View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 18, 2019

*This post is part of our “pitch deck” series where we dissect the seed stage pitch deck and discuss the ideal flow for a pitch. As a seed-stage company, it is understandable to have a nascent (or non-existent) product and a barebone team relative to the great ambition of the company. Now it’s time to discuss the “where”.

Part-Time VPE 195

Part-Time VPE Seed Stage CTO Hire Forecast 195

VC Cafe

FEBRUARY 21, 2023

This is a question startup founders ask themselves multiple times a week. Understanding the benchmarks on conversion, retention, and churn for your business is therefore critical. Understanding the benchmarks on conversion, retention, and churn for your business is therefore critical. How are we doing?

Retention 109

Retention Conversion Churn Rate B2C 109

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 10, 2017

Roughly 27 percent of startups can’t get the funding they need to take their business to the next level, according to the National Association of Small Businesses. For the last eight quarters, the number of angel and seed stage deals has declined, according to an Eisner Amper VC report.

Software Review 124

Software Review Technical Review Due Diligence Startup 124

YoungUpstarts

APRIL 7, 2016

With countless roadblocks along the way, it’s not uncommon for a startup to falter to the point of folding before it has ever reached even the simplest of business goals. The solution: Startup Labs. What is a Startup Lab? The Startup Lab usually takes equity in return for talent that is dedicated to the company.

Seed Stage 100

Seed Stage Silicon Valley Incubator Asia 100

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 5, 2015

I challenge any entrepreneur, for example, to define the difference between "seed-stage" and "early-stage" financing. Asking for early-stage money before you have customers and revenue will likely kill your credibility with real investors. A seed-stage “super angel.”

Seed Stage 120

Seed Stage Finance Early Stage Startup 120

View from Seed

MAY 24, 2021

You have a point of view on emerging technology and business models, and you are not afraid to voice your conviction. You have a deep desire to learn the venture capital business and are ready to hustle to meet the next great founder. You have an authentic passion for startups and a deep respect for entrepreneurship.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Software Review Seed Stage Cofounder 120

VC Cafe

APRIL 4, 2024

This creates a challenge, but also an opportunity for startups in the generative AI space. 70% of the startups in the current batch (170 out of 243) are AI companies. How can startups even compete against big tech, scale ups and other startups? Case in point: this week was Ycombinator’s W24 demo day.

Generative AI 78

Generative AI Artificial Inteligence Technical Review ChatGPT 78

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 7, 2018

This process costs money, which professional investors are not willing to contribute, since their interest is in scaling a proven product and business model into a growth business. Acquiring seed-stage funding is admittedly tough, but a source that I find often overlooked is government grant funding, accessible in the U.S.

Early Stage 225

Early Stage SBIR Technical Review Seed Stage 225

Hunter Walker

DECEMBER 24, 2016

When we started Homebrew in 2013 our industry was, in retrospect, probably midway through a cycle where innovations were in business model rather than underlying technology. Observing a handful of companies, such as Uber, Airbnb, Warby Parker, founders were taking those models and trying to apply them to other verticals.

Technical Review 48

Technical Review Business Model Technology Software Review 48

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2023

According to most definitions, an entrepreneur is one who envisions a new and different business, meaning one that is not a copy of an existing business model. Many entrepreneurs have a passion and an idea, or even invent a new product, but are never able to execute to the point of creating a startup.

Matching 270

Matching Entrepreneur Startup Seed Stage 270

Hunter Walker

AUGUST 31, 2023

At the time Melania was in discussions with Ethena about joining the startup as VP People, happily employed at a larger company but knowing she wanted new challenges. Hunter Walk: One of my favorite things to do for founders is speaking with people who are considering joining their startup. In my opinion, this is a hugely risky move.

Employee 117

Employee Startup Vertical Leadership 117

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. Israeli startup Mobileye , which was acquired by Intel for $15 billion, is a great example of a company that exhibited extreme resilience.

Founder 89

Founder Cofounder Seed Stage Valuation 89

VC Cafe

SEPTEMBER 2, 2022

With the investor slowdown we’ve seen so far in 2022, approximately 30% globally in Q2 2022 (compared to the equivalent period last year, according to Crunchbase ) it’s more difficult for startups to get funded, which increases the important of finding the right investor, as quickly as possible.

