Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 11, 2010

This is part of my ongoing series on Raising Venture Capital. Recently I’ve been debating with a number of young startup companies that are raising money in the next few months, “what is the right about of capital to raise at a startup?&#. It’s a tricky question with no clear answer. There are trade offs.

Startup 319

Startup Venture Capital Capital Competition 319

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 6, 2022

This Advisory Board is a good test drive for the more formal Board of Directors required later, when going public (IPO) or the entrance of venture capital investors. These considerations include the following: Are you looking for advice or a boss? It’s a resource that you can’t afford to ignore if you intend to stay competitive today.

Allegis 139

Allegis Startup Acquisition Entrepreneur 139

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 23, 2010

Often when startups who have raised venture capital need another round of financing they will turn to their existing investors to give them money before raising from outsiders. a loan) that is later converted to equity at the time of the next financing. It starts as a debt instrument (e.g. But piers are often counter productive.

Startup 290

Startup Funding Venture Capital Pricing 290

InfoChachkie

JULY 11, 2011

By combining our equity investment with a tranche of venture debt, the company has avoided a larger equity round, which would have significantly diluted the Founders’ ownership share. Dollar Blend – Many venture debt lenders require that their funds be accompanied by an equity investment, generally from legitimate venture capitalists.

Equity 235

Equity Startup Invest Funding 235

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 15, 2010

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? . 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

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 24, 2018

controlling your psychology ) you no doubt have heard me say that raising capital is a sales & marketing process. This is critical to build a cohesive venture capital firm. But one advice I have for you is that you not leave your entire outcome simply to your sponsoring partner and/or associate.

Venture Capital 314

Venture Capital Technical Review Invest Slides 314

From the Venture Trenches

MARCH 27, 2013

The recent firing of Groupon’s CEO Andrew Mason is a cautionary tale of the increased scrutiny and heightened expectations that come from accessing increasingly larger amounts of investment capital. Is outside capital really required? Groupon raised seven series of private equity before going public.

Venture Capital 45

Venture Capital Capital Anthem Startup 45

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 14, 2019

in a funding led by Orange County's Okapi Venture Capitalis looking to help direct to consumer brands use better data to direct their marketing and other efforts. So, we decided that if we wanted to try to tackle this as an end-to-end solution, we needed to maintain our competitive edge, and we needed to raise capital to hire staff.

Startup 113

Startup Platform Commerce San Diego 113

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 4, 2014

But I would posit that in order to sustainably build great products in an intensely competitive industry with skills shortages – people management is one of the most critical soft skills organizations need. Equity for the future? Startup Advice' What should the financial settlement be for the founder leaves be? Nurture it.

Startup 340

Startup Technical Review Course Press 340

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 3, 2016

Costs, returns in equity and funding access. A few incubators and most accelerators provide some seed funding for startup entrants, ranging from $10,000 to $150,000 and expect a chunk of your equity in return. The process is often competitive and very difficult. No surprises in this advice.

Incubator 58

Incubator Startup Seed Funding Equity 58

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 16, 2018

Without taking a dime of outside capital, the company has achieved impressive success in a competitive, SaaS market segment, landing companies such as Nike, Intuit, NASA, AutoDesk and PBS. When I was considering doing something, I reached out to Greg for advice. We’re clear that we’re not currently seeking capital.

Venture Capital 115

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Santa Barbara SaaS 115

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

There are many times when being overly capitalized before you’re ready is a negative. Plus, most early-stage M&A fails so this isn’t likely a good use of capital for a young company). Availability of Capital. So money spent should add equity value or create IP that eventually will.

Startup 383

Startup Company Companies .Net 383

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 31, 2012

I got an email recently from my friend & fellow VC, Jeff Bussgang from Flybridge Capital Partners in Boston. My list of excuses includes: product, pricing, competition and lack of sales support. This includes presentations, ROI calculators, competitive analyses and so forth. And that leads me to today’s post.

