Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 30, 2017

One of the most common complaints I hear from new business owners and startups is about the pain and difficulty raising capital. The “venture capital” model is the only option they know, where they feel they get no mercy, giving up equity and control. Block out sufficient time on your calendar for raising capital.

Technical Review 88

Technical Review Equity Capital Entrepreneur 88

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 22, 2020

I saw a good summary of the most effective ways to source prospective investors in a classic book, “ The Art of Startup Fundraising ,” by Alejandro Cremades, who has been there and done that, both as an entrepreneur and an investor. Ask your business advisors for warm introductions. Talk to thought leaders at relevant industry events.

Funding 173

Funding Tips Startup Statistics 173

SoCal CTO

MARCH 3, 2011

This overview (executive summary) needs to include: Product and Business What is the product? Have you raised capital? I'm looking for free (equity only) development, should I contact you? See Equity-Only CTO and Equity-Only Developers for more on this. How Does it Work? Who's the customer? Are there specs?

CTO Hire 264

CTO Hire Startup Technical Review Development Team Review 264

SoCal CTO

MARCH 3, 2011

This overview (executive summary) needs to include: Product and Business What is the product? Have you raised capital? I'm looking for free (equity only) development, should I contact you? See Equity-Only CTO and Equity-Only Developers for more on this. How Does it Work? Who's the customer? Are there specs?

CTO Hire 259

CTO Hire Startup Technical Review Development Team Review 259

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

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. First, few startups can use that much money today with all of the virtual services available and increasingly inexpensive methods of development, prototyping and marketing.

Resource 180

Resource Invest Summary Startup 180

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

DECEMBER 1, 2021

Make sure your hiring practices include diversity, inclusion, and equity. When you treat people and companies right, you build social capital that allows you to call on other businesses when you need them most. In summary, business collaboration and “lead with we” is more than a new mindset. Practice your agility.

Examples 128

Examples Social Media Summary Satisfaction 128

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2021

I like the summary of the competitive reality in a new book, “ Rethinking Competitive Advantage: New Rules for the Digital Age ,” by Ram Charan, who relates a wealth of current experience from global clients: Customers expect a personalized experience. These tolerate negative cash flows for growth.

Competition 142

Competition Software Review Social Media Customer 142

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. If you’ve read any of my ongoing series on fund raising from venture capitalist (episode 1?— ?controlling Remember, it’s not easy for anybody.

Venture Capital 314

Venture Capital Technical Review Invest Slides 314

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

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 3, 2013

Watch the 30-minute interview to hear why but summary notes below. 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. ” Who else does Clayton pray for?

Venture Capital 403

Venture Capital Education Offshore Outsource Development 403

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? You can show them what your growth is like, give them a financial summary, and they can interact with you.

Startup 247

Startup Software Review Entrepreneur Equity 247

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 26, 2015

Investors, on the other hand, look at the money figure, and even the equity, as the easy part. Here is a summary of the key terms to expect on the term sheet, or the contract between the founder and investor: Consideration given for the money invested. 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. In the case of Invoca we led both the seed round and the A round and didn’t wait for somebody else to come and provide more capital. Over the past 2.5

Venture Capital 223

Venture Capital IP Startup Google 223

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 12, 2011

I think you’ll really enjoy this video , but as always I have summary notes for those with less time. If you like the quick summary notes, please check out Adam’s blog on tech, entrepreneurship & VC as a thank you. Hopefully it will entice you to come back and watch the show at a later time!

Technical Review 281

Technical Review Venture Capital Startup Artificial Inteligence 281

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 9, 2015

Yet many entrepreneurs rely on expensive outside services and outside money, rather than do the networking for a co-founder or two who have the right skills to work for equity. Here is a summary of the top four wrong reasons I see for looking for investors: A desire to start with an impressive infrastructure.

Startup 101

Startup Entrepreneur Equity Summary 101

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

SEPTEMBER 12, 2010

Many of the growth equity firms have had outbound dialing programs for years. Growth equity firms typically target profitable businesses that are often not technical in nature. Perhaps outbound dialing / emailing programs worked well for growth equity firms in their core business. These kind of companies were seldom startups.

Venture Capital 294

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Email Equity 294

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 9, 2011

tl;dr summary. If you want a comprehensive summary of the industry in this era it’s worth a read: VC Ice Age Part 1 – What Happens When a Market Comes to a Standstill? 2010 was the year of the “super angel&# and 2011 has to date been the year of unbelievably highly priced B,C & D rounds of venture capital.

Marketing 305

Marketing Venture Capital Funding Technical Review 305

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

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?

Startup 393

Startup Equity Funding Summary 393

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2018

Do your homework on opportunity, competitors, financial projections, funding required, and hook investors the first time you can with an executive summary and ten-slide pitch. Offer a realistic equity percentage to generate interest. They will be turned off by single-digit equity offers and loan requests with low return potential.

Startup 56

Startup Equity Funding Slides 56

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

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 13, 2016

I saw a good summary of the most effective ways to source prospective investors in a new book, “ The Art of Startup Fundraising ,” by Alejandro Cremades, who has been there and done that, both as an entrepreneur and an investor. Ask your business advisors for warm introductions. Talk to thought leaders at relevant industry events.

Startup 61

Startup Entrepreneur Statistics Funding 61

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. Sales people aren’t always motivated only by cash – especially in early-stage business you need to focus on equity because cash won’t be plentiful. In Summary.

Startup 319

Startup Sales Course Competition 319

socalTECH

DECEMBER 10, 2009

They can place that deal online, putting an executive summary and a video of their elevator pitch into our deal marketplace, which we then show to investors in diesel or algae. 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

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

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 17, 2010

Funding is different – In Silicon Valley you have mega venture capital funds and many of them. Side note: LA seems to have had some success in mega deals led by private equity firms as evidenced by DemandMedia and Chris DeWolf’s latest company backed by more than $20 million in private equity.

Company 290

Company Companies Technology Startup 290

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2011

That said, a summary below is available for those who prefer to read the notes version. A very big thank you to Travis Biziorek of Kibin who did the summary notes below. If you value the summary notes please at least check out the Kibin website & see what they do. I love the concept.

Startup 292

Startup Venture Capital Blogging Summary 292

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. Richard Yen: Saban Ventures kicked off early this year. where he is Chairman.

Southern California 100

Southern California Media Venture Capital Invest 100

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

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. Somehow many first-time founders equate “sales” with something that is beneath them.

Venture Capital 332

Venture Capital Funding Startup Sales 332

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2012

You can bolster this position by including a Letter of Intent (LOI), contract summaries, or even testimonials. Quantify existing skin-in-the-game, by insiders and outsiders, including sweat equity and capital. Be careful with assertions like “We have strong interest from a major customer.” Executive team.

Competition 113

Competition Metrics Startup Invest 113

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2016

Most prefer not to say this publicly for two reasons: 1) they have an entire portfolio of startups, many of whom are raising capital and 2) they prefer not to be attacked publicly or seem “anti entrepreneur.” Many experienced partners are funds have 7-10 boards and most of these will need more capital. This is how VCs feel.

Startup 150

Startup Company Companies Venture Capital 150

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 13, 2011

You can bolster this position by including a Letter of Intent (LOI), contract summaries, or even testimonials. Quantify existing skin-in-the-game, by insiders and outsiders, including sweat equity and capital. Be careful with assertions like “We have strong interest from a major customer.” Executive team.

Competition 116

Competition Metrics Startup Sales 116

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. This team is talented. They wanted advice.

Services 332

Services Venture Capital IP Startup 332