Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 14, 2010

If you want to raise venture capital more easily the advice could be quite practical and counter-intuitive. Many companies that are raising B or C venture capital rounds right now raised their initial money in 2005-2008. That means that they likely raised money at a particularly high price relative to 2010 prices.

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Venture Capital Capital Startup Pricing 289

Xconomy

OCTOBER 27, 2016

Prices for agricultural commodities such as corn, soy, and wheat are at their lowest levels in years, but investment in agricultural technology has never been better. They also queried 15 VC firms. Just 10 percent of corporate investments were made to build new technological capabilities, the report says.

Venture Capital 40

Venture Capital Pricing Invest Report 40

Berkonomics

MARCH 8, 2018

Give one percent equity to each outside board member vesting over four years of service. Pay early stage board members of companies that are not lifestyle businesses one percent of the fully diluted equity in the form of an option that vests over four years of service. VC board members sometimes request this, other times do not.

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Venture Capital Equity Sales Invest 256

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 27, 2011

I was asked by a reader how much equity he should give out to early employees and to service providers in a very early stage startup. Founders are likely not paid for a long time and have a sizeable equity percentage for early risk and having the concept. as his "retail" price. Let's run through an example.

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Equity CTO Hire Startup Examples 391

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 15, 2010

We started this week’s show with a Q&A session where I answered viewer questions about fund raising and the VC industry. Heck, stick around and watch me discuss the seed funding debate that is going on right now and what is happening in the VC industry overall. Google’s investment in Zynga. Don’t.

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Venture Capital Seed Funding Pricing Southern California 210

TechCrunch LA

SEPTEMBER 18, 2019

Most of the venture capital firms covered in TechCrunch and other tech publications compete for a spot on the cap table of the hottest Bay Area, New York or Los Angeles companies of the moment. Since Revolution launched in 2005, venture capital activity in underrepresented markets has grown significantly.

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Venture Capital Funding Seed Funding Activity 211

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 30, 2011

This is the final part of a 3-part series on the major changes in the structure of the software & the venture capital industries. The result was a massive increase in startups & a whole group of new funding sources: both angels & “micro VCs&#. But … Downsizing Venture Capital.

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Venture Capital Capital Cloud Computing Marketing 289

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2015

” Today I want to talk about how a VC thinks about equity pricing on your round and particularly if you’re coming off of a convertible note. Pre-money ($8m) + investment ($2m) = Post-money ($10m) and the investors now own 20% of your company $2m / $10m. So how DOES a VC think about financings at early stages?

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Venture Capital Pricing Startup Invest 150

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 1, 2009

In the first post in this three part series I described why I believe the VC market froze between September 2008 – April 2009. We spent our future since the equity was artificial. If these factors impact earnings the stock market may be headed South – If unemployment rises housing prices won’t.

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Venture Capital Startup Funding Technical Review 269

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 16, 2010

Lots of discussion these days about the changes in the VC industry. The VC industry grew dramatically as a result of the Internet bubble - Before the Internet bubble the people who invested in VC funds (called LPs or Limited Partners) put about $50 billion into the industry and by 2001 this had grown precipitously to around $250 billion.

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Venture Capital Startup Seed Funding Rustic Canyon 311

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 28, 2010

This was the first episode where Jason wasn’t on the show, which gave me the chance to have another VC on the show to discuss deals. Rustic Canyon is an LA-based, but geography-agnostic VC that is currently investing from a $200 million fund. VC Financings: 1. I keep meaning to get him drunk to spill the stories.

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Venture Capital Capital Rustic Canyon Mobile 270

Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 3, 2022

Of course, you will find yourself in opposition to your investors and some of most of your board members if you do this after taking outside investment. I was able to negotiate a “put” of my shares back to the company at 5x my investment. For some, that comfort is worth forgoing building high equity value.

Equity 156

Equity Course Sales Invest 156

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 8, 2012

I recently wrote about my views that startups rounds should be priced. Fred, who also wrote his views about convertible debt (significantly more succinctly than I) believes that the price of a single round should be the same for everybody. I also would never expect another VC to do that to me. Price the round.

