Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

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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Venture Capital Writing Invest Pricing 471

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 17, 2019

I became a VC 12 years ago in 2007 when the pace of deals was much slower. As I was trying to figure out the role I wanted to play in the VC world I decided I wanted to focus on businesses that were building deeply technical products to solve problems for business users. VCs have different views and strategies on this.

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Venture Capital IP Startup Google 223

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 13, 2013

I spent countless hours with VC firms, startups & LPs (the people who invest in VC firms). On my first real day back the first thought I have is that most entrepreneurs don’t manage their VC relationships as well as they could. And it would well be worth your while to broaden your relationships within your VC firm.

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Venture Capital Summary Organization Entrepreneur 309

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 22, 2014

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. VCs should be more of a coach than proscriptively telling you what to do. You want a VC who will spar with you but then STFU and let you get on with things.

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Venture Capital Coach Writing SaaS 364

Berkonomics

AUGUST 3, 2023

The subject of raising money is critical to many businesses and a passing option to others, depending upon the capital efficiency of the enterprise. You will realize much more from the ultimate sale of your business even if at a considerably lower price than if splitting the proceeds with investors.

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Venture Capital Startup Class Invest 295

InfoChachkie

MAY 22, 2012

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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Venture Capital Capital Research Custom 236

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 24, 2021

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

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Venture Capital Capital Funding .Net 363

Berkonomics

OCTOBER 5, 2023

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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Venture Capital Product Marketing Resource 296

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 24, 2013

Obviously, a key factor is always the state of the economy and the mood of the venture capital community. According to the Silicon Valley Venture Capitalist Confidence Index® for the First Quarter 2013, the Q1 increase marks three consecutive quarters of positive sentiment among Silicon Valley venture capitalists.

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socalTECH

FEBRUARY 27, 2019

SpyCloud , a startup which develops cybersecurity products used to prevent account takeovers and which is backed by Santa Monica-based March Capital Partners , has raised $21M more in a Series B funding round, the company announced this morning. March Capital Partners co-led the Series A funding round for SpyCloud in 2018.

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Capital Santa Monica Venture Capital Research 113

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 5, 2018

Los Angeles-based RingDNA , which develops analytics software used for understanding the sales process and sales conversations, said last week that it raised $30M in a growth capital funding. The funding was led by Goldman Sachs Growth Equity (GS Growth), and also included Palisades Growth Capital and Bryant Stibel.

Sales 140

Sales Artificial Inteligence Equity Web 140

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 3, 2016

In the VC insider baseball world a discussion has gone on about “VC platforms” over the past 5 or so years. While firms define platforms differently, let’s just say they are the services that a VC offers outside of investment capital and partner time on boards or providing intros.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Platform Startup Resource 150

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2009

After my company was acquired by Salesforce.com I was asked to stop blogging and they took over my blog as an asset in the sale of the company. I had previously raised VC in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2005. In case VC’s haven’t figured this out yet, shit rolls downhill. My blog was wiped out. And covered we did.

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Venture Capital Blogging Startup Slides 274

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 2, 2010

This is part of my series on Understanding Venture Capital. I’m writing this series because if you better understand how VC firms work you can better target which firms make sense for you to speak with. It in not uncommon to see a VC talk about “total assets under management&# as in “We have $1.5

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Venture Capital Funding Invest GRP Partners 269

Berkonomics

MARCH 28, 2024

They can elect directors for their class of stock, approve mergers and acquisitions; approve increases or changes to the capital structure of the company and other more minor actions. Shareholders such as investors are granted few rights by law. These are rare, but each stresses the duty of loyalty to the corporation on whose board they sit.

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Class Coach Invest Venture Capital 282

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 25, 2018

Los Angeles-based venture investor Bonfire Ventures , the venture capital fund led by SoCal VC veterans Jim Andelman and Mark Mullen, has launched a fundraising effort for a new fund, Bonfire Ventures Select I , according to a regulatory filing from the firm this week. READ MORE>>.

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Venture Capital Funding SoCal Southern California 140

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 13, 2011

I recently filmed a show for This Week in Venture Capital in which I talked about how to prepare for a VC meeting: whom you’ll meet, who should attend from your side, what materials you should bring and how you should run the meeting. The “Triple Play&# of VC Presentations. But take prompts from the VC.

Venture Capital 299

Venture Capital Slides Technical Advisors Startup 299

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 11, 2021

Many, many companies accepting venture capital lost it all following this instruction. VCs have a goal of creating extraordinary value for their investors. The cost of each exercise was dramatic, far beyond what a founder-entrepreneur would order to be spent when using their capital or reinvesting cash flow from operations.

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Venture Capital Social Media Invest Marketing 156

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 8, 2009

This is part of my ongoing series “Pitching a VC&# – the outline is here. You’ve pitched several angels and VC’s. Your friends and advisers tell you that this means you need revenue because in this economy VC’s will only fund businesses with revenue. Unfortunately your advisers are wrong.

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Venture Capital Guide Startup Technical Review 309

socalTECH

JULY 14, 2021

Los Angeles-based Endgame, a developer of software that links user behavior with sales opportunities, has raised $17M in funding, according to the company. The funding was split between a $12.25M, Series A funding round led by Menlo Ventures, and an earlier $5M Series Seed funding which was led by Upfront Ventures.

