Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 19, 2011

Business model: o They bought a lot of ad inventory (banner ads/advertising) driving people to signup forms, converting (fill out form) and sold leads, o Initial strategy was first comparison shopping and then monitoring and upselling on more savings. . He typed lowermybills.com was not registered and available so he bought it.

Acquisition 304

Acquisition Warrant Customer Term Sheet 304

Steve Blank

APRIL 1, 2020

Some VC’s are walking away from signed term sheets. Remember, a year from now no one wants to be the CEO of a company out of business whose lament is, “I did what the board told me to do.”. Days 3 and 4: Prepare new business model and operating plan. Others are cutting their valuations.

South Korea 334

South Korea Salary Business Model China 334

SoCal CTO

JULY 13, 2010

How-to learn about angel/vc term sheets - Gabriel Weinberg , June 28, 2010 I think every startup entrepreneur (and angel investor) should have a good understanding of financing term sheets. had two occasions recently to review products which had clear market leadership. Yes, even bootstrappers. liquidation preference.

Cofounder 175

Cofounder Technical Cofounder Term Sheet Startup 175

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 4, 2012

After you have successfully attracted angels or venture capital with your business case, your million dollar product idea, and you have a signed term sheet, there is still one more hurdle to overcome before investors write the check. This is the dreaded “due diligence” process.

Technical Review 237

Technical Review Due Diligence Intellectual Property Private Equity 237

Gust

DECEMBER 27, 2012

You should know EVERYTHING about your business, product, customers and competition. You should have a crystal clear understanding of your business model and your financials. This person will be critical in rounding up other investors, drafting a term sheet, and generally getting the deal done.

Software Review 164

Software Review Term Sheet Technical Review Angel Investor 164

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 22, 2010

After you have successfully attracted angels or venture capital with your business case, your million dollar product idea, and you have a signed term sheet, there is still one more hurdle to overcome before investors write the check. This is the dreaded “due diligence” process.

Technical Review 225

Technical Review Due Diligence Intellectual Property Private Equity 225

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 5, 2009

Chasing funding versus chasing customers and a repeatable and scalable business model, is one reason startups fail. Is there a profitable business model? The Traditional VC Pitch Entrepreneurs who pursue the traditional product development model don’t have customer data to answer these questions. Can it scale?”

Customer Development 270

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 270

Gust

NOVEMBER 14, 2011

After you have successfully attracted angels or venture capital with your business case, your million dollar product idea, and you have a signed term sheet, there is still one more hurdle to overcome before investors write the check. This is the dreaded “due diligence” process.

Technical Review 152

Technical Review Due Diligence Intellectual Property Private Equity 152

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 27, 2016

Taking on equity investors to fund your company is much like getting married – it is a long-term relationship that has to work at all levels. Investor due diligence on a startup is not a mysterious black art, but is nothing more than a final integrity check on all aspects of your business model, team, product, customers, and plan.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Offshore 120

Mucker Lab

AUGUST 27, 2014

Encyclopedic knowledge of term sheets and startup buzzwords can be quickly learned, trained, and packaged. The best entrepreneurs have been coached to run a tight process, to shop their term sheets to a myriad of VCs, all of whom have great reputations and large networks.

Los Angeles 138

Los Angeles Southern California Silicon Valley Technical Review 138

View from Seed

APRIL 30, 2015

We also spell out the interest-only period, the amortization period, the warrants, the interest rate, and then some high level legal terms we would include in the documents and highlight in the term sheet — similar to a VC term sheet. In terms of negotiation, there are always hot buttons.

Term Sheet 120

Term Sheet Equity Startup Seed Stage 120

Hunter Walker

OCTOBER 31, 2020

All of these areas require real understanding of core underlying technology, not just pattern matching against a business model applied to a vertical. Venture Deals: Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer And Venture Capitalist (Feld; Mendelson) is the best book to read if you want to understand venture capital, term sheets, etc.

North Carolina 104

North Carolina Hiring Angel Investor Technical Review 104

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.

Startup 150

Startup Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Seed Stage 150

View from Seed

AUGUST 17, 2021

I was speaking to the former CFO of one of our most valuable portfolio companies the other day, and she recounted how this company once pitched 70 investors to barely get a term sheet. But then again, this is what skeptics have been predicting for 10+ years. What I was purporting was just “the greater fool theory”.

