Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 24, 2012

I cannot tell you how many times I have seen executive summaries of business plans in which the entrepreneur seeks $5,000,000 to build the business. The investors want a motivated entrepreneur, and it is certainly more difficult to motivate a twenty percent owner than a sixty percent owner. Email readers, continue here.]

Resource 180

Resource Invest Summary Startup 180

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 28, 2018

Are you raising an appropriate amount of capital relative to your progress, relative to your team size and relative to your needs? VCs want you to raise the “appropriate” amount of capital, which I would define as what is reasonable given your progress to date, your resources and your needs for an 18–24 month period. Cash In Cash in.

Venture Capital 247

Venture Capital Capital Funding Demand 247

socalTECH

JUNE 21, 2013

Instead of equity, the company is aimed at profiting profitable small businesses with business debt funding from investors, to help those businesses grow and get to the next level. Why did you decide to focus on debt, not equity? What is Dealstruck? They face only two options for financing their companies with debt.

Startup 247

Startup Software Review Entrepreneur Equity 247

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 9, 2015

A popular myth these days is that successful entrepreneurs must attract investors to get their businesses going, when the reality has been that more than 80 percent of new businesses are started and grown with no outside investment at all. Bootstrapping not only reduces cash needs, but increases commitment. The need to hire staff immediately.

Startup 101

Startup Entrepreneur Equity Summary 101

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 12, 2015

Every investor in your startup, even friends and family, normally expects a share of your company (equity), which means your return for all your effort goes down quickly. This is at least double the time required for most equity investments, and may be a delay you can’t afford in keeping up with the market and your competitors.

Pricing 100

Pricing Equity Technical Review Research 100

socalTECH

DECEMBER 1, 2008

In what looks to be a challenging funding climate for entrepreneurs, we thought it would be interesting to talk to one fund which is still making investments--Saban Ventures (www.saban.com)--a new, digital media focused venture capital fund located in Los Angeles. For those not familiar with Saban Capital, tell us about the fund?

Capital 100

Capital Southern California Media Venture Capital 100

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 26, 2015

Most entrepreneurs looking for an investor can tell you how much money they need, but few have given much thought to what they are willing to give up for it. Investors, on the other hand, look at the money figure, and even the equity, as the easy part. This is a loan with an option to convert to equity at a later date.

Demand 105

Demand Startup Equity Invest 105

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 17, 2019

Just as I was getting the swing of things the world shifted beneath my feet and the stock market went into a free fall and venture capital all but shut down for nearly a year. The advantage is that in many of our best deals we now have $50+ million invested so we can really support entrepreneurs as their businesses scale.

Venture Capital 223

Venture Capital IP Startup Google 223

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 11, 2016

According to the Angel Capital Association , at least 300,000 people have made angel investments in the last two years, totaling $24 billion in the U.S. Prepare an executive summary and investor presentation. Remember that angel investors are buying equity in your business, so they are not impressed with a customer presentation.

Angel 65

Angel Startup Technical Review Social Media 65

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 12, 2011

He is the CEO of Hunch , company that I believe is solving a very big problem that I have been telling entrepreneurs needs to be solved for the past 2 years. I think you’ll really enjoy this video , but as always I have summary notes for those with less time. If you haven’t checked that out you really should.

Technical Review 281

Technical Review Venture Capital Startup Artificial Inteligence 281

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 13, 2016

One of the biggest myths I have found in the entrepreneur community is that every startup needs one or more outside investors for credibility and success, and perhaps is even entitled to at least one. Searching LinkedIn, for example, is a must for contemporary entrepreneurs. But don’t wait for them to contact you. Marty Zwilling.

Startup 61

Startup Entrepreneur Statistics Funding 61

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 9, 2011

Here is a quick summary of my POV: When you start a company a 50/50 partnership seems obvious. Give them a large sum of equity. It is not uncommon to see startup founders walk before raising capital and take large pieces of equity with no vesting. Hire your co-founder. Vested over 4 years. Why risk it? I am one of them.

Startup 393

Startup Equity Funding Summary 393

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 19, 2011

Or read the quick, informative summary below the image! What better than to have capital from somebody who has actually done it in the trenches? Matt’s commitment to re-investing in tech startups is reminiscent to this great Fred Wilson post of “recycling capital. &#. Here’s a summary of our interview.

Acquisition 304

Acquisition Startup Customer Custom 304

socalTECH

DECEMBER 10, 2009

Nikhil Jain: Clean Green Guy is an online platform, which allows entrepreneurs and inventors with green business concepts, ideas, and companies connect with investors, financing, and service providers. Nikhil Jain: The concept behind Artilient Labs is it's a way to take a business, from the ground up, with very low capitalization.

Southern California 193

Southern California Startup eHarmony Sites 193

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2018

I always tell founders … “An investors job is to deploy capital and make a return. For simplicity I’ll assume you’ve raised some money from angels or seed investors and you’re either raising an A round or a B round of venture capital. Remember, I was an entrepreneur for 10 years before a VC). these are simply guidelines.

Venture Capital 332

Venture Capital Funding Startup Sales 332

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 17, 2010

We have many seasoned entrepreneurs who have built successful companies here and made a lot of money for investors and themselves. Funding is different – In Silicon Valley you have mega venture capital funds and many of them. Entrepreneurs in LA spend a lot of time commuting up to the Valley.

