Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

In a world where the economy only heads in one direction (read: 2009-2014) most investors & entrepreneurs forget to pay attention to gross burn. But while Net Burn is the more critical figure at first blush and what most investors will focus on, Gross Burn is not irrelevant.

Burn Rate 383

Burn Rate Balance Sheet .Net Valuation 383

Feld Thoughts

JUNE 10, 2022

She has a good article today in TechCrunch titled Embrace the down round (it’s going to be okay, maybe). ” Now, I’m not encouraging anyone to do a down round if unnecessary., ” Now, I’m not encouraging anyone to do a down round if unnecessary.,

Down Round 162

Down Round Ratchet Liquidation Preference Participating Preferred 162

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 8, 2016

We entrepreneurs have been spinning that line for decades in every boom cycle. If you can get a round done at the price you expect – well done. Don’t assume that you can “just do a down round” if necessary. Down rounds are corrosive. This prudence is smart and welcomed.

Burn Rate 150

Burn Rate Cap Table Startup Dilution 150

crowdSPRING Blog

FEBRUARY 21, 2014

How You Get Slaughtered in a Down Round: When Taking Venture Capital Doesn’t Go as Planned – crowdspring.co/MvF29W. Facebook and WhatsApp: The Nineteen-Billion-Dollar App – crowdspring.co/1jOdRlK. DHL Pranked UPS Into Advertising For Them – crowdspring.co/1jOeA6v. “If you want to sell ads, sell ads.

Social Media 92

Social Media Small Business Design Media 92

Lightspeed Venture Partners

OCTOBER 7, 2012

This does neither, so I’m out” Cuban said, “I see you guys not as entrepreneurs but as wantrepreneurs” I agree with him. In this way, they remind me of the Lifter Hamper entrepreneur. That’s why most entrepreneurs do not make a specific ask on valuation, but wait to hear offers from investors.

Technical Review 110

Technical Review Technical Cofounder Valuation Pre-Money Valuation 110

Genuine VC

FEBRUARY 9, 2011

And there are many reasons why a not-as-blue-chip investor would be in a company with real promise: prior relationships he has with the entrepreneur, specific domain expertise/understanding of a sector, capital requirements for the business, or other dynamics around the round (price, hustle).

Startup 146

Startup Burn Rate Technical Review Down Round 146

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 25, 2020

With the advent and growth of crowdfunding over the past few years, many entrepreneurs have predicted the demise of those demanding angel investment groups and venture capital organizations. These groups are now largely run by volunteers at no cost to entrepreneurs. Lack of checks and balances on startup valuations.

Equity 411

Equity Angel Groups Accredited Investor Due Diligence 411

VC Cafe

SEPTEMBER 26, 2022

The past year was a wild ride for startups and founders, giving a whole new meaning to the ”rollercoaster” aspect of being an entrepreneur. A good way to think about valuation in seed/pre-seed is to reverse engineer the next round. What should we keep and what should we change? Embrace a frugal mindset: cashflow is king.

Founder 187

Founder Startup Valuation Pre-Money Valuation 187

crowdSPRING Blog

MAY 10, 2013

The Start-up Hall of Shame (America’s 10 Worst States for Entrepreneurs) – [link]. The Damaging Psychology of Down Rounds | by Mark Suster – [link]. Reverse Engineering Your Startup’s Success - [link]. Building Loyalty The Lady Gaga Way: Focus On 1% Of Your Customers | Forbes – [link]. ” [link].

Social Media 93

Social Media Small Business Design Media 93

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014

At an accelerator … Me: Raising convertible notes as a seed round is one of the biggest disservices our industry has done to entrepreneurs since 2001-2003 when there were “full ratchets” and “multiple liquidation preferences” – the most hostile terms anybody found in term sheets 10 years ago.

Venture Capital 417

Venture Capital Liquidation Preference Valuation Term Sheet 417

Feld Thoughts

FEBRUARY 9, 2016

And, rather than rational and helpful thoughts for entrepreneurs, it often brings out the schadenfreude in even the most talented people. We entrepreneurs have been spinning that line for decades in every boom cycle. Then, if you end up doing a down round, it suddenly matters a lot. It’s simply not true.

Cap Table 70

Cap Table Down Round Liquidation Preference Founder 70

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 14, 2010

Entrepreneurs sometimes assume an initial agreement with an angel is a commitment, so they start spending before any money is received. It’s true that angel investors typically do not present entrepreneurs with overly complicated deal structures, especially when compared to venture capitalists. But some dilution is almost inevitable.