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Sales Software Seed Funding Los Angeles 124

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 16, 2010

Lots of discussion these days about the changes in the VC industry. The VC industry grew dramatically as a result of the Internet bubble - Before the Internet bubble the people who invested in VC funds (called LPs or Limited Partners) put about $50 billion into the industry and by 2001 this had grown precipitously to around $250 billion.

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Venture Capital Startup Seed Funding Rustic Canyon 311

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 1, 2009

In my previous post, The VC Ice Age is Thawing (for now) I wrote about the reasons why the VC market came to a screeching halt in September 2008 and remained largely shut until at least April 2009. There are now signs the VC market has gathered pace meaning it’s a great time to be fund raising.

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Venture Capital Marketing Startup Social Network 255

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 8, 2010

My primary role was “chief psychologist&# and as I’ve learned over the past few years the same has been true as a VC. Once you’ve been around for a few years, attracted some great people, landed real, paying customers and raised venture capital you’ve likely got a talented team around you.

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Venture Capital Startup Sales Custom 319

TechCrunch LA

JULY 2, 2020

When it comes to venture capital, Los Angeles is a city on the rise. In the past year, it’s seen one of the most profitable venture-backed exits of any tech ecosystem (with the $4 billion sale of Honey to PayPal) and investors are minting billion-dollar companies in the region at a torrid pace.

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Los Angeles Venture Capital Capital Invest 277

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. It happens.

Venture Capital 238

Venture Capital Slides Startup Sales 238

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 3, 2010

But until now, I’ve never seen a study of exactly how that plays out for startup founders for current venture-backed companies, specifically: race, age, experience and the number of founders per company. California (Silicon Valley), New York (NYC), and Massachusetts (Boston) are the places to be in the US for venture capital attention.

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Venture Capital Capital Startup Study 88

socalTECH

JUNE 1, 2021

iLife said the funding was led by Foundation Capital, and also include AME Cloud Ventures and Cherubic Ventures. Playa Vista-based iLife, a startup which is developing tools to help life insurance agents set up their own, branded "digital insurance agency", has raised $4M in a seed funding round, according to the company.

Sales 113

Sales Seed Funding Startup Tool 113

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 7, 2014

I spend a lot of time with startups and thus hear many companies talk about their approach to sales and their interactions with customers. Given customers & sales are the lifeblood of any organization you’d imagine everybody would respect their customers. Contrast that with a VC conversation I had. ” I cringed.

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Customer Custom Venture Capital Software Review 341

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 10, 2010

This episode of This Week in Venture Capital featured Michael Montgomery, president of Montgomery & Co. You have to be selected to present and it is typically reserved for companies that have already raised early-stage capital and are well into revenue growth. Should you use investment banks to raise venture capital?

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Venture Capital Mission Ventures Capital Help 242

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 17, 2017

The most obvious way to explain this is with sales people. If you hire 6 senior sales reps in January at $120,000 / year salary then you’ve taken on an extra $60,000 per month in costs yet these sales people might not close new business 6 months. Do you imagine eventually raising VC and trying to build a faster growing company?”

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Startup Venture Capital Sales Course 227

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 10, 2020

The funding was led by Kayne Partners Fund, the growth private equity arm of Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP. Los Angeles-based Signal Automotive , a startup which develops software for managing buying, selling, and inventory allocation for automobile dealers, has raised $20M in a funding round.

Software 124

Software Southern California Sales Equity 124

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 17, 2020

The company said the new funds will go towards expansion of its sales and marketing efforts, as well as for product development. San Diego-based Trust & Will , which operates an online estate planning service, has raised $15M in a Series B funding round, the company said on Tuesday. READ MORE>>.

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Seed Funding Venture Capital San Diego Sales 113

From the Venture Trenches

APRIL 11, 2013

Experience has shown that a strong emotional tie to a deal will help more than any other factor when raising venture funding. Entrepreneurs spend a lot of time and effort tracking performance, measuring sales traction and predicting growth in an effort to win over outside investors. The VC did not see the necessity of such a move.

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Venture Capital Capital Startup Invest 45

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 4, 2009

Most start-up entrepreneurs have little or no sales experience. But through nearly a decade of startups I learned that sales comes down to three essential elements: 1. I first heard this term from the guys at First Round Capital. The real test of sales and the topic of my post is “why buy now.” I know I didn’t.

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Sales Startup Platform Tips 319

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 29, 2009

I would argue that the shut-down of September 2009 was equally severe yet there are signs that this “VC Ice Age” has begun to thaw. But any entrepreneurs raising capital should keep in mind that this opening of the markets could possibly be temporary. Why did the VC markets freeze so quickly? Short answer – yes.

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Venture Capital Startup Funding Invest 263

socalTECH

JANUARY 24, 2018

Playa Vista-based Appetize , which develops tablet-based, modern point-of-sale (POS) technology for the food service and retail market, has raised $20M in a Series B funding, the company said on Wednesday morning.

Sales 100

Sales Technology Funding Capital 100

socalTECH

MAY 29, 2020

THe funding was led by Temasek Holdings, and also included Anterra Capital, Formation 8, and Cavallo Ventures (venture capital arm of Wilbur-Ellis), as well as angels. The company's technology is focused on identifying the beneficial microbes that naturally occur in an animal's G.I.

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San Diego Venture Capital Platform Capital 124