Time to raise money!
So when should you raise money? Let’s hear it from two legendary investors:
“When the money is available, take it.” — Eugene Kleiner, Founder of Kleiner Perkins.
KPCB (as it’s previously called) have been one of the best VC firms in silicon valley, investors in Amazon, Compaq, Sun micro-systems, Google, Square, JD.com, Twitter et, al.
From: William Janeway, Managing Director of Warburg Pincus
“Failure to execute operationally is not the only source of risk; every venture is also subject to volatility in the price and availability of capital due to the volatility of the stock market. After the collapse of the Internet Bubble, many promising companies foundered because their funding dried up.
“By contrast, our biggest successes at Warburg Pincus (VERITAS, BEA) have come from inverting the normal venture funding model, with the visionary investor as company co-founder… And we have supported the multi-year process of building a sustainable business by underwriting all of the capital needed to reach positive cash flow, thereby not only enabling management to focus full-time on the business but also insuring against the risks generated by a volatile stock market…
“In the post-Bubble world, long-term financial commitments are required to fund the ventures that will fulfill the long-term technological vision and implement the long-term commercial promise of the Internet Age.”
So in a nut-shell:
Raise money when it is being given, not when you need it. Given the free money supply globally, start-ups now should all raise, as much as possible, without going insane and with caveats.
‘Nuff said.