Term Sheet 227

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

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 27, 2012

Entrepreneurs sometimes assume an initial agreement with an Angel is a commitment, so they start spending before any money is received. It’s true that Angel investors typically do not present entrepreneurs with overly complicated deal structures, especially when compared to venture capitalists. But some dilution is almost inevitable.

Term Sheet 223

Term Sheet Pre-Money Valuation Due Diligence Angel Investor 223

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 30, 2018

One of the hardest things about the fund-raising process for entrepreneurs is that you’re trying to raise money from people who have “asymmetric information.” As an entrepreneur it can feel as intimidating as going to buy a car where the dealer knows the price of every make & model of a car and you’re guessing at how much to pay.

Valuation 324

Valuation Post-Money Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Cofounder 324

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 27, 2010

These days that’s not the case and it’s a great outcome for entrepreneurs and for innovation. A: Only because it’s a nicer branding for entrepreneurs. I totally agree and have been arguing this to entrepreneurs for years. I always counsel young entrepreneurs to start on the local train.

Silicon Valley 308

Silicon Valley Liquidity Event Seed Stage Finance 308

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 6, 2023

With the advent and growth of crowdfunding over the past few years, many entrepreneurs have predicted the demise of angel investment groups and venture capital organizations. That’s not as high as the failure rate with professional investors, but it should convince entrepreneurs that crowdfunding is still no panacea for funding.

Angel Groups 201

Angel Groups Accredited Investor Due Diligence Equity 201

ReadWriteStart

JANUARY 13, 2024

Consequently, some startups have faced struggles securing investments, resulting in down rounds where their valuations decline between funding rounds. Additionally, these down rounds can decrease employee morale, as they may dilute shares or pay cuts, affecting the overall work environment.

Down Round 154

Down Round Marketing Artificial Inteligence Startup 154

Gust

OCTOBER 17, 2011

Entrepreneurs sometimes assume an initial agreement with an angel is a commitment, so they start spending before any money is received. It’s true that angel investors typically do not present entrepreneurs with overly complicated deal structures, especially when compared to venture capitalists. But some dilution is almost inevitable.

Term Sheet 158

Term Sheet Pre-Money Valuation Due Diligence Angel Investor 158

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2016

I’d like to explain as best I can my opinion on what is going on because most of what I hear from entrepreneurs is not only wrong but is reminiscent of what I heard in 1997-2000. ” “This will be great for VCs and bad for entrepreneurs.” What is the True Sentiment of VCs? ” “Sure, prices are dropping.

Valuation 150

Valuation Down Round Startup Later Stage 150

YoungUpstarts

JUNE 26, 2020

The real issue here is that if an entrepreneur comes in to a pitch and goes on and on about how they’re going to build a billion dollar company in just a few years, most investors eyes tend to glaze over. Like Jerry Yang who started Yahoo, as investors we are looking for entrepreneurs who are obsessed with a new technology.

Finance 205

Finance Silicon Valley Valuation Startup 205

abovethecrowd.com

APRIL 20, 2016

Many modern entrepreneurs have limited exposure to the notion of failure or layoffs because it has been so long since these things were common in the industry. Also, they have a strong belief that any sign of weakness (such as a down round) will have a catastrophic impact on their culture, hiring process, and ability to retain employees.

IPO 40

IPO Term Sheet Silicon Valley Valuation 40

Gust

SEPTEMBER 17, 2014

Me: Raising convertible notes as a seed round is one of the biggest disservices our industry has done to entrepreneurs since 2001-2003 when there were “full ratchets” and “multiple liquidation preferences” – the most hostile terms anybody found in term sheets 10 years ago. It’s like we need a finance 101 course for entrepreneurs.

Liquidation Preference 153

Liquidation Preference Valuation Term Sheet Stock 153

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 20, 2016

With the advent and growth of crowdfunding over the past few years, many entrepreneurs have predicted the demise of those demanding angel investment groups and venture capital organizations. These groups are now largely run by volunteers at no cost to entrepreneurs. Lack of checks and balances on startup valuations.

Angel Groups 136

Angel Groups Accredited Investor Equity Due Diligence 136

Startup Company Lawyer

MARCH 14, 2010

My general opinion is that anything that makes the financing process faster and easier or otherwise educates entrepreneurs is a good thing. (A Given that the Series Seed is issued at a fairly low valuation, anti-dilution protection is probably not that important, as a “down round&# from a low valuation in the Series Seed is unlikely.

Finance 70

Finance Software Review Term Sheet Liquidation Preference 70

Reid Hoffman

JUNE 8, 2021

That generally is good if you are trying to get escape velocity, but I would caution entrepreneurs that these companies are getting so big, so quickly, you got to be very, very careful the impact you have, and you don’t want to have to clean up things later, and society really shouldn’t have to pay that price. So we’re going to do debt.

