Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 9, 2013

If you’re a venture-backed tech company or even an early-stage business fueled by angel or seed money I assume you have a good group of board members or advisors who will give you time to be helpful and they want to be helpful. should we charge SaaS revenue, ad revenue or volumetric billing revenue?

Advisory Board 337

Advisory Board Valuation Stock Options Seed Money 337

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 17, 2017

70–80% of the costs of most startups are employee costs so what you’re really talking about when a company is unprofitable is that they are growing their staff ahead of their revenue. Revenue When I look at an income statement I start by focusing on the revenue line. You need to understand the “quality” of the revenue.

Stock Options 227

Stock Options Startup Dilution Venture Capital 227

Version One Ventures

JULY 22, 2014

If not, revenue from your customers will be your best source of financing. There’s a lot of “easy” early-stage money floating around right now, but don’t get fooled into taking seed money if you don’t have a viable path for later rounds. You need to assess early on if your business is venture-fundable.

Finance 167

Finance Seed Money Bootstrapping Angel Investor 167

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 14, 2014

But he chose to move forward with a positive attitude, raise seed money for his company, and network his way to a profitable future. Start small, generate revenue, and create a profitable business before you approach an investor. How to Position Yourself for Funding. Starting a company can be difficult for anyone.

Bootstrapping 249

Bootstrapping Startup Seed Money New York 249

Version One Ventures

DECEMBER 14, 2016

forward revenue in February 2016 (the low), they appreciated by 6% each month for the following six months. At the same time, seed money is still abundant due to the proliferation of micro VC over the past few years. There was a significant pull-back of the public markets in Q1. Yet while they were trading at 3.3x

Technical Review 60

Technical Review Early Stage Portfolio Valuation 60

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 20, 2011

His company had raised seed money already. They have some revenue but not much. He wanted a good partner, a fair valuation, and quite honestly, just some effing money! But this particular guy who called me for advice I suspect had a different problem. It was the silent killer. He was price signaling without knowing it.

Dilution 284

Dilution Valuation Seed Money Differentiation 284

ReadWriteStart

SEPTEMBER 17, 2021

The answer to the age-old question of whether your business should be trying to make money or raise money is almost universally the latter. Generating solid revenue streams early on will make many of the fundraising problems much easier to handle later on. 4 Reasons to Focus on Revenue Before Fundraising. More Leverage.

Startup 130

Startup Revenue Cofounder Angel Investor 130

YoungUpstarts

MARCH 7, 2017

Unfortunately, a number of them had an early exit from the business scene due to ineffective business plans and/or unsustained revenue for their investment. Over time, as you scale your operations, you may need to source additional funding from venture capitalists to mitigate high production costs or limited revenue.

Private Equity 159

Private Equity Startup Incubator Social Network 159

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 12, 2020

Your Revenue Has Stagnated. One of the worst parts about working for somebody else is that your revenue is capped. When you own a business, you can boost your revenue substantially by courting new clients, hiring more foot soldiers, or being more prudent when it comes to costs. You Have Access to Seed Money.

Seed Money 124

Seed Money United States Revenue Hiring 124

The Next Web

DECEMBER 30, 2013

In January, Denver will become one of the few American cities that allows its residents to purchase and recreationally consume marijuana, a move that is expected to create jobs and generate tax revenue. In 2012, Denver startups raised more than $280M, with 33 startups raising $1M or more. Denver Mayor Michael B.

Denver 166

Denver Silicon Valley San Jose Colorado 166

ReadWriteStart

SEPTEMBER 17, 2021

The answer to the age-old question of whether your business should be trying to make money or raise money is almost universally the latter. Generating solid revenue streams early on will make many of the fundraising problems much easier to handle later on. 4 Reasons to Focus on Revenue Before Fundraising. More Leverage.

Startup 78

Startup Revenue Cofounder Angel Investor 78

Ben's Blog

NOVEMBER 3, 2010

We want to be in business with the best entrepreneurs going after the biggest markets and we do not care whether they need seed money, venture money or growth money. When you are raising seed money, you need an investor who can help you grow. As a matter of core philosophy, we invest in companies not stages.

Seed Money 70

Seed Money Venture Capital Angel Investor Partner 70

This is going to be BIG.

