Finance Resources for Internet Businesses
- Stimulus: How it Affects Small Business Taxes
This CNN article, via our accountants Linkenheimer LLP, has pros and cons of the current Stimulus package. Read the entire article or, here are … - Understanding Valuation
Raising capital is an art; and understanding how to set a value on your new company is even more subtle. Here’s a look from an expert. - Increasing Revenue
Spartina's interest in Internet Business Models is a hot topic, as the videos from this recent Revenue BootCamp show. - New Tax Tips for Businesses - Business Tax Deductions
Here are 11 changes in the tax system that will affect you as a small business. Be sure your accountant is up to date on the 2008 rules. - Raising Money from Angel Investors
It’s important for entrepreneurs seeking angel investments to understand the different types of angel investors, the nature of angel investment groups, and what it takes to approach them … - Linkenheimer LLP, CPA's & Advisors - Santa Rosa
Linkenheimer exists to serve their clients – They are the lifeblood of the firm. Their clear mission is to work in partnership with them, and to share their vision for a successful … - Incubators and Funding for New Businesses
The Founder's Institute offers incubators for new businesses with protection for the founders through their F-class stock. - Cost of Business Tax Preparation
What can you expect to pay for having someone file the taxes for your small business? There are a number of variables. How complicated is the return? And does the CPA … - Small Business and Self-Employed Tax Center
As you begin your tax review for your small Internet Business, start with the source. The IRS has a section of their website just dedicated to tax issues for small … - How to Hook an Angel
Even in a tumultuous economic environment, there are still tried and true methods to selling your business idea to a potential investor. - Putting Yourself Out There: Raising Money
One way to get investment money for your company is to be sure that investors can find you. Here are a few Internet sites to know about. - Finding Seed Money
Several big players now offer significant packages to start-ups that are just in the incubation stage. Spartina summarizes your options and how to apply. - Term Sheets: Understanding Valuation
Term Sheets are a complex subject. Here’s a starting point to help you attract investors by considering appropriate valuation for the company. - Ron Conway Explained // ben's blog
When looking for a great angel investor, one question to ask is what is their network. Ron Conway brings an enormous network to bear when he invests in your business. This will effect your exit … - What To Do If Your Startup Is About To Fail
Here is yet another truly helpful article by entrepreneur Jason Calacanis on keeping your business going, or letting it go. He makes several great points about entrepreneurs gaining credibility … - Alaska InvestNet : For Entrepreneurs
This site has an incredibly well-written and easy to understand set of documents. Of particular note is the explanation of Cap Tables. We highly recommend reading the document and working with the … - Creating Series Seed Documents
While you will surely need legal help to get your series seed financing under way, this helpful site provides examples of how to move traditional financing terms into series seed documents. The … - Making A Cap Table
It is essential to understand cap tables, even if your lawyers do most of the work. Here's something you can't afford to miss: a spread sheet that helps you create the cap table, along with a … - Online Spreadsheet
IT's not just Google that allows you to put spreadsheets on line. Here's a worthy competitor: EditGrid not only offers all the standard spreadsheet tools but it also adds features such as … - Raising Capital For Startups
In this presentation that was created for the FBFund Incubator, Joe talks about closing the deal when you are approaching investors to raise capital. In his slides, he gives a timely reminder to … - Convertible Note: Early Sale
Early Sale, Change of Control and other terms important to a Convertible Note - Convertible Note: Note Round
Important facts to consider about the note round include size and closing date - Convertible Note: Cap
Questions to consider for the Cap in a Convertible Note: - Convertible Note: Warrants
Understanding warrants as part of a convertible note variable for financing your startup. - Convertible Note: Conversions
Explanations of conversion, automatic conversion and conversion discount as it applies to convertible notes. - Convertible Note: Interest Rate; Duration & Maturity Date
Explanation of Interest Rate, Duration and Maturity Date as it applies to convertible notes used for financing your startup - Raising Money using a Convertible Note
In-depth look at the questions to consider when looking at a convertible note to raise money for your internet business. - File For Your Tax Extension
Get an IRS approved 6 month tax extension with no excuses needed. Visit FileLater.com. - Tax Return Preparer Fraud
As long as you are thinking about Taxes, perhaps it is worth a glance at the IRS page that talks about the care you need to take in reviewing your returns when they are … - Maintaining a Cap Table
The moment you move beyond sole proprietor, and gather investors, is the moment that you must have cap tables under your belt. Don’t wait to start learning. - Streamline Your Product Pitch
As always, Guy Kawasaki gets straight to the point: your investment pitch should have 10 slides, last 20 minutes and be in 30 point font. But it's good to read the article by Guy to … - Assets and Liabilities
In Fred's continuing series on accounting, a sort of mini-MBA course, he uses this article to point you to the Balance Sheet, which is basically a report on your assets and liabilities, and … - Do You Accept Online Payments?
