Startup Lessons Learned

AUGUST 24, 2009

And as everyone’s attention starts to focus on those same indicators, their value is being diluted. Just like in the world of startups, we can start to use micro-scale pilot programs, executed in lean fashion, to gather real facts for making ROI decisions about new project investment. 12comments: Dougvs said.

San Francisco 113

San Francisco Lean Technical Review Distribution 113

Up and Running

JULY 1, 2020

Quickly scratch out a business plan, even employing a lean planning model , for your expansion like it’s a new business. Will marketing for the expansion dilute marketing of your brand or other products? You don’t create a new mission or vision statement when planning for new investments.

Business Plan 152

Business Plan Forecast Operations Dilution 152

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 17, 2011

Are you in the “lean&# phase? I’m a very big believer in the “Lean Startup&# principles as espoused by Steve Blank and Eric Ries. If you are able to raise money from credible sources at a reasonable dilution percentage then I personally favor getting the round done now and building your business. 25% dilution).

Pre-Money Valuation 303

Pre-Money Valuation Dilution Valuation PR 303

Venture Chronicles

MAY 26, 2010

Back in March, Ben Horowitz of Andreessen Horowitz wrote a post called The Case For The Fat Startup, where he outlined some of the reasons why a fledging company might want to consider taking a large amount of funding — a strategy that contrasts with the ‘lean startup’ model that has become common in Silicon Valley.

Lean 40

Lean Early Stage Valuation Startup 40

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 1, 2020

Bootstrapping inculcates the entrepreneurial discipline and financial responsibility to run a lean business. ? Raising higher capital at an early stage means more equity to be diluted to the investors. Bootstrapping is when you put your own money or borrow from friends and family to set up your business. Crowdfunding.

Startup 150

Startup Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Seed Stage 150

JANUARY 9, 2014

By trying to appeal to everyone and adding features left, right and centre, you will actually dilute your message and could end up with a complex, bloated product. Equally there are others that launch a poor early version of their product in true lean startup style. People who focus exclusively on efforts that matter, succeed.

Early Stage 102

Early Stage Startup Cofounder Design 102

The Next Web

SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

Thus, one can say the concept of a “ lean startup ” existed in Asia far longer than in the Valley – it’s just that no one ever wrote a book about it. Finding the right partner is a much bigger win than the extra cash or minimizing dilution. Finally, don’t over-optimize on valuation.

Asia 132

Asia Silicon Valley India Term Sheet 132

betashop.com

OCTOBER 8, 2012

A couple of dilution points here or there wont matter in the long run but working with the right people will.? Don’t skimp on fundraising because of dilution fears.?. Find one person, make them your sherpa, and lean on them. Never, ever, choose your investors based on valuation. This is tricky. Don’t do this by committee.

Technical Review 108

Technical Review Technology Software Review Valuation 108

Up and Running

JULY 14, 2015

Operating lean should be the mantra of all businesses. Before any fundraising, it is important to set out what your parameters are for things like valuation (hence dilution), and terms that you would deem okay, versus those that you would consider as being too much from an investor. Should you ever raise more than you need?

Technical Review 60

Technical Review Valuation Due Diligence Finder 60

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 30, 2020

The ground rule is to always dilute risk by diversifying your portfolio. However, to make the best of it in 2021, make sure to always strategize and lean on trusted partners along the way. Some say that you shouldn’t wait to buy real estate, but you should buy real estate and wait.

Portfolio 278

Portfolio Colombia San Francisco Dilution 278

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2014

You have to decide where to lean in on follow-on rounds. If we got an offer to raise $25 million to grow would she take it or be too worried about exit price, dilution, valuation expectations, etc. And when the press releases and the attaboys wear off it still comes down to real work. Know how you’ll make money.

Cofounder 374

Cofounder Syndication Syndicate Early Stage 374

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

JUNE 12, 2012

” Food on the Table — a now-famous lean juggernaut in Austin run by IMVU alum Manuel Rosso — talked to 120. I should have asked for the $50 on the spot, or at least had them sign something committing to it; then I would have focussed my remaining efforts on making those 20 people happy instead of diluting it with all 40.

Customer 252

Customer Customer Development Dilution Engineer 252

The Startup Toolkit

NOVEMBER 4, 2011

Roughly 33% dilution for full round ($2mm pre-money). 40% dilution for full round (roughly $2mm pre-money). What’s the dilution? At this point I’m leaning toward the first deal, but not by a huge amount since there’s some risk to completing the round in both cases. 1.25mm total. Conveniently local.

