Both Sides of the Table

MAY 28, 2018

There’s a quick litmus-test conversation any early-stage VC will have with the founder and it’s one that you should be as prepared for as your elevator pitch. It goes something like this … VC: “How much money are you raising?” One entrepreneur refrain I sometimes hear is “We want to raise some extra money for M&A activities.”

Burn Rate 247

Burn Rate Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Dilution 247

Agile VC

APRIL 17, 2011

AGILEVC My idle thoughts on tech startups. At the end of the day Kayak’s playing a key role in the online travel process, but it appears more of the revenue comes from filling top of the conversion funnel rather than the middle or bottom of it. Pre-money valuation was approx. Pre-money valuation was approx.

Pre-Money Valuation 113

Pre-Money Valuation Liquidation Preference Dividend Common Stock 113

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 19, 2017

Capital investments are like gasoline on a startup business’s metaphorical fire. If you’re like most startup CEOs, your startup has been your personal fiefdom and baby. Background: Justin Klemm’s analytics and website uptime startup, Ghost Inspector , wants to revolutionize the way businesses manage their ecommerce funnels.

Private Equity 94

Private Equity Pre-Money Valuation Equity Startup 94

ReadWriteStart

OCTOBER 7, 2010

So at any point, if you are trying to raise money, and you are hearing from investors that you are too early and have too little validation, it may be a good thing. As a thumb rule, try to get enough validation so that you can get to at least a $2 million pre-money valuation before raising equity capital. Photo by lco.

Valuation 119

Valuation Silicon Valley Pre-Money Valuation Bootstrapping 119

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 15, 2016

There is much talk these days that startup valuations have decreased and may continue to do so and that the amount of time it takes to fund raise may take longer. The earlier the round, the less capital you need and the more reasonable your valuation the less time that is needed generally to raise capital.

Burn Rate 150

Burn Rate Cap Table Valuation Software Review 150

YoungUpstarts

SEPTEMBER 11, 2013

Sometimes the list of challenges may feel never ending – from writing the business plan to finding the right partner – but one of the single most important challenges entrepreneurs face is calculating a realistic, defensible pre-money valuation. . What is a pre-money valuation and why should I care?

Pre-Money Valuation 133

Pre-Money Valuation Valuation Angel Investor Cofounder 133

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

Today you have funders focused exclusively on “Day 0” startups or ones that aren’t even created yet. They might be ideas they hatch internally (via a Foundry) or a founder who just left SpaceX and raises money to search for an idea. So in our earliest stages we’re about 70% seed and 30% pre-seed. The legends of Silicon Valley?

Pre-Money Valuation 471

Pre-Money Valuation Valuation Venture Capital Early Stage 471

View from Seed

OCTOBER 21, 2014

As the seed-stage startup fundraise process has received more transparency in recent years, ranging from published advice on how to raise seed capital to increased availability through AngelList, Funders Club, and various accelerator programs, I’ve noticed another trend emerging. Lower-Than-Market Value.

Valuation 336

Valuation Founder Seed Stage Angel Investor 336

Tim Keane

JANUARY 12, 2010

Startups and angels: Along the way to success. Term-sheets and Valuations: Thinking about Negotiations. An average of these ranges results in a pre-money valuation of about $4MM.   If similarly situated companies are seeing $3.5MM pre-money valuations, this might become the target valuation.

Term Sheet 68

Term Sheet Valuation Dividend Liquidation Preference 68

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 17, 2011

This conversation seems to come up very frequently these days both with portfolio companies and with entrepreneurs just looking for mentorship. I’m a very big believer in the “Lean Startup&# principles as espoused by Steve Blank and Eric Ries. You’re offered a $9 million pre-money to raise $3 million (e.g.

Pre-Money Valuation 303

Pre-Money Valuation Dilution Valuation PR 303

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 8, 2012

I recently wrote about my views that startups rounds should be priced. Here is what I recommend very often – privately – to startup entrepreneurs for angel funding. We plan to raise at a $5 million pre-money valuation. million pre-money. They might have all of their money smoked.

Pre-Money Valuation 294

Pre-Money Valuation Finance Liquidation Preference Warrant 294

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 14, 2010

The price is the percent of ownership given to the investor, calculated as “investment/post-money valuation.” The pre-money valuation is company value today, while the post-money valuation is the pre-money valuation plus the investment amount. Seat on the board. Marty Zwilling.

