Capital Efficiency and the Controlled Burn

May 27, 2010

There is a debate in venture funding circles that revolves around how an entrepreneur decides to approach building his/her company. There are two commonly referenced extremes in this give-and-take: fat start-ups and lean start-ups. The argument for fat start-ups is that every company is competing in a race to get “there” first and win a market; cash preservation should not be a central focus. The lean argument, however, revolves around capital efficiency, well-timed product development and a laser-like focus on the end customer. 

These competing methods for long-term corporate success are often viewed in silos; however, combining elements of each can result in a highly scalable and well-run organization. 

From the beginning, the business-savvy CEO is thinking about how to effectively turn his vision into a unique product/service, how to better focus the offering, who to sell to, and how to sell more to that constituency. This is an iterative process with product management running in parallel with customer relationship efforts. It is with this disciplined approach and focus on risk mitigation that capital is preserved and meaningful revenue is generated.

Sticking to this lean focus is not always the best strategy. Even the most vigilant park ranger doesn’t keep every match out of his forest. The economy can hit the skids, new competition can enter the marketplace, or the need for a true sales team build-out can come along. Rather than raising venture capital like it is going out of style, a targeted capital raise makes the most sense. Rather than let the fire spread, a controlled burn is in order.

As a venture capital firm focused on expansion stage companies, we are typically looking to invest in situations similar to these. The company has achieved growth relatively efficiently, has taken limited outside funding, and has a go-to-market strategy that is working. With our in-house operations team, we look to accelerate the company’s growth through focusing on best practices around sales and marketing, product development and much more. We have helped companies refine their lead qualification strategy, execute more effectively, and think strategically about financial analysis. 

Deploying capital towards targeted efforts allows a company to not only stay disciplined, but also to win the race.

Chief of Staff/Director

Daniel was an Associate at OpenView Venture Partners where he took part in the investments in uSamp, Kareo, Prognosis Health, Mashery, NextDocs and Xtium. Currently, Daniel is Chief-of-Staff/Financial Strategy Director at <a href="https://www.anthem.com/">Anthem</a>.