Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 13, 2020

Too many entrepreneurs tell me they are looking for an investor, and can’t differentiate between venture capital (VC) investors versus accredited angel investors. Angels are more likely to fund new entrepreneurs, and early-stage or seed rounds, while VCs tend to focus on entrepreneurs with a successful track record, and later stage rounds.

Angel Investor 314

Angel Investor Entrepreneur IRR Valuation 314

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 27, 2016

Struggling entrepreneurs are often so happy to get a funding offer that they neglect the recommended reverse due diligence on the investors. Taking on equity investors to fund your company is much like getting married – it is a long-term relationship that has to work at all levels. It’s no fun for either side.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Offshore 120

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 23, 2017

Put Serious Effort Into Your Pre-Game I find most entrepreneurs put all of their effort into creating a perfect deck and then asking existing investors which VCs to talk with but they put almost no effort into the real “pre-game” work. The best VCs follow up but then so, too, to the best entrepreneurs. That’s fantasy land.

Burn Rate 238

Burn Rate Term Sheet CTO Hire Fractional CTO 238

Berkonomics

MAY 15, 2014

A good example was during the negotiation of a term sheet. These usually involve a handful of angel investors, and a few entrepreneurs, who all want to build the very best term sheet for their exciting nascent enterprise. Basil Peters is perhaps the best known name in the world of early stage company exits.

Term Sheet 91

Term Sheet Angel Groups Angel Investor Deal Structure 91

SoCal CTO

JANUARY 5, 2011

November 23, 2010 Entrepreneurs, Using Outsourcing to Obtain Capital Efficiency Needs to be Thought Through to be Effective - Robert Ochtel , June 7, 2010 Teen Entrepreneur, Brian Wong, Youngest Founder to Receive Angel Funding - teenentrepreneurblog.com , October 28, 2010 Build Your Own Silicon Valley?

Silicon Valley 378

Silicon Valley Startup Term Sheet Venture Capital 378

reidhoffman.org

NOVEMBER 12, 2013

. × At Greylock , my partners and I are driven by one guiding mission: always help entrepreneurs. It doesn’t matter whether an entrepreneur is in our portfolio, whether we’re considering an investment, or whether we’re casually meeting for the first time. Entrepreneurs often ask me for help with their pitch decks.

Entrepreneur 111

Entrepreneur Viral Revenue Networking 111

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 6, 2019

Investing in entrepreneurs and startups is a fun but different world from investing in conventional stocks, bonds, and commodities. Don’t be fooled by thinking that social networks are hot, so you should invest in the next startup you see in that realm. Fund an entrepreneur you know and trust. Think long-term.

Liquidity Event 224

Liquidity Event SEC Entrepreneur Accredited Investor 224

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 12, 2023

Too many entrepreneurs tell me they are looking for an investor, and can’t differentiate between venture capital (VC) investors versus accredited angel investors. Angels are more likely to fund new entrepreneurs, and early-stage or seed rounds, while VCs tend to focus on entrepreneurs with a successful track record, and later stage rounds.

Angel Investor 246

Angel Investor IRR Venture Capital Valuation 246

Mucker Lab

AUGUST 27, 2014

As an entrepreneur himself, founding and operating printed circuit board factories in Taiwan, my father was debating between two places to immigrate to and build his next new venture: Los Angeles (“The Valley” aka San Fernando Valley) and Santa Clara (“Silicon Valley”).

Los Angeles 138

Los Angeles Southern California Silicon Valley Technical Review 138

Feld Thoughts

OCTOBER 15, 2013

When David Cohen and I came up with the idea for the Global Accelerator Network (GAN) in 2010, we counted roughly 100 accelerator programs around the US that were founded following the Techstars model. From that initial outreach, 16 high quality accelerator programs joined us to launch the network. Others are not.

Global 179

Global Networking United States Seed Money 179

YoungUpstarts

JUNE 17, 2013

What makes an entrepreneur tick? Perhaps the better question is – what kind of leader makes the best entrepreneur? Understand a term sheet. Others entrepreneur infographic leadership startup' Here’s a look at what a founder should be able to do: Development. Write Code. Build a server. Build Links.

Advisory Board 279

Advisory Board Balance Sheet Term Sheet Entrepreneur 279

Reid Hoffman

JULY 27, 2021

As I discussed last week in the Greymatter podcast with my friend and Blitzscaling co-author Chris Yeh , I believe that a knowledge of philosophy is actually a great asset for entrepreneurs. To say categorically that MBA equals “not entrepreneur” is a foolish assumption, just like saying Masters in Philosophy equals “not entrepreneur.”

