All Money Is Not Created Equal How Entrepreneurs can Crack the Code to Getting the Right Funding for their Startup

by Spreng, David

• ISBN13: 9781119887805
• ISBN10: 1119887801
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2023-07-19
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

Finance your company's growth without losing your stake in it

Too often, thanks to multiple rounds of equity investment, company founders wind up with only a small fraction of the businesses they start. But this situation isn't inevitable. The intelligent use of a variety of financing options—including debt financing—can help to maintain, or even grow, a founder's stake.

In All Money Is Not Created Equal: The Entrepreneur's Guide to Finding the Right Funding for Your Business, renowned Silicon Valley veteran David Spreng delivers an expert guide for entrepreneurs and founders seeking to maintain as much ownership stake as possible in the companies they create as they move through the various stages of the financing process. The book draws on the author's decades of experience as a venture capitalist, venture debt lender, and CEO of a publicly traded company in Silicon Valley, as well as interviews with entrepreneurs, board members, investors, and bankers.

Readers will also find:

• A well-rounded and insightful perspective on the financing process informed by industry veterans
• An informal and accessible exploration of a complex topic that remains critical to the success of entrepreneurs and founders
• Discussions of alternatives to equity financing, including debt financing, in the growth phase of startups

An essential handbook for startup founders, entrepreneurs, and managers, All Money Is Not Created Equal also deserves a place in the hands of company board members, venture capitalists, investors, and investment bankers interested in the company financing process.

Author Biography

DAVID SPRENG is a veteran investor based in Silicon Valley with 30 years’ experience as a venture capitalist and growth debt lender. As a VC, he was involved in the formation and development of approximately 50 tech companies resulting in 18 initial public offerings and 14 trade-sales. He is the founder and CEO of Runway Growth Capital.

Table of Contents

Foreword

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Comp: Part One is book page 1

Part One: Setting the Stage

1. A Tale of Two Companies

2. All About Growth: My Journey from Venture Capital to Venture Debt

Part Two: Startups: Understanding the Arena

3. The Stages of a Startup

4. Geography Matters – to a Point

5. The Startup Ecosystem

Part Three: Getting the Money

6. Your First Outside Investors

7. What Kind of Money Is Right for Your Business?

8. The Ins and Outs of Venture Capital

9. Debt Is Not a Four-Letter Word

10. What a Deal with Debt Looks Like

11. Making the Most of Debt

12. Exit Options

Part Four: Making the Best Use of Your Money

13. Bullshitters, Liars, and Jerks, Part 1

14. Bullshitters, Liars, and Jerks, Part 2

15. Your Team: Getting the Right People in the Right Jobs

16. Founder versus CEO

17. Getting the Most from Your Board

18. The Moral Contract

Part Five: Going Forward

19. Runway’s Story of Going Public

20. Conclusion

Appendix

Index