Search Results for: valuations

Huge opportunities do NOT command amazing pre-money valuations.

Dave’s note: Popular Bill Payne returns this week with a thoughtful take on valuations. By Bill Payne One entrepreneur has a company which appears to be scalable to a $30 million exit value in five to eight years, and a … Continue reading

Posted in Ignition! Starting up, Raising money | Leave a comment

Take only “smart money” investments

This statement could be considered controversial. We have previously made the case that professional investors demand more in the form of restrictive covenants and lower valuations.  Now we explore the other side of that coin.  Professional investors usually bring “smart … Continue reading

Posted in Raising money | Leave a comment

What do you give up when you take outside investors?

Setting your expectations Taking in angel or venture money requires a setting of an entrepreneur’s expectations that may come as a shock at least at first. From the moment such an investor looks seriously at your company, the investor or … Continue reading

Posted in Raising money | Leave a comment

Need money? Read this!

How important is this issue for your business? The subject of raising money is critical to many businesses and a passing option to others, depending upon the capital efficiency of the enterprise.  Some businesses require very little capital and the … Continue reading

Posted in Ignition! Starting up, Raising money | 1 Comment

Premature scaling can kill your business.

Here’s a lesson from experience. Venture capitalists sometimes make an error in directing their portfolio company CEOs to push resources to the limit and scale the business to immense size quickly, all to seize market share.  The logic in this … Continue reading

Posted in Growth!, Protecting the business | Leave a comment

How much of my business do I have to give to an investor?

If you’re looking for growth capital, this one’s for you. We’ll cover what information you’ll expect to provide, your range of expected values and amounts of investment to expect.  All to help you set your expectations.  OK? Financial History and … Continue reading

Posted in Raising money | 3 Comments

Take only “smart money” investments

[wdm_image_effects effect=”no_effect” animation=”zoomIn” shape=”no_shape” color=”#000″ social=”” title=”Smart-Mone” description=”Smart-Money” id=”3294″ show=”hover” counter=”0″ size=”thumbnail”/] This statement could be considered controversial.  We have previously made the case that professional investors demand more in the form of restrictive covenants and lower valuations.  Now we … Continue reading

Posted in Raising money, Surrounding yourself with talent | Leave a comment

What do you give up when taking outside investors?

Taking in angel or venture money requires a setting of an entrepreneur’s expectations that may come as a shock at least at first. From the moment such an investor looks seriously at your company, the investor or VC partner is … Continue reading

Posted in Depending upon others, Raising money | 1 Comment

Does your business need money? Read this!

The subject of raising money is critical to many businesses and a passing option to others, depending upon the capital efficiency of the enterprise.  Some businesses require very little capital and the founder can self-finance the enterprise and retain 100% … Continue reading

Posted in Growth!, Raising money | 1 Comment

After 20 years: Updating the Berkus Method of valuation

Well, it had to happen.  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 … Continue reading

Posted in Ignition! Starting up, Raising money | 14 Comments