Technical Review 166

Technical Review Early Stage Cofounder Portfolio 166

The Startup Magazine

JULY 25, 2024

Starting a new business is an exciting journey, but it often requires a significant amount of money to get off the ground. link] Business News Daily reports that a startup needs around $184,830 a year at its initial stages, with around five employees on board. Why do investors not want to fund startups at times?

Security 130

Security Hungary Poland Startup 130

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 22, 2020

Luckily, not all investors are looking for the same thing, so it pays to know what type of investors are most interested in what your startup brings to the table. The key is understanding how potential investors see you, and especially how they view the maturity stage of your startup. Congratulations!

Angel Investor 370

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Investment Bankers Private Equity 370

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 14, 2020

Undefined business model or very low gross margins. They are not interested in research and development, or funding at the idea stage. For seed stage funding, entrepreneurs should be looking to friends and family, crowd funding, and relevant institutions. Solution development undefined or incomplete.

Due Diligence 308

Due Diligence Intellectual Property Preferred Stock Startup 308

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 17, 2023

Luckily, not all investors are looking for the same thing, so it pays to know what type of investors are most interested in what your startup brings to the table. The key is understanding how potential investors see you, and especially how they view the maturity stage of your startup. Congratulations!

Angel Investor 313

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Investment Bankers Private Equity 313

View from Seed

APRIL 30, 2015

There’s been a lot of digital ink spilled around the various types of capital available to startups today. At NextView, for instance, one of our more popular posts centers on atypical seed rounds to know. As a startup grows, venture debt becomes a viable option to continue that growth. Business model?

Term Sheet 120

Term Sheet Equity Startup Seed Stage 120

Mucker Lab

APRIL 6, 2023

Hila Qu joined Mucker’s Tony Yang for an Ask-Me-Anything (AMA) conversation about Product-Led Growth (PLG) for Startups to kickoff the 2023 Mucker Growth Series. Hila Qu has been the Head of Growth or VP of Growth at a number of different companies and startups, most notably Acorns and GitLab. Hila is a mentor with Mucker Capital.

Product 78

Product CTO Hire Startup Fractional CTO 78

The Next Web

OCTOBER 23, 2013

There aren’t a tonne of funds focused on seed-stage funding worldwide, but we can add a new one to the list today. SparkLabs , the company behind the accelerator program in Korea , is expanding its scope with its first seed-stage fund that will “help great startups go global.”.

Seed Stage 139

Seed Stage Asia Israel Silicon Valley 139

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 11, 2022

Undefined business model or very low gross margins. They are not interested in research and development, or funding at the idea stage. For seed stage funding, entrepreneurs should be looking to friends and family, crowd funding, and relevant institutions. Solution development undefined or incomplete.

Due Diligence 271

Due Diligence Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Preferred Stock 271

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 10, 2020

According to most definitions, an entrepreneur is one who envisions a new and different business, meaning one that is not a copy of an existing business model. Many entrepreneurs have a passion and an idea, or even invent a new product, but are never able to execute to the point of creating a startup.

Matching 317

Matching Seed Stage Angel Investor Business Model 317

Tim Keane

DECEMBER 14, 2009

Startups and angels: Along the way to success. Starting Startups.   He is a partner in a pretty much exclusively software seed stage fund, Y Combinator that you can read more about.    He is a partner in a pretty much exclusively software seed stage fund, Y Combinator that you can read more about. 

Burn Rate 60

Burn Rate Angel Groups Seed Stage Startup 60

Agile VC

MARCH 30, 2012

How to Evaluate Firms for a Seed VC. AGILEVC My idle thoughts on tech startups. Is “Data” a Business Model? Several years ago I wrote a post about the three business models of the consumer web : commerce, advertising, and user-paid premium services. How To Think About The Future. March 30, 2012.

Business Model 113

Business Model Silicon Valley Advertising B2B 113

Austin Startup

MAY 11, 2017

We make a majority of our investments in those sectors and prioritize proven business models. A New Kind of Venture Firm AutoChrome Autochrome is an inception and seed stage venture capital fund. We invest at the earliest stages in transformative companies that are leveraging technology to move our species forward.

