Category: startup

Hitting Pause on StartupCFO

In February 2007, I signed up for a blogger account and wrote my first post here. I had no grand intentions when I started. I like to write and I was curious about blogging.

Almost 10 years and 700 posts later, this blog has served me well. When I started this, there were few people writing about startup finance, modelling, metrics, fundraising, etc. Other than some early adopter such as Fred and Brad, most investors had not yet caught on to the power of blogging to build their brands and deal flow.

Continue reading Hitting Pause on StartupCFO

European SaaS Exits – my talk from SaaStock

 

screenshot-2016-09-09-11-40-36The inaugural SaaStock event took place in Dublin today. For a first time event, it was extremely high quality. Great speakers from both sides of the Atlantic sharing deep, actionable insights on succeeding in SaaS.

I gave a talk on achieving meaningful SaaS exits. I looked at actual data on SaaS exits then moved on to general tips for generating meaningful exits no matter where your business is.

Here are my slides…

Why you need to goto SaaStock

screenshot-2016-09-09-11-40-36

In a couple of weeks I’ll be crossing the Atlantic to speak about SaaS exits at the inaugural SaaStock event in Dublin, Ireland. This promises to be an amazing event. Here’s why:

The people: The event is 100% focused on SaaS operators, investors and advisors. It’s super-focused. If you’re running a SaaS business, everyone you would ever want to speak with will be there.

The speakers: For an inaugural event, I’m blown away by the speakers. Over 40 great people from both sides of the Atlantic are involved. Some of the best SaaS investors and most accomplished SaaS operators will be sharing their insights. Continue reading Why you need to goto SaaStock

Should founders get Stock Options?

Employee-Stock-Options
Image Source: http://sophisticatedignorance.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Employee-Stock-Options.jpg

Founders often ask me whether they should be asking for stock options in their own company. Some of them feel sheepish for asking. Some feel entitled. There’s no one right way to think about founder incentive compensation, but here’s how I have approached it over the years.

The Early Days

Anyone can start a company. And in the beginning, what you have is not even a company yet. I see startups having three distinct phases: Continue reading Should founders get Stock Options?