David Teten

MARCH 14, 2018

Another example is Correlation Ventures ($300M+ AUM), a VC firm which co-invests in financings with at least one other new outside VC. I’ve listed a few more below which require meaningful startup and ongoing costs. For more, see the Startup Studio Playbook. – Launch a venture capital fund of funds.

Private Equity 60

Private Equity Venture Capital Equity Cofounder 60

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 22, 2012

I think I’ve read Paul Graham’s post on “ Startup = Growth ” three or four times now. Viewing the article through the lens of a venture capitalist there’s much to agree with under the mantra of “growth!” Eventually a successful startup will grow into a big company. Growth, again.

Silicon Valley 390

Silicon Valley Venture Capital Startup Technical Review 390

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 12, 2020

Yet despite the overarching negative outlook, startups seem to be weathering the storm. Quartz mentions that startups seem to be dealing with the pressures of the pandemic far more effectively than larger businesses and conglomerates. Much of this success is due to the flexibility of startups and their ability to adapt.

Bankruptcy 165

Bankruptcy Startup Agile Technical Review 165

YoungUpstarts

MAY 24, 2018

In today’s business environment where innovation and technology converge and the modern day entrepreneur has more support and incentive than ever to begin their dream startup company, more often than not discussions about state and local business taxes have a similar tone: “The company is losing money; we don’t owe any taxes.”.

South Dakota 160

South Dakota North Dakota Wyoming United States 160

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 1, 2011

None of that can compare with being the CEO of a startup facing a rapidly diminishing bank account, your best engineer quitting, working until 10pm and rushing to the airport and catching a redeye for a “ Hail Mary ” close of a customer, with your board demanding you do it faster. venture/operating partners to get them into new industries.

Venture Capital 334

Venture Capital Early Stage Technical Review Startup 334

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014

On the phone … Me: So, you raised venture capital? It’s like we need a finance 101 course for entrepreneurs. In finance they call it “terminal value” but the truth is the price is as arbitrary at your A round as it is at your seed round. We raised a seed round. About $1 million. Me: At what price?

Venture Capital 417

Venture Capital Liquidation Preference Valuation Term Sheet 417

Steve Blank

APRIL 26, 2022

At the turn of the century after the dotcom crash, startup valuations plummeted, burn rates were unsustainable, and startups were quickly running out of cash. Except, that is, for the bottom feeders of the Venture Capital business – investors who “ cram down ” their companies. They’re Back.

Cram Down 417

Cram Down Founder Venture Capital Recapitalization 417

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 7, 2011

I spent the month of September lecturing, and interacting with (literally) thousands of entrepreneurs in two emerging startup markets, Finland and Russia. —— I was invited to Finland as part of Stanford’s Engineering Technology Venture Program partnership with Aalto University. Startup Blog: Arctic Startup.

Finland 329

Finland Venture Capital Government Russia 329

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 15, 2015

Obviously, these companies still need money to get started, or finance growth, just like a for-profit company. Personal loans from individuals, employees and board members. As in any company, they can lead to employee problems, or messy legal issues. donation equity grant investment non-profit philantropy startup'

Angel Investor 120

Angel Investor Equity Technical Review Exit Strategy 120

Up and Running

AUGUST 30, 2021

Your startup becomes irrelevant. One way to do this before starting your own business is by working for a startup or small fast-paced company in your field. Work at a startup before building your own. It can be a small and nimble startup like Origin, or a company with 50 employees and hiring more every quarter.

Entrepreneur 132

Entrepreneur Lean Colorado Engineer 132

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 26, 2016

There has been a lot of public debate over the past several weeks about whether it’s a good thing to be “gross margin positive” or not and commentary always reminds me that some people at startups don’t quite understand financial metrics or even how to think about which ones are healthy. That is what finances rapid growth.

Metrics 150

Metrics Cost Acquisition Startup 150

Steve Blank

APRIL 14, 2013

I just spent a few weeks in Japan and China on a book tour for the Japanese and Chinese versions of the Startup Owners Manual. This left an open playing field for Chinese software startups as they “copy to China” existing U.S. If you’re a software startup competing in China, the words that come to mind are “ruthless and relentless.”

