VC Adventure

MAY 5, 2022

I’m observing that IRR is a metric that is becoming an increasing focus in venture, replacing fund return multiple as the key metric of success. I understand the draw of IRR, and – as a fund draws to a close – there’s no question it’s an important metric. This is a mistake. Venture is a long game.

IRR 116

IRR Metrics Valuation LP 116

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2016

I spend hours thinking about the products, competitors, market opportunities, recruiting and financing of these businesses. How else can I begin this multi-year journey if I’m not in love? Maybe some people can be dispassionate financial investors. I feel personally committed and engaged.

Early Stage 254

Early Stage Non-Compete LP Later Stage 254

View from Seed

FEBRUARY 27, 2019

Analytics vs. Finance?—?what’s In reality, these two domains require quite different skill sets (more on this later). Analytics is about designing, reporting, and leveraging operating metrics to aid strategic and functional decision-making. what’s the difference (and what do you need)?

Analytics 149

Analytics Hiring SQL Forecast 149

Reid Hoffman

JUNE 11, 2020

Embedding individual performance metrics in team performance metrics is a central part of how Jeff operates, but he also concerns himself with setting a cultural drumbeat and making everyone feel part of the team. This is so important that I wrote an essay on how to hire a CEO as a later-stage co-founder.

Cofounder 36

Cofounder Leadership Metrics Later Stage 36

David Teten

JANUARY 13, 2015

Most investors and other members of the American elite come from a homogeneous background: white, male, straight, Christian (or Jewish, at least in the finance industry), tall , handsome , physically fit, graduate of a select university, with American parents of upper middle class or higher socio-economic status. Prove more through metrics.

Venture Capital 60

Venture Capital Advisory Board Greece Cofounder 60

K9 Ventures

JUNE 5, 2015

Together this means that Seed stage companies need to run longer and at a higher expense structure, meaning they need to raise a lot more capital. A re-jiggering of deal stages and sizes had begun in 2013. So if the Micro-VCs are looking for Series A-like metrics, what does a company do when it’s just getting started?

Seed Stage 48

Seed Stage Venture Capital Early Stage Valuation 48

VC Adventure

MARCH 17, 2022

With the markets down significantly, financings (at least at the later stages) slowing down, and inflation and interest rates on the rise, perhaps now is a good time to talk about your burn rate. Hopefully, you took advantage of the robust financing markets of the past few years to put some money on your balance sheet.

Balance Sheet 92

Balance Sheet Burn Rate Metrics Valuation 92

cdixon.org

AUGUST 3, 2012

. - For consumer startups with transactional models, e.g. e-commerce, the number of users required is often far lower because revenue is the more important metric. Hence, many early-stage consumer startups are switching to transactional models. - VCs are increasingly focusing on B2B for early-stage investments.

Bridge Financing 86

Bridge Financing Early Stage Valuation Later Stage 86

K9 Ventures

OCTOBER 10, 2017

This post is intended to be a dynamic document, and I will attempt to update it from time to time with new questions that may arise or as financing trends evolve. Q: What amount of financing is considered Pre-Seed? It’s a legitimate stage of financing in the venture eco-system as of this writing (October 2017).

Seed Stage 82

Seed Stage Finance Later Stage Equity 82

View from Seed

JUNE 16, 2015

For series A or later investment rounds, the dynamic is similar, but there are some benchmarks that might be helpful to target to know if you are at least in the ballpark. Here are some top-line metrics that I think are worth shooting for: For marketplace businesses: $5M-$10M in annual GMV run rate. For SaaS: At least $100K in MRR.

Boston 120

Boston Syndication Syndicate eCommerce 120

abovethecrowd.com

APRIL 20, 2016

Why the Unicorn Financing Market Just Became Dangerous…For All Involved. By the first quarter of 2016, the late-stage financing market had changed materially. Investors were becoming nervous and were no longer willing to underwrite new Unicorn-level financings at the drop of a hat. This is uncharted territory.

