David Cummings on Startups

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  • More Aggressive Venture Debt Market Opportunity

    Venture debt, just like it sounds, is a loan for venture-backed startups. Banks like Silicon Valley Bank and Square 1 Bank have great programs where they loan money at low rates based on how much money has been raised as well as the amount of recurring revenue (see Credit Lines for SaaS Startups). Only, these lines of credit are often maxed out at ~20% of recurring revenue (e.g. have $10 million in annual recurring revenue and get a line of credit for $2 million). There’s an opportunity in the market for subordinated debt that is junior to the debt from the banks.

    Here’s how it might work:

    • A new venture debt fund that provides lines of credit at half the size of the banks (e.g. 10% of recurring revenue, so an extra $1 million for a $10 million run-rate startup)
    • Whereas normal venture debt is often prime plus a couple percent (e.g. 6% in today’s market), this would be much higher interest rates (e.g. 12-15%) and warrants for between 0.5% and 1% of the company
    • $1 million in debt at an interest rate of 15% per year would compound as follows (assuming interest only and no principal payments):
      • Year 1 – $1,150,000
      • Year 2 – $1,322,500
      • Year 3 – $1,520,875
      • Year 4 – $1,749,006
      • Year 5 – $2,011,357

    This would be attractive to startups that haven’t raised money and want to grow faster as well as venture-backed startups that are trying to put off raising their next venture round until they reach a bigger milestone. For entrepreneurs averse to dilution and venture-backed startups that aren’t able to raise money at a great multiple, more aggressive venture debt could be an option to accelerate growth.

    What else? What are some more thoughts on more aggressive venture debt as a market opportunity?

  • Video of the Week – Gary Vaynerchuk USC Entrepreneur Talk 2015

    Gary Vaynerchuk has always epitomized the entrepreneurial hustle starting as a poor immigrant and going on to build several super successful companies. In this talk from earlier in the year, Gary shares his thoughts that entrepreneurship is not teachable, the importance of betting on personal strengths, and the state of the current tech startup community.

    Enjoy.

    Note: Gary’s signature style is in-your-face and passionate, so get ready.

  • Challenges with the Venture Investment Model

    Earlier today I was talking with an investor about the the venture investment model and some of the challenges. Venture, as an asset class, is one of the more unusual ones and has been in the news a good bit lately with many high-flying tech startups raising money at huge valuations. While time will tell if we’re a little frothy or a lot frothy in the markets right now, it’s clear that tech is white-hot. Let’s look at some of the challenges with the venture investment model:

    • Lack of Liquidity – Stock in private tech startups, especially ones in the earlier stages, is incredibly illiquid, making it almost impossible to get money out of the fund before a material exit occurs
    • Long Horizon for Any Returns – Funds typically invest their capital in the first 3-5 years and then look to generate returns in years 7-10 (with the option to extend for a few more years), meaning investors aren’t likely to see returns for at least seven years, if not more
    • High Portfolio Concentration – Many funds only invest in 10-20 companies and one or two of them must be incredibly successful to generate great returns, which is a much higher required hit rate than many people acknowledge
    • Higher Entry Prices Require Higher Exit Prices – With valuations up significantly to buy into startups, exit valuations need to be up as much to generate the desired returns (if you buy in high you have to sell even higher)

    The venture investment model is more challenging than people realize. On the positive side, it’s positioned as potentially delivering great returns (target of 17%+ per year rate of return) and being uncorrelated with the public markets (can’t be the case completely).

    What else? What are some other challenges with the venture investment model?

  • Accused of Doing Too Much

    One year after we sold Pardot I was at an event with a venture capitalist that had passed on investing in Pardot at a $7 million valuation. We were catching up and I joked with him that he could have had a great return if they hadn’t passed on investing (we didn’t raise any money for the business). He stopped, looked up, and said, “You know, the reason we passed is because we felt you were doing too much having Shotput Ventures (an accelerator program), Hannon Hill (my first company), and Pardot.” Not having heard that before, I agreed that it seemed like a lot but that it was my style — I like to stay busy.

