Entrepreneurs' Organization

AUGUST 31, 2022

The world is a big place, and companies wishing to invest have many domestic and foreign options. based companies invested in Germany in some way in 2021, almost matching the pre-pandemic total. Excluding sources of investments may alter the way a startup builds and shapes its culture. For example, 1,806 U.S.-based

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strategy investment investing culture 241

A Smart Bear

JANUARY 4, 2018

The Silicon Valley-oriented technology press outlets don’t cover us because we’re not in San Francisco, even though we’re more successful than most of the startups they cover. This week we closed $250M in financing from Silver Lake , the premier technology private equity firm. Every day, 5% of the entire online world (roughly 3.5

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investment investing leadership culture 175

Entrepreneurs' Organization

JUNE 19, 2024

This experience allowed me to identify a critical void in financing companies: building healthy capital stacks and navigating the public offering process. With no revenue three years in and an ever-increasing pile of expenses, my personal finances took a hit. Loans replaced savings, and credit lines were stretched to their limits.

finance 255

finance financing entrepreneurship mentorship 255

A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

AUGUST 8, 2022

When fundraising gets tougher for startups, the existing investors (insiders) will often provide a bridge loan to the company to extend the runway for getting another round done. Most commonly they are a bridge to a round of financing with new investors (outsiders). That is a real round of financing and it is not a bridge.

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finance financing leadership capital 265

American Entrepreneurship

MARCH 30, 2025

The company touts over 200,000 businesses with, a large portion being startups that use its services as a financial backbone, replacing cumbersome platform switching or thejuggling third-party apps. San Francisco-based FinTech company Mercury has announced a $300 million Series C investment round, bringing its valuation to $3.5

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finance financing board entrepreneurship 86

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 1, 2010

We all like to think of startups as “non hierarchic&# organizations and to some extent that should be true. A good early-stage CEO needs to be accessible, to be accountable for producing results and should be establishing the cultural norms of the company through direct leadership at all levels. Attention to detail matters.

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startup board advice VC 308

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 22, 2014

EQ and Team Leadership? Politics are a part of human nature and thus a part of all startups. As I like to say “ Startups are all naked in the mirror ” (we see our own flaws but see everybody else in their Sunday best.). Startups are hard. Fred Wilson wrote perfectly about sticking with struggling investments.

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VC advice board leadership 364

A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

SEPTEMBER 9, 2020

I have had the great pleasure of working with Matt Blumberg and the senior leadership team of USV’s former portfolio company Return Path (which was sold in 2019) for much of the last twenty years. Matt is a great CEO and has even written a book about leading and growing a company called Startup CEO.

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board leadership venture capital VC 218

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 24, 2021

But markets have changed and I think investors, founders and experienced executives who want to join later-stage startups can all benefit from playing the long game. This “overnight success” was first financed in 2004. sold to Disney for $670 million and since our first investment was at < $10 million valuation we did quite well.

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venture capital capital ventures VC 363

American Entrepreneurship

JULY 15, 2024

“Metropolis has developed a new growth buyout model, demonstrating how innovation and technology can evolve legacy industries for the 21st century,” said Tony Minella, Co-Founder and President of E ldridge Industries , an existing investor in Metropolis that led the recent financing transaction. The financing included $1.05

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financing finance real estate strategy 105

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 31, 2010

In the first part of this post I talked about how sales in a startup is often evangelical , requires as consultative sale and needs constant adjustments based on customer feedback. I know all of this, like most everything I learned about startups, from making mistakes at my first company. A’s, B’s & C’s.

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peer-to-peer advice culture leadership 286

StartupNation

NOVEMBER 15, 2021

With so many entrepreneurs and startup ventures seeking investment opportunities, it’s crucial that venture capitalists (VCs) create a list of criteria they want their potential investments to meet. As such, VCs have to consider a number of factors when choosing which companies or entrepreneurs in whom to invest.

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TechCrunch

JULY 25, 2022

Since its launch nine years ago, Seedstars has invested in 81 companies in over 30 emerging countries. Now it’s set a goal of investing in 100 more startups with the launch of its second emerging market seed-stage fund, called Seedstars International Ventures II (SIV), with a first close of $20 million.

