Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2022

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Nevertheless, it’s an option that doesn’t cost you equity. Solicit funds from friends and family.

Startup 136

Startup Technical Review Equity Incubator 136

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 4, 2022

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Nevertheless, it’s an option that doesn’t cost you equity. Use crowd funding.

Tips 104

Tips Startup Technical Review Equity 104

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 6, 2019

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Nevertheless, it’s an option that doesn’t cost you equity. Solicit funds from friends and family.

Startup 128

Startup Technical Review Equity Incubator 128

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 23, 2010

a loan) that is later converted to equity at the time of the next financing. If no financing happened then this “note&# may not be converted and thus would be senior to the equity of the company in the case of a bankruptcy or asset sale. Maybe the market views this as not worth the price you paid?

Startup 290

Startup Funding Venture Capital Pricing 290

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 2, 2014

Ultimately, this simple assessment became known as the “Old Gray Whistle Test” (OGWT), a reference to the doormen''s preponderance of gray hair. Price – Doormen participated in the OGWT pro bono, in exchange for the psychic rewards associated with influencing the pop culture of their day.

Startup 208

Startup Journal Course Equity 208

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 17, 2015

Make sure everyone accurately posts their role with your startup on social media profiles, resumes, and references. Visit reference customers, partners, and vendors. For reference, here is a quick summary of key elements which most investors include in their due diligence process: Key personnel review.

Technical Review 108

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Entrepreneur 108

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 30, 2019

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Nevertheless, it’s an option that doesn’t cost you equity. Use crowd funding.

Startup 87

Startup Technical Review Equity Incubator 87

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 24, 2013

These plans just list a few key competitors out there now, compare feature richness, quality considerations, and pricing. That leads to switching costs, sunk costs, brand equity, and a host of other considerations, commonly called “barriers to entry.” These elements are referred to as “barriers to exit.”

Startup 80

Startup Framework Competition Pricing 80

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 11, 2010

[if you're not old enough to get the reference between this image and the title you can click on the image for a prompter]. We know prices of deals, compensation, who’s doing well / poorly, etc. These are not to be confused with incubators like YCombinator or IdeaLab which look to invest in your company and take equity positions.

Startup 285

Startup Venture Capital Incubator Entrepreneur 285

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 8, 2015

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Nevertheless, it’s an option that doesn’t cost you equity. Solicit funds from friends and family.

Entrepreneur 105

Entrepreneur Startup Technical Review Equity 105

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 25, 2012

These plans just list a few key competitors out there now, compare feature richness, quality considerations, and pricing. That leads to switching costs, sunk costs, brand equity, and a host of other considerations, commonly called “barriers to entry.” These elements are referred to as “barriers to exit.”

Competition 94

Competition Startup Pricing Framework 94

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 14, 2014

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Nevertheless, it’s an option that doesn’t cost you equity. Use crowd funding.

Entrepreneur 113

Entrepreneur Funding Startup Technical Review 113

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 1, 2017

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Nevertheless, it’s an option that doesn’t cost you equity. Use crowd funding.

Develop 70

Develop Development Product Startup 70

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 3, 2013

I normally look to invest my first money below a $20 million valuation and when deals get to lofty prices I normally bow out to later-stage investors who have deeper pockets. And even in this growth equity round led by Insight Partners we asked for our full prorata investment and took as much as we were allowed to. Not so DataSift.

Social Media 358

Social Media Yammer Invest Organization 358

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 19, 2013

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Nevertheless, it’s an option that doesn’t cost you equity. Use crowd funding.

Startup 123

Startup Technical Review Equity Incubator 123

Xconomy

JUNE 28, 2016

Maybe you’ve heard it referred to as an MOU, or memorandum of understanding. First, let’s cover basic components you’d see in a letter of intent for a startup M&A deal: — The sticker price : The cost to acquire the target. ESCROW: The parties typically agree to set aside 10 percent of the purchase price in an escrow account.

Startup 57

Startup Pricing Sales Summary 57

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 12, 2018

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Nevertheless, it’s an option that doesn’t cost you equity. Solicit funds from friends and family.

Startup 53

Startup Technical Review Equity Incubator 53

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 8, 2010

These plans just list a few key competitors out there now, compare feature richness, quality considerations, and pricing. That leads to switching costs, sunk costs, brand equity, and a host of other considerations, commonly called “barriers to entry.” These elements are referred to as “barriers to exit.”

