ithacaVC

DECEMBER 9, 2013

We (Cayuga Venture Fund) just signed up a term sheet with a new company (Company X). Rather I want to briefly comment on the process leading up to the term sheet and next steps. We presented our first draft of the term sheet to Company X about a week ago. Dealing with VCs Management Startup Life'

Term Sheet 58

Term Sheet Cap Table Technical Review IP 58

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 17, 2012

I’ve started a series on negotiations in startups. The very first time I ever negotiated a term sheet (and then legal docs for closing the round) I found the experience very frustrating. He marks up the term sheet. Seems like the term sheet will be done in a day or so. Nor did their lawyer.

Term Sheet 301

Term Sheet Ireland Cofounder Finance 301

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. What is it, and how should founders think about it? As a startup grows, venture debt becomes a viable option to continue that growth. You’ll also see some startups use it as an additional cushion.

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Term Sheet Equity Startup Seed Stage 120

This is going to be BIG.

SEPTEMBER 30, 2012

This is a company that, according to the article, got term sheets from half of the VCs that expressed interest in the company. Did I mention it only took the founder a month? How would they know unless they surveyed a critical mass of startups all at the same stage now and then three years ago or so to compare?

Venture Capital 130

Venture Capital Marketing Term Sheet Software Review 130

Version One Ventures

JULY 20, 2017

million seed round, we’re looking back at our journey with founders Mike Murchison and David Hariri. He stumbled across “Volley,” a startup we had never heard of before, but appeared at the top of the search results (for the query “Toronto”, “no known funding”) and had a high momentum score. We led the Volley pre-Seed round.

Artificial Inteligence 150

Artificial Inteligence Silicon Valley Stealth Term Sheet 150

Hunter Walker

MAY 17, 2024

“Admirer from outside of the cap table” is how I approached Kieran Snyder , Cofounder of Textio. Hunter Walk: Textio , the startup you founded and CEO’ed until a few months ago, is almost 10 years old. As I see it, startups have two major advantages. That leads me to the second advantage that startups have.

Cofounder 104

Cofounder Founder Technical Review Seattle 104

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 4, 2018

Most of these rhyme with what we’ve said in the past, but some have also evolved to fit the changing landscape and our own convictions about what really matters for founders and their investors at the seed stage. Of the last 15 investments we’ve made, we’ve been the lead or co-lead investor over 80% of the time. .

North America 120

North America Seed Stage Early Stage Lead Investor 120

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? Even if not, they may need to bless the terms.

Technical Cofounder 127

Technical Cofounder Entrepreneur Cofounder Post-Money Valuation 127

Hunter Walker

JANUARY 5, 2014

Managing short-term tactical outcomes with longer term relationship cultivation. Meeting new founders while collaborating, recruiting, analyzing, doing whatever it takes, to help our current founders build strong companies. Doing what excites me and gives energy. 1) Evaluate New Opportunities.

Software Review 103

Software Review Balance Sheet Cofounder Technical Review 103

David Teten

JANUARY 19, 2021

(co-written with Jamie Finney, Founding Partner at Greater Colorado Venture Fund. More and more startups are pursuing Revenue-Based VCs , but “RBI” doesn’t fit everyone. From RBI, Flexible VCs borrow the ability to reap meaningful returns without demanding founders build for an exit. Of the Inc. 5000 companies, only 6.5%

Cofounder 78

Cofounder Technical Review Equity Dividend 78

Austin Startup

JULY 22, 2017

Back in December 2016 I had the idea to develop a startup pledge for diversity and inclusion here in Austin and since have informally been working with some folks to develop the idea. This is similar to something we did at Austin Ventures to encourage startups to make a donation to the Entrepreneurs Foundation of Central Texas.

Austin 54

Austin Angel Investor Startup Term Sheet 54

BeyondVC

OCTOBER 13, 2004

I was speaking with a friend of mine today who mentioned that his term sheet for his Series A round fell through. To make a long story short, one of the co-founders of the company built the company’s software in his spare time.

Software Review 78

Software Review Intellectual Property IP Due Diligence 78

David Teten

AUGUST 19, 2019

However, many industry experts question the accuracy of early-stage market data, given many startups are no longer filing their Form Ds. John Borchers, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Decathlon Capital, claims to be the largest revenue-based financing investor in the US. of founders raise VC; the other 99.4%

Revenue 60

Revenue Term Sheet Founder Technical Review 60

Steve Blank

JANUARY 4, 2010

A lot of entrepreneurs think that their startup is the next big thing when in reality they’re just building a small business. How can you tell if your startup has the potential to be the next Google, Intel or Facebook? A first order filter is whether the founders are aiming for a scalable startup. The Scalable Startup.

