357_ What are Angel Investors Looking for in Return? (Part 1 of 2)
Mark Weakley , Partner, Holme Roberts & Owen, Boulder has helped a number of entrepreneurs raise angel funding...the right way, and that's the key. If the company is going to go on a rapid or an accelerated growth path, it will likely need some amount of institutional financing. Angel investing can get you on that trajectory, allow you to hire employees, develop your business model, finalize prototypes, and establish that what you are doing has validation in the marketplace. And then be in a better position to seek venture financing money. Another reason is a trend over the last 4 or 5 years where the venture funds are doing a lot less early stage investing. So you’re seeing the Angel Investors filling in that gap. Mark also talks with Larry about the 4 things angels are looking for and business plan strategies.

Related Links:  Holme Roberts & Owen || It's the Law Interviews || CTEK Angels || Rockies Venture Club || Venture Capital Channel || It's the Law Channel || Keywords:  Mark Weakley, Holme Roberts & Owen, HRO, Angel Investors, Entrepreneurs, Business Plan, Venture Capital >> Channels: Venture Capital, It's the Law>Bytes: 5623957> LISTEN 8/13/07

360_  Angel Investors, Term Sheets, Valuation and Control (Part 2of 2)
A good target audience, vetting system, for your business plan or executive summary would be your corporate or business or finance lawyer. Because if they are not getting it after the first two sentences, it’s likely the angel investor isn’t going to do any better points out Mark Weakley , Partner, Holme Roberts & Owen, Boulder as he addressed questions about getting healthy financing from angel investors. Mark brought up some poignant thoughts about term sheets and evaluation. Valuation is often looked at by the entrepreneur only in terms of ‘how much of the company am I going to have to give up?’ They’re not thinking about the return that the angle wants to have. The entrepreneur is thinking if my valuation of the company is $4 mil and I have to raise $2 mil, then I have to give up ½ of the company. There you see the entrepreneur’s interest is control, management, other issues; and they’re not really thinking ‘What makes sense for the angel?’ LISTEN Part 2 of 2

358_  It was August 2001 and eBags came within $50K...
"It was hard to attract someone because the Internet had gone into its dive; you know we’d entered into the ‘dot bomb’. Companies were failing every day, every business paper you picked up had on its front page 'this company went belly up, that one went belly up'..., We made it out of that;" reflects Jon Nordmark, co-founder and CEO of eBags. It was August 2001 and eBags came within $50K of making a profit that month and September we thought we were going to hit it – September 11 hit instead and it just blew the luggage market out of the water. The lessons we can learn by looking back can be invaluable. Starting in 1997, Jon was working at Samsonite, in charge of all the distribution channels there, from the marketing perspective, creating new products for them... And at the time Jon could see that the Internet could be what looked like, a major distribution channel. Most people didn't think it was possible to sell luggage to individual consumers on this thing called the Internet.

Related Links:  eBags || Profile of a Leader || In the News || Entrepreneurs || Keywords: Jon Nordmark, eBags, Luggage, Hand Bags, Samsonite, Entrepreneur, Leader, Online, Dot Bomb, Transparency Management> Bytes: 6863833 >8/13/07 LISTEN

359_  eBags Expanding While Deleting Its 50% Brain Drain
When we started eBags our goal was to create a billion dollar company. It takes a lot of capital; we ended up raising $30 million dollars (prior to 9/11) – that ended up being a great thing for eBags explains Jon Nordmark, co-founder and CEO of eBags. When I was trying to do eBags, I knew, from all the research I’d done, that 10% of all bag sales came from catalog sales. I was confident that at least that many would purchase online as they’d already bought without seeing and touching. Then we got into the shoe business – we sold that recently. It was very successful, quadrupled the size of the site in 3 years. It grew rapidly, but it only grew to be 11% of eBags total sales, but it was taking 50% of our heads! So what we’ve done is refocused back on bags. Larry and Pat also got some great entrepreneurial and networking advice from Jon. LISTEN Part 2 of 2

350_ Brad Feld: Venture Capitalist; New Name, New Office, New Outlook

Getting the latest scoop about venture backed companies in Colorado from Brad Feld, was more fun for Pat and Larry than going to an over-the-top Sci-Fi movie…in fact, some of what they heard sounded over-the-top and with a Sci-Fi flavor but steeped in exciting reality. Brad talked about the Web resurgence the past 24 months and cited a number of companies. Those Colorado companies included FeedBurner, Postini, PhotoBucket, Me.dium, NewsGator, Dogster, and more (none of which are liked in spell-check).

Brad also talked about the successes and challenges of TechStars. We reflected on the 2003 investor perspective where words like "cautiously optimistic" were commonly voiced, and Brad joked about that oxymoron. That's not him, he says he prefers, "encouragingly pessimistic". Brad is managing partner of the Foundry Group which has opened a new office in the middle of Boulder. Brad had Larry sit next to a 1980s Donkey Kong game. There is a bunch of valuable information packed in with the humor..

