Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 1, 2014

Startup founders are known for their passion for their startup idea, and for their passion to kill every competitor. As small companies, neither startup could afford to extend their product alone, but through creative leadership, we were able to negotiate a win-win strategic partnership for a joint product.

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Non-disclosure Agreement Intellectual Property Startup Non-Compete 257

Austin Startup

NOVEMBER 6, 2017

Background Reading: When LLCs Make Sense for Startups Not Building a Unicorn If you have spent almost any time reading about the basics of startup legal issues, you know that Delaware C-corps are the default organizational structure for a “classic” tech startup (software, hardware) planning to raise angel/VC money and scale.

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Delaware LLC Startup Silicon Valley 48

Austin Startup

FEBRUARY 13, 2019

A pivotal startup milestone? The first one relates to the most important investor…you, the founder(s)! Bootstrap if you can, for as long as you can As a startup you’ll likely fail. The right investors can fill two gaps, the money gap and the knowledge gap. Not really. even Steve Jobs didn’t know everything.

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Strategic Investors Austin Angel Investor Bootstrapping 49

YoungUpstarts

JUNE 26, 2020

by Rizwan Virk, author of “ Startup Myths and Models: What You Won’t Learn in Business School “. If you are building a startup, you’ll find no shortage of people who are willing to give you advice, particularly when it comes to raising financing. Myth #2: Talk to As Many Investors As You Can. Well not, wrong exactly.

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Finance Silicon Valley Valuation Startup 205

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 14, 2009

This is part of my ongoing series Startup Advice. I wrote recently about the role of Advisory Boards in startups , which I expected to be a bit controversial. Just to baseline for newer entrepreneurs – there are three types of people you may see involved with a startup that have the title “board&# attached to them.

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Advisory Board Strategic Investors Venture Capital Later Stage 215

Austin Startup

OCTOBER 8, 2017

I’ve learned that many founders tend to ignore this all-important dimension of time as they proceed with their startups. Just like the higher you progress in playing football, the speed of the action picks up dramatically as you move through the various stages of a startup. Patience is never a dominant trait of successful founders.

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Technical Review Strategic Investors Hiring Software Review 48

YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 18, 2018

For m­any years, conventional wisdom held that a promising startup needed to be located in a traditional venture capital hub like Silicon Valley, San Francisco or New York to be successful. These often serve as hubs for local investors and can provide access to advisors, mentors and other professionals who can help grow your company.

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Nashville San Francisco Venture Capital Silicon Valley 153

Gust

DECEMBER 1, 2011

For years there has been a pervasive opinion across the entrepreneurial landscape that the US has a shortage of capital required to startup and grow new ventures. Dr. Carl Schramm, Kauffman CEO , recently said that startup formation is stagnant or even decreasing in the US in the second half of 2011.

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SBIR Startup New York City Angel Investor 120

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 16, 2012

Almost all decisions at private, startup, VC-backed tech companies is consensus driven. Some “strategic investors” have rules that they can’t sit on board seats. Unless your company is really struggling or there is something very controversial going on at the company (i.e.

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Strategic Investors Early Stage Partner Naming 289

David Teten

SEPTEMBER 6, 2015

And they should be; the feeding frenzy in the innovation economy is in some cases because startups are eating the lunch of more established companies. A corporate investor can provide diversity on the Board as someone who thinks differently from independent VCs. Some corporate funds lead rounds and take board seats, others don’t.

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Venture Capital Balance Sheet Technical Review Portfolio 60

VC Cafe

AUGUST 29, 2022

As an investor in early stage startups in gaming and metaverse/web3 at Remagine Ventures , I naturally consume a lot of content on this topic, and this post also helps me digest and separate signal from noise. The H1 2022 gaming activity report by Investgame shows who are the top 15 strategic investors in the gaming space.

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IP Strategic Investors Vertical Cofounder 187

View from Seed

JANUARY 11, 2017

A startup can benefit in various ways from having a strategic investor involved in their company, but there are plenty of drawbacks too, both commonly known and more subtle. All things being equal, seed and early stage startups are not usually well suited to take strategic investments.