Startup 86

Startup Competition Pricing Framework 86

Tech Zulu Event

AUGUST 4, 2015

For example, there are the private company valuation figures that get bandied about: think the numbers people reference for Uber and AirBnB for example. Business valuations = the price of the company. Do you see the overlap with the factors that come into play for equity valuations? Recent equity sales i.e., comparables.

IP 40

IP Equity Examples Guide 40

Tech Zulu Event

MARCH 16, 2015

Expect to be diluted by 20-25% with each equity round. Be careful how you price this. They’re typically issued at a 10-20% discount to equity depending on the timeframe; higher range is for longer timeframes. include reference and link to article about milestone fundraising]. Seed stage valuations can be all over the map.

Startup 40

Startup Venture Capital Equity Funding 40

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 16, 2013

These are investor slang terms referring to how fast money is being spent, with an implicit question of how long the startup can survive before breakeven or another cash infusion is required. Real customers are ones who have paid full price for the product, have it installed and in use, and are still satisfied.

Startup 101

Startup Invest Patents Entrepreneur 101

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 2, 2012

These are investor slang terms referring to how fast money is being spent, with an implicit question of how long the startup can survive before breakeven or another cash infusion is required. Real customers are ones who have paid full price for the product, have it installed and in use, and are still satisfied.

Startup 97

Startup Invest Patents Customer 97

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 21, 2010

If you don’t follow the image reference above or the tag line, “ You don’t need double talk; you need Bob Loblaw “ (try saying it out loud) , and if you care! You never got around to agreeing exact equity splits but you had many conversations about it. the link is here. Shame about that pesky FAS 157 ruling.

Startup 318

Startup IP Southern California Entrepreneur 318

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 21, 2010

As startup entrepreneurs we all want to work with them because having their name as reference clients makes it so much easier for marketing, PR, selling to other customers, fund raising and even recruiting. I’ve already made clear that I think raising equity from “strategic money&# is an oxymoron.

Startup 298

Startup Sales Slides Metrics 298

InfoChachkie

MAY 16, 2011

Thus, you must first create the playbook by which an independent sales rep can readily sell your product, including: identifying objections and developing strategies to overcome them, creating reference accounts and establishing meaningful customer adoption. 2) Secure Your Intellectual Property Too Early.

Startup 242

Startup Outsource Development Outsource Sales 242

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 5, 2011

These are investor slang terms referring to how fast money is being spent, with an implicit question of how long the startup can survive before breakeven or another cash infusion is required. Real customers are ones who have paid full price for the product, have it installed and in use, and are still satisfied.

Entrepreneur 95

Entrepreneur Startup Invest Patents 95

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 23, 2010

They might not actively “collude&# and say “let’s collectively keep the price down&# but in the resulting discussion pricing information will flow – whether intentional or not. They’re not in search of price fixing or collusion, they’re in search of diligence information about the company.

Pricing 292

Pricing Entrepreneur Technical Review Venture Capital 292

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 20, 2010

These are investor slang terms referring to how fast money is being spent, with an implicit question of how long the startup can survive before breakeven or another cash infusion is required. Real customers are ones who have paid full price for the product, have it installed and in use, and are still satisfied.

Startup 91

Startup Invest Patents Entrepreneur 91

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 25, 2011

The founders could reinvest this in growth (0% tax, focus on future equity growth) or take the profits of $12 million and divide amongst the founding partners. If a customer is faced with two equal choices for companies who can implement Salesforce.com – how do they choose one other than references & price?

Services 332

Services Venture Capital IP Startup 332

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2011

Businesses can be built on sweat equity. A local fishing guide might make friends with folks at the bed and breakfast, each referring clients to each other. It's amazing how rare it is for professionals to return phone calls and emails promptly, show up on time, or finish a project for the price quoted.

Startup 92

Startup Capital Blogging Ideas 92

Tech Zulu Event

JANUARY 20, 2014

WordPress, by way of $15M via North Bridge Growth Equity in WPEngine. Retail pricing intelligence provider Blacklocus ; who was picked up by Home Depot, making ATX the home of their innovation center. But Baer’s reference to “consumer internet,” is validated through this foundation of the consumer internet: eCommerce is here.

Technical Review 71

Technical Review Commerce Yahoo Web 71