If you still need convincing that you should accept on-line payments, this is a great article to read. Whether you are running a business or are a self-employed consultant, there are not only … - Basics of Accounting Part 1
If you have avoided understanding accounting, and don't want to take a two week course at the local JC, perhaps you can start with this series of four articles. In this first article, Fred covers … - Truth is Sometimes In the Middle
This is an article to read before your answer your first phone call from a VC. The end of the article warms us: "Is there a lesson here for other entrepreneurs? It may be that no … - CFO Services
Here's something to consider for your small to medium business: outsource your CFO Services. - Internet Startups and Venture Capital
Here's a thought provoking article: is it time for Internet Startups to just go it on their own, and not engage with Venture Capitalists? The author makes an interesting argument that … - Revenue Models for Internet Businesses
Check out the materials from this interesting conference for entrepreneurs, with a specific focus on business models for the Internet. And while you are at it, don't forget to download the- Great News For Company Founders - New Stock Class
Adeo Ressi is turning into a kind of paladin for entrepreneurs. The founder of controversial site TheFunded, which lets entrepreneurs anonymously rate venture capitalists, is drawing attention for …- Assessing Risk
intro could highlight the 4 types of risk spartina thinks you should focus on eliminating As a business entrepreneur, you might want to know how your investors are thinking about risk. Jay Turo …- Building an Angel Investment Portfolio
As an entrepreneur, it’s good to know how the minds of the angel investors work, and why they give you pressure on valuation. Here’s a talk given by Spartina Chairman David Hehman …- Second Look Review - A Second Opinion on Your Tax Return
Here’s a deal: only $29 for a review of your tax return. Hopefully it applies to small businesses and not just individuals. But if you have any doubts about the way your return looks, this …- Make Your Tax Simpler
What can you do to simplify the paperwork and accounting for taxes on your small business?- Tax Time: Prepare for your Accountant Meeting
Review your small Internet Business expenses and income before you meet with your accountant to prepare taxes.- Small Business Taxes: How to File For An Extension
If you are a small business not expecting to pay taxes, you may want to file an extension for the paperwork.- Entrepreneur Funding Boot Camp February 09 - Eventbrite
This superb investor group offers an Entrepreneur Funding Boot Camp each month. Here are the dates for 2009: Fri, Feb 6 Fri, March 6 Fri, April 3 Fri, May 8 Fri, June 12 Fri, Aug 7 Fri, Sept 4 …- The Art of the Quarterly Investor Update
Keep the investors informed, so they can keep their money and good will in your company.- The Phenome Project
How can you tell if your business is really on target? Created in June of 2008, the Venture Phenome Project, was designed to be an open source methodology for identifying which key business and …- Convertible note
Convertible notes and bridge financing are often used to get early money for the start-ups. This article offers some of the legal points of view, and has great explanations for the in’s and …- It's Tax Time: Select an Accounting Firm
Tax filing is just around the corner. Whether you need accounting, tax or general business knowledge, Accountants, and CPAs in particular, have a skill set that you need to succeed with your new …- Financial Models for Underachievers: Two Years of the Real Numbers of a Startup
Financial models can be tedious or fun. The fun part comes when you can see how a winning company has used a model to trace its steps. Here’s a great analysis by Guy Kawasaki on the …- Small Business Accounting Software - QuickBooks
Based on personal experience, Quickbooks has proven to be invaluable in running our startup business, and reducing costly accounting fees. In the early stages, we are able to track all our …- Reining in Risk and Spend
Spartina Founder David Hehman participates in this audio conference about taking control of finances, along with Corefino staff. A great session to listen to.- UC Berkeley Executive Education
An outstanding school offers a unique program for venture capitalists.- Acquisition Blues
What could be more disheartening than "almost" being acquired, and then having the process breakdown? Backblaze went through the process, all the way through due diligence, …- Projection Scenarios
As part of creating projections for your future, Fred Wilson in his article guides us to using best case, worst case, and base case, as a way of creating a big picture from which you can make …- The Art of Forecasting
When it comes to creating plans for the future, we often are either deludedly optimistic or pessimistic. How can you create accurate and useful budgets based on future projections and …- Cash Flow in a Startup