Hockey Stick 303

Hockey Stick Venture Capital Startup Cofounder 303

Startup Lessons Learned

AUGUST 17, 2020

Here's my conversation with the founders of Revolution Foods. I'm the co founder and Chief Impact Officer at Revolution Foods. I'm the co-founder and CEO of Revolution Foods. I co-founded Revolution Foods with Kirsten Tobey in 2006 to ensure quality food access for all children across the nation.

Cofounder 60

Cofounder Security Founder Entrepreneur 60

Startup Lessons Learned

MAY 31, 2019

He’ll be speaking at this year’s Lean Startup Conference , and also has a new book (for which I very happily wrote a short foreword) coming out next month: Secrets of Sand Hill Road: Venture Capital and How to Get It. I’ve seen many founders not fully grasp how the venture capital business works and what incentives investors have.

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Lean Venture Capital Conversion IPO 108

Startup Company Lawyer

MARCH 14, 2010

Founders Institute Plain Preferred Term Sheet (by WSGR – disclaimer, I represent the Founders Institute and was involved in drafting this document). This post assumes that you have a basic understanding of Series A financing terms. Co-sale rights. Dividend preference. Voting agreement.

Finance 70

Finance Software Review Term Sheet Liquidation Preference 70

Up and Running

MAY 18, 2016

Reading lists are dime a dozen, but reading lists that focus on rapid-growth startup businesses? It’s the ultimate startup guide if you’re looking for systematic business growth and guidance on what not to do. The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses.

Startup 80

Startup Venture Capital Angel Investor Lean 80

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 17, 2012

Oblong, led by Kwin Kramer, which houses more MIT grads per startup than probably any other in LA. A quick survey of their portfolio tells you just how many high-profile startups have included them in their rounds. I know that I call them often to co-invest. North of the 101]. And do so in real life, too. downtown LA].

Community 304

Community Los Angeles Startup Silicon Valley 304

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 8, 2011

Launchpad LA today announces it will accept applications for its third class of Los Angeles-based tech startups. But the most important metric has been the deep and lasting relationships that have been built with startups and also between senior executives. For any company interested in applying please visit the website.

Los Angeles 287

Los Angeles Silicon Valley Incubator Startup 287

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 11, 2010

I recently wrote a blog post about why I believe that startup teams in close proximity perform better. I’m surprised how few people talk about valuations, term sheet terms, how much to pay recruiters, etc. Uh, I guess he won’t be co-sponsoring a technology lab in LA with me then?

San Francisco 285

San Francisco Incubator Silicon Valley Startup 285

BeyondVC

OCTOBER 13, 2004

I was speaking with a friend of mine today who mentioned that his term sheet for his Series A round fell through. To make a long story short, one of the co-founders of the company built the company’s software in his spare time.

Software Review 60

Software Review Intellectual Property IP Due Diligence 60

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 18, 2012

You’d imagine that every founder was getting rich. Actually, positive outcomes for founders are quite rare. As a startup founder you rarely have much money in your bank accounts. I recently had coffee with a young friend who just finished his first startup. You have secret doubts about your co-founder.

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Monaco Cofounder Chicago Mexico 420

Scott Edward Walker

SEPTEMBER 14, 2011

Introduction This post originally appeared in the “ Ask the Attorney ” column I am writing for VentureBeat ; it is part of my ongoing series regarding venture capital term sheets. The Investors’ Right to Walk VC Term Sheets Are Non-Binding. VC Term Sheets Are Conditional.

Term Sheet 76

Term Sheet Due Diligence Liquidation Preference Redemption 76

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 11, 2011

If they say yes you get a term sheet and once this is signed it is usually 3-6 weeks until your legal docs get signed and you’re funded. It can be a good strategy to bring just the CEO because 1-on-1 rapport is easier to build but if you have equally strong co-founders bring them. Who should attend the meeting?

