Entrepreneurs who have started a business, generated revenues, and need funding to grow their market are often confused as to what to call the first funding round. In general, you name your rounds in the order you raise them: Seed round, Series A, Series B, etc. As venture capital has grown more prevalent as a funding source and in the media, the names have taken Read More »
Often entrepreneurs will be in the process of building their businesses and suddenly be struck by a need for cash. The business wins a big contract or general growth has increased in speed. On the down side, the slower economy slows sales growth or customers slow down their payable cycle. Either way, this is not the time to go looking for capital.
Start-up killers are those spoken statements that will lose the funding or customer deal for the entrepreneur. When speaking to someone about the new product or the business proposition, there is often the moment when you know that you have lost your listener. One misspoken comment and everyone wants to leave as soon as possible. They’ve made their decision and they want you to stop Read More »
Venture capital is a new form of financing that has come as a boon for young entrepreneurs and it plays a strategic role in financing small scale enterprises and high technology and risky ventures. In all the developed and developing nations it has made its mark by providing equity capital, so, they are more like equity partners rather than financiers and they are benefited through Read More »
What are the odds of a start-up becoming the next Google or Amazon? We’ve all heard that it’s slim, but what are the actual chances of reaching such great heights? Everyone talks about the winners, but what about the failures. Here are the statistics on the odds of a start-up’s success.
I’m continually impressed with the initiatives and resources I see from local universities to help startups. These definitely are not limited to students, since every university wants and needs the real world exposure and experience of entrepreneurs who already have credibility in the marketplace. Here is a short list of the areas where you should be able to find help:
There are many meetings in Silicon Valley about innovation, technology, start-ups, and entrepreneurs. If one of the panelists or speakers is a woman, inevitably someone asks the question why there aren’t more women founders or more start-up women in technology and science. While the number of women small business owners is more than 50 percent, the number of women founders of hi-tech start-ups is in Read More »