Startup Lessons Learned

JANUARY 10, 2011

One of my beliefs is that such a theory should be addressed to entrepreneurs and the people who hold them accountable. It’s this latter criteria that I think tends to get overlooked in most writing about entrepreneurs. Who holds entrepreneurs accountable? And it’s not just investors who are having trouble.

Silicon Valley 167

Silicon Valley San Francisco Lean Investment Bankers 167

thebarefootvc

JANUARY 27, 2014

I think that later stage valuations are frothy (for reasons I explain below) while earlier stage valuations are starting to stabilize from previous highs (with the exception of the superstar serial entrepreneur) - turns out scaling in a sea of competition (both startup and entrenched) is not so easy.

Technical Review 63

Technical Review Valuation Venture Capital Investment Bankers 63

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2018

For example, if you have a proven product, real revenue, a big potential market, and are ready to scale up the business, every investor will be interested. On the other hand, if you are a new entrepreneur, still in the idea stage, professional investors will only tell you to come back later when you have traction (customers and revenue).

Angel Investor 184

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Investment Bankers Private Equity 184

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 12, 2010

“Hi [entrepreneur], I hope all is well. It looks as though you’ve built a very interesting business, and I’d love to spend some time getting a better understanding of your future plans for the company and if there is an opportunity to partner with [My Firm]. He’s on a fishing trip. They’re flattered.

Programming 294

Programming Entrepreneur Private Equity Equity 294

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 4, 2014

For example, if you have a proven product, real revenue, a big potential market, and are ready to scale up the business, every investor will be interested. On the other hand, if you are a new entrepreneur, still in the idea stage, professional investors will only tell you to come back later when you have traction (customers and revenue).

Angel Investor 232

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Investment Bankers Private Equity 232

Rob Go

JANUARY 18, 2012

I think this is an interesting question, because it seems to defy the logic (or conventional wisdom) that a VC with more operating experience should be better suited to help entrepreneurs. Nick Beim (Gilt, The Ladders, JBoss) was a consultant and investment banker. Couple observations. First, consider the many counter-examples.

Operations 50

Operations Technical Review Investment Bankers Cofounder 50

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2016

For example, if you have a proven product, real revenue, a big potential market, and are ready to scale up the business, every investor will be interested. On the other hand, if you are a new entrepreneur, still in the idea stage, professional investors will only tell you to come back later when you have traction (customers and revenue).

Matching 120

Matching Angel Investor Intellectual Property Investment Bankers 120

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 3, 2011

If you have or are thinking about a business in the video space you’ll enjoy hearing from Gregg but even more broadly this is a great conversation for entrepreneurs, investors or industry analysts. Why do a freemium model? Gregg talks in the video about how they went in search of a business model and how they found one.

Viral 303

Viral Investment Bankers Video Business Model 303

Austin Startup

FEBRUARY 10, 2020

See Betmarkets talk about their business model in the category Innovative World Technology between 5 and 6 pm Saturday, March 14, before a live audience and a panel of expert judges. If I had not accepted this amazing challenge, I would still be working as an investment banker in London. It’s that simple!

Portugal 62

Portugal Investment Bankers United States Cofounder 62

Austin Startup

FEBRUARY 10, 2020

See Betmarkets talk about their business model in the category Innovative World Technology between 5 and 6 pm Saturday, March 14, before a live audience and a panel of expert judges. If I had not accepted this amazing challenge, I would still be working as an investment banker in London. It’s that simple!

Portugal 62

Portugal Investment Bankers United States Cofounder 62

David Teten

DECEMBER 3, 2019

Small investment firms often have interns and entrepreneurs in residence passing through, each of which is a security risk. Chris Dixon, Partner, A16Z, observes , “Success in VC is probably 10% about picking, and 90% about sourcing the right deals and having entrepreneurs choose your firm as a partner”. 2) Market . 10) Report.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Software Review Analytics Private Equity 78

Growthink Blog

JANUARY 24, 2011

Troy for the past 15 years has worked and lived in New Media as a strategist, entrepreneur, and investment banker, and in the past few months he has interviewed dozens of social media and advertising executives, marketers, and investors.

Investment Bankers 102

Investment Bankers United States Early Stage Advertising 102

Small Business Force

OCTOBER 22, 2017

As an entrepreneur with multiple startups I founded; as CEO or senior executive of several small companies that either were public or went public; as an investment banker for dozens of small business clients; as an angel investor in various startups and small business opportunities. Not using professional help.

Entrepreneur 25

Entrepreneur Angel Investor Valuation Investment Bankers 25

Tim Keane

SEPTEMBER 18, 2006

Have they done a lot/a few/ no transactions with Investment Bankers? Have they done a lot/a few/ no transactions with Investment Bankers? Greg Gianforte: Bootstrapping Your Business: Start And Grow a Successful Company With Almost No Money. How long is their buy cycle? How do they like to be approached?

Harvest 60

Harvest LBO Investment Bankers Wisconsin 60

BeyondVC

NOVEMBER 17, 2006

First and foremost, the traditional rule of thumb that most investment bankers have quoted me in the last couple of years was that in order to go public a company needs to have an annual run-rate of $40-50mm of revenue and a couple quarters of profitability. This is obviously relevant for a number of reasons.

IPO 60

IPO Investment Bankers Demand Revenue 60

YoungUpstarts

JANUARY 11, 2018

As an entrepreneur, you are going to have to take risks. When entrepreneurs are selling widely from the start and showing us vanity metrics, it’s clear that they haven’t found PMF and it’s a quick pass for us. We’d much rather invest in a company that’s serving a much smaller customer base but has deep insights.

Los Angeles 133

Los Angeles Investment Bankers Cofounder Viral 133