This is going to be BIG.

JANUARY 30, 2025

Most startups know not to blow a bunch of money on a big party before they have their first users, but legitimate questions remain about what you do in its placeand how you open yourself up to the world that gets attention. Founders still want to get press and investors to notice them, but they dont have a lot of money to work with.

startup 286

startup communities networking media 286

Paul G. Silva

FEBRUARY 11, 2025

The experts said it couldn’t be done, not without sacrificing quality or spending a lot more money than we had. The results matched expert evaluations while: Reducing systemic bias Ensuring every applicant got useful feedback Reinforcing our culture of entrepreneurs helping entrepreneurs Prize Money Distribution? Rethink It.

innovation 130

innovation accelerator angel investing entrepreneurship 130

A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

MAY 22, 2022

But at some point, economies will recover, central banks will tighten the money supply, and interest rates will rise. In the early 80s, the G7 economies tightened the money supply, raising interest rates dramatically, in an effort to bring inflation under control. That recession could easily last until the end of 2023.

investing 343

investing investment VC technology 343

A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

OCTOBER 12, 2021

It wasn’t that long ago that a NYC-based startup had to agree to move to Silicon Valley to get money from the VCs out there. That’s a huge change from where NYC was even two or three years ago. I think that was still a thing into the latter part of the 2000s.

innovation 329

innovation development capital startup 329

Entrepreneurs' Organization

JUNE 11, 2021

As a teenager, Magic asked his father for money to go to the movies. With 10 kids to raise, there wasn’t money for movies. So, his father said, “I can’t give you money, but I can do something better—follow me to the garage,” and he introduced Magic to “Mr.

consulting 318

consulting entrepreneurship entrepreneurs communities 318

This is going to be BIG.

MARCH 18, 2019

Everyone is excited when a new company gets funded in their ecosystem, but no one spends much time thinking about where the money comes from to fund that deal. Very little time and effort is spent helping professional, full time investors raise capital for venture funds.

startup ecosystem 326

startup ecosystem real estate startup economic development 326

The Seraf Compass

NOVEMBER 8, 2023

Have you ever been in a situation where you are negotiating an investment with an entrepreneur and you can’t agree on the pre-money valuation? Any early stage investor who makes more than one or two investments will certainly run into this issue.

capital 297

capital education entrepreneurs investing 297

This is going to be BIG.

MARCH 21, 2025

If youve started a company, and things arent going wellthe best thing you can do for your startup, your investors money, and for your own mental health is to ask for help. Everyone knew the risks going in.

VC 268

VC consulting health enablement 268

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2022

Median valuations for early-stage valuations tripled from around $20m pre-money valuations to $60m with plenty of deals being prices above $100m. IRRs work really well in a 12-year bull market but VCs have to make money in good markets and bad. There is a LOT of money still sitting on the sidelines waiting to be deployed.

VC 416

VC strategy investing investment 416

This is going to be BIG.

NOVEMBER 28, 2021

Again, if you’re thinking about the money side of this, consider the overall cost of not being able to hire and consider how undifferentiated your current benefits options are. Take a little more dilution, raise a little more money, and spend on the most ignored personal goal in the market.

hospitality 469

hospitality board energy pitching 469

A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

OCTOBER 12, 2020

What this means is that homeowners can and should go to the bank and borrow the money to remove oil and gas powered boilers and replace them with energy efficient heat pumps and put solar on their roofs to power them. They should do this not just because it is good for the climate, but because it is good for the bank account.

energy 363

energy financing finance innovation 363

Dream It

JULY 31, 2019

Few (or no) companies manage to raise money from investors they meet there, and if they do, it's because their rounds are already partially committed. When we understand that startup capital is simply a means to an end, we can start thinking about other ways to get to that end: an exciting, dynamic business that makes money and grows.

