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10 Steps To Second Stage Success For Your New Venture

Startup Professionals Musings

They need a large infusion from venture capitalists, private equity, bank loans, or mezzanine financing. Switch your attention from product development to sales. Second-stage growth usually requires a formal sales model, an experienced and disciplined sales team, and a well-defined process to meet your new goals and demands.

Sales 147
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7 Keys To Scaling Your Startup To Be The Next Unicorn

Startup Professionals Musings

Startups usually think in terms of a million to 10 million dollar infusions, but aspiring unicorns usually need to seek financial investments of hundreds of millions, or even a billion dollars. Of course, that means a mindset willing to give up much more equity, and taking on a whole new level of risk.

Startup 151
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7 Ways To Highlight Your Personal Value To Investors

Startup Professionals Musings

You need to work just as hard to convince investors that you are the best person to take your idea from a dream to a successful business, and provide an impressive return on their investment at the same time. Offer an attractive and viable investment equation. Emphasize the value and skills of your team.

Ideas 140
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The Changing Venture Landscape

Both Sides of the Table

On the one hand, you’re over paying for every investment and valuations aren’t rational. Our fund (Upfront Ventures) recently returned >1x an entire $200 million fund just selling small minatory in secondary sales while still holding most of our stock for an ultimate public market exits. That used to be called A-round investing.

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5 Keys To A Viable Spending Rate And Cash Management

Startup Professionals Musings

Cash flow is a basic survival metric for every startup. Deferred payments start with stretching the payables period but, more importantly, include giving employee equity in lieu of a higher salaries and negotiating vendor deferred payments out of future revenues. Getting a sales contract before manufacturing inventory.

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Why you should never have a data room — the most counter-intuitive fund-raising advice you’ll ever…

Both Sides of the Table

Or if you’re a VC raising from LPs you have to list all of your deals, your investment value, your carrying value, your multiples, your IRRs, TVPIs, DPIs, etc along with net cashflows plus your previous LPAs. These collective sets of documents form the basis of what somebody looking at investing would call “financial due diligence.”

Funding 336
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5 Ways To Conserve Investor Cash And Ensure Survival

Startup Professionals Musings

Cash flow is a basic survival metric for every startup. Deferred payments start with stretching the payables period but, more importantly, include giving employee equity in lieu of a higher salaries and negotiating vendor deferred payments out of future revenues. Getting a sales contract before manufacturing inventory.