Bootstrapping vs. Venture Funding

Please join us for the December 3 Ultra Light Startups event on Bootstrapping vs. Venture Funding.

Please note that we do charge admission for Ultra Light Startups events - but for various reasons we do not use the Meetup.com payment system. The price is $10 (if you Pitch your venture during our "introductions by elevator pitch"), $20 (if you do not Pitch), or $30 (if you pay at the door - cash only). Online registration closes at noon the day of the event. To secure the lowest price for admission you must register online. We hope to see you there!

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Bootstrapping vs. Venture Funding

[list] Topics:

Objectives of this panel

o To help entrepreneurs determine whether venture funding or bootstrapping is more appropriate for their project. o Understanding how to position your company for financing success under each scenario.

The investor's perspective

o What is a venture fund (limited partners, general partners)? o Expected returns on portfiolio companies (~80% failures, ~15% breakeven, ~5% blockbuster) o Motivations of a venture capitalist in making an investment decision o Characteristics of a fundable company (concept, market size, team, barriers to entry, etc) o Venture funding success stories: Google, Amazon...

The bootstrapper's perspective

o What is bootstrapping? o Characteristics of a bootstrap-able company (early revenue, low capital requirements, low burn rate, etc) o Bootstrapping success stories:Placebase, PlentyOfFish, MacRumors. o Funding sources for bootstrappers: founder savings, full-time job, consulting, organic growth, etc.

Would I ever want to seek funding for a company that could be bootstrapped? Would I ever want to bootstrap a company that could be venture funded? Why?

The right time to seek funding. What is the right "state" of the venture for seeking funding?

Pitfalls to avoid - Common outcomes for non-fundable companies which seek venture funding.

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[list]Moderator:

Owen Davis, Managing Director at NYC Seed

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[list] Panelists (alphabetic order):

Art Chang, CEO of Tipping Point Partners

Brian Cohen, Founder/President of iFluence PR and Board Member at New York Angels

Mark Davis, IT Venture Capitalist at DFJ Gotham Ventures

Dennis Mortensen, Director of Data Insights at Yahoo! and founder of Canvas, Evonax, and IndexTools (now Yahoo! Analytics)

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