Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 18, 2012

I plan to write about it early next year when we’re all through. As I’ve written about before, You’d Have to be a Big Baby to Complain about Being a VC. Throughout the course of last year I never had more than $8,000 in my account. . Of course I do! We have a little more to go until the finish line.

Blogging 420

Blogging Press Entrepreneur Venture Capital 420

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 24, 2014

As a result I didn’t write my first venture capital check until March 2009 – exactly 5 years ago. In 2010 somebody posed the question on Quora, “Is Mark Suster a Successful Venture Capitalist?” “Ok, so this guy can write a blog and source deals but can he make any money?”

Venture Capital 387

Venture Capital Downey Writing Press 387

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 9, 2014

I have blogged about some of the downside consequences of the changes and the private information I have says the consequences are much worse than is reported in the press since few people publicly talk about. We are doing what we do – writing larger checks and playing an active role at the company. There is a reason for this.

Venture Capital 352

Venture Capital Seed Funding Email Blogging 352

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 13, 2013

What I love about writing is that you inadvertently say what many others are thinking and just knowing that somebody else is thinking something similar can be reassuring. Example: Fred Wilson writing his end of 2012 post wrote. “I’ve wanted to write a year end post for days. But of course life isn’t like this.

Writing 313

Writing Venture Capital Blogging Startup 313

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 8, 2009

I was reading Chris Dixon’s blog tonight. He writes with a great perspective and is well worth reading. I came across this blog post about getting a computer science degree as the best degree for getting into venture capital or working at a VC-backed start up. I had to laugh a bit reading it.

Startup 337

Startup Venture Capital Study Course 337

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 4, 2013

When I was new at Venture Capital I was trying to figure out the business. As a VC you want to feel like you have “proprietary sources” of deal flow. Of course I went through normal other channels of deal flow. I eventually stumbled on to the best source of high-quality deal flow imaginable – blogging.

Venture Capital 347

Venture Capital Startup Pricing Invest 347

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 9, 2014

Of course passion isn’t enough. I only say that because after years as a VC I can always tell when my peer group invested in something because “it seemed like it would make money” versus when they invested out of passion. On reflection of the role that I want to play as a VC it is clearly in the camp of passion.

Venture Capital 373

Venture Capital Startup Course Entrepreneur 373

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 16, 2017

Every tech or major news journal in the country is preparing to write their Snap, Inc (creators of Snapchat, Spectacles, etc) stories and many of them seem to want a “How does it feel to have missed this investment story.” Of course that was a wrong narrative for both companies. That’s a benefit for us as a local VC.

Snapchat 214

Snapchat Invest Technical Review Dollar Shave Club 214

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 6, 2018

As a VC with scores of startups in our portfolio we have ringside seats to many, many fund raising processes plus I had to raise money across about 5 different rounds of capital as an entrepreneur so I’ve developed some thought on the process that I hope can be helpful to some of you before you start. just don’t lead with them!

Funding 236

Funding Venture Capital Startup Entrepreneur 236

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 12, 2017

People expect blog posts, Tweets, panels, speeches. Having interesting and frequent opportunities at the top of your funnel is important, of course, but the ultimate score is only measured on the bottom end of the funnel. Recruiting, business development, shipping product, writing blog posts, networking … it’s all the same.

Activity 297

Activity Blogging Email Startup 297

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 26, 2013

One of the advantages of blogging, using social media, public speaking, etc as a VC is that you get a more nuanced view of these shifts by watching your own successes and failures. I will add to this as I write more in the coming weeks on the topic. This is true on all of the major tech blogs. Funding is news.

Startup 355

Startup Funding News Press 355

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 2, 2011

It’s apropos because there is so much noise these days with email, Twitter, Facebook, blogs, web shows, etc. If I check Twitter it’s usually because I’m waiting for a meeting to start and I never write posts during the day. I don’t think any serious VC or angel thought it was “collusion.&#

Email 287

Email Blogging Venture Capital Writing 287

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 14, 2013

.” Here’s what I mean … Let’s start with what it takes for a journalist to want to write a story. Do I have an “angle” from which to write the story (first company to do X, company does biggest X, consumer behavior is doing X)? I am a VC. ” Of course not. I hand out money.

