Notes on the acquisition process. Ten years ago, startup financing was an insider’s game.
Since then, the topic has been widely discussed on blogs, to the great benefit of entrepreneurs. Comparatively little, however, has been written about the important transaction at the other end many startups’ life, acquisitions. The Four Main Things that Investors Look for in a Startup. I obviously don’t speak for all investors.
But in my experience as an entrepreneur and now spending my time amongst investors I can generalize that almost all VC investments in early stage technology & Internet investments come down to just four key factors. And they’re easy to remember because they all begin with an M: management, market, money and above all else momentum. Original Foursquare Investor Pitch Deck 2009. Foursquare is one of the biggest, buzziest startups in New York.
Scratch that -- anywhere. The local check-in startup raised $50 million this past summer from Andreessen Horowitz and Spark Capital. It recently reached 15 million downloads and it has been rolling out tons of new features including Lists and Radar.
Business Risks. 5 Steps to a Successful Start-up. We're always on the lookout for entrepreneurs who get it--the leaders who are modeling what it takes to launch a successful start-up.
Scaling the business. Teambuilding. 7 Frugal Startup Tips from Millionaire Entrepreneurs. You don't win in business by wasting money.
Even the most successful entrepreneurs pinched pennies in the early days--and many still do. Here, several multimillionaires share their best cost-cutting tips when you're trying to get your startup off the ground. 1. Cash in credit card rewards. Before the success of the George Forman grill super-charged sales at his direct-response television marketing firm, Rick Cesari became resourceful in using his credit card points to buy event tickets or thank high-performing employees by sending them on weekend getaways. Related: Three Things to Know About Business Credit Cards.
Customer Service. Pricing. Australia Salary Survey - Average Salary in Australia. Human Resources. Customer Referall Solutions. Valuation. Failing. Entrepreneurs. Cashflow. Local Networking and Angel Groups. Nail the Customer Development Manifesto to the Wall. Posted on March 29, 2012 by steveblank When Bob Dorf and I wrote the Startup Owners Manual we listed a series of Customer Development principles.
I thought they might be worth enumerating here: A Startup Is a Temporary Organization Designed to Search for A Repeatable and Scalable Business Model. MILESTONE-BASED THINKING - a Roadmap for Setting Goals and Achieving Success. The traditional Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) used by many companies is activity- or task-driven.
With variations across methodologies, the traditional life cycle typically consists of the distinct phases shown in the following list: Definition; Analysis; Design; Construction; Test; Transition and Migration; Production. The term "phase" implies that each set of tasks must be completed before the next phase can begin. Typically, different teams handle each phase in the life cycle, and each phase must be heavily documented to allow for a different team to pick up the next phase. As a result, decisions freeze early and flexibility is minimized. While this model provides a useful way to categorize the types of tasks that occur throughout the development life cycle, it does not recognize or leverage the characteristics of component-based enterprise development. Technology Marketing Blog: Key Findings From IDC's 2011 Tech Marketing Benchmarks Study.
Between May 15th and July 31st, 2011, IDC's CMO Advisory Group fielded its 9th annual Tech Marketing Benchmarks Study.
More than 100 tech companies representing about $850B in revenue responded, making this the CMO Advisory Group's most successful benchmarking study to date. The average revenue for companies in this data set is $9.5B, and these data include companies ranging from less than $500M to about $100B. Technology hardware, software, and services companies with both direct and indirect channel strategies are represented in the database. The following are some key findings from IDC's 2011 Tech Marketing Benchmarks Study. Marketing investment growth in 2011 is lagging revenue growth at 3.5% and 6.5% respectively. IDC's CMO Advisory Service tracks a series of key performance indicators that marketing executives should monitor closely in their own organizations.
Shoehorning startups into the VC model. Tech startups go in an out of fashion. When they’re in fashion, as they are now, entrepreneurs and VCs get lots of attention. Most of this attention focuses on things that involve money, like financings and acquisitions. For some entrepreneurs, raising venture capital becomes a goal unto itself, instead of what it should be: a heavy burden that only makes sense in certain cases. A startup should raise venture capital (or “venture-style” angel/seed funding) only if: 1) the goal is to build a billion-dollar (valuation) company, and 2) raising millions of dollars is absolutely necessary or will significantly accelerate growth. There are lots of tech companies that are very successful but don’t fit the VC model.
Unfortunately, many of these startups graft VC-friendly narratives onto their plans and raise too much money. The best source of capital is customers.