China 328

China Silicon Valley Non-Compete Intellectual Property 328

The Startup Magazine

JULY 1, 2022

Technology startups are all the rage these days. But what many people don’t realize is that starting a technology startup is not as easy as it seems. This article will discuss some things that experts like Mark Stifler think technology startups should know about the business. Financing Your Startup.

Technology 146

Technology Venture Capital Finance Startup 146

ReadWriteStart

SEPTEMBER 9, 2019

Virtually every startup has to find funding somewhere. Although some founders take venture capital in exchange for equity, that’s not the only way to do it. To learn more about the pros and cons of venture capital — and founders’ funding alternatives — I caught up with Mark McKee. Why or why not? Oftentimes, it is.

Venture Capital 105

Venture Capital Equity SBA Finance 105

David Teten

NOVEMBER 26, 2019

However, in a startup the most common scenario is that projections get missed. This agile approach is not restricted to small startups. … “ Group Health Cooperative , a nonprofit health care system in Seattle with 10,000 employees, has also thrown out its budgeting process.

Agile 60

Agile Management Forecast Silicon Valley 60

Feld Thoughts

JULY 15, 2013

Richard Florida continues to write amazing stuff about Startup Communities in The Atlantic Online. Two of his latest articles talk about entrepreneurial density and venture capital. The Connection Between Venture Capital and Diverse, Dense Communities. High-Tech Challengers to Silicon Valley.

Venture Capital 164

Venture Capital San Francisco Silicon Valley San Jose 164

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 19, 2018

When you’re looking for extra funds, there are typically two options: debt financing and equity financing. It’s important to understand the difference between debt financing and equity financing so when it comes time to get additional funding, you know which is the right fit for your business and how to get it.

Finance 157

Finance Equity Vesting Dividend 157

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

Obviously, these companies still need money to get started, or finance growth, just like a for-profit company. Personal loans from individuals, employees and board members. As in any company, they can lead to employee problems, or messy legal issues. Individual and institutional philanthropy.

Angel Investor 132

Angel Investor Equity Technical Review Exit Strategy 132

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 13, 2013

One of my favorite events last year was attending Startup Grind where I got to interview Clayton Christensen, author of The Innovator’s Dilemma. And of course we talked about many of my views of building startups. I got a job at a bank, and I worked in their corporate finance group. You didn’t join startups then.

Cofounder 337

Cofounder Technical Cofounder Startup San Diego 337

Steve Blank

APRIL 14, 2013

I just spent a few weeks in Japan and China on a book tour for the Japanese and Chinese versions of the Startup Owners Manual. This left an open playing field for Chinese software startups as they “copy to China” existing U.S. If you’re a software startup competing in China, the words that come to mind are “ruthless and relentless.”

China 220

China Silicon Valley Non-Compete Intellectual Property 220

YoungUpstarts

JANUARY 15, 2018

If you have difficulty managing your personal finances on a month to month basis, you are likely to struggle when it comes to running a far bigger enterprise. Knowing where to go and who to ask for finance is another key area of knowledge that is worth developing as early in your entrepreneurial career as possible.

Entrepreneur 133

Entrepreneur Finance Venture Capital Developer 133

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 16, 2010

One is the “denominator problem&# which says that if an LP invests X% (the denominator) into “alternative investments&# such as venture capital and if their total amount available to invest (the numerator) goes down by 30% then the amount they allocate to VC will by definition need to go down by 30% to stay the same percentage.

LP 311

LP Technical Review Early Stage Silicon Valley 311

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 13, 2013

Obviously, these companies still need money to get started, or finance growth, just like a for-profit company. Personal loans from individuals, employees and board members. As in any company, they can lead to employee problems, or messy legal issues. Individual and institutional donations.

Equity 207

Equity Angel Investor Technical Review Exit Strategy 207

Up and Running

JULY 2, 2014

Picking the right attorney in your startup is as important as picking the right business partner. My business partner and I made many mistakes in our first tech startup, and so many of them were the result of choosing a lawyer who was a terrible fit. Let me paint the picture for you: We were about two months into our startup idea.

Technical Review 118

Technical Review Angel Investor Due Diligence Dilution 118

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 15, 2012

Obviously, these companies still need money to get started, or finance growth, just like a for-profit company. Personal loans from individuals, employees and board members. As in any company, they can lead to employee problems, or messy legal issues. Individual and institutional donations.

