The Hidden Costs Of Other People’s

Money

“If we had had money, we would have made more mistakes. This

way, I wrote all my checks. I knew where the money was going”

Tom Davis (Modular Instruments)

Problems with raising too much money

Symplex Communications

Z

YX

X Y Z

George Brostoff

Diminishing Flexibility

High Speed Modem

PC Communicator

Buyers never materialized

5000 Mailers for $1 each

25 responses only

Dialog

Didn’t get off

Gammalinks

24

1

$7,00,000

Was the original concept wrong or

was it poorly executed?

Are we befooled twice?

• COMPANY: Serrato Drywall Inc. BUSINESS: Drywall construction FOUNDED: 1994 START-UP CAPITAL: $400 1999 REVENUES: $1.5 million 2000 PROJECTED REVENUES: $1.8 million

• http://www.inc.com/magazine/20000701/19536.html

• COMPANY: DocMan Technologies BUSINESS: Electronic document-management services FOUNDED: 1994 START-UP CAPITAL: $500 1999 REVENUES: $1.5 million 2000 PROJECTED REVENUES: $2.2 million