IRR 205

IRR Dilution Founder Portfolio 205

The Next Web

AUGUST 26, 2012

Make sure you check and understand the term sheet and overall deal. The terms should allow you to drive in order to arrive at the first destination safely. Talk to other participants, use Google for some additional research on your investor and listen to your gut feeling when it’s time to sign. Raising money takes time.

Bankruptcy 121

Bankruptcy Technical Review Intellectual Property Due Diligence 121

David Teten

AUGUST 19, 2019

I’ve been a traditional equity VC for 8 years, and I’m now researching new business models in venture capital. The traditional NVCA term sheet works well for founders who are comfortable substituting VC capital for revenues, running typically at a loss for many years. All term sheets are a negotiation.

Revenue 60

Revenue Term Sheet Founder Technical Review 60

K9 Ventures

APRIL 27, 2011

Their business model was to provide retailers with a new interface for shopping for soft goods — something that hasn’t changed a whole lot since Web 1.0. The day before we were supposed to sign the term sheet for the investment, Like.com sued Ugmode (the parent company of Modista.com) for patent infringement.

Software Review 134

Software Review Technical Review IP Finance 134

View from Seed

AUGUST 17, 2021

I was speaking to the former CFO of one of our most valuable portfolio companies the other day, and she recounted how this company once pitched 70 investors to barely get a term sheet. But then again, this is what skeptics have been predicting for 10+ years. What I was purporting was just “the greater fool theory”.

IRR 156

IRR Dilution Founder Portfolio 156

reidhoffman.org

NOVEMBER 12, 2013

But with so many investors still licking their wounds from the dot-com bust, many focused on proven business models, such as advertising or e-commerce. The general rule is one business model drives the business. As it happened, we did end up pursuing all three lines of business.

Entrepreneur 111

Entrepreneur Viral Revenue Networking 111

David Teten

JANUARY 19, 2021

Womble Bond Dickinson has released a white paper on Performance Aligned Stock and a term sheet on ImpactTerms.org. . (If That said, John Berger observes, “I can easily make a low-risk, debt-like Flexible VC deal, or a high-risk equity-like deal, and I can do it using the same term sheet with different terms.

Cofounder 78

Cofounder Technical Review Equity Dividend 78

View from Seed

AUGUST 17, 2021

I was speaking to the former CFO of one of our most valuable portfolio companies the other day, and she recounted how this company once pitched 70 investors to barely get a term sheet. But then again, this is what skeptics have been predicting for 10+ years. What I was purporting was just “the greater fool theory”.

IRR 136

IRR Dilution Founder Portfolio 136

Sophia Perl of Wisdom

NOVEMBER 9, 2010

Use the 10-5-3-1 formula for raising money: Have 10 great meetings with investors, 5 of those do detailed due diligience on your company, get 3 term sheets, and 1 transfer into your bank account! Raise more money than you need because your business model may change. Kenya is the most advanced for mobile payment.

CTO Hire 49

CTO Hire Cofounder Fractional CTO San Francisco 49

Steve Blank

JANUARY 4, 2010

Staring at us in the board meeting were three term-sheets from brand name VC’s and an unexpected buy-out offer from Google. They used Customer and Agile development to search for a scalable and repeatable business model to become a large company. The Internet has created a series of new and innovative business models.

Hockey Stick 303

Hockey Stick Venture Capital Startup Cofounder 303

Up and Running

MAY 18, 2016

You’ll learn more about what destroys startups, how to use the Customer Development method to succeed, how to use the Business Model Canvas, how to identify and keep your customers, and how to drive profits. Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers.

Startup 80

Startup Venture Capital Angel Investor Lean 80

Sophia Perl of Wisdom

NOVEMBER 9, 2010

Use the 10-5-3-1 formula for raising money: Have 10 great meetings with investors, 5 of those do detailed due diligience on your company, get 3 term sheets, and 1 transfer into your bank account! Raise more money than you need because your business model may change. Kenya is the most advanced for mobile payment.

