Future startup investments

2020+ TECH TRENDS

It’s the beginning of a new year and decade. Startup trends change fast, some are more durable and some change like the wind. Just a few months ago, the world looked completely different. I began analysing the new trends at the beginning of the year, and now mid-summer, still in the middle of a lockdowns, Read more about 2020+ TECH TRENDS[…]

venture capital investments

HOW MUCH SHOULD VENTURE CAPITAL CONTRIBUTE TO A COMPANY’S SUCCESS?

Venture capital is very important for entrepreneurship and to enable the development in uncertain technologies and business models that take a long time to become profitable. Other funding sources could not take up the risk that VC Funds take, and therefore our businesses and technologies would look very different today if we didn’t have venture Read more about HOW MUCH SHOULD VENTURE CAPITAL CONTRIBUTE TO A COMPANY’S SUCCESS?[…]

startup ecosystem

CAN THE LOCAL BUSINESS CULTURE DETERMINE WHAT THE NEXT STARTUP HUB WILL BE?

As many world economies develop and join the ranks of developed countries, and as many third-world countries develop fast and start bringing unique innovations to world markets, it’s fair to wonder if their startup hubs can ever reach the level of Silicon Valley. Maybe that would be a stretch, but there are new startup ecosystems Read more about CAN THE LOCAL BUSINESS CULTURE DETERMINE WHAT THE NEXT STARTUP HUB WILL BE?[…]

“Innovation and Entrepreneurship”: useful 1985 strategy insights for today’s startup world

Reading Peter F. Drucker’s 1985 book, ‘Innovation and Entrepreneurship’, it became clear that, despite a few trends that are no longer relevant today, many concepts are still very much relevant for startup entrepreneurship today. Peter Drucker has been described as “the founder of modern management”. According to Drucker, entrepreneurs should take advantage of a “window” Read more about “Innovation and Entrepreneurship”: useful 1985 strategy insights for today’s startup world[…]

WHERE DO UNICORNS COME FROM?

What was once a myth and rarity is now an everyday story. ‘Unicorns’ are private startups whose valuations have reached $ 1 billion +. Reading out the mythological background of the unicorn out of curiosity, the King of Ethiopia claimed that “it is impossible to take this ferocious beast alive; and that all its strength Read more about WHERE DO UNICORNS COME FROM?[…]

WHERE ARE EARLY-STAGE INVESTMENTS GOING?

Smart money from startup investors follows ever changing trends in terms of sector, region, stage, and instrument. Startup investors, including business angels, VCs, family offices and corporate VCs can invest directly into startup investment rounds, or join co-investment funds, syndicates or invest in other funds. Funds are increasingly set up as specialised sector funds. They Read more about WHERE ARE EARLY-STAGE INVESTMENTS GOING?[…]

WHAT IS VALUE?

It is not always straightforward what value or valuation really means. In the startup world, everyone is talking about it, tech news are filled with funding round valuation analysis and exit stories. Yet the talk often only touches the surface of what there is to know about the valuation of early-stage investments, or even the Read more about WHAT IS VALUE?[…]

BUSINESS VALUATION CALCULATORS: to use or not to use?

There are a few companies out there offering automatic valuations for startups. While it seems like a good option for all those companies who can’t figure out how valuation works and what value to communicate to investors, using an automated model completely fails the scope of the valuation. There are three main reasons for this: Your financial Read more about BUSINESS VALUATION CALCULATORS: to use or not to use?[…]

DAMODARAN ON NARRATIVE AND NUMBERS IN VALUATION

Aswath Damodaran’s webinar on “Narrative and Numbers: A Guide to Disciplined Story Telling and Imaginative Number Crunching” on Sageworks provided some very interesting insights into different approaches to valuation. Damodaran distinguishes between those people who are more comfortable with number crunching, and the storytellers. The ‘Numbers’ people tend to think that valuation is all about Read more about DAMODARAN ON NARRATIVE AND NUMBERS IN VALUATION[…]