Non-disclosure Agreement 340

Non-disclosure Agreement NDA Cofounder Term Sheet 340

Reid Hoffman

JULY 27, 2021

As I discussed last week in the Greymatter podcast with my friend and Blitzscaling co-author Chris Yeh , I believe that a knowledge of philosophy is actually a great asset for entrepreneurs. Nothing gets in the way of their pursuit of startup success. My general advice is to go join a startup as an employee, and learn from experience.

Silicon Valley 69

Silicon Valley Venture Capital Balance Sheet Cofounder 69

Reid Hoffman

JULY 27, 2021

As I discussed last week in the Greymatter podcast with my friend and Blitzscaling co-author Chris Yeh , I believe that a knowledge of philosophy is actually a great asset for entrepreneurs. Nothing gets in the way of their pursuit of startup success. Like many first time founders, I ran over that landmine.

Silicon Valley 69

Silicon Valley Venture Capital Balance Sheet Cofounder 69

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 14, 2012

But a healthy percentage of successful startups have potential buyers “showing interest.” Let me remind readers as I outlined in this post , there are VERY FEW M&A transactions for early-stage startup companies above $100 million. But I owe it to my existing investors and co-founders to listen.

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Valuation Balance Sheet Dilution Term Sheet 316

Cracking the Code

JULY 5, 2016

Most startups fail at getting a new country off the ground. PostoInAuto’s founder, Olivier Bremer, was terribly talented, but his business was not at a point where he could raise a significant investment. He was intrigued, so I connected him to BlaBlaCar’s founders who convinced him to join the adventure shortly after.

Italy 59

Italy Technical Review Germany Poland 59

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 14, 2010

I was recently speaking with some founders about their fund raising process. They had received a term sheet from a VC and were wondering whether to work with this firm. But what about once you have a term sheet? You’d be surprised how many ex-founders and ex-CEO’s you can find this way.

Term Sheet 298

Term Sheet Venture Capital Stealth Cofounder 298

reidhoffman.org

NOVEMBER 12, 2013

It has many stylistic errors — and a few substantive ones, too — that I would now change having learned more, but I realized that it still provides useful insights for entrepreneurs and startup participants outside of the Greylock network, particularly across three areas of interest: how entrepreneurs should approach the pitch process.

Entrepreneur 111

Entrepreneur Viral Revenue Networking 111

David Teten

AUGUST 19, 2019

RBI normally requires founders to pay back their investors with a fixed percentage of revenue until they have finished providing the investor with a fixed return on capital, which they agree upon in advance. For background, see Revenue-Based Investing: A New Option for Founders who Care About Control. Decathlon Capital.

Revenue 60

Revenue Technical Review Software Review Equity 60

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 18, 2011

I first met the founder of Pose, Dustin Rosen , when he was a junior person with an LA-based venture capital firm called The Mail Room Fund. I learned that he was originally with William Morris as a junior talent rep but wanted to be more in the business of helping digital startups. The other “first call” went to Founder Collective.

Term Sheet 303

Term Sheet Mobile Cofounder Early Stage 303

The Startup Lawyer

APRIL 2, 2014

My firm and Tech Wildcatters are co-hosting a live mock Series A term sheet negotiation on April 25th from 1-3pm. Brad Hunstable, founder and CEO of Ustream, will play the role of the startup founder and a “TBD” VC will […]. Startup Lawyer'

Term Sheet 71

Term Sheet Dallas Cofounder Texas 71

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 8, 2010

But what about once you have a term sheet? when you missed your targets, when your co-founder quit, when the competition chose your competitor or when the other investors around the table lost confidence? You’d be surprised how many ex-founders and ex-CEO’s you can find this way. After Sept 11th?

Venture Capital 288

Venture Capital Term Sheet Cofounder Partner 288

This is going to be BIG.

DECEMBER 13, 2021

However, too many people approach it by just copying what it seems like everyone else is doing without taking a hard look at what your actual goals are and really learning how to go about the job of Founder and CEO. They’re “playing startup” as opposed to actually building a company. How do you know which is which?

Startup 156

Startup Term Sheet Cofounder Differentiation 156

David Teten

SEPTEMBER 6, 2015

And they should be; the feeding frenzy in the innovation economy is in some cases because startups are eating the lunch of more established companies. Previously she was Co-Founder and CEO of SNAZZ, a cloud-based event management platform. However, founders shouldn’t take money from corporate VCs because of an exit expectation.

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Venture Capital Balance Sheet Technical Review Portfolio 60