VC Cafe

SEPTEMBER 22, 2022

“The Centaur is a business that reaches $100 million of annual recurring revenue (ARR)—a rare breed of cloud business, part of an elite subset of the growing unicorn herd.” The term ‘Centaur’, coined by venture capital firm Bessemer, indicates companies that achieved $100M in annual recurring revenue (ARR).

Software Review 109

Software Review Israel B2C Open Source 109

Ben's Blog

JUNE 10, 2024

But that flexibility comes with operational pain points, especially when it comes to predicting revenue. With the right processes and infrastructure in place, however, your usage-based revenue can actually become more predictable over time than it might be in traditional seat-based SaaS.

Revenue 73

Revenue Forecast Generative AI Later Stage 73

VC Cafe

APRIL 29, 2020

Source: NVCA , “Startup Ecosystem Faces Capital Crunch over Coming Months” USA – SBA Loans and PPP. The $349 billion aid package issued by the US Government and distributed in the form of SBA loans was quickly gobbled up by a large number of applications, many of which were from venture-backed or PE-backed startups.

Israel 124

Israel SBA Technical Review Startup 124

Steve Blank

MARCH 17, 2020

With the Covid-19 virus a worldwide pandemic, if you’re leading any startup or small business, you have to be asking yourself, “What’s Plan B? If you’re running a startup or small business, your first priority (after your family) is keeping your employees and customers safe. If you’re an early stage company, that number may be zero.

Burn Rate 436

Burn Rate Startup Valuation Sales Cycle 436

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 12, 2023

They fail to realize that the considerations are quite different for each, which can make or break their investment efforts, and ultimately their startup. 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

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 4, 2016

The number of startups rose in 2015 for the first time in five years, with the largest year-over-year increase in two decades. Who would not want to joint the unicorns (recent startups with a current valuation of over $1 billion)? Successful startup teams today have a mix of remote employees, freelancers, and contractors.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Startup Angel Groups Social Media 120

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. The startup process has become demystified – information is everywhere. Board Control. And while new markets were created (i.e.

Founder 278

Founder Technical Review CTO Hire IPO 278

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 29, 2022

In the old days, every entrepreneur planned on taking their startup public, and making it big. Today the rate of startups going public (IPO – Initial Public Offering) is finally up from the dead zone of the last two decades, and is now double the rate back in 1999. Startups going public are laid open to competitors and critics.

IPO 245

IPO SEC Prospectus Startup 245

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 1, 2015

In the old days, every entrepreneur dreamed of easily taking their startup public, and making it big. Today the rate of startups going public (IPO – Initial Public Offering) is up from the dead zone, but is still less than half the rate of 15 years ago. Startups going public are laid open to competitors and critics.

IPO 120

IPO SEC Prospectus Startup 120

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 11, 2017

In the old days, every entrepreneur dreamed of easily taking their startup public, and making it big. Today the rate of startups going public (IPO – Initial Public Offering) is up from the dead zone, but is still half the rate of 15 years ago. Startups going public are laid open to competitors and critics.

IPO 218

IPO SEC Prospectus Technical Review 218

NZ Entrepreneur

FEBRUARY 27, 2020

Building a tech startup? While capital to large tech companies is increasing, smaller rounds for early-stage companies is drying up. This decline has also become evident in startup accelerator programs shifting their focus on later-stage scale-ups that provide higher returns.

Developer 72

Developer Early Stage Later Stage Acquisition 72

Steve Blank

JANUARY 22, 2014

Part 2: Early-stage Regional Venture Funds. Success depends on finding startups that have identified acute customer pains in large markets where conditions are ripe for a new entrant. as a distribution channel have vastly reduced the amount of capital a startup needs at the early stage when the risk is greatest.

Early Stage 295

Early Stage Silicon Valley Oregon Technical Review 295

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2013

In his tenure as CEO of DataSift we have never missed a monthly revenue figure. He has grown our US operations from 1 employee (him) to a global organization of 75 employees that will finish the year with 8-digit revenues (90+% recurring) and more than 350% year-over-year growth. Startup Advice' Ask for short conference calls.

