Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 5, 2015

Even if you work every day in the world of new-venture funding, as I do, the options are confusing, and their meanings seem to change on a regular basis. Crowdfunding is rapidly becoming the major source of funding for seed-stage startups. These funders often offer convertible notes, rather than the traditional priced equity.

Funding 104

Funding Venture Capital Startup Seed Funding 104

socalTECH

JUNE 28, 2021

The publicly traded company--which trades on the Nasdaq as OBLG--said it sold 4,000,000 sahres of its common stock at a purchase price of $3.10 The company's placement agent for the offering was The Special Equities Group, a division of Dawson James Securities, Inc.

.Net 113

.Net Equity Los Angeles Pricing 113

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

Santa Monica-based TrueCar , the automotive pricing website headed by Scott Painter, said this morning that it has raised $200M in new debt and equity financing, plus acquired a company. TrueCar said the funding was structured as a one-for-one conversion from preferred stock to common stock.

Truecar 190

Truecar GRP Partners Santa Monica Pricing 190

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 21, 2019

Other Supreme apparel sells in the aftermarket for hundreds more than their retail prices, including box logo hoodies which typically sell for between $500 – $1,000. A Veblen good does not adhere to the traditional laws of price and demand. This growth is often funded via debt. Popular, rare items are expensive.

Demand 160

Demand Pricing Product Equity 160

Xconomy

OCTOBER 27, 2016

Prices for agricultural commodities such as corn, soy, and wheat are at their lowest levels in years, but investment in agricultural technology has never been better. The increase in dollars flowing to agtech comes despite commodity prices that are down 65 percent from their 2013 peak, the report says. They also queried 15 VC firms.

Venture Capital 40

Venture Capital Pricing Invest Report 40

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 14, 2012

.” And because most startups have 12-18 months’ cash-on-hand at any point in time (usually less that 1 year, actually), the age old neurosis of whether to fund raise now or “wait and see what buyers might propose” comes up. You are either bought for stock or for equity. I’ve lived this personally.

Venture Capital 316

Venture Capital Pricing Social Network Acquisition 316

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 6, 2023

A smart investor will take an independent final reading in the market on barriers to entry, active competition, demographics, and price sensitivity. Sales and distribution channel activity will be analyzed, as well as cost of customer acquisition, to make an independent assessment of your financial projections.

Technical Review 118

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Invest 118

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 28, 2018

He or she wants to know how long the money you will raise will last and whether this is long enough to warrant taking a risk on funding you. VCs tend not to want to fund founders who raise too much money in a given round also because they know that sometimes having too many resources will lead to founders burning through cash too quickly.

Venture Capital 247

Venture Capital Capital Funding Demand 247

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 17, 2014

Projecting the financials should be the last step of your business plan preparation, since it assumes you already know the opportunity size, customer buying habits, pricing, costs, and competition. Here are some basic “rules of thumb” that every Angel or venture capital equity investor uses, to help you anticipate their reactions.

Equity 99

Equity Venture Capital Invest Pricing 99

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 7, 2015

I recommend five-year projections, to show the evolution of revenues and expenses and funding and profitability expectations over time. Premium startup-acquisition targets usually at least double revenues every year, so conservative 20 percent yearly-growth projections will not win accolades. Neither extreme is good.

Startup 107

Startup Equity Invest Acquisition 107

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 3, 2010

I can save tons of development time and I think I can buy it for all equity. 500k had come through the last acquisition. They want to merge with other and want to know if I’d fund the combined entity. There’s really no such thing as a merger – only acquisitions. Me: “Zero dilution. Your choice.

Technical Review 276

Technical Review Startup Press Pricing 276

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 28, 2013

Projecting the financials should be the last step of your business plan preparation, since it assumes you already know the opportunity size, customer buying habits, pricing, costs, and competition. Here are some basic “rules of thumb” that every Angel or venture capital equity investor uses, to help you anticipate their reactions.

