Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 12, 2022

These have helped them build trust and confidence among team members, and effectively sell their message to partners, investors, vendors and customers. This applies to suppliers and business partners as well. As a role model, you must continuously upgrade your own skills, be alert for new developments and hone your listening ability.

Leadership 317

Leadership Founder Startup Networking 317

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 18, 2023

Let’s take a hard look at the key potential weaknesses of a visionary, and the value of an execution-oriented partner, which the authors call an integrator : Staying focused and following through. If your strength is being a visionary, use that vision to attract a complementary partner, and make it a win-win opportunity for both of you.

Partner 206

Partner Cofounder Startup Bandwidth 206

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2022

The market was down considerably with public valuations down 53–79% across the four sectors we were reviewing (it is since down even further). ==> Aside, we also have a NEW LA-based partner I’m thrilled to announce: Nick Kim. To that end I’m really excited to share that Nick Kim has joined Upfront as a Partner based out of our LA offices.

Technical Review 416

Technical Review Pre-Money Valuation San Francisco Valuation 416

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 9, 2018

You race back to the office to tell everybody how well it went and you wait for the follow-up call to have a partners’ meeting or talk about term sheets or at least dip into due diligence. I left the meeting and had to attend a 3-hour board meeting where two founders have been fighting and each want the other one fired. I remember.

Software Review 381

Software Review Churn Rate Due Diligence New York 381

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 26, 2022

It is possible to partner with others to complement your skills, but you should consider taking time now to gain experience in these areas, or further education before starting a plan. Calculate your need to acquire missing required skills. Test your physical, mental, and emotional stability for the journey.

Founder 262

Founder Intellectual Property Social Media Business Plan 262

View from Seed

APRIL 6, 2021

You have 4-6 years of professional experience as a technology operator, founder, or investor in New York. You have a deep desire to learn the venture capital business and are ready to hustle to meet the next great founder. However, you will serve as a co-pilot on deals with all four partners, across the geographies we cover.

Technical Review 317

Technical Review Software Review Seed Stage Cofounder 317

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 22, 2020

Every startup founder loves to prompt for questions from investors and potential key team members about their vision, and the huge opportunity that can be had with their disruptive technology. Most founders like to talk about their many months or years of sweat-equity , but cash invested is a stronger commitment.

Technical Review 436

Technical Review Due Diligence Sweat Equity Burn Rate 436

Steve Blank

JANUARY 17, 2023

But these look for founders who have a technical or business model insight and a team. Accelerators provide these teams with technical and business expertise and connect them to a network of other founders and advisors. Venture studios create startups by incubating their own ideas or ideas from their partners.

Technical Cofounder 368

Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 368

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 26, 2021

As an entrepreneur mentor, my mission is to foster the attributes in you as a startup founder that I believe will lead to success. As an example, I worked with Bill Gates early on, but I fear he may have failed without partners Steve Ballmer and Paul Allen. You will find that your team, partners, and vendors feel the same way.

Entrepreneur 341

Entrepreneur Angel Investor Partner Software Development 341

View from Seed

APRIL 14, 2020

VCs are always founder focused no matter the market environment. But in a FOMO world, more investors are willing to take a chance on a founder that they don’t know, but seems to match some of the heuristics of other high quality founders. This gets really challenging if it remains difficult to meet in person or to travel.

Early Stage 374

Early Stage Software Review Technical Review Due Diligence 374

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 24, 2021

If you are a young startup founder, how do you find that CEO or other executive for your “dream team” to close on funding or complement your skills to kick start your company? There you can connect with thousands of potential executives and partners, or find a planned meetup in a city near you. Most founders are product guys.

Exit Strategy 407

Exit Strategy Leadership Founder Networking 407

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 11, 2020

Based on my experience, most startup failures occur simply because the founder gives up too soon, without exploring creative alternatives. For example, renowned TOMS shoe company founder Blake Mycoskie continually made it clear that his most important goal was making life better for the less fortunate.

Entrepreneur 329

Entrepreneur Intellectual Property Stealth Angel Investor 329

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 28, 2020

But for founders who do their homework, the cost of entry is lower and the opportunity is higher than ever. Excellent detailed resources are everywhere, including a classic book, “ The Startup Checklist ,” by serial entrepreneur and founder of the New York Angels, David S. Incorporating a business entity early through online services.

