Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 25, 2019

Here are some observations I have from this exposure: If a company moves from strength-to-strength with predictable outcomes, easy financings, low staff turn-over, limited competitive threats then the composition of the board probably doesn’t matter as much. In the best cases boards come together to help the company get through its trough?—?in

Startup 269

Startup Venture Capital Layoffs Resource 269

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 16, 2012

I’ve raised money as a “hot company” and I’ve raised capital when no one would return my phone calls. I raised money as an entrepreneur, like you, in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2005 for two different companies. And of course I’ve sat on the other side of the table: As a VC. Executive Summary.

Develop 366

Develop Development Funding Venture Capital 366

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. So what does a VC do when he or she isn’t ready to say “no” or perhaps might like to talk with you in a year but not now?

Funding 336

Funding Venture Capital Startup Email 336

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 25, 2015

Last night I wrote a post about how the fall in the stock market over a 3-day period may affect the venture capital markets. If you’re an entrepreneur or VC who wants somebody else’s view on that you should read it. Let me give you the quick summary of what I said yesterday: Public markets affect venture funding.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Startup Marketing Summary 150

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 14, 2014

Companies were getting funded more easily and many more companies were actually being created. Throughout all of these years I was a full-time VC so Launchpad really came out of evenings and weekends for me. Throughout all of these years I was a full-time VC so Launchpad really came out of evenings and weekends for me.

Venture Capital 290

Venture Capital Startup Idealab Funding 290

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

Seed Funding 298

Seed Funding Funding Venture Capital GRP Partners 298

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 25, 2011

This thinking is largely driven by the venture capital industry (and subsequently Wall Street) who are in search of high margin, highly scalable businesses. It’s nearly impossible to get a services company financed by VCs. And stop effing around trying to create a product company.&#. But it might not.

Services 332

Services Venture Capital IP Startup 332

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 17, 2010

We have an abundance of ethnicities, culinary options, music and culture. We have many seasoned entrepreneurs who have built successful companies here and made a lot of money for investors and themselves. But we have a great city for building technology companies. Go on, have a bit of fun down memory lane!).

Company 290

Company Companies Technology Startup 290

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 20, 2009

This is part of my ongoing series, “ Pitching a VC.&# Getting a meeting with a prominent angel or VC is difficult enough. Some advice on how to do that was covered in this link – Getting Access to a VC. If you haven’t read how to build VC relationships and demonstrate traction make sure to read it.

Venture Capital 277

Venture Capital Startup Email News 277

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 8, 2014

Not all of these products & companies came from Silicon Valley but the overwhelming majority did. Changes in the Software World & in Venture Capital. But notably you had the following changes: Horizontally scalable computing & storage systems, which meant you required less capital up front for hardware.

Startup 390

Startup Venture Capital Capital Funding 390

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2013

You took the risk to start your company. ” Your VC friends have been egging you on. Startups have to be optimists because no rational person would actually believe you could build Uber into the amazing company that it is today. The don’t understand VC liquidation preferences or multiple return expectations.

Startup 417

Startup Course Venture Capital Writing 417

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 30, 2010

I’m very pleased today to announce that I invested, on behalf of GRP Partners, in Burstly alongside Rincon Venture Partners , an early stage VC in Southern California whith whom we love to work (and were our co-investors on RingRevenue ). I’ll explain in detail below. He knows the ad management and ad network businesses.

Mobile 282

Mobile Invest Company Companies 282

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 21, 2010

VC Pitch Decks. The great thing about the VC pitch deck is that you can have 30 slides. If a VC only read your deck that would be fine but we’re no different than recruiters – we get more paperwork than we can process. It follows the same rule as with comma’s, “ when in doubt, leave it out.&# WIDLIO.

Slides 346

Slides Software Review Blogging Venture Capital 346

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 7, 2011

In today’s economy it is counter productive because the best employees have options.” I recently was reviewing a press release for a company in which I’m an investor. Of course I can’t write every press release for the company nor would I want to. VC Pitches. In Summary. You get argued with.

Press 337

Press Venture Capital Doc Summary 337

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 14, 2009

This is part of my ongoing series Pitching a VC. Great companies are built by having great products. Market validation – This one is optional but important. One great company, AppFolio , filmed all of this user interaction and made the DVD available to me. They might be as hard as raising VC.

