The Next Web

NOVEMBER 20, 2013

George Deeb is the Managing Partner at Chicago-based Red Rocket Ventures , a startup consulting and financial advisory firm based in Chicago. If people are funding the business, they should get a premium because at the end of the day, cash funding founders are acting no different than a seed stage investor. Whose idea was it?

Cofounder 136

Cofounder Equity Founder Seed Stage 136

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 15, 2009

M y company had raised a seed round of capital in late 1999 even before either of us were full time in the company (ominous side note: on the way to pitch our seed investor, Delta Partners, a man walking right in front of me died of a massive heart attack making me late to the meeting. True story.)

Founder 299

Founder Technical Review Startup Venture Capital 299

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 5, 2018

Jeff Katzenberg has a great track record – head of the studio at Paramount, chairman of Disney Studios, co-founder of DreamWorks and now chairman of NewTV. Since NewTV won’t be making the content, they will be licensing from and partnering with traditional entertainment producers. ” Fire, Ready, Aim. The result?

Lean 335

Lean Burn Rate Startup IPO 335

SoCal CTO

JUNE 9, 2010

But founders need to know how to ask for their advice and when to ignore it. Startup Insights From Paul English, Co-Founder of Kayak - OnStartups , May 10, 2010 I’m just wrapping up several weeks of attending conferences across both coasts. Why Entrepreneurs Hate Lawyers. was having coffee with a friend who teaches at the U.C.

Fractional CTO 248

Fractional CTO Startup Venture Capital Cofounder 248

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 15, 2010

He’s considering making me the permanent co-host so if you enjoy any of this episode or want to see me on the show on a more regular basis please Tweet @jason and let him know (he asked for direct feedback). In fact, their affiliate partners dissuaded them from doing so. billion valuation. People are talking a rumored $1.2

Venture Capital 271

Venture Capital Affiliate Valuation San Francisco 271

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 20, 2011

They have totally changed the way you run a VC firm, investing heavily in systems & events for their founders that are pushing the boundaries of the way our industry works. The discussion with Howard Morgan starts off by acknowledging Josh Kopelman as a co-founder of First Round Capital. I'm a huge fan of this innovation.

Pre-Money Valuation 284

Pre-Money Valuation Technical Review Cofounder Cram Down 284

Steve Blank

MAY 29, 2011

The email continued, &# The problem I’m working on is that many founders are either making uninformed decisions or inefficiently learning the new skills they need. The solution I’m exploring is a just in time learning methodology that accelerates founders’ learning curve by aggregating relevant content, peers and mentors.&#.

Technical Cofounder 335

Technical Cofounder Early Stage Startup Silicon Valley 335

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 24, 2016

I always tell entrepreneurs that two heads are better than one, so the first task in many startups is finding a co-founder or two. Giving a co-founder a salary won’t get you the “fire in the belly” you want. Each co-founder should get equity for value, based on these key variables: Lived a key role in a previous startup.

Equity 120

Equity Cofounder Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property 120

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 25, 2010

We were trying to optimize around a few criteria: price, size of round, number of syndicate partners and, of course, terms. million at a $15 million pre-money valuation. My co-founder and other management team members wanted us to hold off and see whether we could get the deal done at a higher price. I was resolute.

Technical Review 301

Technical Review Term Sheet Due Diligence Venture Capital 301

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!&# The Union Square Ventures partners started whispering in his ear that “it’s all about social now”.

Semantic 302

Semantic Acquisition Valuation Angel Investor 302

View from Seed

OCTOBER 31, 2018

The main value propositions are: user experience and value – home sellers can manage the entirety of their selling activities through its app and cloud-based platform, from valuation to showing scheduling to negotiation and closing, while paying a $5,000 flat fee vs. the industry tradition of 3% commission.

Atlanta 159

Atlanta Cofounder Software Review Technical Review 159

The Equity Kicker

SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

We see this all the time at Forward Partners where we invest right from the idea stage and most of the companies get a first version of their product live for less than £30k (that generally includes founder salaries and time spent doing customer research). Forward Partners and Crowdcube are both attacking elements of these problems.

Early Stage 119

Early Stage Development Team Review Technical Review Software Review 119

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 14, 2017

I read commentary or Twitter or blogs and realize that there are also strongly held convictions that there are these evil VCs who do terrible things to mostly altruistic founders. Executives run the day-to-day so often the board is more involved as a sparring partner at key intervals. That’s true.