Startup 97

Startup Equity Entrepreneur Venture Capital 97

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 10, 2010

Michael is a very accomplished corporate executive in his own right having run Sega Gameworks and helped IPO EuroDisney as well as having been on the founding team of DreamWorks SKG (where he helped them raise their first $900 million in equity). A bank can help you balance fund raising with running your company. 1 party = low price.

Venture Capital 242

Venture Capital Mission Ventures Capital Help 242

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 22, 2018

Our research revealed a saturation level causing unprecedented challenges, starting with exorbitant housing prices and runaway operating costs that accelerate a startup’s “burn rate”—its monthly spending.

Southern California 224

Southern California Dollar Shave Club SoCal Develop 224

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 12, 2010

In the technology world there are a few websites that most startups track to keep up with the latest financings, acquisitions, product announcements and gossip: BusinessInsider, TechCrunch, Mashable, GigaOm, etc. In the VC & Private Equity world there’s a small number, too, with one of the most respected being PEHub.

Venture Capital 232

Venture Capital Slides Seed Funding Google 232

socalTECH

JUNE 3, 2013

But, since it''s priced against the local utility, that investors can get a 9, 10, 11, or 12 percent yield. With as many systems being installed, how hard has it been to raise capital from investors to fund those systems? To date, we''ve raise money on a tax equity fund from U.S. David Field: It''s always an issue.

Equity 234

Equity Invest Marketing Product 234

Xconomy

AUGUST 30, 2016

The new funding will enable Petnet to expand its product line and sales and marketing capabilities. billion acquisition ( disclosed last November ) by the private equity firm CVC Capital Partners and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. Including the latest round, Petnet has raised a total of $21.5

San Diego 52

San Diego Los Angeles Mobile Equity 52

TechCrunch LA

NOVEMBER 2, 2021

That’s precisely what the company will be worth in light of Switchback II’s share price declines, but the number could be lower than the headline figure from early merger disclosures. A few days later, the deal was confirmed , including an expected valuation of around $2.3 billion for Bird when it began to trade.

News 148

News Los Angeles Examples Pricing 148

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 13, 2016

You need to identify pricing details, sales channels, strategic partners and a customized marketing plan consistent with your industry and target segment. How big is the funding request, and how much equity will you give? Justify funding requirements, use of funds and specify a current valuation estimate.

Invest 108

Invest Startup Slides Equity 108

socalTECH

MARCH 6, 2017

Los Angeles-based Maple Media (maplemedia.io) recently announced a big, $30M funding from Shamrock Capital, to assemble a collection of mobile applications in the utility, productivity, games and entertainment verticals. They're an elite private equity firm, and what's even better is I can literally walk from my house to their office.

Media 153

Media Mobile Startup Acquisition 153

socalTECH

APRIL 13, 2020

Our interview today is with Greg Martin , co-founder of LiquidStock (www.liquidstock.com), an investment fund which offers up a way for employees of private companies to exercise their stock options before an IPO or acquisition. Greg Martin: I raised a fund called LiquidStock, with three partners. Tell us what you're up to now?

Startup 113

Startup Paramount Invest Capital 113

Tech Zulu Event

MARCH 7, 2013

CapLinked also netted in new customers such as Thomson Reuters, Sun Capital, and Equity Partners, NextView Ventures and crowd-funding service AI Verified which will take advantage of its iPad compatibility, bulk uploading, and reporting tools. According to Eric M. How CapLinked Changes The Game.

Mobile 91

Mobile Report Pricing Tool 91

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2015

If you sell for half the price of a competitor, but you lose money on each item, it’s hard to make it up in volume. Quantify all the key elements of the equation, including price, margin and volume. If you are not willing to set targets for yourself, don’t expect investors to commit their funds.

Summary 101

Summary Patents Technical Review Competition 101

Xconomy

JUNE 3, 2016

But billions of dollars in acquisitions will be left by the side of the road. Merck also saw some expected fruits of its 2014 big-ticket acquisition of Cubist Pharmaceuticals wither away this week, as the Supreme Court wouldn’t reverse a decision that shaved years off the patent life of the top-selling antibiotic daptomyicin (Cubicin).

