Explanations to the inner workings of one of the least understood, but arguably most important, areas of business finance is offered to readers in this engaging volume: venture capital. Venture capitalists provide necessary investment to seed (or startup) companies, but the startup is only the beginning, there is much more to be explored. These savvy investors help guide young entrepreneurs, who likely have little experience, to turn their businesses into the Googles, Facebooks, and Groupons of the world. This book explains the often-complex methods venture capitalists use to value companies and to get the most return on their investments, or ROI. This book is a must-have for any reader interested in the business world.
If you want your startup to succeed, you need to understand why startups fail. “Whether you’re a first-time founder or looking to bring innovation into a corporate environment, Why Startups Fail is essential reading.”—Eric Ries, founder and CEO, LTSE, and New York Times bestselling author of The Lean Startup and The Startup Way Why do startups fail? That question caught Harvard Business School professor Tom Eisenmann by surprise when he realized he couldn’t answer it. So he launched a multiyear research project to find out. In Why Startups Fail, Eisenmann reveals his findings: six distinct patterns that account for the vast majority of startup failures. • Bad Bedfellows. Startup success is thought to rest largely on the founder’s talents and instincts. But the wrong team, investors, or partners can sink a venture just as quickly. • False Starts. In following the oft-cited advice to “fail fast” and to “launch before you’re ready,” founders risk wasting time and capital on the wrong solutions. • False Promises. Success with early adopters can be misleading and give founders unwarranted confidence to expand. • Speed Traps. Despite the pressure to “get big fast,” hypergrowth can spell disaster for even the most promising ventures. • Help Wanted. Rapidly scaling startups need lots of capital and talent, but they can make mistakes that leave them suddenly in short supply of both. • Cascading Miracles. Silicon Valley exhorts entrepreneurs to dream big. But the bigger the vision, the more things that can go wrong. Drawing on fascinating stories of ventures that failed to fulfill their early promise—from a home-furnishings retailer to a concierge dog-walking service, from a dating app to the inventor of a sophisticated social robot, from a fashion brand to a startup deploying a vast network of charging stations for electric vehicles—Eisenmann offers frameworks for detecting when a venture is vulnerable to these patterns, along with a wealth of strategies and tactics for avoiding them. A must-read for founders at any stage of their entrepreneurial journey, Why Startups Fail is not merely a guide to preventing failure but also a roadmap charting the path to startup success.
Angel Investing: Start to Finish is the most comprehensive practical and legal guide written to help investors and entrepreneurs avoid making expensive mistakes. Angel investing can be fun, financially rewarding, and socially impactful. But it can also be a costly endeavor in terms of money, time, and missed opportunities. Through the successes, failures, and collective experience of the authors you’ll learn how to navigate the angel investment process to maximize your chances of success and manage downside risks as an investor or entrepreneur. You’ll learn how: - Lead investors evaluate deals - Lawyers think through term sheets - To keep perspective through losses and triumphs This book will also be of use to founders raising an angel round, who will be wise to learn how decisions are made on the other side of the table. No matter where you’re starting from, this book will give you the context to become a savvier thinker, a better negotiator, and a positive member of the angel investing and startup communities.
Startup money is moving online, and this guide shows you how it works. The Art of Startup Fundraising takes a fresh look at raising money for startups, with a focus on the changing face of startup finance. New regulations are making the old go-to advice less relevant, as startup money is increasingly moving online. These new waters are all but uncharted—and founders need an accessible guide. This book helps you navigate the online world of startup fundraising with easy-to-follow explanations and expert perspective on the new digital world of finance. You'll find tips and tricks on raising money and investing in startups from early stage to growth stage, and develop a clear strategy based on the new realities surrounding today's startup landscape. The finance world is in a massive state of flux. Changes are occurring at an increasing pace in all sectors, but few more intensely than the startup sphere. When the paradigm changes, your processes must change with it. This book shows you how startup funding works, with expert coaching toward the new rules on the field. Learn how the JOBS Act impacts the fundraising model Gain insight on startups from early stage to growth stage Find the money you need to get your venture going Craft your pitch and optimize the strategy Build momentum Identify the right investors Avoid the common mistakes Don't rely on the "how we did it" tales from superstar startups, as these stories are unique and applied to exceptional scenarios. The game has changed, and playing by the old rules only gets you left behind. Whether you're founding a startup or looking to invest, The Art of Startup Fundraising provides the up-to-the-minute guidance you need.
Run your company. Don’t let it run you. Most business owners started their company because they wanted more freedom—to work on their own schedules, make the kind of money they deserve, and eventually retire on the fruits of their labor. Unfortunately, according to John Warrillow, most owners find that stepping out of the picture is extremely difficult because their business relies too heavily on their personal involvement. Without them, their company—no matter how big or profitable—is essentially worthless. But the good news is that entrepreneurs can take specific steps—no matter what stage a business is in—to create a valuable, sellable company. Warrillow shows exactly what it takes to create a solid business that can thrive long into the future.
They deliver more capital to entrepreneurs than any other source.And they often receive an incredible return on their investments.They're angel investors, some of the most important--and leastunderstood--players in business today. The United States has closeto three million angels, whose investments in startups exceed $60billion per year. Some of our most successful companies were fundedby angels--companies like Ford, AOL, and Amazon.com. But until now,little has been written about these angels, due in part to theirpreference for anonymity. Angel Investors provides an inside lookat who these angels are and how they operate. It also showswould-be angels and entrepreneurs how best to find eachother. To learn more about this book, visit its website.
Academics and practitioners from a range of institutions across Europe provide a cutting-edge, practical, and comprehensive review on the financing of entrepreneurial ventures. From sourcing and obtaining funds, to financial tools for growing and managing the financial challenges and opportunities of the startup, Entrepreneurial Finance: The Art and Science of Growing Ventures is an engaging text that will equip entrepreneurs, students and early-stage investors to make sound financial decisions at every stage of a business' life. Largely reflecting European businesses and with a European perspective, the text is grounded in sound theoretical foundations. Case studies and success stories as well as perspectives from the media and from experts provide real-world applications, while a wealth of activities give students abundant opportunities to apply what they have learned. A must-have text for both graduate and undergraduate students in entrepreneurship, finance and management programs, as well as aspiring entrepreneurs in any field.
Most patents are worthless. By some estimations, this could be true of 95% of patents. Startup companies don't help themselves by making fatal mistakes, from filing provisional patents (almost always a bad idea) to treating their first patent as the most important one in their portfolio (it almost never is). How can an investor help their portfolio companies navigate the system? "Investing In Patents" discusses the patent process from an investor's view, but with insider knowledge.Investment-grade patents do not just happen by chance, they are curated through due diligence prior to filing the patent, then careful and consistent management through the process. Good patents are clear, straightforward, and easy to read. Understandable patent applications are easier to examine, meaning the issued patent is legitimate and defensible. Good patents have real, solid commercial value. The value of a patent only comes when it captures commercial value - not when it captures some cool technology. BlueIron IP's business is investing in patents, and this book discusses BlueIron's techniques and tools for evaluating inventions and managing portfolios specifically for startup companies. Startup companies have specific characteristics and needs that dictate strategies that often do not apply to larger companies with established products and systems. "Investing In Patents" discusses how startups need to manage their patent process, and how investors and guide them.
The Founder's Dilemmas examines how early decisions by entrepreneurs can make or break a startup and its team. Drawing on a decade of research, including quantitative data on almost ten thousand founders as well as inside stories of founders like Evan Williams of Twitter and Tim Westergren of Pandora, Noam Wasserman reveals the common pitfalls founders face and how to avoid them.
