Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with VC

What are your favorite two-player Virtual Console/WiiWare games?

coraline — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 01:47:28 -0800

[WiiFilter] What are your favorite two-player Virtual Console/WiiWare games? Looking to find some fun two-player games for me and my boyfriend to play. I haven't been in the Wii Store for a while and am a little overwhelmed by all of the choices.

Of VC/WiiWare multiplayer games, I currently have and enjoy Dr. Mario, Bomberman '93, Bubble Bobble and Super Smash Bros - this also gives you an idea of what kind of games I like. (Also really love Mario Kart Wii, but of course that is not in this category). My boyfriend also likes shooter and strategy games, and I would also love some larger adventure type games which are fun to play together, so I guess it's all over the place. But since the Wii Shop games are so cheap, I'm open to trying out almost any game which has a great two-player mode.

Not VC/WW, but Wii-related question: I'm thinking about buying one of the Boom Blox games, but should I go for the original one or Boom Blox Smash Party?

anyone got an example of a capital call /draw down letter to investors in a VC fund?

priorpark17 — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 09:45:36 -0800

Anyone got an example of a capital call /draw down letter to investors in a VC/ PE fund?

Stock

yoyo_nyc — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 16:00:45 -0800

How much of an equity stake in start-up should I ask for? I am a co-founder of a technology start-up but not the inventor of the technology. I helped with the business plan, will write the patents and help look for VC.

How much of an equity stake in start-up should I ask for?
I want to have one part for helping to get things running and a second part for a 2-3 year work commitment.

What is a realistic and fair share? 10% plus 10% for the commitment?
This would be 20% of the company and after financing/ stock dilution (assuming the VC would take 50% for the first financing round) I would end up with 10%.

Any suggestions?

How can a network engineer move into venture capital deals?

arimathea — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 09:46:34 -0800

How can a technology professional move into venture capital? I'm a technology professional (engineering type) with no formal education but a lot of experience and a long history in the industry i'm in (networks). I have a strong interest in learning more about investing - VC, private equity, that kind of thing. With the background I have, how can I best insert myself into this field given that i'm not in the Valley and don't have a strong network of people with investment background? I think the role that appeals most to me is learning about the deals and being mentored, but i'd love to eventually some day evolve this into an advisory role for a VC based on my experience.

what's new in technology. I mean really, really new

brandnew — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 04:28:36 -0800

Sites for tracking new technologies, technology trends, and innovations? I've recently been moved into a position that requires me to drive R&D projects and new innovations. I lead a small team that mainly looks at how to apply our existing IP and software to emerging technologies and social contexts.

I've got all the techniques down for turning my team into a gushing innovation factory. However, I struggle in providing the inputs: interesting new social contexts and emerging technologies. Currently I suck down the popular technology news sites and journals, but I always feel that we're behind the curve.

Are there blogs out there (or even subscription services) that discuss emerging technologies, social trends, etc? Perhaps a daily newsletter that showcases interesting new patent submissions, or top-secret products, or hype curves showing where VCs are putting their money?

Target ROI for a late stage investment in a biotech startup

alms — Fri, 16 May 2008 13:10:59 -0800

How much ROI would a VC be looking for in a late-stage biotechnology startup? A late-stage biotechnology startup just closed a final round of private financing and is now talking about an IPO at the end of this year or early 2009. The IPO hinges on positive results from a phase-2 drug trial that is currently underway. This calendar would have been known to the investors in the final round.

If this last round of investment was at $5/share, what ballpark IPO price would the final investors have been hoping for? This would be a pretty quick return (12 to 18 months), and on the scale of biotech startups it is a lower risk investment than most. But it is still a biotech startup.

I know that ultimately the answer is, "as much as possible," or "at least $5/share," but I'm hoping for something more specific than that. What prospect would the company need to show to close the deal? A reasonable possibility of a 20% return? 50% return? 100% return?

How to get money to start a business?

frijole — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 08:14:31 -0800

Some friends and I are looking at starting a business, and we need some up-front capital. About $100k. What's the best way to try and get this? Running the numbers, it looks like we'll be able to re-pay it well within the first year of operation, anywhere from 3-4 months (if everything goes perfectly right) to 8-10 months if it gets off to a rocky start. Chances are if it doesn't take off by then, it won't and we'll be hosed.

Should we try to pitch to VC companies, and if so, how does one go about doing this? Should we just try and get a bank loan? Or an SBA loan?

Thanks in advance!

Acquire me! I'll take you to dinner first!

Anonymous — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 11:38:36 -0800

What happens when a little company is interested in getting purchased by a big one? (Take two.) (Sorry if you happened to spot the first question. I used bad html and broke it.)

In the exact reverse of this previous AskMe, I need some advice about acquisitions and venture capital. I am a senior executive at a small young company (less than 200 employees) that is a leader in the niche tech field of doodad design. I run the unit that handles all our North American doodad efforts.

For several solid business reasons, the founder/president has always been open to selling this unit, although not extremely motivated (there are other sexier units of the company that he likes to be more involved with). But there has been a change in the market: last fall, quietly, a big multi-national technology conglomerate with no previous doodad business picked up a similarly sized small doodad company (an indirect competitor of ours; their doodads don't serve the same customer base that ours do, but it wouldn't take long to add that functionality via development). Since then, several competitors of the conglomerate have been discreetly sniffing around us.