Term Sheet 31

Term Sheet Dilution Participating Preferred B2C 31

Austin Startup

MAY 8, 2018

The further you move away from the founder team, the greater the dilution of a person’s commitment to the “mission” of the startup; and that means more cash to keep them committed. In the very early days, employees are often paid more than founders / senior executives. Employment laws and taxes are not a place to move fast and break things.

Employee 48

Employee Startup Seed Stage Equity 48

Startup Lessons Learned

JUNE 19, 2019

Andy and I will be having a fireside chat at this year’s Lean Startup Conference in October. It was 20 to 30, not 100, because of the dilution from the capital. He’s currently the CEO of the company. You’ve been in Silicon Valley since the early days.

Silicon Valley 159

Silicon Valley Lean Venture Capital Pre-Money Valuation 159

keen.io

FEBRUARY 5, 2013

If the company is pre-funding or only has a small friends-and-family seed round, then the numbers should go up from there, based on expected dilution and greater risk.” Assumption: The pre-dilution amount prior to Series A should be approximately double the amount in this post-Series-A chart. Result: A fair offer would be between.8

Salary 50

Salary Equity Startup San Francisco 50

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 6, 2018

You can actually put together a Lean Plan in less than 30 minutes. Here’s a free downloadable Lean Plan Template to help. As we said earlier, the simplest Lean Plan is just bullet point lists and tables, a few pages, plus essential projections. Diluted priorities. Cash flow casualness. Fear and dread.

Business Plan 128

Business Plan Hockey Stick Lean Dilution 128

Mike Michalowicz

JANUARY 16, 2023

But, your messaging will be diluted if you are trying to speak to many needs. Otherwise, you’re leaning toward another genre of book entirely. Speak to one person in the audience. This is the person who can best be served by your message. Too often we want to speak to the masses, which is a noble intent. A short story is fine.

Small Business 60

Small Business Audience Revenue Dilution 60

www.mattbartus.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

We will grant him/her X% fully diluted shares up front, and every time he/she makes an introduction, he/she will vest in 100 shares.” Sometimes the consultant has a reasonable basis to think this, since lean startups are programmed to get things for free and may call on the consultant from time to time for free advice.

Equity 40

Equity Vesting Silicon Valley Intellectual Property 40

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 24, 2016

Here is my list, based on my own experience as a startup advisor, talking to other angel investors, and derived from the lean startup principles of venture advisor and entrepreneur Eric Ries : Strip the solution down to a focus on a key feature. This confuses customers, and dilutes your marketing impact.

Angel Investor 143

Angel Investor Dilution Matching Business Model 143

Up and Running

APRIL 23, 2013

Don’t Dilute Your Brand. Case in point: did you know that without even being aware of it, you can unintentionally weaken and dilute your brand? Of course, Virgin is still around and kicking; they are simply too large to be ruined by this sort of brand dilution. Were they about space travel or music or what?

Dilution 87

Dilution Lean Small Business Sales 87

YoungUpstarts

JANUARY 20, 2020

Innovators can lean on both traditional and unexpected methods to secure seed funding ethically and legally. It’s an attractive transactional relationship, though it can severely dilute ownership. Though this seems to paint a bleak picture for young entrepreneurs who lack the five C’s, it doesn’t have to paint them into a corner.

Indiana 165

Indiana Startup Bootstrapping Finance 165

The Startup Toolkit

NOVEMBER 4, 2011

Roughly 33% dilution for full round ($2mm pre-money). 40% dilution for full round (roughly $2mm pre-money). What’s the dilution? At this point I’m leaning toward the first deal, but not by a huge amount since there’s some risk to completing the round in both cases. 1.25mm total. Conveniently local.

Term Sheet 20

Term Sheet Dilution Participating Preferred B2C 20

Up and Running

APRIL 23, 2013

Don’t Dilute Your Brand. Case in point: did you know that without even being aware of it, you can unintentionally weaken and dilute your brand? Of course, Virgin is still around and kicking; they are simply too large to be ruined by this sort of brand dilution. Were they about space travel or music or what?

Dilution 68

Dilution Lean Small Business Sales 68

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 30, 2016

Like the market, Invoca has learned the importance of pragmatic growth over “growth at all costs” because when markets shift companies that run lean always have more options than those that only have a growth agenda. The company has rediscovered frugality and knows the value of a strong balance sheet. Great companies get financed.

