CAC, LTV, ARPU, EBITDA… for most people, these terms sound suspiciously like a bunch of letters that came out of a bowl of alphabet soup. However, for the angel investors and venture capitalists who invest in early-stage startups, these are terms that refer to some of...
Twenty years ago, I went through my first downturn. I’d taken a job right out of school working on Wall Street, doing financings for tech startups. It had all been humming along beautifully, when it seemed like… BAM! The market crashed. Deals...
Ten minutes into the pitch, I was still scratching my head. “I just don’t get it,” I said. “I just don’t understand what this is.” The founder stood there, perplexed. “What don’t you get?” she asked. “I’ve tried to cover everything!” As part of the cohort of a major...
“I wish we never raised the money!” I almost choked on my cocktail. “Excuse me?” The woman sighed. “I said I wish we never raised the money,” she whispered guiltily. I never expected to hear that from a successful female founder at an entrepreneurial...
I could feel Karen’s* excitement over the phone: “It’s set for next week! We’re meeting at Philz for coffee! We’ve been trying to get this meeting for months! Do we need to freshen up the deck?… Wait! What do you think he’s going to ask?” she blurted. *not her real...