I have convinced the president that right now is a good time to accelerate the acquisition effort. He has given me the green light to go forth and seek a potential buyer. After much research, I have created a short list of companies that I think will have interest. I believe that our NA doodad unit offers everything that improves shareholder value as a bolt-on acquisition (including exceptional market share and brand awareness, synergy, cutting-edge technology, human resources that are tops in the field, and high return on the economies of scale) and very little that decreases shareholder value (we have no debt, it would be a relatively cheap acquisition, and so on).

So... what next? How would a huge global entity expect to be approached in this case? And to whom? I literally have the clearance to call up [some top person at a conglomerate on my list] and say, "So, do you have a few million lying around?" (I kid; I know that wouldn't be the tactic.) But what is the best tactic? What's the best way to get my foot in that door? What should I expect in a get-to-know-you process? What will they expect to see in the pitch? I understand pitching the broader strokes: valuation, projected revenue, being able to demonstrate our market activity, and so on... but is it presumptuous to plan for how I foresee the unit functioning as part of a new entity? Or does a global conglomerate not really care about the suggestions of Tim Smith, Doodad VP? I'm not worried about the legal and financial due diligence part, since once a solid lead came into the picture, my president would bring an outside team in to handle that part of the process.

Also, I have seen that in several similar deals in my industry over the last few years, the two parties came together via a consulting firm, some group that advises specifically on this kind of dea. Do we really have to consider using an intermediary? (I've been offered a finder's fee by the founder if I can bring in a legitimate buyer candidate and the deal goes through, but I wouldn't want to have to share it with a broker.)

FWIW, I believe that we are in the best position to get acquired, as opposed to obtaining (what would be) stage 3 or mezzanine funding. But, I also know very little about the VC world and what the trends in the market are right now, so I could be wrong: is mezzanine funding the way to go here? The founders are going to want to divest of the unit completely, not just get a cash injection in order to then have to futz with it even more; this would necessitate restructuring the management of the unit (which wouldn't really be a bad thing). Am I right in my understanding that a VC firm won't want to bother with an outfit that isn't already fully contained, that needs to fill some management holes?

Also, I am very nervous about the possibility that I am opening the door to being out of a job. There's really no way to absolutely guarantee that I stay employed if we get purchased, is there?

I'm sure there are additional questions that I should be asking that I don't know to ask. Any thoughts, resources, experiences are welcome. Btw, I'm also looking for a mentor to help me navigate this (frankly overwhelming but exciting) opportunity so if you can suggest anyone, I'm all ears. Email me at acquisitionaskme@gmail.com if you need more info.

VC Firm Interviews

NotMyselfRightNow — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 08:47:25 -0800

Do you work in venture capital, or have you applied for a job at a VC firm? What was the interview process like?

Need to quickly put together marketing plan...help!

Anonymous — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 13:51:26 -0800

I need to quickly create a marketing plan and budget but I am more the creative, not so much the plan. The company I work for is in the process of getting some VC money. The latest VC firm is very serious and part of what they require is a marketing plan and budget. I am the marketing guy for the company, but so far most of my work has been branding and creative stuff. I have not been able to do much else as we have not much money and I have no staff. My time has also been taken by doing a lot of customer service, sales and misc.

So

I don't know much about creating a formal marketing plan...any resources, thoughts, suggestions? I don't even know if I should use ideal numbers or actual more realistic numbers? This whole shebang needs to be put together in about 4 days!

FYI we are a small software company that provides software to businesses...product line is split between enterprise and small business.

Will the Crooks Get Away With It?

astorias — Sat, 04 Feb 2006 10:01:18 -0800

Will the crooks get away with it? I have some friends who are working for a company that is doing well, and they believe the company will go public or get VC money. However, I know the company has engaged in some questionable accounting practices, and I wouldn't be surprised to see the company leaders get indicted for tax fraud. What are the chances the company will get funding or be able to go public if the CEO is indicted? I'd like to warn my friends that they may be wasting their time, and they could get stuck with a questionable company on their resume. Finally, I am not at liberty to say how I know about the questionable accounting; and I'm just looking for some insight from our financial gurus.

where does one start with a new idea for web-based business/service?

specialk420 — Tue, 05 Jul 2005 21:52:04 -0800

if one had a what one would imagine to be a possibly great idea for a web based site/service ... where would one start in this post - post - .com era?

How much should Google's stock be worth?

rkent — Fri, 06 Aug 2004 09:18:43 -0800

Amateur economists, VCs, MBA students: what's a fair price for a google share? Based on what assumptions? Some background info to assist your calculations. Centrally from this NYTimes article:

24.6 million shares will be sold
The distribution structure will be Dutch Auction, where (basically) the top 24.6 million bids will get a share, but only pay the amount of the 24.6 millionth-place bid.
They hope to make around $3 billion, so that puts the expected share price at over $100.

I'll start the estimating with an extremely simple calculation, assuming that a stock "should" have a P/E ratio of no more than 20. Based on earnings of $105.6M last year, this puts the (backwards-looking) "correct" market cap at $2.1B, for a share price of around $85. So maybe the $100+ isn't so unreasonable if you expect the earnings to increase this year?