Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 8, 2016

Much has changed in the past four months of the technology startup world and how outsiders value the business. 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. Down rounds are corrosive. It’s simply not true.

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Burn Rate Cap Table Dilution Balance Sheet 150

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2011

This was an audience of mostly first-time entrepreneurs. It is great for entrepreneurs and great for VCs. So here is what I have been telling entrepreneurs privately for the past 6 months. What a bubble means for each entrepreneur. New investors hate down rounds. I believe that. source: Capital IQ.

Saudi Arabia 309

Saudi Arabia Valuation IPO Technical Review 309

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 combination of competition for top talent and an effort to bring employees back to the office drove startups in Israel to throw extravagant parties and all-inclusive retreats abroad.

Founder 187

Founder Startup Valuation Pre-Money Valuation 187

Genuine VC

FEBRUARY 9, 2011

Evaluating a startup as a prospective employee is tough, especially when you compare to VCs. Plus, VCs often will have met the Founder/CEOs of many of a particular startup’s competitors, so they’ll have an even richer understand of the market landscape. On one hand, of course, you’re joining a startup for the upside.

Startup 146

Startup Burn Rate Technical Review Down Round 146

crowdSPRING Blog

FEBRUARY 21, 2014

These posts and videos are about logo design , web design , startups, entrepreneurship, small business, leadership, social media, marketing, and more! The open office: Friend or foe to startup success? | 6 Ways To Achieve Maximum Online Exposure On A Startup Budget – crowdspring.co/1giAIDo. ” – crowdspring.co/1oIRbXG.

Social Media 92

Social Media Small Business Design Media 92

crowdSPRING Blog

MAY 10, 2013

These posts and videos are about logo design , web design , startups, entrepreneurship, small business, leadership, social media, marketing, and more! 10 Myths about Startups – [link]. How a 1-Page Business Model Will – and Won’t–Help Your Lean Startup | by Kevin Dewalt – [link]. “Embrace skeptics.

Social Media 93

Social Media Small Business Design Media 93

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. Have you ever wondered what professional startup investors think about all this? Lack of checks and balances on startup valuations.

Equity 411

Equity Angel Groups Accredited Investor Due Diligence 411

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

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

ReadWriteStart

JANUARY 13, 2024

Startups in the cybersecurity sector are facing a daunting market environment , contending with decreased valuations and increasing pressure to sell while competing for vital funding and collaborations.

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Down Round Marketing Artificial Inteligence Startup 154

YoungUpstarts

JUNE 26, 2020

by Rizwan Virk, author of “ Startup Myths and Models: What You Won’t Learn in Business School “. If you are building a startup, you’ll find no shortage of people who are willing to give you advice, particularly when it comes to raising financing. The real key is to have an entrepreneur that is obsessed with a small market.

Finance 205

Finance Silicon Valley Valuation Startup 205

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

Feld Thoughts

FEBRUARY 9, 2016

Mark Suster wrote a great post yesterday titled The Resetting of the Startup Industry. 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. It’s simply not true.

Cap Table 70

Cap Table Down Round Liquidation Preference Founder 70

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.

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Valuation Post-Money Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Cofounder 324

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

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 27, 2010

Industry change allows the entry of newer players at earlier stages – It doesn’t take as much money to launch a startup anymore. So in the past we needed VC to really get a startup going. These days that’s not the case and it’s a great outcome for entrepreneurs and for innovation. We all know that.

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

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

For Entrepreneurs

APRIL 7, 2011

Introduction This post aims to help startup CEOs optimize their funding strategy by examining how investors value startups, and explaining how to avoid the common cash management pitfalls. Note: The concepts in this post will likely be obvious to experienced CEOs and entrepreneurs.

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Finance Startup Cost Entrepreneur 167

Scalable Startup

FEBRUARY 1, 2013

The Future of Startups 2013-2017, beginning of a series. Marc Andreesen gave a great interview about a year agi about “The Future of the Enterprise” and where the next startups will be playing – Hadoop, Big Data, BYOD, etc. Some of these next big startups are in L.A., You mean startups? I don’t know.

