Startup Lessons Learned

MAY 31, 2019

The reality today is that capital is more available than ever and entrepreneurs have become more sophisticated, so founders are looking for more than just cash from their venture backers. You've seen how venture capital works from both sides--as an entrepreneur and a venture capitalist.

Lean 108

Lean Venture Capital Conversion IPO 108

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 18, 2013

The number of startups getting seed funding in 2012 jumped by 65% over the previous year to a total of 1749, according to a recent report by CB Insights. Seed investments” are early stage financings (typically less than $1.5 Seeded companies will take longer to raise a next round. This is nothing new.

Massachusetts 249

Massachusetts Silicon Valley Venture Capital California 249

Gust

JANUARY 13, 2013

Many believe that entrepreneurs are born, not made. While I agree that successful company builders usually have a natural inclination to be entrepreneurs, a good education helps polish that apple. We can all point to examples of successful entrepreneurs who dropped out of college, but still went on to make a big impact.

Entrepreneur 180

Entrepreneur Seed Money Social Network Business Plan 180

cdixon.org

SEPTEMBER 17, 2011

A frequent question entrepreneurs have when they are just starting their company is: how secretive should I be about my idea? This includes investors, entrepreneurs, people who work in similar areas, friends, people on the street, the bartender, etc. (I Why you shouldn’t keep your startup idea secret. link] Nivi.

Stealth 68

Stealth Startup NDA Cofounder 68

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 12, 2010

Many believe that entrepreneurs are born, not made. While I agree that successful company builders usually have a natural inclination to be entrepreneurs, a good education helps polish that apple. We can all point to examples of successful entrepreneurs who dropped out of college, but still went on to make a big impact.

Seed Money 225

Seed Money Social Network Networking Business Plan 225

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 14, 2014

If you knew entrepreneur Marquis Hayes 10 years ago, you would barely recognize him today. But he chose to move forward with a positive attitude, raise seed money for his company, and network his way to a profitable future. Advice For The Young At Heart Catherine Hoke criminal history startup startup finance startup funding'

Bootstrapping 249

Bootstrapping Startup Seed Money New York 249

Version One Ventures

DECEMBER 14, 2016

At the same time, seed money is still abundant due to the proliferation of micro VC over the past few years. We expect that the financing scene in 2017 will look very similar to 2016. If you’re enthusiastic about these themes as an entrepreneur, investor, or operator, please reach out! Looking ahead to 2017.

Technical Review 60

Technical Review Early Stage Portfolio Valuation 60

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2011

By John Williams Fast Company magazine recently reported that PayPal founder Paul Thiel is giving away $100,000 to twenty-four young men and women to finance startup businesses. The caveat is that these young entrepreneurs have to drop out of college to do it. Your mortgage and grocery bill depend on it. You can keep overhead low.

Sweat Equity 231

Sweat Equity Startup Angel Investor Seed Money 231

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 28, 2010

One of the most difficult things to do as a first time entrepreneur is to get to know the investors you might be working with if you accept money. He got into the industry through the same traits required for entrepreneurs – persistence & resiliency. Venture Financings we Discussed.

San Francisco 230

San Francisco Los Angeles Cofounder SMS 230

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 1, 2010

I’ve done 4 seed investments in the past year and they are 100% referenceable. Many firms do it in a way that can be more detrimental to entrepreneurs. I think the issue was mostly framed initially by Chris Dixon in his article The Problem with Taking Seed Money from Big VC s.

Post-Money Valuation 298

Post-Money Valuation Term Sheet Warrant Partner 298

BeyondVC

SEPTEMBER 29, 2011

This can happen for many reasons including not raising enough capital in the seed round to begin with and of course not getting your product out the door. So what does an entrepreneur do when caught in this predicament? Many try to do an additional seed round or add-on to the prior round.

Seed Capital 133

Seed Capital Angel Investor Seed Money Startup 133

BeyondVC

SEPTEMBER 29, 2011

This can happen for many reasons including not raising enough capital in the seed round to begin with and of course not getting your product out the door. So what does an entrepreneur do when caught in this predicament? Many try to do an additional seed round or add-on to the prior round.

Seed Capital 133

Seed Capital Angel Investor Seed Money Startup 133

Berkonomics

JANUARY 20, 2022

Dave’s note: This is a reprint of a 2015 insight that seems to have struck a chord with investors and entrepreneurs. None of this advice has changed… Let me tell you a few short hair–raising stories of entrepreneurs who have raised money and regretted it later. The problem, of course, comes if the business fails.

