Berkonomics

APRIL 3, 2014

There are three classes of equity investors for early stage businesses that we have not yet considered. For early stage investors, the usual expectation is seven years from investment to expected liquidity. We’ve spoken of financing a young company through friends and family, known as “inside angels.”

Equity 232

Equity Startup Organization Invest 232

Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 3, 2022

You may recall my story of the company that was forced to grow to death by a famous venture capital investor expecting massive profit or nothing, with no expectations in between.). For some, that comfort is worth forgoing building high equity value. The advantage of creating an evergreen company.

Equity 156

Equity Course Sales Invest 156

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 25, 2019

So people ask me “How many shares should I ask for or expect when I join a startup today?” It never hurts to ask in a job interview what stock options are available, and don’t fall for the offer which promises to “work out the equity terms later.” Yet it has been a source of great wealth to a tiny percentage of people.

Equity 94

Equity Startup Pricing Marketing 94

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 17, 2023

It will be much more productive to categorize your startup in one of the following five stages, and limit your investor focus accordingly: “I have a great idea and I need money to turn it into a business.” The final product works great, and all the early users love it.” Tune your investor pitch and funding expectations accordingly.

Funding 125

Funding Startup Ideas Equity 125

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 21, 2023

For example, professional investors put great priority on your previous experience in building a business, and they expect to own a portion of the business equity and control for the funds they do provide. Trade equity or services for startup help. The process is long, but it doesn’t cost you any equity.

Startup 106

Startup Capital Equity Funding 106

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 25, 2023

The average amount per startup has been $23,000, usually in the form of a convertible loan, rather than an equity investment. Shy introverts may be great technologists, but they won’t be entrepreneurs until they learn to nurture relationships with friends and family, practice their elevator pitch and respectfully ask for funding.

Startup 109

Startup Funding Equity Invest 109

SoCal Tech Calendar

AUGUST 20, 2009

Wednesday, August 26, 2009 -- The Return of the Public Equity Markets. Are the public equity markets back? market has experienced one of the most difficult economic periods since the Great Depression. The credit crisis of 2008 and the default of major investment banks caused the IPO window to all but close. See [link] (more).

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Equity Marketing Invest Company 100

Berkonomics

JANUARY 20, 2022

There’s a common expectation among entrepreneurs that seed money from family is great – letting close relatives in at the ground floor. Do take loans from sophisticated investors only after you have tried everything to get them to purchase equity…. The problem, of course, comes if the business fails.

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Startup Entrepreneur Invest Course 317

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 27, 2020

A question I get from time to time is “Can I ever expect any backing from my bank for a great opportunity?” The first thing to remember is that banks only do loans – they don’t do equity investments like angels and venture capitalists (and vice versa). Bankers do not contribute equity. Money from other sources.

Technical Advisors 162

Technical Advisors Tips Startup Equity 162

Berkonomics

AUGUST 3, 2023

Do not expect grand valuations of your enterprise from these professional angels. In return, the accelerator often invests $25,000 to $100,000 in the young enterprise and takes from five to ten percent of the equity in return. Venture, private equity and more: Here we lump a large number of investor classes into one.

Venture Capital 295

Venture Capital Startup Class Invest 295

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 29, 2020

For example, professional investors put great priority on your previous experience in building a business, and they expect to own a portion of the business equity and control for the funds they do provide. Trade equity or services for startup help. The process is long, but it doesn’t cost you any equity.

Funding 174

Funding Startup Equity Examples 174

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 22, 2020

Cohen and John Kador, in their classic book “ What Every Angel Investor Wants You to Know ,” includes these great points of practical advice on this subject: Manage expectations before the fact. Treat the transaction as you would expect to be treated by an angel investor or VC. Loans are a safer option than equity.

Funding 123

Funding Startup Equity Venture Capital 123

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 22, 2020

It will be much more productive to categorize your startup in one of the following five stages, and limit your investor focus accordingly: “I have a great idea and I need money to turn it into a business.” The final product works great, and all the early users love it.” Tune your investor pitch and funding expectations accordingly.

