Gust
FEBRUARY 2, 2014
'I don’t have an MBA. I used to fear that this would put me at a disadvantage in starting my own company, but now I’m convinced that it may be the other way around. In some reputable surveys , as many as two-thirds of entrepreneurs felt that their entrepreneurial spirit was more ingrained than learned, so a specific education level is at least irrelevant.
Both Sides of the Table
FEBRUARY 7, 2014
'I wrote this on my flight home from f.ounders & web summit in Dublin, Ireland late last year. I think I was too hung over to finish it, hit publish and move on. So here is attempt two now that the alcohol is mostly out of me. The Magic of the Irish. Scenes from my counter-top on my last night in Dublin. I recently returned from a 5-day visit to Ireland, my first time back in 10 years and the start of what I hope will be a more regular travel schedule there.
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Tomasz Tunguz
FEBRUARY 6, 2014
Naming your startup can be one of the hardest things to do when starting a company. Each founder must agree. The domain must be available to buy. Last and perhaps most importantly, investors need to like it because the first letter of startup’s name has meaningful impact on how easily the company will be able to raise money. Whatever you do, don’t pick a name that starts with the letter J.
Berkonomics
FEBRUARY 6, 2014
'Creating a gerat company in a relative vacuum is an exercise in complete trust that the entrepreneur knows what’s best for the customer, perhaps even without interaction with such a customer. It’s probably happened, but not often enough to trust this method as a formula for success. So, I’ve developed the three step dance in order to help form a repeatable method of how to create a great company from an early idea.
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Lack of digitalization decreases business competitiveness. To thrive, embracing modern solutions becomes essential. The approach to digitalization often aligns with a company's business model. This shift not only boosts productivity but also automates processes and improves security. The tech market offers a wealth of technologies tailored for management, planning, and forecasting, replacing outdated pen-and-paper methods.
Gust
FEBRUARY 5, 2014
'Investors absolutely need to know the specific financial status of a company before they invest, because they are going to be part owners of the business. How much would you be willing pay someone to take over their bank account if you had no idea how much was in it? So yes, it is absolutely standard practice for investors to require both existing financials that document the current state of the company into which they are investing, as well as projected financial statements giving them
Startup Catalyst Brief brings together the best content for the entrepreneurial ecosystem from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
Tomasz Tunguz
FEBRUARY 5, 2014
How large of a seed round should founders raise to maximize their chances of raising a Series A? Smaller seed rounds are simpler and faster to raise because they typically require fewer investors. They may also require less dilution because of the smaller investment size. On the other hand, to raise a Series A, the startup needs enough runway to hire a team and prove certain milestones to Series A investors.
Gust
FEBRUARY 1, 2014
'The ideal angel investor would spend a great deal of his/her time working on behalf of the company in support of the CEO, in every way other than being a full-time employee. In addition to doing the kinds of things that anyone (employee, friend, parent, founder, etc.) could do (referring customers, tweeting out news, suggesting ideas, checking out competitive sites, pointing out relevant news articles, providing moral support, etc.) the best angels are good for the same categories of contribu
Tomasz Tunguz
FEBRUARY 3, 2014
In What’s Up with the Series A , Nikhil Basu Trivedi documents the bifurcation in the Series A market. While there are a handful of startups that raise blockbuster Series As of greater than $10M, the average Series A investment size remains relatively constant over the past 6 years just around $5.3M for US technology companies according to Crunchbase data[1].
Tomasz Tunguz
FEBRUARY 2, 2014
What should the optimal revenue per customer be for a SaaS company? I could say million dollar contracts typical of enterprise sales provide more long-term stability and total revenue opportunity. On the other hand I might contend larger customer bases paying smaller license fees enable more predictable growth. Which is the correct argument? First, lets examine the relationship between average customer value and total revenues, to see if smaller customers create a glass ceiling for total revenue
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Derek Sivers
FEBRUARY 1, 2014
You know that song you love that you wish you’d written? Copy it. You know that existing business that you wish you had thought of? Copy it. Why? Because we’re imperfect mirrors. Like a funhouse mirror that distorts what it reflects, your imitation will turn out much different from the original. Maybe even better. When a musician covers someone else’s song, they reveal their own warped perspective, since we know what the original sounds like.
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