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The Berkus Method: Valuing an Early-Stage Investment

Berkonomics

Now we tackle the more difficult and subjective task of placing a value upon those startups that don’t fit into that mold. For those of us who’ve invested in early-stage companies, especially technology startups, we have confronted a universal problem. There is nothing wrong with changing the five tests to meet individual needs.

Invest 306
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Keep A Real Job Until Your New Venture Shows Traction

Startup Professionals Musings

One of the big decisions every aspiring entrepreneur has to make is when to quit your current job to devote yourself fulltime to your new startup. Others wait until the new business starts to generate revenue and profit before making the move. In my experience as a startup advisor, I find the minimum time to revenue is at least a year.

Startup 153
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8 Smart Tips To Soliciting Friends And Family Funding

Startup Professionals Musings

It’s great to start with a big dream as you contemplate a new business, but finding the money you need takes more than dreaming. For example, I just read an otherwise impressive business plan last week from a first-timer who asked for $10 million to get started. Get started first on your own time and money.

Tips 86
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7 Steps To Finding Investors Aligned With Your Values

Startup Professionals Musings

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. Create the ideal investor profile for your unique business.

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22 Los Angeles Startups You Need to Watch Out For

Tech.Co

While the Bay Area hold the title of most prolific startup ecosystem , there’s no denying that California is a veritable gold mine of entrepreneurial talent. Los Angeles, for one, is not only brimming with innovative ideas, it’s also home to a wide range of unique startups that are solving the problems of the world.

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The VC Inclusion Clause #MovingForward

Both Sides of the Table

If you’re an entrepreneur who would like to see this clause in more startups please ask your VC to include it in future term sheets and link to it from their home page. “We We can unequivocally say this has started to work in the companies that we have funded since this clause was inserted. Ours is: upfront.com/inclusion.

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How to Out Amazon, Amazon

Both Sides of the Table

My partner Greg Bettinelli gave me the idea for the title of this post because he ran a breakout session at the Upfront Summit titled “How to Out Amazon, Amazon.” Here are some ideas of what I believe matters. What started as sheets now has dozens of SKU’s. where would you even start in terms of product selection?

Product 296