Balance Sheet 150

Balance Sheet Burn Rate Valuation Forecast 150

Rob Go

MAY 20, 2014

In that case however, the founders might end up taking a lot of dilution. Second, when things are working, founders will usually lean into the opportunity with the capital they have, which will reduce runway but make their growth curve steeper. The reality though is in those rounds very rarely happen and/or something else is going on.

Valuation 76

Valuation Dilution Post-Money Valuation Syndicate 76

ConversionXL

APRIL 14, 2016

Additional elements like that dilute the central CTA. The page also leans hard on both individual desire — “What’s in it for me?” — as well as social desire — “What are the people I like doing?”. The only thing missing from this page are CTA buttons that answer the headline’s question: “Yes, I’m ready to join you.”.

Conversion 48

Conversion Technical Review Audience PPC 48

betashop.com

OCTOBER 8, 2012

Find one person, make them your sherpa, and lean on them. . A couple of dilution points here or there wont matter in the long run but working with the right people will. Don’t skimp on fundraising because of dilution fears. Use them as a sounding board for corporate development issues. Don’t do this by committee.

Post-Money Valuation 92

Post-Money Valuation Valuation Dilution Cofounder 92

This is going to be BIG.

MARCH 3, 2019

Dilution becomes the enemy—and you tell your investors that you don’t want to own a smaller and smaller percent of your “best” companies. They hold their cash back until they have more data, and lean in as a company is outperforming. Second, you can only get so many dollars into “cheap” seed shares. How much do they hold back?

Portfolio 110

Portfolio Burn Rate LP Distribution 110

View from Seed

JANUARY 28, 2016

This is the best time to fundraise because that’s when you are able to command a meaningfully higher valuation for your next round to minimize your own dilution. It creates focus and discipline and instills pressure to remain lean and not expand the team too quickly. This staged approach is often much better for the founders as well.

Cofounder 120

Cofounder Finance Founder Syndicate 120

Austin Startup

JANUARY 11, 2020

It’s now the #1 non-dilutive source of capital for businesses to continue to grow and scale, but it’s highly overlooked. We’re able to get a lot of things done and I can lean on them, but I’m really excited about hiring more people so we can divide and conquer. Billions are left on the table by companies every year.

CPA 62

CPA Startup Non-Compete Cofounder 62

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

” Stay lean and only raise a big round if you DO find product / market fit and which point you want to loosen the belt quickly and raise the capital to do so. In these kinds of businesses I’m on the record as advising “ Ring the Freakin Cash Register.”

Burn Rate 383

Burn Rate Balance Sheet .Net Valuation 383

Austin Startup

SEPTEMBER 10, 2017

SAFEs and Notes are optimized for speed and simplicity, with a cost of future uncertainty and dilution. Don’t bother actually talking to counsel on these “standard” things; you’ve got to stay lean and focus on “more important” stuff. They have their downsides, which are discussed in some of the above links. Sounds legit.

Valuation 48

Valuation Dilution Silicon Valley Seed Stage 48

Seeing Both Sides

JANUARY 4, 2012

At the onset of 2012, many start-up executives around the world are sticking their copy of Lean Start-Up on the shelf, leaning back, and bemoaning the fact that they have a new set of challenges ahead of them. Obviously, it's not that easy a decision.

Lean 53

Lean Dilution Revenue Hiring 53

Austin Startup

MARCH 16, 2017

Stoplight is philosophically based on distilling what is inherently complicated into a beautiful and use-to-use visual solution without diluting the overall effectiveness. Stoplight is lean, visionary and opportunistic and therefore I am proud to support the team. Therefore, Stoplight will be in market to fill the gaps.

API 59

API Mobile Artificial Inteligence Austin 59

Small Business Force

AUGUST 11, 2009

With each dilution, should come more value. It can help you conserve cash by keeping early salaries below market and really help you with employees during "lean times." The name of the game is how much the equity is worth, not how much you have. If possible, make all employees eligible to be "owners" through the option plan.

Vesting 32

Vesting Equity Valuation Dilution 32

Rob Go

MAY 2, 2016

Even though you aren’t raising an A, the message this sends the market is that things are working, and so you are going from a very lean pre-PMF stage to a more aggressive early growth stage. Dilution is the big question here. Raising a seed round half as big usually does not yield half the dilution at this early stage.

Seed Stage 28

Seed Stage Dilution Valuation Seed Capital 28