SEPTEMBER 7, 2012

In the late 90's, it wasn't surprising that companies with no revenue that were funded at 100 million dollar valuations didn't survive. What I'm not good at--or, rather, simply haven't done yet, is sit on a board for seven years helping a company go from $20mm in revenue to $100 million in revenue. I'm sticking to what I know.

Later Stage 99

Later Stage Down Round Pre-Money Valuation Early Stage 99

Board Effect

JUNE 28, 2022

Start-up Grants or Seed Money Grants — Start-up grants are hard to come by, but they exist. Capacity-building grants give you the revenue to do more with what you already have and the projects you have already started. While government grants are a good start, you might have better luck looking elsewhere for a grant.

Government 96

Government Seed Money Matching Programming 96

Gregg Fraley, Author of Jack's Notebook

SEPTEMBER 5, 2013

One must have at least seed money, or more, to get a start-up going. if they were able to tax credit unions there would be significant revenue to the government, and 2.) People with a financial leg to stand on are the kind of people who start business and fuel the economy. Also a good source for small business loans.

Non-Compete 86

Non-Compete Government Dividend Seed Money 86

Hearpreneur

DECEMBER 9, 2018

Literally, one week later we had secured seed money, established business roles, added on another partner, ran the numbers, and started a pest control company! 9-Increase in my revenue. This year I was able to increase my revenue by more than double from the previous year. We started talking, seriously about the idea.

South Korea 78

South Korea Entrepreneur Portugal Social Media 78

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 2, 2009

We should end the year with a few million in fully recurring revenue and we’re projected to double next year. But more spend = more viral opps = more revenue down the road. >50% of our revenue in now viral. I raised $500k in seed money to start the company. Probably revenue based.

Founder 329

Founder Liquidation Preference Term Sheet Participating Preferred 329

Campus Entrepreneurship

JANUARY 25, 2013

My team at Duke University worked with Raj Aggarwal of University of Akron and Krisztina Holly at the University of Southern California to research the backgrounds of 549 entrepreneurs whose companies had made it past the begging-for-seed-money stage and were generating real revenue.

Southern California 41

Southern California Seed Money California Venture Capital 41

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 25, 2016

It turns out that to build a successful company you ultimately need this strange thing called “revenue” that people don’t just hand you: You need to earn it. And there’s this other thing called “gross margin,” which shows the quality of your revenue. How much ad revenue does TripAdvisor make?

Startup 150

Startup Seed Money DC Software Review 150

Hippoland

JANUARY 23, 2018

It will be hard to raise a pre-seed round through traditional methods If you are raising money through traditional methods (such as with angels / micro VCs / VCs) via a convertible note or convertible security or equity deal, it will be a lot harder to raise pre-seed money in 2018. The market had definitely shifted.

Early Stage 48

Early Stage Convertible Security Seed Stage SEC 48

Hippoland

JANUARY 23, 2018

It will be hard to raise a pre-seed round through traditional methods If you are raising money through traditional methods (such as with angels / micro VCs / VCs) via a convertible note or convertible security or equity deal, it will be a lot harder to raise pre-seed money in 2018. The market had definitely shifted.

Early Stage 48

Early Stage Convertible Security Seed Stage SEC 48

crowdSPRING Blog

SEPTEMBER 20, 2016

It launched in 2013 with $3 million in seed money from American and Australian investors, and offers a series of templates intended to make good design easier to execute and more accessible. Canva, the graphic design platform promoting itself as tool that empowers the world to design, is not new.

Design 48

Design Cofounder Silicon Valley Seed Money 48

crowdSPRING Blog

SEPTEMBER 20, 2016

It launched in 2013 with $3 million in seed money from American and Australian investors, and offers a series of templates intended to make good design easier to execute and more accessible. Canva, the graphic design platform promoting itself as tool that empowers the world to design, is not new.

Design 48

Design Cofounder Silicon Valley Seed Money 48

crowdSPRING Blog

SEPTEMBER 20, 2016

It launched in 2013 with $3 million in seed money from American and Australian investors, and offers a series of templates intended to make good design easier to execute and more accessible. Canva, the graphic design platform promoting itself as tool that empowers the world to design, is not new.

Design 48

Design Cofounder Silicon Valley Seed Money 48

This is going to be BIG.