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Strategic Investors Post-Money Valuation Seed Stage Cofounder 120

Version One Ventures

MAY 24, 2016

Yet, having a vibrant ecosystem to seed early stage startups is one thing. The Bay Area is home to smart and strategic investors that contribute far more than just dollars. In addition, with giants like Intel, Google, Apple, Facebook in their backyard, Bay Area startups are more visible for acquisition. Great exits.

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Silicon Valley San Francisco Startup DC 113

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 30, 2018

I thought I’d write a post about how to talk about valuation at a startup and give you some sense of what might be on the mind of the person considering funding you. Of course, unlike cars there is no direct comparison across each startup so these are just some general guidelines to try and even the information field.

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Valuation Post-Money Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Cofounder 324

VC Cafe

NOVEMBER 28, 2010

Israeli Startups Funding Rounds. Previous Celeno investors Pitango Venture Capital , Greylock Partners , Miven Venture Partners, and Cisco Systems Inc. In addition to Intel Capital, investors include Pitango Venture Capital , Battery Ventures , and strategic investors. Israeli startup Acquisitions.

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Israel Flash Venture Capital Acquisition 94

Version One Ventures

JANUARY 28, 2013

With headlines declaring that more than 1,000 seeded startups will soon be orphaned, it’s only natural that startups are concerned about the future funding landscape. That means there are a lot more seeded startups out there: an excess demand for a limited supply of Series A financings.

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Burn Rate San Francisco Vesting Finance 140

The Next Web

APRIL 22, 2013

Agüera has started some companies and worked for startups before co-founding Geeksphone at age 16 in early 2009 together with Rodrigo Silva-Ramos. The company is currently raising funding from a number of strategic investors and is looking to secure 1 million euros or more to accelerate growth. A clean entry.

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Video Europe Mobile Strategic Investors 138

The Next Web

APRIL 6, 2013

My daily work consists of connecting innovative A round startups with potential investors or strategic partners. Perhaps it’s the time to connect with a corporate or strategic investor who can open doors to new clients. Will a strategic player acquire you because they need your solution? Show Them the Exit!

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Term Sheet Due Diligence Strategic Investors Valuation 126

Hunter Walker

APRIL 4, 2014

strategic investors (including corporates). traditional institutional LPs such as fund of funds, endowments, foundations, sovereign wealth funds ( our investors ). Venture funds are like startups that play out in slow motion because we raise funding every 30-36 months, compared to 12-18 month cycles for an operating company.

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San Francisco Private Equity LP Syndicate 112

VC Cafe

DECEMBER 8, 2010

I sraeli startup Waze , developer of the free social GPS app for smart phones, has announced a $25 million venture round bringing the total capital raised to date to $37 million according to VentureWire. The round was led by prior investor BlueRun Ventures which valued the company between $90 million and $100 million.

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Israel California Strategic Investors Video 87

VC Cafe

OCTOBER 18, 2011

Israeli startup Siklu Wireless Communications has raised a series B round of $19 million led by new investors Amiti Ventures , Qualcomm Ventures and joined by all existing investors: DFJ- Tamir Fishman Ventures , Evergreen Venture Partners and Argonaut Private Equity.

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Bandwidth Private Equity Israel Equity 90

Rob Go

DECEMBER 14, 2016

When a VC invests in a startup, the two parties usually sign a term sheet that lays out the major terms of the investment round. This is also a risk in financing rounds with investors that are unknown (foreign investors, groups that are starting to do early stage investing for the first time, unusual strategic investors, etc).

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Term Sheet Technical Review Due Diligence Private Equity 28

VC Cafe

JANUARY 6, 2011

Jinni , an Israeli startup offering a taste-and-mood based guide for movies and TV shows, announced yesterday the closing of its $5 million series B funding. The round B investors are leading innovators in creating the next-generation entertainment experience, across platforms and devices.

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Video Semantic Strategic Investors Cofounder 79

The Next Web

NOVEMBER 20, 2013

Thomas Clayton is the CEO of Bubbly , a social media startup backed by Sequoia Capital, SingTel Innov8, and JAFCO. . Some local startups that have grown quickly over the past year include Viki , RedMart , Zopim , Bubbly , and Garena. The most active of which are the large Japanese strategic investors.

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Asia Silicon Valley India China 123

Seeing Both Sides

AUGUST 28, 2017

Goldman Sachs and CB Insights recently reported that startups have raised over $1 billion in Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) this summer — more than the total amount of venture capital raised during the same period. In these early times, some startups may be hesitant to pursue this path because of the uncertainty and perceived risk.

