VC Cafe

AUGUST 4, 2022

This is an incredibly tough time to a lot of founders. The VC markets have contracted almost overnight and last round’s valuations may no longer hold. Many founders have hard choices to make, and face big consequences to the macro trends like inflation, reduce spending, increased interest rates etc. Keep the lines open.

Founder 158

Founder Aggregator Startup Valuation 158

Steve Blank

MAY 9, 2017

The founders were simply wrong about their assumptions about customer needs. It turns out the term “visionary founder” was usually a synonym for someone who was hallucinating. Founders Need to Run the Company Longer. So, almost like clockwork 20 th century startups fired the innovators/founders when they scaled.

Restful 249

Restful Silicon Valley San Jose Puerto Rico 249

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 1, 2011

Mike is a no BS guy, has all the attributes I look for in a founder and says things like, openly shares knowledge and opines without a filter including this one, “whoever invented uncapped convertible debt should be spanked!&# Of course, monetization of search became one of the best business models in the history of business.

Semantic 302

Semantic Acquisition Valuation Angel Investor 302

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 9, 2010

It’s higher risk, but higher return, to pick the big winners early, before angels have set unreasonable valuations and restrictive terms. More sources of funding for early-stage startups may drive up valuations on these deals, which will lower the returns for the angels and super-angels willing to do these deals. Marty Zwilling.

Technical Review 215

Technical Review Early Stage Venture Capital Startup 215

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 7, 2013

The market and venture capitalists are looking for business, but with a continuing focus on proven business models. Here are some key action items that may give your business some visibility: Start with an investment-grade business plan. To make this work, you will need an initial valuation of at least $5M.

Venture Capital 252

Venture Capital IPO Elevator Pitch Initial Public Offering 252

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2013

It’s higher risk, but higher return, to pick the big winners early, before Angels have set unreasonable valuations and restrictive terms. More sources of funding for early-stage startups may drive up valuations on these deals, which will lower the returns for the Angels and super-Angels willing to do these deals.

Angel Investor 231

Angel Investor Entrepreneur Early Stage Silicon Valley 231

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2011

If the founders are not experienced, find a couple of advisors from the business sector to fill the gap. Every entrepreneur needs a professional business plan for their own use, whether they intend to seek investor funding or not. Finalize your financial model. This is called “validating the business model.”

Intellectual Property 249

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Technical Review Elevator Pitch 249

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 11, 2023

Analysts perform a valuation of the company in question before the beginning of any round of funding. The management of a company, its established track record, the size of the market, and the level of risk all play a role in determining a company’s valuation. What is the Evaluation of the Funding?

Seed Stage 148

Seed Stage Technical Review Early Stage Due Diligence 148

VC Cafe

FEBRUARY 26, 2023

” – Marc Andreessen In the book “ Super Founders “, author Ali Tamaseb, studied 200 Unicorns, aka startups valued at over $1 billion, started between 2005 to 2018. The 7 Traits of “Super Founders” 1. They are able to articulate this vision in a way that inspires others and generates excitement.

Founder 88

Founder Cofounder Seed Stage Valuation 88

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 23, 2010

If the founders are not experienced, find a couple of advisors from the business sector to fill the gap. Every entrepreneur needs a professional business plan for their own use, whether they intend to seek investor funding or not. Finalize your financial model. This is called “validating the business model.”

Angel Investor 224

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Technical Review Elevator Pitch 224

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 1, 2020

In very few specific cases, depending on the nature of the business, the business model might demand a considerable gestation period or extensive research and development. For these businesses, it is imperative to get funding from the start without which the company cannot be set up. Bridge or exit stage.

Startup 150

Startup Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Seed Stage 150

The Startup Magazine

MARCH 14, 2022

It is here that the groundwork is laid and the business model developed. A business plan is drawn up to attract investors and partners. The legalities of starting the business are addressed to create a structure for attracting funding. The journey commences by finding a solution for an everyday problem.

Technical Review 167

Technical Review Due Diligence India Startup 167

Steve Blank

APRIL 26, 2022

At the turn of the century after the dotcom crash, startup valuations plummeted, burn rates were unsustainable, and startups were quickly running out of cash. Most existing investors (those still in business) hoarded their money and stopped doing follow-on rounds until the rubble had cleared. W hy would any founder agree to this?