Startup 148

Startup Ideas Equity Invest 148

Berkonomics

MAY 12, 2010

Equity is divided between the founders and the business begun. To protect against this, there must be some document in place from the beginning that clearly states the expectation of each founder as to contribution of time and resources to the enterprise. There are some rules.

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Equity Class Pricing Startup 213

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 8, 2023

Here are eight key insights that will help you find a productive match: Angels want equity ownership, not causes. Larger numbers are not credible, and smaller ones may make a great business, but won’t attract angels. Don’t expect angels to invest in work-at-home schemes, gambling sites or debt-collection type business proposals.

Venture Capital 106

Venture Capital Angel Seed Funding Invest 106

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 1, 2022

So people ask me “How many shares should I ask for or expect when I join a startup today?” It never hurts to ask in a job interview what stock options are available, and don’t fall for the offer which promises to “work out the equity terms later.” Yet it has been a source of great wealth to a tiny percentage of people.

Startup 137

Startup Equity Pricing Marketing 137

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 11, 2021

The average amount per startup has been $23,000, usually in the form of a convertible loan, rather than an equity investment. Shy introverts may be great technologists, but they won’t be entrepreneurs until they learn to nurture relationships with friends and family, practice their elevator pitch and respectfully ask for funding.

Funding 138

Funding Startup Equity Invest 138

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 8, 2022

People may jump into the lifestyle to be their own boss, achieve great wealth, start a new trend, or all the above. Your great idea for the next Facebook may make you wealthy, but it probably won’t help the hungry. You have very little money, and you don’t want to give away your equity. The founder’s title and role dilemma.

Startup 130

Startup USC Entrepreneur Statistics 130

TechCrunch LA

OCTOBER 7, 2021

Women have made great inroads into the tech world in recent years, but there remains a long way to go before we reach a truly equitable state of affairs in workforce numbers, remuneration and product development. That number is expected to double to 500 next year, Schwab said.

Mentor 297

Mentor Training Startup Course 297

Berkonomics

MAY 13, 2021

There are five types of resources a great board or active investor can add to a company. Money is what entrepreneurs expect from us. There is a fine line between loading the company with too much debt and diluting the shareholders too early with additional equity investments. Extending the Runway book available at Amazon.

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Resource Coach Activity Invest 156

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 11, 2022

In retrospect it was a blessing for anybody becoming a VC back then because there were no expectations, no pressure, no FOMO and you could figure out where you wanted to make your mark in the world. During this era, from 2009–2015, most founders I knew were in it for building great & sustainable companies. The tide has gone out.

Venture Capital 466

Venture Capital Startup Marketing Pricing 466

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 23, 2021

Bootstrapping is always a great alternative, since you can retain full ownership and make all your own decisions. Yet, I find that most of us don’t have the financials for that option, so we must share the equity, control, and reward, and rely on funding from family, friends, and professional investors.

Startup 159

Startup Satisfaction Entrepreneur Equity 159

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 6, 2022

Today most startup investors still register with the SEC as “ accredited ” investors before they buy any startup equity in the U.S. These requirements for equity investing have been relaxed only a bit, with caveats, with relevant crowdfunding changes. There you can get in for as little as $20, or even less. Think long-term.

Startup 120

Startup Invest Equity Incubator 120

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2021

Aspiring entrepreneurs ask me why their great idea hasn’t sold; they talk about it endlessly, and they expect others to do the development, finance, and marketing work for them. Those at the other extreme don’t look up from the grindstone long enough to notice whether all their work is producing sweat equity or just sweat.

