Both Sides of the Table

JULY 22, 2010

Due to competitive markets we ended up with a pretty good term sheet until we needed to raise money in April 2001 and then we got completely screwed. And for some strange reason entrepreneurs didn’t share this information. I’ve started from day one trying to build total transparency into my process with entrepreneurs.

founder 405

founder VC venture capital entrepreneurs 405

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 14, 2010

I believe the rise in angel investing is here to stay and the professionalization of this class (aka “super angels&# or “micro VC&# ) is a good thing for the VC industry and for entrepreneurs. I believe that if you have 5 distinct skills you have a good chance at making great returns.

angel investing 306

angel investing investment investing VC 306

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 28, 2010

One of the most difficult things to do as a first time entrepreneur is to get to know the investors you might be working with if you accept money. He got into the industry through the same traits required for entrepreneurs – persistence & resiliency. This lasted from about 2001-2004. Founded in Sunnyvale, CA in 2001.

VC 230

VC ventures venture capital capital 230

This is going to be BIG.

APRIL 3, 2012

What I would offer to entrepreneurs is that you should know what you're getting from each investor you let into the round. An experienced entrepreneur who has raised money multiple times can be a great board member as well. It's exactly what he did--and he still occasionally takes a lump or two. Doesn't take much.

VC 274

VC board venture capital ventures 274

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 27, 2010

These days that’s not the case and it’s a great outcome for entrepreneurs and for innovation. A: Only because it’s a nicer branding for entrepreneurs. I totally agree and have been arguing this to entrepreneurs for years. I always counsel young entrepreneurs to start on the local train.

disruption 308

disruption VC entrepreneurs financing 308

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 13, 2010

Within a year, by late 2000 / early 2001 consulting firms were firing people en masse. On July 27th, 2001 Accenture IPO’s and many of the partners grew fabulously wealthy. I’m certain that if you look at every single one of the entrepreneurs who’ve gone on to build big, enduring businesses they were unfundable once too.&#.

consulting 302

consulting leadership entrepreneurs advice 302

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 25, 2010

A reminder that it is important for all entrepreneurs is to remember to be careful about “deal drift.” I lived through this again September 2001. Conversely I offered the same deal to another entrepreneur who decided to shop around longer. Don’t be complacent – What really winds me up is when entrepreneurs are complacent.

venture capital 301

venture capital advice VC real estate 301

Entrepreneurs' Organization

MARCH 20, 2020

In times of crisis, entrepreneurs step up to take the lead on creating groundbreaking pathways toward renewal. Within a few days of 11 September 2001, I purchased plane tickets for optional personal travel. Evan Nierman is the founder and CEO of Red Banyan , an international crisis public relations firm.

consulting 193

consulting strategy education health 193

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 8, 2010

First, I would say that most entrepreneurs do almost no reference checks or at least do them very informally. For some reason most entrepreneurs do. I always tell entrepreneurs, “in good times of course everybody loves their VC. My chips were down in late 2000 / early 2001. Don’t let that be you. Except GRP.

VC 288

VC advice entrepreneurs venture capital 288

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 2, 2009

A friend of mine is a serial entrepreneur and is running a high-profile, early stage company in NorCal. We exchanged ideas when I was an entrepreneur along side him in NorCal in 05-07 and my point-of-view on founder / VC relationships hasn’t shifted even 1% since I went to the dark side. I believe this is wrong.

founder 329

founder VC advice pitching 329

A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

DECEMBER 29, 2021

Some of the best entrepreneurs and developers have moved over. It reminds me of the early days of web2 in 2001/2002/2003, when we started USV. The good news is there are literally tens of thousands of teams building new things on a web3 stack now. The tooling is getting better. That was also a time of great cynicism.

financing 274

financing finance development communities 274

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 11, 2022

2001–2007: THE BUILDING YEARS The dot com bubble had burst. I was in it for the love of working with entrepreneurs on business problems and marveling at technology they had built. Until we weren’t. Nobody cared about our valuations any more. We had nascent revenues, ridiculous cost structures and unrealistic valuations.