Company 290

Company Companies Technology Startup 290

Tech Zulu Event

MARCH 16, 2015

There’s plenty of capital out there, but there’s also a lot of competition for startup funding. His best advice: take capital where you can get it. These are usually the first sources entrepreneurs tap. If your product is capital-intensive this can be a good financing option. Vendor funding. Venture debt.

Startup 40

Startup Venture Capital Equity Funding 40

socalTECH

DECEMBER 1, 2008

In what looks to be a challenging funding climate for entrepreneurs, we thought it would be interesting to talk to one fund which is still making investments--Saban Ventures (www.saban.com)--a new, digital media focused venture capital fund located in Los Angeles. That's the entrepreneur we get excited about working with.

Southern California 100

Southern California Media Venture Capital Invest 100

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 25, 2011

This thinking is largely driven by the venture capital industry (and subsequently Wall Street) who are in search of high margin, highly scalable businesses. I gave them advice I don’t think they were expecting from a VC, “Don’t raise venture capital for this business. And probably some money.

Services 332

Services Venture Capital IP Startup 332

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 29, 2011

Yesterday I wrote Part 1 of the series on the changes to the software industry over the past decade that has led to changes in the venture capital industry itself. If you don’t want to read that post, the summary is: Open source computing drove computing costs down 90%, which spurred innovation in technology. Funny, that.

Venture Capital 296

Venture Capital Capital Software Startup 296

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 23, 2015

For some aspiring to be tech entrepreneurs, I often suggest a two-step process, as I argued in this post that “ The First Startup Founder You Need to Invest in Is You.” You will learn about running board meetings, setting up the ultimate financial plan, leading a team from the top, dealing with the press, raising capital, etc.

Technical Review 150

Technical Review Startup Venture Capital IP 150

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2012

Many entrepreneurs scare away potential investors by claiming that their technology represents “truly disruptive technology.” It always amazes me how an entrepreneur can define his market opportunity so broadly, and then assess his competition so narrowly in the next breath. Executive team. Investors invest in people - not just ideas.

Competition 113

Competition Metrics Startup Invest 113

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 13, 2011

Many entrepreneurs scare away potential investors by claiming that their technology represents “truly disruptive technology.” It always amazes me how an entrepreneur can define his market opportunity so broadly, and then assess his competition so narrowly in the next breath. Executive team. Investors invest in people - not just ideas.

Competition 116

Competition Metrics Startup Sales 116

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 21, 2020

As a mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs, I often feel the frustration of someone trying to build a startup in the wrong place and time, and wrongly attributing their struggle to personal limitations. A commitment to constant learning will raise your intellectual capital. Human capital – talent, knowledge, skills, experience.

Resource 131

Resource Startup Capital Mentor 131

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2010

Many entrepreneurs scare away potential investors by claiming that their technology represents “truly disruptive technology.” It always amazes me how an entrepreneur can define his market opportunity so broadly, and then assess his competition so narrowly in the next breath. Executive team. Investors invest in people - not just ideas.

Invest 74

Invest Tips Competition Metrics 74

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 3, 2013

Watch the 30-minute interview to hear why but summary notes below. We talked about how business school historically hasn’t positioned entrepreneurs well for success. I wrote about that before in a post about “ whether MBAs are necessary for entrepreneurs. He spoke about ROCE (return on capital employed).

Venture Capital 403

Venture Capital Education Offshore Outsource Development 403

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2018

According to the entrepreneurs I advise, the biggest challenge they typically face in starting a new business is funding. Yet according to recent data compiled by Fundable , 57 percent of successful entrepreneurs end up funding their startup, and that’s a good thing. Offer a realistic equity percentage to generate interest.

Startup 56

Startup Equity Funding Slides 56

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2016

I’d like to explain as best I can my opinion on what is going on because most of what I hear from entrepreneurs is not only wrong but is reminiscent of what I heard in 1997-2000. ” “This will be great for VCs and bad for entrepreneurs.” What is the True Sentiment of VCs? ” “Sure, prices are dropping.

Startup 150

Startup Company Companies Venture Capital 150

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2011

I was saying that I was happy it was all out in the open because I felt at least everybody could now understand the issues & opportunities from the perspectives of angels, entrepreneurs and VCs. Jody didn’t exactly have an easy time fund raising because he’s not one of the prototypical Silicon Valley funded entrepreneurs.

Startup 292

Startup Venture Capital Blogging Summary 292

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 23, 2010

Because you’re a startup he cuts you a deal (these sales guys are so good at this to work for only $120k basic in exchange for some equity [no, I'm not sales person bashing - I think sales reps are the lifeblood of any company - I'm just offering my realistic sense of a sales person's salary negotiation strategy!]. Just do the math.

Startup 293

Startup Sales Marketing Product 293

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 9, 2011

I thought about things I never had to as an entrepreneur: check size, ownership percentage, deal stage, portfolio construction and risk. tl;dr summary. So I encouraged entrepreneurs to think about raising their funds as quickly as they could because. Summary version? I have a young entrepreneur friend who IMs me a lot.

Marketing 305

Marketing Venture Capital Funding Technical Review 305