startup 334

startup accelerator pitching venture capital 334

The Seraf Compass

SEPTEMBER 20, 2023

Whether true or not, startups with multiple founders face key issues that will affect the company and its ability to raise money, grow, and ultimately be successful. Conventional wisdom is that startups with cofounders succeed more often than startups run by solo entrepreneurs.

angel investing 322

angel investing founder investing investment 322

Entrepreneurs' Organization

JULY 12, 2024

Don’t Make Money Your King After graduating from Harvard and finding success on Wall Street, Chatri had a revelation that left him in a cold sweat: “Is this all there is? Just to make a lot of money, buy more material things, and have more zeros in your bank account?” You’re just making money.” Is this the meaning of life?

founder 227

founder leadership entrepreneurs creativity 227

The Seraf Compass

DECEMBER 17, 2020

As usual it took longer than expected, everyone is exhausted and the company needs the money urgently to make long-postponed investments in growth. The deal lead and founders worked hard together to line up investors, negotiate terms, work through deal documents and disclosure schedules, and track down every last detail of cap tables.

investing 329

investing investment founder 329

This is going to be BIG.

FEBRUARY 21, 2021

They did X, Y and Z which seems really smart and the outcome was a bunch of money raised right away. While most of the funding goes to white men, most white men are also getting turned down for money. By not raising, and being successful on less money, she’s making “the stats” worse. It will all very much make sense.

advice 429

advice pitching venture capital VC 429

This is going to be BIG.

FEBRUARY 3, 2020

In other words, the people with the least amount of money in this game wind up doubling down on what is probably an unfundable, problematic idea to begin with—because an investor said the only thing missing was traction. Nearly all of these investors have funded someone they know on a Powerpoint or on a pre-revenue prototype.

pitching 357

pitching VC opportunity founder 357

Paul G. Silva

DECEMBER 21, 2023

When a startup founder is trying to raise money, they know they should use referrals to get introduced to investors. They’ve probably all raised money. But those referrals are hard to get! Usually entrepreneurs try cold-calling investors or asking investors they know to make referrals. Investors ignore cold-calls.

advice 264

advice networking entrepreneurs startup founder 264

This is going to be BIG.

MARCH 22, 2020

Investors have been making a bunch of money cashing out of companies that might not have lasted another year even before Coronavirus hit. It’s a status symbol and a calling card to say you were an early investor, despite the fact that the company that still loses a ton of money. We aren’t going to be able to fix everything.

health 303

health leadership disruption education 303

This is going to be BIG.

DECEMBER 3, 2020

If you’ve put money into a fund, I think it’s reasonable to expect that partner to check out the deal flow that you find on your own, and let you know what they think. So, while $25k isn’t a small amount of money, that probably means you’ll need a connection or something else to get into deals directly with that check size.

VC 258

VC angel investing mix-use opportunity 258

The Seraf Compass

JANUARY 27, 2021

It all comes down to making money… Early exits are an important part of the financial reward needed to turn a very risky portfolio of angel investments into an asset that provides an excellent risk/reward profile for you, the investor.

angel investing 313

angel investing investing investment 313

This is going to be BIG.

AUGUST 25, 2023

A recurring theme in a lot of my BSList posts is that, if an investor thinks they can make a boatload of money with you, they’ll go to all sorts of lengths to invest. Given the fact that the money you raise will mostly go to making hires, by definition, all teams are incomplete.

founder 364

founder VC board pitching 364

This is going to be BIG.

