Both Sides of the Table

MAY 25, 2013

But VC is like congress. “I don’t know the exact math, but I hear it again and again: the top 2% of firms generate 98% of the returns in venture capital.” As you can see from the chart their data suggests there are about $25 billion of VC distributions per year in the US. Their data looks at tech VCs.

Venture Capital 374

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Invest Funding 374

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 13, 2011

Or, as always, summary notes available below. Brad on blogging. How did you start blogging? “My I decided well if I am going to be investing in this stuff at least I need to understand what it’s like to have a blog, to be generating content, and it was quite interesting at the very, very beginning.“. was starting.

Venture Capital 288

Venture Capital Startup Technical Review Software Review 288

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 1, 2010

There has been much discussion about VCs doing seed funding in the past year. I’ve written about it myself (Is VC Seed Funding Dead?) and (Is There Really a Signaling Problem with VC Seed Funding?). Short summary of my posts: 1. There is a structural reason that VCs are investing at early stages, 2.

Seed Funding 298

Seed Funding Funding Venture Capital GRP Partners 298

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SEPTEMBER 20, 2009

This is part of my ongoing series, “ Pitching a VC.&# Getting a meeting with a prominent angel or VC is difficult enough. Some advice on how to do that was covered in this link – Getting Access to a VC. If you haven’t read how to build VC relationships and demonstrate traction make sure to read it.

Venture Capital 277

Venture Capital Startup Email News 277

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JUNE 8, 2010

Greycroft is Alan’s venture capital firm that recently raised its second fund ($130 million) with offices in both New York and LA. I’m going to save that for a future blog post. He listened intently through every presentation, asked questions and did a great summary of what he felt he had learned over the two days.

Startup 279

Startup Venture Capital Tips Custom Development 279

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 20, 2011

If you read this blog often you'll know that I'm a huge fan of First Round Capital. They have totally changed the way you run a VC firm, investing heavily in systems & events for their founders that are pushing the boundaries of the way our industry works. First Round Capital receives about 2500 submissions each year.

Capital 284

Capital Venture Capital Technical Review Startup 284

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APRIL 25, 2011

This thinking is largely driven by the venture capital industry (and subsequently Wall Street) who are in search of high margin, highly scalable businesses. It’s nearly impossible to get a services company financed by VCs. Why Shouldn’t Most Services Businesses Raise VC? Even tech blogs know this.

Services 332

Services Venture Capital IP Startup 332

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 6, 2013

Quick summary: Be careful not to have too many co-founders. And you need to be careful about giving up control to cofounders as much as VCs. Hire admin / office management after you raise a reasonable size VC round. There are no “right” answers – just opinions. What you agree / disagree with.

Startup 388

Startup Slides Outsource Development Sales 388

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 7, 2011

A few weeks ago I was reading a blog post by MG Siegler that really struck a chord. VC Pitches. Having been an entrepreneur for near-on a decade and having pitched in 100 VC meetings I hated getting no feedback. In Summary. Sure, it would have been ONE HELL OF A LOT EASIER to say, “well done! You get argued with.

Press 337

Press Venture Capital Doc Summary 337

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 17, 2012

In his blog he says, “I responded that I thought it was stupid. Think about venture capital. Those that were around 30+ years ago never had to think about branding – there were hardly any other VCs. But if you were going to start a venture capital fund today, you’d want to stand out.

Startup 304

Startup Venture Capital Los Angeles Woodland Hills 304

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OCTOBER 13, 2011

I know with a title like that I’m going to subject myself to people thinking I’m just being a grumpy, exclusive VC. And if you think this blog post was specifically targeting YOU because you asked me to lunch – it isn’t. It can be great for second VC meetings. In summary: By all means “lunch.”

Venture Capital 397

Venture Capital Startup Email Networking 397

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 30, 2014

Everybody has a blog these days and there is much advice to be had. Many startups now go through accelerators and have mentors passing through each day with advice – usually it’s conflicting. There are bootcamps, startup classes, video interviews – the sources are now endless. What is a founder to do? Take more advice.

Startup 407

Startup Framework CTO Coach Sales 407

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 6, 2014

When you first start your company and raise initial venture capital your board probably consists of 1-3 founders and 1-2 VCs. Most experienced VCs won’t push you to give up founder control at this stage of the business nor should they. In the Early Days.

