View from Seed

OCTOBER 15, 2014

Examples of housekeeping include the following list, though not every item will appear every time: Finance: Cash out date, burn rate, 409A valuation, cap table, common/preferred stock dashboard. Finance is mission critical, for instance – it just appears on a recurring basis. The seed stage is all about traction.

Seed Stage 331

Seed Stage Cap Table Metrics Burn Rate 331

David Teten

DECEMBER 3, 2019

Some notable metrics are revenue growth rates, free cashflow, leverage ratios, historical financing amounts, returns on marketing spend, customer acquisition costs, lifetime value of customers, customer churn rates, and team social scores. 645 Ventures released a cap table simulator to help level the playing field.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Software Review Analytics Private Equity 78

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 23, 2019

To provide relevant perspective, listing past convertible note(s) and/or equity financing(s) including total round size and valuation (caps) is helpful. Previous venture firms’ specific involvement on the cap table should be noted here, though. First, it’s helpful to enumerate the startup’s funding history to date.

Cap Table 211

Cap Table Seed Stage Valuation Dilution 211

Pascal's View

JULY 9, 2017

Many entrepreneurs lose track of what they have been cooking up in the cap table. When it comes time to convert the notes, these entrepreneurs face ‘sticker shock’ about their post-financing ownership. They do not recognize that they may have already contractually sold a meaningful portion of equity in their company.

Post-Money Valuation 49

Post-Money Valuation Valuation Cap Table Covenant 49

Austin Startup

AUGUST 20, 2017

Your Cap Table is something that deserves constant care and attention. Messy cap tables can come back to haunt you when you do a financing or sell the company. I am very surprised when that cool thing actually meets a customer need or drives revenue.

Technical Review 48

Technical Review Software Review Cap Table Securities and Exchange Commission 48

Feld Thoughts

AUGUST 12, 2011

When we were last with Dick and Jane on Finance Fridays, our fearless entrepreneurs were figuring out how to split up their founders equity and account for an investment from Jane. Revenues and costs should both be based off of a robust set of assumptions. as a C-Corp in Delaware. Build a financial model that forecasts the P&L.

Balance Sheet 137

Balance Sheet Forecast Cap Table Early Stage 137

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 11, 2019

Eventually, I joined Jenny Lefcourt in the initiative called Founders for Change, where we’re amplifying the voices of the founders who are demanding greater representation and diversity not only within their organization, their cap table, and their board rooms, but also in terms of the makeup of all of these organizations.

Founder 68

Founder Lean Venture Capital Cofounder 68

David Teten

AUGUST 21, 2019

Or should they look to one of the new wave of Revenue-Based Investors? Revenue-Based Investing (“RBI”) is a new form of VC financing, distinct from the preferred equity structure most VCs use. For more background, see Revenue-Based Investing: A New Option for Founders who Care About Control. But should they?

Revenue 60

Revenue Liquidation Preference Equity Cofounder 60

David Teten

NOVEMBER 14, 2019

I wrote recently about Should you raise venture capital from a traditional equity VC or a Revenue-Based Investing VC? Since then, I’ve talked with a number of other firms, and greatly expanded my database: Who are the major Revenue-Based (RBI) Investing VCs? The first step is to decide the right capital structure for your financing.

SBIC 60

SBIC SBA Cap Table Database 60

This is going to be BIG.

JUNE 2, 2010

Historically, that was one where the business was clear and there was some initial revenue, even if slight. That doesn’t seem like a good reason to change your financing and product strategy over. When you go straight to a Series A round, you forget that your next round needs to be a Series B round. Try to prove one thing. Is it users?

Cap Table 106

Cap Table Seed Stage .Net Venture Capital 106

Rob Go

FEBRUARY 24, 2014

This financing probably came out the Sequoia US Venture fund and Growth fund, which are separate entities, but I believe represent a pool of capital somewhere in the neighborhood of $1.2B. Big user bases, but tiny revenues. Techcrunch’s friday report mentioned that the last round’s financing was done with 3X participation.

Cap Table 78

Cap Table Valuation Finance Institutional Investors 78

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 23, 2014

The “big boom” in startup financing started around March 2009?—?more Public-company tech investors creates competition in late-stage financings and these investors can afford to be less price sensitive if they choose. It’s hard to work out the cap table with your peers when one of them has no real intent in fixing the problem.

Technical Review 398

Technical Review Venture Capital Valuation Pre-Money Valuation 398

OnlyOnce

MAY 26, 2022

Do you spend a lot of your time dealing with finance-related issues like fundraising, debt, investors, or cap table questions? Are you on the hot seat during board meetings on finance-related questions, metrics, runway, cash burn, or other issues? Trust your gut.

Cap Table 62

Cap Table Forecast Finance Metrics 62

Spencer Fry

APRIL 17, 2017

If this is the case, you may find yourself starting all over with little revenue (if any), a 1-2 person team that might be consulting on the side to pay bills, and no marketing spend. You can also getaway with giving up zero-to-little equity if you finance the business out of your own pocket or through other means, such as consulting.

Bootstrapping 63

Bootstrapping Cap Table Liquidation Preference Cofounder 63

blog.simeonov.com

FEBRUARY 22, 2010

However, founder agreements are not set in stone and it is common for them to be tweaked by a little or a lot during the first financing by professional investors. The only way to remove their equity holding in the cap table is by buying them out or through a recapitalization of the company. more details ].

Founder 44

Founder Vesting Agile Startup 44

abovethecrowd.com

JUNE 2, 2021

These are the parties on the cap table prior to the transaction. He then argues Squarespace, as a result of choosing a Direct Listing, ended up with a valuation multiple of 6.7X, which he says compares unfavorably to its public peer $WIX (which has an 8X forward revenue multiple). Party B: The investment banks.

IPO 82

IPO Customer Matching Silicon Valley 82

abovethecrowd.com

APRIL 20, 2016

Why the Unicorn Financing Market Just Became Dangerous…For All Involved. A high performing, high-growth SAAS company that may have been worth 10 or more times revenue was suddenly worth 4-7 times revenue. By the first quarter of 2016, the late-stage financing market had changed materially.

IPO 40

IPO Term Sheet Silicon Valley Valuation 40

Berkonomics

AUGUST 3, 2023

Some businesses require very little capital and the founder can self-finance the enterprise and retain 100% of its ownership and control from ignition through liquidity event (startup through sale). And even with the significant cost of credit card debt, many entrepreneurs aggressively use existing cards to finance a startup.

Private Equity 118

Private Equity Valuation Cap Table Accredited Investor 118

Berkonomics

JUNE 8, 2017

Some businesses require very little capital and the founder can self-finance the enterprise and retain 100% of its ownership and control from ignition through liquidity event (startup through sale). And even with the significant cost of credit card debt, many entrepreneurs aggressively use existing cards to finance a startup.

Private Equity 106

Private Equity Valuation Cap Table Accredited Investor 106

Berkonomics

JANUARY 20, 2010

Some businesses require very little capital and the founder is able to self-finance the enterprise and retain 100% of its ownership and control from ignition through liquidity event (startup through sale). And even with the significant cost of credit card debt, many entrepreneurs aggressively use existing cards to finance a startup.

Private Equity 69

Private Equity Valuation Cap Table Accredited Investor 69

David Teten

MARCH 18, 2021

Thirty-four VC firms in OpenVC call themselves “early-stage” Yet, 30% of those don’t actually invest in pre-revenue startups. Revenue-Based Finance and Flexible VC investors invest using “alternative VC” structures, as opposed to conventional preferred equity and convertible notes. 5) Structure-defined funds.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Cofounder Venture Capital Deal Flow 78