In the world of technology exits, the spotlight often shines on massive acquisitions – billion-dollar deals that dominate the headlines. Yet, the real story lies beneath the surface: the growing wave of smaller acquisitions. For entrepreneurs and early investors, these…
The market for selling a business is highly inefficient. This is one of the main reasons why a well-designed and properly executed exit strategy can increase a company’s valuation by 50% or more. A Counter Example – The Residential Real…
In the earliest stage of a startup, founders often rely on money from friends and family. Budgets are tight, good lawyers can feel out of reach, and mentors may not be in place yet. The result is that key legal…
This highly valuable concept is one of the most difficult for investors and entrepreneurs to grasp intuitively. I didn’t truly understand it until I was fifty. It’s not due to a lack of learning ability, but because, as with many…
Director compensation has changed significantly over the past few years. While specific data, especially for early and mid-stage companies, remains limited, compensation levels are widely believed to have increased severalfold since the corporate governance issues of the late 1990s. Why…
Deciding between angel investors and venture capital (VC) funds is a common challenge for startups. Fortunately, the choice is often straightforward once the characteristics of the business and its stakeholders are analyzed. Angel investors and VC firms differ significantly in…
A common misconception among early-stage founders is that venture capital (VC) is the primary source of funding for startups. The reality, however, tells a very different story. While VCs often dominate the headlines, their actual contribution at the seed stage…
The Problem with the Modern VC Model Much has been said recently about how the venture capital (VC) model is broken. One of the biggest, yet often overlooked reasons is simple: VC firms have become too large to serve early-stage…
How Multiple Bidders Can Drive Up Value and Save the Deal The first company I founded began as a grad school side project and, over a decade later, grew into one of the largest players in a niche tech manufacturing…
Why Fund Size Matters to Angels and Entrepreneurs Key Takeaways The Bigger Picture Venture capital (VC) plays a powerful role in shaping startup outcomes—but it’s often misunderstood, especially by founders and early investors. One key area that gets overlooked is…
The venture capital (VC) model has faced increasing scrutiny over the past decade, with numerous industry experts and commentators highlighting its structural issues and misalignments. Below is a curated list of notable articles and discussions that delve into the challenges…
In my previous posts — Venture Capital Firms are Too Big and Venture Capital Funds: How the Math Works — I discussed how venture capital investors tend to invest excessively and only aim to exit when the returns are exceptionally…