Cram Down 417

Cram Down Founder Venture Capital Recapitalization 417

Tim Keane

JANUARY 12, 2010

Term-sheets and Valuations: Thinking about Negotiations.   I’ve sat down with entrepreneurs and a copy of a term sheet guide I like [ “Term Sheets & Valuations - A Line by Line Look at the Intricacies of Venture Capital Term Sheets & Valuations ” by Alex Wilmerding, Aspatore Press.] The Valuation Question.

Term Sheet 68

Term Sheet Valuation Dividend Liquidation Preference 68

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 19, 2017

That’s because obtaining a pre-money valuation for a concept level technology company in excess of $1 million is difficult, particularly for a startup founder without a proven track record. Takeaway lesson: A shocking number of technology startups never even get their first product out the door. His first capital raise was a $2.75

Private Equity 94

Private Equity Pre-Money Valuation Equity Startup 94

Lightspeed Venture Partners

OCTOBER 7, 2012

The first company started as a BBQ catering business, and eventually focused in on their most popular product, a dip made of blended up chicken plus various sauces. This isn’t a company yet, it’s an idea, and the founder could do a lot more on his own to validate product-market fit before raising capital. Fair enough too.

Technical Review 110

Technical Review Technical Cofounder Valuation Pre-Money Valuation 110

The Startup Magazine

FEBRUARY 21, 2024

Arif Bhalwani is the co-founder and CEO of Third Eye Capital (TEC) in Toronto, Canada. As an investor, these experiences have honed my ability to see beyond spreadsheets and valuations, to the core of what makes businesses thrive: the people, the vision, and the relentless pursuit of excellence. The firm has made more than $4.5

Technical Review 158

Technical Review Due Diligence Bankruptcy Intellectual Property 158

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 19, 2015

Most technologists have little interest in the mechanics of starting and building a business. That’s why I recommend that they find a co-founder who loves business challenges, including marketing and finance. Outside investors are most interested in scaling a proven business model, not research and development.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Intellectual Property Cofounder Bootstrapping 120

David Teten

AUGUST 20, 2019

Many are reporting that they’re seeing a more diverse pool of applicants than traditional equity VCs… even though virtually none have a particular focus on women or underrepresented founders. I’ve been a traditional equity VC for 8 years, and I’m now researching new business models in venture capital.

Revenue 60

Revenue Cofounder Founder Venture Capital 60

crowdSPRING Blog

NOVEMBER 30, 2012

How Small Businesses Can Compete with Big Business – [link]. crowdSPRING’s Small Business Spotlight of the Week: mor.sl | crowdSPRING Blog – [link]. The Founders Lie About Comfort Zones – [link]. How To Choose A Market For Your Startup Or Small Business – [link]. Just got acquired?

Social Media 100

Social Media Small Business Central African Republic Design 100

VC Cafe

JANUARY 27, 2021

We are taking the screen sharing experience to the next level, so that collaboration doesn’t get in the way of doing great work,” writes CEO and founder Tom Medema. Next47 and American Insight Partners VC, demonstrates growing trust in its current and future business model. Another virtual events platform, Hopin , has hit a 2.1

Vertical 148

Vertical Video Technical Review Europe 148

YoungUpstarts

MARCH 14, 2016

by Keith Smith, co-founder and CEO of Payability. If you read startup news, then you might believe “getting funded” is the ultimate goal of any business. Before a quiet acquisition by PCH Innovations for just $15 million, Fab had raised 11 rounds of VC funding at a $900 million valuation.

Venture Capital 100

Venture Capital Securities and Exchange Commission New York City Cofounder 100

Up and Running

AUGUST 17, 2022

In another case, I saw an angel investment group reject a founder who, during his presentation, blamed every setback on somebody other than himself. I’ve also seen several cases of founders who didn’t get good feedback because they wouldn’t take feedback. They want your business to be able to scale up.

Venture Capital 146

Venture Capital Intellectual Property Angel Investor Bootstrapping 146

Steve Blank

MAY 13, 2010

But startups can shoot themselves in the foot when founders use consultants at the wrong time or in the wrong way. So I met the entrepreneur and asked him how his search for a business model was going. Here’s what I told him: A startup exists to search for a scalable and repeatable business model. Here’s why.

Founder 231

Founder Cofounder Business Model Customer Development 231

YoungUpstarts

MAY 30, 2016

by Anand Srinivasan, founder of LeadJoint.com. Looking at the startup scene through the lens of TechCrunch or VentureBeat, one may not be faulted for assuming that securing VC capital is the default way to raise a business. Either way, you are not alone if you are bootstrapping your business. You are in the vast majority.

