Entrepreneurship Archives - Silicon Valley Trends

Why Choose a C-Corporation for Your Startup Journey

Business Law, Entrepreneurship, Investing, Venture Capital

In this podcast you will learn why C-Corporations are the vehicle of choice for tech startups in Silicon Valley and the tech sector. You’ll learn why it doesn’t make sense to operate as an S-Corporation, or an LLC, and how you can escape paying taxes when you sell your C-Corporation shares.

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Guiding Entrepreneurs Toward Success

Entrepreneurship, Introduction, Venture Capital

This podcast explains how the SVBS Milestone Progress system is combined with expert advice and mentoring to help entrepreneurs hit milestones, get their startups on track and drive them toward profitability or exit in the form of an IPO or acquisition.

Who Holds the Power in your Company?

Business Law, Entrepreneurship, Venture Capital

The powers of shareholders, the board of directors, officers, the CEO and how decisions are made in startups and other companies.

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Creating & Presenting the Marketing Message

Entrepreneurship, Marketing

Former Apple World Marketing Manager, David Smith explains how to build your elevator pitch, your core value proposition, how to build a brand and change your brand image.

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Business Momentum

Business Law, Entrepreneurship, Marketing

Momentum is critical for success in business, especially in the fast moving tech sector. Recognizing this and figuring out how to generate positive momentum can make the difference between your venture winding up in a painful shutdown or reaching a profitable IPO.

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Understanding Angel Investors

Business Law, Entrepreneurship, Venture Capital

How angel investors work, how they syndicate investments and how they structure their investments as convertible notes or preferred stock rounds of financing. David Smith presents materials from the Silicon Valley Business School Raising Finance for Startups course and explains how he managed to raise more than $20m from angel investors in one of his previous startups.

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Understanding Venture Capital Investors

Entrepreneurship, Introduction, Venture Capital

This episode explains how venture capital funds work, how they are organized, what types of investments they’re looking for, how they make money, share it with limited partners and how they mitigate risk through modern portfolio theory. This episode provides a useful primer for anyone interested in raising finance from venture capital investors.

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Why Startup Valuation is Not Startup Valuation

Business Law, Entrepreneurship, Venture Capital

This episodes explains how startups are valued and presents the argument as to why venture capital investments in startup ventures should not be used as the basis to place a valuation on the company.

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Preferred Pizza Toppings

Business Law, Entrepreneurship, Interview, Venture Capital

This episode explains how venture capital investors get preferred stock, and founders get common stock. Preferential toppings provided to investors include liquidation preferences, veto rights, board rights, anti-dilution rights, co-sale and drag-along rights. David Smith talks to Mark Cameron White, founder of the White Summers law firm, about the terms Mark’s seeing in Silicon Valley and elsewhere today.

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Forming the Startup Company and Partnering with Co-Founders

Business Law, Entrepreneurship, Introduction

David talks to Mark Cameron White, Harvard-educated lawyer who founded and financed hundreds of Silicon Valley startups, about forming the company and forming the founding team.

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