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 »
Have you ever wondered why venture capital (VC) firms appear to invest largely in B2B rather than consumer startups? Are they more profitable and quicker to generate revenue? Do they pose less risk, or do they have lower failure rates? The truth is actually none of these. The major reason is simply that the volume… 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.
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