Pricing 294

Pricing Venture Capital Writing Equity 294

TechCrunch LA

SEPTEMBER 21, 2019

Hello and welcome back to Startups Weekly, a weekend newsletter that dives into the week’s noteworthy news pertaining to startups and venture capital. Landline , the operator of a bus network in the Midwest, is one of the latest companies to raise venture capital. Ginkgo Bioworks raises capital at a $4B valuation.

Services 207

Services Startup Venture Capital Redpoint 207

Berkonomics

JUNE 8, 2017

Email readers, continue here…] Bootstrapping: This term describes your ability to start a business with little investment and grow it using internally-generated funds. You will realize much more from the ultimate sale of your business even if at a considerably lower price than if splitting the proceeds with investors.

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Venture Capital Class Invest Equity 266

TechCrunch LA

MAY 25, 2019

Hello and welcome back to Startups Weekly, a newsletter published every Saturday that dives into the week’s most noteworthy venture deals, fundraises, M&A transactions and trends. More Labs, for example, is backed with $8 million in VC funding. Let’s take a quick moment to catch up. It closed Friday down 3 percent.

Startup 223

Startup Venture Capital Newsletter Tips 223

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 29, 2009

When venture capitalists scale back investing activities it can be very swift and leave many companies that are in the process of fund raising hung out to dry. I would argue that the shut-down of September 2009 was equally severe yet there are signs that this “VC Ice Age” has begun to thaw. Short answer – yes.

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Venture Capital Startup Invest Funding 263

socalTECH

APRIL 5, 2011

Santa Monica-based TrueCar , the online car pricing site headed by Scott Painter, has scored a new, equity investment and partnership with direct marketing firm Guthy-Renker , the firm announced today. Financial terms of the investment were not disclosed.

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Truecar Invest Edmunds Santa Monica 232

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 10, 2010

This episode of This Week in Venture Capital featured Michael Montgomery, president of Montgomery & Co. If you don’t know Montgomery & Co it is one of the premier technology & media focused investment banks in the country (and as Michael corrected me they also have a strong Healthcare / Med tech practice).

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Venture Capital Mission Ventures Capital Help 242

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 5, 2012

This time by the efforts of Adeo Ressi to introduce a new kind of structure called “ convertible equity.” My initial reaction to Adeo when we spoke was that while it may have solved some issues (debt versus equity) it didn’t solve the ones that I’ve been warning entrepreneurs about most loudly.

Startup 354

Startup Pricing Equity Venture Capital 354

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 16, 2023

Projecting financials is a natural extension of the homework every entrepreneur needs to do on customer opportunity size, product costs, pricing, competition and customer value. As a rule of thumb, most viable businesses need a gross margin above 50 percent, even on wholesale prices, to cover operational expenses and survive as a business.

Startup 116

Startup Pricing Sales Statistics 116

socalTECH

MAY 24, 2021

Los Angeles-based ProducePay, a fintech startup which offers up pricing information, analytics, and a marketplace connecting produce growers and distributors, has raised $43M in its Series C funding. The company says the new round brings its total raised to over $300M, including both equity and debt.

Pricing 113

Pricing Equity Los Angeles Capital 113

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 25, 2010

When I first read Paul Graham’s blog post on “High Resolution&# Financing I read it as a treatise arguing that convertible notes are better than equity. As I’m generally a believer in ‘pricing rounds’ I initially didn’t agree with the premise of the post. Photo credit: D. Perhaps it shouldn’t.

Venture Capital 286

Venture Capital Pricing Technical Review Startup 286

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 19, 2022

Yet as I mentor entrepreneurs around the country, crowdfunding still seems to be one of the least understood approaches to startup funding, with more myths than accredited angels and professional venture capital investors combined. With this model, a startup pre-sells their product early, at a cheaper price, in exchange for a pledge.