Startup 160

Startup Patents Competition Social Network 160

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 23, 2023

That’s why angel and equity investors are so sought after by entrepreneurs. Also, don’t expect enthusiasm for your gambling site, porn site, gaming, or debt collection business. In fact, customer orders are great collateral. These include food service, retail, consulting, work at home, and telemarketing. Marty Zwilling<

Startup 117

Startup Equity Sites Funding 117

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2022

Set expectations accordingly. Nevertheless, it’s an option that doesn’t cost you equity. The hottest new way of funding startups is to use online sites, like Kickstarter , to request donations, pre-order, get a reward, or even give equity. Get a loan or line-of-credit. Solicit funds from friends and family.

Startup 136

Startup Technical Review Equity Incubator 136

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 24, 2011

It never hurts to ask in a job interview what stock options are available, and don’t accept an offer which promises to “work out the equity terms later.” Any offers of equity compensation before the first round of institutional capital should be considered purely speculative. Advisory Board Member, 1% Senior Engineer,3 -.7%

Equity 93

Equity Startup Pricing Marketing 93

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 8, 2013

If one of your core values is exceeding your customer expectations for quality and service, and your potential partner ascribes to the low cost, high profit mantra, a successful partnership is highly unlikely over the long-term. It doesn’t take long to sense someone’s real commitment, or vision and desired outcome of a joint project.

Software Review 103

Software Review Equity CTO Hire Outsource Development 103

socalTECH

MARCH 15, 2012

The firm said the company is interested in funding "great new products that further engage fans and enrich the concert experience." Live Nation explained that it is looking to make equity investments in early stage start-ups in the areas of consumer product development and technology infrastructure. Size of the fund was not announced.

Invest 171

Invest Funding Startup Equity 171

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 27, 2020

That’s why angel and equity investors are so sought after by entrepreneurs. Also, don’t expect enthusiasm for your gambling site, porn site, gaming, or debt collection business. In fact, customer orders are great collateral. These include food service, retail, consulting, work at home, and telemarketing. Marty Zwilling.

Startup 172

Startup Equity Sites Tips 172

socalTECH

DECEMBER 30, 2016

Here, we have the thoughts of Jeb Spencer of TVC Capital (www.tvccapital.com), a software focused growth equity fund, and has had some great success in the market. Jeb Spencer: We closed our nineteenth and twentieth software focused growth equity investments this year, a significant milestone for our firm.

Capital 113

Capital Southern California Equity San Diego 113

TechCrunch LA

FEBRUARY 6, 2022

The company’s rough turn of luck couldn’t be happening at a worse time, as Facebook looks to pivot the broader company towards the “metaverse” they also shared that they spent nearly $10 billion on the effort — and don’t expect to recoup that money any time soon.

Marketing 246

Marketing Newsletter Technical Review News 246

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 14, 2022

Bringing money and connections is great, but other less tangible things can rip the business apart. Some people are early risers and expect to tackle the tough problems early in the day. I’ll put in the money, if you put in the sweat equity.” There is usually only room for one in a vision. Most startups can’t afford that.

Startup 140

Startup Satisfaction Writing Entrepreneur 140

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 16, 2014

The speaks to the continued confidence in the venture capital markets and as I had predicted some time ago the VC markets right now are a great place to invest – especially relative to other places to put one’s money. If you want to understand how the VC industry is changing there is a great primer in the link.

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Venture Capital Funding Technical Review Startup 396

Berkonomics

APRIL 24, 2014

There are many stories of funding deals made on demo day amid the excitement of seeing new, polished startups with great ideas and the beginnings of an infrastructure. Are you a candidate for an accelerator?

Coach 250

Coach Seed Funding Summary Incubator 250

SoCal CTO

MAY 13, 2014

For me, if I can help you within a couple hours Free Startup CTO Consulting Sessions , I’m happy to do that and I don’t expect compensation or equity for that. I side more with Mark Suster who says : “advisory boards are an expensive equity proposition for merely introductions.” That’s great advice.

CTO Coach 241

CTO Coach Startup CTO Hire Template 241

InfoChachkie

JULY 11, 2011

Startup blogger and venture capitalist extraordinaire Fred Wilson recently published a great article on Venture Debt, which I strongly suggest you review HERE. 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.

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Equity Startup Invest Funding 235