Private Equity 48

Private Equity Venture Capital Technical Review Seed Stage 48

Mucker Lab

AUGUST 27, 2014

My father eventually decided on Santa Clara (Saratoga, more specifically), and so I grew up in the shadows of the orchards of Cupertino and the nondescript concrete startup boxes of Santa Clara. Encyclopedic knowledge of term sheets and startup buzzwords can be quickly learned, trained, and packaged.

Los Angeles 138

Los Angeles Southern California Silicon Valley Technical Review 138

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 20, 2016

According to most definitions, an entrepreneur is one who envisions a new and different business, meaning one that is not a copy of an existing business model. Many entrepreneurs have a passion and an idea, or even invent a new product, but are never able to execute to the point of creating a startup.

Seed Stage 120

Seed Stage Startup Angel Investor Business Model 120

View from Seed

MARCH 15, 2017

VC evaluation of seed-stage startups can seem arbitrary or imitative at times. Internally, the scarcity of tangible business metrics – product usage or revenue multiples for example – can make an investment decision feel daunting. Any seed stage company’s strategy is a constant work-in-progress.

Due Diligence 265

Due Diligence Seed Stage Portfolio Metrics 265

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 11, 2019

*This post is part of our “pitch deck” series where we dissect the seed stage pitch deck and discuss the ideal flow for a pitch. Now it’s time to set the stage with the early traction you have. Seed stage VCs are realistic about how much traction a very raw company might have.

Seed Stage 149

Seed Stage B2B Seed Capital Revenue 149

YoungUpstarts

JANUARY 6, 2014

Instead of the old “throw-money-at-a-good-idea” approach, I based our strategy on the belief that the best startups are the ones that can become revenue-positive shortly after takeoff with as little upfront investment as possible. But as an avowed startup junkie, I’m always looking forward to the next thing.

San Francisco 154

San Francisco Business Model Silicon Valley Coder 154

Hippoland

FEBRUARY 12, 2018

I’ll give you an example with my own startup LaunchBit and how our understanding of the problem and the customer became more refined over time: V1: Helping online marketers get customers profitably. Etc… At the pre-seed stage, a big way to stand out is if you have a V3 statement (as opposed to a V1 statement).

Seed Stage 48

Seed Stage Business Model B2B Email 48

Hippoland

FEBRUARY 12, 2018

I’ll give you an example with my own startup LaunchBit and how our understanding of the problem and the customer became more refined over time: V1: Helping online marketers get customers profitably. Etc… At the pre-seed stage, a big way to stand out is if you have a V3 statement (as opposed to a V1 statement).

Seed Stage 48

Seed Stage Business Model B2B Email 48

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 4, 2014

Luckily, not all investors are looking for the same thing, so it pays to know what type of investors are most interested in what your startup brings to the table. The key is understanding how potential investors see you, and especially how they view the maturity stage of your startup. Congratulations!

Angel Investor 232

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Investment Bankers Private Equity 232

View from Seed

OCTOBER 28, 2019

It really does depend from startup to startup. The milestones and the funding rounds to accomplish everything before that are much more specific and idiosyncratic to the specific startup based on the business model, sector, team composition, etc. We at NextView Ventures believe that the seed stage is a spectrum.

Seed Stage 247

Seed Stage Finance Dilution Early Stage 247

K9 Ventures

APRIL 28, 2010

– a seed-stage fund. is a $6.25M fund that is designed to do concept and seed-stage investments in technology companies. Direct Revenue : The company must have a direct revenue model. In a lot of ways I see K9 as my next startup — except it’s a meta-level startup. K9 Ventures, L.P.

Seed Stage 61

Seed Stage San Francisco IP Portfolio 61

mashable.com

NOVEMBER 3, 2010

The Small Business Tips Series is supported by Bantam Live , a web-based collaboration workspace with “Social CRM&# for small business teams. For the first-time entrepreneur or founder looking for seed stage funding, this circle can be especially difficult to penetrate. and Path Intelligence.

Angel Investor 80

Angel Investor Startup San Francisco Social Media 80

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 11, 2019

Ann Miura-Ko is a founding partner at Floodgate , a seed-stage VC firm. Among her early investments are Lyft, TaskRabbit and Modcloth, which, as our recent conversation shows, are only part of the reason Forbes called her “the most powerful woman in startups.” Then above that is business model power—so, how do you make money?

Founder 68

Founder Lean Venture Capital Cofounder 68