Valuations of Facebook, Twitter, and other social media companies have been constructed, in part, around the idea that their platforms will serve as facilitators for commerce – particularly for small businesses…
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Already the subject of a book or two, the origins of Facebook are now providing enough soap for a full-scale opera. A new article charges that FB founder Mark Zuckerberg hacked into different accounts…
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With the traditional venture model under assault, there is an increased focus on seed-stage funding. Back in September we noted the attempt to create a standardized Series A term sheet. Now there is similar stakeholder interest…
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Three young guns – and not a detained Nigerian prince among them – are currently offering investors a chance to invest cash now in return for a percent of future income. One, a 26-year-old Stanford grad, has even priced it out: 6% of future income for…
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With many small businesses losing their lines of credit, coupled with the demise in small business lending from commercial banks, alternate sources of capital such as purchase-order financing are on the rise,…
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Perhaps the most amusing and unscripted nugget to emerge from the Apple aura is the reissue of a 1985 interview with a 29-year-old Steve Jobs. In, um, Playboy magazine. It’s refreshing to revisit the early incarnation of Apple…
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With venture funding down and the market for IPOs still anemic — just eight venture-backed companies so far this year, compared to an annual average of 64 from 2003-2007 — emerging companies hoping for an exit are increasingly…
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An online brouhaha broke out over angel groups that charge startups to pitch potential investors. Led by media entrepreneur Jason Calacanis, and with an echo from Fred Wilson, soon a full chorus…
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And further on the topic of increased liquidity, the always-observant Mark Suster has a terrific piece on why company founders should be able to take some equity off the table once their firm has reached reasonable milestones. His point is simple, but often overlooked:…
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The predictable pendulum swing of harsher terms during a buyer’s market lead to a lively online discussion on the future of the term sheet. A dialogue between influential bloggers — entrepreneurs and venture capitalists alike…
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Flybridge’s Jeff Bussgang has a nice blog piece where he coins a new word in the venture lexicon: the “promote” (not the Prestige). Entrepreneurs too often fixate on their pre-money valuation (the “pre”), instead of focusing on what…
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