Cofounder 217

Cofounder Stock Options Equity Technical Review 217

Hunter Walker

DECEMBER 13, 2020

If things are going great, you still may get a lower valuation or smaller round. You’re spending much of your time selling: the vision to employees, the opportunity to investors, the story to the press, the offering to the customers, the relationship to partners. Are you a founder who trained themselves to become a better salesperson?

Technical Cofounder 151

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Startup Matching 151

Agile VC

APRIL 17, 2011

Kayak was started here in my backyard of Boston… co-founder & CTO Paul English and the product/engineering team is based here in Concord MA. Co-founder & CEO Steve Hafner and the business team are based in Norwalk, CT. Post-money valuation probably no higher than $12M (2). Series A-1 Preferred.

Pre-Money Valuation 113

Pre-Money Valuation Liquidation Preference Dividend Common Stock 113

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2018

Those that do it right also have the unprecedented opportunity to join the elite ranks of 250 unicorns (relatively new companies with a current valuation of over $1 billion). Co-mingling personal and business funds and accounts creates legal risk and tax liability, and makes your efforts look like a hobby.

Technical Cofounder 184

Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property Silicon Valley LLC 184

View from Seed

FEBRUARY 16, 2016

As of January 20, 2016, based on the “CrunchBase Unicorn Leaderboard,” there are 157 unicorns (companies with $1 billion+ valuations) which have not IPOed or been acquired—and more start-ups reaching unicorn status every day. 38 unicorns, or 1 in 4 (24%), have at least one MBA founder. Key Insights. Red Ventures (HBS, Wharton).

Programming 120

Programming St. Louis Cofounder India 120

blog.nahurst.com

JULY 19, 2010

The graphic below balances the risks cofounders take with their relative contributions to help answer this question. This covers one of the most common situations I encounter: For a pre-funding web startup whose team includes only a non-technical cofounder, how much equity should an incoming technical cofounder get?

Technical Cofounder 43

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Equity Salary 43

Steve Blank

MARCH 31, 2014

Look at the valuations of companies like Tesla, Illumina, and Twitter. The companies that can show “startup-like” growth rates of 50% plus per year will get stratospheric market valuations. If they don’t, then the management team has simply become caretakers of the founders’ legacy. This never ends well.

Private Equity 330

Private Equity Metrics China Intellectual Property 330

YoungUpstarts

SEPTEMBER 27, 2013

Quoting an inflated valuation. . When your valuation is too high, investors think you are either greedy or you don’t know what you are doing. In both cases, a high valuation can end a conversation. Use relationships in your hometown or the hometowns of your founders to seek investment from other cities and states.

Venture Capital 180

Venture Capital Technical Cofounder Milwaukee Valuation 180

VC Cafe

OCTOBER 31, 2022

It’s a tough time for a lot of startup founders right now. This is not meant to be a negative post, but rather a temperature check of today’s market environment and the levers founders can pull on to survive this period. What is a founder to do? Startups, Don’t Pin Your Hopes on VC Dry Powder ( Source ).

Founder 173

Founder Technical Review Down Round Liquidation Preference 173

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 22, 2011

Want meet one of his key investors, USV partner Albert Wenger ? I turned around and there was StockTwits founder (and my favorite Tweeter) Howard Lindzon. “Maybe,&# says Naval, “Certainly valuations are creepy up quickly in all stages of deals. Wendy Tan White, the founder of Moonfruit. He was there, too.

Technical Cofounder 294

Technical Cofounder Austin Hosting Cofounder 294

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2017

They come at the early stage while a startup has no revenue or valuation, so professional investors are hard to find. Provides networking with cofounders and strategic partners. In today’s fast moving market, the basic product development cost and time are critical to survival.

Technical Cofounder 153

Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property Wiki Cofounder 153

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 30, 2018

I thought I’d write a post about how to talk about valuation at a startup and give you some sense of what might be on the mind of the person considering funding you. It’s not uncommon for a VC to ask you how much capital you’ve raised and what the post-money valuation was on your last round. is to start with just the data.

Valuation 324

Valuation Post-Money Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Cofounder 324

YoungUpstarts

SEPTEMBER 20, 2019

by Alejandro Cremades , cofounder of Panthera Advisors and author of “ The Art of Startup Fundraising: Pitching Investors, Negotiating the Deal, and Everything Else Entrepreneurs Need to Know “ Why should entrepreneurs intentionally be generous when negotiating with investors? Generosity is nowhere on their radar.