Related Links:  Foundry Group || Mobius Venture Capital || TechStars || Brad's Blog ||
w3w3.com Blog || Keywords: Brad Feld, Foundry Group, Mobius Venture Capital, TechStars, FeedBurner, Postini, PhotoBucket, Me.dium, NewsGator, Dogster > Channels: VCs, Entrepreneurs > Bytes: 9763007> LISTEN 7/30/07

351_ Brad Talks About the Future and Gives Some Great Funding Advice
Part 2: Dramatic innovation is here. More is coming our way and will transform many things in our personal and business lives. Brad Feld, managing partner of the Foundry Group is very open about predictions for the next few to twenty-years, and lays it on the line for a range of different topics: Why he supports NCWIT? Why he and Jason Mendelson started the 'Ask the VC' Blog? Why Colorado must invest more in education? ..as he weaves in other hot topics. Larry and Pat asked, "What are the 3 most common mistakes made by entrepreneurs when asking for money?" You have to hear it in Brad's words but here is a hint: Wrong amount of money; A disconnect between what's needed and reality; and the team that is talking today and going forward with the plan. Brad points out he has never met a company whose revenue plan was accurate. He shares some ideas.
Bytes: 6784630 LISTEN Part 2 of 2 8/6/07

CB-30_ Tech Startup of the Month - From Colorado to Denmark
"There are lots of new technologies being developed in renewables and the distributed-power areas, but when it comes to actually putting that together as a comprehensive solution, there’s a big gap in the market," said Sunil Cherian, the CEO of Spirae Inc. "There aren’t very many people who can take these new technologies and do the right things with it. That’s a key problem in the market, as well as an opportunity." The company’s largest project is developing new tools for Denmark’s natural gas and electrical system operator, Energinet.dk, one of the most progressive utilities on the planet. By Eric Peterson  READ More
Related Links:  Colorado BIZ Today || Spierae || w3w3.com Blog || PodCast Directory || Channel: COBIZ || Keywords: Colorado Business Magazine, COBIZ, Eric Peterson, Sunil Cherian, Spirae, Cobizmag.com > READ MORE

338_ iPhone - Hyperbole, Hoopla, Hooray or Horrific

Do you have your iPhone yet? Brad Feld, Managing Director of The Foundry Group writes in his Blog, “I’ve had an entertaining series of problems. I’m still amused, but getting closer to annoyed. I picked up my phone last night at the Flatiron Apple Store on the way home from the airport. It took me 45 seconds to purchase it (no line.) I tried to activate it when I got home. iTunes went through its upgrade cycle to 7.3 and then gave me errors that I didn’t have the right version to work with the iPhone so I had to deinstall / install iTunes 7.3. I did that and tried to activate. It got hung up trying to check my credit and told me I had to go to an AT&T store to get a pre-authorization code.”

Related Links: Brad's Blog || The Foundry Group || iBrick = iPhone || Apple iPhone  (in all fairness) || iLaunch || Keywords: Brad Feld, The Foundry Group, Mobius Venture Capital, iPhone, AT&T, Apple > Brad's Blog - Read More ||
LISTEN to 2007 Predictions by Brad Feld and Jared Polis: Interview 1/8/07

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Mastering Mystery of Motivation: Your Sneak Preview
Building a business is not a cakewalk. Although some thought in the late 1990s that if they had an idea, they could raise big bucks and build a successful company. Pat and Larry Nelson might not have seen it all, but they feel that people are the cause of all problems and people are the solutions for all problems. Check out the Book ‘n Blog and see what you think.MORE 3/27/06 3/27/06

Innovation, Communication and the Increasing Pace of Change     
Phil Weiser, Silicon Flatirons drills Jim Crowe, Level3 CEO after his luncheon keynote address. The audience also asked some tough questions. Jim had a great deal to say about regulation in the Internet space. He feels that the entrepreneurs are the backbone of innovation. As in the past, regulation tends to entrench the current - not encourage alternatives and is not a friend of innovation. 3/27/2006. LISTEN

Here’s a Switch – The Entrepreneurial Landscape 5/23/05
Starting with the ‘Gold Rush’ of 1858, Denver has attracted adventurous, free-spirited entrepreneurs who are willing to take a risk to make it big in the Rockies. Entrepreneurial growth has also been high in the Denver area since it is not a large headquarters town, points out Mark Siegel, partner at Ernst & Young LISTEN.- Read More

Here’s a Thought – Dreaming About MP3.com 5/23/05
Rod Underhill was one of the team that helped MP3.com grow and become one of the most successful IPOs in history. Rod shares details about the journey, the challenges and how entrepreneurs can learn from that trek. Ryan Sabga, CEO of RideOnTime.com asks Rod what he can learn that will help his company grow. - LISTEN