Term Sheet 227

Term Sheet Pre-Money Valuation Due Diligence Post-Money Valuation 227

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 27, 2012

The price is the percent of ownership given to the investor, calculated as “investment/post-money valuation.” The pre-money valuation is company value today, while the post-money valuation is the pre-money valuation plus the investment amount. Seat on the board.

Term Sheet 223

Term Sheet Pre-Money Valuation Due Diligence Angel Investor 223

Austin Startup

JUNE 21, 2018

Our pre-money valuation for the seed round is 2 trillion dollars.” Now, if you’re a crypto entrepreneur, you still have to abide by the basic rules of good startups (link shamelessly inserted if you missed it before). It will revolutionize produce sales globally. By: Joe Merrill, Partner at Sputnik ATX.

Securities and Exchange Commission 61

Securities and Exchange Commission SEC Pre-Money Valuation Security 61

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 3, 2010

Is their money being used to “protect&# the investment that was made from Fund 1? Conversely, let’s say there is an investor in Fund 1 who didn’t “re-up&# for Fund 2. A totally new VC is willing to invest in the company but at a $15 million pre-money valuation.

Pre-Money Valuation 226

Pre-Money Valuation Venture Capital LP Term Sheet 226

The Startup Lawyer

FEBRUARY 4, 2011

Great news — your startup just got accepted to an incubator! But before your startup signs up and cashes that $[XX,000] check, your startup’s co-founders should sit down and evaluate the incubator’s offer. Pre-money valuations startups receive from incubators are typically low…really low.

Incubator 105

Incubator Pre-Money Valuation Option Pool Advisory Board 105

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 14, 2010

It’s frustrating because you did $4 million in revenue last year and have a $7 million run rate for this year and you’re struggling to get financed for even $5 million while other startups are out there with no revenue raising $10 million at a $40 million pre money valuation! But pass they will. Brain damage.

Venture Capital 289

Venture Capital Liquidation Preference Common Stock Dividend 289

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 14, 2021

This post is inspired by some of the earliest conversations I have had with the team here at NextView and since the beginning of my VC journey. Both early- and late-stage startup valuations are currently elevated. For context, seed-stage pre-money valuations are up 24% from H1 2020 to H1 2021.

Valuation 319

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Distribution Early Stage 319

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. Of course, unlike cars there is no direct comparison across each startup so these are just some general guidelines to try and even the information field.

Valuation 324

Valuation Post-Money Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Cofounder 324

YoungUpstarts

SEPTEMBER 4, 2017

Investing in startups is a lot more than just buying “stock” in a company. For investors who have come to the table with a history investing in publicly listed companies or the property market, it’s easy to think that backing startups is largely a “set and forget” strategy. Ask yourself, where is your startup currently struggling?

Pre-Money Valuation 187

Pre-Money Valuation Seed Stage IP Deal Flow 187

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 14, 2021

This post is inspired by some of the earliest conversations I have had with the team here at NextView and since the beginning of my VC journey. Both early- and late-stage startup valuations are currently elevated. For context, seed-stage pre-money valuations are up 24% from H1 2020 to H1 2021.

Valuation 295

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Distribution Early Stage 295

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

Since almost all startups do not possess traditional debt lenders, the list usually consists of data of the shareholders and the percentage they own. For instance, the cap table will help you with various possibilities while running business activities like available options and pre-money valuations faster. Common shares.

Cap Table 112

Cap Table Pre-Money Valuation Stock Options Option Pool 112

K9 Ventures

MARCH 23, 2011

Obviously, both the founders and the note holders have the common objective of getting the company funded; but assuming the company is fundable, there is a basic misalignment of incentives when it comes to valuation. The typical fix for this problem is to put in a cap in the note for the pre-money price for conversion.

Pre-Money Valuation 132

Pre-Money Valuation Valuation Equity Liquidation Preference 132

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2015

Over the years I’ve written extensively about the downsides of convertible notes for startups such as here , here and here. In the old days VCs funded off of a “pre-money” valuation. It’s worth reading his post to understand the problem. I can boil it down to how this tension plays out.

Pre-Money Valuation 150

Pre-Money Valuation Option Pool Post-Money Valuation Dilution 150

The Startup Lawyer

JUNE 22, 2010

If you follow this blog, you know that I think convertible debt is a good structure for a startup’s angel round. For more background, check out this post for an example of how convertible debt and the conversion discount works.). of the startup immediately after the Series A round. Convertible Note Discount.

