| Title |
Excerpt |
Author |
Date |
Total Comments |
Recent Comment |
| The State of the Canadian VC industry |
The Wall Street Journal recently reported that VCs are heading for the door. “Not since the dot-com bust has the industry experienced as much turnover as it is now”. Partners from some of the biggest funds have retired or otherwise moved on. The same is true at all levels of… |
Mark MacLeod |
07/05/09 |
5 |
08/28/10 |
| Some suggestions for Canadian VC |
For the 2nd time in a week, I read a pretty negative article about the Canadian VC industry. The latest being the Financial Post reporting on Canadian VC investment hitting a six year low. I’ve posted on Canadian VC returns in the past. The numbers speak for themselves and are… |
Mark MacLeod |
05/15/09 |
3 |
08/28/10 |
| Financing Agents |
I often speak with entrepreneurs looking for help in raising money. If you’re a 1 st time entrepreneur, don’t have a CFO and don’t have relationships with investors, where do you turn? One source out there is the agent - a person or firm that helps you raise money in… |
Mark MacLeod |
05/01/09 |
6 |
08/29/10 |
| Personal goals: What’s in it for your team? |
The management team at one of my companiesrecently went offsite for some strategic planning. We covered the usual stuff (priorities, competition) and came out with some great thoughts and action plans. However, the two day session started off on a more personal note and I’d like to share that with… |
Mark MacLeod |
04/12/09 |
12 |
08/11/10 |
| Does your board add value? |
I’ve written before about the ingredients for a good board meeting. While there are several elements, it’s all about the people. The profile of the people that you need changes as your company evolves. In the early stages you will want people with prior early stage and specifically sales acceleration… |
Mark MacLeod |
03/12/09 |
24 |
07/26/10 |
| Software M & A Market Update |
I recently attended a seminar put on by Corum, one of the leading software M & A advisers. Here’s what they had to say about the state of the software / Internet M & A market: Trends & data points: Valuations of Internet companies: 1.1x sales down from 2.5x last… |
Mark MacLeod |
02/12/09 |
3 |
08/29/10 |
| What happens when there’s a new CEO |
It was big news in tech circles last month when we learned about the appointment of Carol Bartz as the new CEO of Yahoo!. With 13,000 employees and a languishing stock, she’s got her work cut out for her. Her appointment got me thinking about what happens to companies of… |
Mark MacLeod |
02/12/09 |
2 |
04/22/10 |
| The Board Meeting |
In over 9 years of attending board meetings, I’ve seen my share of good and bad ones. The worst ones just go through the motions: management presents an update while board members check their blackberrys and tune out. The best meetings really tap into the deep experience and insights that… |
Mark MacLeod |
02/12/09 |
3 |
08/24/10 |
| 2009: The Year of the CFO |
Economist Magazine has declared 2009 to be " the year of the CFO ". According to the highly esteemed publication "power will ebb from visionary bosses to the chief financial officer". There’s no question that in today’s economic climate organizations of all sizes need strong financial leaders. I’m not worried… |
Mark MacLeod |
01/12/09 |
2 |
08/25/10 |
| The new hire checklist |
Given the current economic climate, fewer companies are hiring these days. While the best candidates still have jobs, employers can still afford to be more picky when it comes to assessing potential team members. Here’s what I look for in all new hires. You won’t find this on the job… |
Mark MacLeod |
12/12/08 |
17 |
08/24/10 |
| CFO basics for startups |
This weekend, I was invited to speak at Montreal Startup’s workshop day for its portfolio companies. The topic? Fundraising and CFO basics for startup companies. Here is the presentation… Startup CFO Basics Startup Cfo BasicsView more presentations from Mark Macleod. |
Mark MacLeod |
11/12/08 |
2 |
08/29/10 |
| Investment banks - A primer |
As a young capitalist growing up, I really wanted to be an investment banker. I watched Traders and pictured myself all decked out in fancy suits, wheeling and dealing and giving Gordon Gekko a run for his money. Fast forward to reality. I do get to wheel and deal, and… |
Mark MacLeod |
11/12/08 |
13 |
08/29/10 |
| The Executive Summary |
If you write a business plan for investors, the executive summary is the only part that matters. Why? Because it’s all they will read. Even if you don’t write a full business plan, many startups will prepare an exec summ that they use in trying to book investor meetings. Needless… |
Mark MacLeod |
10/12/08 |
2 |
08/21/10 |
| How do you ride the rollercoaster? |
“All start up companies have one thing in common-they all get in trouble. It’s how they and you on the board handle their trouble that separates the winners from the losers.” Tom Perkins This quote couldn’t be more accurate - especially in the current economic climate. It got me thinking… |
Mark MacLeod |
10/12/08 |
2 |
04/11/10 |
| Want to sell more? Get your CFO involved |
We’re living in uncertain financial and political times these days. The recent bailout of the US and European banking sectors represents intervention of an unprecedented scale. We don’t yet know how long it will be before things are back to “normal”. Till then, expect it to be tougher than usual… |
Mark MacLeod |
09/12/08 |
5 |
08/29/10 |
