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Class Questions

• What exit routes are entrepreneurs looking for today?

• What exit route are venture investors looking for today?

• What exit route are investors looking for today?

• What's the significance of targeting asset sale or IPO?

• Why is a merger or acquisition often considered more appealing than an IPO?

• Why do 9 out of 10 startup journeys terminate in shutdown?

• How many ways can the startup journey end?

• What can an early stage startup do to prepare itself for a future IPO?

• The end of the journey—what’s involved in shutting down, selling the company and IPO?

• What appetite do public investors have today for technology IPO's?

• Do you look for a clear exit route before you decide to invest?

• IPO or sell the company? What are the pro’s and con’s of IPO?

• How long are you typically involved as an investor—from first investment to exit?

• What control do venture investors have over the company?

• Planning for contingencies—what happens when you reach a crisis or a fork in the road?

• Can we improve the success rate of technology startups in future?

• What can you do to reduce the risks and improve the chances of success?

• Is forming a new technology business different from forming any other type of business?

• How do you commercialize technology that has multiple uses and applications?

• How do you commercialize technology that's a component of an end-user product?

• How do you commercialize technology that's a component of another platform?

• Targeting your destination—are you headed for IPO, Cash Flow Sale, Asset Sale or somewhere less exciting?

• What are the common mistakes made by startup entrepreneurs?

• What's the benefit of targeting asset sale from the outset?

• Does your technology define your marketing strategy or vice versa?

• Sarbanes Oxley and corporate governance controls—are they a deterrent to IPO?

• What are the elements of a successful travel plan—how can you improve your chances of reaching your target destination?

• What are the key milestones that you are focusing on today?

• What are the priority milestones to achieve in the seed stage?

• Plotting milestones—what are the milestones, how do you order and prioritize them?

• What is the lifespan of a technology startup?

• What type of companies and technologies are suitable for IPO? What are not?

• Do you have a clear picture of an exit route for the Company?

• How far ahead should you plan to sell the Company? Should you structure and prepare for the sale weeks, months or years ahead?

• Is there any profit in a pure technology asset sale? Does ‘asset sale’ always equate to ‘fire sale’? Can an asset sale generate enough cash to satisfy the shareholders and the employees?

• Who decides if the Company is to be sold—the investors or the founders?

• What are the different reasons for corporations to buy startup companies?

• What's the approval process for management, the board of directors and shareholders when selling the company?

• How do you dress the Company up for sale? What can you do to make it more appealing to a buyer?

• When to sell the company? When is it possible to sell? When is it not? Is one time better than another?

• In what situations should you shut the company down?