Advisory Board 365

Advisory Board CTO Hire Fractional CTO Los Angeles 365

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 15, 2023

Most new teams are geographically dispersed these days anyway, so paying rent for an office should be differed to later stages when revenue is plentiful. Defer your desire for expensive perks and vacations until later when you have time for them. Favor profitability over revenue and user growth.

Equity 349

Equity Hockey Stick Bootstrapping Sweat Equity 349

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2011

2 preamble issues having read the comments on TC today: 1: I know that the prices of startup companies is much great in Silicon Valley than in smaller towns / less tech focused areas in the US and the US prices higher than many foreign markets. That’s the deal you get when you’re raising in a good market for startup financing.

Pre-Money Valuation 336

Pre-Money Valuation Valuation Silicon Valley Stock 336

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 18, 2020

Most new teams are geographically dispersed these days anyway, so paying rent for an office should be differed to later stages when revenue is plentiful. Defer your desire for expensive perks and vacations until later when you have time for them. Favor profitability over revenue and user growth.

Hockey Stick 423

Hockey Stick Bootstrapping Sweat Equity Intellectual Property 423

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 28, 2018

There are many things a VC is looking for in reviewing your business plan but beyond things the like the quality of revenue, margins, OPEX and CAPEX there’s a really simple rule I call, “Cash In, Cash Out, Milestones Achieved.” Conversely many VCs believe that constraining cash can often lead to increases in creative solutions at a startup.

Burn Rate 247

Burn Rate Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Dilution 247

View from Seed

APRIL 30, 2015

There’s been a lot of digital ink spilled around the various types of capital available to startups today. As a startup grows, venture debt becomes a viable option to continue that growth. Glen is an active contributor to the local tech ecosystem and well-versed in how and when startups can use venture debt to their advantage.

Term Sheet 120

Term Sheet Equity Startup Seed Stage 120

Gust

DECEMBER 25, 2013

To start with, a pre-revenue mobile company cannot expect to raise anything from “the VCs” Venture capital funds invest in only one out of every 400 companies seeking funding, so the odds of your particular startup getting funded are astronomically against you. Conceivable, but unlikely. Good luck with your venture!

Revenue 136

Revenue Angel Investor Mobile Venture Capital 136

The Equity Kicker

AUGUST 19, 2015

If you read this Techrunch post profiling 50 of the current YC companies you will notice that many of them are up and running with customers and revenues. In the words of an alum from the 2006 cohort: Companies are joining YC at a much later stage. I think there are three inter-related reasons for these changes.

Later Stage 60

Later Stage Private Equity Venture Capital Valuation 60

The Next Web

SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

Thomas Clayton has started and run numerous high-tech startups in Silicon Valley. He is currently CEO of Bubbly , a social media startup backed by Sequoia Capital, SingTel Innov8, and JAFCO. The company is one of the largest VC–backed startups in Southeast Asia, having raised over $60M in funding. Sequoia , Accel , NEA , etc.).

Asia 132

Asia Silicon Valley India Term Sheet 132

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 13, 2020

They fail to realize that the considerations are quite different for each, which can make or break their investment efforts, and ultimately their startup. 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

Up and Running

AUGUST 19, 2014

An angel investor is a high net worth individual who invests their own money into startup companies in the hopes of gaining a return on their money. I was the CEO of both startups, so it was my job to pitch to the angels. Entrepreneurs impress me when they demonstrate a proven revenue stream before asking for capital.

Angel Investor 161

Angel Investor Technical Review Due Diligence Startup 161

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 1, 2016

While there is much discussion about VCs starting to pull back on their investments into startups, the LPs we surveyed don’t expect to slow the pace of investment into VC funds themselves – at least for the foreseeable future. That’s money that fuels our startup ecosystems.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital LP Silicon Valley Marketing 150

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 7, 2024

If you are a going business with a track record of revenues, then the importance of accurate current financial statements cannot be overstated. (If If there is no record of revenues, see the “The Berkus Method” available with any search query for valuing the business before revenues.)

