Category: Funding & Finances (Page 2 of 15)

Riding a Wave of Hype: Blockchain, AI, VR & More

My friends at Angel Camp visited us today, and we discussed how to invest in startups. One of the best questions was how do you know if a tend is worth investing in or overhyped?

MY ANSWER: Don’t bet on the trend alone. You need to look deeper. You need to analyze what value the startup is creating for their customers. It’s not enough to be using a new technology like AI or blockchain.

The startup must be able to show you exactly how this technology gives them a competitive edge. Read More...

Should You Raise Venture Capital for your Startup?

Before forgoing venture capital, I want you to honestly ask yourself these questions:

• Do you like the idea of living off of rice and beans for years?

• Do you mind slaving shoulder-to-shoulder with underpaid, sweaty teammates in a space far too small? Read More...

Captain Hoffman: How to Become a Unicorn Start-up

As an entrepreneur and an investor, do you often ask yourself: what is the difficult part of being creative? When will my innovation be profitable? And is it really the idea that lies at the heart of entrepreneurial success?

Read Full Article

Cap Tables Made Easy as Pie

You’ll like this new cap table tool…

https://captable.io

Build and share your cap table, conveniently and securely in the cloud. Create and issue stock classes and convertible instruments.

Convertible Notes: How They Work & What You Need to Know

I tried to put all the basic resources in one place…

Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Convertible Note Seed Financings
http://techcrunch.com/2012/04/07/convertible-note-seed-financings/

How Convertible Debt Works
http://www.feld.com/wp/archives/2011/10/how-convertible-debt-works.html Read More...

Here’s a Nice Sample Investor Deck

I Put $100k into My Startup and Now I Want to Raise Capital from VCs — Should I Treat this $100k as a Loan? What’s Fair?

If your startup is really hot, investors probably won’t object to having your $100k treated as a loan. However, most investors don’t like the idea of their capital going to payback founder loans. After all, they are investing in the company and want 100% of their capital to be put into growing the business.

With this in mind, it may be in your best interest to consider your investment as a non-reimbursable expense. That’s what investors would prefer.

That said, you did invest the money in the startup, so don’t you have a right to preferred shares? Well, most investors want you to own common shares, not preferred shares. This is because they want to get their money out before you start making a profit. Read More...