Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 22, 2014

So I thought I’d write about out with what I would look for in a VC knowing what I know now and why. VCs should be more of a coach than proscriptively telling you what to do. I would call their portfolio companies and ask how helpful or not they’ve been. Most VCs are book smart. I call them “ VCs Seagulls.”

Venture Capital 364

Venture Capital Coach Writing SaaS 364

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 24, 2017

When I hear executives and professionals in larger businesses talking about their dream of going out on their own to start a new company, I always cringe. They and I never realized how hard it is to break the big-company habits and conventions. Professionals get dependent on big company perks. I have been there and done that.

Company 58

Company Companies Startup Training 58

Berkonomics

JUNE 29, 2017

If you have been following our recent insights, you’ll be up to speed knowing that professional investors negotiate tough terms, from provisions of control over asset acquisition, eventual sale of the company, future investments, forced co-sale when others attempt to sell their shares and more.

Invest 243

Invest Entrepreneur Sales Startup 243

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 25, 2012

I hear many executives and professionals in large corporations talking about their dream of jumping ship, and starting their own company. Executives in an enterprise usually don’t write their own memos, contracts, and certainly don’t schedule their own meetings. In a startup, that luxury isn’t possible, so the work suffers.

Startup 93

Startup Company Companies Training 93

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 3, 2021

In fact, customers today also seem more attracted to companies with a higher purpose than profit. Before you start your business, think hard about your vision for fulfillment, and write it down. One of the keys to my own fulfillment has been coaching, mentoring, and give-back of what I have learned along the way.

Satisfaction 173

Satisfaction Mentor Coach Entrepreneur 173

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 4, 2010

What they don’t realize is that the longer they wait, the more big-company habits they are acquiring, which will make their eventual decision harder and entrepreneurial efforts less and less likely to succeed. Executives in an enterprise usually don’t write their own memos, contracts, and certainly don’t schedule their own meetings.

Entrepreneur 92

Entrepreneur Company Companies Training 92

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 28, 2023

I always struggle with coaching along these lines, so I was pleased to see some excellent guidance on tactics in making decisions in a new book, “ The Leap To Leader ,” by Adam Bryant. Without a shared context, people will all create their own narratives for where they think the company is doing well and where it is struggling.

Help 94

Help Framework Statistics Startup 94

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2014

Today we’re in a world where 10 accelerators are bombarding you with emails to meet their 10-15 companies. 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!, They worry too much about missing out on a deal.

Venture Capital 374

Venture Capital Invest Press Startup 374

Eric Greenspan

APRIL 11, 2019

Mine is writing this blog post, indirectly. He said, “I never wanted to build a company” and claims it was “never about money.” But whatever it is, he built it to be great, not be a great company. Added after posting… My son Jacob just called me while I was writing this post. I believe it.

Writing 179

Writing Ideas Startup Coach 179

Tech Zulu Event

NOVEMBER 30, 2012

For years now, companies have been forced to choose between cumbersome, expensive Virtual Data Rooms and decentralized, unsecure email to manage their complex transactions. 25 Years of Writing Code. At BigVisible, he coached teams at Capital Group as part of a large 1,400 person company-wide agile transformation.

Technical Review 88

Technical Review Software Review Bertelsmann Technology 88

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 23, 2015

In his words, [in some instances] “because lots of capital is available, the company takes on the capital and that ends up resulting in no constraints on decision making and so the company decides to do five things in stead of just one.” You are defined by how you serve the companies that are struggling.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Startup Writing Blogging 150

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 10, 2014

One of the interesting things about being a VC is that you often see companies in transition. If you’re an early investor like I am that often means writing the first $2-3 million check into a business that previously had either survived on fumes or on a $500,000 angel round. Act your stage. Other B-round scaling issues?

Startup 381

Startup Resource Venture Capital Activity 381

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 13, 2011

It’s very common for startup companies to have COO’s. So I know I’m getting myself into a bit of trouble by writing this. In a mature company it’s often like a presidential chief of staff. And I decided that his startup company was not MY deal. When should a company get a COO then?

