Both Sides of the Table

JULY 29, 2010

We received so much positive feedback from our This Week in Venture Capital show walking through valuation calculations & term sheets that we decided to do a Q&A show this week to address topics that entrepreneurs want to learn about. I explain in the video what happened in my first company (e.g.

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Venture Capital Capital Startup Pricing 282

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 27, 2021

When you first start your career as an investor (or when you first start writing angel checks) your main obsession is “getting into great deals.” They sold 2 years later for $16 million In the financial crisis of 2008 we had a company that had jointly hired lawyers to consider a bankruptcy and also pursued (and achieved!)

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Funding Startup Writing Invest 294

TechCrunch LA

FEBRUARY 6, 2022

The Facebook parent-company saw its stock price get bludgeoned after a bad earnings report showcased that Apple’s ad-blocking changes are shaving billions off its books and the company’s crown jewel — the Facebook platform — has stopped growing and actually shrank this quarter.

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Marketing Newsletter Technical Review News 246

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 1, 2016

At the Upfront Summit in early February, we had a chance to have many off-the-record conversations with Limited Partners (LPs) who fund Venture Capital (VC) funds about their views of the market. In fact, if you add the capital flows of the past ten years, there have been just shy of $50 billion in net cash outlays.

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Venture Capital Capital Marketing Seed Funding 150

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 12, 2019

Over the past month a colleague ( Chang Xu ) and I sifted through data on the venture capital industry (as we do every year) and made a bunch of calls to VCs and LPs to confirm our hypotheses. As a result of the IPO window shifting we saw a massive inflow of public-market capital into the latest stages of venture. What gives?

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Venture Capital Invest Seed Funding Startup 328

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 12, 2014

Prorata investments rights given investors the right to invest in your future fund-raising rounds and maintain their ownership % in your company as your company grows and raises more capital. New investors sometimes want early investors to put in money to “prove” they have confidence in the new price.

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Guide Venture Capital Startup Writing 336

TechCrunch LA

JULY 19, 2022

The process for retailers and brands to liquidate excess inventory hasn’t changed very much, if at all, and while some retailers were able to build operational infrastructure to service the off-price channels, it continues to be a constant pain point. She went on to write, “Dee and Josh are the exact right team to tackle it.

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Product Funding Technical Review Equity 191

socalTECH

MAY 25, 2016

Santa Monica-based March Capital Partners (www.marchcp.com) has just announced a brand new, $240M venture investment fund, led by longtime venture investing veterans Jim Armstrong, Sumant Mandal, Gregory Milken and Jamie Montgomery. So, you will see March participating in the early stage with consumer companies. Big ideas rule the day.

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Southern California Capital Funding Invest 113

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2011

2 preamble issues having read the comments on TC today: 1: I know that the prices of startup companies is much great in Silicon Valley than in smaller towns / less tech focused areas in the US and the US prices higher than many foreign markets. You can be pissed off, but I don’t set prices. That’s stupid.

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Startup Pricing Technical Review Marketing 336

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 7, 2021

I’m sure you have all been frustrated at least once by not being able to get the Internet domain name you want for your company. and.me (for Montenegro), as well as allowing companies to set up their own top-level domains. Starting and name a company today is a world-wide decision. Otherwise, find the owner.

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Startup Pricing Tips .Net 136

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 29, 2023

For example, both need to provide exemplary customer service, build customer loyalty, and provide real value for a competitive price. Even artisan-based services, like graphic design and writing good ad copy, have innovative processes and principles. Indeed, there are some success factors that are common to both environments.

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Startup Training Services Writing 111

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 22, 2018

We’ve also seen a substantial inflow of venture capital from all over the world.”. As BCG writes in its report: The good news for SoCal and any region with tech ambitions is that the Bay Area has in some ways been too successful. In fact, as is well-reported, the luster of Silicon Valley is fading.

