Gust

NOVEMBER 15, 2012

In my own portfolio I have companies that are generally perceived to be extremely successful with high profile customers and lots of sales…but they just happen to have a liquidation preference ladder of $25 million!

Seed Stage 131

Seed Stage Hockey Stick Cap Table Liquidation Preference 131

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. Revenue multiple? How will you price the next round?

Liquidation Preference 153

Liquidation Preference Valuation Term Sheet Stock 153

Tim Keane

JANUARY 12, 2010

3]   However, if they are built bottom up, they demonstrate and make explicit a range of business model assumptions the entrepreneur is using to think about his business and its revenue model. Second a liquidation preference and a participation. This is why a bottom up approach is more credible.   First , dividends.

Term Sheet 68

Term Sheet Valuation Dividend Liquidation Preference 68

Feld Thoughts

SEPTEMBER 9, 2015

Some will demonstrate strategically justifiable metrics and have fantastic ‘up round’ exits; others may see liquidation preferences kick in which will negatively impact founders and employees; others may fulfill the adage “IPO is the new down round” , which has been the case for more than half of the public companies on our list.

Liquidation Preference 70

Liquidation Preference Burn Rate Balance Sheet .Net 70

Up and Running

MAY 21, 2015

What this means, is that he gets paid not as a portion of the profit, but as a portion of the overall revenue, regardless of the profit. That’s because preferred shares operate under a completely separate set of rules (which will be defined in the investment documents) than your shares. Liquidation preference.

Covenant 60

Covenant Liquidation Preference Ratchet Dilution 60

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2013

The don’t understand VC liquidation preferences or multiple return expectations. An employee walks up to me and says, “Mark, I’m thinking about buying a house. Sure, our revenue is growing, but is that enough to raise an internal round? You take the meeting but you’re not really pursuing it.

Startup 417

Startup Dilution San Diego Stock Options 417

abovethecrowd.com

APRIL 20, 2016

All Unicorn participants — founders, company employees, venture investors and their limited partners (LPs) — are seeing their fortunes put at risk from the very nature of the Unicorn phenomenon itself. A high performing, high-growth SAAS company that may have been worth 10 or more times revenue was suddenly worth 4-7 times revenue.

IPO 40

IPO Term Sheet Silicon Valley Valuation 40

ithacaVC

SEPTEMBER 20, 2011

In “VC world” Rule 409A is best known for providing a safe harbor for private company valuations, and in particular the setting of strike prices for employee stock options. Let’s say a given company has raised $15mm in VC funding and is generating about $3mm in revenue and starting to ramp up quickly.

Liquidation Preference 49

Liquidation Preference Common Stock Stock Options Valuation 49

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 4, 2009

BTW, this ignores liquidation preferences which actually mean you’ll earn less. So when the Stanford MBA, the ex senior technology developer or the former Chief Revenue Officer of a company is calling me and asking my advice on their next gig you can see why I start with “are you ready to earn or to learn?&#.

Stock Options 418

Stock Options Stock Liquidation Preference Option Pool 418

dondodge.typepad.com

JANUARY 15, 2011

Community is more powerful than money or technology » August 11, 2007 How much equity for investors and employees? How much equity should I grant to early employees? Founders usually end up with 10% to 20%, all the other employees end up with about 15%, and the VCs end up with about 60% to 75%. 5% Managers -.25%

Equity 40

Equity Employee Dilution Valuation 40

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2016

Social networking finally came of age connected the planet and leading to enormous wealth creation for Facebook employees and investors. Smart phones finally took off leading to enormous wealth creation for Apple employees and investors but also helped propel Google, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, WhatsApp and others.

Valuation 150

Valuation Down Round Startup Later Stage 150