Startup 319

Startup Sales Course Competition 319

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. If your product is capital-intensive this can be a good financing option. Expect to be diluted by 20-25% with each equity round. Vendor funding. Venture debt.

Startup 40

Startup Venture Capital Equity Funding 40

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 14, 2011

And, the equity markets are certainly a more challenging environment. Investors are very focused on diligence, on business models that make sense, and those companies that have a definite competitive advantage and defensibility to what they're doing. Mike Napoli: Obviously, it's still tough. The environment has gotten more constrained.

Tech Coast Angels 231

Tech Coast Angels Technical Review Angel Southern California 231

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 8, 2019

This Advisory Board is a good test drive for the more formal Board of Directors required later, when going public (IPO) or the entrance of venture capital investors. These considerations include the following: Are you looking for advice or a boss? It’s a resource that you can’t afford to ignore if you intend to stay competitive today.

Startup 98

Startup Allegis Entrepreneur Acquisition 98

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2010

Our guest this week on #TWiVC was Dana Settle , partner at Greycroft Partners , a venture capital firm with offices in New York and Los Angeles. Current rount: $8.14mm in Series A from Redpoint (lead), Foundry Group, with previous investors, First Round Capital, Lowercase Capital (Chris Sacca), Ravi Narasimham. Go Boulder!

Venture Capital 240

Venture Capital Startup Platform Technical Review 240

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 27, 2012

Even if you have an hour booked, the advice is the same. Competition and sustainable advantage. List and position your competition, or alternatives available to the customer. Highlight your sustainable competitive advantages, and barriers to entry. What is the level of capital funding sought during this stage?

Slides 99

Slides Competition Sample Sales 99

InfoChachkie

AUGUST 8, 2011

Poker] exemplifies the worst aspects of capitalism that have made our country so great.”. Amarillo’s advice is consistent with my comments in the Startup Competition ; get to know your competitors on a personal basis, while appearing as innocuous as possible. Note: This is part IV of a five part series.

Startup 207

Startup Entrepreneur Competition Guide 207

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 14, 2009

This is part of my ongoing series Startup Advice. It’s just that many companies waste equity on advisory boards, pick the wrong advisers or set up advisory boards with the wrong expectations. These can be competitive threats, customer adoption problems, pricing strategies, senior hires, whatever. Is it just me?

Startup 215

Startup Venture Capital Entrepreneur Capital 215

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 10, 2011

Even if you have an hour booked, the advice is the same. Competition and sustainable advantage. List and position your competition, or alternatives available to the customer. Highlight your sustainable competitive advantages, and barriers to entry. What is the level of capital funding sought during this stage?

Slides 93

Slides Competition Sample Sales 93

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2018

This is part of a series of advice for founders who need to raise money from venture capitalists. The most important advice I could give you before you set out in fund raising mode is to understand that fund-raising a sales & marketing process and needs to be managed. these are simply guidelines. I think there’s some truth in this.

Venture Capital 332

Venture Capital Funding Startup Sales 332

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 3, 2017

This Advisory Board is a good test drive for the more formal Board of Directors required later, when going public (IPO) or the entrance of venture capital investors. These considerations include the following: Are you looking for advice or a boss? It’s a resource that you can’t afford to ignore if you intend to stay competitive today.

Allegis 69

Allegis Startup Entrepreneur Acquisition 69

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 19, 2011

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. &#. o Put a timeframe/money – competition in the picture. Here’s a summary of our interview.

Acquisition 304

Acquisition Startup Customer Custom 304

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2011

I guess that makes USV, Spark Capital, Foundry Group, Accel, Benchmark, Revolution (along with several others) pretty happy right now. source: Capital IQ. source: Capital IQ. To anybody who asks my advice I repeat the same line, “I don’t know whether this party will last 6 weeks, 6 months or 18 months.