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investment investing startup finance 98

Entrepreneurs' Organization

MARCH 8, 2024

Women still only get about 2% of venture capital investment money, and we want to see that change,” said Cindy Boyd, EO Houston. “By Our global goal is to ignite women leaders, innovators, entrepreneurs, and future-preneurs to spark startups, drive economic expansion, and advance communities worldwide,” Milena shared.

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education support entrepreneurs mentorship 256

TechCrunch

NOVEMBER 9, 2020

Fintech regulations in Latin America could fuel growth or freeze out startups. Year-in, year-out, the gender gap in venture capital investment continues to be a problem women founders face. In fintech, the problem is especially prominent: Women-founded fintechs have raised a meager 1% of total fintech investment in the last 10 years.

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Entrepreneurs' Organization

FEBRUARY 17, 2020

If you let them control and manipulate you rather than controlling them, emotions can ruin your startup. Are your friends really suited to the roles you need in a startup ? Your Finances Will Be Quite Strained. If one of your friends invests more, will they expect more control? Do feel comfortable asking for more money?

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Gust

JUNE 19, 2012

Thoughts on startups by investors that fund them & entrepreneurs that run them. Invested Interests. Investment and startups problem : we all want disruptive and game-changing businesses. There’s also timing and trends, leadership, luck, and maybe even marketing. . Invested Interests. Power Pitches.

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startup pitching disruption mix-use 180

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 15, 2013

From this I saw civic involvement and leadership first hand. I’ve been pitched by hundreds of entrepreneurs who never actually asked me whether I would invest. Hold interviews with tech people, marking people, ops people, finance people – whatever. Startup Advice' She was a natural leader. Even today.

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advice entrepreneurs entrepreneurship leadership 416

Gust

APRIL 13, 2014

A while back I talked about how and where to find a co-founder in “ For a Startup, Two Heads are Always Better Than One ”. The feedback was good, but some readers asked me to be a bit more specific on attributes that might indicate an ideal startup partner. Look at the big picture first of development, finance, and marketing/sales.

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entrepreneurs leadership education finance 179

Entrepreneurs' Organization

FEBRUARY 3, 2016

When you’re growing your startup, there’s something to be said for the old-fashioned meet and greet. However, hitting the streets of large cities to chat over coffee can be daunting and expensive for cash-strapped startups. This presents out-of-towners with opportunities to connect with fellow startup leaders and potential investors.

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investment investing startup networking 100

Entrepreneurs' Organization

JULY 15, 2020

This is especially critical when talking about finances—one of small business owners’ biggest challenges anyway. Are your investments smart decisions? What you discover will make you a stronger, more competent entrepreneur ready to face leadership in difficult times. You’ll sleep better—and so will your trusted employees.

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opportunity health education leadership 250

Founders Coop

FEBRUARY 21, 2024

. + This post unpacks offers an insiders’ view of some of the key strategic decisions that led to Techstars’ decline. ————– Techstars is – or was – one of the world’s best startup accelerator programs. Not coincidentally, they also serve as training grounds for some of the world’s most successful startup founders.

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startup ecosystem accelerator communities support 189

Ben Franklin Technology Partners

APRIL 26, 2022

Ben Franklin’s investments paid huge dividends for the commonwealth as the state continued to rebound from the pandemic, according to the statewide initiative’s “2021 Annual Statewide Impact Report,” with clients generating more than $2 billion in revenue and securing $917 million in post-Ben Franklin financing.

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investment investing entrepreneurial ecosystem economic development 98

Gust

SEPTEMBER 21, 2014

A few years ago it was all the rage to have MBAs in the top finance role. These days, with Sarbanes-Oxley and all the new SEC regulations, an MBA does not begin to cover the accounting, process, and tax knowledge needed to steer a company’s finances. So, choose a CFO who is very comfortable with legal documents, as well as finance.

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startup finance financing leadership 147

American Entrepreneurship

JANUARY 5, 2025

A mentor acts as a trusted advisor whos invested in your success, helping you confidently navigate the entrepreneurial journey. A Great Example of Mentoring Byron Bennett is a serial entrepreneur and now CEO and founder of Z ergratran , an international startup organizing the construction of an alternative to the Panama Canal in Columbia.