Funding 141

Funding Startup Outsource Development Satisfaction 141

TechCrunch LA

MAY 20, 2021

Builders VC led the round, which included participation from Celtic, Newfund and Wish co-founder Danny Zhang. Eano, she said, offers competitive and transparent pricing so that homeowners aren’t surprised as a remodeling project goes on. Jim Kim of Builders VC, said he first encountered Wu and Jung while they were at Wish. “We

Technical Review 185

Technical Review Startup Venture Capital Software Review 185

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 7, 2022

On the other hand, venture capital organizations typically look for needs that exceed $2 million. Angel investors will perk up if you have a prototype or a few real customers, while venture capitalists will likely choose to wait until you have achieved several million in revenue or customer count.

Funding 121

Funding Startup Equity Invest 121

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 21, 2015

Yet as I mentor entrepreneurs around the country, it still seems to be one of the least understood approaches to startup funding, with more myths than accredited angels and professional venture capital investors combined. With this model, a startup pre-sells their product early, at a cheaper price, in exchange for a pledge.

Venture Capital 108

Venture Capital Angel Satisfaction Equity 108

socalTECH

AUGUST 24, 2009

Costa Mesa-based Semicoa Corporation , a supplier of military and high reliability components, announced Monday that it has relaunched the firm with backing from private equity firm Vance Street Capital, which is based in Los Angeles. Financial details of the private equity investment were not disclosed.

Equity 100

Equity Venture Capital Los Angeles Pricing 100

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. Maybe the market views this as not worth the price you paid?

Startup 290

Startup Funding Venture Capital Pricing 290

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

If you track the venture capital industry it would be hard to miss the conversation going on this week over AngelList “Syndicates.” My favorite new VC blogger, Hunter Walk, weighed in with some thoughtful comments about how Syndicates might actually pit, “ angel vs. angel.” Bowery Capital).

Venture Capital 356

Venture Capital Invest Course Technical Review 356

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2022

The problem is that professional investors (angels and venture capital) want a proven business model before they invest, ready to scale, rather than early projections and product development. Nevertheless, it’s an option that doesn’t cost you equity. Only one-third make it past their tenth anniversary.

Startup 136

Startup Technical Review Equity Incubator 136

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 6, 2012

I had been trading emails & Tweets with venture capitalist John Frankel and we were to meet in person in March 2011 at SxSW to talk about Klout and other investments he had made. We met at a private party hosted by his venture partner Mike Yavonditte and I outlined my concerns for the lack of precision of the algorithm.

Cornerstone OnDemand 303

Cornerstone OnDemand Venture Capital GRP Partners Startup 303

TechCrunch LA

JUNE 10, 2021

We’ve scaled up so massively in investments in our growth and technology, but running on a loss is very odd for us,” he told TechCrunch. “We They can also do things like initiate refunds, track deliveries and get price-drop notifications. Now we have more cash and money available to invest further in the long term.”.

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Los Angeles Funding CIO Marketing 266

Xconomy

AUGUST 16, 2017

Private equity investors have more capital at their disposal than at any time in more than a decade, which could boost prices for companies seeking acquisitions. 1, private equity firms in North America and Europe had secured $212.6 As of Aug.

Equity 69

Equity Pricing Acquisition Report 69

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 12, 2012

For our Insights and Opinions section on a quiet holiday Monday, we're featuring some background on the concepts behind anti-dilution and how it's used by venture capital firms in fundings. a smaller reduction in the investors equity holdings). Anti-dilution protection ensures that in the event of a down round (i.e.

Venture Capital 149

Venture Capital Pricing Equity Invest 149

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2021

If you don’t have a destination, don’t waste your money trying to get there, and don’t expect anyone to support you along the way Projecting financials is a natural extension of the homework every entrepreneur needs to do on customer opportunity size, product costs, pricing, competition and customer value. Forecast sales-volume expectations.

Startup 147

Startup Pricing Sales Statistics 147

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 15, 2010

It’s always fun chatting with Jason because he’s knowledgeable about the market, quick on topics and pushes me to talk more about VC / entrepreneur issues. Next Wednesday we’ll have Dana Settle of Greycroft Partners, a New York / LA early-stage venture capital fund. I’d link to it but it’s behind a paywall.

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Venture Capital Startup Advertising Redpoint 285