Remove Competition Remove IP Remove Software Review Remove Writing
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The Audacious Plan to Make Electricity as Easy as WiFi

Both Sides of the Table

It’s true the some VCs have started writing so many checks that they resemble stock pickers but the majority of us still have less than 10 board seats at any time and tend to go pretty deep so the result is that we care deeply about where we commit our time. We hired IP specialists to review prior art. It was impressive.

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Intellectual Property – Worthless To A Startup, Priceless To A Big Dumb Company

InfoChachkie

Intellectual Property (IP) is an ugly thing at a startup. However, to a Big Dumb Company (BDC), a startup’s IP is a thing of beauty. How can IP be worthless to a startup yet very worthwhile to a BDC? Because IP has intrinsic value, but only in the right hands. Yet, it does nothing to help you execute your business model.

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What is the Right Burn Rate at a Startup Company?

Both Sides of the Table

This is why investors really like SaaS software companies where you have recurring revenue and your largest customer accounts for < 5% of your revenue and your renewals rates are > 90%. Many software companies have > 80% gross margins which is why they are more valuable than say traditional retailers or consumer product companies.

Startup 383
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Should Startups Focus on Profitability or Not?

Both Sides of the Table

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!” If you spent the 3 years perfecting some hugely differentiated technology IP that may also be different. One of them is profitability.

Startup 418
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A Few Key People Really Can Make a Huge Difference

Both Sides of the Table

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. When you account for competition for talent, the difficulty of retention, the cost of living and the difficulty of rising above the noise – there are many advantages of staying put.

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Roping in the Legal Eagles

InfoChachkie

Yet, despite his exceptional courtroom theatrics, you would be foolhardy to hire good old Johnnie to review your software cross-licensing agreement. Once you draft the straightforward text, sans the legal mumbo-jumbo, ask your lawyer to review the text to ensure your layman descriptions do not result in an unintended interpretation.