Silicon Valley 69

Silicon Valley Hosting Rhode Island Design 69

www.quora.com

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

The barrier between entrepreneur and money (incubators, angels, etc.) Connections seems to make the most sense with serial entrepreneurs (or someone who had prior success). Many startups these days are first-time entrepreneurs. The risk to the entrepreneur is that he loses several tens of millions of dollars in opportunity cost.

Equity 40

Equity Employee Founder Cofounder 40

The Equity Kicker

JANUARY 22, 2014

In my experience this is one of the hardest points for many entrepreneurs to grasp. You fall into the spiral of death: head of sales gets replaced (at least once), CEO gets replaced (at least once), a down-round financing happens (if lucky). It perhaps happens most at Series B, but can certainly happen earlier.

Venture Capital 102

Venture Capital Down Round Valuation Lean 102

Growthink Blog

MAY 23, 2011

An entrepreneur starts a company in classic " bootstrap " fashion - with a combination of sweat equity and their own financial resources. The angel then introduces the entrepreneur to his or her wealthy friends and business connections who, based on the good reputation of the referring angel, also invest. All live happily ever after.

Angel Investor 112

Angel Investor Venture Capital Sweat Equity Cram Down 112

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2016

But there are two major trends worth understanding that most VCs know by now and I suspect most entrepreneurs do not. That is simply because we see 20–25 deals / year across our funds (new and follow-ons) and entrepreneurs usually see 1 deal every 2 years. VC Infighting. I’ve seen this a bunch in the past 12 months. Choose wisely.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Silicon Valley Burn Rate LP 150

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 4, 2016

Most flat rounds. More down rounds. More structured rounds. And while we should never celebrate this, we all know the cycle of renewal clears the way for need seedlings, new growth and a more realistic cohort of first-time entrepreneurs raised to be careful about every incremental dollar of spend.

LP 150

LP Valuation Burn Rate Pre-Money Valuation 150

This is going to be BIG.

SEPTEMBER 7, 2012

Here are the top things I hear about follow ons and why they don't make a lot of sense to me: 1) You need to have follow on capital to protect your investments in case of a down round. If you're doing seed deals, how often does a down round in a seed deal even happen? Down from what?

Later Stage 99

Later Stage Down Round Pre-Money Valuation Early Stage 99

Berkonomics

AUGUST 3, 2023

However, most often, these funds are solicited by a well-meaning entrepreneur from investors who are not qualified as accredited investors under the law (currently requiring a proved income of $200,000 a year or $1 million in net worth for an individual investor).

Private Equity 118

Private Equity Valuation Cap Table Accredited Investor 118

Feld Thoughts

APRIL 21, 2016

Also, they have a strong belief that any sign of weakness (such as a down round) will have a catastrophic impact on their culture, hiring process, and ability to retain employees. Their own ego is also a factor – will a down round signal weakness?

Marketing 70

Marketing Down Round Startup IRR 70

Berkonomics

JUNE 8, 2017

However, most often, these funds are solicited by a well-meaning entrepreneur from investors who are not qualified as accredited investors under the law (currently requiring a proved income of $200,000 a year or $1 million in net worth for an individual investor). Dave’s book and ebook on raising money available on Amazon.com.

Private Equity 106

Private Equity Valuation Cap Table Accredited Investor 106

Berkonomics

MARCH 15, 2012

In the creation of a new enterprise, there are five principal risks to be addressed by the entrepreneur. So it is important for the entrepreneur to identify, address and mitigate each of these in order to increase valuation and decrease the risk of ultimate loss of the business. And fifth: Competitive risk.

Valuation 80

Valuation Down Round Demand Management 80

NZ Entrepreneur

JULY 8, 2019

In the first of a three part series on early stage business investment, we asked serial entrepreneur and investor Josh Comrie what three key things New Zealand entrepreneurs must get better at when it comes to seeking angel investment. I personally funded my first ventures, then led the two rounds that have seen Ambit take in $2.2m

New Zealand 49

New Zealand Entrepreneur Valuation Dilution 49

NZ Entrepreneur

SEPTEMBER 16, 2020

If a startup expects $1M in sales revenue but only gets $100k and they haven’t got a backup plan, they may face a down round or in the worst case liquidity concerns. The post Sensitivity Analysis key in startup financial projections appeared first on NZ Entrepreneur Magazine. Underestimating costs. Follow on LinkedIn.

Startup 86

Startup Sales Cycle Down Round Revenue 86