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

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 30, 2018

How you talk about valuation will of course depend on how well your business is performing and how much demand you have from other investors. Many investors can also be the opposite situation where you’re so successful that everybody wants to invest.

Valuation 324

Valuation Post-Money Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Cofounder 324

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 29, 2016

On the positive side, friends and family probably won’t be as demanding on your financial projections as a professional investor, and they likely will be satisfied with an initial offer of a convertible note (loan with option to convert to equity later), so you don’t have to give away the store before you get started.

Elevator Pitch 151

Elevator Pitch Exit Strategy Angel Investor Equity 151

Version One Ventures

JANUARY 28, 2013

That means there are a lot more seeded startups out there: an excess demand for a limited supply of Series A financings. Not having a lead investor in your seed round can make it tougher to pull together a bridge round or follow-on financing down the road, since no single investor feels in charge or vested in your success.

Burn Rate 140

Burn Rate San Francisco Vesting Finance 140

The Startup Lawyer

JUNE 9, 2010

Earlier this year, this issue presented itself when a client was the lead investor in a Series A round of about $2MM at a $4MM pre-money. The term sheet was pretty much a done deal, when the startup’s CEO demanded a salary of $25,000. Not all startup founders understand this tenet. Case Study.

Salary 99

Salary Term Sheet Liquidation Preference Liquidity Event 99

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2018

If you’re raising a round where a new lead investor would invest $5 million the VC fund must have no less than $100 million and if you’re looking for them to write $15–20 million as the lead their fund realistically should be at least $400 million. I think there’s some truth in this.

Term Sheet 332

Term Sheet Due Diligence Campaign Sales 332

View from Seed

AUGUST 12, 2015

The early traction may be interesting, but investors fear that demand is driven by a relatively small niche with idiosyncratic tastes or needs. In other words, the investors just don’t believe in that scenario my mentor mentioned: that you can simply sell lots and lots of games.

Seed Stage 120

Seed Stage Marketing Angel Investor Term Sheet 120

View from Seed

AUGUST 12, 2015

The early traction may be interesting, but investors fear that demand is driven by a relatively small niche with idiosyncratic tastes or needs. In other words, the investors just don’t believe in that scenario my mentor mentioned: that you can simply sell lots and lots of games.

Seed Stage 120

Seed Stage Marketing Angel Investor Term Sheet 120

Hunter Walker

AUGUST 29, 2017

” For many accelerators and incubators, demo days kick off a fundraising process for a full round or additional capital based on inbound demand. In reflecting, perhaps this isn’t just the “one question” investors should ask founders, but one founders want to offer up.

Founder 91

Founder Incubator Seed Stage Lead Investor 91

This is going to be BIG.

JANUARY 3, 2021

I also created groupings based on the basic demands of my job. Even with the boards that I’m on, because I’m a lead investor, they are often scheduled on my side. I’m active on X number of portfolio companies and meet with them at Y intervals, meaning that I should have Z portfolio company meetings per week.

Management 120

Management Portfolio LP Social Media 120

This is going to be BIG.

OCTOBER 3, 2017

I'm a lead investor. Really, the biggest determinant of price is supply and demand--and so, more so than a qualitative judgement on your worth as a human being, consider this bid a data point. Here's a piece of paper that says how much I think your dreams are worth."

Venture Capital 74

Venture Capital Dilution Term Sheet Lead Investor 74

Austin Startup

OCTOBER 13, 2010

StoredIQ , a leading provider of Intelligent Information Management solutions for eDiscovery, records and compliance management, today announced that it has closed $10 million in new investment financing and expanded its management team in preparation for accelerated growth.

Vertical 59

Vertical Cofounder Early Stage Channel 59

Hunter Walker

JANUARY 10, 2022

The seed round gets done with a surplus of demand — I mean you’re a second time founder working in an area of expertise that is a huge market. The needs of the lead investor for ownership? A round that is most accommodating for the existing investors while allowing you to get new people involved?

Cofounder 118

Cofounder Founder Acquisition Startup 118

Rob Go

FEBRUARY 3, 2014

This is kind of the equivalent of “I’m in as long as you have a lead” but sounds a lot better. Find a lead investor: These are funds that are willing to stick their neck out and be the first “yes” and issue a term sheet. There are ways to do this without a lead, but I’ll ignore that for now. Feel free to call them”.

Term Sheet 73

Term Sheet Due Diligence Valuation Seed Stage 73

ithacaVC

NOVEMBER 14, 2014

This is helpful in determining a valuation, since it shows real liquidity for what companies will pay for a company like you, instead of what an investor will pay to invest. Raising momentum / high demand. If your company is in high demand, it drives the potential valuation up. The valuation only exists if investors validate it.

Valuation 69

Valuation Startup Down Round Early Stage 69

Rob Go

MARCH 5, 2012

Understand the difference between and a lead and a follower. Lead investors are those that typically write a relatively large check (usually at least 25% of the round or more) and are willing to negotiate with you to come to terms for your round. Fill in the round with value-added followers.

Syndicate 49

Syndicate Syndication Lead Investor Due Diligence 49

ReadWriteStart

MAY 9, 2018

The company’s growth is largely thanks to its collaborators – Travelport, its first investor and incubator, lead investor 7 Gate Ventures, and Real Venture. Technology geared toward creating convenience and a streamlined experience is essential for companies looking to meet the demands of this generation.

Widget 64

Widget France Canada Aggregator 64

Growthink Blog

JULY 23, 2012

Since 2005, they have been the two leading investors in Africa, investing $31 billion and $16 billion on the continent, respectively. And an environment that encourages and demands learning and constant improvement of people and processes. And with their capital and confidence, China and India are stretching their wings.

Africa 76

Africa Brazil India China 76

This is going to be BIG.

FEBRUARY 17, 2016

Some on demand companies, given worker classification issues, seem potentially more challenged to make their economics work given new rulings. Some, like Uber and AngelList, have seemingly gotten over the hump on it. Others, like Aereo, have gotten crushed by it.

Chicago 60

Chicago Lead Investor Security Government 60

Rob Go

AUGUST 29, 2016

Usually, there was a maximum amount of new capital raised specified in the term sheet, but on the margins, there was often some flexibility on the maximum round size in the event of excess demand. This is particularly important because early on, I find that almost all rounds that have a strong lead end up getting over-subscribed.

Post-Money Valuation 52

Post-Money Valuation Valuation Cap Table Term Sheet 52

Growthink Blog

NOVEMBER 8, 2010

Since 2005, they have been the two leading investors in Africa, investing $31 billion and $16 billion on the continent, respectively. And an environment that encourages and demands learning and constant improvement of people and processes. IPO by far this year will be the government ward General Motors.

Africa 104

Africa Brazil China India 104

www.xconomy.com

JUNE 9, 2012

“The last thing you wanted was any more VCs like that,” says Coats, who began thinking that what lead VCs and entrepreneurs really want was additional venture investors whose participation would be less complicated—more like a co-investor—and who could decide on joining in a deal in a week or two. Xconomy on Demand.

San Diego 40

San Diego Venture Capital Technical Review San Francisco 40

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 3, 2010

They were grateful for the extra money as their launch was overwhelmingly successful and they had to rapidly hire staff to support customer demand. Signaling problems always exist - What Chris doesn’t make clear is that signaling problems exist with nearly EVERY investor. If you’re doing well you’ll have demand.

Venture Capital 265

Venture Capital Term Sheet Early Stage Silicon Valley 265