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What I Would Look for When Choosing a VC – Knowing What I Know Now?

Both Sides of the Table

Picking a VC is hard. So I thought I’d write about out with what I would look for in a VC knowing what I know now and why. Most VCs are book smart. In fact, book smart can be a negative. I call them “ VCs Seagulls.” VCs should be more of a coach than proscriptively telling you what to do.

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A heartbreaking story about time and money.

Berkonomics

Since this number is budgeted and pre-authorized, managers tend to focus upon other things such as sales, marketing and product development issues. Growth before the VC arrived was not a problem. Since the company slipped in its R&D schedule, the partners of the VC firm voted to not add new money to the company for the project.

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The Changing Venture Landscape

Both Sides of the Table

how on Earth could the venture capital market stand still? One of the most common questions I’m asked by people intrigued by but also scared by venture capital and technology markets is some variant of, “Aren’t technology markets way overvalued? How our VC Firms Like Ours Organizing to Meet the Challenges?

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6 Steps To Raising Venture Capital – Hint: Preparation Matters More Than Your Pitch

InfoChachkie

The steps outlined below represent an ideal approach to raising capital from sophisticated investors. You might be at Step 2 with one VC and Step 3 with another. VCs collude all the time, it is only fair that entrepreneurs compare notes every now and again as well.”. Even the most jaded VC cannot resist authentic flattery.

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Tips to Help you Think About Sales at Your Startup

Both Sides of the Table

It’s the lifeblood of any organization and yet most startups don’t have any sales DNA on their teams. It’s important enough that I dedicate a tab on my blog to startup sales & marketing. But the ground we covered was awesome for anybody wanting to know more about sales. What is your sales process?

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The Danger of Crocodile Sales

Both Sides of the Table

I’d like to talk about Crocodile Salesmen in 3 scenarios: 1) when YOU are selling (or someone on your team), 2) when you are trying to recruit a sales person. But how to apply “listening&# in a sales meeting? Beware of Crocodile Sales. I still do this sometimes, too. Always “test your understanding.&#.

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Playing the Long Game in Venture Capital

Both Sides of the Table

It has historically been the case that VCs would rather fund the promise of 100x in a company with almost no revenue than the reality of a company growing at 50% but doing $20+ million in sales. The abundance of late-stage capital is good for us all. My first ever investment as a VC was Invoca. Entrada Ventures? —?that