When startups raise capital from outside investors, one financial structure commonly used is called a convertible (promissory) note. There are several motivations for startups & investors to use this arrangement. One thing is coming back to bite me, though, and makes me wonder if the terms of it ought to change in common use: conversion of the interest intoContinue reading “Should the interest on convertible notes be paid in cash in some cases?”
Tag Archives: startups
Why zero-revenue companies can be worth billions
In a recent blog post, Fred Destin of Atlas Ventures (again) added sanity into the discussions about why zero-revenue companies can receive valuations of many billions of dollars. I agree with everything he said. There’s one more point I’d add: Large scale audiences have a valuation-per-engaged-user. Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn all started out as zero-revenue companies. ButContinue reading “Why zero-revenue companies can be worth billions”
Minimize use of CxO titles at early company stages
I’m about 10 months into helping a bunch of startups through organizations like TechStars, MassChallenge, and others. And I’ve seen an emerging trend among startups that I want to discourage: The over – and inappropriate – use of “Chief (fill-in-the-blank)” titles. “What’s the problem,” you ask? “Why not give people CxO roles?” There are a bunch ofContinue reading “Minimize use of CxO titles at early company stages”
Families – not age – affects startups
On February 17, 2013, Scott Kirsner of the Boston Globe wrote an article Exploring the Age Divide in Boston Start-Ups. It infuritated me for two reasons: 1) It’s probably true, but 2) for different reasons than Scott asserted. Scott’s premise is that start-ups are only the domain of young, 20-somethings. He concludes “older people” (over 30?)Continue reading “Families – not age – affects startups”
Culture matters even at the start
A few days ago, Todd McKinnon asserted in a WSJ blog article that “long term success is not predicated on creating a world-class company culture.” He also states “Forget about cultural fit and instead get people in the door that can create a beautiful product and bring passion to the problems your company is out to solve.” My friend BobContinue reading “Culture matters even at the start”
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