    Thinking about it some more, a few thoughts come to mind:

    • My ability to do multiple things is primarily driven by surrounding myself with great people who are self-starting
    • The CEO’s job is to set the vision, build a great team, and ensure there’s enough money in the bank to execute — sometimes that takes 60 hours in a week and sometimes that takes 20 hours in a week
    • As the startup grows and key people are hired for key positions, the amount of must-do day-to-day responsibilities lessen (there’s still plenty to do, only it’s easier to work on the business instead of in it)
    • Doing too much implies doing some things poorly, and that doesn’t have to be the case
    • The old adage “if you want something done, find a busy person” still holds true

    Today, I routinely get comments that I must be overloaded with all my activities and initiatives. My response: I’m not overloaded because of all the great people I work with and I don’t feel like I’m doing too much — the key is the people.

    What else? What are some more thoughts on being accused of doing too much?

  • Marketing Roadshows

    Last year I was talking to an entrepreneur that was in town doing a marketing roadshow luncheon at a nearby restaurant. This was his fifth stop on a tour of 10 cities with a goal of 25 prospects per city. After asking him about the roadshow, he said it was one of the most effective marketing programs they do and that it really made sense for his audience.

    Here are a few thoughts on marketing roadshows:

    • An in-person event is a great way to see a number of prospects at the same time and get more economies of scale compared to one-off meetings
    • Events are an excellent reason for sales reps to call prospects, or potential prospects, and invite them to learn about a relevant topic (the best form of marketing is education)
    • Existing customers, especially evangelists, are perfect to invite as well since it provides for more face time to build rapport and a chance for them to share their testimony with potential customers
    • Many products are sold completely over the internet now, meaning there’s no face-to-face aspect, making in-person events that much more powerful for team members to hear customer challenges directly
    • Customer economics like average deal size and lifetime value of the customer are important considerations when determining if a marketing roadshow makes financial sense (e.g. $50/person times 40 people equals $2,000 for the restaurant plus any travel and expenses)

    Once product/market fit is in place along with a repeatable customer acquisition model, a marketing roadshow is a worthy initiative for many tech companies.

    What else? What are some more thoughts on marketing roadshows?

  • Hire Sales Reps Ahead of Plan at Scale

    David Skok has another great post up titled A Common Way Sales Misses Plan. David has some of the best content out there for entrepreneurs, especially Software-as-a-Service entrepreneurs. The general idea is that when a startup has product/market fit and a repeatable sales process, the most common reason for missing a sales goal is not hiring and training sales reps fast enough. As much as entrepreneurs would like a simple self-service sales process, the reality is that almost all super successful tech companies employ hordes of great sales people.

    Here are a few notes from the article:

    • Bookings = Number of productive sales reps times average productivity per rep
    • 2 variables to increase bookings:
      • Number of productive sales reps
      • Sales volume for an average rep per month or quarter
    • 4 sales rep considerations:
      • Need leads to feed sales reps
      • Reps need time for training
      • Many new hires will fail
      • Staffing is needed for bringing on new customers and supporting them
    • Ultimate recommendation: bring on more sales reps earlier than plan

    Now, hiring a ton of sales people without product/market fit or a repeatable sales process isn’t the advice. Only when things are working well does it make sense to hire sales reps faster than planned. At scale, productive sales reps are the main revenue driver.

    What else? What are some more thoughts on hiring sales reps ahead of plan when at scale?

  • Scholarships at the Atlanta Tech Village

    One of the first things we did after opening up the doors of the Atlanta Tech Village is setup a scholarship program for startups that don’t have the means to pay yet, social enterprises, and student entrepreneurs. In fact, our most famous startup to start and graduate from the Tech Village, Yik Yak, came in on a scholarship and left after raising a $62 million round of funding. While that’s an exceptional case, we’ve made the scholarship program an integral part of our mission to make Atlanta one of the top 10 cities for entrepreneurs to succeed.