Southern California 224

Southern California Dollar Shave Club SoCal Develop 224

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 26, 2015

One of the least understood parts of the venture capital industry and venture capital firms is how investment decisions actually get made. The beauty of venture capital is that on any given deal I can only lose one times my money. We’ve backed more healthcare companies even in parts of the industry with regulation.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Capital Startup Invest 150

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2014

I was having dinner with a friend last night and we were chatting about venture capital and a bit about what I’ve learned. Today we’re in a world where 10 accelerators are bombarding you with emails to meet their 10-15 companies. Products that ship late and place entire companies under serious stress. I don’t.

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Venture Capital Invest Press Startup 374

Berkonomics

MARCH 5, 2020

In the creation of a young company, there are five principal risks to be addressed by the entrepreneur. This risk can be mitigated by finding a customer willing to purchase as soon as a proven model is completed, and willing to state this in writing. Why five risks? Fourth: Financial risk. . And fifth: Competitive risk. .

Outsource Development 156

Outsource Development Ideas Resource Patents 156

Xconomy

SEPTEMBER 19, 2016

Amid the hue and cry over the Mylan EpiPen pricing debacle , Hillary Clinton unveiled her “ Plan to Respond to Unjustified Price Hikes for Long-Available Drugs. ” Clinton’s plan calls for “dedicated oversight to protect consumers.” That dependence on price increases won’t change any time soon. It has started.”

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Pricing Competition Blogging Journal 40

TechCrunch LA

APRIL 23, 2020

There’s also a relatively modest request (of only $4 billion) for funding devoted to pilot projects, startup companies, and public clean technology investment initiatives (like LACI). “ This will also help dealerships increase sales and bring needed sales tax revenues to local and state governments,” Peterson writes.

Southern California 261

Southern California Los Angeles Rosemead Incubator 261

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 23, 2014

There has been much discussion in the past few years of the changing structure of the venture capital industry. The rise of alternative sources of capital (crowd funding and the like). 15 years ago we were at the peak of Internet hype with the launch of many over-capitalized businesses with a market size & opportunity was limited.

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Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Seed Funding 398

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 5, 2013

.” In the article I discussed the downside of raising capital at a too high of a price and referred people to a previous article I had written encouraging founders to raise “ At the Top end of Normal ” as opposed to stratospheric prices. Have you been involved in companies with a down round?

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Pricing Seed Funding Invest Venture Capital 302

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 3, 2020

For example, both need to provide exemplary customer service, build customer loyalty, and provide real value for a competitive price. Even artisan-based services, like graphic design and writing good ad copy, have innovative processes and principles. Indeed, there are some success factors that are common to both environments.

Startup 174

Startup Training Services Writing 174

InfoChachkie

DECEMBER 8, 2011

Brad is also the Co-Founder of TechStars , an acclaimed startup boot camp which has spawned a number of promising companies. Of the 80 companies that have completed the program since its 2007 inception, 49 have received funding, 8 have been acquired and 8 have ceased operations. Writing a book is very different from writing a blog.

Venture Capital 224

Venture Capital Writing Entrepreneur Blogging 224

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 4, 2013

When I was new at Venture Capital I was trying to figure out the business. What price? Because entrepreneurs often went to lawyers at their earliest stages to get their company registration done. I tapped my friends at big tech companies (Salesforce, Google, Oracle). What kind of deals should I be doing? What stage?

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Venture Capital Startup Pricing Invest 347

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 31, 2021

The sweeping infrastructure package put forward today by President Joe Biden comes with a price tag of roughly $2 trillion (and hefty tax hikes) but gives startups and the broader tech industry about $1 trillion worth of reasons to support it. ” Climate resiliency . Given the steady drumbeat of climate disasters that hit the U.S.

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Startup Technical Review Invest Research 229

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 16, 2017

Every tech or major news journal in the country is preparing to write their Snap, Inc (creators of Snapchat, Spectacles, etc) stories and many of them seem to want a “How does it feel to have missed this investment story.” To be fair to TigerText they build a company focused on the healthcare industry and HIPAA compliance.