IPO 40

IPO Term Sheet Silicon Valley Valuation 40

This is going to be BIG.

SEPTEMBER 7, 2012

There are a lot of people that artificially group together performance metrics for venture, and try to extrapolate successful stratagies from it. 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.

Later Stage 99

Later Stage Down Round Pre-Money Valuation Early Stage 99

Small Business Force

FEBRUARY 21, 2014

In early stage companies (and even some later stage or mature ones), there is no one area where most entrepreneurs and small business owners are lacking in just basic fundamentals, than in dealing with their company's finances and financial management. Seek discounts and drag out payments to the limit.

Finance 37

Finance Management Forecast Entrepreneur 37

Austin Startup

AUGUST 30, 2018

So while the number of dollars pouring into Austin may be increasing, that metric is only favorable to businesses that warrant those sized-rounds. Of these rounds, nearly every one was classified as a Series B or later-stage round, with the exception of a few debt and equity financing rounds.

Austin 48

Austin San Francisco Early Stage Later Stage 48

Version One Ventures

MAY 22, 2018

Some of the best later-stage investors walk founders through an institutionalized “reverse” pitch. Lastly, dig down into how an investor behaved during new financing rounds or during exits. When we think about pitches, most of the focus is on entrepreneurs pitching investors for capital.

Cap Table 60

Cap Table Cofounder Syndication Syndicate 60

Reid Hoffman

JANUARY 19, 2021

I’ve encountered many of the different ways boards can interact under different circumstances, whether it’s problem executives, problem investors, CEO misbehavior, financing issues, business crises and more. As we discussed earlier, CEO changes rarely make sense in the early stages of a startup. WHY IS A STARTUP BOARD SO IMPORTANT?

Startup 36

Startup Cofounder Advertising Hiring 36

K9 Ventures

OCTOBER 12, 2015

Not to mention that in later stages, high valuations can almost be fatal for some companies that don’t have the operating metrics to justify those valuations once the market turns. This means more noise in the system for seed stage investors. A 20x return becomes a 10x return and a 1x return could easily become a 0.5x

Venture Capital 48

Venture Capital Seed Stage LP Valuation 48

Seeing Both Sides

JANUARY 13, 2015

We pride ourselves on being lifecycle investors, which means we invest very early on (typically at the seed or Series A stage) and then stick with a company through exit. Some VCs prefer investing at the earliest stages and then cycle off the board of directors. Financing: holy crap - we are running out of money in 6 months!

Mezzanine 20

Mezzanine IPO Finance Business Model 20

Ben's Blog

AUGUST 17, 2020

A multiple is a company value divided by a metric. The conventional wisdom finance professionals are often taught is that you should not pay a higher multiple today than what you’d expect to be paid upon exit — that is, your entry multiple should equal your exit multiple.

Valuation 36

Valuation Balance Sheet Cofounder Forecast 36

Austin Startup

JUNE 26, 2019

Related: when people say that execution is the most important metric of who will win, keep in mind that executing a fundraise is almost paramount. Where there isn’t consensus is what metrics meet the bar for “early traction” and who qualifies as a “great team”. That’s a metric! especially in a winner-take-all category?—?that

Silicon Valley 54

Silicon Valley Startup B2C Sweat Equity 54

Up and Running

DECEMBER 9, 2014

Maybe you are wondering which metrics to track, or whether or not you should take out a loan for your business. They cover funding for small businesses from the initial funding stage to later stages of growth, and other areas in between. The full audio can be listened to above, and the transcript can be found below.

Small Business 95

Small Business Finance Forecast Metrics 95

The Startup Magazine

MARCH 28, 2025

Beyond traditional venture metrics like market opportunity and team quality, it evaluates factors specific to crypto projects including tokenomics, regulatory considerations, and community alignment. This perspective shapes her firm’s approach to both early-stage investments and later-stage acceleration opportunities.

Venture Capital 86

Venture Capital San Francisco Early Stage Later Stage 86