Pricing 309

Pricing Marketing Startup Venture Capital 309

Tech Zulu Event

NOVEMBER 12, 2013

With the ability to get companies up and going with lesser capital needs means you can grow quickly. I think from the perspective of real credibility, what we need is venture capital in the private equity marketplace. HG: The best thing would be an influx of capital. You won’t get tailored advice if you do that.

Los Angeles 84

Los Angeles Media Invest Startup 84

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 14, 2012

99.9999% of you won’t be contemplating raising capital at $500 million any time soon or selling for a billion. My friend Christin Herron of Intel Capital weighed in on the issue. You are either bought for stock or for equity. The first being a competitive acquisition offer from a fierce competitor. Think about it.

Venture Capital 316

Venture Capital Pricing Social Network Acquisition 316

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. It’s as though we forgot the management mantra of the 90′s about “core competencies&# or the most common VC advice to entrepreneurs: Focus. Funny, that.

Venture Capital 296

Venture Capital Capital Software Startup 296

Tech Zulu Event

NOVEMBER 7, 2013

Natalia not only wants to increase the number of women in investment, but bring more people in total to help startups and other businesses get the capital they need. We also want to create more capital for women entrepreneurs to increase the chances of being funded and connected to a bigger network. What is Pipeline Fellowship about?

Mentor 84

Mentor Invest Entrepreneur Startup 84

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 8, 2010

How To Pitch A Product - A VC : Venture Capital and Technology , August 4, 2010 I've said a bunch of times on this blog that the perfect pitch is a very short intro to provide context followed immediately by a demo. Often board members give entrepreneurs two bits of advice regarding scale: Get a mentor. equity debate.

Startup 191

Startup Venture Capital Blogging CTO Hire 191

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 5, 2011

I was meeting with a first-time CEO of a very promising young startup recently and offering my advice on what his priorities should be. He listed all of the product releases that were up coming, the customers that were in the pipeline and where he saw his competition moving. Who can get help get access to their capital?

Venture Capital 317

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Press 317

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 1, 2016

We’re a national venture capital investment firm but with our roots firmly in Los Angeles. You don’t have unlimited equity to dole out. She can anticipate reactions to price increases or product changes by customers and she can sustain competitive challenges because she knows the customer will stick by her.

Startup 150

Startup Coach Course Invest 150

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 3, 2013

We also spoke about technology systems in the perspective of global competition. He spoke about ROCE (return on capital employed). But “on capital employed” encourages companies to push more off balance sheet and thus into offshore & outsourced situations. .” Venture Capital. Neither does Clayton.

Venture Capital 403

Venture Capital Education Offshore Outsource Development 403

socalTECH

APRIL 12, 2017

That's when the light bulb went off for my boss, who said, why don't we start a venture firm to capitalize on your celebrity, and your following, and establish his celebrity as an investing paradigm. People welcomed us with open arms, and always wanted us to co-invest, because they didn't see us as competitive.

Invest 157

Invest Startup Hollywood Echo Park 157

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2011

Because my wife is a superstar she published them all on a blog here along with much other wonderful type-A mom advice. To conclude, I note that we’re all in the same ecosystem (angels, seed, VC, growth equity, IPOs) and should view each other as collaborative even though we sometimes compete.

Startup 292

Startup Venture Capital Blogging Summary 292

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 1, 2010

Equity-Only CTO and Equity-Only Developers - SoCal CTO , November 1, 2010 I had a recent email dialog with the founder of a company looking for a CTO for their startup. have focused this as advice to entrepreneurs building enterprise software ventures today. It may be that all the doomsayers are right. But I don’t think so.

Technical Review 175

Technical Review Startup Product Technology 175

Tech Zulu Event

AUGUST 13, 2010

Jason Cohen, Capital Thought. After starting three companies, I've found that some widely accepted advice lead me to failure while. Bootstrapping advice, entrepreneur, startups. . The PepsiCo10 program in 2010 saw the company team up with Mashable and Highland Capital Partners to. Joshua Baer, Capital Factory.

Guide 69

Guide Startup Venture Capital Entrepreneur 69