FEBRUARY 4, 2019

How would you know if I showed up to an investor conference, took meetings with startups, and acted serious about putting money to work in venture on behalf of a family office whether I was telling the truth? (Of course I am—Bolivia is a landlocked country.) But how would you know? For the most part, you’d have no idea.

real estate 340

real estate venture capital investing investment 340

Dream It

JULY 12, 2021

Investors are worried about getting money into the company and are willing to put money in with no cap because they are trying to get a “foot in the door.” Sometimes caps may not apply While Steve encourages putting a cap on these instruments, there are three distinct situations a cap may legitimately not apply.

founder 397

founder financing finance angel investing 397

A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

JANUARY 28, 2021

Many of these rules are designed to protect “widows and orphans” but all they really do is make the rich richer and keep those without money out of the game. Had you done that in the summer of 2014, you would be looking at roughly 1,000 times your money right now. Not anymore. Monetary policy is not the answer.

media 280

media investing investment development 280

A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

JULY 27, 2021

The other measures what the effective rate of return is on the investor’s money. And the money comes back over time as well. I care less about how quickly the money goes in and comes out of a fund and more about the total return of the fund. You might think these measures go hand in hand, but that is not the case.

opportunity 279

opportunity venture capital strategy investing 279

The Seraf Compass

FEBRUARY 22, 2023

Without the help of a broker, it is very easy to pay more money for a lesser policy, when, with some help, you could have purchased better coverage for your needs for less money. This will get you well-grounded, but as we noted previously, there is no substitute for a good D&O broker to help you wade through your options.

360

360

Entrepreneurs' Organization

MAY 10, 2024

Third, your Money. If those were flaps of a plane, my money flap had been pulling me down. Take an honest daily assessment on a scale of 1 to 10 and adjust across your spirituality, intellect, money, physicality, love, and entertainment. Keep it SIMPLE I think of the flaps of a plane as six different life categories.

health 272

health real estate strategy entrepreneurship 272

This is going to be BIG.

SEPTEMBER 6, 2019

A $10mm, $25mm, or even $50mm fund isn’t generating enough management fees for anyone to get rich off of just taking your money—so they’re out looking for big outcomes. They’re going in at high valuations using preferred securities—meaning they’re the first money out in a downside exit. The other area to consider is the timeline.

real estate 307

real estate disruption investing investment 307

This is going to be BIG.

MAY 10, 2020

Some VCs have no money left in their funds, but they still like playing VC. Remember, there is way more money out there than good ideas—so if they’re not chasing you, you probably haven’t done the job of being convincing. If they’re just not engaging at all, there’s a good chance you’re looking at a pocket veto.

VC 396

VC pitching opportunity founder 396

Entrepreneurs' Organization

AUGUST 17, 2023

How Entrepreneurs Can Create Meaningful Impact through Philanthropy, Part II A three-part series showing alternative paths to the traditional model of making a boatload of money at all costs and then giving it away. ”, it’s no longer in regard to money, but rather how much positive impact is enough for one lifetime.

entrepreneurs 207

entrepreneurs entrepreneurship accelerator culture 207

This is going to be BIG.

FEBRUARY 24, 2020

That’s why most investors balk at high founder salaries—because it feels like until the company starts making some real money or is seriously de-risked in some way, you’re adding additional risk that they don’t need to take. Once you’re making money, all bets are off. It’s easier to justify a higher salary when you’re making money.

founder 287

founder capital investing investment 287

The Seraf Compass

OCTOBER 25, 2023

If you lose your money betting on a startup, you have no one to blame but yourself. However, if you start an investment fund and collect and lose other people’s money, that’s a very different story. But if you borrow your friend’s car and do the same thing, sorting out the legalities can be significantly more complicated.

venture capital 265

venture capital ventures capital investing 265

Dream It

MAY 4, 2021

We are looking for a 10-12M pre money valuation based on significant progress since our last round.” We then back out the maximum post-money valuation to deliver a venture-level return. So if a VC thinks that your company has a real shot at being acquired for $100M, the maximum post-money valuation to deliver a 5x return is $20M.

VC 300

VC board pitching health 300

This is going to be BIG.

OCTOBER 24, 2021

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve told a founder, “I don’t think this is a great way to make money, so I’m going to pass,” and the founder responds with, “Sorry this isn’t a fit for your firm—do you know of any other investors where this might be closer to their thesis?” Never happens—even though that’s the case in most situations.

founder 317

founder pitching VC advice 317