| The high performance CFO |
I often get people asking me about CFO job descriptions. The job of a startup CFO is very different from one at a “big” company. The latter is much more of a hands-off role focused on investor relations, deal making (financing, M & A), governance, reporting and other back office… |
Mark MacLeod |
09/07/08 |
5 |
08/29/10 |
| Don’t rely on averages |
If you’re in the end user game (i.e. you don’t just sell to an IT department and move on, but you actually deal with many end users all the time), it can be comforting to look at averages on your key usage metrics. However, if you really want to understand… |
Mark MacLeod |
09/07/08 |
2 |
04/11/10 |
| The Sales function check-up |
It’s September - still hot as hell, but since Labour day is behind us, our customers are back at work and its time to start selling to them again. So, make sure your sales function is ready for action by giving it a check up. Here’s how: Recap: Look through… |
Mark MacLeod |
08/07/08 |
3 |
08/29/10 |
| Is Venture Capital right for your business? |
The decision to sell a portion of your business is a big one. Once you bring on outside partners, there’s no turning back. Usually, this is for the best as they bring new and important elements to your business and help it grow. When you bring venture capital into your… |
Mark MacLeod |
07/31/08 |
2 |
06/10/10 |
| The China factor - What role does China play in your business? |
With the Beijing Olympicscurrently taking place, what better time to explore the role that China can play for today’s growth companies. If you saw the opening ceremonies - with its 15,000 perfectly choreographed performers - then you have seen just one small demonstration of what this nation of 1.5B people… |
Mark MacLeod |
07/23/08 |
51 |
08/29/10 |
| Junior Stock Exchanges - Use them at your peril |
If you run a brand new startup, this post isn’t for you - yet. For those of you further along the in the lifecycle, I’d like to share my thoughts on the junior stock exchanges with you. The junior stock exchanges are stock markets with easier listing requirements relative to… |
Mark MacLeod |
07/15/08 |
2 |
04/11/10 |
| Outsourcing: buyer beware |
It is said that a contract is only as good as its enforcement mechanisms. i.e. a good contract will have clear consequences for when things go wrong. If you are a buyer of goods or services, your best enforcement mechanism is to withhold the money. I have negotiated 100s of… |
Mark MacLeod |
07/09/08 |
4 |
08/29/10 |
| Zero-based planning |
Zero-based budgeting is a budgeting technique that makes departments start from zero and justify all planned expenditures rather than just new ones. It is not too popular with department heads, but CFO types like myself love it. I think it’s a great exercise to justify everything that we plan to… |
Mark MacLeod |
07/03/08 |
3 |
08/29/10 |
| Is Web 2.0 the great VC return equalizer? |
Not all venture capitalists are created equally. In the VC industry, especially in the U.S; the bulk of the returns go to the “tier 1” funds. You’ve probably heard of these players: Sequoia, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, NEA, Battery & Bessemer - these are among the elite funds, responsible for household… |
Mark MacLeod |
06/25/08 |
7 |
07/26/10 |
| Getting paid! |
Every once in a while I like to move away from strategic stuff to focus on the mundane. Today’s mundane topic is getting paid. If you’re in the Web 2.0 World, you either don’t care about getting paid, or you charge a monthly subscription to your premium users. For every… |
Mark MacLeod |
06/11/08 |
8 |
08/29/10 |
| Information: the decision-making oxygen for your business |
In the movie Wall Street, Gordon Gekko gives one of several timeless speeches on the value of information - “the most valuable commodity I know”. I agree with him. When it comes to growing your business, information is vital oxygen that helps you ascend to great heights. When I join… |
Mark MacLeod |
05/21/08 |
3 |
08/29/10 |
| The big decision: should you go big or sell early? |
A few months ago, Dell picked up venture-backed Equalogic for $1.4B in cash. As I thought about how many ways $1.4B can be divided, it reminded me of the decision all companies & founders face at some point: do you take it all the way or do you sell out… |
Mark MacLeod |
05/02/08 |
2 |
08/29/10 |
| 1st things 1st: CFO’s Priorities in the 1st few weeks |
1. Get a handle on cash: This is my 1st priority. If we’re burning cash, I want to be able to tell you the day that we run out of cash. I want to know my fixed expenses, variable, where we have some wiggle room, and where we absolutely must… |
Mark MacLeod |
04/29/08 |
30 |
09/04/10 |
| Build Pro Formas like a pro |
They say that "plans are useless, but planning is priceless". The same is true of financial forecasting, which is an integral part of the planning process. The actual numbers on your forecast are not really meaningful. However, the process of thinking about your business model and identifying the key assumptions… |
Mark MacLeod |
04/11/08 |
11 |
08/29/10 |
| Welcome to the CFO’s Corner |
Welcome to the CFO’s Corner, a blog dedicated to sharing lessons learned, best practices, and discussing the many strategic issues that go into building great companies. CFOs are no longer relegated to the back office. We have taken on ever-larger roles in driving our company’s strategy. You don’t hear about… |
Mark MacLeod |
03/27/08 |
9 |
09/04/10 |