Silicon Valley 69

Silicon Valley Venture Capital Balance Sheet Cofounder 69

Reid Hoffman

JULY 27, 2021

As I discussed last week in the Greymatter podcast with my friend and Blitzscaling co-author Chris Yeh , I believe that a knowledge of philosophy is actually a great asset for entrepreneurs. To say categorically that MBA equals “not entrepreneur” is a foolish assumption, just like saying Masters in Philosophy equals “not entrepreneur.”

Silicon Valley 69

Silicon Valley Venture Capital Balance Sheet Cofounder 69

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 17, 2009

I told entrepreneurs that it was a bit of a Faustian bargain. But I’m no longer an entrepreneur – I’m a VC at a $200 million fund called GRP Ventures , the largest active fund in Southern California. I have spoken at length to one such entrepreneur who tells me that he hardly hears from his VC.

Software Review 283

Software Review Term Sheet Due Diligence Southern California 283

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 2, 2015

It was on par with DreamForce in attention to detail, networking potential, entertainment and speaker quality. The speakers get what they want (small, private networking) and the audience gets what they want – world-class speakers. If you want to network you need to plan relentlessly in advance.

Web 150

Web Las Vegas Technical Review Term Sheet 150

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 6, 2022

Investing in entrepreneurs and startups is a fun but different world from investing in conventional stocks, bonds, and commodities. Fund an entrepreneur you know and trust. Most entrepreneurs start asking for money from this tier, when they have very little more than an idea. Think long-term.

Liquidity Event 300

Liquidity Event Angel Investor SEC Accredited Investor 300

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 4, 2018

As seed funds have raised larger and larger funds, more have developed the muscle around issuing term sheets and “leading”. When we started the firm, we were also more narrowly focused geographically due to our smaller team and network.

North America 120

North America Seed Stage Early Stage Lead Investor 120

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 2, 2014

Too many entrepreneurs tell me they are looking for an investor, and can’t differentiate between venture capital (VC) investors versus accredited Angel investors. Angels are more likely to fund new entrepreneurs, and early-stage or seed rounds, while VCs tend to focus on entrepreneurs with a successful track record, and later stage rounds.

Angel Investor 266

Angel Investor Entrepreneur Venture Capital IRR 266

Up and Running

MAY 11, 2016

500 CEO, an angel investor, and a serial entrepreneur. He’s perhaps best known for having founded Gust —a website that connects startups with investors—but he’s also been instrumental in a number of other ventures, including Space Angels Network, Singularity University, New York Angels, and Rose Tech Ventures.

Technical Review 60

Technical Review Term Sheet Startup Due Diligence 60

Tim Keane

MAY 16, 2010

A philosophy of valuations and term-sheets. Several months ago, I'd posted an article about term-sheets.    Based on a lot of feedback, I've added some new comments about put rights and made more explicit my philosophy about working together with entrepreneurs to achieve mutually satisfactory results. 

Term Sheet 60

Term Sheet Valuation Wisconsin Angel Investor 60

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 2, 2010

It’s the story of persistence in entrepreneurs. As a VC I’m acutely that a “yes&# decision to support an entrepreneur can do just that, yet I only write 2-4 of them per year and maybe another 3-4 as an angel. I try not to go out to entrepreneur events in LA every night – I have work to get done and a family.

Europe 352

Europe France San Francisco Chicago 352

Gust

AUGUST 6, 2014

In all cases, the one fundamental requirement is that the company and the investor agree on how much is being invested, and on what terms. These items are included in what is known as a term sheet. What the terms end up being, and how a company and the investor(s) arrive at that term sheet, can differ widely.

Term Sheet 170

Term Sheet Lead Investor Preferred Stock Common Stock 170

David Teten

JANUARY 19, 2021

See Why Are Revenue-Based Investors Investing in Women & Diverse Entrepreneurs? Zack Mueller, Attorney, Ireland Stapleton Pryor & Pascoe, PC , points that almost “no one, from LPs to entrepreneurs to attorneys, has much experience with these instruments. Particular application in impact capital. Emily Campbell, Esq.

Cofounder 78

Cofounder Technical Review Equity Dividend 78

Austin Startup

JULY 22, 2021

It’s hard to describe in words the palpable energy when a room is this packed full of incredible female entrepreneurs at the Women in Tech Summit at Capital Factory. On October 4th, five technology startup finalists will pitch to a panel of advisors and judges made up of successful investors, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders.