Cash flow is sometimes misunderstood, as you could imagine that it is synonomous with profit. In this article, Fred demonstrates that you can be profitable with a poor cash flow and vice versa. He …- Understanding Your Profit and Loss Statement
A close look at the P&L statement introduces you to the issues of accrual accounting, cost of revenues, and operating income, all key numbers which show up on the P&L. A …- Chart of Accounts pointers
In a series of articles, a New York VC shares his insights on how to build a company. This article addresses the beginning of the accounting process, namely setting up your chart of accounts. A …- Allocating Shares
As you allocate shares in your new business among the founders, there are some equity issues (pun intended!). That is, how do you allocate the equity when one of the founders is investing money, …- Basics of Accounting Part 4: Cash Flow
This series may be on-going, so we can stop numbering it. The previous three articles, however, led us to the third report, Cash Flow. Of all the steps, this last is a bit harder to understand as …- Basics of Accounting Part 3: Balance Sheets
In the third part of the four-part series, Fred covers how to read the Balance Sheet report. This, along with the P&L report, both generated from your accounting software such as …- Basics of Accounting 2: P & L
In this second of the four-part series on accounting, aimed at entrepreneurs who are starting their business, Fred discusses the P&L report, item by item. Of particular note is the …- Liquidation Preferences
Be careful how you create the liquidation preferences in your offerings. They are getting a closer scrutiny these days because of the markets. Here's a thoughtful article from the Wall …- Raising Venture Capital
Here are some fascinating questions to consider when you are raising venture capital. They were asked by VCs to Redfin, and really make you, the entrepreneur, think about your company. Good to …- A Valuation Method
Here's another valuable resource when you are looking at valuation for your company. Dave points out 5 key areas that should add value to your company, that are not direct sales numbers, but …- FRFund Incubator
If you are interested in another excellent resource for getting your startup on the map, consider FBFund. In this article on TechCrunch, they point out that now the FaceBook fund includes a …- Term Sheets - First Round
There is no way you can know too much about term sheets, so when we find a good explanation of some aspect we like to share it with our readers. In this article by Chris Dixon, he addresses some …- Ventrue Capital Blogs
As an entrepreneur who wants to raise money for your business, it's important to stay on top of the trends in the VC world. One way to do that is to subscribe to a few of the really good blogs …- Presenting your Product and Company- Part 2
In the second part of his email, Jason Calacanis gives more insights on the best way to present your product and company. Given his expertise, and then number of presentations he has sat through, …- The Company and Product Pitch
In his helpful newsletter item, Jason gives great tips on presenting your company and the new product. I particularly like his opening point: a great product can be demoed in 5 minutes, and that …- Merger and Acquisition Advice For Startups
When your startup is ready to sell, consider strong negotiations in a merger situation.- More on the New Class of Stocks Protecting Founders
The move by Founder's Institute to create and publicly share a new class of stock that aims at protecting the founders of a company have attracted quite a bit of buzz in the entrepreneur and …- Comments on New Class of Stocks Protecting Founders
We posted a link to the new stock class being promoted by the Founder Institute. Here's a review of what they are doing by TechCrunch. As you can see, things are going to get interesting in the …- Three Investing Rules
Reid Hoffman, the founder of LinkedIn, is also an investor in the technology world. It's worthwile to know how he looks at the investments he makes. The three criteria are mass audience, unique …- Angel Investing or Venture Capital Investor
As you try and raise early money, take a good look at this article, which highlights the difference between the way an Angel Investor goes about his business, and how a VC fund works, as of today. …- A Look at Small Business Web Products
As the above article points out, more and more new, small, simple to use SaaS products are coming out that are perfect for small businesses. We love each of the products on their own, and it's …- Simple Accounting Package
Here's a helpful look at another new SaaS product geared for people who work on the Internet. Outright is a scaled down accounting package, that helps track income/expenses in preparation for tax …- Tax Fraud
Here’s the IRS look at what constitutes tax fraud.- Fool's Gold?: The Truth Behind Angel Investing in America
The tile seems a bit provocative, and one thinks that the book will debunk Angel Investing. However, the table of contents shows that there is a serious look at the subject.- Entrepreneur Pitch
A great slideshow about pitching your business.- BizEquity - What's Your Business Worth?