Startup 325

Startup Technical Review Sales Report 325

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 24, 2019

Based on my own experience in business over the years, and current coaching efforts, I recommend a focus on the following strategies and attributes: Make your customer the center of everything you do. Now customers judge you by your visibility to them at public forums, your writing, videos, and what other public figures say.

Customer 93

Customer Custom IBM IBM 93

InfoChachkie

FEBRUARY 20, 2012

Like Steve Jobs, Michael Dell and Larry Ellison, he is one of the few startup Founders who remained at the helm of their respective companies throughout their entire maturation process. Effective startup leaders allow ideas to percolate from within their company, rather than attempting to monopolize the ideation process.

Tips 275

Tips Startup IP Santa Barbara 275

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 1, 2016

That’s why it’s important to revisit your company’s mission from time-to-time. We try to hire deeply analytical associates to can help companies problem solve and who make us better investors. Take some time to reflect on how well defined you believe your company’s sense of purpose is.

Startup 150

Startup Coach Course Invest 150

socalTECH

MARCH 28, 2019

I was previously at Salesforce Ventures for almost four years, focused on investments in companies in the enterprise software space which were strategic to Salesforce. I got started in investment banking, focused on helping medical companies buy technology companies, and then later in the enterprise space and in the cloud.

Capital 162

Capital Entrepreneur Invest Artificial Inteligence 162

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 1, 2010

A good early-stage CEO needs to be accessible, to be accountable for producing results and should be establishing the cultural norms of the company through direct leadership at all levels. But issues do arise as your company grows. I see two common mistakes in companies (not just in startups, in fact).

Startup 308

Startup CTO Coach Technical Review CTO Hire 308

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 25, 2010

This is an updated post from my ongoing series on Startup Advice that I learned from founding two companies. . It is never as rewarding when you’re the coach (but coaching has many other benefits. Last year I lost a deal in a company that I wanted to invest in and that I thought I should have won. I HATE LOSING.

Outsource Development 333

Outsource Development Software Review Technical Review News 333

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 25, 2010

This is an updated post from my ongoing series on Startup Advice that I learned from founding two companies. . It is never as rewarding when you’re the coach (but coaching has many other benefits. Last year I lost a deal in a company that I wanted to invest in and that I thought I should have won. I HATE LOSING.

Outsource Development 328

Outsource Development Software Review Technical Review News 328

Berkonomics

SEPTEMBER 6, 2010

They write into their investment documents that they will occupy a seat on the board for as long as they are invested in the company, thinking of this as a protection for their investment and tool for them to influence growth. Even venture capitalists who sit on boards where they have significant investments often forget this point.

Class 179

Class Coach Invest Sales 179

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2018

When you raise money from investors you produce information that you are told they want and care about: A fund-raising deck that articulates your company strategy, plans, team, market, competitors and so forth. VCs (and LPs) have a vested interest in having more data, whether they want to invest in your company / firm or not.

Funding 336

Funding Venture Capital Startup Email 336

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2013

Growth like this, this early in a company’s lifecycle rarely happens. He did it yesterday, “Mark, I’m going to write a blog post following on from your VC’s aren’t dumb. VCs crave the ability to help portfolio companies. He is very pleasant when he calls and writes. Rob is driven to learn.

Tips 365

Tips Email Venture Capital CTO Coach 365

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 4, 2013

Because entrepreneurs often went to lawyers at their earliest stages to get their company registration done. I tapped my friends at big tech companies (Salesforce, Google, Oracle). The only way for a company to be overvalued is if there’s someone willing to pay that price. We are judging how well you are coached on stage.

Startup 361

Startup Venture Capital Pricing Technical Review 361

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 9, 2013

I hear many executives and professionals in large corporations talking about their dream of jumping ship, and starting their own company. Executives in an enterprise usually don’t write their own memos, contracts, and certainly don’t schedule their own meetings. In a startup, that luxury isn’t possible, so the work suffers.

