A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

JANUARY 4, 2018

Late last year we passed $100M in annual recurring revenue. That revenue is in on 75,000 customers, earned through the hard work of 500 employees across six offices on three continents. This week we closed $250M in financing from Silver Lake , the premier technology private equity firm. We just announced a few more things.

Engineer 152

Engineer Revenue San Francisco Security 152

The Startup Magazine

JANUARY 5, 2025

Whether you are trying to increase your revenue or improve your customer satisfaction, taking your business to the next level means looking at all of your strategic opportunities. Waste Management Waste management is also something that can help to elevate your business as well.

Software Review 147

Software Review Technical Review Retention Campaign 147

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 11, 2022

We had nascent revenues, ridiculous cost structures and unrealistic valuations. Almost no financings, many VCs and tech startups cratered for the second time in less than a decade following the dot com bursting. Until we weren’t. 2001–2007: THE BUILDING YEARS The dot com bubble had burst. Nobody cared about our valuations any more.

Valuation 466

Valuation San Francisco Ratchet Liquidation Preference 466

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 21, 2013

I think it’s important for enterprise startups to layer in professional services into your revenue stream. deliver profitable revenue that while on gross margins of 50% vs. software at 85-95% it is still profits to help you cover fixed costs. PS Business Cannot Become a Management Distraction. rollout support.

Software Review 321

Software Review Software IP Technical Review 321

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 14, 2014

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. An example would be getting free office space by agreeing to be the property manager for the owner.

Entrepreneur 283

Entrepreneur Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 283

The Startup Magazine

MARCH 6, 2024

Strategic operations management in the electronic industry is not easy. Catering to a diversified niche at every level is tough, mainly because each product and service shall require some type of differentiation in the typical operations management within the manufacturing plants.

Operations 158

Operations Management Software Review Technical Review 158

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2022

Should SaaS companies trade at a 24x Enterprise Value (EV) to Next Twelve Month (NTM) Revenue multiple as they did in November 2021? This happens slowly because while public markets trade daily and prices then adjust instantly, private markets don’t get reset until follow-on financing rounds happen which can take 6–24 months.

Technical Review 416

Technical Review Pre-Money Valuation San Francisco Valuation 416

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 4, 2022

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. An example would be getting free office space by agreeing to be the property manager for the owner.

Intellectual Property 261

Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator Bootstrapping 261

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 22, 2012

It encourages a bit too much FOMO (fear of missing out) and over-valuation in companies and a desire to do huge financing rounds to be perceived as the “knock-out winner.” My first company was used to manage workflow & share CAD drawings and plans on the $16 billion refurbishment of the London Underground. Not Google.

Silicon Valley 390

Silicon Valley Venture Capital Startup Technical Review 390

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 23, 2012

Yes, it’s true that FOMO (fear of missing out) is driving some irrational behavior and valuations amongst uber competitive deals and well-financed VCs. For starters we saw a huge influx of inexperienced managers enter the VC industry proving clearly that being a VC is not a purely quantitative job. The Exit Problem.

Venture Capital 347

Venture Capital Technical Review LP Mobile 347

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 20, 2017

Today I’m excited to announce we’ve recently raised $30 million in growth finance led by 8VC , with Kimmy Scotti joining our board. So how did a company that provides storage grow so fast (we’ll exit 2017 with 10’s of millions in recurring revenue), why is it so defensible and is it really a tech startup? years of software development.

Technical Review 268

Technical Review Los Angeles Software Review Artificial Inteligence 268

The Startup Magazine

NOVEMBER 9, 2021

Merchants looking to reduce the impact chargebacks have on their business can benefit from reviewing their management of ‘friendly fraud.’ Tips for Managing Friendly Fraud Chargebacks. While the underlying reasons may differ, friendly fraud chargebacks should be opposed via representment in order to recover the revenue at stake.

Management 197

Management Software Review Warrant Revenue 197

The Startup Magazine

NOVEMBER 13, 2020

Equipment financing is a challenging decision. It’s a decision that doesn’t come easy and, if you don’t have the required capital at hand, you’ll likely have to opt for financing options to attain the equipment you need. Two of these financing options are equipment leasing and equipment financing.