Bootstrapping 100

Bootstrapping Germany United States France 100

VC Cafe

JUNE 29, 2012

Kevin – consumer Internet plays, often times they don’t have a business model. When I met Instagram, Kevin (the founder) had great numbers, but he wasn’t even thinking about revenue. We are working hard on features to help angels screen the founders and check their background. How important is education?

Developer 103

Developer Silicon Valley Software Review Mexico 103

Steve Blank

MARCH 17, 2020

But next the question is, ‘What happens to my business?”. The questions every startup or small business CEO needs to ask now are: What’s my Burn Rate and Runway? What does your new business model look like? What does my business model look like now? Is this a three-month, one-year or a three-year problem?

Burn Rate 436

Burn Rate Startup Valuation Sales Cycle 436

betashop.com

OCTOBER 8, 2012

But, you can iterate and iterate on features, but you cannot iterate your way to a business model. I’ve seen too many businesses get stuck or fail because of their endless pursuit for the magic new feature that is going to help them gain traction. Have amazing co-founders who are better at what they do than you could ever be.

Technical Review 108

Technical Review Technology Software Review Valuation 108

crowdSPRING Blog

DECEMBER 21, 2012

10 Lessons I’ve Learned During My First Three Months As a Founder (by Len Kendall) | Technori - [link]. Good read about how Aviary changed its business model | The Verge - [link]. This is a very useful valuation tool from AngelList (browse startup valuations) - [link]. part 1) – [link].

Social Media 100

Social Media Small Business Design Media 100

View from Seed

APRIL 20, 2020

The result is that capital tends to flow towards founders with established VC relationships and away from folks who may be equally talented but are several steps removed from investor networks. We will leverage the standard YC post-money SAFE document with a valuation cap and no discount.

B2B 436

B2B Seed Stage B2C Programming 436

ReadWriteStart

MARCH 24, 2011

Additional work in figuring out the precise go-to-market consumer, academic institution, or enterprise - each is a different business), and consequent business model and pricing model will help enhance the company's valuation. Recordings of previous roundtables are all available here.

Illinois 114

Illinois Entrepreneur Silicon Valley Chicago 114

David Teten

JANUARY 19, 2021

From RBI, Flexible VCs borrow the ability to reap meaningful returns without demanding founders build for an exit. Every Flexible VC structure allows founders to access immediate risk capital while preserving exit, growth trajectory, and ownership optionality. . Flexible VC 102: Variations.

Cofounder 78

Cofounder Technical Review Equity Dividend 78

Steve Blank

MAY 19, 2015

While he kept bringing the conversation back to their big valuation I tried to steer the conversation back to how they were going to deal with: training the influx of new hires – in both culture and job specific tasks. They had doubled headcount from 100 to 200 in the last year and were planning to double again.)

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Salary Early Stage Software Review 120

Hunter Walker

MAY 4, 2014

Not every company is raising money at the valuation you modeled. Second, we did an investment where we actually decided to own more than 10% because of the nature of the business model. They use their own brain to fill in the blanks on an opportunity versus really understanding how the founders think.

Software Review 123

Software Review Vertical Seed Stage Portfolio 123

YoungUpstarts

FEBRUARY 14, 2017

by Jon Leighton, Director of digital agency iResources and founder of neatly.io. Indeed some of the biggest names out there started off as a completely different business; including Twitter, Nintendo and most recently, Slack. But pivoting applies to all businesses and the theory behind it is exactly the same.

Technical Review 157

Technical Review Architecture Revenue Channel 157

View from Seed

APRIL 30, 2015

What is it, and how should founders think about it? note: We’d like to be extra clear that founders should not take on venture debt if they don’t have 100% visibility into repaying the loan, as banks that need to recoup their loan my force the company or you as the guarantor into liquidation or bankruptcy. Business model?

Term Sheet 120

Term Sheet Equity Startup Seed Stage 120

crowdSPRING Blog

APRIL 26, 2013

If there’s one video 1st time founders should watch to understand VC financing it’s this one – [link]. Five Branding Mistakes That Will Cripple Your Small Business (and how to avoid making them) – [link]. “sometimes you have the right product but the wrong business model.”

Social Media 90

Social Media Small Business Design Media 90