Both Sides of the Table

MAY 23, 2010

a loan) that is later converted to equity at the time of the next financing. If no financing happened then this “note&# may not be converted and thus would be senior to the equity of the company in the case of a bankruptcy or asset sale. He had raised about $500,000 in seed funding that lasted a long time.

Startup 290

Startup Funding Venture Capital Pricing 290

Berkonomics

MAY 8, 2014

I am chairman of a company that, as I write this, is twelve years old and has not yet taken a dollar of outside investment. The company has been funded entirely by grants from the National Institute of Health, amounting to millions of non-dilutive dollars in all. Grant writing takes skill and immense amounts of time.

Company 166

Company Companies Writing Education 166

Berkonomics

MAY 22, 2014

Bill Payne has been actively involved in angel investing since 1980, funding over 50 companies and mentoring over 100 more. The sale of equity in private companies is regulated by the Securities Act of 1933, which requires that the company either register with the SEC or meet one of several exemptions (Regulation D).

Writing 199

Writing Invest Entrepreneur Equity 199

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 8, 2010

One of the first tough decisions that startup founders have to make is how to allocate or split the equity among co-founders. Another common “failure to start” situation I see is one where the “idea person” insists that the idea is 90% of the value (and 90% of the equity). Expertise can be marketing, technical, financial, or sales.

Equity 91

Equity Startup CTO Hire CTO Coach 91

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 17, 2019

The first check I wrote was just over 10 years ago into a company called Invoca who just announced a new $56 million in funding led by Scott Hilleboe at HIG Growth Partners. We not only have our Series A funds that can write $500k?—?$15 15 million first checks but we also have three growth funds. Why does that matter?

Venture Capital 223

Venture Capital IP Startup Google 223

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 14, 2017

And of course we help with business development introductions and with fund raising events. Boards are not appointed to be founder-friendly lapdogs for the 1–3 founders who start companies and usually own the largest equity positions in the company. Often we are asked to get involved in executive-level recruiting.

Startup 217

Startup Technical Review Equity Report 217

TechCrunch LA

NOVEMBER 4, 2019

million in funding from Rebecca Minkoff and other unnamed investors. The startup has already secured a seed investment from Maveron and CRV, TechCrunch has learned, and will receive another $150,000 in exchange for 7% equity upon entering YC next year. Naturally, these were also the first business to get funded.

Platform 170

Platform Marketing Tool Venture Capital 170

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 5, 2012

This time by the efforts of Adeo Ressi to introduce a new kind of structure called “ convertible equity.” My initial reaction to Adeo when we spoke was that while it may have solved some issues (debt versus equity) it didn’t solve the ones that I’ve been warning entrepreneurs about most loudly.

Startup 354

Startup Pricing Equity Venture Capital 354

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 14, 2022

You really need a partner who is complementary, and can tackle the operational roles, like marketing, finance, and sales. I’ll put in the money, if you put in the sweat equity.” Investors routinely decline to fund co-founders who are siblings, or in a romantic relationship. and the answer better not be ambiguous. “We

Startup 140

Startup Satisfaction Writing Entrepreneur 140

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 24, 2019

When an entrepreneur takes on investors who take equity (i.e. The board is where large equity investors get their representation. I really like it when independent directors write a check into the company. That way somebody who writes $25,000 gets $50,000 worth of stock plus warrants. obviously make an exception.

Startup 187

Startup Writing Venture Capital Oracle 187

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 8, 2012

I would never as a VC fund a round and then expect somebody else to pay a higher price right after me. The trouble is, nobody has an incentive to agree to write the first check. ” If you remember the three rules of sales : it’s. You can do it with equity & a price. For the most part I agree with Fred.

Pricing 294

Pricing Venture Capital Writing Equity 294

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 23, 2012

One of the first tough decisions that startup founders have to make is how to allocate or split the equity among co-founders. Another common “failure to start” situation I see is one where the “idea person” insists that the idea is 90% of the value (and 90% of the equity). Expertise can be marketing, technical, financial, or sales.

Startup 101

Startup Entrepreneur Equity CTO Hire 101

SoCal CTO

MARCH 12, 2012

I promised I would write this post with some thoughts and ideas on the topic. Here are a few perspectives on the topic of finding technical cofounders: In Building a sweat equity team , Joel on Software tells us: You simply need to network. Here's an example of that kind of email. Go to user groups. Refine your elevator pitch.

