IntenseDebate - Taylor Davidson

12 years ago @ StartupCFO - The One Page Seed Stag... · 1 reply · +2 points

Mark, how would you think about doing this dashboard for B2B businesses? Sections 4 and 5 would stay the same, but the user funnel doesn't fit the sales cycle or customer acquisition metrics of a B2B business. How would you see it being different?

Thank you for sharing, btw. This could be part of creating much larger standards around tracking performance.

12 years ago @ Highway 12 Ventures - Important Firm News · 0 replies · +1 points

Congrats on having a great portfolio of companies to support, and for making the classy (instead of flashy) move.

14 years ago @ StartupCFO - Raising capital: Are y... · 0 replies · +1 points

Marsh: this discussion is just part of a broader discussion: Mark, I, and many others that read his blog are very aware that VC funding is not necessary to succeed.

These trends are fairly well known and are part of the deep context that we don't raise every time we talk about VC funding :) Shoot, I even led a conversation about it at SXSW last year: http://bit.ly/venturecapitalfuture

14 years ago @ StartupCFO - Raising capital: Are y... · 0 replies · +1 points

Good point; I just wanted to point out that we might look at that % as a bad result, when in fact it's an indicator of progress and the harsh truth, a harsh truth that you're right to point out that entrepreneurs should accept.

It's also part of a broader point that most entrepreneurs underestimate the implications of taking outside capital and the impact it has on business strategy.

14 years ago @ StartupCFO - Raising capital: Are y... · 2 replies · +1 points

Yes, but:

A) Wouldn't 100% of founding CEO's "lose their jobs" if they didn't raise funds anyway?

(conveniently ignoring the % of entrepreneurs that choose to bootstrap instead of raising external capital).

B) As a startup founder, if you're losing your job because the company is scaling and growing fast, even if you lose your job you're still getting paid (ownership % of a growing company). Not the worst result.

C) But I understand the broader concern, that taking funding forces an entrepreneur down a route they may not be able to navigate successfully. I'm a big proponent of "lifestyle businesses", but I'd hazard that most entrepreneurs would like to see if they can lead a company through massive growth, to see if they could do that job. At least once :)

14 years ago @ FISTFULAYEN - Alert, Connect, Sell: ... · 0 replies · +1 points

Fantastic detail, Ian, full of great examples of how to approach an album release, build a buzz, etc., and also full of examples of how to use Topspin in managing a release. Great case study. Now, if you combined these details with the full campaign analytics to show which methods worked better / worse and why / how, you'd be giving away all the secrets...

14 years ago @ StartupCFO - The fiction of startup... · 1 reply · +1 points

Mark: I've been holding onto this post since you posted it, just wanted to remark that the balance between estimating "too much" and "not enough" growth is one of the most careful balancing acts to use when share forecasts between communities (between VCs and entrepreneurs, between buyers and sellers).

Agreeing that they are always wrong is the first step toward digging in to what really matters :)

14 years ago @ StartupCFO - The new reality for VC... · 1 reply · +1 points

I'm expecting many will *have to* build it into their model in order to adapt and thrive.

I was explaining the issue about "build to flip" to someone today; if you build to flip, you're approaching the beginning with the intentions focused on the end-state, and you probably won't actually create enough value to actually be able to flip it; but if you're building to create something sustainable, then you'll probably create something someone will want to buy. Intentions and goals in the beginning shapes the path.

My trip? No; almost yes; but no :)

14 years ago @ StartupCFO - The new reality for VC... · 3 replies · +1 points

10X multiples won't be a thing of the past, but likely a smaller portion of exits. Your point about this acquisition highlighting the "VC model of rapid funding and growth" is spot on. Given the assets acquired in Mint, Friendfeed, Brightcove et, al., smaller exits aren't only expected but likely more efficient for the entire ecosystem.

The real question will be if investors can embrace lower multiples and work that expectation into their operating model.

14 years ago @ LookStat - Official Blog - New Homepage and New S... · 1 reply · +1 points

Congrats, the back office solution is a pretty interesting way to solve a lot of problems that photographers face with submitting images. I'm betting many will be curious about pricing...

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