A crypto startup is a business that deals with cryptocurrencies. Startups focused on this industry have been popping up all over the world in recent years. With the rise of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies, many entrepreneurs are looking to create their own crypto or blockchain-based startup.
It sounds easy enough in theory, but for those new to the industry, it's much like learning another language. In this article, we aim to define, expand on, and share insights we have compiled to demystify the process of launching a crypto startup.
1. Identify a problem that needs solving.
2. Create a white paper outlining the idea (i.e. a solution to the...
Welcome to Phase One of a four-part Splitting Equity Series make sure to read Introduction - Early Startup Equity — Getting it Right before continuing on if you haven’t already.
Phase One - Startup Equity — Avoiding Early Mistakes ( ←YOU ARE HERE 😀)
Phase Two - How Startup Equity Works
Phase Three - How to Split Equity
Phase Four - Equity Management
We are excited to guide you through your equity-splitting experience. Let's continue!
Before we make a single equity split decision about co-founders or any of our founding teams, please read this section carefully. Nearly every bad decision startup founders make in setting up their equity splits is contained here.
This lesson is a primer on splitting equity among two founders or more and how to have a...
Welcome to Phase Four of a four-part Splitting Equity Series. If you missed it, start your journey here: Introduction - Early Startup Equity — Getting it Right before continuing on if you haven’t already, and go in order from there.
Phase One - Startup Equity - Avoiding Early Mistakes
Phase Two - How Startup Equity Works
Phase Three - How to Split Equity
Phase Four - Part 1 - Equity Management ( ←YOU ARE HERE 😀)
Part 2 - Recovering Startup Equity
Let's continue!
Splitting startup equity is only half the challenge for early-stage startups — managing startup equity is a whole different issue! How much equity we split and the founders' ownership percentage is generally determined by what we expect each founder to contribute.
But the ...
Welcome to Phase Two of a four-part Splitting Equity Series. If you missed it, start your journey here: Introduction - Early Startup Equity — Getting it Right before continuing on if you haven’t already, and go in order from there.
Phase One - Startup Equity - Avoiding Early Mistakes
Phase Two - Part 1 - How Startup Equity Works
Part 2 - Startup Stock Options
Part 3 - Startup Stock Vesting
Part 4 - Startup Stock Valuation ( ←YOU ARE HERE 😀)
Phase Three - How to Split Equity
Phase Four - Equity Management
Let's continue!
Early-stage startups use a Stock Valuation to determine their fair market value. This will determine everything from how much a venture capital firm might receive for their investment to how we distribute empl...
Running a startup is a ton of work as a solo Founder, so much so that many Founders find themselves at a loss trying to get everything done. For those that are non-technical, this proves to be a challenge, as coding is essential in this day and age, so bringing on a technical co-founder is a must. This is also true for technical Founders missing the mark on the creative front, so it's no surprise that one of the most searched terms on the internet is "finding a cofounder."
It seems like it should be easy — find a co-founder (or more) that aligns with your startup idea, mission, and has the complementary skills to do all the things you don't know how to — but it's not that simple. Finding the right co-founder is a complex combination of ...
Continuing in Phase Three of a four-part Funding Series:
Phase One - Structuring a Fundraise
Phase Two - Investor Selection
Phase Three - The Pitch
Part 1 - Anatomy of a Pitch
Part 2 - Market Size
Part 3 - Revenue Model
Part 4 - Operating Model
Part 5 - Customer Definition
Part 6 - Customer Acquisition
Part 7 - Funding
Part 8 - Key Pitch Assets ( ←YOU ARE HERE 😀)
Part 9 - Traction
Phase Four - Investor Outreach
Let's dive in!
Our investor pitch deck is just one of a handful of assets we need to have prepared for potential investors. A compelling startup pitch deck is just part of the package — if we're going to raise money and impress investors we'll need to prepare everything from our elevator pitch to our ...
Continuing in Phase Three of a four-part Funding Series:
Phase One - Structuring a Fundraise
Phase Two - Investor Selection
Phase Three - The Pitch
Part 1 - Anatomy of a Pitch
Part 2 - Market Size
Part 3 - Revenue Model
Part 4 - Operating Model
Part 5 - Customer Definition ( ←YOU ARE HERE 😀)
Part 6 - Customer Acquisition
Part 7 - Funding
Part 8 - Key Pitch Assets
Part 9 - Traction
Phase Four - Investor Outreach
Let’s dive in!
A company in the early growth stages should concentrate its efforts on a particular segment of customers whose needs most closely match that of their best current customers and not a broad universe of prospects for expansion.
Customer segmentation works for companies that started yesterd...
Continuing in Phase Three of a four-part Funding Series:
Phase One - Structuring a Fundraise
Phase Two - Investor Selection
Phase Three - The Pitch
Part 1 - Anatomy of a Pitch
Part 2 - Market Size
Part 3 - Revenue Model
Part 4 - Operating Model ( ←YOU ARE HERE 😀)
Part 5 - Customer Definition
Part 6 - Customer Acquisition
Part 7 - Funding
Part 8 - Key Pitch Assets
Part 9 - Traction
Phase Four - Investor Outreach
Let’s dive in!
If the Revenue Model is all about the clever ways you’re going to make money, the Operating Model is all about the clever ways you’re going to manage costs and efficiencies to earn it.
Often the Operating Model gets t...
Welcome to Phase Four of a four-part Funding Series — all about Investor Outreach:
Phase One - Structuring a Fundraise
Phase Two - Investor Selection
Phase Three - The Pitch
Phase Four - Investor Outreach
Part 1 - Investor Outreach ( ←YOU ARE HERE 😀)
Part 3 - The Investor Email Pitch
Part 4 - How to Contact Investors
Let’s dive in!
Investor outreach strategy is an art form. Many founders will think about their investor outreach program as simply "carpet bombing" prospective investors with the same company story — which never, ever works for startups.
Instead, let's talk about how to build any investor outreach strategy that is customized toward highly specific target investors in a way that will make ou...
Continuing in Phase Two of a four-part Funding Series:
Phase One - Structuring a Fundraise
Phase Two - Investor Selection
Part 1 - Introduction to Startup Investors
Part 2 - How to find Startup Investors (←YOU ARE HERE 😀)
Phase Three - The Pitch
Phase Four - Investor Outreach
Let's dive in!
The search for investors takes time. However, we can at least make sure the time you do invest is well spent. These days “investor research” really means combing through a handful of databases and Web sites to find potential connections to the investment community.
Finding investors isn’t like finding a plumber. There’s no “directory of interested investors” available from the small business administration that you carpet bomb with emails and wait...