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Spotting, Nurturing and Mentoring Talent – The Power of Troy Carter

Both Sides of the Table

When Troy and Lady Gaga were introduced the market had been in a free fall from the financial crisis of 2007-09 and Troy had had some setbacks professionally while Lady Gaga was sleeping on her grandmother’s couch in West Virginia, having just been dropped by Def Jam Records. Same with Gaga. “It was a series of inflection points.

Mentor 150
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Praying to the God of Valuation

Both Sides of the Table

2001–2007: THE BUILDING YEARS The dot com bubble had burst. SEEING THINGS FROM THE VC SIDE OF THE TABLE While I was a VC in 2007 & 2008 those were dead years because the market again evaporated due the the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). Until we weren’t. Nobody cared about our valuations any more.

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How to Avoid Being Disrupted as a VC

Both Sides of the Table

I joined Upfront Ventures in 2007 and took over as co-Managing Partner in 2011 along with the founder, Yves Sisteron. From 2007-2012 I scoured LA constantly. I created an accelerator & mentor network (Launchpad LA). Greg truly is a prolific deal maker and is amongst the most helpful people to entrepreneurs in our ecosystem.

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How I Got the Monkey Off My Back – Today Was a Good Day

Both Sides of the Table

I become a venture capitalist in September 2007 – exactly 6.5 Working with early-stage teams : coaching, mentoring, setting strategy, rolling up sleeves: 9/10. “I think the best VCs help drive exits alongside their entrepreneurs. years ago. Sourcing high-quality leads : 9/10. Since then? None have exited.

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As Populist as it May Feel, 98% of VCs Aren’t Dumb

Both Sides of the Table

After all, I am no stranger to the publicly expressing the frustrations of dealing with the downside of this industry as I wrote about in 2006 when I was an entrepreneur. The best VCs don’t try to help entrepreneurs. And hard for me to imagine the Fred Wilson and Albert Wenger weren’t instrumental mentors to David.

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Interview with Cody Simms, Techstars LA

socalTECH

We spoke earlier with Cody Simms , Executive Director of Techstars America and who leads the program in LA, to hear more about why the startup accelerator operator is opening up its third accelerator here, why Los Angeles has turned out to be one of the leading sources for startups across its network, as well as Cody's advice to entrepreneurs.

Startup 100
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Some Reflections on VC Investment Decisions

Both Sides of the Table

I started in 2007 with a thesis that my primary investment decision would be about the team (70%) and only afterward about the market opportunity (30%). Of course these are great places to network with other investors, meet great entrepreneurs and keep your connections strong with senior execs at larger companies like Yahoo!,