We launched the first program in our 2016 Entrepreneurial Education Series, “When to Raise Venture Capital or Bootstrap,” on March 3rd with our partner 1871. The event brought together powerhouse entrepreneurs and investors Bill Pescatello (Partner, Lightbank), Pam Netzky (Co-Founder, SkinnyPop), Kristi Ross (Co-CEO & President, dough), Katlin Smith (Founder & CEO, Simple Mills), and […]
The idea of “making an impact” has exploded into our everyday vernacular. Millennials want to make an impact in their personal and professional lives, startups want to make an impact on the world, and investors want to provide the financial capital to support both. Since 2007, impact investing has grown tremendously, with funds of all different […]
As the technology startup landscape has developed and transformed in the last two decades, so have the backers and investment vehicles behind it. From micro-VCs to equity crowdfunding, there are an abundance of funding options that either never existed before, or did in very different forms. Take venture debt. In the early 2000s, there were […]
In the last few days, a lively discussion over accelerators has cropped up, with industry thought-leaders like Sam Altman warning entrepreneurs to pick just one really strong accelerator and actually accelerate their companies, and others arguing that entrepreneurs can benefit from trying out multiple accelerators, so long as the fit is right each time. In […]
Join Hyde Park Angels at 1871 on Thursday, March 3 from 6:00 pm — 8:00 pm to learn from the seasoned entrepreneurs and investors behind Chicago’s biggest startups, including SkinnyPop, dough, cleverbridge, Geofeedia, and others. Hear how these Chicago tech heavyweights started, sold, and scaled their businesses, and how raising venture capital or bootstrapping fundamentally impacted their […]
The tech world is presently rife with analyses on the perceived valuations crunch in 2016, and in particular, a few examples of startup giants that apparently aren’t immune to it after all. But what does that mean for early-stage entrepreneurs that are just getting out of their seed and Series A rounds and onto the […]
As an entrepreneur seeking funding, you have a variety of term sheet options, including the safe (simple agreement for future equity). Originally created by Y Combinator as an alternative to convertible notes, the safe maintains the flexibility of a convertible note but addresses many of its problems. It does not collect interest or have a […]
The relationship with your investors shouldn’t start and stop with each round you raise. In fact, depending on who your investors are, neglecting the relationship could dramatically decrease their chances of participating in your next round. More importantly, when you don’t maximize your relationships with investors, you leave opportunities for growing your startup and strengthening […]
Hyde Park Angels is bringing together successful, influential entrepreneurs and investors to teach you everything you need to know about early-stage investment for the second year in a row. Attend all four programs and walk away with a thorough understanding of the early-stage investment cycle from start to finish or pick and choose program to […]
2015 in Review: The 4 Most Important Lessons from the Entrepreneurial Education Series In March of this year, we launched our Entrepreneurial Education Series, a series that takes entrepreneurs through the early-stage investment from start to finish. We explored every nearly relevant funding topic, including what makes a startup investable, how to find investors, how […]