Angel 291

Angel Funding Venture Capital Startup 291

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 13, 2011

I know with a title like that I’m going to subject myself to people thinking I’m just being a grumpy, exclusive VC. I intro’d him to the COO of a growing tech company about maybe working together. And given that I travel enough and have dinners with portfolio companies, etc. That’s not the point.

Venture Capital 397

Venture Capital Startup Email Networking 397

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 26, 2015

Here is a summary of the key terms to expect on the term sheet, or the contract between the founder and investor: Consideration given for the money invested. This is a loan with an option to convert to equity at a later date. Startup founders should insist on this option for themselves, and allow it for major investors.

Demand 105

Demand Startup Equity Invest 105

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 19, 2011

And yes, VC’s, too. They have a wide set of existing relationships, they have teams of junior staff that cull databases (or increasing pile through LinkedIn), they are skilled in approaching prospective talent and they can “pre sell&# your company to get the recruit to the table in the first place. Recruiters. You name it.

Venture Capital 319

Venture Capital Pricing Startup Outsource 319

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 30, 2010

But as an angel you’re usually not only taking risks but also helping the company succeed (through introductions, social proof, coaching, recruiting). So think about it – why should you be penalized for helping a company to get a higher valuation in the next round and thus your money gets converted at a higher price?

Equity 319

Equity Pricing Venture Capital Entrepreneur 319

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 23, 2015

Of course you could start your own company. As I talked about in “ Is it Time to Learn or Time to Earn ” – overwhelmingly the best economics go to those that start successful companies. Of course I’m not suggesting people shouldn’t start a company. For many people that’s the right answer.

Technical Review 150

Technical Review Startup Venture Capital IP 150

InfoChachkie

JUNE 27, 2011

In particular, Marcia Brown’s 1947 retelling of the classic French folktale Stone Soup is a veritable playbook for how to start a venture. Plot Summary. Your child will also learn the value of a tangible representation of a venture. It is flattering to be asked to share your insights and VCs are as subject to flattery as anyone.

Entrepreneur 270

Entrepreneur Startup Venture Capital Resource 270

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 14, 2010

Having raised too much money at my first company only to be buried under huge liquidation preferences and a huge board with divergent interests I have a bias for smaller funding rounds and capital efficiency. I believe that this creates more opportunities for both entrepreneurs (who have more exit options) and for investors.

Startup 343

Startup Examples Summary Venture Capital 343

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 19, 2011

Or read the quick, informative summary below the image! Don’t and you might make one catastrophic mistake that leaves you in the annals of Effed Companies. He is very hands-on and helpful – especially for any company looking into customer acquisition. Here’s a summary of our interview.

Acquisition 304

Acquisition Startup Custom Customer 304

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 2, 2015

What I love about my job is getting to see teams of super-early-stage companies develop ideas that while raw have potential to make an impact on the market. Clearly the founders and senior executives of a company are the most valuable resources and their time should be maximized on the most valuable tasks. Budgeting & Planning.

Outsource Development 150

Outsource Development Metrics Startup Sales 150

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 6, 2015

Once a buyer decides they want to make a purchase the first thing most companies will do is check out what other options are out there to make sure they’re not making an uninformed decisions. I built my first software company in the early days of SaaS and there were few models to go by. We are hands on.

Sales 150

Sales SaaS Startup Venture Capital 150

The Quigley Report

MARCH 4, 2008

When it comes to pay packages in Silicon Valley, everything is negotiable EXCEPT the length of stock option vesting. During the dot com glory days, it was possible for a venture backed company to be formed and go public in 4 years or even less. But what about for the company? That has to be 4 years. At least not any more.

Startup 40

Startup Clearstone Summary Venture Capital 40

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 8, 2010

I recently wrote a piece for Mashable on how to create a company blog. Since it’s already written (and since I promised not to republish on my blog other than a summary) if you’re interested please have a read over there. Summary notes and then I’ll extend: Should you blog? Now I’m a VC.

Blogging 286

Blogging Startup Writing Summary 286

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 1, 2011

Mike Yavonditte is the founder of the “super hot&# Hashable , a startup out of NYC that has been described as a “ Mint.com for Social Capital ” Mike sold his previous company, Quigo , to Aol for $340 Million. He is also an active angel investor in companies like Klout and Meetup. were doing. It’s an art.

Google 302

Google Startup Advertising Acquisition 302