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Financing options: Convertible debt

by Fred Wilson, July 11, 2011 | Comments

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As the current financing gold rush fizzles, the use of convertible debt will wane

MBA Mondays are back after a one week hiatus. Today we are going to talk about convertible debt. Convertible debt can also be called convertible loans or convertible notes. For the purposes of this post, these three terms will be interchangeable. Convertible debt is when a company borrows money from an investor or a group of investors and the intention ...

How much money to raise

by Fred Wilson, July 4, 2011 | Comments

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First, try to keep dilution below 20%; Second, raise 12 to 18 months cash each time...

I spent some time yesterday talking to an entrepreneur about this topic and I thought I'd share what I told him with everyone. When your company is growing really fast, doubling employees year over year, adding users and customers at a very rapid rate, you don't want to raise too much money. If you raise three or four years of ...

Financing options: Vendor financing

by Fred Wilson, June 27, 2011 | Comments

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Equipment financing or development for equity are two reasonably common examples

Last week's financing options post was about getting your customers to finance your business. This week's post is about getting your suppliers to finance your business. Truth be told, this is not very common in the startups I work with. The more capital intensive your startup is, the more you can and should think about this approach. Two reasonably common ...

Slow down to speed up

by Brad Feld, June 26, 2011 | Comments

	If I do this right, I believe I'll be able to cover even more ground It’s Sunday morning. Take a deep breath. It’s summer time. Go for a walk. Or a run. Play with your family. Take a nap this afternoon. Read a book. Go to a movie. Chill. Last week, I had two close friends tell me some version of “I’m too busy.” One insightfully said “I have no time these days. I’m doing ...
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Financing options: Customers

by Fred Wilson, June 20, 2011 | Comments

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Customer financing is much more difficult, if not impossible, in consumer-facing services

I wrote in an earlier post in this series that friends and family is the most common form of startup financing. If you are talking explicitly equity investments, then that is probably true. But the most common way that startup businesses get money to get going is they sell something to someone. In this context, someone means customers. Customers are ...

Financing options: Government grants

by Fred Wilson, June 13, 2011 | Comments

	These grants are essentially 'free money' Governments will provide capital for startups and I've seen many entrepreneurs over the years take advantage of this form of financing. The grants are usually "free money" in the sense that they do not need to be paid back and they don't cost any equity. But nothing in life is free. You do pay for this money in ways that ...
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Inquiry as a replacement for self-doubt

by Brad Feld, May 30, 2011 | Comments

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Double down on the notion of figuring it out and use an inquiry to get you there

I had several conversations with entrepreneurs this week who were struggling with a specific issue that had plagued them for a while. In each case these are strong, capable entrepreneurs who I’ve known for a long time. As with all entrepreneurs (and humans), they have strengths, weaknesses, and blind spots. In each case, I felt like self-doubt had crept into ...

Financing options: Friends and family

by Fred Wilson, May 30, 2011 | Comments

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Use a convertible note with a discount and a cap on the valuation

This is the first in a series of posts about financing options for startups. By "financing" I mean obtaining cash to fund your business. There are all sorts of strategies to avoid needing funding, but this series is not about them. Many entrepreneurs turn to friends and family for their first funding needs. In fact, it is common for non-tech ...

Revisiting the term sheet

by Brad Feld, May 26, 2011 | Comments

	Quick references to a number of articles used in college courses In 2005, my partner Jason Mendelson and I wrote a long series of posts describing all of the parts of a typical venture capital Term Sheet. We started on 1/3/05 with a post on Price and finished up on 8/23/05 with a post on Indemnification and Assignment. Of all of the stuff I’ve written over the past four years, my ...
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Social media's secret weapon: Email

by Fred Wilson, May 15, 2011 | Comments

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There isn't a better way to drive usage and retention than email

The theme in board meeting after board meeting in recent months is driving repeat usage and retention. Whether the product is a mobile app, a social app, a mobile social app, a marketplace, an ecommerce business, or something else, everyone is looking at montly actives/total registered users and saying "let's push that number up and to the right." And I'm ...

How to estimate market size

by Jeremy Liew, May 9, 2011 | Comments

	There's a lot of confusion about how to estimate it As an entrepreneur, your time is a very valuable asset. It takes as much time and effort to build a business whether you’re attacking a small market or a big one. But the rewards for success in a big market are much greater, so it makes sense to attack big markets. For the same reason,VCs are often very focused on ...
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Competition - the pros and cons

by Fred Wilson, May 9, 2011 | Comments

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Imitation is the best form of flattery... So, be prepared for it

Today on MBA Mondays, we are going to talk about competition. For most businesses, competition is a given. When I walk to work, I am often struck how many local businesses have competitors literally right across the street. Clearly competition is something you can learn to live with and still operate successfully. In fact, there are some very good things ...

First time vs serial entrepreneurs

by Fred Wilson, May 2, 2011 | Comments

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We invest in both, but there significant differences between the two

I've been thinking a lot about the differences between first time and serial entrepreneurs. We invest in both and do not have a preference betweeen the two. But there are significant differences. The best first-time entrepreneurs have been stewing on their idea for quite a while. It is a personal passion of theirs and they bring to it a fresh ...

Guy Kawasaki: Get it out there & enchant

by Andy Freeberg, April 30, 2011 | Comments

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HP Startup Central Tips for Entrepreneurs

For Guy Kawasaki, a Silicon Valley venture capitalist, co-founder of Alltop.com and author of the recent New York Times bestseller, Enchantment: "The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions, getting people to embrace something new and different requires both charm and realism." HP Startup Central’s new installment of Tips for Entrepreneurs titled, “Get it Out There & Enchant,” features Guy ...

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