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entrepreneurs mentorship entrepreneurship advice 98

TechCrunch

SEPTEMBER 13, 2022

Pakistan’s embedded finance platform Neem has raised $2.5 The Karachi-based startup targets communities across sectors including agriculture, MSMEs, e-commerce, logistics, healthcare and others. If you look at the embedded finance space, it is a $167 billion opportunity,” Shaikh said in an interview with TechCrunch.

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financing finance communities leadership 98

Founders Coop

APRIL 29, 2024

This post is an effort to unpack what’s required of a startup accelerator to truly serve the needs of high-performing founders. Being an effective founder of a high-growth company requires a bundle of technical, analytical, leadership and communication skills that don’t often come packaged in a single individual.

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startup accelerator accelerator peer-to-peer startup 149

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 11, 2011

In the video I describe how to best play this meeting and why, without a champion going into the meeting, you’re unlikely to get an investment. This isn’t weakness – it’s leadership. If you make it past this stage you will go to a “full partners meeting&# which is exactly what it sounds like. Competition.

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TechCrunch

AUGUST 11, 2021

In addition, Toni works on several digital-economy-related initiatives that support the scaling of digital businesses, stimulate startup ecosystems and accelerate the digital transformation of key industries in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and the Middle East. A glimpse into Singapore’s current startup ecosystem. Jamil Wyne.

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startup ecosystem startup entrepreneurial ecosystem VC 98

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 23, 2015

But not everybody has the right skills to build a highly successful and valuable startup from scratch. For some aspiring to be tech entrepreneurs, I often suggest a two-step process, as I argued in this post that “ The First Startup Founder You Need to Invest in Is You.”

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advice peer-to-peer VC board 334

TechCrunch

DECEMBER 2, 2022

The startup projects to cross an assets under management (AUM) mark of more than $1 billion over the next six to nine months; currently that figure is $492 million. Azim Premji’s Premji Invest, Motilal Oswal Alternates, TPG-backed NewQuest Capital Partners, and Mirae Asset Ventures — all previous backers — invested, as did Japan’s MUFG Bank.

investment 85

investment investing finance financing 85

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2013

My internal compass has always steered me strongly toward the belief that founders who can scale with their startup companies are better to back that founders who eventually need to hire a CEO. Jonathan Strauss took this issue head on in a blog post that I believe every startup founder should read on “ Replacing Oneself as CEO.”

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peer-to-peer energy founder advice 303

Entrepreneurs' Organization

NOVEMBER 24, 2023

In the fast-paced world of startups, financial forecasting can often be overlooked or considered a back-burner issue. Why is financial forecasting important for startups? For startups, financial forecasting is not just a tool for appeasing investors; it’s the backbone of effective strategic planning.

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economic environments venture capital finance financing 196

TechCrunch

NOVEMBER 23, 2020

Cashfree, an Indian startup that offers a wide-range of payments services to businesses, has raised $35.3 million in a new financing round as the profitable firm looks to broaden its offering. The new round brings the startup’s to-date raise to $42 million. Y Combinator later financed Cashfree’s seed round.

finance 124

finance financing leadership investing 124

American Entrepreneurship

APRIL 18, 2023

This is the launch of a second MM Catalyst Fund (MMCF) that will focus on investing in Black-led startups as well as overlooked businesses across Massachusetts. The inaugural MM Catalyst Fund launched in 2021 invested in 16 businesses across Massachusetts that included Black-led growth companies and rural startups.

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Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 28, 2018

Until recently it was headquartered 2 blocks from our offices in Santa Monica so we literally saw it emerge under our feet and we proudly invested in the last 3 rounds of financing. Today the company officially announced its most recent round of capital ?—?having having raised $300 million?—?less There is nothing viral! Not really.

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Entrepreneur's Handbook

AUGUST 2, 2021

What can we do to attract more women investors, and to change the types of startups, products, and services that are funded? Photo Credit: Fortune Adding to the lack of female representation in the industry, research also shows that only 8% of the investment professionals at the top 25 VC firms are women.

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