Snapchat 214

Snapchat Invest Technical Review Dollar Shave Club 214

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 24, 2021

It has historically been the case that VCs would rather fund the promise of 100x in a company with almost no revenue than the reality of a company growing at 50% but doing $20+ million in sales. The abundance of late-stage capital is good for us all. Goliath” mythology take on the titans of industry and wins.

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Venture Capital Capital Funding Startup 363

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. What I want to talk about today is one of the insider baseball discussions of our industry this past week: The odd fact of the $500 million financing round completed just before the company sold for a B.

Venture Capital 316

Venture Capital Pricing Social Network Acquisition 316

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 27, 2014

I wrote my version here and Scott wrote an excellent write-up of his views here. We both agree that the later-stage valuations are being driven up to a point that feels irrationally priced [he uses b-round SaaS valuations as an example and I am willing to be even more broad based]. Each of the two videos is about 10 minutes long.

Venture Capital 309

Venture Capital SaaS Writing Funding 309

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 15, 2010

I give a sneak peek at a blog post I’m writing on the topic next week. Convertible debt is a loan to the company that doesn’t typically get paid back but rather “converts&# into equity when you raise a larger round at a later date. What advice do you have for people who want to get into venture capital?

Venture Capital 210

Venture Capital Seed Funding Pricing Southern California 210

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. Otherwise find an inexpensive class on grant writing. Professors get grants for research, but they need you for the current focus on commercialization.

Pricing 100

Pricing Equity Technical Review Research 100

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. Are you looking to potentially sell the company in the next year or two? I often ask entrepreneurs to consider, “What’s your objective?

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Startup Venture Capital Sales Course 227

Berkonomics

MARCH 14, 2019

Of course, we are speaking of increased valuation of your company when we speak of “wealth.” This risk can be mitigated by finding a customer willing to purchase as soon as a proven model is completed, and willing to state this in writing. So, let’s examine them and mitigate them. Make you wealthy someday. The carrot and the stick.

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Outsource Development Ideas Resource Patents 120

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 4, 2013

When I was new at Venture Capital I was trying to figure out the business. What price? Because entrepreneurs often went to lawyers at their earliest stages to get their company registration done. I tapped my friends at big tech companies (Salesforce, Google, Oracle). What kind of deals should I be doing? What stage?

Startup 361

Startup Venture Capital Pricing Technical Review 361

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

I find it amusing when a journalist writes an article about a prominent startup (either privately held or preparing for an IPO) and decries that, “They’re not even profitable!” Exec Summary: Most companies (98+%) in the world (even tech startups) should be very profit focused. One of them is profitability.

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Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 418

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2011

I will write more about this in the next 2 weeks. As any historian of bubbles will tell you – there were periods of bubbles in assets as arcane as tulips , South American trading companies , dot-com bubbles & housing bubbles. Ah, but today’s Internet companies have real revenue! I believe that. and profits!

Pricing 309

Pricing Marketing Startup Venture Capital 309

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 15, 2016

As I have pointed out in previous posts , 91% of VCs surveyed believe prices are declining (30% believe substantially) and 77% believe that funding will take longer than it has in the past. But the hardest question to actually answer is, “What is the right burn rate for your company?”

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Startup Capital Funding Invest 150

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2013

But the press (and I suspect many of the senior execs of these companies) don’t really explore the corrosive downside of these acquisition. I’m supposed to believe that my best innovation can only come from scores of startup founders who just made millions and have now become CVOs at my company? So I thought I would.

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Press Startup Yahoo Venture Capital 357

InfoChachkie

MAY 18, 2015

I am sorry to disappoint the MBA crowd, but estimating the value of your startup stock options is not something you can do using the Black-Sholes option pricing model. Under such an arrangement, if you leave your company within the first twelve months, for any reason, you will not vest any shares. Questions To Answers.

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Startup Software Review Pricing Capital 100