CTO Hire 211

CTO Hire CTO Coach Startup Equity 211

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 26, 2014

Every startup needs access to capital, whether for funding product development, for initial rollout efforts, acquiring inventory, or paying that first employee. They have to sell themselves, more than their product, to close on every alternative source of funding. Thus “creative” really means maximizing non-bank financing.

Entrepreneur 101

Entrepreneur Capital Startup Funding 101

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 8, 2017

Marketing, sales, and customer experience. Yet I continue to get funding requests that never mention any specific plans or costs to be associated with these elements. If you are not willing to set targets for yourself, don’t expect investors to commit their funds. Major milestones along the way should be outlined.

Startup 65

Startup Writing Patents Competition 65

Tech Zulu Event

NOVEMBER 30, 2012

Yesterdays’ equity round of $1.6 CapLinked says the round of funding and new appointment are an advancement in their move to displace the legacy left by Virtual Data Room (VDR) with their intuitive new product for coordinating on complex business deals such as asset sales, financings, and mergers and acquisitions.

Technical Review 88

Technical Review Software Review Bertelsmann Technology 88

InfoChachkie

MAY 16, 2011

1) Expect Independent Channel Sales Reps To Perform Missionary Sales. Rationale: I cannot afford to hire a direct sales force. Fallacy: Third-party, OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturing) representatives succeed once the sales process is defined, proven and documented. 5) Allow Partners To Write Your Agreements.

Startup 242

Startup Outsource Development Outsource Sales 242

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 2, 2011

I’m sitting at my computer now at 9.00pm writing this – which is an hour earlier than I normally write (there are about 8 women at my kitchen table having a book club (aka excuse to drink wine & gossip so I’m locked in another room writing. Should entrepreneurs have convertible debt or priced equity?

Email 287

Email Blogging Venture Capital Writing 287

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 3, 2013

This is why I am such a big fan of General Assembly both because they’re teaching more tangible skills but also because they’re working directly with employers to fund classes as well as to onboard the more successful GA students directly. The numerator (return) encourages more sales, which is fine. Neither does Clayton.

Venture Capital 403

Venture Capital Education Offshore Outsource Development 403

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 6, 2013

Every startup needs access to capital, whether for funding product development, for initial rollout efforts, acquiring inventory, or paying that first employee. They have to sell themselves, more than their product, to close on every alternative source of funding. Thus “creative” really means maximizing non-bank financing.

Startup 97

Startup Entrepreneur Equity Examples 97

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

It’s what signals to existing investors how quickly their teams need to be fund raising and the level of risk the company is facing and also it signals to potentially new investors both how quickly you need to raise (ie you have less leverage if you’re in a rush) as well as how much cash you’ll need if they fund you.

Startup 383

Startup Company Companies .Net 383

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 12, 2010

We both felt that the critical reasoning skills and writing skills were critical to our career development. Competition: Chegg (has raised $144 in debt and equity)—estimated by Steven Carpenter ( TechCrunch ) to be 10x more unique visitors than BookRenter (during peak book renting seasons) with nearly $140mm in revenues for 2010.

Venture Capital 217

Venture Capital Capital Metrics Competition 217

InfoChachkie

JUNE 11, 2012

Facebook had to resolve expensive and time-consuming litigation related to promising early hires senior positions and substantial equity stakes. Steve Jobs – “So we went to Atari and said, ‘Hey, we’ve got this amazing thing, even built with some of your parts, and what do you think about funding us?

Tips 279

Tips Startup Education Entrepreneur 279

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 10, 2019

You really need a partner who is complementary, and can tackle the operational roles, like marketing, finance, and sales. I’ll put in the money, if you put in the sweat equity.” Investors routinely decline to fund co-founders who are siblings, or in a romantic relationship. and the answer better not be ambiguous. “We

Startup 70

Startup Satisfaction Writing Entrepreneur 70

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2013

Understanding where your VC partner sits in their respective fund and where their fund is in the cycle of its investment lifecycle will help you understand your VCs behavior. He did it yesterday, “Mark, I’m going to write a blog post following on from your VC’s aren’t dumb. Rob does it. On steroids.

