Valuations of Facebook, Twitter, and other social media companies have been constructed, in part, around the idea that their platforms will serve as facilitators for commerce – particularly for small businesses…

Already the subject of a book or two, the origins of Facebook are now providing enough soap for a full-scale opera.  A new article charges that FB founder Mark Zuckerberg hacked into different accounts…

With the traditional venture model under assault, there is an increased focus on seed-stage funding. Back in September we noted the attempt to create a standardized Series A term sheet. Now there is similar stakeholder interest…

Three young guns – and not a detained Nigerian prince among them – are currently offering investors a chance to invest cash now in return for a percent of future income.  One, a 26-year-old Stanford grad, has even priced it out: 6% of future income for…

With many small businesses losing their lines of credit, coupled with the demise in small business lending from commercial banks, alternate sources of capital such as purchase-order financing are on the rise,…

Perhaps the most amusing and unscripted nugget to emerge from the Apple aura is the reissue of a 1985 interview with a 29-year-old Steve Jobs. In, um, Playboy magazine. It’s refreshing to revisit the early incarnation of Apple…

With venture funding down and the market for IPOs still anemic — just eight venture-backed companies so far this year, compared to an annual average of 64 from 2003-2007 — emerging companies hoping for an exit are increasingly…

An online brouhaha broke out over angel groups that charge startups to pitch potential investors. Led by media entrepreneur Jason Calacanis, and with an echo from Fred Wilson, soon a full chorus…

And further on the topic of increased liquidity, the always-observant Mark Suster has a terrific piece on why company founders should be able to take some equity off the table once their firm has reached reasonable milestones. His point is simple, but often overlooked:…

The predictable pendulum swing of harsher terms during a buyer’s market lead to a lively online discussion on the future of the term sheet.  A dialogue between influential bloggers — entrepreneurs and venture capitalists alike…

Flybridge’s Jeff Bussgang has a nice blog piece where he coins a new word in the venture lexicon: the “promote” (not the Prestige).  Entrepreneurs too often fixate on their pre-money valuation (the “pre”), instead of focusing on what…