Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 11, 2011

If you want a very quick primer on all the stuff nobody ever tells you about raising venture capital check out this video where Mark Jeffrey & I break it down on This Week in VC. A summary of what we discussed is below: Not 100% in order of the video, but close. Will a VC sign an NDA (non-disclosure agreement)?

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Venture Capital Slides Doc Startup 340

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

Most sophisticated investors ignore them, focusing their attention on an entrepreneur's pitch and presentation materials, financial forecast and executive summary. As noted in Entrepreneurs Shouldn't Pitch Their Ideas To Venture Capitalists , most sophisticated investors place their bets on people rather than opportunities.

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Venture Capital Summary Technical Review Template 211

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. I wrote the summary notes in this blog post. I funded them 8 weeks later.

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Venture Capital Slides Technical Advisors Startup 299

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 19, 2010

billion invested during the same three-month period in 2009, according to the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA). There is no doubt that many VCs are still holding onto their cash while they wait for conditions to improve — a lemming-like mindset of cash conservation that won’t help pull us out of the downturn.

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Venture Capital Capital Startup Summary 90

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 7, 2013

Based on the final report for 2012 from Thomson Reuters and the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), it may appear that IPOs are back as a viable startup exit strategy. For the full year 2012, venture-backed initial public offerings raised $21.5 Identify the right people in the right venture firms.

Venture Capital 101

Venture Capital Startup Capital Seed Funding 101

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 1, 2016

VCs strangely never seem to weigh in on other VC funds. As an entrepreneur I never really knew what to make of VC return data. But more importantly, VC returns are notoriously hard to measure at one point in time. Do they win competitive deals? Let me offer you an insider’s take. Can that really work?” Absolutely.

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Venture Capital Invest Funding Competition 264

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 14, 2018

I know all of this because every VC knows this because we’ve all either funded companies that have marketing technology or we’ve seen a pitch with a company that does this. If you haven’t read the other VC fund-raising posts I’ve done as part of this series you can find the whole outline and this first in the series here.]

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Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 24, 2011

I just read the Q1 2011 report from CB Insights , which shows venture capital is back. Back to VCs, Silicon Valley venture capital firms are still the most active. So what can you do to get to the head of the venture capital investment queue? Overall, investors put $7.5 That represents a $1.5

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Venture Capital Startup Capital Seed Funding 93

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 11, 2011

All of that are in this week’s episode of This Week in VC. Summary notes, as always, provide below. I brought up the fact that I find many larger companies abusing the patent system to slow down smaller competitors which is actually anti competitive. To say he has had an impact on the web would be an understatement.

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Competition Idealab Product CitySearch 350

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 22, 2010

Back in 1999 when I first raised venture capital I had zero knowledge of what a fair term sheet looked like or how to value my company. Due to competitive markets we ended up with a pretty good term sheet until we needed to raise money in April 2001 and then we got completely screwed. Investors own 25%, the founders own 75%.

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Venture Capital Pricing Startup Funding 405

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 14, 2010

Back to VCs, Silicon Valley venture capital firms are still the most active. So what can you do to get to the head of the venture capital investment queue? Mass mailing your business plan to every VC in the book won’t get you any credibility or traction. Massachusetts and NY states also have high numbers.

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Venture Capital Capital Startup Invest 49

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 12, 2011

He and I once took different sides of an debate about whether “VC signaling&# in early-stage deals is a serious problem or not. So it was fun to turn the cameras on him for 45 minutes for a special “NY edition of This Week in VC&# and hearing his views. I’ve also found him to not be dogmatic either. West Coast”).

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Technical Review Venture Capital Startup Artificial Inteligence 281

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 16, 2012

And of course I’ve sat on the other side of the table: As a VC. This is not just the perspective of a VC although I can’t say I have zero VC bias. This is not just the perspective of a VC although I can’t say I have zero VC bias. Executive Summary. Fund raising is bloody hard. Why buy me?

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Develop Development Funding Venture Capital 366

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. kind of like a board for a VC firm). I practice what I preach.

Startup 269

Startup Venture Capital Layoffs Resource 269

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 24, 2022

The bad news is that it’s still a jungle fight for survival for entrepreneurs of all ages and demographics, with over 80 percent not having access to bank loans or venture capital. Every startup needs a sustainable competitive advantage. If you want to be feared. Money is no substitute for these other treasures.

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Startup News Framework Outsource 112

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 23, 2017

The perverse nature of raising capital is that “no’s” almost always precede “yeses” because it’s very easy for a VC to tell you that you’re not a good fit without doing any real work to evaluate your company so you hear “no” far before others start doing more work. The best VCs follow up but then so, too, to the best entrepreneurs.

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Funding Venture Capital Startup Course 238

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 3, 2013

Watch the 30-minute interview to hear why but summary notes below. We also spoke about technology systems in the perspective of global competition. He spoke about ROCE (return on capital employed). .” Venture Capital. We spoke about the disruption of VC through crowd funding. Neither does Clayton.

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Venture Capital Education Offshore Outsource Development 403

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.

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Venture Capital Startup Email News 277

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 22, 2015

announced they raised $9 million from Sequoia , arguably the best venture capital firm that exists. But the bigger truth is the competition is important. ” In summary: The competitors are the incumbents. Healthy competition keeps you on your toes. This morning Clutter.io Congratulations.