    Here are a few thoughts on the Tech Village scholarship program:

    • Much like entrepreneur roundtables, a community of like-minded entrepreneurs is an accelerant for startup success
    • Scholarship recipients are often at the beginning stage of a new venture, and thus the most fragile, making the opportunity to be in a strong community that much more valuable
    • Culture fit is the most important requirement, and we’ve found scholarship recipients to be even more grateful to be part of the community
    • Social enterprises and student entrepreneurs are an important part of a vibrant community, yet don’t typically have the same resources, so they might otherwise be excluded if not for scholarship programs

    Surprisingly, we don’t get as many applicants as expected for the scholarship program and feel that helping entrepreneurs when they’re at that most nascent stage is a real opportunity to grow our community. If you know an entrepreneur in the Atlanta area, encourage them to get involved at the Tech Village, and apply for a scholarship, if applicable.

    What else? What are some more thoughts on scholarships at the Atlanta Tech Village?

  • Entrepreneur Roundtables

    One of the most important accelerants for my entrepreneurial career was my Entrepreneurs’ Organization forum. Forum, in the EO and YPO parlance, is a small group of 8-10 entrepreneurs/CEOs that meet on a monthly basis and share all aspects of their business and life in a private and confidential setting. As an entrepreneur, there are so many topics that are difficult or inappropriate to talk about with friends and colleagues, yet it’s critical to get feedback, or at least get something off your chest. 

    Here are a few benefits of joining an entrepreneur roundtable:

    • Having a set day/time each month provides peace of mind to address any new issues that arise
    • Even with a board or advisors, peer groups act as another outlet for difficult topics
    • Many lessons are learned listening to opportunities and challenges other entrepreneurs face
    • Beyond just business, there’s a real personal and family benefit being a part of a tight group (many chapters have spousal forums as well)

    Entrepreneur roundtables are an invaluable resource for entrepreneurs of all types. Seek one out and you won’t be disappointed. 

    What else? What are some more thoughts on entrepreneur roundtables?

  • Video of the Week – Peter Thiel on Zero to One

    After reading Peter Thiel’s book Zero to One I was interested in hearing him talk and his presentation at UT Austin doesn’t disappoint. 

    From YouTube: Thiel is hailed as one of the most successful investors in the world. After co-founding PayPal, he went on to co-found Palantir Technologies and invest in Facebook, where he still serves on the board. He’s played major roles in dozens of successful companies and continually strives toward the next big thing. In “Zero to One,” he emphasizes the need for entrepreneurs to grasp for the ideas that nobody else has in order to truly innovate. This new way of thinking about innovation encourages burgeoning business leaders to carve their own lane in a heavily saturated race toward success.

    “Zero to One,” based on a course Thiel taught in 2012 at Stanford University, urges readers to see the broad picture and look past traditional boundaries between fields and industries in order to create a future full of innovation.

  • Start Small and Start Now

    Over the course of this summer, three different high school students reached out asking for help on their entrepreneurial venture. In each case, they had an idea laid out in a document and were trying to figure out the next step. With no prototype and no prospects, it was clear what to do next. 

    Entrepreneurs should start small and start now. Here are a few steps:

    • Customer Discovery – Meet with five new potential customers per day in person or over the phone and intimately learn what they do and don’t want in the product. Read about Customer Discovery and Lean Startups. 
    • Prototype a Product – Teach yourself how to build a prototype product using Codecademy and constantly refine it with potential customer input. 
    • Entrepreneur Books and Blogs – Start with three of my favorite books and read new entrepreneur blogs every day for five years. 
    • Executive Summary – Put everything down into a two-page executive summary. This document should be revised constantly and used as a communication tool for potential advisors, mentors, and investors. 
    • One Page Strategic Plan – Create a Simplified One Page Strategic Plan to outline both tactical and strategic imperatives as well as metrics. This should be updated quarterly, if not more frequently. 

    Anyone with a laptop and internet connection can follow this process and get started. Everything starts small — the difference is that entrepreneurs start now. 

    What else? What are some more thoughts on entrepreneurs starting small and starting now?