Venture capitalists (VCs) play a crucial role in the startup ecosystem by providing the necessary funding to help emerging companies grow and scale. However, before VCs decide to invest, they must determine the value of the company in question. Valuing a startup is a complex process that […]
We are going to touch on the basics of what you need to increase the likelihood of a successful fundraising round. Keep in mind that you are competing against every other investment opportunity that comes across an investor’s desk. Investors are tight on time and resources, so […]
You may be wondering how investors come up with valuations as well as the number of shares to be included in a financing round. Much of this is determined by the market rate as well as incentives and “venture math.” As you can imagine, it is important […]
One of the many misconceptions when creating a company is that the terms “startup” and “small business” are easily interchangeable. They are not. In the venture capital industry, a startup has many more requirements and expectations of being a hypergrowth endeavor that can generate at least 10x […]
Most entrepreneurs will need to raise a small round of capital very early in their company’s life cycle to get the company off the ground. The amount is typically anywhere from $100K to $500K and is utilized to build the MVP (minimum viable product) and secure initial […]
For entrepreneurs operating in innovation-driven marketplaces, protection of intellectual property is of foremost concern. Accordingly, startups should require each employee and independent contractor they engage to enter into a Proprietary Information and Inventions Agreement. While agreements of this nature go by several different names (e.g., Confidential Information […]
When developing your investor pitch materials, it is important to approach the process as a competition for the investor’s attention. Most companies view their competition as the handful of companies that service their particular market segment. When it comes to raising capital, you are actually competing against […]
Many entrepreneurs have a good understanding of statutory limitations and regulatory constraints on the operations of the businesses they are starting. That understanding often comes as a result of familiarity gained from years of experience operating in an industry. Other entrepreneurs may be newer to an industry, […]