Funding
2023 is going to be another challenging year for many founders. The pullback by investors will continue, leaving the potential path to additional funding uncertain. Yes, investors have plenty of dry powder. But they are being far more careful about deploying those funds than in 2020 and 2021. If you&
Funding
There are four common pitfalls entrepreneurs fall into while raising venture capital. Here are a few tips on how to avoid them. Founders that raise venture capital tend to focus on optimizing around four things: * Getting to the next round of funding as quickly as possible * Increasing valuation * Maintaining their
Funding
Calculating how much runway you have isn't as simple as you may think. Get it wrong, and your company might be running on fumes sooner than you expected. Until your startup is profitable and generating positive cash flow, there is one fundamental question you should be able to
Funding
Take a look at the picture below. That's me in July 2011. After I took this picture, I decided to create a little experiment. I set it as my profile photo and started asking people a question. What do you see? Where am I? What am I doing?
Funding
In the first few issues of this newsletter, we've talked about the importance of thoughtfully scaling product-market fit, choosing your investors carefully, and the impact external events can have on your startup's ability to achieve its goals. Let's tie those concepts together within the
Funding
In the last two issues of the newsletter, we talked about the importance of taking the time to find product-market fit and choosing the right investors. We also need to consider the external factors that can impact a startup’s ability to raise, sell or pivot to profitability and go
Funding
Choosing your venture investors is one of the most important decisions you'll make as a founder. As you progress through your rounds of venture funding, your investors gain more control over the most important decisions you’ll face: when to raise, when to sell or when to pivot
Funding
When it comes to the coverage of venture-backed startups, the topic of profitability isn't considered the most exciting angle. Our obsession with unicorns, skyrocketing valuations, and shorter fundraise cycles ignores the fact that nearly ninety percent of venture-backed startups don't make it to their Series C
Funding
I recently wrote a post about the negative impact of the Casper IPO on investor sentiment in the Direct-To-Consumer (“DTC”) space. Anytime a company in a sector goes public at a valuation that is less than half the valuation of its last round, it’s going to ripple through the
Funding
In the world of startups and venture capital, industries move in and out of favor very fast. It doesn’t take much for an industry that’s been attracting huge amounts of investor attention and capital to suddenly lose its shine. We are seeing this happen right now in the
Funding
The recent WeWork IPO debacle is certainly a great demonstration of how unreliable and arbitrary private company valuations can be. Six weeks ago, WeWork expected to go public at a valuation of as much as $60 billion. Now, they are on the edge of bankruptcy and hoping for a lifeline