Startup Lessons Learned

MAY 31, 2019

First, the introduction of seed money as an institutional form of capital. Before the mid-2000s, we mostly had individual angels writing small checks from their personal capital, but over the last 10-15 years we’ve seen hundreds of new institutional seed funds formed.

Lean 108

Lean Venture Capital Conversion IPO 108

The Startup Magazine

MARCH 23, 2018

But perhaps the best part of CRI is that it allows participants to focus full-time on innovation by giving innovators enough seed money — including $220,000 to spend on R&D at the laboratory and about $120,000 in salary, benefits and travel — to focus full-time on developing their technology for two years. Advanced Ionics.

Incubator 119

Incubator SBIR Engineer Technical Support 119

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 28, 2015

Startups need to understand how to manage the seed money they receive from investors and VCs. The primary terms for these types of transactions are the valuation cap and the conversion discount. Debt or convertible securities (e.g., a SAFE or KISS) provide a much simpler transaction with less terms to negotiate.

Convertible Security 100

Convertible Security IP Technical Review Software Review 100

Feld Thoughts

OCTOBER 15, 2013

In addition to these eight criteria, all members follow the established ethos (give before you get; put entrepreneurs first) of accelerators in GAN, including a thorough review of an accelerator’s term sheets and numerous conversations to vet accelerator founders’ intentions and operational practices.

Global 182

Global Networking United States Seed Money 182

Hippoland

AUGUST 17, 2016

A reader named Turner Dean recently asked me whether it’s better to raise seed money on convertible notes or straight-up equity. Downstream investors can potentially rewrite a lot of the conversion terms later, screwing over earlier investors. This happens more than you can imagine. I see this a bit akin to technical debt.

Equity 48

Equity Convertible Security Silicon Valley Technical Review 48

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 28, 2010

One of things I’ve loved the most about doing now 11 weeks of This Week in VC is a chance to have an hour-long recorded conversation with investors. One of the most difficult things to do as a first time entrepreneur is to get to know the investors you might be working with if you accept money.

San Francisco 230

San Francisco Los Angeles Cofounder SMS 230

Gust

DECEMBER 18, 2013

Assuming the company is able to make effective use of the seed money to greatly increase the value of the enterprise, all of that value therefore accrues to the founder, rather than the investor. That is a swing of 15x from the investor’s point of view!

Founder 150

Founder Valuation Seed Money Common Stock 150

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 17, 2017

They both raised angel / seed money of $1.5 was originally published in Both Sides of the Table on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story. million to fund operations in their first year of operations.

Stock Options 227

Stock Options Startup Dilution Venture Capital 227

www.paulgraham.com

AUGUST 1, 2008

Instead of going to venture capitalists with a business plan and trying to convince them to fund it, you can get a product launched on a few tens of thousands of dollars of seed money from us or your uncle, and approach them with a working company instead of a plan for one.

Web 54

Web Startup Silicon Valley Technical Review 54

Up and Running

MAY 30, 2018

My first company, Digital-Tutors , grew from a startup in my living room with $54 of my own seed money into a multi-million-dollar business with customers around the world. I was proud of the fact that we never used any outside investment money to grow the company.

Startup 107

Startup Seed Money Employee Conversion 107

Gust

SEPTEMBER 6, 2012

HOWEVER, since I really don’t want only my money back plus a little interest (heck, I can get that just by putting my money in a bank account, instead of into a very risky startup), we agree that at some point in the future I will be able to convert my loan into the equivalent of cash, and use that money to buy stock in the company.

Valuation 117

Valuation Equity Stock Angel Investor 117

Gregg Fraley, Author of Jack's Notebook

OCTOBER 12, 2012

Don’t base your decision on one or two conversations, do a thorough job of getting reactions from different sorts of people — potential customers, theorists in the niche, suppliers, visionaries, skeptics. The best way to address this is to talk to people about the idea, and guage reactions. Is anybody willing to buy if it were ready?

