Highlights for Entrepreneurs (11/07/24)

I heard this song on KCRW this morning, and I think it serves as an appropriate opening for my newsletter?this week: Laura Nyro - Save The Country

Thank you for checking out my newsletter. As someone who enjoys sharing information with friends and colleagues, I started this as a way to help early stage founders find out about events, videos?and articles that help serve as a guide and a reference. Even if you're not a founder, the content could be engaging for you. I hope you agree.

Have a great week, be safe and healthy...?and take some time to care for yourself!?Here are this?week's resources for you to check out?and thank you again for reading, subscribing and sharing! Welcome to all the new and recent subscribers! If someone forwarded this to you, please reply to me to subscribe (or subscribe on LI)

Best,

Paul

Check out my interview with Canvas Rebel?

Here are this week's links:

1)?Scroobious: Lifting the Curtain on Crowdfunding with WeFunder (Zoom Nov 14)

- You will learn the basics of the legal setup, including what you’ll need to prepare in advance, how to set your investment terms, and how much you can expect to spend on a lawyer as well as how to pitch your business and market the fundraise.

2)?Founder Institute: How to Adopt an Entrepreneurial Mindset (Online Nov 14)

- "Learn how to embrace the entrepreneur's mindest from Jonathan Greechan, Co-Founder & CEO of the Founder Institute. Join us to learn strategies that anyone can use to be more entrepreneurial in their day-to-day work."

3)?SaaS Metric School: Founder / Investor Fit is Critical for Fundraising Success (Podcast episode)

- What is founder / investor fit;?- Vet your investors;?Be courteous?

4)?A Product Market Fit Show: This first-time founder raised $4M, kept the team to 5 people—& just raised a $28M Series A. | Parker Gilbert, Co-Founder of Numeric (Podcast Episode)

- "Parker quit his job as VP Finance at a late-stage startup in mid 2021. He raised $4M out of the gate because, well, it was 2021. But he didn't ramp up sales, he didn't hire 15 developers. He kept the team to 5 people for the first year"?

5)?a16z Crypto: Pricing strategy for startups (Podcast)

- ?"we discuss pricing strategy for startups — from traditional businesses to web2 to web3. We dive into insights from traditional and web2 businesses and apply them — plus brand new approaches — to startups using crypto and blockchains."?

6)?Alejandro Cremades: How To Create A Pitch Deck (Resource)

- "A pitch deck is your way to persuade investors that you and your business are worthy of investment. This article outlines exactly how to create a pitch deck that will succeed."

7)?Silicon Valley Bank: What is venture capital? (Article)

- Be sure you understand how funding decisions made now will affect your company in the long and short term, so you can choose the course that best aligns with your mission and vision.???

8)?5 startup fundraising tips from Y Combinator's Garry Tan (Article)

- ?Validate your market first; Focus on your long-term vision; Build relationships early; Never over-optimize for valuation; Embrace transparency in communication?

9)?Sequoia Capital: A Startup Founder To Scaleup CEO’s Journey from $0 to $25 billion (Article)

- From Brian Halligan, an investor with Sequoia and Propeller, here’s a list of Halliganism’s I picked up along the way that I hope will help some of you on that same journey.?

10)?Technical.ly: 3 key lessons on startup life from Johns Hopkins experts: Hiring right, handling conflict and more (Article)

- For founders and early-stage employees, success follows constantly moving targets??

11)?SaaStr: 6 Of The Most Common Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make Pitching VCs (Article)

- SaaStr's Jason Lemkin enumerates some common mistakes founders make when they're asking for funding?

12)?The Hustle Fund: Phase Three of Fundraising: Closing (Article)

- Part 3 of a series, explaining that a verbal commitment is not the end, there are closing docs and legal steps to take before you can relax.??

13)?Mostly Metrics: The Pulse of Your Business: Mastering Net New ARR (Article)

- You'll need to subscribe for the entire article but there's enough here to get the gist of what is Net New ARR and how to calculate it?

14)?Silicon Beach Planning: From Startup to IPO: How Equity Compensation Evolves with Your Company’s Growth (Article)

- By understanding how equity evolves through each stage of your company’s growth and adapting your strategy accordingly, you can maximize the value of your compensation and align it with your long-term financial goals.??

15)?Pitching Angels: The Critical Difference Between Pre- and Post-Money Valuations (Article)??

- "If you want investment from experienced investors, the post-money SAFE, convertible note, or preferred shares are the only viable options. Don’t waste your time proposing a pre-money SAFE, uncapped SAFE or convertible note, or common shares."

Musical Diversions:

Joe Deninzon & Stratospheerius Frame by Frame (Live at Progstock) {A little Prog, anyone?}

Martin Harley & Holly Carter - Instrumental

Japandroids - Chicago {A rocker}

The Snozzberries - Grundle

Steve Cropper &The Midnight Hour (feat. Brian May) - Too Much Stress {Yes...the Legendary Steve Cropper with new music!}

Gráinne Duffy — Dirt Woman Blues

JD McPherson - Nite Owls

This Week's Cover:

More Blues: Boz Scaggs - Loan Me A Dime ft Duane Allman {the article is worth reading if you like the tune}?

In Memoriam (an occasional section, hopefully)?

Quincy Jones - Dead End {Hard to choose from his vast catalog of great music. I first heard him from a college roommate and this is from one of the 1st albums I heard. Please explore further if you like it}?

Highlights Newsletter Soundtrack?All of 2024 music picks on Spotify

I know that you are very busy, but I hope you have time to enjoy the curated information and the?music selections?in this newsletter.?Get in touch if you have any feedback,?sources or other interested?readers - feel free to forward!??If you hear of any?upcoming events, please pass them along too! If the links speak to you, consider subscribing to the source! If you find a link particularly interesting, let me know so I can look for more like it.

Paul G. Shapiro, CPA?(Retired)

Startup Consultant

Santa Monica, CA