DISQUS

Michael Kassing · 1 year ago

God forbid a startup make money and fund itself.

Michael Kassing
MarkTend (making money)
http://marktend.com

Alan Greenspan · 1 year ago

These are challenging times and some companies will go out of business. Nothing will ever change. But a friend of mine that is bankrolled by Sequoia says much of this was drama. Drama in the sense that they Sequoia wants to put the fear of God in them and make them focus more.
For anyone at Sequoia to say it will last for years is completely irresponsible. How the hell do they know how long any down turn will last? Oh, I forgot they are Sequoia. Please.

Does this mean that layoffs have commenced at Sequoia corporate? Should I be checking with the starter at Sharon Heights to see if VC's are spending more time at the country club?

If this down turn is going to last for years shouldn't Sequoia have the responsibility to stop charging a 2% management fee on hundreds of millions if they plan on sitting on their hands.


Get real!

AllenD · 1 year ago

The best thing that ever happened to my company was being rejected by Sequoia. We didn't take the dilution, we have been cash flow positive for 7 quarters and plenty of cash now from operations. We grew 60% each of the past 2 years and just released a new version of our product. Companies like ours, that chose to bootstrap their business with a real business models are the ones that will survive this downturn.

Jay · 1 year ago

AllenD:

You are an idiot. When was the last time a bootstrapped tech company had an IPO?

Peter Antypas · 1 year ago

IPO? That era is over. The really good stuff goes to the uber-wealthy-non-SOX-abiding-exclusive-club called "private equity".

Jamie · 1 year ago

I would venture that YOU are the idiot, if you believe that IPO's are the end of the road. IPO's are only critical for certain types of businesses, and then only to raise sufficient capital to take it all the way home. If you don't need the capital, then why sell the stock?

Alex · 1 year ago

@Jay

You measure success by IPO? Give me a break dude. How many cash cow companies get gobbled up by private equity? Answer - a shit load.

btw - I agree with AllenD

Jay · 1 year ago

Yes, I build companies of consequence, which an IPO is a great measure of. I am not interested in opening a dry cleaner or a restaurant like AllenD.

Brij Singh · 1 year ago

Eric,

US Forest Service image is perfect for conveying overall climate out there.

Brij

AllenD · 1 year ago

Jay-IPO, pleasssze. If that is your plan for the future, then I pity you. Your plan should be to build real shareholder value. In our case that is in an expanding market where bigger players are definately interested in acquisition of growth companies able to exhibit 50-100% year over year sales growth, profitability, best of breed tech, and the ability to address emerging markets. This is what we are doing, and these are the things that lead to a successful exit. And incidentally I currently own the majority of my company, instead of a fraction because I didn't give it to the VCs.

davemc500hats · 1 year ago

Sequoia will be fine. Sequoia companies may be mixed, but hey that's venture capital: u win some, u lose some. the real issue is the OTHER vc firms and their portfolio co's... RIP Good Times indeed.

firms like Sequoia, Benchmark, a few others will always attract top talent & do well. but in general, the model for MOST vc funds with >$100m are fundamentally broken -- not due to the recent downturn, but due to the overall market trend of the last few years towards more acquisitions of smaller size.

funds that are engineered for median $25-75m exits are going to do very well over the next few years. but that isn't most of the market.

Svetlana Gladkova · 1 year ago

Honestly, I am very sorry for all the people who will be damaged by the crisis (like unemployed from startups that go out of business or cut costs listening to advice like this) but it is still good that they will have to figure out healthier ways to carry out their businesses instead of continuing to burn the VC money. At least this means we will see startups launching with solid business models from the very beginning.

moto · 1 year ago

I know of non-dilutive grants from the government supporting engineering headcount to encourage startups to establish engineering centers in Singapore. Does this sound interesting in such times?

You basically plonk a team in Singapore, pay their payroll out of Singapore, and every 3 or 6 months, get reimbursed up to 50% of their base salary. This might be a good way to stretch startups’ existing venture-backed dollars in such tough times.

Does it makes sense? Thoughts guys?

Engago team · 1 year ago

@ Jay Is having an IPO the goal? The holy grail?
Be happy with a normal life and a company that just has revenue and is profitable.
Many stock traded companies would like to get unlisted for all the problems, costs and hassle their listing brings.

If you have a company supplying a service or a product to a market demanding these products, then your company can survive. Probably you will not get rich, but do you have to? What are you going to do once you're rich? Sit in the sun on the beach?

In any case all the companies need leads for getting sales. Get them from your website.

Sean Ellis · 1 year ago

The good news is that many VC backed startups can survive on a shoestring today (when forced to do so). Of course survival isn't everything - they still need to try to build a big business. Here are some useful tips for doing both http://tinyurl.com/4bkvle .

Appirio · 1 year ago

As a Sequoia portfolio company, we actually had a slightly different take on this meeting. Read more here: http://www.appirio.com/blog/2008/10/chris-barbi...

BTDT · 1 year ago

There's a lot to be said about an old maxim that states only companies with fairly weak business models need IPOs. Other can self-fund and raise money via far less costly means plus retain control of their equity and destiny.

Shay · 1 year ago

@ Engago. Why would anyone start a business if they wanted a "normal life"? Yeah, we all agree that Jay's comment is silly, but if getting rich isn't at least a part of your business plan, you're in the wrong industry. This article is about startups, meaning balls to the wall, high growth potential, liquidity or die. Not about a family-based small business. Nothing wrong with those, lemonade stands pay the bills but who cares other than you and your family? The top tier entrepreneurs (that have most helped improve the quality of life you enjoy) have all created more jobs than just a handful for themselves and their assistants. And if I had to guess, M&A's probably lead to more founders sitting on a beach than IPOs. That beach thing fucks up your share price.

quranreading · 11 months ago

Good ideas.My company never go down.Because i always keep my eyes on my competitors and always introduce the new changes and products.

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