Blog Highlight Reel

Excerpts from our blog, SeedStageCapital.com

We author a blog called Seed Stage Capital covering topics of interest to entrepreneurs: startup strategy, launch planning, business development, advisory boards, term sheets, raising capital, exit strategy, etc. If you'd like to see a topic covered, please email us.

Here are links to a few of the best articles for your reading enjoyment.

Startup Finance
Startup founders are often extremely concerned with valuation. In response, we put together "Startup Valuation: How Much Is Your Company Worth?" Another relevant article explores Mint.com's early financial forecast, and in another post we go into detail about the benefits of building a startup financial model.

Importantly, not all deals are VC deals; read our article, "When Is a Startup Venture Fundable?" to help figure out if yours really is. Finally, when you're ready to raise funding, you might want to check out this article: "Hacking AngelList: 7 Tips For Raising Startup Capital." Good luck!

The Deal
Articles on the Exit-- namely, getting acquired. See our comprehensive slide deck on "Startup M&A: Exit Strategy" (particularly relevant to consumer web and Lean Startups); supporting articles include "Startup M&A Music Chairs" and "Key Elements For Selling Your Company," as well as "More on M&A for Startups" and "Acquisition As An Exit Strategy."

For partnerships and business development deals, see "Startup Business Development Strategies: 7 Tips For Putting Together Outstanding Deals."

Advisors & Team
"The Care And Feeding of Advisory Boards" is our comprehensive how-to article on building an exceptional external team to guide you as you grow. And while you're at it, check out our article on "Setting And Shaping A Strong Startup Culture."

Business Plan
Includes a post on why (almost) all companies need a solid business plan: "The Business Plan Is Dead; Long Live the Business Plan" as well as a historical look at one of Apple's earliest business plans, courtesy of the Computer History Museum.

Term Sheets
Includes posts titled "Some Thoughts on Term Sheets" as well as "Closing Term Sheets Quickly" and "In Search of the Ideal Term Sheet." Follow the links for a downloadable entrepreneur-friendly term sheet as well as a very educational online term sheet generator put together by Wilson Sonsini.

Bootstrapping
Although the majority of our clients are seeking outside capital, if you can pull it off, boostrapping remains a great way to grow your business while maintaining leverage and control. See "The Best Funding Strategy Of Them All: None" for more thoughts on the subject. Another option is the "Friends and Family Round," discussed here.

Humor
"Things A VC Will Never Say" and the corresponding "Things A Founder Will Never Say".

Etc.
We do a lot of sailing; it clears the head (and is pretty fun to boot). We are writing an ongoing series called: "What Startups Can Learn From Sailors." Here is Part One and here is Part Two.

For more good startup content, check out our Facebook Page and our "Best Websites For Startups" page. Enjoy!