Finance 149

Finance Canada Security Technical Review 149

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 30, 2019

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. An example would be getting free office space by agreeing to be the property manager for the owner.

Intellectual Property 219

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 219

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

This financial leader could well have come through the finance org at another startup or at a larger company but they often also can come from strategy consulting (Bain, BCG or McKinsey) or through investment banking (Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, etc.).

Operations 286

Operations New York City Technical Review Startup 286

Hunter Walker

OCTOBER 14, 2024

It has required a balance of aggressiveness and patience, managing cash flow, building fundraising processes around these distribution gains and many more things that I’ve had to get better at over time. What was it like seeing some folks raise tens of millions of dollars, and where has your financing mostly come from?

New York City 114

New York City Hockey Stick Distribution Angel Investor 114

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 23, 2014

Of course it’s much harder to identify “emerging managers” who it turns out have been some of the best performers over the past 5-7 years such as Union Square Ventures, Spark Capital, First Round Capital, True Ventures, Greycroft, Foundry Group, Thrive and Upfront Ventures. and the bigger funds can’t get in directly.

Technical Review 398

Technical Review Venture Capital Valuation Pre-Money Valuation 398

YoungUpstarts

JANUARY 11, 2021

In my 15+ years as a startup founder, investor, and advisor — and now in my role as CEO of a bookkeeping and accounting startup — I’ve come across countless businesses whose accounts aren’t accurate or GAAP-compliant because they’re making the same four mistakes: Relying on spreadsheets to track their revenue and expenses.

Small Business 208

Small Business Startup Cofounder Vertical 208

The Startup Magazine

MARCH 31, 2023

Managing finances is one of the most important aspects of running a successful business. Effective financial management ensures that the company can meet its financial obligations and make informed decisions about investments and expenditures. Planning is an essential aspect of effective financial management for any business.

Management 97

Management Software Review Finance Bankruptcy 97

Steve Blank

APRIL 23, 2018

The entrepreneur who founded and grew the largest startup in the world to $10 billion in revenue and got fired is someone you have probably never heard of. Sloan Foundation , the Sloan School of Management at MIT , the Sloan program at Stanford , and the Sloan/Kettering Memorial Cancer Center in New York. There’s the Alfred P.

Michigan 301

Michigan Cofounder Stock Forecast 301

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 6, 2014

The main thing you’re concerned about in this phase of your company is maintaing control of your board, which in a legalistic perspective is ensuring that founders & management have the majority of seats on the board. how to evolve our management team. We have also built out an amazing management team. Experience.

Technical Review 325

Technical Review Early Stage Software Review Los Angeles 325

The Startup Magazine

MARCH 8, 2024

Poorly managed debt can lead to financial strain, decreased creditworthiness, and even bankruptcy. Equipment Financing: Leveraging Assets for Growth Equipment financing allows businesses to purchase or lease equipment needed for expansion without tying up capital or resorting to large upfront payments.

Finance 147

Finance Technical Review Metrics .Net 147

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2014

By September 26th we had submitted a term sheet which was signed on October 4th and financing was closed in less than 30 days. We funded about $2 million, which allowed a full team in Finland to be recruited for building the app and an international management team led from Los Angeles. The results? Domain Knowledge.

Technical Review 373

Technical Review North America Los Angeles Cofounder 373

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 24, 2017

— Unremarked and unheralded, the balance of power between startup CEOs and their investors has radically changed: IPOs/M&A without a profit (or at times revenue) have become the norm. Typically, this caliber of bankers wouldn’t talk to you unless your company had five profitable quarters of increasing revenue.

Founder 281

Founder Technical Review CTO Hire IPO 281

The Startup Magazine

FEBRUARY 17, 2025

Managing Costs and Pricing for Profitability Financial management is a cornerstone of any successful business, and mobile IV therapy ventures are no exception. Only 48% of small businesses have their financing needs met , emphasizing the importance of strategic financial planning.

