Tag Archives: Early Stage Company Valuation

Angel Investing – Financial Projections – “Cash is King”

Posted on October 14, 2014 | Leave a comment

Cash is King Shopping Money Vs Credit Buy Power CurrencyAs an angel investor, I see lots of financial models, which range from the very simple to the extremely complex. I am often asked why I insist on seeing the actual model ( yes the excel not the pdf version) as it all based on layers of assumptions. In response, the financial model is nothing more than a quantitative expression of the business model and in fact what is most important to me are the assumptions that underlie the numbers. Continue reading →

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Posted in Angel Groups, Angel Investing, Financial Models, Golden Seeds, Opinion, Uncategorized, Venture Capital

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Angel Investing – “Brain Fuel”

Posted on April 21, 2014 | 1 comment

Brain Power Gauge Measures Creativity and IntelligenceSomeone asked me recently what I enjoyed the most about being an angel investor and I responded that it was like “brain fuel”. Having the chance to learn about so many creative approaches to solving complex problems and interfacing with passionate and driven entrepreneurs, both young and old, is one of the most fun and intellectually stimulating experiences. Also being part of  Golden Seeds, an active and engaged angel group, provides another avenue for obtaining this precious “brain fuel” as our members bring such a wealth of diverse expertise and perspective to the process of evaluating early stage companies. Whether or not a particular investment opportunity is one that I chose to invest in, I always come away having learned something new and interesting and looking at a problem differently. Continue reading →

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Posted in Accelerators, Angel Groups, Angel Investing, Opinion, Uncategorized

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Angel Investing – “Love Notes”

Posted on November 1, 2013 | 1 comment

????????????????????????Recently Rob Delman, a colleague of mine at Golden Seeds, and I were discussing the best ways to structure an investment in an entrepreneurial venture started by your children.  As we both have “twenty-something” children who have been exposed over the years to our work in angel investing, it is only natural that they approach us as potential funders of the next great thing! Continue reading →

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Posted in Angel Investing, Golden Seeds, Opinion, Uncategorized, Venture Capital

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Angel Investing – Term Sheet Liquidity Provisions

Posted on October 1, 2013 | Leave a comment

Gold Guys With MoneyIn previous posts, I have described how certain term sheet provisions impact the Economics, Control, and Value Protection in a proposed investment. In this final post on Term Sheets, I will discuss some provisions that impact the Liquidity of the investment. Continue reading →

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Posted in Angel Groups, Angel Investing, Due Diligence, Golden Seeds, Term Sheets, Uncategorized, Venture Capital

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Angel Investing – Not a Spectator Sport!

Posted on September 20, 2013 | Leave a comment

Keyboard Illustration "Launch 2013"One of the aspects of angel investing that I enjoy the most, is the ability to become involved with my portfolio companies. Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend the “Demo Day” for the 2013 crop of start-ups in TechLaunch NJ, a 16-week technology accelerator program.  As an investor in and mentor to this group of exciting young companies, I had the opportunity to participate in several of their Wednesday evening pitch sessions along with other mentors to provide feedback on the pitch deck that they would be presenting at Demo Day. Each company had 10 minutes to present their company to the audience and each also had an opportunity to network with the attendees and show off their prototypes or services. As I have often advised companies that I am involved with, the goal of a “Demo Day” is to get the next meeting.  It is important that the “10 minute pitch” really captures the audience’s attention and leaves them wanting more information. Continue reading →

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Posted in Angel Groups, Angel Investing, Uncategorized, Venture Capital

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Angel Investing – Launching new entrepreneurs

Posted on May 22, 2013 | Leave a comment

Keyboard Illustration "Launch 2013"Last week I had the opportunity to participate in the official launch of the second annual class of entrepreneurs involved in  TechLaunch, New Jersey’s Technology Accelerator. As an investor in and mentor to this new class of entrepreneurs, it was fun to see the teams, all clad in bright blue t-shirts, provide the audience with the quick preview of their company’s idea. For a glimpse of these exciting new companies, see the recent profile in either NJ Tech Weekly or North Jersey.com. Continue reading →

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Posted in Accelerators, Angel Groups, Angel Investing, Golden Seeds, Opinion, TechLaunch, Uncategorized, Venture Capital

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Angel Investing – It’s all about the Execution!

Posted on May 8, 2013 | Leave a comment

Crackers jump 1This past week I had the opportunity to spend the week with my daughter Charlotte, watching her compete at a horse show. Charlotte, now an adult, has been riding and competing for a number of years and I never cease to be amazed by the strength and beauty of these incredible horses and how the riders can control such powerful animals. In much the same way I feel that being an angel investor enables me to be a “vicarious entrepreneur”, being a “HorseShowMom” allows me to imagine myself in the saddle. Now, in terms of full disclosure, I did take some riding lessons early in my daughter’s riding career which were quickly ended when I flew over the jump (without the horse!) and decided at that point that I was best suited for ground crew! Continue reading →

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Posted in Angel Groups, Angel Investing, Due Diligence, Opinion, Uncategorized

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Angel Investing – Term Sheet “Control” Provisions

Posted on April 10, 2013 | Leave a comment

teamwork rowingIn a recent post I discussed the “economic” aspects of a term sheet. In addition to laying out the economics of a proposed transaction, the term sheet also provides a road map to various issues revolving around “control”.  As angels, although we are not involved in the day to day management of our portfolio companies, we need to have a voice in strategic issues that impact our portfolio companies. Typically this “control” is exercised either through: Continue reading →

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Posted in Angel Groups, Angel Investing, Golden Seeds, Opinion, Term Sheets, Uncategorized, Venture Capital

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Angel Investing – Term Sheet Economics

Posted on March 25, 2013 | Leave a comment

RechenschieberIn my last post, I listed four areas that Term Sheets cover. This week, I thought I would focus on some of the “Economic” terms. The terms below apply to Convertible Preferred Stock, although there are clearly other types of securities used to fund early stage companies.  These “economic” terms outline who gets what and cover such concepts as:

Valuation: For a Preferred Stock Offering, this represents the per-share price that you will be paying for the investment as well as the “pre-money” company valuation that this price implies. In addition, the term sheet will typically indicate the “post-money” valuation which includes in the company valuation the new funds being invested. Continue reading →

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Posted in Angel Groups, Angel Investing, Due Diligence, Golden Seeds, Term Sheets, Uncategorized, Venture Capital

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Angel Investing – Term Sheets and Country Western Music!!!

Posted on March 13, 2013 | 1 comment

Hank WilliamsProbably one of the things I have found that many of my fellow angel investors enjoy even less than analyzing the financial model of a company they are contemplating investing in (see my last post ) is diving into the Term Sheet. A  term sheet is a document that lays out the key terms of a proposed investment. Once those key terms have been negotiated and the term sheet is executed by both parties, it serves as the basis for drafting the other documents which comprise the legal closing documents in a transaction.

At a recent meeting, one of colleagues made the comment that term sheets are like country western songs – you know those soulful ballads that bemoan the difficult breakup, the secrets never shared, the soulmate you trusted who walked away and left behind a pile of debt……  When you make an angel investment you are not only entering into a financial transaction, you are entering into a relationship with the CEO/founders/management team. If you have been investing in this sector for awhile, it is likely you have made at least one investment that did not turn out as planned!  Another way to think about the term sheet is a kind of “pre-nup” for angel investing. Clearly if you don’t really believe that a particular investment has the potential to be a good partnership over time, you probably shouldn’t make the investment. Continue reading →

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Posted in Angel Groups, Angel Investing, Due Diligence, Financial Models, Golden Seeds, Opinion, Term Sheets, Uncategorized, Venture Capital

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