A novel on-line Software as a Service that helps you understand the value of your company. They also have an informative blog that keeps up with new businesses.- Amazon.com Investor Relations: Annual Reports and Proxies
Check out the letters from Jeff Bezo to the investors. Start with 1997 and see how a pro keeps his investors informed. You might also want to read our related article on writing a quarterly …- Shareholder Letters
A great example of an investor letter. See our article on investor updates for tips on creating your quarterly letter.- Bills 2.0
One of the hot SaaS applications is Bill.com, a great way to pay your business bills on-line. In their blog, they do a great job of keeping up with both Accounting issues as well as SaaS products.- It’s a great time to be an entrepreneur
If you are concerned about the recession and how it impacts your dreams of building a business, don’t give up. Here’s a good look at why you want to keep on going.- Entrepreneur Funding
In the Distinguished Innovator Lecture, Ian Sobieski and William Payne offer information about funding that is great for entrepreneurs.- $100 Internet Business
Broke, but have delusions of grandeur? In the past, this meant perpetual disappointment, but today, a hundred bucks and a couple of cajones can get you far. Learn how to start an Internet business …- Online Invoicing, Time Tracking and Expense Service
Here’s an easy-to-use tool that lets you invoice for your services. While you may not need it for your on-line web business, there may be times where you are also acting as a consultant, or …- Writing an Executive Summary
Don’t waste words in an Executive Summary: brief, to the point, and visual goes a long way.- Investment Policies
Now that you have some money, what do you do with it, before you spend it?- Simple online bookkeeping software
If you are starting a business, and can’t invest the time in learning a full-out accounting system, then Bootstrap, along with another product, FreshBooks, might be a great solution for you. …- Cash Flow Analysis, Budgeting, and Financial Projection Software
Cash Flow analysis can be time-consuming but without it, it’s like driving a car without a gas gauge. Here’s a handy tool to help.- An Overview of Business Forms and Federal Tax Law
Here’s a quick overview of the federal tax law for a variety of small business formations, as well as some links to other informative articles.- Online Document management and Workflow
We’ve talked about going paperless, and here’s a product that takes it one step further, creating a link between your paperless papers, and the accounting system you use, so that, for …- Academy of Entrepreneurial Finance (Home)
This interesting academy, based in Syracuse, is dedicated to Entrepreneurial Finance. They have conferences, journals, and teaching materials. A nice-to-know-about organization.- Entrepreneurial Finance
While this is quite pricey, it is less than taking the university course that uses this book as a text. The a-z of finance for the start-up.- Procure-to-Pay Best Practices
Be alert to how you pay your vendors and you may find yourself saving a ton of money. Here’s a survey that Visa did. Of course, it emphasizes using credit cards, (duh..) but there are lots …- Damodaran On Beta Risk
Here’s an video of Professor Aswath Damodaran, Professor of Finance from the New York University Stern School of Business, talking about beta risk.- Negotiating Payment Terms
Keeping your cash in your own bank account for as long as possible is the name of the game, so pay bills in terms that are favorable to you, the buyer.- Ask and You Shall Receive: Getting Vendor Discounts
No matter who you are dealing with, it always pays to ask for a discount, and, you may just get it!- Best Practices for Paying Vendors
Paying bills can be done on auto-pilot, or you can consider the way you go about it, and save your company’s money.- How to File Bills
Bill paying is endless, yet it doesn’t end with paying the bill. You need to find the bill later one.- Should I Use On-line Bill Paying?
