Schroter: Startups Drop to Zero Valuation the Minute Cashless Founders Quit
Will Schroter · Startup Acquisition Stories Podcast with Wil Schroter, Founder of Startups.com · Feb 27, 2024 · at 8:18
Will Schroter, founder of Startups.com, discusses why distressed venture-backed startups lose all intrinsic market value once operations stop and founders walk away.
0:00 / 0:10exact quote · 10.6s
720p mp4 · rendered on demand · StarZero watermark
“Usually the founders are like, well, I just raised that a twenty million dollar valuation. And I'm like, yeah, and if you stop working there, the value is now zero. Like, it works there, there's no value. And most founders don't get that.”
quote is from the automated transcript, cleaned for reading: filler sounds and stutters are removed, nothing is rephrased. names can be misheard (the analysis reads context, assessments check outside sources). how →
More from Will Schroter
Schroter: Distressed Founders Can Renegotiate Their Payout Terms Pre-Exit
“One of the things that I coach founders on when they go through this is I say, hey, you know that you can go back and create a new deal for yourself within the company, right?”
Schroter: Distressed startup renegotiation requires a definitive stance, not open-ended talks
“By the time you're going to have that conversation, it needs to be definitive. Dude, I'm out. I'm out of money. I'm out of, like, hell, like my spouse is trying to, you know, is, is tired of dealing with my shit. I need to get out. Okay, now hear me out. Now, …”
Schroter: Distressed cap table restructuring must treat past capital as completely lost
“You have to start with right now, your option is zero. You can't be like, oh, I know we raised that fifty million, but like, you know, this one will only get you five. You'd be like, dude, you invested however much you invested. Sadly, it's gone. We're startin…”
Schroter: People Remember That A Founder Sold, Not If They Made Money
“No one will remember whether or not you made money on the sale, but everyone will remember that you sold.”