Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 11, 2009

This is part of my ongoing series “ Pitching a VC.&#. The “Triple Play&# of VC Presentations. A large part of my series has been outlining what the typical VC PowerPoint presentation should look like. You want to build a dialogue where you get to know the VC with whom you’re meeting.

Venture Capital 238

Venture Capital Slides Startup Sales 238

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2017

Every year Upfront Ventures surveys Limited Partners (LPs) who are the main source of capital that invests in VC funds and thus the main source of capital that goes to startups to get an early-warning sense of the year ahead, leaving aside any Black Swans. Will they have enough capital?” Will it last?

Startup 286

Startup Venture Capital Seed Funding Capital 286

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 12, 2010

In the VC & Private Equity world there’s a small number, too, with one of the most respected being PEHub. I always wanted to have Dan on This Week in VC with Dan Primack ( to see video click link ) because he’s blunt, honest, opinionated and well informed. Question: Some people are saying traditional VC is dead.

Venture Capital 232

Venture Capital Slides Seed Funding Google 232

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 19, 2009

I had a picture in the office of my first company with the logo above and the capital letters JFDI. (In In case it’s not obvious it’s a play on the Nike slogan, “Just Do It.&# ) I believe that being successful as an entrepreneur requires you to get lots of things done. Good entrepreneurs are wrong often.

Entrepreneur 414

Entrepreneur Technical Review Slides CTO Coach 414

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 8, 2014

If you want the full SlideShare deck with many slides not in either post it’s in this link –> The LA Tech Market. ” It’s the most common refrain I hear from investors and even entrepreneurs these days. billion in venture capital to LA’s technology startups and 2014 will shatter that figure.

Entrepreneur 376

Entrepreneur Snapchat Startup Google 376

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 15, 2010

It’s always fun chatting with Jason because he’s knowledgeable about the market, quick on topics and pushes me to talk more about VC / entrepreneur issues. We’re staring to get the hang of how to divide the show up into talking about deals but also talking about issues for entrepreneurs during funding.

Venture Capital 285

Venture Capital Startup Advertising Redpoint 285

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 17, 2020

Each has a process in place to accept applications or recommendations for investment into new companies, and to review these and make decisions based upon their exploration, previous experience in the field, knowledge of the company or industry, or about individual entrepreneurs. Then there is venture capital.

Equity 156

Equity Technical Review Class Organization 156

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 6, 2010

But in my experience as an entrepreneur and now spending my time amongst investors I can generalize that almost all VC investments in early stage technology & Internet investments come down to just four key factors. This post was prompted by an email exchange I had with a young entrepreneur. That’s fine.

Startup 360

Startup Venture Capital Invest Slides 360

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 30, 2010

My advice to entrepreneurs was and is “ when the hors d’oeuvres tray is being passed take two ” (e.g. It eventually closed at 11,204 in April ’10 before sliding back around 10,000 as I sit here and type. raise money now to weather any storms).

Entrepreneur 298

Entrepreneur Venture Capital Technical Review Startup 298

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 29, 2009

Handling PR with VCs. This is part of my series on How to Raise VC but could equally be filed under Startup Advice more generally. I recently got a phone call from an entrepreneur whom I respect and who runs a company that I hope will do great things one day. Many entrepreneurs have a PR page in the PowerPoint deck.

Venture Capital 291

Venture Capital Press News Startup 291

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 30, 2016

We did what many VC funds did – we presented our annual results, we stood up and talked about our portfolio companies, we invited a few to also present and then we had dinner & drinks at some posh restaurant. So of course it was natural that we would invite other VC firms. So I decided to change up our format a bit.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Startup Course Funding 150

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?). There is a structural reason that VCs are investing at early stages, 2. Short summary of my posts: 1.

Seed Funding 298

Seed Funding Funding Venture Capital GRP Partners 298

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 13, 2022

This probably seems obvious to military types, but I see entrepreneurs violating this rule all the time. But for angel investors and venture capital investors, just remember that investors are not on your team (yet). Lead with your two-page executive summary, be prepared to give a ten-slide investor presentation.