VC 466

VC culture sustainability capital 466

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2011

This was an audience of mostly first-time entrepreneurs. It is great for entrepreneurs and great for VCs. So here is what I have been telling entrepreneurs privately for the past 6 months. What a bubble means for each entrepreneur. Still, market amnesia by ordinarily rational actors always surprises me. I believe that.

real estate 309

real estate entrepreneurs finance financing 309

Entrepreneurs' Organization

APRIL 20, 2022

Contributed by Dr. Carrie Santos, CEO of Entrepreneurs’ Organization. They met with some of these members, as well as other compassionate, agile entrepreneurs from around the world, who are—together—stepping up to support people in this time of great stress and need. Entrepreneurs are completely undaunted by a negative turn of events.

entrepreneurs 198

entrepreneurs networking frameworks transportation 198

Entrepreneurs' Organization

DECEMBER 18, 2015

Here are 18 movies that have been recommended to us by multiple writers, entrepreneurs – and a few of our staff – for those who look for films depicting drive, inspiration and sometimes, the pitfalls that can occur when intentions go sour. Startup.com (2001). What movies would you recommend to entrepreneurs?

entrepreneurs 100

entrepreneurs entrepreneurship media networking 100

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 24, 2015

I’ve seen friends (and family members) lose much of their savings that way over the years because “Black Swans” happen and in 1987, 2001, 2003 & 2008 (just to name a few from my memory) huge market gyrations caused much financial distress to people seeking short-term gains. I know what I don’t know.

financing 344

financing finance ventures real estate 344

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 16, 2010

The VC industry grew dramatically as a result of the Internet bubble - Before the Internet bubble the people who invested in VC funds (called LPs or Limited Partners) put about $50 billion into the industry and by 2001 this had grown precipitously to around $250 billion. Some seed angles and seed funds clearly get it.

VC 311

VC startup real estate financing 311

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 29, 2010

We received so much positive feedback from our This Week in Venture Capital show walking through valuation calculations & term sheets that we decided to do a Q&A show this week to address topics that entrepreneurs want to learn about. on the entrepreneur side of the table) when I raised at too high of a price. This is wrong.

venture capital 282

venture capital capital ventures angel investing 282

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 22, 2009

This was a reasonable achievement when you consider that it was 2001-02, one of the worst years to be selling enterprise software and we were selling it SaaS style, which was still evangelical back then. I had always been a scrappy entrepreneur. Let me tell you my story. In my first company we had achieved a small bit of scale.

startup 327

startup advice SaaS consulting 327

Entrepreneurs' Organization

DECEMBER 10, 2018

As entrepreneurs, we have the power and choice to make the necessary changes towards more equality. After having worked in London, Frankfurt and San Francisco, he returned to Hamburg in 2001, where he lives with his wife and his seven-year-old twins. The logical next step? Let’s rethink the holiday calendar.

sustainability 141

sustainability creativity media culture 141

Feedough

SEPTEMBER 30, 2020

This stage starts with the entrepreneurs analyzing and exploring the startup idea more seriously. Tinkering ends when entrepreneurs fully commit themselves to turn the business idea into a reality. Though this stage poses the least amount of pressure on an entrepreneur, some mistakes can still upend an innovative startup idea.

disruption 111

disruption sustainability entrepreneurs energy 111

TechCrunch

JANUARY 25, 2021

Goalsetter launched in 2019 out of the Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator. Founded by Tanya Van Court, who lost over $1 million in the 2001 bubble burst, the platform teaches financial literacy to children of all ages, helping them learn economic concepts, lingo and the principles of financial health.

education 108

education health accelerator investment 108

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 29, 2009

Just ask anybody who was trying to close funding the fateful week of September 11, 2001 or even March 2000. But any entrepreneurs raising capital should keep in mind that this opening of the markets could possibly be temporary.

VC 263

VC board investment investing 263

Gust

SEPTEMBER 17, 2014

Me: Raising convertible notes as a seed round is one of the biggest disservices our industry has done to entrepreneurs since 2001-2003 when there were “full ratchets” and “multiple liquidation preferences” – the most hostile terms anybody found in term sheets 10 years ago. It’s like we need a finance 101 course for entrepreneurs.

