• Sabeer Bhatia, President CEO, Founder
  Caltech, Stanford, Apple Computer, FirePower Systems
• Jack Smith - Chief Technology Officer, Founder
  Apple Computer, FirePower Systems
   

 Your Field of dreams - "Build it and they will come"

•  An Idea . . . A Plan . . . A Team . . . A Company
• Write a story - a believable story
• What do you want to create
• How will you create it
• Is it unique, new or different
• Who will buy it
• How will you sell it
• How much $$ do you need
• How much $$ will you make

History of the Internet and the Web
 

1970's": a Computer Network is designed and created for military comunication - the Internet is born

1980's - Internet becomes the backbone of electronic communication for Universities and Government Institutions

1994: The Web is created - It transformed the Internet into an easy-to-use network of links to get text and graphical information
 

The Internet Today . . .

• 40 million using the Internet for E-mail
• 20 million using it for Web browsing
• Netscape for browsing and Eudora for E-mail

Result of the creation of the Web

• Rapid expansion of the Web network since its introduction in 1994
• Within two years - an instant audience of 40 - 60 million people worldwide
• Over 250,000 web sites - rich with information
• So big that one needs navigational tools to find this information - formation of companies such as Yahoo! And Infoseek

Web - The Opportunity

• Why is the Web so powerful?
• Simple, easy to use & rich in multimedia
• Unifies different platforms with a single consistent client-server protocol - IP
• Powerful because information is now available at the point of a click from any computer on the network

 The Opportunity - Email

• Private systems - Lotus cc:Mail and Notes, MS Mail and Exchange, Novell and Groupwise
• Public on-line services - AOL, Compuserve and Prodigy
• Internet-based mail provided by Internet Service Providers ISP's

At all Web browsers near you since July 4

• Universally accessible from any browser
• On any computer - MAC, PC, UNIX
• From anywhere in the World
• Totally Free

• Integrates E-mail messaging and Web browsing to create a seamless environment both for surfing and for communication

How to Make it happen?

• Network, network, network . . !
• Press on every button available to you - you never know which one will come through
• Learn from your experiences - meet Venture Capitalists, potential investors, present you plan to knowledgeable people
• Be flexible - no plan, product or concept is written in stone - listen to the winds of change and try new ideas . . and concepts
• Be careful. Use your instincts to separate your friends from foes. . smaller companies are vulnerable to giving up large shares - find a mentor to help you out
• Don't ever give up . . be prepared to do anything to make your dream come true
• Start with a small sum and take more money only when needed

Types of VC Funds

• Early state - Seed (Draper Fisher, El Dorado, etc.)
• Few, risk-takers, appetite for small investments
• Industry specific (Internet Capital Group, Hummer-Winblad, 21^st Century Internet)
• Later stage Mega-funds (Menlo Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, Mayfield, etc.
• Mezzanine funds (Pre-IPO deals)

Choice of Venture Fund

• Use the following criteria:
  • Experience in investing in your industry
  • Size of the fund
  • Competitive investments (make sure you do not spill your own crown jewels if they have already invested in a similar company)
  • Find out if there is an interest in investing in your stage of company

Your First Valuation

• No set value
• Based on your need, investor's appetite to invest and information
• Be informed about similar companies and their valuation - Network to obtain info.
• Determine what the investor's return would be in an IPO or a buyout

Planning for later rounds

• Golden Rule - The Best time to raise money is when you have money
• Start the fund-raising process at least 3 months prior to closing the round
• Preferably look for outside investors to "price the round"
• Inside-round will always be priced lower than what you can get from an outside investor