Slides 126

Slides Outsource Summary Conference 126

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 11, 2009

It’s mostly done by first-time entrepreneurs who want to persuade (bribe?) You can go as high as 1% because they’re going to get diluted when you bring in VC. Don’t overplay in your VC pitches – Final bit of advice – don’t overplay the advisers in your VC pitch. Have 8 of them!

Startup 306

Startup Venture Capital Equity Technical Review 306

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 9, 2011

I spent my days meeting companies, figuring out what areas of the market interested me and trying to get a sense for how VCs thought about fair valuations. I thought about things I never had to as an entrepreneur: check size, ownership percentage, deal stage, portfolio construction and risk. But I guess you could say the same about VC.

Marketing 305

Marketing Venture Capital Funding Technical Review 305

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 19, 2010

I’m writing this post as part of my series with Advice on Raising Venture Capital but will file it under Sales Tips as well since it applies equally to both scenarios. You’ve found a VC partner or principal who has invited you to the Monday partners’ meeting. Congratulations. Is that OK with you?&#.

Venture Capital 318

Venture Capital Startup Sales Writing 318

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 25, 2012

This probably seems obvious to military types, but I see entrepreneurs violating this rule all the time. But for Angel investors and venture capital investors, just remember that investors are not on your team (yet). Lead with your two-page executive summary, be prepared to give a ten-slide investor presentation.

Entrepreneur 94

Entrepreneur Slides Outsource Summary 94

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 23, 2013

It will affect your ability to get the right jobs and promotions as well as your ability to attract talent and capital. Send me in a corner to work on slides, graphs, spreadsheets and charts. When I started my second company I was a serial entrepreneur. I introduced myself as a serial entrepreneur. ” Not technical.

Technical Advisors 385

Technical Advisors Marketing Startup Venture Capital 385

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 28, 2016

He is now a VC a Mithril Capital , which was co-founded by Peter Thiel. The book is a memoir about an improbable journey from the working-class Hillbilly roots of Appalachia to the elite corridors of one of the top law schools in the US and the world of venture capital. This is where Sliding Doors creeps in.

Class 211

Class Education Slides Venture Capital 211

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 25, 2014

This probably seems obvious to military types, but I see entrepreneurs violating this rule all the time. But for Angel investors and venture capital investors, just remember that investors are not on your team (yet). Lead with your two-page executive summary, be prepared to give a ten-slide investor presentation.

Startup 107

Startup Venture Capital Slides Outsource 107

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 31, 2010

I spotted my fellow VC Leo Spiegel (from Mission Ventures) who had spoken previously to the same group and asked about his experiences. They had slides with moving images and music. If you really get nervous and are afraid you’ll forget your lines have one 3X5 cue card in your hands for each slide.

Startup 362

Startup Twiistup Slides Screening 362

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 12, 2010

This probably seems obvious to military types, but I see entrepreneurs violating this rule all the time. But for angel investors and venture capital investors, just remember that investors are not on your team (yet). Lead with your two-page executive summary, be prepared to give a ten-slide investor presentation.

Entrepreneur 86

Entrepreneur Slides Outsource Summary 86

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 25, 2010

“Yes&# was given to me by one of my favorite angel investor / seed VC’s to work with – John Greathouse of Rincon Venture Partners and author of the blog InfoChachkie that you should check out because it is filled with great info from a guy who has been a very successful operator.

Guide 293

Guide Funding Venture Capital Technical Review 293

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 5, 2010

And this is my chance to give back to all of those people for whom I don’t have enough time in the week for that “15 minute coffee meeting&# that many people wants with a VC. We have tons of entrepreneurs but our technology community has historically been splintered across town and across industries. Hope to see you!

CalTech 222

CalTech Startup Santa Monica Venture Capital 222

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 13, 2019

This probably seems obvious to military types, but I see entrepreneurs violating this rule all the time. But for angel investors and venture capital investors, just remember that investors are not on your team (yet). Lead with your two-page executive summary, be prepared to give a ten-slide investor presentation.

Slides 85

Slides Outsource Summary Conference 85

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2018

According to the entrepreneurs I advise, the biggest challenge they typically face in starting a new business is funding. Yet according to recent data compiled by Fundable , 57 percent of successful entrepreneurs end up funding their startup, and that’s a good thing. Request warm investor meetings from peers and advisors.

