Fundraising - The 411 On Startups (tm)

Setting The Right Valuation For A Competitive Series A Round | TechCrunch

Aug

2015

Founders are often puzzled by how VCs derive valuations for competitive Series A rounds. A competitive Series A round is an equity round where a company generally raises greater than $5 million led by a top-quartile venture capital firm. During these Series A rounds, it is not uncommon for founders to receive multiple term sheets from lead investors at different ...

Startup Industry Insights from First Round Capital

Jul

2015

According to First Round Capital, a top venture capital firm located in Philadelphia, PA, women founders outperform men. In a report published by the firm yesterday, First Round Capital revealed the finding as one of ten major insights it has learned over the past ten years the VC firm has been in operation. Called the ...

Introduction To A Venture Capitalist? There’s An App For That

Jun

2015

Warm introductions are still the best way to meet an investor, however, scrappy venture capitalists know that ideas can come from anywhere – including from outside of their network. The venture capital industry exists because of entrepreneurs but it you’re an entrepreneur you’d hardly think you existed in the eyes of VCs. And you’d be ...

A Fundraising (Spreadsheet) Template Every Entrepreneur Can Use | TechCrunch

May

2015

. . . . . . .Early-stage CEOs are practically taught to not even put a financial model in any of their fundraising decks until they get to their Series B. It’s all about building product in the early stages right? You don’t need to worry about figuring out a business since it’s all about ...

The Ultimate Pitch Deck to Raise Money for Startups

May

2014

The Ultimate Pitch Deck to Raise Money for Startups Great startups don’t fund themselves. Raising money from investors for your startup is challenging at any stage and requires a great pitch, even for experienced founders with significant traction in their company. The good news is that there’s a formula for pitching your startup that has ...

The Eight Best Questions We Got While Raising Venture Capital

May

2012

VCs are good at asking questions. They are unimplicated in your dumb decisions, unmoved by your original sense of mission and far less concerned than you that a blunder could bankrupt you. They re-imagine your business in terms of all the other businesses they’ve seen, pulling the arms off one doll and the head off ...

Venture Hacks Series A Cap Table, with Note Conversion and Option Pool

Apr

2012

This is a Youtube video explanation of a cap (capitalization) table example that is available online. It may take a while get your head around the terminology and concepts involving the option pool and note conversion, and their impact on valuation. It is worth taking time to understand this if you want to see how ...

JOBS Act: 5 things to look forward to (and 5 to dread)

Apr

2012

Today, President Obama passes the JOBS (Jumpstart Our Business Startups) Act, a collection of laws that relaxes regulations on capital raising for startup companies and gives all companies more flexibility in how and when they go public. It’s the “crowdfunding” provisions of the JOBS Act that are getting the most attention, and for good reason. ...

4 Crowdfunding Cautions for Small Businesses

Mar

2012

The so-called crowdfunding term essentially means pooling resources or money together from a group. Under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, or JOBS Act, small companies will have the ability to raise up to $1 million in equity on an annual basis through crowdfunding, without having to go through the rigorous disclosure process by the ...

Raising Seed Investment for Africa focused Tech Startups

Feb

2012

(This article is focused on raising money for startups with an African focus but it contains some great generic advice on for all startups on needed steps before spending considerable time in fundraising.) 1. Make sure you are ready – Checklist This first step is actually common everywhere, entrepreneurs think they deserve financing when its ...