Marketing 389

Marketing Press Blogging Startup 389

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2014

But of course it’s hard to advise people that they should do PR without a guide to how to do it on the cheap or how to do it at all. Contrary to popular opinion I actually believe crowd-funding is best used after seed capital or venture capital. When to start PR? In a startup this is a mistake.

Press 319

Press Startup Writing Training 319

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 23, 2015

My goal in the interview overall was to capture more of the personal side of Fred since so much of his investment thesis and portfolio work already comes out in his blog. We talk a lot about his schooling, his early jobs as a developer and then as a VC and we talk about his decision to spend winters in Los Angeles.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Startup Writing Blogging 150

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 27, 2011

In case you missed all the kerfuffle this weekend, I posted this blog post originally on TechCrunch. This is a blog post I really didn’t want to write. I didn’t want to write it because I have mixed feelings about AngelList. So why I am writing it then? A few reasons. You should read this post.

Venture Capital 267

Venture Capital Writing Blogging Startup 267

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 25, 2011

Yesterday I saw a Tweet from Chris Sacca fly by that prompted me to want to write a blog post helping entrepreneurs understand why they should push back against VCs asking for “super pro-rata” rights. I’ll explain what they are and why you should avoid them if you can. A primer on “pro-rata” rights.

Entrepreneur 310

Entrepreneur Venture Capital Writing Invest 310

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 25, 2013

But VC is like congress. In the original version of his post, Andy writes. “This essay is dedicated to the great VC’s on my board who I am lucky to work with: Sameer Gandhi from Accel, Jeremy Liew from Lightspeed, and Kirsten Green from Forerunner. . Their data looks at tech VCs. Because they know him or her.

Venture Capital 374

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Invest Funding 374

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

I was reading Danielle Morrill’s blog post today on whether one’s “ Startup Burn Rate is Normal. ” Stay lean and only raise a big round if you DO find product / market fit and which point you want to loosen the belt quickly and raise the capital to do so. .” ” I highly recommend reading it.

Startup 383

Startup Company Companies .Net 383

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 14, 2014

It’s why the first company I ever invested in as a VC – Invoca – just announced a $20 million funding by Accel Partners. Of course that website isn’t completely up to date but it’s a great resource for seeing the overall picture. The first investment I ever made as a VC was in a company now called Invoca.

Email 339

Email SaaS Venture Capital Google 339

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 18, 2014

Sometimes those motives are positive (they really want the chance to work with you, they think you have unique skills) and sometimes they are less positive (their first-tier of “go to” referrals passed on the deal, they don’t want to write another check themselves, etc.). VCs don’t need to be perfect.

Venture Capital 337

Venture Capital Invest Ideas Entrepreneur 337

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 11, 2011

We talked about a lot of great stuff in the video including how to do sales calls and a how a new “culture of writing&# is emerging as a critical skill set in business today. We also talked about why Jon decided to leave Google to become an EIR at a VC firm (Polaris) – minute 33. Good comment community = viral blog.

Buzzfeed 354

Buzzfeed Content Tips Blogging 354

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 16, 2013

We’re excited to continue to grow our investment professional staff and will continue to do so over the course of 2013 & 2014 with our new fund. I became aware of Sam several years ago as I started noticing his name repeated in the comments section of my blog. Of course – some people can be remote. Jordan Hudson.

Startup 372

Startup Course Ideas Invest 372

InfoChachkie

JULY 23, 2012

Rejecting the paint-by-numbers approach to corporate communications deployed by most marketing executives, Brad has embraced unconventional guerilla marketing tactics to help establish his venture capital firm, Foundry Group, as a thought leader in early-stage tech investing. Write Your Own Playbook.

