How much does a VP at a top tech company make?
I made $250k, this was a few years back, and I was low on the VP totem pole. Generally the goal is with RSUs / options that a top VP that owns a lot of hires, an important product, makes > $1m a year … over time. At FB or Google it can be much more, but this is the...
Is it hard to set up a Saas business that becomes successful?
Well, of course. But — the reasons have changed. In the ‘05-’07 generation, the biggest challenge most SaaS start-ups faced was the SaaS markets were just too small for everything but CRM and a few other core, established spaces. This “Box” generation all grew...
What should a SaaS startup spend their first $1M investment on?
Your first $1m should almost always be about time. After that, the next $2m-$5m should be about High ROI people. If you “only” raise $1m, realistically that can only fund the initial team, at least in the U.S. That team is going to have to do sales, marketing, coding,...
In what ways did entrepreneurship change your personality?
For me, the #1 way it changed me, for life, is I can never decompress. When I was a Director, then a VP, at two start-ups, I could always turn it off. Turn it off on Saturday. Turn it off when I got home. Turn it off when I went for a run. After being a 2x founder...
Is it good for a company to return investors money if the business is not profitable?
I hope you don’t find yourself in this situation. But if you do … Just Ask. Ask the investors. Or at least, ask the largest 1 or 2. Some may want their money back. But if they believe in you, and think you have a shot at doing something with the money that’s left …...
Entrepreneurs: Where/how did you get your business idea, and how did you make it a reality?
In neither of my start-ups did I come up with the “idea”. I did come up with the idea of how to execute the idea and bring it to life, however. Without that, there is nothing. In my first start-up, the original technology had been developed as a $50,000 internal lab...
Do founders get paid out during capital rounds?
Not by default. But — as startup valuations and round sizes have grown in particular, it’s become much more commo in later-stage venture rounds.. As a general rule, in any deal with a valuation > $100m-$150m that is “hot” … secondary liquidity of some form is...
What do VCs really look for when making investments?
There are so many different answers at a tactical level. Most U.S. VCs are looking for potential unicorns and decacorns, period, except for the smallest funds. The qualitative side (great CEO, big market – potentially, disruptive tech) etc. are of course...
Our NYC based startup is raising $1.5 million in a seed round which gives us an 18 months runway. How much salary should I as the CEO and founder get?
My simple recommendation is, if $1.5m gives you 18 months of runway, and you need a $100k salary … raise $1.6m-$1.65m and pay yourself $100k. There’s no right answer here. Two years without pay is at the point where it’s de-motivational, and risky, for the business....
Am I ripping off my "cofounder" if I propose he owns 1-3% equity?
Maybe, but there are no right answers here. TradeDesk, which just filed to IPO, had a similar ratio: Notes from The Trade Desk S-1 IPO Filing And Salesforce did not have anything close to an equal ratio between its co-founders. Context matters. Who “makes it happen”...
What does Jason Lemkin think about alternative fund raising structures like Indie VC?
The smaller the fund, the more you can search for different types of investments, and different structures. For example, most smaller ‘regional’ and non-U.S. funds are optimized around $50m exits. Sequoia, Benchmark, etc. are optimized around $10b+ exits. Two rather...
Who was the first venture capital partner to have a blog?
Not sure who was first. But very early, and the first I read, was David Hornik and Venture Blog: VentureBlog View original question on quora
Is a convertible note a turn off to serious investors?
Yes, in the sense that if the investment is material in size (>=$1m), I won’t do notes. More on why here: An Insider’s Guide to Convertible Debt vs. Equity If the investment is <$500k in size, it’s fine to do notes, SAFEs, etc. But … It’s not a “turn off”. Don’t...
Are 90 day paid trials in enterprise SaaS counted as MRR or only after they commit to longer agreements?
There’s no right answer because MRR isn’t a GAAP metric. Having said that, almost all companies I work with include trials and pilots in MRR, but segment out their revenue into trial/pilots and longer term/committed contracts. This is the best way to do it, usually IF...
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