Hockey Stick 62

Hockey Stick Liquidity Event Valuation Balance Sheet 62

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 24, 2021

It has historically been the case that VCs would rather fund the promise of 100x in a company with almost no revenue than the reality of a company growing at 50% but doing $20+ million in sales. The CEO & founder, Ophir Tanz, has gone on to create his next big startup, Pearl , backed by David Sacks at Craft Ventures amongst others.

Venture Capital 363

Venture Capital LP Valuation Later Stage 363

K9 Ventures

FEBRUARY 8, 2020

2/ This is why it’s impossible to “accelerate” a startup. ” IMHO this was why @cartainc had such a hard time raising in the early stages. 6/ You can only draw a straight line when you have clear signal, usually in the form of product-market-fit and user/revenue traction. 7/ Every startup is it’s own unique puzzle.

Startup 118

Startup Early Stage Later Stage Revenue 118

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 15, 2016

There is much talk these days that startup valuations have decreased and may continue to do so and that the amount of time it takes to fund raise may take longer. You don’t even realize that the later-stage investor doesn’t support you any more. There are two other factors you may consider.

Burn Rate 150

Burn Rate Cap Table Valuation Software Review 150

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 19, 2017

Gross burn is your cost base and net burn is the difference between your revenue and costs. How Much Capital You Have Raised / Your Runway In general I recommend that in early-stage startups you try to raise at least 15-18 months of runway. If your revenue grows you can afford to increase your cost base.

Burn Rate 212

Burn Rate Startup .Net Venture Capital 212

Hunter Walker

JULY 18, 2022

Why I’m Not Telling Every Startup To ‘Pull The Brakes’ Just Yet. Your runway is impacted by the absence of projected revenue. Instead I’ll suggest there are two specific questions that really matter, the answers to which will have the biggest impact on the next 1–5 years of startups and venture capital.

Valuation 119

Valuation Cap Table Startup Later Stage 119

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 18, 2016

Investors know that valuations at startup early stages are negotiable, but they do expect that smart entrepreneurs understand the top three elements of a startup valuation would include the following. First priority is real revenue, customers and contracts. Factor in rapid growth and large future revenue projections.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Startup 120

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? venture capitalists are now asking tougher questions about start-ups' revenue and profits.". International and non-Valley startup communities are developing at a rapid pace.

Venture Capital 130

Venture Capital Marketing Term Sheet Software Review 130

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 27, 2014

We both agree that the later-stage valuations are being driven up to a point that feels irrationally priced [he uses b-round SaaS valuations as an example and I am willing to be even more broad based]. Most of those industries are fee-based and are competing on revenue growth. Startup Lessons' And we ended.

Valuation 309

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Non-Compete Later Stage 309

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2012

Different types of investors look for startups at different levels of maturity. If your startup is at the wrong stage for the investor you are approaching, fishing for money is a waste of time for both of you. You also will find that the stage your startup is in dictates where you go to seek funding. Growth stage.

Investment Bankers 241

Investment Bankers Venture Capital Startup Initial Public Offering 241

David Teten

DECEMBER 3, 2019

See Bessemer Venture Partners’ A comprehensive guide to security for startups. Data companies focused on early-stage startups include Aingel , fundsUP , Preseries , PredictLeads , and Sploda. For more on gathering data and using it to assess companies, see How to Assess Startups Using Machine Learning. 2) Market .

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Software Review Analytics Private Equity 78

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 11, 2013

In the old days, every entrepreneur dreamed of someday taking their startup public, and making it a multi-national powerhouse. According to an Ernst & Young report , the number of startups that have gone public in the US over the past decade is down about 75% from the previous decade, to about 10% of startup exits.

IPO 242

IPO SEC Prospectus Startup 242

thebarefootvc

JANUARY 27, 2014

I think that later stage valuations are frothy (for reasons I explain below) while earlier stage valuations are starting to stabilize from previous highs (with the exception of the superstar serial entrepreneur) - turns out scaling in a sea of competition (both startup and entrenched) is not so easy.

Technical Review 63

Technical Review Valuation Venture Capital Investment Bankers 63