for other campaigns.

Algorithm 58

Algorithm Audience Advertising Mobile 58

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2010

This is the third article in a series on what it takes to be a great angel investor (and why this should matter to entrepreneurs). Part 1 – Access to Great Deal Flow – is here. Chris Dixon made the point that he thinks investors should look for the founders to have the domain knowledge rather than them having domain knowledge themselves. And he argues that you need to have some “comparative advantage&# as an investor. It’s hard to say.

Angel Investor 251

Angel Investor Cap Table IPO Early Stage 251

Scott Edward Walker

JUNE 9, 2011

Here are the issues I have addressed to date: common mistakes dealing with VC’s valuation liquidation preferences stock options exploding term sheets and no-shop provisions anti-dilution provisions dividends Board control protective provisions drag-along provisions pay-to-play and pull-up provisions In today’s post, I examine conversion rights of investors. A conversion right is the right to convert shares of preferred stock into shares of common stock.

Term Sheet 53

Term Sheet Conversion Rights Venture Capital Conversion 53

ithacaVC

FEBRUARY 20, 2011

This sounds obvious – make sure to know the mindset of your investors. In addition to the “entrepreneur to investor” relationship, the “investor to investor” mindset relationship is critical. For example, if a co-investor (call it Fund Y) is a small fund and knows that it will not be able to keep up with it prorata investment share throughout the life of investment it would be critical for its co-investors to understand that going in.

Bridge Financing 40

Bridge Financing IPO Finance Pay to Play 40

This is going to be BIG.

APRIL 12, 2010

Last week, I got a chance to be the guy on the ground for Open Angel Forum NYC. First off, I have to thank those who made it possible—namely our sponsors and our host. Six companies and twenty angels were able to connect up without the friction and artificial scarcity created by the “pay to play” model and it was all made possible by the good folks at Joyent , Cooley , and Winter Wyman. Looking forward to doing at least two more of these in 2010!

Angel Investor 65

Angel Investor Hosting Pay to Play Business Model 65

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 29, 2009

When venture capitalists scale back investing activities it can be very swift and leave many companies that are in the process of fund raising hung out to dry. Just ask anybody who was trying to close funding the fateful week of September 11, 2001 or even March 2000. I would argue that the shut-down of September 2009 was equally severe yet there are signs that this “VC Ice Age” has begun to thaw. VC’s are not immune to this phenomenon. So it’s easier to just pass.

Burn Rate 239

Burn Rate Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Private Equity 239

Hearpreneur

SEPTEMBER 9, 2015

The time flew by and as school starts, the weather changes and the temperature drops, we decided to connect with entrepreneurs and business owners to see how their summers went and what were some of their accomplishments. We decided to ask them what their best business accomplishments as we head into the fall: #1 – Busy Season. We look forward to Cosmoprof every year! Thanks to Trina Albus, MAGENTA ! #2 Only they hold the key to unlock it.

Las Vegas 104

Las Vegas Phoenix Los Angeles San Diego 104

This is going to be BIG.

FEBRUARY 7, 2010

First Growth Venture Network formed to mentor high potential seed and early stage companies. First Round Capital makes 11 new investments in NYC, hires me to be here fulltime, and announces a new NYC office in Union Square. I’m excited to announce that the Open Angel Forum is coming to NYC. Well, remember the dust up a while back with the backlash against “pay to play” pitch events where startups had to pay to meet angels?

New York City 66

New York City New York Angel Investor Early Stage 66

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 14, 2010

This is the third article in a series on what it takes to be a great angel investor (and why this should matter to entrepreneurs). Part 1 – Access to Great Deal Flow – is here. Chris Dixon made the point that he thinks investors should look for the founders to have the domain knowledge rather than them having domain knowledge themselves. But I prefer a certain naive optimism in founders but I can’t see that this extends to angel investors.

Angel Investor 163

Angel Investor Cap Table IPO Early Stage 163

Duct Tape Marketing

APRIL 30, 2015

In order for that content to be effective you need an audience, you need eyeballs and traffic. Social media is becoming an increasingly pay-to-play environment, especially on Facebook. Organic traffic to Pages is below 2%. An alternative is to target bloggers and media outlets directly. Ask to be published as a guest blogger. Buffer, a popular social media sharing tool, leveraged a guest network to generate millions in revenues.

Distribution 53

Distribution Cost Social Media Viral 53

Scott Edward Walker

SEPTEMBER 14, 2011

Here are the issues I have addressed to date: common mistakes dealing with VC’s valuation liquidation preferences stock options exploding term sheets and no-shop provisions anti-dilution provisions dividends Board control protective provisions drag-along provisions pay-to-play and pull-up provisions conversion rights non-contractual rights redemption rights In today’s post, I examine the non-binding and conditional language in term sheets.

Term Sheet 64

Term Sheet Liquidation Preference Due Diligence Redemption 64

Start Up Blog

NOVEMBER 6, 2011

I am a Foxtel subscriber and every day I get that little bit closer to turning off my $100 per month payment. Sure, their penetration in Australia might be growing, but we are on the precipice of disruptive change to Television, in a way that Foxtel must respond to if they want to survive. And their response needs to be before the impending disruption, or just like the music industry, they’ll be wondering what happened. I was happy to pay for it.

Australia 102

Australia Demand Channel Pay to Play 102

Austin Startup

FEBRUARY 1, 2018

The Dash wearable sensor turns field performance into FIFA-like stats to participate at competitions, challenges and paves the way to global recognition. What does DashTag hope to accomplish in 2018? We want to bring a new experience to U.S. soccer players to capture, train and show their performance with technology. In summer of 2018, we’ll be rolling out to selected cities throughout the U.S., To deliver an awesome pitch.

Netherlands 52

Netherlands Philadelphia CTO Europe 52