Should you co-found a company with your friend? And how do you split the equity?

If you’re talking with cofounders about launching a new business, you’re fundamentally recruiting someone to take the job of partnering with you for the next decade.  I see a lot of founders who do less due diligence than I think ideal before making that long-term commitment. Just knowing one another for a long time is...

[Continue Reading]

Your startup is running out of cash — now what? Should you pivot or perish?

“Mann Tracht, Un Gott Lacht” (“Man Plans, and God Laughs.”) We hope for the best, but are forced to plan for the worst.  Almost all VCs will have companies that fail. The CEO comes to us.  She has 3 months of cash left. Existing investors have said they’d be glad to invest…if she gets a...

[Continue Reading]

How to ensure everyone agrees on the contract you just signed

When we negotiate a deal, the paperwork is intended to document the deal.  If necessary, the paperwork is supposed to ensure that all parties keep their commitments. But I admit it: I’m paranoid.  How do I ensure enforceability?  We are investing millions of dollars based on a few pieces of paper, a feat only possible...

[Continue Reading]

18 ways to make your financial model stand out to investors

The median investor looking at your proposal is in her 40s.  Her eyes are going, not to mention her brain.  I look at a lot of spreadsheets and analytic reports, and way too many are difficult to read and therefore hard to understand. In an effort to make my life easier, I’ve summarized here the...

[Continue Reading]

Corporations speak: How I think about buying your startup

I’m kicking off a new series on this blog: detailed notes on events of interest to the investing and technology community.  Conrad Wadowski, Business Development at Xamtech, is initiating  with his detailed notes on the inaugural panel of the new Enterprise Tech Meetup.  Livestream video here. —————————– In startup land, consumer internet startups have gotten...

[Continue Reading]

Market Overview of Lower Mid-Market Mergers, from the AMAA Winter Conference

I enjoyed participating in last week’s Winter Conference of the Alliance of M&A Advisors. The slides from my talk on Best Practices by Private Equity, Venture Capital, and Hedge Funds in Deal Origination are here. The slides from my talk on How to Raise Capital using Online Networks are here. I unfortunately was able to...

[Continue Reading]