San Antonio 107

San Antonio Dallas Houston Founder 107

Up and Running

JANUARY 26, 2012

Similarly, if the investment is for growth capital, as opposed to capital to keep you afloat, the circumstances and investment terms will vary. Firstly, you need to identify some potential smart investors (by ‘smart’ I mean investors who bring more to the table than just cash i.e. access to a network of contacts, distribution etc).

Term Sheet 94

Term Sheet Exit Strategy Software Review Early Stage 94

Hunter Walker

JANUARY 5, 2014

At this point we’re doing reference checks and providing names of other founders to the entrepreneurs so they can diligence us (in reality we’ve likely all been asking about each other along the way too). I think networking is a terrible word. ” I try to spend zero percent of my life networking.

Software Review 105

Software Review Balance Sheet Cofounder Technical Review 105

Reid Hoffman

DECEMBER 10, 2020

Generally speaking, as investors and entrepreneurs, you want to go after ideas where, if you succeed, it transforms an industry or even the world. The other reason I could decide so quickly is that I really know networks and marketplaces. So I got the license to put a term sheet down, and we made the investment.

Hosting 69

Hosting Hockey Stick IPO Silicon Valley 69

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 23, 2015

” He has publicly espoused building products for “non logged in users” and has benefitted greatly from his thesis of large networks of socially connected & like minded individuals. Let’s see: Twitter, Tumblr, Etsy, KickStarter … not bad, hey? But Fred got me to see a broader perspective.

Los Angeles 150

Los Angeles Silicon Valley Term Sheet Video 150

This is going to be BIG.

SEPTEMBER 30, 2012

How else can you explain this headline matching a story about a professional social network still trying to explore revenues raising $17mm on an $80mm valuation? This is a company that, according to the article, got term sheets from half of the VCs that expressed interest in the company. Perhaps I need to rethink that.

Venture Capital 130

Venture Capital Marketing Term Sheet Software Review 130

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 6, 2015

Investing in entrepreneurs and startups is a fun but different world from investing in conventional stocks, bonds, and commodities. Don’t be fooled by thinking that social networks are hot, so you should invest in the next startup you see in that realm. Fund an entrepreneur you know and trust. Think long-term.

Accredited Investor 120

Accredited Investor Liquidity Event SEC Entrepreneur 120

David Teten

DECEMBER 3, 2019

But, most of use raise capital and source deals the same way people looked for dates 20 years ago: by networking at conferences (or bars). . Small investment firms often have interns and entrepreneurs in residence passing through, each of which is a security risk. That’s why 40 million Americans use online dating sites. 2) Market .

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Software Review Analytics Private Equity 78

Gust

SEPTEMBER 27, 2014

To begin with, it is important to understand some basic facts about the world of entrepreneurial finance: There are many more entrepreneurs than there are investors, with the result that only one company out of every 400 that seeks venture funding actually receives it. Gust takes advantage of the cloud, and you should, too.

Angel Groups 159

Angel Groups Elevator Pitch Software Review Deal Flow 159

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. They’re looking for guidance on building the company, the ability to tap into a VC’s network, and help with potential business opportunities.

Lean 108

Lean Venture Capital Conversion IPO 108

Austin Startup

FEBRUARY 11, 2020

DivInc is a pre-accelerator based in Austin that bridges the gap between underrepresented entrepreneurs and the resources they need to build profitable, high-growth companies. You could walk away with $100,000 and a new home at the Center of Gravity for Entrepreneurs in Texas! Submit your application Who can apply?

Houston 84

Houston Dallas Term Sheet Texas 84

Austin Startup

FEBRUARY 11, 2020

DivInc is a pre-accelerator based in Austin that bridges the gap between underrepresented entrepreneurs and the resources they need to build profitable, high-growth companies. You could walk away with $100,000 and a new home at the Center of Gravity for Entrepreneurs in Texas! Submit your application Who can apply?

Houston 84

Houston Dallas Term Sheet Texas 84

Austin Startup

DECEMBER 15, 2020

On February 9th, during Capital Factory’s Black in Tech Summit, five technology startup finalists will be judged by a panel of successful entrepreneurs, industry leaders and mentors. You could walk away with $100,000 and a new home at the Center of Gravity for Entrepreneurs in Texas! Apply now to be one of five teams selected to pitch.

Founder 98

Founder Dallas Houston Term Sheet 98

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 16, 2017

Investing in entrepreneurs and startups is a fun but different world from investing in conventional stocks, bonds, and commodities. Don’t be fooled by thinking that social networks are hot, so you should invest in the next startup you see in that realm. Fund an entrepreneur you know and trust. Think long-term.

Liquidity Event 184

Liquidity Event SEC Accredited Investor Angel Investor 184