VC 153

VC financing finance entrepreneurs 153

Dream It

APRIL 12, 2020

Martino outlined essentially two types of outcomes for this financial crisis from a historical perspective: “In 2001-2003, there was a depression in Silicon Valley. Being a consummate entrepreneur, Martino decided to turn it into a script and see if he could make a go of turning it into an actual movie. The risk paid off.

ventures 334

ventures startup capital board 334

Entrepreneurs' Organization

FEBRUARY 2, 2018

For entrepreneurs, “failure” feels like a curse word. In a study conducted by Cambridge Associates, researchers found that the real failure rate hasn’t gone above 60% since 2001. As entrepreneurs, the task at hand becomes creating the market need even when there isn’t one. We wince and often retreat in fear of it.

startup 130

startup disruption entrepreneurs culture 130

Entrepreneurs' Organization

FEBRUARY 21, 2019

There are prosperous associations of entrepreneurs who gather to support, motivate and guide each other, to overcome challenges, leading to greater success—for each company and the community at large. We thrive in groups. Our entrepreneurial journey may be long and hard—but with a community, we are never alone.

communities 141

communities culture hospitality entrepreneurs 141

StartupNation

DECEMBER 6, 2020

Related: A Practical Guide to Diversity for Startups and Entrepreneurs. One 2018 study found that, during investment pitches, female entrepreneurs are more likely to be asked “prevention” questions, or those related to safety and potential risks and losses. entrepreneurs who bust this myth. Mark Zuckerberg? Steve Jobs?

innovation 97

innovation startup creativity startup founder 97

Berkonomics

MARCH 25, 2012

There are many ways to project the value of a company for purposes of pricing an investment, but all rely upon the revenue and profit projections of the entrepreneur as a starting point. For those of us who’ve invested in early stage companies, especially technology startups, we have confronted a universal problem.

investment 128

investment investing technology opportunity 128

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 21, 2024

There are many ways to project the value of a company for purposes of pricing an investment, but all rely upon the revenue and profit projections of the entrepreneur as a starting point. For those of us who’ve invested in early-stage companies, especially technology startups, we have confronted a universal problem.

investment 122

investment investing technology opportunity 122

Entrepreneurs' Organization

JULY 26, 2018

Jeff Carruthers founded Resonate in 2001, and has steered the business with a focus on what makes organizations relevant to contemporary customers as well as a keen eye for technical innovation. He joined EO in 2015.

board 130

board innovation technology culture 130

Entrepreneurs' Organization

FEBRUARY 24, 2016

I met my future business partner Jennifer Polovetsky in 2001 when we were adversaries. When I became an entrepreneur, I didn’t expect to have a direct impact on people’s lives. Keeping an open mind was a way for me to get through the corporate unknown and made a significant impact on my career.

ventures 100

ventures communities energy entrepreneurs 100

TechCrunch

JUNE 7, 2022

The right coaching and a strong network can help many entrepreneurs land a sizable seed round, but that money reflects investor confidence, not market demand. “We’ve seen that all before … what’s new-ish (at least since 2001) is the massive overhang of growth investments that will take startups years to grow into,” he wrote.

SaaS 87

SaaS sustainability venture capital ventures 87

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 4, 2016

Originally created in the mid 1990’s to help with the imprecise problem of how to value early stage companies, especially those in technology, I developed what soon became known as “The Berkus Method” when published in the popular book, “Winning Angels” by Harvard’s Amis and Stevenson with my permission in 2001.

angel capital 114

angel capital opportunity entrepreneurs technology 114

Entrepreneurs' Organization

JANUARY 11, 2016

The term “digital divide” was first coined in 2001 by political scientists to describe how uneven access to the internet would create a population of left-behind “information have-nots.” EOlooks forward to the new calendar year, with posts, pictures and videos citing upcoming technologies and inspiration for entrepreneurs in 2016.

education 100

education mentorship communities development 100

Berkonomics

APRIL 20, 2017

It is not hard to find strands of gold in the carnage left by failed businesses lost when a bubble bursts, such as in 1857, 1902, 1929, 2001 and 2008. How many entrepreneurs used that new Internet infrastructure to create an expansive vision of what could be?

innovation 102

innovation financing finance opportunity 102

Entrepreneur's Handbook

JUNE 13, 2023

Image: Unsplash I was an accidental entrepreneur, unexpectedly managing to grow a business for over 20 years from the kitchen table. When I took up writing and started interviewing other entrepreneurs for my books, I found that meant I had a lot of knowledge but not always the right tags to put on what I had been doing.

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development data collection entrepreneurs finance 114