It couldn’t be a better time to be an entrepreneur because valuations are soaring. Learn from Troy on how to make that value count when you exit.
For more information on the links referenced in the video, see below.
Is this video helpful as you are considering a valuation for your raise? Let us know in the comments below.
Listen to the latest episode of the Chicago Capital podcast where Matt Castellini interviews Mark Achler. Learn all about Mark’s background, what led him into Venture Capital, the genesis of Math Venture Partners, why doing your homework is so important, and the history of the Chicago startup ecosystem.
The last two weeks have been full of travel. It started with a Board meeting in Toronto, then a long weekend in Scottsdale with girlfriends, and finally a few days in the Bay area for meetings and the second annual AllRaise VC Summit. As I came out of a powerful, supportive weekend with friends into the energy of the largest gathering of female VCs ever, I started to reflect on the strong, positive shift in the tech community and broader women’s movement.
I was at an event in the Midwest recently and was speaking to two local, tech leaders about how many startups had been launched in the last six months when a white-haired gentleman approached us, let’s call him Joe. Joe sidled up to our group with a killer line “are only girls allowed in this conversation?”. Within seconds my two allies headed for the exit and I suspected something was up.
Recently, I was working with a Founder/CEO through some fairly complex and challenging issues. In this case, I was not a member of the Board, but instead acting as an advisor/coach to the Founder. And, the issues being worked through were significant – it is not an exaggeration to say that the combination of issues could be fatal for this company.
It’s always interesting to see how entrepreneurs react to our content and our different styles and perspectives. This particular team is the classic case of consultants that have solved a problem for years with bespoke, customized services but believe they have found a way to build a scalable technology product. They have immense industry knowledge and experience but they recognize selling a SaaS product is different than selling a custom service offering, and they are eager to learn.