Technical Cofounder 127

Technical Cofounder Entrepreneur Cofounder Post-Money Valuation 127

VC Adventure

JUNE 14, 2022

Certainly from the venture perspective, VCs (Foundry included) pitch themselves to companies, co-investors, and LPs as more than just capital. Most founders don’t feel they are getting value from their investors, even in areas like follow on rounds where they would hope to see specialized experience. The answer may surprise you.

Technical Review 150

Technical Review Due Diligence Portfolio Venture Capital 150

Hunter Walker

JANUARY 5, 2014

Meeting new founders while collaborating, recruiting, analyzing, doing whatever it takes, to help our current founders build strong companies. ” That means the founders are currently fundraising and we are at some stage of mutually getting to know each other. Doing what excites me and gives energy.

Software Review 106

Software Review Balance Sheet Cofounder Technical Review 106

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 19, 2015

That’s why I recommend that they find a co-founder who loves business challenges, including marketing and finance. Most founders bootstrap product development. Patents can raise startup valuation by investors by as much as a million dollars, and will attract acquisitions rather than copycats.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Intellectual Property Cofounder Bootstrapping 120

VC Cafe

OCTOBER 16, 2024

Voice AI applications will unlock $10B of new software TAM over the next five years Bessemer Venture Partners Remember when talking to machines felt like science fiction? billion to re-hire the founders of Character.ai If you’re a founder building the future of AI Voice applications/agents, we’d love to hear from you.

Vertical 170

Vertical Generative AI B2C CTO Hire 170

David Teten

JANUARY 19, 2021

(co-written with Jamie Finney, Founding Partner at Greater Colorado Venture Fund. From RBI, Flexible VCs borrow the ability to reap meaningful returns without demanding founders build for an exit. By tying payments to actual revenues, founders and investors remain aligned around the company’s real-time performance, good or bad.

Cofounder 78

Cofounder Technical Review Equity Dividend 78

betashop.com

OCTOBER 8, 2012

This past week while I was in Tokyo for meetings with potential partners for Fab, I was invited to participate in a panel discussion on startups. million registered users, 7500 supplier partners, 600 team members, and a run-rate of more than $150M in sales in just 15 months. Founders need to personally own something big themselves.

Technical Review 108

Technical Review Technology Software Review Valuation 108

Small Business Force

AUGUST 31, 2013

Picking a partner or co-founder isn't like finding a new friend. Just like people that tend to jump into marriages, entrepreneurs tend to get starry-eyed and join forces without thinking through the long-term implications of having a partner. How do you pick the right person to partner with for you and your business?

Cofounder 40

Cofounder Partner Technical Review Founder 40

VC Cafe

JUNE 29, 2012

When I met Instagram, Kevin (the founder) had great numbers, but he wasn’t even thinking about revenue. I invested in a company called Yobongo – the founder blew me away, he ended up selling his company and I made most of my money back. Lots of founders are college dropouts. He put a lot of emphasis on performance.

Developer 103

Developer Silicon Valley Software Review Mexico 103

www.entrepreneur.com

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

When you're getting started, sweat equity is often a critical component of your negotiating leverage with co-founders, early stage employees and others who aren't paid market wages to help you grow your business. Market value doesn't equal the sum of sweat equity invested by you and your partners.

Sweat Equity 55

Sweat Equity Equity Fractional CTO CTO 55

Ben's Blog

APRIL 28, 2010

When my partner Marc wrote his post describing our firm , the most controversial component of our investment strategy was our preference for founding CEOs. In this post, I describe why we prefer to fund companies whose founder will run the company as its CEO. So, why are great technology companies so often run by their founders?

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Cofounder Technical Cofounder Software Review 78

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. For more background, see Revenue-Based Investing: A new option for founders who care about control.

Revenue 60

Revenue Cofounder Founder Venture Capital 60

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 10, 2016

Funding challenges and other issues founders face in the early days of starting up were the focus of interviews with the latest guests on Entrepreneurs are Everywhere , my radio show on SiriusXM Channel 111 (airing weekly Thursdays at 1 pm Pacific, 4 pm Eastern). Will Zell , co-founder and CEO of Nikola Labs wireless power company.

Silicon Valley 120

Silicon Valley Ohio Columbus Entrepreneur 120