Intellectual Property 404

Intellectual Property Startup Angel Groups Social Media 404

VC Cafe

OCTOBER 31, 2022

It’s a tough time for a lot of startup founders right now. This is not meant to be a negative post, but rather a temperature check of today’s market environment and the levers founders can pull on to survive this period. What is a founder to do? Tougher times might be coming ahead. Keep your head up!

Founder 174

Founder Technical Review Down Round Liquidation Preference 174

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 16, 2022

Supportive co-founder and executive positions. Every young entrepreneur needs an experienced partner for credibility with investors, and as a trusted cohort for strategy and growth discussions. They want to share your satisfaction in success, maybe as a reward for their own mistakes and learning earlier in life in their own businesses.

Advisory Board 368

Advisory Board Dividend Angel Investor Cofounder 368

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 11, 2022

I had realized that I didn’t have it within me to be as good of a player as many of them did but I had the skills to help as mentor, coach, friend, sparing partner and patient capital provider. During this era, from 2009–2015, most founders I knew were in it for building great & sustainable companies.

Valuation 466

Valuation San Francisco Ratchet Liquidation Preference 466

View from Seed

JULY 6, 2020

You have 4-6 years of professional experience as a technology operator, founder, or investor in New York. You have a deep desire to learn the venture capital business and are ready to hustle to meet the next great founder. . However, you will serve as a co-pilot on deals with all four partners, across the geographies we cover. .

Technical Review 257

Technical Review Software Review Hiring Seed Stage 257

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 21, 2021

For entrepreneurs, effective networking is required to find investors, partners, and customers. Serious investors expect founders to have their homework done before the first interaction – documented executive summary, business plan, and financial model. Investor negotiations. Time management. Effective marketing.

Technical Review 333

Technical Review Startup Software Review Retention 333

The Startup Magazine

JANUARY 4, 2023

Today we present Olga Camargo as part of The Startup Magazine’s Female Founder Interview series. Olga has a great story as CEO and Founder of SHENIX , a Chicago-based fintech app company focused on financial education and advisory services for Latinas. SHENIX Founder and CEO, Olga Camargo. That’s fantastic, Olga.

Founder 159

Founder Chicago Illinois Community 159

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 24, 2018

VC Partnerships Start by understanding how many partners are at the firm you are approaching. It’s pretty easy since nearly every VC lists its partners on the website. Some firms are trickier since they artificially call everybody “partner” but they’re not all “investment partners.” How many partners are there?

Technical Review 314

Technical Review Due Diligence Partner Term Sheet 314

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 30, 2023

In my own experience with technical startup founders, I still find it hard to name one who was also good, or even interested in financials or business operations. However, by finding a partner with complementary skills, the potential was always greater than “1+1.” You need a team and relationships to run a business.

Technical Review 373

Technical Review Software Review Due Diligence Entrepreneur 373

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 14, 2022

For startups, the entrepreneur and founder is almost always the face of the company. Investors, partners, team members, and customers implicitly value or devalue a startup based on the leader’s physical presence, emotional identity, social skills, intellectual agility, moral values, and past performance in the domain.

Technical Review 323

Technical Review Due Diligence Valuation Leadership 323

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 15, 2020

For startups, the entrepreneur and founder is almost always the face of the company. Investors, partners, team members, and customers implicitly value or devalue a startup based on the leader’s physical presence, emotional identity, social skills, intellectual agility, moral values, and past performance in the domain.

Valuation 311

Valuation Technical Review Due Diligence Leadership 311

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 18, 2020

Supportive co-founder and executive positions. Every young entrepreneur needs an experienced partner for credibility with investors, and as a trusted cohort for strategy and growth discussions. They want to share your satisfaction in success, maybe as a reward for their own mistakes and learning earlier in life in their own businesses.

Advisory Board 312

Advisory Board Startup Dividend Angel Investor 312

The Startup Magazine

JUNE 26, 2023

The path to success is far from easy, which is a lesson Quattro Development’s founders, Rob Walters and Mike Liyeos, know all too well. The duo recall their most profound failures as co-founders, as well as the steps they took to overcome misfortune and become a premier national developer.

