View from Seed

APRIL 30, 2015

What is it, and how should founders think about it? note: We’d like to be extra clear that founders should not take on venture debt if they don’t have 100% visibility into repaying the loan, as banks that need to recoup their loan my force the company or you as the guarantor into liquidation or bankruptcy.

Term Sheet 120

Term Sheet Equity Startup Seed Stage 120

David Teten

JANUARY 19, 2021

From RBI, Flexible VCs borrow the ability to reap meaningful returns without demanding founders build for an exit. Every Flexible VC structure allows founders to access immediate risk capital while preserving exit, growth trajectory, and ownership optionality. . Flexible VC 102: Variations.

Cofounder 78

Cofounder Technical Review Equity Dividend 78

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2014

I told my friend that I felt that in 2014 too many new VCs feel the pressure to chase deals, to be a part of syndicates with other brand names and to pounce on top of every startup whose numbers are trending up quickly. Co-founder discontent. What would this founder do if he got an offer to be acquihired quickly by Facebook?

Cofounder 374

Cofounder Syndication Syndicate Early Stage 374

David Teten

DECEMBER 3, 2019

Tim Friedman, Founder, PE Stack , said, “If I could offer one piece of advice to today’s managers, it would be to take the time to understand the demands of the modern institutional LP. Russell Rothstein, Founder and CEO, IT Central Station , a product review site, said, “We see VCs on our site very often. 3) Raise capital.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Software Review Analytics Private Equity 78

Pascal's View

JULY 9, 2017

This is a fundamental issue that does, indeed, boil down to understanding the post-money valuation of a company. At its core, this issue points to the lack of understanding about the importance of post-money valuation by both entrepreneurs and investors. But it is also a topic that many find esoteric and difficult to grasp.

Post-Money Valuation 49

Post-Money Valuation Valuation Cap Table Covenant 49

View from Seed

AUGUST 30, 2019

how much the company is raising, valuation expectations, round/syndicate dynamics, etc.). I can see this being a doable deal at an $X pre-money valuation with a $Y check from us. ” . During the debrief, we would discuss not only aspects of the company (i.e.

Pre-Money Valuation 174

Pre-Money Valuation Syndicate Syndication Valuation 174

Feld Thoughts

JUNE 10, 2022

[Brad Feld] says his “strong belief” that “just doing a clean resetting — at whatever the valuation so that everybody is aligned and dealing with reality — is much, much better for a company.” especially when many existing investors are currently willing to add on additional dollars at the most recent valuation.

Down Round 165

Down Round Ratchet Liquidation Preference Participating Preferred 165

Lightspeed Venture Partners

SEPTEMBER 21, 2013

Josh Brooks, who ran marketing for MySpace for three years, is the founder of a company that lets users take photos form their phones, and then use those photos to send postcards in the real world to their friends and family. to fund the company at a $6M post money valuation from a number of investors including Selena Gomez.

Pre-Money Valuation 167

Pre-Money Valuation Valuation Dilution Distribution 167

Duct Tape Marketing

DECEMBER 14, 2017

He is the founder and CEO of Stackify. Basically started as somebody of how do we take photos of cars and the pricing and descriptions of the cars, and put it all in one place, but then syndicate it. As a founder of a company, a CEO of a company. Go check it out. Podcastbookers.com. I was that hired gun in some senses.

Kansas City 62

Kansas City CTO Hire Las Vegas Software Developers 62

David Teten

SEPTEMBER 23, 2017

Signal is a fundraising tool for founders run by NFX Guild, which identifies the most relevant VCs for you. . Close to 80% responded that manual processes, such as tracking down support, preparing reports and pulling data from different sources, are the biggest pain points they face in the valuation process. Pitchbot.vc

Private Equity 60

Private Equity Venture Capital Equity Technical Review 60

View from Seed

JUNE 10, 2020

of teams’ online pitch decks and recorded videos, as well as loved the dozens of second-round video conversations which we had with Founders working on quite compelling startups. Many of these Founders we wouldn’t have had an opportunity to connect with if we hadn’t launched this program.

Cofounder 177

Cofounder Syndicate Syndication Alabama 177

Rob Go

MAY 20, 2014

As a result, questions around valuation are less about “what is the value of this company” and more “how much capital is a VC willing to part with to buy 20%?” I find that it’s also pretty typical for an existing VC investor to be willing to syndicate the deal with another outside investor.

Valuation 76

Valuation Dilution Post-Money Valuation Syndicate 76

This is going to be BIG.