Marketing 233

Marketing Blogging Startup Venture Capital 233

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 17, 2012

In his blog he says, “I responded that I thought it was stupid. I recommend that you start by writing down the attributes you would want people to think about when they think about your brand. And of course a place of idyllic weather, culture and a lifestyle. ” And of course it’s not a true assessment.

Startup 304

Startup Venture Capital Los Angeles Woodland Hills 304

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 31, 2012

Here is a sample of the reading list for the course that gives you a flavor for just how modern and practical this course is. I got an email recently from my friend & fellow VC, Jeff Bussgang from Flybridge Capital Partners in Boston. And that leads me to today’s post.

Startup 319

Startup Sales Course Competition 319

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 15, 2014

” I have been weighing in slowly on the topic over the past few weeks on Twitter but have avoided writing a blog post about it until now. Of course I know it’s not “private” but I’m dealing with people I know. I first discovered him or her as a commenter on Fred Wilson’s blog.

Technical Review 329

Technical Review Blogging Examples Startup 329

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 6, 2017

I titled this post “We Must Have Zero Tolerance in Venture Capital” but of course I could just say “zero tolerance anywhere” because that’s true. As a VC let me specifically just speak out for our industry. I have known Shervin, liked him and respected his big bets as a VC like Uber and Hyperloop. I was wrong.

Venture Capital 254

Venture Capital Capital Course Report 254

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. Of course I can’t write every press release for the company nor would I want to. VC Pitches. Having been an entrepreneur for near-on a decade and having pitched in 100 VC meetings I hated getting no feedback.

Press 337

Press Venture Capital Doc Summary 337

TechCrunch LA

NOVEMBER 4, 2019

First it was street-style photography, then came the launch of her popular fashion blog WeWoreWhat. The company plans to give creators and influencers more independence from existing platforms by allowing them access to funding from a team well-versed in their unique capital needs. million Series A in March.

Platform 170

Platform Marketing Tool Venture Capital 170

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 21, 2011

Fred Wilson wrote a blog post yesterday called “Real Names” in which he talked about a commenter on his blog who preferred not to comment because he didn’t want to use his real name. Of course they can be duped. Where you can talk about topics that it might not be appropriate for a VC to discuss in writing.

Social Network 329

Social Network Startup Blogging Venture Capital 329

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 21, 2014

You join teams that got good write-ups on TechCrunch, have great VCs, have star CEO’s, whatever. Writing a book will be fun. Stuart is well worth following on Twitter & now that’s he’s a VC he is likely to share his wisdom more freely. David is also frequently an inspiration for a story on my blog.

CTO Hire 320

CTO Hire Startup CTO Coach Venture Capital 320

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 4, 2013

When I was new at Venture Capital I was trying to figure out the business. As a VC you want to feel like you have “proprietary sources” of deal flow. Of course I went through normal other channels of deal flow. I eventually stumbled on to the best source of high-quality deal flow imaginable – blogging.

Startup 361

Startup Venture Capital Pricing Technical Review 361

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.” Of course you could start your own company. Of course I’m not suggesting people shouldn’t start a company. Nobody sees you as a CEO since you’ve never been one?

Technical Review 150

Technical Review Startup Venture Capital IP 150

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2011

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 never get grumpy that people write. And of course I then see some public forums where somebody complains that they wrote to me and I never responded. “But WAIT !!! Marketing.

Email 314

Email Product Startup Writing 314

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 30, 2013

I started out this year writing about how much I hate December. “You’d imagine your favorite founder, VC, blogger, political figure, billionaire, whatever has a stress free life pontificating about how to build the next really cool, society-altering product or changing a city, state or country. But of course life isn’t like this.

Blogging 400

Blogging Startup Ideas Press 400

Xconomy

MAY 31, 2016

The new Microsoft Ventures will seek investments that fall outside the commercial deals that the company has done more frequently in the past, writes Nagraj Kashyap, corporate vice president of Microsoft Ventures, in a blog post announcing the new effort. That forms one end of the company’s spectrum of startup activities.

Funding 62

Funding Artificial Inteligence Cloud Computing Writing 62