Cofounder 148

Cofounder Developer United States Founder 148

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 24, 2021

The Founder needs to remember that meetings up to this point have been primarily off-site, with staged demos, and managed personally by the CEO or a small team. Visit reference customers, partners, and vendors. My best advice is to stick to the middle ground.

Technical Review 379

Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Bankruptcy 379

View from Seed

MARCH 4, 2020

At a firm level, I think that getting multiple partners on the list is a great milestone as well. In 2009 Bessemer had the most Midas List partners with 6 investors. Name brand firms like Benchmark, Sequoia, and NEA had 4+ partners on the list. The number of firms with multiple midas list partners was 16.

Venture Capital 313

Venture Capital China Technical Review Africa 313

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2022

He gives a wealth of practical advice on building a successful technical startup, including some specifics that I like on what constitutes a dream team of partners: The technical guru. A sales fanatic on the founder team helps to contain that risk. Outsourcing your core competency does not work. The financial suit.

Technical Cofounder 309

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Startup 309

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 9, 2020

He gives a wealth of practical advice on building a successful technical startup, including some specifics that I like on what constitutes a dream team of partners: The technical guru. A sales fanatic on the founder team helps to contain that risk. Outsourcing your core competency does not work. The financial suit.

Technical Cofounder 308

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Stock Options 308

YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 24, 2020

Remember that investors will not appreciate a business plan that features exorbitant salaries of the founders. Rustam Gilfanov is an IT company co-founder, IT businessman and international investor. In 2006, Rustam Gilfanov, together with his partners, opened an international outsourcing IT company in Kyiv.

Business Plan 263

Business Plan Ukraine Cofounder Startup 263

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 28, 2021

For example, I believe Bill Gates would have failed without his partners Steve Ballmer and Paul Allen. Despite all these challenges, and the angst that comes with them, almost every new venture founder, failed or successful, interviewed by Eisenmann and myself insist that they have no regrets, and can’t wait to do it again.

Technical Review 329

Technical Review Merger Software Review Acquisition 329

View from Seed

AUGUST 17, 2021

A few weeks ago, we hosted a small dinner for a number of portfolio company founders, LP’s, and friends of the firm. It’s by far the longest time I’ve spent working on any one thing, and I feel very blessed to have been able to work with my partners, colleagues, founders, and collaborators. Patience is a virtue.

IRR 205

IRR Dilution Founder Portfolio 205

View from Seed

JANUARY 13, 2021

The objection goes something like this: “yes, I can see rookie founders turning to you for a seed round. But won’t all good founders go to established firms that raise series A’s out of the gate?”. And quite a few founders make the choice to do YC first rather than raise a traditional seed or pre-seed round.

Dilution 399

Dilution Later Stage Portfolio Technical Review 399

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 11, 2020

by Shaun Djie, Co-Founder & COO of Digix. Shaun Djie is the co-founder of DigixGlobal and is also the founder of the Ethereum Singapore meetup group – one of the largest in the world with over 8,00 members.

Asia 290

Asia Technical Review Technology Singapore 290

YoungUpstarts

MAY 21, 2020

by Nick Frandsen, co-founder and managing partner at Dovetail. Nick Frandsen is a co-founder and managing partner at Dovetail. So you’ve just had a lightbulb moment and stumbled across the perfect business idea, one that is going to revolutionise the world and disrupt the market. It’s genius! It’s the next thing!”

Product 264

Product Cofounder Audience Product Development 264

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 16, 2023

But for founders who do their homework, the cost of entry is lower and the opportunity is higher than ever. Excellent detailed resources are everywhere, including a classic book, “ The Startup Checklist ,” by serial entrepreneur and founder of the New York Angels, David S. Incorporating a business entity early through online services.

Intellectual Property 261

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Angel Groups Social Media 261

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2023

The next default of waiting until later is equally bad, since partners who bow out early will still expect an equal share of that first billion you make later. Even with an agreed initial equity split, it’s smart to have Founder’s stock actually issue or vest over a period of at least two years, on a month-by-month basis.

Technical Cofounder 247

Technical Cofounder Equity Distribution Cofounder 247