Startup 56

Startup Equity Funding Slides 56

Tech Zulu Event

MARCH 16, 2015

There’s plenty of capital out there, but there’s also a lot of competition for startup funding. According to Shayne, only 1 out of 1000 business plans might get VC funding. His best advice: take capital where you can get it. These are usually the first sources entrepreneurs tap. Crowdfunding. Vendor funding.

Startup 40

Startup Venture Capital Equity Funding 40

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 13, 2013

My mom was an entrepreneur – she was kind of my inspiration for entrepreneurship. It was like nobody would give me any respect and they just saw me as the guy who goes and talks to senior people who does PowerPoint slides. Then everyone just started calling me a serial entrepreneur. My mom grew up in the States.

Startup 337

Startup Entrepreneur Ideas Venture Capital 337

The Quigley Report

MARCH 4, 2008

VCs tend to put greater weight on the potential market size of the product being built, the reputations of the founders and the number of existing competitors than they do on swings (positive or negative) in the NASDAQ index. If you have doubts, take another look at where the capital is being spent. And guess what?

Startup 40

Startup Slides Marketing Clearstone 40

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 8, 2017

This probably seems obvious to military types, but I see entrepreneurs violating this rule all the time. But for angel investors and venture capital investors, just remember that investors are not on your team (yet). Lead with your two-page executive summary, be prepared to give a ten-slide investor presentation.

Funding 60

Funding Slides Outsource Summary 60

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 21, 2010

As startup entrepreneurs we all want to work with them because having their name as reference clients makes it so much easier for marketing, PR, selling to other customers, fund raising and even recruiting. Have minimums but a sliding scale. Tags: Entrepreneur Advice Start-up Advice Startup Advice. You want them to earn.

Startup 298

Startup Sales Slides Metrics 298

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 16, 2016

Whether you are talking to peers, competitors or investors, you as an active entrepreneur will be judged on your familiarity with today’s startup and funding jargon. In that context, I offer you my latest collection of popular investor-to-entrepreneur terms and concepts. Frothy is good for entrepreneurs. Seed-round investment.

Startup 57

Startup Software Review Equity Invest 57

socalTECH

JULY 10, 2019

For this morning's interview, we spoke with Los Angeles-based Halla , a venture backed startup, focused on personalized recommendations for the food ordering industry. in seed funding, from E&A Venture Capital and SOSV. Finally, what's been your biggest lesson as an entrepreneur so far? The company has raised $1.9M

Pricing 113

Pricing Startup North Hollywood Platform 113

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 9, 2011

This probably seems obvious to military types, but I see entrepreneurs violating this rule all the time. But for angel investors and venture capital investors, just remember that investors are not on your team (yet). Lead with your two-page executive summary, be prepared to give a ten-slide investor presentation.

Slides 95

Slides Outsource Summary Conference 95

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 2, 2015

I love the enthusiasm, the boundless energy and the sense of possibility that comes from having an idea that hasn’t yet been beat up in the marketplace of competing ideas, customer contracts, VC skepticism, jaded journalists or fickle consumers who are on the The New, New Thing. It’s the nature of most entrepreneurs, honestly.

Outsource Development 150

Outsource Development Metrics Startup Sales 150

SoCal CTO

JULY 13, 2010

10 Ways To Be Your Own Boss - A VC : Venture Capital and Technology , June 18, 2010 The folks at Behance and Cool Hunting asked me to talk at their 99% Conference a couple months ago. You’re Not a Real Entrepreneur - Steve Blank , June 10, 2010 Who is an entrepreneur really? Yes, even bootstrappers. Let's see why.

Startup 175

Startup Venture Capital Slides Blogging 175

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 1, 2010

I'm Tired of Creating Your Content - Babbling VC , November 12, 2010 Jeff triggered this post in regards to his Check-in Fatigue on Foursquare. Storm Clouds - A VC : Venture Capital and Technology , November 12, 2010 We have enjoyed an amazing run in the web startup and investing space over the past five or six years.

Technical Review 175

Technical Review Startup Product Technology 175