There are a lot of founders struggling to keep their startups alive right now. Because they are spending more than they make. And their cash is running out. Maybe they funded it themselves …
I hear from founders every week who pitched big investors and were turned down with responses like these: “Your market is too small” “We don’t like services revenue in the …
A practical founder told me yesterday that he made a bet with a friend many years ago. Who would end up with a bigger prize when they sell their companies someday? His …
Early-stage Series A and B venture funding were down 22% last quarter and startup seed funding was down 11% from last year's crazy times. This is not a crash for tech …
This month we just crossed 6,000 companies on Gregslist - my curated list of all software companies in 12 cities in the US. A curious thing becomes starkly visible when you …
If you think you want "big VC funding" someday, then you've got to have one of the few businesses that will grow crazy fast and exit at over a billion …
Public and private software company valuation multiples have come down hard this year, but they are still valued on MULTIPLES OF REVENUE. Here are 5 reasons why SaaS companies are still …
Here’s the fourth most successful way I see software founders funding their way across the Startup Traction Gap between MVP and sustainable sales. It’s not something I can recommend to new …
Bootstrapped and lightly-funded SaaS companies looked pretty uncool the last few years when they didn't raise big VC funding. These practical startups are looking pretty cool now. They aren't laying off …
When I talk to software venture investors, there is one question that reveals their stage focus 100% of the time. It’s like a law of gravity that can’t be defied. Here’s the …
Here is the third most successful way I see how software startups get across the Traction Gap from MVP to repeatable revenues. But most new tech founders I talk to think …
I'm looking for a few seed and pre-seed investors who actively invest in B2B SaaS, vertical SaaS, marketplaces, platforms, and consumer apps. I talk to over 500 serious software founders a …
Here's the second most popular way I see founders get across the Traction Gap between MVP and sustainable revenue traction. It may seem obvious, but it's less common than you think. FOUNDER …
I wrote a post last week about the dreaded "startup traction gap" between having a sellable MVP and getting to $50K MRR or some other measure of traction. This is 1st …
In the last couple of weeks, I have talked to a dozen startup founders who are stuck between the ideation/starting/MVP stage and the early customers/revenue/growth phase. This is the dreaded Traction …
There are many benefits to creating, pitching, refining, and defending your investor pitch deck--then pitching it over and over... Even when you don't successfully raise funding or you aren't trying to …
Founders are often frustrated by inconsistent feedback from investors after a pitch meeting. Too low of a valuation. Or too high. Too much story. Or not enough. Traction means $20K …
How much time and effort is required to raise money from outside investors for your early startup? It can take most of the founder's time for six months to a year …
I think software startup valuations will stay on the high side for the while, compared to 2019 levels. We’re already seeing fewer crazy-high deals, but valuations aren’t dropping off a cliff …
I heard three software startup investor "pre-pitches" in the last few weeks that all had the same big problem. They were missing the simple startup math story about getting their first …
When investors evaluate a tech startup or growth-stage company, they look at things like the potential market size, your team, traction, customers, and product. But they are really asking one big …
I talked to over 10 early-stage software startup founders in the last week about their next funding rounds and all the options. They think growth funding is "getting investment from outside …
Almost 50% of software companies on Gregslist have no outside funding and fewer than 20% are VC-funded. Does that surprise you? There are 5438 software companies on Gregslist.com in 11 cities …
Getting 100% of your startup funding advice from investors is like getting nutrition advice from McDonald's. "Of course, you should supersize it. Everyone's doing it." Investors aren't bad or wrong, it's just …
I talked to 10 startup founders last week who are raising money from investors, have raised, or are planning to raise. I always ask this question: What kind of money are …
VC funding isn't bad. It's just not for most startup software companies. More than half of VC-funded companies wash out completely with no big prize for founders and their employees. I just …
Most startup founders I talk to every week are hearing about the BIG FUNDING game. They are wondering if they should be playing that game too. It's everywhere online with big funding …
I was talking with a friend today about the over-coverage of venture capital funding in the tech media and at all levels of tech ecosystems. Scott Petty also happens to be …
In the last 5 months, I have invested in 5 software startups as an angel investor. When I talk to founders about raising money, I always ask this question: "If someone wrote …
There's an assumption there that "funding" means big VC funding from outside investors. But all startups are funded in some way. They are never not funded. Here are 9 ways startups fund …
I talked to a savvy software startup founder this week who reached out to me for a mentor call to get my thoughts. He has a big newfangled idea, a first …
Startup accelerators, incubators, and studios can be helpful for first-time startup founders. But there's a problem with the accelerator business model that is frustrating to a growing number of savvy SaaS …
Self-funded software startups can raise outside funding someday if it makes sense. Or not. Or sell it for under $100M. Venture-funded software companies don't have the option to be unfunded at …
There are twice as many self-funded companies on Gregslist than companies with VC funding. There are 3 times as many software companies that have "no or very little" equity funding (67%) …
Three founders and two investors used the term "base hits" in the last week when talking with me about founders selling companies for $10M-$50M. Here's why using "base hits" vs "home …
Most of the big angel investors I know have one thing in common: They bootstrapped and sold their own software businesses. Isn't that ironic? The entrepreneurs who never took any outside investment are …
A Dallas software founder asked me this on our quarterly call today: "How can our company look serious and credible when we haven't raised a big funding round?" He started his vertical …
Last week I wrote a popular LinkedIn post about how all experienced angel and seed investors need to see some revenues before considering investing in your software startup. I implored software …
I have had 13 versions of this conversation in the last 3 weeks with savvy startup founders in Phoenix, Dallas, and Austin. Founder: I'm working on a cool new software startup with …
Three (other) SaaS founders I advise are planning to raise sizable rounds from VC investors this year. These founders are NOT talking to the biggest Silicon Valley VCs that require unicorn …
There is a lot more startup innovation funded by existing businesses than anyone sees. It just doesn't make the headlines that big funding does. Most of the founders I work with are …
In the current tech boom in Silicon Valley, first-time tech founders can raise money from VCs before they have a software product or paying customers. Outside of Silicon Valley, I don't …
The VC-Industrial Complex dominates the conversation about tech startups. They have convinced new founders to chase outside funding to start their companies and win the SaaS game. They say this because it's …
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