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Funding Competition Marketing Summary 150

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2011

I was saying that I was happy it was all out in the open because I felt at least everybody could now understand the issues & opportunities from the perspectives of angels, entrepreneurs and VCs. Let’s be clear: AngelList doesn’t scare a single VC I know. But it’s not cutting VCs out. It is additive.

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Startup Venture Capital Blogging Summary 292

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 21, 2020

I support their summary of the seven capital assets that are the core required to create a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem, and produce real economic value for your startup and the rest of us: Intellectual capital – ideas, information, technologies. Financial capital – revenue, equity, debt, funding.

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Resource Startup Capital Mentor 131

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2020

with $15 million to Prove It The venture capital world has started firing up a few cylinders again and looking for businesses that it believes will help us all succeed in ways that resonate with new ways of working as we begin to return to work. Bevy is Emerging as a Leader in Software for Building Virtual Communities?—?with

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Software Startup Tool Platform 234

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 24, 2019

The bad news is that it’s still a jungle fight for survival for entrepreneurs of all ages and demographics, with over 80 percent not having access to bank loans or venture capital. Every startup needs a sustainable competitive advantage. If you want to be feared. Money is no substitute for these other treasures.

Startup 94

Startup News Framework Outsource 94

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

You have to understand whether they’re likely to yield revenue growth in the near term OR whether you have access to cheap enough capital to fund your losses until your investments pay off. Exec Summary: Most companies (98+%) in the world (even tech startups) should be very profit focused. ” Harsh, but reality.

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Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 418

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 31, 2012

I got an email recently from my friend & fellow VC, Jeff Bussgang from Flybridge Capital Partners in Boston. My list of excuses includes: product, pricing, competition and lack of sales support. This includes presentations, ROI calculators, competitive analyses and so forth. In Summary.

Startup 319

Startup Sales Course Competition 319

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2016

Valuing any company can be difficult because it requires a degree of forecasting future growth & competition and ultimately the profits of the organization. What is the True Sentiment of VCs? Brad was openly writing about this and it felt like he was giving the VC playbook away for free! Now for every dollar a VC raises $2.50

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Startup Company Companies Venture Capital 150

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 2, 2014

We feel pressure to hit milestones for a variety of reasons: Investor presentations, conference demos, customer sales meetings, competitive pressures, a need to drive revenue, business development commitments – whatever. In summary – I have been involved with software development for 25 years.

Software 344

Software Startup Design Course 344

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 2, 2012

Many VC firms and investment banks receive as many as ten plans per day, so it’s hard to get them salivating. Send the plan without a summary. An Executive Summary is a one page elevator pitch of the whole plan (may be separate from the plan), which gives an investor a net perspective on the key business parameters.

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Summary Technical Review .Net Ideas 97

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

Venture Capital is a tricky industry. Many questioned whether it could survive under the fail whale, inevitable competition from Facebook, founder fighting, fights with 3rd-party developers let alone become a revolutionary business that could make money. Far from it. Lots of it.

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Funding Technical Review Ideas Startup 362

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 11, 2016

These are required to show that you have a defensible competitive advantage or at least a barrier to entry. Prepare an executive summary and investor presentation. Angel investors expect to review a short executive summary before booking time to hear an investor presentation or taking the time to analyze a full business plan.

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Angel Startup Technical Review Social Media 65

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2011

Many VC firms and investment banks receive as many as ten plans per day, so it’s hard to get them salivating. Send the plan without a summary. An Executive Summary is a one page elevator pitch of the whole plan (may be separate from the plan), which gives an investor a net perspective on the key business parameters.

Summary 97

Summary Technical Review .Net Ideas 97

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 30, 2010

You then get a big VC to invest at a high price and you realize that means your angels are going to be unhappy with how much they own of your company after the financing relative to what they THOUGHT they would own. Simple: he/she feels the deal is “hot&# and therefore competitive.

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Equity Pricing Venture Capital Entrepreneur 319

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. VCs (invest other people’s money by raising funds from institutional sources).

Startup 40

Startup Venture Capital Equity Funding 40

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 9, 2015

Here is a summary of the top four wrong reasons I see for looking for investors: A desire to start with an impressive infrastructure. Organic growth at this stage may be non-competitive. If one of the top venture-capital firms invests in your startup, your potential for success will be boosted by the association.

Startup 101

Startup Entrepreneur Equity Summary 101

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 1, 2010

This applies to both founders and to VC’s that work with them. By going on sales calls you pick up directly the feedback of what customers want and also what they’re telling you about competition. But I knew that to be a good decision maker I needed first hand knowledge rather than just a summary from my CTO.

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Startup CTO Coach Technical Review CTO Hire 308

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 6, 2015

Assume competition and assume within the buying organization you have enemies. Let me give you another simple example from my experience as a VC at Upfront Ventures. When we went to raise funds we faced lots of competition as there are of course many other VC funds in the country. Take nothing for granted.

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Sales SaaS Startup Venture Capital 150

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 19, 2011

Or read the quick, informative summary below the image! What better than to have capital from somebody who has actually done it in the trenches? Matt’s commitment to re-investing in tech startups is reminiscent to this great Fred Wilson post of “recycling capital. &#. Here’s a summary of our interview.

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