Entrepreneur 95

Entrepreneur Startup Training Course 95

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 20, 2011

One example is that they introduced a program where their founders can pool together shares from their company and exchange them for a small portfolio of other First Round Capital companies. As a courtesy if you enjoyed his write-up please check out his startup company, ChannelStack. I'm a huge fan of this innovation.

Capital 284

Capital Venture Capital Technical Review Startup 284

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 25, 2013

In the original version of his post, Andy writes. You invest across many funds just as VCs invest across many companies. Let’s look at some great companies. Is it right that VCs had no involvement in persuading Sheryl Sandberg to join the fledgling company? And Coach Campbell. Not according to my sources.

Venture Capital 374

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Invest Funding 374

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 18, 2012

I plan to write about it early next year when we’re all through. He shut down his company gracefully and even thought it must have felt like a crap sandwich doing so I’ll bet his reputation is still solid with his backers. Early on in my first company I had an employee ask if it was a good time to buy a home.

Blogging 420

Blogging Press Entrepreneur Venture Capital 420

Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 3, 2010

This insight follows closely the conclusions from the previous declaration, that professional investors negotiate tough terms, from provisions of control over asset acquisition, eventual sale of the company, future investments, forced co-sale when others attempt to sell their shares and more.

Resource 149

Resource Startup Invest Entrepreneur 149

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 4, 2013

Because entrepreneurs often went to lawyers at their earliest stages to get their company registration done. I tapped my friends at big tech companies (Salesforce, Google, Oracle). The only way for a company to be overvalued is if there’s someone willing to pay that price. I spent time on college campuses. I attended events.

Venture Capital 347

Venture Capital Startup Pricing Invest 347

Frank Addante

JUNE 25, 2015

It is so easy to get caught up in the day to day monotony and slowly drift away from the very mindset that is the foundation of our company. Be your best: John Wooden was one of the greatest coaches in American sports history. As head coach at UCLA he won ten NCAA national championships in a 12-year period.

Coach 40

Coach Startup Ideas UCLA 40

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 6, 2016

For leaders, this is often evident in the willingness to be coached, by outside experts or by your own team. This is the self-reinforcing circle of excellence every company needs for success. Bill Gates of Microsoft, even late in his career, wasn’t afraid to jump in and write some code to illustrate a point.

Examples 76

Examples Startup Coach Patents 76

Frank Addante

JUNE 25, 2015

It is so easy to get caught up in the day to day monotony and slowly drift away from the very mindset that is the foundation of our company. Be your best: John Wooden was one of the greatest coaches in American sports history. As head coach at UCLA he won ten NCAA national championships in a 12-year period.

Coach 40

Coach Startup Ideas UCLA 40

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 15, 2009

This is part of my ongoing series on Start-up Lessons that I learned from founding two companies. It is never as rewarding when you’re the coach (but coaching has many other benefits ;-). In the 2003/04 timefame I was living in the UK and running my first company. I HATE LOSING. I hate it. It chaps my hide.

Startup 151

Startup Outsource Development Software Review Technical Review 151

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 4, 2011

I hear many executives and professionals in large corporations talking about their dream of jumping ship, and starting their own company. Executives in an enterprise usually don’t write their own memos, contracts, and certainly don’t schedule their own meetings. In a startup, that luxury isn’t possible, so the work suffers.

Startup 103

Startup Training Course Entrepreneur 103

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 19, 2015

I’ve tried over the years to write many times about the realism of the downsides of being an entrepreneur because there is a complete cognitive dissidence between what you read about yourself in the press and what you feel internally about where you’re at in the journey. Advisors / Coaches / Mentors.

Press 150

Press Venture Capital Startup Entrepreneur 150

Tech.Co

SEPTEMBER 21, 2015

Jon Sperry – a highly respected dialect coach who has worked with Harvey Keitel, Sofia Vergara, and Russell Crowe – taught a Stage 32 class that was attended by members from over 40 different countries. In the past year alone the company has amassed over 1k hours of educational content and generated over $1 million.

Education 82

Education Entertainment Class Manhattan Beach 82