Tips 365

Tips Email Venture Capital CTO Coach 365

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 29, 2009

When venture capitalists scale back investing activities it can be very swift and leave many companies that are in the process of fund raising hung out to dry. Just ask anybody who was trying to close funding the fateful week of September 11, 2001 or even March 2000. Why did the VC markets freeze so quickly?

Venture Capital 263

Venture Capital Startup Invest Funding 263

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 14, 2012

…” I’ll write soon on my views of why I believe Instagram took off as a social network and what I think comes next. You’ve found yourself in a super hot category and – let’s face it – it’s still a very frothy venture capital funding market so you may have loads of VCs chasing you.

Venture Capital 316

Venture Capital Pricing Social Network Acquisition 316

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 17, 2016

Of course, you can’t predict everything, but writing down what you know will identify existing problems sooner, and allow other team members to help. Seasonal sales fluctuations eat cash. Fluctuating sales means more inventory is required to cover the ups and downs. You can be on budget, and still run out of cash.

Startup 64

Startup Sales Layoffs Slides 64

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 23, 2015

” It was meant both as a call to those writing angel checks into other people’s companies that they ought to think about putting that capital toward themselves either by becoming a startup founder or (and this was my real point) by taking an under-market salary in a company where they can learn the right skills to do it in the future.

Technical Review 150

Technical Review Startup Venture Capital IP 150

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 19, 2010

Most advisors will tell you to write the business plan first (20-30 pages), then distill the key points into a set of Microsoft PowerPoint slides for standup presentations to potential investors. Marketing, sales, and partners. Describe marketing strategy, sales plan, licensing, and partnership plans. Exit strategy.

Slides 94

Slides Competition Sample Sales 94

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 16, 2018

The problem is that stakeholders, like marketing and sales, don’t know what the latest version of the roadmap is. Greathouse: Having run these groups, I know all about the inherent friction between sales and marketing with regard to lead quality, volume, etc., That causes friction internally. It was a viable option for us.

Venture Capital 115

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Santa Barbara SaaS 115

SoCal CTO

JANUARY 5, 2011

Both Sides of the Table , July 22, 2010 An updated Digital Trends presentation - Jeff Hilimire , June 2, 2010 I do what I hate - Jessica Mah , January 7, 2010 Startup Equity Allocation - charliecrystle.com , January 11, 2010 When good investment decisions end up backing more women CEOs: Conversation with Cameron Lester at Azure Capital.

Startup 378

Startup Venture Capital Blogging CTO Coach 378

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 21, 2010

When to get a lawyer - If you plan to be a venture or angel backed technology company (what I mostly write about) the best time to start meeting and getting to know lawyers is long before you ever start your company. I write about some of the lessons in my post on Startup Mistakes. Consider it a sales & marketing expense for them.

Startup 318

Startup IP Southern California Entrepreneur 318

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2010

I have no quarterly sales targets for the first time in a decade – For anybody who’s ever been in a company with sales targets you can attest to what a fire drill the ends of March, June, September and December can be. The upside for entrepreneurs is the equity in their business. I get to choose what I write about.

Venture Capital 312

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Entrepreneur 312

From the Venture Trenches

MARCH 27, 2013

If Groupon remained a bootstrapped entity or a business built on the back of funds raised from friends and family, Mason would still be firmly entrenched as founder and Chief Executive. Groupon raised seven series of private equity before going public. What is your exit strategy? Is outside capital really required?

Venture Capital 45

Venture Capital Capital Anthem Startup 45

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 8, 2017

Investors routinely decline to fund co-founders who are siblings, or in a romantic relationship. “We You really need a partner who is complementary, and can tackle the operational roles, like marketing, finance, and sales. I’ll put in the money, if you put in the sweat equity.” We both have the same vision.” Marty Zwilling.

Startup 59

Startup Satisfaction Entrepreneur Writing 59

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 12, 2013

Investors routinely decline to fund co-founders who are siblings, or in a romantic relationship. “We You really need a partner who is complementary, and can tackle the operational roles, like marketing, finance, and sales. I’ll put in the money, if you put in the sweat equity.” We both have the same vision.” Marty Zwilling.

Startup 96

Startup Entrepreneur Satisfaction Writing 96