Valuation 127

Valuation Startup Seed Money Early Stage 127

Berkonomics

MARCH 30, 2012

Sara focuses upon another side of small business financing not typically considered in the angel and venture world, financing from sources for companies that will probably never be attractive to those niches. . Crowd Funding: The Internet is at work here, especially for obtaining early stager seed money.

Intellectual Property 76

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Small Business Administration SBA 76

Version One Ventures

JANUARY 28, 2013

Seed financing grew from 89 fundings in Q1 2009 to more than 500 in Q3 2012. That means there are a lot more seeded startups out there: an excess demand for a limited supply of Series A financings. I recently had lunch with an entrepreneur who asked what he should do. Do your homework on potential investors.

Burn Rate 140

Burn Rate San Francisco Vesting Finance 140

VC Adventure

APRIL 23, 2012

There’s been plenty of chatter over the past few years about the potential pitfalls for entrepreneurs taking seed money from VCs. But by essentially ignoring these seed companies some investors are showing them that perhaps they’re not the value added VC that they claimed to be. I find this pretty amusing.

Institutional Investors 93

Institutional Investors Seed Money Finance Entrepreneur 93

YoungUpstarts

JULY 22, 2017

Success as an entrepreneur takes a lot more than an idea, a dab of seed money and, as they say, a wing and a prayer. And do you think this is a common occurrence among entrepreneurs? For young entrepreneurs out there, if they can’t control costs, their business simply won’t continue. The end result?

Founder 100

Founder United States Canada Seed Money 100

Feld Thoughts

JULY 14, 2015

A company raises $1m of seed money from angels in a convertible note with a $6m cap. Assuming equity is raised at or above that cap, the total dilution, before the new money, is 16.6% (equivalent to an equity financing of $1m at a $6m post money valuation. Here’s the scenario.

Recapitalization 70

Recapitalization Pre-Money Valuation Post-Money Valuation Angel Investor 70

BeyondVC

SEPTEMBER 29, 2011

This can happen for many reasons including not raising enough capital in the seed round to beginwith and of course not getting your product out the door. So what does an entrepreneur do when caught in this predicament? Many try to do an additional seed round or add-on to the prior round.

Seed Capital 60

Seed Capital Startup Angel Investor Seed Money 60

This is going to be BIG.

SEPTEMBER 7, 2012

That wasn't a bubble bursting issue--that was a poor financing strategy issue of people getting caught with their pants down, hands in the cookie jar, and all the metaphors you can think of at once. Your time as an entrepreneur is probably best spent elsewhere as well--and that's the most valuable investment of all.

Later Stage 99

Later Stage Down Round Pre-Money Valuation Early Stage 99

VC Adventure

APRIL 23, 2012

There’s been plenty of chatter over the past few years about the potential pitfalls for entrepreneurs taking seed money from VCs. But by essentially ignoring these seed companies some investors are showing them that perhaps they’re not the value added VC that they claimed to be. I find this pretty amusing.

Institutional Investors 48

Institutional Investors Seed Money Finance Entrepreneur 48

Berkonomics

OCTOBER 15, 2015

Let me tell you a few short hair-raising stories of entrepreneurs who have raised money and regretted it later. Here are some rules that entrepreneurs almost always ignore to their future peril. There’s a common expectation among entrepreneurs that seed money from family is great – letting close relatives in at the ground floor.

Valuation 48

Valuation Startup Seed Money Early Stage 48

Rob Go

MARCH 20, 2013

Find good financing partners. You want to find financing partners who help you in the situations described above, don’t become yet another impediment. Is it possible to take seed money and not go for the Series A, etc, and just earn revenue? On the accelerator question, it depends on the accellerator.

Bootstrapping 46

Bootstrapping Finance Dividend Vesting 46

www.businessinsider.com

SEPTEMBER 6, 2012

Your Money. Heres What That Led To Explosive Growth For Chinese And Indian Entrepreneurs. Heres What That Led To Explosive Growth For Chinese And Indian Entrepreneurs. Grahams startups go through a months-long process of coaching to help them build products and raise money. and most of us are entrepreneurs ourselves.".

Silicon Valley 54

Silicon Valley Startup Valuation Venture Capital 54

pandodaily.com

NOVEMBER 29, 2012

Essentially, we got here by entrepreneurs having too much of a good thing. The number of seed and angel investors has exploded in recent years, buoyed up by a number of factors. At each turn, these market changes were heralded as wonderful developments for entrepreneurs. A name like 500 Startups says it all.

Technical Review 93

Technical Review Silicon Valley Incubator Syria 93