This is the second part in a three-part series on startup growth by venture capital investor Benjamin Chong. Part 1 is here & part 3 will be published next week. Growth marketing has forever changed the way that successful startups approach marketing. It was reportedly made famous by Facebook, who were one of the first… Read more »
This is the first part in a three-part series on startup growth by venture capital investor Benjamin Chong. Parts 2 & 3 will be published over the coming fortnight. The unemployment toll from COVID-19 was 600,000 in April alone, the largest one month increase on record. So concerning is this consequence of COVID-19 that the… Read more »
Startup metrics can be complex and overwhelming for founders, and many have a single-minded focus on revenue. But while revenue can tell a story of sales and success, this in isolation is not the most insightful number that a business reports. Instead it is unit economics that has the power to simplify the way… Read more »
Warby Parker co-CEOs Neil Blumenthal and Dave Gilboa. Founders get their startup inspiration from all kinds of places. You may be trying to solve a problem you’ve faced in your corporate life, tackle an environmental or social problem facing our world, spied a gap in the market as a consumer or have a passion that you want to leave the corporate hamster wheel to pursue. Solving one of your own pain points is an extremely common source… Read more »
A growing number of start-ups are accessing venture debt to fund the growth of their business. With the primary appeal of limiting equity dilution, it’s easy to see why founders might jump on board the venture debt train. But venture debt has been linked to a number of collapsing startups both here and in… Read more »
Most founders are born optimists. Such optimism spurs entrepreneurs to leave the security of their guaranteed salary and abandon four weeks of annual leave and 10 days sick leave to chase a dream of being their own boss and building an empire. Because the odds of success are not exactly compelling, a realist might… Read more »
While thousands of Australian school students took to the streets to demand urgent action against “climate wrecking” projects using fossil fuels, BHP executives on the other side of the world are preparing for a showdown of their own. The world’s largest miner will try to convince shareholders that its climate change plans are an… Read more »
From co-founder break-ups to startup burn-out, the path of the founder can be fraught with stress. A study conducted by American researcher Michael Freeman suggests that even before founders set-up shop they have a pre-existing vulnerability to stress. His 2015 study of 242 entrepreneurs found that a higher proportion of founders reported a lifetime history… Read more »
When founders are pitching for venture capital investment, the topic of exit strategies is often raised as founders are eager to provide reassurance that they have their sights on a liquidity event that will deliver a return to their investors. But VCs are much less interested in the end goal than founders might think.… Read more »
Founders regularly ask me about the metrics that truly matter to venture capital (VC) investors. Although there are a number of metrics that are standard across all startups, there are many tools that can be used to measure performance. In the early due diligence stages VCs will often look at the big picture –… Read more »
Bridges are said to be a monument to progress. For many start-ups, bridging rounds of capital are exactly this – a step towards success. They may not have been part of the original game plan, but they are often a necessity in the unpredictable world of entrepreneurialism. Reasons for a bridging round can be varied.… Read more »
Members of the Draper Venture Network – an alliance of independent venture capital firms – gathered in Chile, Argentina, and Brazil recently to learn about the region’s entrepreneurial communities. We met with top-performing billion-dollar companies and government officials, and as investors we discussed the critical success factors and commonalities observed in the outstanding founders… Read more »
We’ve all seen startups on the TV show “Shark Tank” eaten alive by potential investors for seemingly outrageous valuations. Often their pitches take an even more unforgiving turn when founders are unable to validate their numbers. But coming up with an attractive yet sensible valuation that appeals to investors is no mean feat. Of… Read more »
Pitches are difficult to get right. Despite all the blogs and material about how to perfect startup pitches, presenting to investors is still a challenging task. Founders often obsess over their pitch: from fine-tuning the value proposition to religiously following Guy Kawasaki’s 10/20/30 model, cramming as much as possible in their 20-minute pitch to… Read more »
Bill Gates once said that a company’s most unhappy customers are the greatest source of learning. As the dust settles on the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry, many disgruntled and disillusioned Australians will be hoping this proves true, and that after a decade of scandal the banks might finally learn their lesson and play fairly with their customers.
BrightSpots: How Zoho put values above revenue to deal with covid-19
AI-based engineering startup VAPAR, founded by two women, just raised $700,000 in seed funding
Why founders need a pitch deck AND investor deck (and they’re not the same thing)
Afterpay is getting into the frequent flyer business with Qantas
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