Whether it is fear or inertia that keeps you from paying bills on-line, here are some convincing reasons to get over it.- EASi: The New Standard in Stock Option Expensing Software
Here’s another software option for creating cap tables and managing the stock options that you issue. It’s good to evaluate several products before selecting one, as the transfer of …- eProsper - Corporate Equity Management
One of the several solutions available for creating cap tables and all the associated reports required for managing the equity in your company.- Angel Capital Association
A Directory of Angel Investor groups.- Keiretsu Forum
A huge angel investing network spread over three continents.- Sacramento Angels: A Northern California Angel Investment Group
An technology angel investment group in Sacramento, California.- North Bay Angels
A leading Angel Investing Group in the North Bay of the San Francisco area.- Sand Hill Angels, Inc. - Home
An angel investing group in Silicon Valley focused on technology.- Band Of Angels
A Silicon Valley Angel Investing group.- Welcome to the Bootstrap Network - BootstrapWiki
One of the most active bootstrapping groups.- Bootstrapping for Dummies
A blog for and about bootstrapping your start-up.- Start with Nothing, Planning and Strategy Article
Another excellent resource for understanding how to start your business before you run out and try and raise money from investors.- The Bootstrapper's Bible
A downloadable pdf file all about bootstrapping your business; starting it with little or no money.- Bootstrapping Your Business
When should you take investor money to grow your business, and when do you go it alone for a while? This book lays out some of the ways to grow yourself first, before going out to investors.- Bootstrapping Your Business
There are times when it makes sense to get outside investors, and times when you are better off going it alone.- Preparing for an Investor Presentation
You may not have much time in front of an angel investor group…make each minute count.- Why to Start a Startup in a Bad Economy
If you are tired of bad news, try a positive spin on why the economy is not the deciding factor in launching your new business.- Seattle's Top Entrepreneurs Band Together To Invest In Local Startups
What could be better than a Founder’s Co-op, a fund created by entrepreneurs to fund entrepreneurs. Seattle based.- Rose Tech Ventures - The Pitch Coach
Here’s a great video that gives some pointers on making a successful pitch of your company. The pitch is key to raising money, and it’s worth taking time to perfect your message.- Term Sheets & Valuations
The holy grail of term sheets.- A VC - Fred Wilson
- YouNoodle | Browse startups. Find exceptional people.
YouNoodle is a social networking site for businesses, a way to make your business visible to investors.- LinkedIn: Relationships Matter
One of the high-profile social networks, this is an interesting way to find angel investors, as you can search members and then contact them directly.- Business Networking - Fast Pitch - A Professional Social Network for Business
As the name implies, Fast Pitch Network aims to put the business community in touch with each other. A good place to find investors.- Venture Capital & Angel Investors
A social network for angel investors and entrepreneurs to find each other.- One startup. 60 seconds. Go!
Watch other entrepreneurs present their company, then, create your own video and get yourself seen on TechCrunch.- What's your pitch?
Voice of the Entrepreneur is an angel investor and entrepreneur social network that you might want to join, to put your company out there and find investors.- Liquidation Calculator
Here’s a useful tool to have while you are getting investors lined up.- A dreadful time for Bay Area IPOs
Deborah interviews Gordon Ritter of Emergence Capital about the climate for exit on venture backed companies. Gordon’s final quote offers a great perspective:“The most …
- A New Kind of Venture Capitalist Makes Small Bets on Young Firms
Often the way to get venture capital is to give a big (20%) chunk of the company in exchange for the capital and the risk. Here’s a look at another way some venture capitalists are changing …- Giving Businesses Their Wings
Do you know who the real angels are? And if you are an angel, do you know how to account for your time. In this incisive NY Times article, they point out that the Securities and Exchange …- Share A Sale - Affiliate Marketing Program
- Federal Tax ID Number
What do you need as a Start-up? Part of getting started in your business is to be sure you have a Federal Tax id. Even if you are a sole proprietor, you are better off getting a tax id than using …- Silicon Valley Entrepreneurs: Money Tree
Silicon Valley Entrepreneurs is a great organization to know about; this video contains proceedings from one of their sold-out events.- I love Executive Summaries
- Redeye VC: Using the waterfall...
