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Judging the Gigabit Challenge
Rich Brenner has been named a judge for The Gigabit Challenge, a global business plan competition to find disruptive ideas and bright passionate entrepreneurs. It begins this month as business plans...
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What is a Qualified Appraisal? Part One
Taxpayers may deduct the fair market value (as determined by a qualified appraisal) of property that they contribute to charity from their taxable income. The Pension Protection Act of 2006 added the...
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What is a Qualified Appraiser? Part Two
In the last blog post, we discussed the notion of a qualified appraisal that was introduced by the Pension Protection Act of 2006. Such an appraisal needs to be prepared by a qualified appraiser. In...
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The Brenner Group Celebrates 25 Years
As I reflect back on the past 25 years, the company and I have seen many changes in Silicon Valley. The types of industries that venture firms invest in has changed dramatically, and there have been a...
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409A Valuations in Turbulent Times – Part I
Turbulence in economic and industry conditions can have a significant impact on the result of a 409A valuation. This series of discussions describes some of the key elements where economic and market...
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What Makes a Good 409A Valuation
It may sound like common sense, but a 409A valuation needs to satisfy certain minimum requirements: It must reflect the facts and realities of your company – as it really exists at the date of value....
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Will the New JOBS Act Change the IPO Landscape?
The pendulum is swinging back from very expensive, tight controls on smaller companies to more relaxed, less costly methods. The new JOBS Act will have a big impact on IPOs and access to private...
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Will Crowdfunding Help Startups?
As most know, the JOBS Act passed by Congress in April provides a number of regulatory changes designed to facilitate capital formation for start-ups and early stage companies. One of the most...
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Tax Exemption Expiration Drives Appraisals
The current all-time high lifetime gift tax exemption is set to expire December 31, 2012. Appraisals are key to establishing the fair market value of assets gifted before the deadline. The lifetime...
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VC and Angel Ebbs and Flows in the Tech Sector
Much has been written of the Kauffman Foundation report, “WE HAVE MET THE ENEMY…AND HE IS US” from May, 2012 about the abysmal returns from venture funds, particularly larger ones, since the late 90’s....
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Financing a Start-up in 2013
Much is being written about how “broken” our current venture capital financing model continues to be. One of the most seriously broken areas is financing an early stage company. Venture capitalists...
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Court Delivers Harsh Ruling to Taxpayer in 409A Case
In proceedings before the Court of Federal Claims, the IRS won a significant victory over a taxpayer who appealed penalties and interest levied against him by the IRS for having received undervalued...
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You’re Fired: the Hidden Costs of Botched 409A Valuation Compliance – Part I
When was the last time you bought a service you understood little about and, for lack of any other reason, selected the vendor based on price? Happens all the time with electricians, lawyers, mortgage...
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You’re Fired: the Hidden Costs of Botched 409A Valuation Compliance – Part II
In Part I of this series, we explained why you can’t judge a valuation or a firm by its fees . Coming into focus now should be an understanding of how a poorly prepared valuation turns into a time and...
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You’re Fired: the Hidden Costs of Botched 409A Valuation Compliance – Part III
The real money on the table from a poor-quality 409A valuation lays ahead and underlies the ultimate purpose for the 409A valuation report: tax compliance. That is the province of the IRS…and, in the...
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Revised Guidance from AICPA on Valuing Privately-Held Stock
Following a decade since the issuance of FASB ASC 718 (SFAS 123R) and the AICPA’s initial guidance on valuing privately-held securities, a new guide with significant revisions has been developed by the...
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Startup Landscape in CA: Changing or More of the Same?
Working with startups in Silicon Valley has never been more exciting, vibrant and stimulating. For entrepreneurs, it has never been cheaper or faster to get funded. Startup CEOs have many choices in...
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Who Wants Bad 409a Compliance?
We spend our days immersed in IRC 409a valuations, advising clients and those charged with overseeing clients’ 409a compliance. If you are among the fortunate few who have not encountered this IRS...
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Southern California Startup Scene – Perspectives from Silicon Valley (Part 1)
I grew up in LA, but I never imagined Southern California having a tech startup scene. Well, perhaps an entertainment or film project, but not a tech startup. And yet, after all these years, I am drawn...
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Southern California Startup Scene – Perspectives from Silicon Valley (Part 2)
With many similarities highlighted in Part 1, I now want to pivot to discuss some of the major differences between Silicon Valley and SoCal startup scenes. Size is an obvious difference. Think of SoCal...
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