Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2014

I started in 2007 with a thesis that my primary investment decision would be about the team (70%) and only afterward about the market opportunity (30%). Today we’re in a world where 10 accelerators are bombarding you with emails to meet their 10-15 companies. So that means 2-3 good investments a year and we are doing well.

Venture Capital 374

Venture Capital Invest Press Startup 374

Berkonomics

MAY 11, 2023

The quest for a great management team is not a fluke, but rather a result of backward looks at the failure rate from past investments by those same angel investors and venture capitalists. None of this is to say that an inexperienced entrepreneur cannot lead a great new business. And it’s a tough test at that.

Statistics 156

Statistics Startup Ideas Entrepreneur 156

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 22, 2010

Let me tell you the story of the first investment made by a newly organized formal group of angel investors. The young, eager entrepreneur agreed immediately and the business was launched, well funded and anticipating great profits. Email readers continue here.]

Entrepreneur 153

Entrepreneur Invest Startup Angel 153

Berkonomics

APRIL 7, 2022

How I didn’t follow my own advice. Years ago, I led a deal and invested in a company that looked like it had lots of promise to disrupt the women’s clothing industry with special algorithms and an online store. An entrepreneur makes a claim that stretches comfort. I had my doubts but led the deal anyway.

Design 156

Design Blogging Course Email 156

InfoChachkie

FEBRUARY 25, 2013

Someone on Quora recently asked me to answer the following question: Why Do Digital Entrepreneurs Hate MBAs? Tech entrepreneurs' consternation with MBAs does not rise to the level of loathing. As noted in Startup Advice From College Dropouts , successful entrepreneurs are often poor students. Look For MBA Outliers.

Entrepreneur 279

Entrepreneur Technical Review Case Study Class 279

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 12, 2010

I recently got an email from a friend who had been approached by a well known VC. He sent me an email asking whether the approach was real and whether he should take it seriously. Here is the email he received (reprinted without names with his permission). “Hi [entrepreneur], I hope all is well.

Venture Capital 294

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Email Equity 294

Berkonomics

AUGUST 5, 2021

Investment documents usually call for quarterly reporting by the company to the investors. Less than a quarter of companies receiving early-stage investment voluntarily fulfill this promise. Usually, one or more of the investors is placed on the board as a requirement of the investment documentation. Avoid late surprises.

Invest 156

Invest Study Email Activity 156

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 19, 2009

This is part of my new series on what makes an entrepreneur successful. I originally posted it on VentureHacks , one of my favorite websites for entrepreneurs. I started the series talking about what I consider the most important attribute of an entrepreneur : Tenacity. Many entrepreneurs struggle with their setbacks.

Entrepreneur 288

Entrepreneur Startup Slides Seed Funding 288

Berkonomics

MAY 13, 2021

important point of that book, which was written to prompt discussion between entrepreneurs, professional managers, and their boards of directors about issues that could unite them or strain the relationships between them. Money is what entrepreneurs expect from us. Relationships are often as valuable as an investment.

Resource 156

Resource Coach Activity Invest 156

Berkonomics

MARCH 16, 2017

The quest for a great management team is not a fluke, but rather a result of backward looks at the failure rate from past investments by those same angel investors and venture capitalists. That reality is a tough one for the professional investor, almost as tough as for those entrepreneurs who lose their businesses.

Statistics 243

Statistics Ideas Entrepreneur Startup 243

Berkonomics

JANUARY 6, 2022

First, the marginal exit event: Sometimes the end game or sale of the company is not a happy event for the early investors, including the entrepreneur or the founders. Promissory notes come before any equity, and most late equity investments come before early equity investments, even of the same class of security.

Venture Capital 156

Venture Capital Sales Pricing Equity 156

socalTECH

MAY 2, 2013

Despite a growing technology industry here in Southern California, local investors and entrepreneurs tell us there''s still a shortage of local, venture capital. Explain what kinds of investments TenOneTen makes or hopes to make? David Waxman: We''ve been making investments since the beginning of the year.

Invest 159

Invest Technology Startup Venture Capital 159

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 31, 2011

One of the most common questions that entrepreneurs who meet me for the first time like to ask is, “Do you miss being an entrepreneur? I thought I’d talk a bit about the differences I’ve experienced between being an entrepreneur & a VC – you know, from “both sides of the table.&#. On Being an Entrepreneur.

Entrepreneur 384

Entrepreneur Startup Venture Capital Ideas 384

InfoChachkie

JULY 21, 2016

The reality television show Shark Tank makes for entertaining content but many of its underlying messages are potentially detrimental to tech entrepreneurs. Thus, emerging entrepreneurs should parse fact from fantasy by watching the show with an experienced business pro. According to David S. Shark Tank Distortions.