San Diego 62

San Diego Patents Acquisition News 62

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

If there happens to be a gas station along the way where you can fill up for a reasonable price, great. Future funding should be discretionary to propel prospective growth, not a matter of survival. One way to combat reckless spending is to instill a sense of pride in your employees to never pay full price.

Startup 221

Startup Pricing Entrepreneur Email 221

Tech Zulu Event

MAY 9, 2013

The new funding brings the company’s aggregate amount of capital raised to over $3 million. Jackson and Christopher Grey, CapLinked empowers its clients to manage complex business transactions such as mergers & acquisitions, financings, asset sales, and investor reporting. million in the Series A round.

Draper 68

Draper Google Software Engineering Invest 68

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2015

These don’t get funded, nor bought by customers. How the solution and business model work to fund the business. Partnerships, distribution channels and pricing models should be included. “If Immediate investment requirements and use of funds. If we build it they will come” is not a marketing and sales strategy.

Product 103

Product Slides Customer Custom 103

Xconomy

JUNE 28, 2016

First, let’s cover basic components you’d see in a letter of intent for a startup M&A deal: — The sticker price : The cost to acquire the target. — Price adjustments : Possible reductions (due to debt or liabilities exceeding assets) or increases (based on financial performance).

Startup 57

Startup Pricing Sales Summary 57

Xconomy

JANUARY 4, 2019

Topics ranged from the worries over CRISPR genome editing and Wild West biohacking, to Nobel Prize-fueled drug approvals and the headaches around drug prices (even for drugs meant to cure headaches). You’ll find a few of our favorite stories in this review of some of the year’s best from across the Xconomy network.

Pricing 69

Pricing Email Networking Silver Lake 69

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

socalTECH

APRIL 22, 2010

We had a chance to speak with Jerry Fitch , CEO of the firm, about the interest in the electric/smart metering market, his views on where the market is today, as well as a bit about the experience of operating as a private equity backed firm. How has your experience being owned by private equity been? Thanks for the time.

Equity 124

Equity San Diego Startup Activity 124

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 11, 2010

But there are also problems / risks: - the funding environment might change dramatically – there may never be a next round (see: March 2000, September 11, 2001 and September 2008). - there may be major competitive changes in the market that makes your next funding round hard (e.g. Should you take it? add a buffer. What to do?

Startup 319

Startup Venture Capital Capital Competition 319

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2013

They don’t realize that this option would likely be their worst nightmare, since it costs millions for the road show, usually dilutes your equity to a tiny fraction, and takes away all your entrepreneurial control. With the more popular Merger & Acquisition (M&A) exit strategy, the control stays with the new entity.

Startup 89

Startup Entrepreneur Report Summary 89

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2012

They don’t realize that this option would likely be their worst nightmare, since it costs millions for the road show, usually dilutes your equity to a tiny fraction, and takes away all your entrepreneurial control. With the more popular Merger & Acquisition (M&A) exit strategy, the control stays with the new entity.

Entrepreneur 95

Entrepreneur Startup Report Summary 95

InfoChachkie

MAY 16, 2011

As an entrepreneur and startup investor, I have helped create companies which achieved two IPOs which collectively raised over $100 million, as well as two acquisitions which totaled $385 million. Ask them to accept equity in exchange for all or a portion of their overall compensation. Entrepreneurship is best learned experientially.

Startup 242

Startup Outsource Development Outsource Sales 242

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 5, 2011

They don’t realize that this option would likely be their worst nightmare, since it costs millions for the road show, usually dilutes your equity to a tiny fraction, and takes away all your entrepreneurial control. With the more popular Merger & Acquisition (M&A) exit strategy, the control stays with the new entity.

Startup 94

Startup Entrepreneur Report Summary 94

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 16, 2018

We spent a lot of time talking about what type of company we wanted to create, how many employees we’d eventually have, whether we would take funding, our lifestyle, and a dozen other things that had nothing to do with writing software. We focus very much on finding employees who are a cultural fit and we share equity when appropriate.

Venture Capital 115

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Santa Barbara SaaS 115