Guerilla 87

Guerilla Seed Money Small Business Partner 87

Version One Ventures

JANUARY 28, 2013

Since CBInsights released its report in December, conversations have accelerated about the pending “Series A Crunch.” With headlines declaring that more than 1,000 seeded startups will soon be orphaned, it’s only natural that startups are concerned about the future funding landscape.

Burn Rate 140

Burn Rate San Francisco Vesting Finance 140

This is going to be BIG.

APRIL 16, 2018

You think you're getting this big fat check compared to the seed money you raised, but they're actually doing something more like dipping their toes in the water. Too often, because most investor conversations result in a no, founders start telling themselves all sorts of reasons what caused that result.

Due Diligence 80

Due Diligence Early Stage Term Sheet Vesting 80

Hippoland

MARCH 27, 2016

But, the other 50% is about controlling the conversation – how you answer questions, how you address topics, what the power dynamics are in the meeting, etc. And, I would go into investor meetings, go through my deck, and answer whatever questions an investor may have had throughout the conversation.

Seed Money 48

Seed Money Conversion Leadership Partner 48

Hearpreneur

DECEMBER 9, 2018

I fully immersed myself in industry conversations, met ecosystem partners, and participated in social media discussions with next-generation entrepreneurs. Literally, one week later we had secured seed money, established business roles, added on another partner, ran the numbers, and started a pest control company!

South Korea 78

South Korea Entrepreneur Portugal Social Media 78

Campus Entrepreneurship

NOVEMBER 11, 2010

’s efforts will focus on providing seed money to start-ups working on new technologies in the education arena. Education is an area of interest for Mr. Murdoch, who believes the sector is “ripe for innovation,&# the person said. In education, we’ve missed the technological revolution,&# he said. – WSJ.com.

New York City 34

New York City Seed Money New York Global 34

Austin Startup

SEPTEMBER 10, 2017

However, there are circumstances in which founders know there are potential serious milestones on the short-term horizon that would dramatically influence valuation, but they need to close their seed money now. Good investors who don’t view you as just another number in their “spray and pray” portfolio won’t criticize you for doing so.

Valuation 48

Valuation Dilution Silicon Valley Seed Stage 48

Austin Startup

SEPTEMBER 17, 2017

The converse of calculating exactly how you will make the first sale, and then the first 10,000, and ultimately work your way up to 1.6 You want your valuation to keep marching upward; if you took in some seed money with the promised 10X venture return, you’ll hopefully be able to prove that you are proceeding on that trajectory.

Valuation 48

Valuation Forecast Seed Money Business Model 48

Rob Go

NOVEMBER 15, 2016

I’ve had a couple conversations with other investors recently around what a seed stage company needs to achieve to raise a series A. Instead, what I often see is that the minute seed money is in the bank, founders try to staff up very quickly.

Product 28

Product Seed Stage Seed Money Metrics 28

pandodaily.com

NOVEMBER 29, 2012

” In off the record conversations, many angels have expressed the urgency of self-discipline. If you are raising a seed round now, there are a few things you can do to protect yourself. There are still the same debates on whether or not you should take seed money from VCs. Entrepreneurs are survivors by nature.

Technical Review 93

Technical Review Silicon Valley Incubator Syria 93

techcrunch.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

if you have some thoughts on this you could add to the conversation and provide some advice. this might not be for you but if not then maybe share your own experience and try to further the conversation because it would be appreciated. Seth is certainly worth listening to but listen to others as well and be true to yourself.

Technical Review 84

Technical Review Cofounder Technical Cofounder Software Review 84

This is going to be BIG.

JANUARY 6, 2014

A founder will raise one party round worth of seed money and they''ll go teach a class on how to raise venture capital. S**t, I had just released a new version of our website two days prior that improved on-site conversions by 400%. Maybe if I had been better, a transition conversation wouldn''t have happened.

Startup 154

Startup Venture Capital IPO Viral 154