Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2013

Since Angel investors put money into 60 times as many companies as venture capital funds, according to Wikipedia, early-stage startups need to focus first on the key thresholds that drive these investment decisions. Angel investors look for prior domain and startup experience. The same hold true for venture capital investors.

Angel Investor 269

Angel Investor Cram Down Intellectual Property Venture Capital 269

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 14, 2009

Five Quarters of Profitability During the 1980’s and through the mid 1990’s startups going public had to do something that most companies today never heard of – they had to show a track record of increasing revenue and consistent profitability. They taught you about customers, markets and profits.

Silicon Valley 237

Silicon Valley IPO Technical Review Venture Capital 237

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2020

In the short term you need customers to find you at any price, and in the longer term you need revenue, profit, and return loyalty. Although his focus is naturally on bigger companies, I contend that his recommended strategies apply equally well to entrepreneurs and startups: Demand a mindset of deep thinking for the long term.

Technical Review 312

Technical Review Due Diligence Merger Social Media 312

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 25, 2023

The last thing a new entrepreneur wants to think about for a new startup is how it will end. Startups with no exit planned will minimize investor returns. Most entrepreneurs like the startup role, but not the big-company role. Yet one of the first things a potential equity investor asks about is your exit strategy.

Exit Strategy 264

Exit Strategy Private Equity Equity Technical Review 264

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 1, 2020

I have often been asked about Startup Funding by entrepreneurs. Many myths surround the subject of startup funding. Here is Startup Funding, a Comprehensive Guide for Entrepreneurs. You must have seen a lot of startups giving out promotions, discounts, and incentives at the early phase of their business.

Startup 150

Startup Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Seed Stage 150

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 18, 2009

We had been working on a merger between BuildOnline and a competitor called iScraper. My contact at ETF told me that Apax had called them and told them that they were planning to fund iScraper on their own without the merger and that ETF should back their deal rather than ours. .&# (quote via David Fishman ). But we did $2.1

Germany 298

Germany Entrepreneur Merger Los Angeles 298

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 8, 2019

With the current strong economy, as an active startup mentor, I’m seeing a new surge of entrepreneurs and startups, with the commensurate scramble for funding. Thus I’m getting more questions on new mechanisms, like crowd funding, or going public through the side door as a reverse merger. Yet reverse mergers are not all bad.

Merger 303

Merger OTC IPO Due Diligence 303

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 3, 2014

With the uptick in the economy, as an active startup mentor, I’m seeing a new surge of entrepreneurs and startups, with the commensurate scramble for funding. Thus I’m getting more questions on new mechanisms, like crowd funding, and an old one long out of favor, the so-called “reverse merger.”

Merger 246

Merger OTC IPO Stock 246

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 27, 2016

The last thing a new entrepreneur wants to think about for a new startup is how it will end. Startups with no exit planned will minimize investor returns. Most entrepreneurs like the startup role, but not the big-company role. Yet one of the first things a potential equity investor asks about is your exit strategy.

Equity 120

Equity Exit Strategy Private Equity Startup 120

VC Cafe

JULY 13, 2022

With 2022 half done, there’s a number of new reports slicing and dicing funding data for Israeli startups in H1 2022. With today’s news on the merger between Unity and Ironsource (valuing the latter at $4.4 Israeli gaming startups reached over $8.6 Israeli gaming startups reached over $8.6 Proud to take part!

Technical Review 158

Technical Review Israel Early Stage Merger 158

Hunter Walker

APRIL 17, 2025

Since I’m always interested in startup outcomes – especially those where there’s a private equity-like exit , Joe was kind enough to share the backstory with me, and here with you! These generally include revenue and cash in the bank commitments, and can sometimes include other elements. Thats a mistake.

Covenant 77

Covenant Acquisition IPO Artificial Inteligence 77

NZ Entrepreneur

SEPTEMBER 29, 2021

It is our startup sector which will drive this innovative progress. Startup founders are our ambitious problem solvers. Addressing real world problems, they thrive in uncertainty, generating new jobs and new revenue streams in new markets. In order to understand startup governance, you need to understand risk and reward.