CTO Hire 40

CTO Hire Cofounder Fractional CTO San Francisco 40

Tim Keane

MAY 16, 2010

A philosophy of valuations and term-sheets. Several months ago, I'd posted an article about term-sheets.  A Philosophy of Valuation and  Term Sheet Calcs   the accompanying spreadsheet.  A philosophy of valuations and term-sheets. « Do we really need this help?

Term Sheet 60

Term Sheet Valuation Wisconsin Angel Investor 60

Reid Hoffman

JULY 27, 2021

What business schools can provide is an opportunity to learn a set of skills that can be helpful on the entrepreneurial journey. MBA programs teach valuable analytical skills that can help you evaluate and refine strategies and business models. It’s not like after completing the class I was prepared to negotiate a term sheet.

Silicon Valley 69

Silicon Valley Venture Capital Balance Sheet Cofounder 69

Reid Hoffman

JULY 27, 2021

What business schools can provide is an opportunity to learn a set of skills that can be helpful on the entrepreneurial journey. MBA programs teach valuable analytical skills that can help you evaluate and refine strategies and business models. It’s not like after completing the class I was prepared to negotiate a term sheet.

Silicon Valley 69

Silicon Valley Venture Capital Balance Sheet Cofounder 69

Austin Startup

NOVEMBER 12, 2017

Let’s talk first about an angel round to individual investors, all of whom may be duly accredited but many of whom may have no background that enables them to understand fully your idea and your business model. In that case, you are not making a specific offer; you are soliciting a terms sheet.

Term Sheet 48

Term Sheet Technical Review Due Diligence Merger 48

Startup Lessons Learned

MAY 31, 2019

Having been through the company-building process myself and after a decade in VC working with thousands of companies and negotiating hundreds of term sheets, I wrote this book to help demystify the process. That is the nature of this business - starting a company is incredibly hard. No need to name names.

Lean 108

Lean Venture Capital Conversion IPO 108

Professor VC

APRIL 1, 2010

There has been a lot of discussion and publishing of standard term sheets, including Y Combinator, TechStars and SeriesSeed. A good comparison of the various "standard" term sheets can be found at Start-up Company Lawyer. Marios firm, Wilson, Sonsini, even has a term sheet generator on their site.

Term Sheet 32

Term Sheet Angel Investor San Jose Venture Capital 32

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 20, 2009

We don’t have a term sheet yet but seem close. They aren’t sure about your business model? VC’s (like you) are busy. If all else fails you give the VC a call with a very subtle and polite message, “Just wanted to keep you updated on our situation. Guidelines for following up.

Campaign 277

Campaign Email Venture Capital Term Sheet 277

David Teten

AUGUST 19, 2019

I’ve been a traditional equity VC for 8 years, and I’m now researching new business models in venture capital. We make fast, data-driven credit decisions for these types of businesses and show Founders how the math/ROI works. We’re also regularly following-on for existing portfolio companies.”.

Revenue 60

Revenue Technical Review Software Review Equity 60

David Teten

DECEMBER 3, 2019

Technographics vendors such as Builtwith , Datanyze , HG Data , Stackshare, and Stacklist help CEOs identify the right tech platform on which to build their business; they’re also helpful for investors to due diligence a company’s tech stack choices. Similarly, Corsis uses benchmarking data to understand technology spend patterns.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Software Review Analytics Private Equity 78

Professor VC

APRIL 7, 2011

From my experience, negotiating debt deals with an experienced investor will result in a number of the same terms and wont save much (if anything) on legal fees. I take CFO roles in early stage companies and participate on the management team during the early financings and business model development phases.

San Jose 36

San Jose Technical Review Angel Investor Valuation 36

This is going to be BIG.

OCTOBER 24, 2021

Well, the very next company they saw in that space got a term sheet from the firm that missed out. Maybe you said it was ok that your business model included stealing tips from your delivery personnel. You’re kind of a jerk. Something you did really irked the people you pitched. Maybe you were rude to the office manager.

Founder 127

Founder Term Sheet Early Stage Business Model 127

Tim Keane

OCTOBER 11, 2006

  Telling a customer you are busy--when you aren't 2.    Telling a VC you have another term sheet -- when you don't 3.    Telling a potential business partner you are close to signing with his competitor -- when you aren't 5.  The Sound of One Hand Clapping. Books I Like.

Term Sheet 60

Term Sheet Wisconsin Angel Investor Bootstrapping 60