Funding
Creating Your Fundraising Strategy
Serial entrepreneur-turned VC Mark Suster shares advice on how to plan your financing campaign. Raising funds is a sales process, he argues, so prepare accordingly. A great primer, along with a link to (no joke) a o...
Burn Rate Advice
Fred Wilson shares benchmarks and recommendations on burnrates for U.S.-based software start-ups, by development stage. How do YOUR calculations compare?
Are Ex CEOs the Best Investors?
Some entrepreneurs appreciate knowing their VC has walked miles in their shoes as CEOs, prior to becoming an investor. Others say the experience can be a negative, creating control issues or a lack of objectivity. ...
Fallen Angel Valuations
Venture capital valuations are drifting downward, say seekers and providers of capital. Record numbers of start-ups need cash but venture capital funds are smaller and necessarily selective. One likely result? Mo...
Are You a Chicken or a Pig?
Prospective investors sometimes categorize start-up founders according to behaviors more commonly associated with barnyard animals, according to this post by an entrepreneur-turned-venture capitalist. Which are ...
VC Rockers: Keep Day Job
Four Foundry Group VC partners have released a music video poking fun at their industry. These guys may be successful investors, but the tongue-in-cheek recording suggests they oughtn't give up their day jobs any ...
Q211 Venture Investment Summary
Fenwick & West analyzes Q211 venture deals, with much that was positive, including increased number of financings, % of 'up' rounds, and fewer senior liquidation preferences. But sentiment is cloudy, due to market...
Founders and Funders: Non-Stop Dating
Fred Wilson advises founders to build relationships with potential funders long before trying to raise capital. (He also invites investors to build relationships with prospective portfolio execs well before any...
Dividing Founder Equity
Two profs recently published research on the division of founder equity among entrepreneurs. Unequal shares were associated with larger founding teams, greater work experience, and capital contributions. Family...
Silicon Valley Investors Hot to Trot
It may not be as silly as 1999, but the climate for start-up investment is heating up quickly, according to many. This set of anecdotes suggests that finding funding for tech start-ups is as frothy as it's been in years.
Doubts About Women Founders
One investor shares his reaction(s) upon learning one of his prospective CEOs is pregnant, along with her reaction. Do investors worry about male CEOs having children? Why or why not?
Bubble Skeptic
Is the frothy environment surrounding valuations cause for concern or merely a response to the huge success of a few start-ups? Reasonable people differ, but these academics aren't alarmed yet.
Funding Froth But Not 1999
Finding early-stage funding is easing, but investors aren't throwing money around as they did in 1999, according to some Silicon Valley stalwarts. Revenue and profit turn out to be important after all, say venture capital pros.
Angel Funding Analysis
Fenwick & West published yesterday a detailed analysis of 52 angel/seed investments made in 2010. Trends include more professional angel/seed investors vs. wealthy individuals, larger financings that can exceed $1mm, and more sophisticated...
The F@#* Me Once Rule
Brad Feld describes the concept of implied trust in this post about entrepreneurs and their relationship to and with investors. Does this square with your experience in the venture community?
Would YOU Take the Money?
This case study, soon to run in HBR, poses a familiar dilemma. An angel investor offers the featured entrepreneur expansion funding, with conditions that could accelerate growth and reduce financing risk. However,...
CEO's Guide to Corporate Finance
McKinsey Quarterly authors illustrate basic principles of economics as a framework for analyzing four types of decisions CEOs frequently confront: a potential acquisition, expansion project, divestiture and...
Where Angels Dwell
Angel List is a new website that helps entrepreneurs locate seed financing. This clearinghouse allows start-ups to post and potential investors to rate their prospects, as well as contact any applicants whose ...
Super Angels--Movin' On Up?
Super Angel investors, who fit between traditional angel investors and venture capital rounds, are becoming more prevalent. This article examines the shifts that have led to their proliferation and pressures that ...
When Less is More
Super-angel funds, which invest smaller sums than traditional venture capital firms, are rising in numbers and influence. As large funds are under increasing pressure. new firms have begun to play a serious role in...