Technical Review 105

Technical Review Software Review New Zealand Due Diligence 105

YoungUpstarts

MAY 6, 2019

by Arsalan Sajid, startup community manager at Cloudways. Life is not a box of chocolates and startups are not always easy to start. There is a complete process that governs the startup lifecycle including inception to exit. This startup stage starts from the day you decide to work on a startup idea. Early Stage.

Startup 113

Startup Technical Cofounder Merger Early Stage 113

ReadWriteStart

OCTOBER 2, 2021

If you’re thinking about starting a tech startup you already know — there are a lot of things to consider. But what if a tech startup uses the LLC structure? And even though an LLC is legally required to report its revenues, profits, and losses, it does not have to pay corporate income taxes on profits. Definitely not.

Technical Review 158

Technical Review LLC IPO Stock 158

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 5, 2010

billion in annual subscription revenues not including advertising or eCommerce). It did not have the same success as Google’s acquisition and MySpace sold Photobucket 2 years later to a relatively unknown Seattle-based startup called Ontela for a reportedly $60 million. I’m going to write a whole post on BothSid.es

Social Network 318

Social Network Networking Internet Technical Review 318

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 14, 2016

Based on some good estimates of how many new ventures have been started in the last five years, the statistical odds of any individual startup making it to this level are less than one in a million. Premium ventures need real traction, such as 100 million users, 10 million in revenue, or brand recognition around the world.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Valuation Merger Exit Strategy 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 13, 2018

With the current strong economy, as an active startup mentor, I’m seeing a new surge of entrepreneurs and startups, with the commensurate scramble for funding. Thus I’m getting more questions on new mechanisms, like crowd funding, or going public through the side door as a reverse merger. Yet reverse mergers are not all bad.

Merger 198

Merger OTC IPO Due Diligence 198

YoungUpstarts

JUNE 6, 2013

If you have a deal that is related to bringing in sales and you do want to have a perpetual compensation you can use some version of a Lehman Formula that incentives the person upfront as they are bringing in revenue for you, then caps it off on an ongoing basis. Thinking Aloud deal making deals JP James Libreum Capital Management startup'

Technical Review 164

Technical Review Securities and Exchange Commission Non-disclosure Agreement Due Diligence 164

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 22, 2020

Luckily, not all investors are looking for the same thing, so it pays to know what type of investors are most interested in what your startup brings to the table. The key is understanding how potential investors see you, and especially how they view the maturity stage of your startup. Congratulations!

Angel Investor 370

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Investment Bankers Private Equity 370

Steve Blank

DECEMBER 17, 2015

Startups, entrepreneurs, and management teams. These partnerships may take the form of Proof of Concept projects with startups, getting to know VC firms and their portfolios, and familiarizing themselves with university groups doing research in the established strategic problems. (It Academics, consultants, incubators.

Silicon Valley 120

Silicon Valley Incubator Acquisition Business Model 120

VC Cafe

JULY 21, 2022

The merger of Unity and Ironsource (a $4.4 NPD reported on Friday that consumers spent 10% less in the first six months of 2022 than they did during the same time period last year, with game industry revenue down to $26.3 While mobile game revenue was down 6.6% Gaming M&A in H1 2022. Blockchain gaming is growing.

Forecast 190

Forecast IP Mobile Acquisition 190

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 8, 2021

A spin-off is merely a startup spawned by a mature parent (company), and conventional logic would dictate that it has a survival advantage over the lowly startup. Mingle and learn from the startup culture and new technology – without losing control. Yet spin-offs seem to most often fail to launch in the real world.

Startup 313

Startup Non-Compete Merger Leadership 313

VC Cafe

SEPTEMBER 13, 2024

Israeli startups raised $7.8 billion in funding so far in 2024, with Mergers and acquisitions reaching $9.6 While the figures are slightly down from 2023, they reflect the resilience and strength of the Israeli startup ecosystem, even at a time of war. More interesting figures in the Startup Nation Central report linked below.

Israel 78

Israel Generative AI Open Source Security 78

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 21, 2013

Startups are usually so focused on selling more of their branded product or service to their own customer base (organic growth) that they don’t consider the more indirect methods (non-organic growth) of increasing revenue and market share. An example of a startup which used non-organic growth early and effectively was Microsoft.