Startup 325

Startup Sales Technical Review Software Review 325

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 14, 2009

This is part of my ongoing series Pitching a VC. Quick caveats: having fewer investors (3-5) is better than many investors (10-15) and PLEASE make sure you hire a great lawyer who has experience in doing start-ups to avoid pitfalls that will make VC harder down the line. They might be as hard as raising VC.

Angel 291

Angel Funding Venture Capital Startup 291

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MARCH 31, 2012

I got an email recently from my friend & fellow VC, Jeff Bussgang from Flybridge Capital Partners in Boston. Jeff (also an HBS alum) co-teaches the LTV course with Professor Eisenmann about a student of theirs who had written a blog post about sales taking on some of my previous assertions. In Summary.

Startup 319

Startup Sales Course Competition 319

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 23, 2015

I wrote this conundrum and the need to take charge of how the market define your skills in my much-read blog post on “ personal branding.” I often tell people in this scenario to focus on a VC “fixer upper.” Being the CEO of a fixer-upper gives you board exposure and VC relationships that will benefit you later.

Technical Review 150

Technical Review Startup Venture Capital IP 150

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SEPTEMBER 28, 2011

I shifted my thinking a few years ago after I read Tim Ferris’s book The Four Hour Workweek (link is to a short summary I wrote). You’re writing a freaking blog post! Plus, he’s a loyal reader of this blog. Can you please intro me to XYZ VC? I know many people think I blog all day long.

Email 314

Email Product Startup Writing 314

InfoChachkie

AUGUST 11, 2011

What follows is a summary which paraphrases Naval’s responses. 6) Naval, why does the startup world need AngelList and Venture Hacks? . “As Venture Hacks is educating entrepreneurs on the game theory of how to raise venture capital. We are productizing the raising of capital for startups. ”.

Startup 273

Startup Software Review Summary Technical Review 273

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AUGUST 30, 2010

Seth Levine of Foundry Group addresses this important topic this morning on his blog with a post, “ Has Convertible Debt Won ?&# Tags: Raising Venture Capital Startup Advice. Seth was basing this on a Tweet by Paul Graham that said&#. “Convertible notes have won.

Equity 319

Equity Pricing Venture Capital Entrepreneur 319

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JULY 14, 2015

I don’t know Ezra yet but since he’s taking the time to blog (which I hugesly respect) and share thoughts I thought I’d take him up on his challenge and also spill the beans on my secrets. On blogging I blog because I love it. Mostly I’m Blogging for the Hell of It, Not Blogging to Stay Relevant.

Blogging 150

Blogging Writing Email Startup 150

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MAY 9, 2011

So for anybody who reads my “This Week in VC&# transcripts but doesn’t watch the video – this one’s for you! Here is a quick summary of my POV: When you start a company a 50/50 partnership seems obvious. People just don’t talk about it publicly or in blogs. It’s only 3 minutes, 44 seconds.

Startup 393

Startup Equity Funding Summary 393

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 31, 2010

By Adam Hoeksema According to a report distributed by the Angel Capital Education Foundation , total startup funding from venture capital funds, state funds, and angel investors totals approximately $20.8 Surprisingly, friends and family contributed nearly three times the amount of capital to thousands of startups each year.

Funding 90

Funding Startup Blogging Invest 90

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 16, 2010

In summary … A few great hands is all it takes to win big. Final point worth noting … While reading one of David Lerner’s comments on my last blog post it made me realize that sometimes it’s OK to play poker just for the sake of playing & enjoying and knowing that you might lose some money.

Invest 283

Invest Angel Startup Marketing 283

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JANUARY 11, 2011

If you want a very quick primer on all the stuff nobody ever tells you about raising venture capital check out this video where Mark Jeffrey & I break it down on This Week in VC. A summary of what we discussed is below: Not 100% in order of the video, but close. Will a VC sign an NDA (non-disclosure agreement)?

Venture Capital 340

Venture Capital Slides Doc Startup 340

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 7, 2009

But so that you finish reading my post first I’ll give you the summary version – when approaching somebody at a show be polite / respectful of time, try to be introduced if possible and never assume the person remembers who you are. Then I get people sending me Twitter comments, blog comments and tons & tons of email intros.