MARCH 3, 2014

This goes for founders, employees and investors alike. At what valuation? Would the entrepreneur enthusiastically include them in the syndicate of their next venture? Would the entrepreneur enthusiastically include them in the syndicate of their next venture? There are a lot of founders with questionable records, too.

Syndicate 129

Syndicate Syndication Venture Capital Valuation 129

Feld Thoughts

AUGUST 10, 2010

In this case neither Niel (nor I) had any interest in creating a traditional syndicate to fund the company. We did a second financing by ourselves at an increased valuation – this was the “Series B&#. The meat of the funding story follows: “Of course coming up with the idea is the easy part.

Syndicate 125

Syndicate Syndication Angel Financing Finance 125

Genuine VC

NOVEMBER 12, 2012

In other words, new investors must use their leverage in the discussions to proactively change those pre-existing terms rather than focus on price, new terms relevant only to this deal, or other aspects of this specific round where they have an interest in influencing (like syndicate composition or allocation).

Finance 128

Finance Mezzanine Valuation Seed Stage 128

David Teten

JULY 12, 2017

Alpha Venture Partners’ and Correlation Ventures’ founders all have strong operational backgrounds; that said, they don’t typically serve on boards and don’t get as involved in company management as many other VCs. Hence, if Sequoia is the lead and the valuation is reasonable, it’s near 100% chance. Market Insight.

Syndicate 60

Syndicate Syndication Institutional Investors LP 60

Professor VC

JANUARY 17, 2008

One of my comments was that we would likely see more institutionalization of angel groups and syndication of deals among groups. Another comment which probably deserves more discussion is around valuation. He also said they typically only invest at a $1 million pre-money valuation or less. My facebook can beat up your facebook.

Pre-Money Valuation 28

Pre-Money Valuation Angel Investor Angel Groups Valuation 28

Professor VC

APRIL 1, 2010

One comment made by Jason was that angels tend to be less sensitive than VCs on valuation and can potentially make it difficult to get a venture financing done at acceptable valuation. We are typically looking at either smaller exits or require a lower valuation to get a reasonable step-up to a venture round.

Term Sheet 32

Term Sheet Angel Investor San Jose Venture Capital 32

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2015

*. If you are a 20-something tech entrepreneur you could be forgiven for thinking that seed-stage investors, Angellist Syndicates and widely available angel money always existed. It is, of course, a very recent phenomenon. Let me take you back just 10 years ago to 2005 in Silicon Valley where I returned after 11 years of living in Europe.

Seed Stage 150

Seed Stage Silicon Valley Syndication Syndicate 150

Rob Go

APRIL 6, 2017

One question I know investors sometimes ask founders is “what are your valuation expectations for this round?” What I’d probably say is something like: “I’ve talked to a number of founders and I think rounds like these are being price between X and Y post-money (I’d make the range pretty wide).

Valuation 44

Valuation Syndicate Syndication Founder 44

Hunter Walker

DECEMBER 21, 2014

Our emphasis isn’t on slide decks and governance, but instead on helping founders build leadership, steady cadence and periodic strategic discussion into their thinking, which we believes contributes to startups being more prepared for a successful A Round. The majority of founders we speak with are raising a $1-2.5

Cofounder 127

Cofounder Seed Stage Syndicate Syndication 127

View from Seed

JANUARY 26, 2016

This means that it has rewarded Series A and B investors for chasing momentum and made it less important for these investors to focus on valuation or sound, early unit economics. technical co-founder). Third, founders at this stage have an incentive to minimize dilution at the point when their equity is the least valuable.

Seed Stage 120

Seed Stage Early Stage Cofounder Finance 120

View from Seed

JUNE 30, 2015

The cliff notes behind the idea is that what used to be considered a series A is now actually a seed round because… Capital efficiency allows founders to get further with less. Very experienced founders and founders working on really audacious companies can get funded earlier. Institutional seed rounds are getting bigger.

Seed Stage 120

Seed Stage Syndicate Syndication Dilution 120

Rob Go

AUGUST 26, 2013

No team aside from founders. Several employees in addition to founders. What I am finding interesting is watching the way valuations and difficulty of raising has changed for these different flavors of seed rounds. This led to a period of seed stage exuberance, and that led to higher valuations, larger rounds, etc.