Merger 243

Merger Acquisition Startup Bandwidth 243

VC Cafe

DECEMBER 13, 2024

Funding for startups is also up 35% in the first 9 months of 2024 compared to the equivalent period in 2023, pre-war. Israeli Cybersecurity startups raised over $4 billion in 2024 led by Wiz and Cyera , and AI accounted to over 30% of all investments. Israeli exits are up 78% (!) from 2023, reaching $13.4 Truly inspiring.

Israel 88

Israel ChatGPT Artificial Inteligence Australia 88

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 14, 2022

With the current volatile economy, as an active startup mentor, I’m seeing a new surge of entrepreneurs and startups, with the commensurate scramble for funding. Thus I’m getting more questions on new mechanisms, like crowd funding, or going public through the side door as a reverse merger. Yet reverse mergers are not all bad.

Merger 261

Merger OTC IPO Due Diligence 261

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2013

So as a startup CEO you constantly have to suspend disbelief. ” A startup CEO’s job is to absorb stress so the team doesn’t have to. Startups have to be optimists because no rational person would actually believe you could build Uber into the amazing company that it is today. We just need your $500,000!!”

Startup 417

Startup Dilution San Diego Stock Options 417

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 26, 2010

Startups are usually so focused on selling more of their branded product or service to their own customer base (organic growth) that they don’t consider the more indirect methods (non-organic growth) of increasing revenue and market share. An example of a startup which used non-organic growth early and effectively was Microsoft.

Acquisition 214

Acquisition Merger Startup Bandwidth 214

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 3, 2014

When someone asks me for the best way to fund a startup, I always say bootstrap it, meaning fund it yourself and grow organically. Despite all the focus you hear on external investors, over 90% of startups today are self-funded. Most startup founders already do this, rather than take a salary, to improve their offering.

Bootstrapping 278

Bootstrapping Startup Merger Salary 278

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 26, 2013

Understanding “The Funding Angle” I sit at enough board meetings to hear conflicting advice given to entrepreneurs about how to handle PR and announcements at startups. When many of us advisors / investors did our first startups there were very few purely tech media outlets. Should I Bundle it With More Juicy News?

Startup 355

Startup PR Dividend Merger 355

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 28, 2013

However, making no projections, or non-credible projections will get your startup marked as unfundable. The rules are obviously not absolute, but you must be prepared to explain to potential investors why your startup is the exception to these guidelines: Five-year financial projections are the norm. Gross margins greater than 50%.

Liquidity Event 243

Liquidity Event Startup Equity Venture Capital 243

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 19, 2012

If you startup is your dream, why would you want to think about an exit? Assuming your startup takes off, you will probably find that the fun is gone by the time you reach 50 employees, or a few million in revenue. If your startup was less than a success, you’ll definitely want to erase it from memory.

Exit Strategy 241

Exit Strategy Initial Public Offering IPO Startup 241

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. Early or embryonic stage.

Investment Bankers 241

Investment Bankers Venture Capital Startup Initial Public Offering 241

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 5, 2011

If you startup is your dream, why would you want to think about an exit? Assuming your startup takes off, you will probably find that the fun is gone by the time you reach 50 employees, or a few million in revenue. If your startup was less than a success, you’ll definitely want to erase it from memory.

Exit Strategy 231

Exit Strategy Initial Public Offering Startup IPO 231

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 15, 2011

Startups are usually so focused on selling more of their branded product or service to their own customer base (organic growth) that they don’t consider the more indirect methods (non-organic growth) of increasing revenue and market share. An example of a startup which used non-organic growth early and effectively was Microsoft.

Startup 232

Startup Merger Bandwidth Acquisition 232

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 17, 2023

Luckily, not all investors are looking for the same thing, so it pays to know what type of investors are most interested in what your startup brings to the table. The key is understanding how potential investors see you, and especially how they view the maturity stage of your startup. Congratulations!

Angel Investor 313

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Investment Bankers Private Equity 313

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 23, 2013

When someone asks me for the best way to fund a startup, I always say bootstrap it, meaning fund it yourself and grow organically. Most startup founders already do this, rather than take a salary, to improve their offering. As soon as you bring in investors, they force you to plan for an exit (merger or sale) in three to five years.

Equity 241

Equity Bootstrapping Startup Merger 241