Category Archives: Raising money

Create stakeholder loyalty when times are good.

Posted on October 7, 2011 by Dave Berkus

          There are several times when stakeholder loyalty is tested to the limit.  For employees, a late or missed payroll is the ultimate test of corporate loyalty, divorced even from an employee’s ability to make do without a paycheck.  For … Continue reading →

Posted in Raising money, The liquidity event and beyond | 3 Comments

Stock options: Guard the Gold

Posted on December 6, 2010 by Dave Berkus

Use stock options and warrants to pay for service only rarely. Earlier, I stated that stock options are the currency of early stage business.  This truth is obvious when a start-up has no cash.  For this insight, we will assume … Continue reading →

Posted in Growth!, Raising money | Leave a comment

Outside directors are a price of investment.

Posted on July 19, 2010 by Dave Berkus

          Once a company founder has tapped the funds available from his or her resources and from friends and family, if the company needs more cash for growth, the most obvious next step is to look for money from angel … Continue reading →

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

Money comes smart or dumb. Find smart.

Posted on February 9, 2010 by Dave Berkus

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 Growth!, Raising money, Surrounding yourself with talent | Leave a comment

Raise cash from trusted, close resources first.

Posted on February 3, 2010 by Dave Berkus

This insight follows closely the conclusions from the previous declaration, that professional investors negotiate tough terms, from provisions of control over asset acquisition, eventual sale of the company, future investments, forced co-sale when others attempt to sell their shares and … Continue reading →

Posted in Ignition! Starting up, Raising money | 9 Comments

Outside investors want liquidity, not love.

Posted on January 27, 2010 by Dave Berkus

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 Raising money | 2 Comments

Raising money for your business: What are the options?

Posted on January 20, 2010 by Dave Berkus

This post will be perhaps a bit longer than usual, but certainly of great interest for those with interest in or have need for more capital… This stage is critical to many businesses and a passing option to others, depending … Continue reading →

Posted in Growth!, Raising money | 4 Comments

The Berkus Method – Valuing the Early Stage Investment.

Posted on November 4, 2009 by Dave Berkus

             For those of us who’ve invested in early stage companies, especially technology start-ups, we have confronted a universal problem.  There are many ways to project the value of a company for purposes of pricing an investment, but all rely … Continue reading →

Posted in Raising money | 46 Comments