Software Review 22

Software Review Startup Venture Capital Stock 22

abovethecrowd.com

APRIL 20, 2016

In February of last year, Fortune magazine writers Erin Griffith and Dan Primack declared 2015 “ The Age of the Unicorns ” noting — “Fortune counts more than 80 startups that have been valued at $1 billion or more by venture capitalists.” Next came Rolfe Winkler’s deep dive “ Highly Valued Startup Zenefits Runs Into Turbulence. ”

IPO 40

IPO Term Sheet Silicon Valley Valuation 40

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 In addition, I think that a “peace treaty&# between early-stage investors and startup companies on standard terms (at least at a term sheet level) is a step in the right direction.

Finance 70

Finance Software Review Term Sheet Liquidation Preference 70

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. At least ten online portals are already gearing up to help regular people buy startup equity, without abiding by accredited investor rules.

Angel Groups 136

Angel Groups Accredited Investor Equity Due Diligence 136

www.quora.com

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

Type to Add and Search Questions; Search Topics and People Startups Startup Compensation Entrepreneurship Compensation Stock Options Major Internet Companies Silicon Valley Why is there such a large founder to early employee equity drop-off? The barrier between entrepreneur and money (incubators, angels, etc.) is lowered.

Equity 40

Equity Employee Founder Cofounder 40

Berkonomics

OCTOBER 31, 2024

In the creation of a young company, 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.

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Valuation Down Round Early Stage Demand 117

View from Seed

FEBRUARY 19, 2015

Below, he gives an honest take about what he’d do differently and what he’d do again as a startup CEO. Now that Backupify has had a nice exit and my life is in a different place, I agreed to write this post, full of my own advice based on my experience as a startup CEO. Startups are incredibly hard. Keep at it.

Founder 120

Founder Startup Cofounder Business Model 120

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

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

Reid Hoffman

JUNE 8, 2021

As I’m sure most would agree, Airbnb is one of the most iconic startups to have been formed in the world. But I generally am not a fan of committees and things that get in the way of moving quickly in a startup. And then how are some ideas for other entrepreneurs and other people thinking of doing it? So we’re going to do debt.

Silicon Valley 69

Silicon Valley Hosting Rhode Island Design 69

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). Startup general interest Venture Capital'

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Venture Capital Down Round Valuation Lean 102

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2016

The funding environment for tech startups is an ever shifting ground as we go through predictable shifts that go hand-in-hand with the slowing of the overall market. Boom in Number of Startups. There was an explosion in number of startups both because it was cheap and there was tons of available capital. VC Infighting.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Silicon Valley Burn Rate LP 150

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. Let’s start with the money slide: 10 years ago there was about the same money pouring into VC as found its way into startups but in the past two years 2.5

LP 150

LP Valuation Burn Rate Pre-Money Valuation 150

NZ Entrepreneur

SEPTEMBER 16, 2020

No one can predict the future and it’s especially true in the startup world. The statistics show that even though most founders bet their time and resources that their startups will be the best in the world, 90% of those new startups won’t be in operation in 10-15 years. Sensitivity Analysis: “What if my assumptions are wrong?”.

Startup 70

Startup Sales Cycle Down Round Revenue 70

Tim Keane

AUGUST 20, 2009

Startups and angels: Along the way to success. Who the entrepreneur takes money from (see this post ) is always more important than the terms. "  The problem has been that too-high valuations and too generous terms have spawned painful down rounds that squash the entrepreneur and his early investors. 

Milwaukee 60

Milwaukee Bootstrapping Cram Down Deal Structure 60

Berkonomics

AUGUST 3, 2023

Some businesses require very little capital and the founder can self-finance the enterprise and retain 100% of its ownership and control from ignition through liquidity event (startup through sale). And even with the significant cost of credit card debt, many entrepreneurs aggressively use existing cards to finance a startup.

Private Equity 118

Private Equity Valuation Cap Table Accredited Investor 118

Tim Keane

SEPTEMBER 17, 2009

Startups and angels: Along the way to success.  Relatively late stage pharma ventures, just to cite one example, tend to be doing second and third rounds at depressed values. Third, angels in particular have had unpleasant experiences with second rounds that are venture led where down-round terms are painful and expensive.

Wisconsin 60

Wisconsin Valuation Angel Investor Startup 60

Berkonomics

JUNE 8, 2017

Some businesses require very little capital and the founder can self-finance the enterprise and retain 100% of its ownership and control from ignition through liquidity event (startup through sale). And even with the significant cost of credit card debt, many entrepreneurs aggressively use existing cards to finance a startup.

Private Equity 106

Private Equity Valuation Cap Table Accredited Investor 106