Valuation 68

Valuation Seed Stage Syndicate Syndication 68

www.paulgraham.com

APRIL 28, 2010

Mechanics Angel investors often syndicate deals, which means they join togetherto invest on the same terms. In a syndicate there is usually a"lead" investor who negotiates the terms with the startup. Dont feel like you have to join a syndicate, though. The valuation determines how much stock you get. million, and youget.05/1.05,

Angel Investor 63

Angel Investor Syndicate Syndication Dilution 63

Scott Edward Walker

NOVEMBER 26, 2017

Accordingly, I thought it would be helpful to provide some basic fundraising advice to first-time founders based upon my 20+ years of legal experience. Instead, you typically need a “warm referral” (or introduction) from someone they respect and trust — preferably a successful founder whom they have backed. In a word: hustle.

Term Sheet 63

Term Sheet San Francisco Founder Investment Bankers 63

View from Seed

JANUARY 28, 2016

As a founder, you and your team are building value every day, but there are certain step-function moments where the value creation significantly increases. This is the best time to fundraise because that’s when you are able to command a meaningfully higher valuation for your next round to minimize your own dilution.

Cofounder 120

Cofounder Finance Founder Syndication 120

Austin Startup

DECEMBER 20, 2010

Q: Your co-founders have been working on some technology in their spare time. The source, size and valuation when funding determines how big of a company you’re claiming to build. The future is in finding relevance, curating for context, and syndicating this to the right audience at the right place.

Curation 118

Curation Austin Cofounder Ruby 118

Feld Thoughts

JULY 14, 2015

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. The term sheet converts all the convertible debt into a post-money valuation of $100, essentially making the convertible debt worthless. Sure – it happens.

Recapitalization 70

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

Babbling VC

JANUARY 7, 2011

Valuations were also therefore lower and I believe you could extrapolate that exit valuations too were lower. Exits with "homerun valuations" such as Skype, MySql, Bebo and so forth are far more outliers in the EU than they ever would be in the US. . Further, VC's will have to simply learn to syndicate more and work together.

Finance 76

Finance LP Europe Valuation 76

Rob Go

SEPTEMBER 2, 2014

Some founders are able to skip an institutional seed round and go straight to a multi-million dollar A-round where a larger VC puts in the lion’s share of the capital. As I’ve blogged about in the past, there are positives and negatives to this strategy, but it is a viable option to some founders. Skipping Straight to A.

Cram Down 66

Cram Down Institutional Investors Dilution Seed Stage 66

Rob Go

MARCH 10, 2012

Valuation Discipline. We have a pretty strong sense of what realistic valuation ranges are and aren’t for seed stage companies. We try to maintain a pretty steady investment pace each year, although it tends to ebb and flow a little bit based on our deal flow and valuations in the market. Syndicate diversification.

Seed Stage 49

Seed Stage Syndicate Syndication Marketing 49

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 25, 2010

We were trying to optimize around a few criteria: price, size of round, number of syndicate partners and, of course, terms. million at a $15 million pre-money valuation. My co-founder and other management team members wanted us to hold off and see whether we could get the deal done at a higher price. Yes, this was stupid.

Technical Review 301

Technical Review Term Sheet Due Diligence Venture Capital 301

Rob Go

NOVEMBER 10, 2011

I once showed a company to an investor for an investment we were syndicating. I loved the founder, but was struggling because this just didn’t seem “big enough” to me. This investor loved the team and thought the solution they were building was compelling. But these were the early days of the company.

Marketing 52

Marketing Angel Investor Syndicate Syndication 52

Professor VC

JULY 25, 2013

I''m a strong believer in fairness (although my daughters may not agree) and investors and entrepreneurs working together as a team to create something valuable to all stakeholders (customers, employees, founders, investors). AngelList (which I remain a big fan) also recently launched a syndicate program.

Term Sheet 46

Term Sheet Silicon Valley Syndicate Syndication 46

Professor VC

MARCH 12, 2015

It was a great product addressing a large market opportunity and was interested in seeing how the AngelList syndicate process worked. As with all M&A exits, there was a round of congratulatory messages to the founder in the Silicon Valley echo chamber. Syndicates can either be company led or investor led.

Syndicate 28

Syndicate Syndication Silicon Valley Common Stock 28

Rob Go

JANUARY 7, 2013

As a founder, it feels like a long time, but it’s really a blip on the radar in the scheme of things. We have pretty strong guidelines internally about how much capital we want to invest in a given company, at what valuation, and thus, what ownership we are looking for. Founders: Repeat Founders: 8. Commerce: 5.

Portfolio 49

Portfolio Seed Stage Cofounder B2B 49