MARCH 23, 2015

in seed money instead of $1.5M You should target 18 to 24 months of runway post Series Seed." Otherwise, we should just call this new $2.5mm seed round what it really is: Series A circa 2006. We''ll ask for all the same metrics we used to in a Series A--some revenue, a full team, etc., Yay, participation trophies!

Post-Money Valuation 60

Post-Money Valuation Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Seed Money 60

crowdSPRING Blog

FEBRUARY 16, 2016

The researchers found that in return, this ability caused entrepreneurs to disrupt common patterns in daily life, attracted more customers and created more revenue, causing a cycle of nuanced disruption and adaptation. Businesses do require some capital, but this doesn’t mean that every startup has to raise millions of dollars in seed money.

Washington 48

Washington Incubator Cofounder Angel Investor 48

Rob Go

MARCH 20, 2013

Is it possible to take seed money and not go for the Series A, etc, and just earn revenue? If we never want to exit and plan to own and run the company forever, would anyone invest any money at all? . One is to do a royalty based financing, where some percent of revenues goes back to investors.

Bootstrapping 46

Bootstrapping Finance Dividend Vesting 46

Austin Startup

SEPTEMBER 17, 2017

You want your valuation to keep marching upward; if you took in some seed money with the promised 10X venture return, you’ll hopefully be able to prove that you are proceeding on that trajectory. This is a point where your really must be honest with yourself. But, the manner in which you get paid can swing your valuation considerably.

Valuation 48

Valuation Forecast Seed Money Business Model 48

Rob Go

NOVEMBER 15, 2016

For most companies, this means top-line revenue, but in some cases it’s more about numbers of active users or number of customers. 5M in ecommerce revenue or marketplace GMV used to be interesting, but now it’s more like $10M. This strategy can also fail because the goal line might move. $1M

Product 28

Product Seed Stage Seed Money Metrics 28

Rob Go

JANUARY 20, 2015

Seed rounds can look like a company that is pre-product or has an early product prototype. But in some cases, companies are able to launch a product that grows to tens of thousands of dollars in monthly revenue or more through modest initial investment. So, what does this mean for founders?

Early Stage 28

Early Stage Seed Stage Finance Seed Money 28

www.paulgraham.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

Because so little money is involved, raising seedcapital is comparatively easy-- at least in the sense of getting aquick yes or no. Usually you get seed money from individual rich people called"angels." the seed stage, investors dont expect you to have an elaboratebusiness plan. A rich companyis one with large revenues.

Startup 105

Startup Cofounder Software Stock 105

pandodaily.com

NOVEMBER 29, 2012

If you are raising a seed round now, there are a few things you can do to protect yourself. There are still the same debates on whether or not you should take seed money from VCs. iOS App Store revenue still dwarfs Google Play’s, but the challenger is catching up fast. Entrepreneurs are survivors by nature.

Technical Review 93

Technical Review Silicon Valley Incubator Syria 93

www.paulgraham.com

APRIL 28, 2010

It wasnt because they werent accredited investors that I didntask my parents for seed money, though. When we were starting Viaweb,I didnt know about the concept of an accredited investor, anddidnt stop to think about the value of investors connections.The reason I didnt take money from my parents was that I didntwant them to lose it.

Technical Review 76

Technical Review Startup Software Review Angel Investor 76

Scalable Startup

AUGUST 9, 2018

High growth startup companies need seed money to get things going. They need the money to rent offices, hire staff, and establish their initial presence (website, incorporation, marketing). The idea of outsiders entrusting them with a million dollars to spend is intoxicating. Without funding most tech startups will die.

Technical Cofounder 20

Technical Cofounder Silicon Valley Early Stage Cofounder 20

readwrite.com

DECEMBER 3, 2012

Here’s some stunning, Earth-shattering news: You know all those hundreds of incredibly stupid startups that have been raising seed money in Silicon Valley despite the fact that the people running those startups have no experience doing anything, ever, and have no idea at all how to generate revenue (let alone profit) with their lousy ideas, because, (..)

Silicon Valley 111

Silicon Valley Las Vegas Angel Investor Startup 111

techcrunch.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

For both companies, the initial traction enabled raising seed money to get them to a traditional VC investment.) Take the top 10 largest tech innovators (take your pick of largest by revenue or largest by idea) of the last 20 years in Silicon Valley. Hopefully your idea of business model isn’t “ad revenue based”.

Technical Review 84

Technical Review Cofounder Technical Cofounder Software Review 84