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Early Stage Equity Venture Capital Government 20

Seeing Both Sides

AUGUST 28, 2017

Goldman Sachs and CB Insights recently reported that startups have raised over $1 billion in Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) this summer — more than the total amount of venture capital raised during the same period. In these early times, some startups may be hesitant to pursue this path because of the uncertainty and perceived risk.

Early Stage 20

Early Stage Equity Venture Capital Government 20

Growthink Blog

OCTOBER 7, 2011

When asked what the common element was for each of his startups, Harrison replied that for each, he found an unmet need and problem, and worked with others to solve the problem. One of Harrison's companies received early funding from a strategic investor (a large corporation). Find an unmet need and a problem, and fix it.

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Business Plan Jordan Strategic Investors Boston 83

Austin Startup

MAY 21, 2012

This round included investment by existing investors and an undisclosed strategic investor. NextIO, the pioneer in I/O consolidation and next-generation networking solutions, today announced it has closed a Series F funding round of $12.3

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Finance Security Strategic Investors Networking 67

BeyondVC

JANUARY 10, 2004

From a strategic investor perspective this makes a ton of sense-more Intel chips in the home. One further thought to add is that Intel Capital announced it was setting aside $200mm for funding new digital home companies. I certainly applaud Intel for its efforts and am a big believer in the digital home.

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Strategic Investors IPO Channel Global 78

Berkonomics

AUGUST 3, 2023

Some businesses require very little capital and the founder can self-finance the enterprise and retain 100% of its ownership and control from ignition through liquidity event (startup through sale). And even with the significant cost of credit card debt, many entrepreneurs aggressively use existing cards to finance a startup.

Private Equity 118

Private Equity Valuation Cap Table Accredited Investor 118

Berkonomics

JUNE 8, 2017

Some businesses require very little capital and the founder can self-finance the enterprise and retain 100% of its ownership and control from ignition through liquidity event (startup through sale). And even with the significant cost of credit card debt, many entrepreneurs aggressively use existing cards to finance a startup.

Private Equity 106

Private Equity Valuation Cap Table Accredited Investor 106

BeyondVC

OCTOBER 8, 2003

I had breakfast with a friend the other day, and he was in the process of a bankruptcy filing for his startup. The term sheet that the company signed was led by a strategic investor and contingent on finding another VC as a co-lead. Isn’t the whole point of working at a startup to build real value through equity?

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Sweat Equity Term Sheet Bankruptcy Salary 60

BeyondVC

OCTOBER 8, 2003

I had breakfast with a friend the other day, and he was in the process of a bankruptcy filing for his startup. The term sheet that the company signed was led by a strategic investor and contingent on finding another VC as a co-lead. Isn’t the whole point of working at a startup to build real value through equity?

Sweat Equity 60

Sweat Equity Term Sheet Bankruptcy Salary 60

The Next Web

SEPTEMBER 17, 2012

Venture Partners, and strategic investors salesforce.com and SAP. Levin feels that although the tech industry is seemingly filled with young business people, a lifetime of experience can be a powerful addition to a startup. “In Strength in experience.

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Europe Entrepreneur United States San Francisco 114

Austin Startup

SEPTEMBER 20, 2019

Austin Startup Week , established in 2011, is five days full of inspiring events that celebrate Austin startups, the organizations that support them, and the spectacular people who make it all happen. Throughout the week you’ll find panels, keynotes, specialized meetups, happy hours, workshops and our famous Austin Startup Crawl.

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Austin Startup Texas Community 48

BeyondVC

OCTOBER 11, 2007

It seems that everyday there is a new annoucement of a tiny startup being bought by a large company. Let’s call this the "BeyondVC Startup Cycle." Similarly, one can superimpose a startup lifecycle on the graph. At the end of the day, it comes down to two things.

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Net Present Value Strategic Investors Early Stage Revenue 78

Hunter Walker

JUNE 7, 2016

HW: At Homebrew we see lots of startups wanting to serve the small/growing business segment with software tools ranging from ecommerce, to point of sale to employees back-office and so on. HW: What’s a problem you wish a technology startup could solve for you? plated recipes, employee hours, fixed fees).

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Caching DC Social Media Cofounder 86