Building a good financial forecast relies on the right model for regular updating. I highly recommend the “waterfall” method for traffic, cash, revenue and other dynamic data that …- Finance
Good financial decisions are the heartbeat of your new business. Without them you can neither survive nor thrive.- Tax Return Review
While this article/site is geared to individual returns, I like their list of review to see if you have claimed all the deductions. Many are also applicable to your small business.- Angels fear to tread in technology world
A look at what is going on with angel investing in the technology world in the midst of the 2008/2009 financial world.- How to Better Manage Your Cash Flow
Take all the help you can get when it comes to managing cash flow. Here’s an article from one of a knowledgeable source: entrepreneur.com- Cash Flow Analysis for your Small Business
Here’s an interesting tool for Cash Flow analysis that integrates with BaseCamp. It would be more useful if it integrated with Quickbooks, but it is still a nice web interface.- Venture Capital and the Finance of Innovation
While this is more for the investor, rather than the entrepreneur, it is always helpful to understand the point of view of the investors, if you are hoping to get them to invest in your company.- Financial Management Excel Templates (All Inclusive 150 Workbook Pack)
A set of excel templates to make your financial management a bit more manageable.- Credit Memo
One day, the CFO and the bookkeeper spent about an hour of their time trying to figure out how to account for a credit memo. Alas, it comes up now and again. You can …- Start-ups and Venture Capital Publications
Fenwick & West is a national law firm that provides legal services to technology and life sciences clients of national and international prominence. On this part of their website, they have a …- Creative Business Financing
Here’s a nice article that lays out the pros and cons of the various ways to get some cash into your business. It covers credit cards, home equity, family, and few others, in a light-weight …- IdeaCrossing
IdeaCrossing was created to provide the intersection where ideas meet capital, where deal flow flourishes, and where resources, services and support stimulate growth and opportunity. It’s …- Patient Capital for a Sustainable Future
A network for investors in creating a sustainable future.- AskTheVC
- Angel Capital Association
Listing of member Angel groups.- Angelsoft: The ecosystem for early-stage investing
- TheFunded.com: The Resource for Entrepreneurs.
Blog dedicated to giving you insight into VC funding sources.- Corefino - Outsourced Accounting and Financial Organization
Web and human powered platform to handle your accounting.- Employee Theft & Financial Controls
If you think you are always safe from employee financial theft, think again.- On-Line Payroll Services
Setting up payroll via an outsourced, on-line company is a great timesaver.- F|R Crib Sheet: 7 More Sites to Cut Your Startup Costs - GigaOM
A list of great resources to reduce the costs of running your startup.- Choosing a Bank
One of many good videos on choosing a bank- Choosing the Right Merchant Processor - What to Look For
Help for selecting your bank- Billeo
A software program that you download as a way of keeping track of bills to be paid. Geared for simple users who might not have Quickbooks, which also tracks bills.- Online Payment, Merchant Account - PayPal
Accepting credits is a must. How do you do it? Build your own? or, using a service. Here’s one service.- GoBigNetwork
The Go BIG Network is an on-line marketplace that connects the startup and small business community. The company allows startup companies, investors, advisors, job …- Structural Change Is Always a Good Theme to Invest In
What are venture capitalists looking for? If you are a startup entrepreneur looking for funding, it’s always a good idea to know what investment themes a VC is interested and tailor your pitch to …- TC50: Angel Investors Say Now Is Their Time
Create session with seasoned angels.- Intacct Corporation - Business Accounting, ERP, and Financial Software Solutions
SaaS accounting application.- Raising Venture Capital: How Much Money Matters - VentureBlog
When raising money, be prepared to discuss why you are raising your desired amount.- Outsourcing Accounting Services
What does it look like to outsource your accounting services? Here’s Spartina’s experience:- How to Pick a Bank For Your Internet Startup
Learn the basic principles for evaluating and selecting the right bank for your new Internet startup business - Great News For Company Founders - New Stock Class