Pre-Money Valuation 82

Pre-Money Valuation Angel Investor Preferred Stock Valuation 82

Genuine VC

JULY 30, 2012

By communicating pricing expectations with potential lead investors, I mean sharing either an “ask” or even stated floor for the pre-money valuation of the company (with a priced preferred round) or explicitly stating a valuation cap (for convertible note round).

Valuation 136

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Angel Investor Syndicate 136

Feld Thoughts

JULY 29, 2011

Finance Friday’s gets off the ground with today’s post by introducing you to an imaginary startup, the entrepreneurs that we’ll being following throughout the series, and their first challenges: splitting up the founders’ equity and addressing the case where one of the founders provides the initial seed capital for the business.

Equity 137

Equity Finance Denver Pre-Money Valuation 137

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 4, 2016

” There are a lot of data points that one can observer to get a sense of the venture capital markets – both LP fundings into venture and VC financings of startups. They point to some widely known facts: financings & valuations are up massively over the past 7 years and non-VC money has entered the system.

LP 150

LP Valuation Burn Rate Pre-Money Valuation 150

Scott Edward Walker

APRIL 22, 2012

This part 2 will address the economics of a convertible note seed financing and the three key economic terms: (i) the conversion discount, (ii) the conversion valuation cap and (iii) the interest rate. and (ii) what happens if the maturity date is reached prior to the note’s conversion to equity?

Pre-Money Valuation 72

Pre-Money Valuation Finance Liquidation Preference Founder 72

David Cohen

AUGUST 1, 2018

We’re living at a time when valuations are very high, as Fred Wilson and Ari Newman have both recently pointed out. When valuations rise, so do the caps on notes, which are upper limits on valuation at conversion. For example, a company may be raising $1M in notes at $15M pre-money valuation cap with a 20% discount.

Pre-Money Valuation 87

Pre-Money Valuation Valuation Equity Finance 87

Gust

OCTOBER 21, 2011

For convertible notes, the only liquidity event we need be concerned with is an acquisition of the startup in the near future, before the maturity date; otherwise, the notes will convert to equity of one kind or another, and the eventual sale of that equity (in a public offering, acquisition, or private sale) is a different subject for another day.

Finance 79

Finance Pre-Money Valuation Term Sheet Liquidity Event 79

Gust

OCTOBER 12, 2011

In Part II, we looked at the mandatory conversion language that is at the heart of any convertible debt financing. That is obviously a challenge for the typical cash-strapped early stage startup that is seeking to raise more capital and is not in any kind of position to be repaying loans. First, a word about the maturity date.

Finance 107

Finance Term Sheet Pre-Money Valuation Early Stage 107

The Startup Lawyer

JANUARY 10, 2011

Both sets of advice tend to ignore the gap between an investor’s expression of investment interest and your startup’s receipt of the term sheet. Term sheet purgatory can seem like is an eternity for a startup, although it may last from one week to over one month. And this has potential negative consequences for the startup.

Term Sheet 64

Term Sheet Pre-Money Valuation Liquidation Preference Option Pool 64

Gust

NOVEMBER 4, 2011

Entrepreneurs and investors who have spent any time dealing with convertible debt seed financing transactions are likely to have encountered the subject of valuation caps. Intermix had acquired their previous online marketing startup, ResponseBase, and they remained a cohesive group. Intermix and its advisors weren’t fools.

Valuation 98

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Merger Vesting 98

Early Growth Financial Services

OCTOBER 23, 2014

Not only was the conversation lively, there was even a bit of a West Coast versus East Coast smackdown. Median pre-money valuations have increased by 43% so far in 2014 compared to 2013. This was the largest quarterly investment total since 2001’s first half. But the number of investments is 37% lower.

Pre-Money Valuation 59

Pre-Money Valuation Equity Valuation Startup 59

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 14, 2021

This post is inspired by some of the earliest conversations I have had with the team here at NextView and since the beginning of my VC journey. Both early- and late-stage startup valuations are currently elevated. For context, seed-stage pre-money valuations are up 24% from H1 2020 to H1 2021.

Valuation 156

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Distribution Early Stage 156

venturehacks.com

OCTOBER 21, 2010

Venture Hacks Good advice for startups. SUPPORTED BY Products Archives @venturehacks Books AngelList About RSS The Option Pool Shuffle by Nivi on April 10th, 2007 “Follow the money card!&# – The Inside Man, Three-Card Shuffle Summary: Don’t let your investors determine the size of the option pool for you.

Option Pool 68

Option Pool Pre-Money Valuation Dilution Warrant 68