Mobile 88

Mobile United States Technical Review Business Model 88

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 27, 2011

I've talked about this topic before in How Investors Think About Valuation of Pre-Revenue Startups. Manager or Junior Engineer 0.2 – 0.33 Of course, to be able to use this kind of formula, you will need to be able to determine how much impact the person will have and figure out a valuation. the better the startup will be.

Early Stage 391

Early Stage Equity CTO Hire Sweat Equity 391

Feld Thoughts

JUNE 11, 2021

We didn’t have any financing except for Brad’s credit card and the $10 with which we had purchased our common stock. Dave had been spending most of his time managing the part-time developers, who were primarily working on future products, instead of billing hours to clients. Dave worried about paying rent.

Common Stock 213

Common Stock Boston Europe Software Developers 213

Steve Blank

APRIL 1, 2020

Your revenue plans are no longer valid. What’s your monthly cash burn at your new low revenue level? The CEO should dial through as many of the largest existing customers to get a firsthand understanding of the magnitude of any revenue shortfall. Your CFO now becomes the head of cash management. External Assessment.

South Korea 334

South Korea Salary Business Model China 334

The Startup Magazine

JUNE 2, 2021

Thus, as a merchant, if you don’t accept any of these payment types it could cause you to lose out on sales revenue from consumers who use them. For merchants who have many younger customers who are more inclined to utilize these methods, this can represent significant lost revenue.

Management 132

Management eCommerce Technical Review Due Diligence 132

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 2, 2020

It adopts Agile’s process management techniques, such as daily standups, to coordinate a team’s work and uses visual tools, called Kanban boards, to track work in progress. One client said it helped them because they hadn’t made long-term commitments to advertising buys, and it was easy to cut back spending when their revenues declined.

Agile 264

Agile Marketing Campaign Sales 264

The Startup Magazine

JUNE 29, 2020

Simply put, it manages and takes care of some of the most repetitive and time-consuming tasks of email marketing in an automatic way. In short, email automation comes with a plethora of benefits for your business, customers, and your revenue. Accelerates revenue. This added revenue is the result of upselling and cross-selling.

Email 167

Email Campaign Revenue HTML 167

VC Cafe

MARCH 1, 2024

Personal Finance Cross-account visibility and management – Today’s AI products can analyze and move money between accounts – as agents improve, they will make trades across accounts. AI – tax planning or wealth management augmented and in some cases replaced with AI.

Artificial Inteligence 176

Artificial Inteligence Technical Review Software Review Generative AI 176

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

OCTOBER 4, 2017

So, no project can have fewer than, say, three people dedicated to it, plus people management and possibly some form of Product or Project Management. If Google launches a new product that generates $10,000,000/year in revenue, is that good? The tradeoff, however, is predictability. No, it’s a colossal failure.

Government 223

Government Startup Cofounder Technical Support 223

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 18, 2019

The company started the year with no revenue and at it’s peak had a run rate well in excessive of $100 million / year. We’re at a new watermark because there are now global assets deployed and as the sun peeks out so to do the riders and the revenue. They were new, they were strange, they were ridden mostly by young people?—?they

South America 250

South America Global New York City Software Review 250

Up and Running

NOVEMBER 12, 2021

Creating a financial plan enables companies to predict expenditures and create an effective plan for incoming revenue. An operative budgeting strategy also helps businesses measure performance against expenditure and gives management the go-ahead to appoint resources that contribute to the company’s success. .

Technical Review 132

Technical Review Software Review Forecast Cloud 132

The Startup Magazine

OCTOBER 18, 2024

The decentralized finance landscape is constantly shifting, with new projects, innovations, and risks emerging regularly. Price-to-Sales (P/S) Ratio The price-to-sales (P/S) ratio measures the market cap relative to a protocol’s revenue, similar to traditional finance metrics.

Metrics 157

Metrics Valuation API Distribution 157

The Startup Magazine

JUNE 13, 2024

You must familiarize yourself with key concepts such as marketing, sales, operations, cash flow management, balance sheets, and profit and loss statements. This program offers in-depth knowledge across all aspects of business management, including finance and strategic planning. MBA programs are a tad bit expensive.

United States 139

United States Bootstrapping Social Media Angel Investor 139