Angel Investor 218

Angel Investor Technical Review Exit Strategy Equity 218

David Teten

JULY 29, 2011

A bit belatedly (due to a backlog of blog postings), I wanted to announce ff Venture Capital ‘s summer intern class. Franklin Bi became passionate about venture capital and entrepreneurship after he spent a summer in Silicon Valley, working on an information services startup focused on innovation management.

Venture Capital 133

Venture Capital Software Review New Jersey Silicon Valley 133

Austin Startup

NOVEMBER 6, 2017

Background Reading: When LLCs Make Sense for Startups Not Building a Unicorn If you have spent almost any time reading about the basics of startup legal issues, you know that Delaware C-corps are the default organizational structure for a “classic” tech startup (software, hardware) planning to raise angel/VC money and scale.

Delaware 48

Delaware LLC Startup Silicon Valley 48

VC Cafe

SEPTEMBER 16, 2021

Let’s start with a short definition: [the creator economy] is defined as the class of businesses built by over 50 million independent content creators, curators, and community builders including social media influencers, bloggers, and videographers, plus the software and finance tools designed to help them with growth and monetization.

Startup 207

Startup Social Media Venture Capital Audio 207

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 3, 2011

Obviously, these companies still need money to get started, or finance growth, just like a for-profit company. Personal loans from individuals, employees and board members. As in any company, they can lead to employee problems, or messy legal issues. Individual and institutional donations.

Angel Investor 238

Angel Investor Technical Review Exit Strategy Equity 238

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 15, 2022

There are many benefits of selling your startup through a mergers and acquisitions advisor. In many cases, your advisor will identify key employees and create a business plan to help you find a buyer and negotiate the best price possible. Identifying key employees. Source: Pixabay. Creating a business plan. Finding a buyer.

Merger 146

Merger Acquisition Due Diligence Valuation 146

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 6, 2014

When you first start your company and raise initial venture capital your board probably consists of 1-3 founders and 1-2 VCs. Over time you start to figure out who you customers are and how to sell to them or how to get them to adopt your products if you’re a consumer-oriented startup. In the Early Days. Experience.

Technical Review 325

Technical Review Early Stage Software Review Los Angeles 325

ReadWriteStart

OCTOBER 13, 2011

I spent the month of September lecturing, and interacting with (literally) thousands of entrepreneurs in two emerging startup markets, Finland and Russia. I was invited to Finland as part of Stanford's Engineering Technology Venture Program partnership with Aalto University. 9-to-5 Venture Capital. 9-to-5 Venture Capital.

Finland 158

Finland Venture Capital Government Russia 158

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 5, 2010

Last week at an angel investor forum I was privileged to meet Stephanie Spong, who is a Principal with EPIC Ventures, an increasingly rare early stage VC firm. Marty: Welcome to Startup Professionals interviews. Stephanie: I am a venture capitalist currently based out of Santa Fe, New Mexico, with EPIC Ventures.

Venture Capital 164

Venture Capital New Mexico Mexico Early Stage 164

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 19, 2017

Capital investments are like gasoline on a startup business’s metaphorical fire. If you’re like most startup CEOs, your startup has been your personal fiefdom and baby. Takeaway lesson: A shocking number of technology startups never even get their first product out the door. Those days are long gone.

Private Equity 94

Private Equity Pre-Money Valuation Equity Startup 94

Steve Blank

MARCH 31, 2014

Just look at the disruptive challenges that businesses face today– globalization, China as a manufacturer, China as a consumer, the Internet, and a steady stream of new startups. Perhaps that’s because where established companies might see risks or threats, startups see opportunity. This is the kind most of us are familiar with.

Private Equity 330

Private Equity Metrics China Intellectual Property 330

David Teten

NOVEMBER 17, 2011

This is the third of three blog posts on financial modeling for startups. The first was on best practices in building financial models , and the second was a template financial model for a startup. Download the Startup Options Valuation model here. I couldn’t find one online, so I built it.

Employee 155

Employee IRR Startup Mexico 155

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 14, 2009

Over the same 30 years, Venture Capital firms have honed their skills and strategies to match Wall Streets needs to achieve liquidity for their portfolio companies. One of the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make is misunderstanding the role of venture capital investors. What Do VC’s Do?

Silicon Valley 237

Silicon Valley IPO Technical Review Venture Capital 237