Startup 322

Startup Conference Email Venture Capital 322

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 7, 2013

Anyone who reads this blog frequently will know that I am a big believer in low-cost video content and specifically the power of YouTube as a content creation & distribution platform. If you want to understand my thesis behind Maker you can read this article that outlines the trend , but in summary: People watch 5.3

Media 320

Media CTO Coach CTO Hire Los Angeles 320

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 14, 2016

I recently read a blog post by Beezer Clarkson, Managing Director of Sapphire Ventures about why entrepreneurs should care about from whom their VC funds raise their capital. I spent a bunch of time thinking about this position — especially since Beezer is an investor in Upfront Ventures. Beezer did.

Entrepreneur 150

Entrepreneur Venture Capital Invest Funding 150

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2011

Because my wife is a superstar she published them all on a blog here along with much other wonderful type-A mom advice. I was saying that I was happy it was all out in the open because I felt at least everybody could now understand the issues & opportunities from the perspectives of angels, entrepreneurs and VCs. It is additive.

Startup 292

Startup Venture Capital Blogging Summary 292

CEO Flow

MARCH 2, 2009

Bio summary: Aaron Ross is the founder of CEOFlow , which helps CEOs understand how to create predictable revenue, through guidance, groups and consulting. Session #1, for CEOs with VC investors or over $1m raised. Date & Time: Friday, March 13. 7:30a – 9:30a: CEOFlow working session.

Santa Monica 40

Santa Monica Los Angeles Finaventures Angel 40

CEO Flow

MARCH 2, 2009

Bio summary: Aaron Ross is the founder of CEOFlow , which helps CEOs understand how to create predictable revenue, through guidance, groups and consulting. Session #1, for CEOs with VC investors or over $1m raised. Date & Time: Friday, March 13. 7:30a – 9:30a: CEOFlow working session.

Santa Monica 40

Santa Monica Los Angeles Finaventures Angel 40

CEO Flow

MARCH 2, 2009

Bio summary: Aaron Ross is the founder of CEOFlow , which helps CEOs understand how to create predictable revenue, through guidance, groups and consulting. Session #1, for CEOs with VC investors or over $1m raised. Date & Time: Friday, March 13. 7:30a – 9:30a: CEOFlow working session.

Santa Monica 40

Santa Monica Los Angeles Finaventures Angel 40

CEO Flow

MARCH 2, 2009

Bio summary: Aaron Ross is the founder of CEOFlow , which helps CEOs understand how to create predictable revenue, through guidance, groups and consulting. Session #1, for CEOs with VC investors or over $1m raised. Date & Time: Friday, March 13. 7:30a - 9:30a: CEOFlow working session.

Santa Monica 40

Santa Monica Los Angeles Finaventures Angel 40

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014

The frantic pace of technology cycles, the amount of tech news, the blogs, the conferences, the demo days, the announcements, the fundings, the IPOs. It got me thinking about the advice that I often give to new VCs. Summary: You don’t need to see every deal. VC Industry' It’s exhausting. Perhaps unsustainable.

Startup 317

Startup Technical Review Venture Capital Email 317

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MARCH 3, 2013

Watch the 30-minute interview to hear why but summary notes below. ” But I pointed out a professor at HBS ( Tom Eisenmann ) who teaches a course where blogs are a part of the classroom reading material. Venture Capital. We spoke about the disruption of VC through crowd funding. I don’t believe it.

Venture Capital 403

Venture Capital Education Offshore Outsource Development 403

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JUNE 8, 2014

Changes in the Software World & in Venture Capital. But notably you had the following changes: Horizontally scalable computing & storage systems, which meant you required less capital up front for hardware. I’ve blogged about this before and provide a lot more details in these posts: 1. Venture Capital.

Startup 390

Startup Venture Capital Capital Funding 390

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 17, 2011

It’s why I always work hard to find images for my blog posts & why all of my keynote presentations are visual rather than bullet points with words. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: This is a long post, so I put an executive summary here if you want to get the point without reading all the detail.

Writing 356

Writing Startup Ideas Summary 356

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2016

What is the True Sentiment of VCs? I recently survey more than 150 VC friends from all stages and geographies what they thought about the market by asking “Which of the following statements best describes your mood heading into 2016?” When I started blogging it was because I was inspired by Brad Feld.

Startup 150

Startup Company Companies Venture Capital 150