Entrepreneur 100

Entrepreneur Entertainment Technical Review Ideas 100

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 15, 2022

As a startup mentor, I’m always amazed that some entrepreneurs seem to be an immediate hit with investors, while others struggle to get any attention at all. Some entrepreneurs love to talk and produce videos, but hate to write anything down. Others send investors email and business plans in all uppercase or no punctuation.

Entrepreneur 111

Entrepreneur Social Media Patents Mentor 111

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 15, 2023

Here are the key principles I recommend as an advisor to many entrepreneurs: Start your business in your own home. Don’t rationalize a big investment in basic equipment with long-term requirements thinking. Use your networking to get advice, but all jobs can be do-it-yourself. Barter services for access to required resources.

Equity 139

Equity Social Media Startup Summary 139

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 12, 2013

I see it on email even more. But less as a complaint and more as advice to younger networkers, the more you invest in relationships the more you will get when you need. ” In it he talked about how he gets daily emails asking for intros to Oprah (he does a lot of work with her) and his advice. Lots of asking.

Venture Capital 407

Venture Capital Press GRP Partners Blogging 407

InfoChachkie

JUNE 3, 2013

You can watch/listen to how John and Kyle turned their email newsletter into an international bestseller in the following 9-minute excerpt from John''s recent talk at UC Santa Barbara. an email) to about 35 people. If you want to be kept informed just send me an email and let me know that you''re in, and that was it.

Newsletter 233

Newsletter Startup Entrepreneur Writing 233

Berkonomics

JULY 5, 2018

In such a case, there is little advice here unless you think outside of your day-to-day profession and create a valuable leave-behind encasing your knowledge and experience that can be replicated and scaled to a large business – even if by others. See [link] or amazon for this and more from Dave. And I’d go further.

Class 226

Class Email Competition Entrepreneur 226

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 6, 2014

As a startup mentor, I’m always amazed that some entrepreneurs seem to be an immediate hit with investors, while others struggle to get any attention at all. Some entrepreneurs love to talk and produce videos, but hate to write anything down. Others send investors email and business plans in all uppercase or no punctuation.

Entrepreneur 107

Entrepreneur Angel Social Media Patents 107

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2018

This is part of a series of advice for founders who need to raise money from venture capitalists. The most important advice I could give you before you set out in fund raising mode is to understand that fund-raising a sales & marketing process and needs to be managed. an investment in your company.

Venture Capital 332

Venture Capital Funding Startup Sales 332

Tech Zulu Event

APRIL 1, 2014

The very mention of the word fundraising can illicit some powerful emotions among entrepreneurs. On one end, entrepreneurs who have (at minimum) built something customers love and are willing to pay for, and the other hand, investors who are looking for the very companies who fit that profile. From Finance to Crowd-Investing.

Invest 100

Invest Startup Technical Review Software Review 100

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 10, 2010

An entrepreneur recently sent me an @ reply message on Twitter asking for some help with a decision coming up in his business. I get these frequently via Twitter, Facebook or email. I provided my email address and he sent me a 688 word email (e.g. I felt I had committed so I read and responded to the email.

Help 332

Help Email Mentor Blogging 332

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 13, 2018

As a VC and former entrepreneur let me offer you some advice. Remember that the goal of an email to a VC or an introduction from a trusted mutual connection is simply to get you the meeting. whether they invest or not. This is part of a series on how to improve your fund raising game. The key is WHAT you send. Poppycock.

Venture Capital 261

Venture Capital Slides Email Startup 261

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 13, 2020

As a startup mentor, I’m always amazed that some entrepreneurs seem to be an immediate hit with investors, while others struggle to get any attention at all. Some entrepreneurs love to talk and produce videos, but hate to write anything down. Others send investors email and business plans in all uppercase or no punctuation.

Entrepreneur 126

Entrepreneur Social Media Patents Mentor 126

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 11, 2021

Early partners or co-founders often drop out of the picture early due to disagreements, and you forget about them, but they don’t forget about the verbal or email promises you made. Entrepreneurs often put off the hassle and the cost of filing a patent until first funding. Disclosing inventions before the patent application is filed.

Patents 145

Patents Legalzoom Invest Startup 145

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 7, 2015

” I found myself nodding through all of it with quotes like, “Seed investing is the status symbol of Silicon Valley,” said Sam Altman. One of my favorite entrepreneur-Twitterer weighed in, “You want to keep tapping into their collective intelligence so you keep saying ‘Thank you for the feedback’ and they keep sending it,” Ms.

Angel 150

Angel Startup Seed Funding Invest 150

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 16, 2013

I’m very excited to be finally be able to announce that this week we’ve added Sam Rosen to our ranks at GRP Partners in the role of entrepreneurs-in-residence – EIR. It’s the first EIR that we’ve had in the years that I’ve been with the firm and I hope will be the start of our investment in this program.

Startup 372

Startup Course Ideas Invest 372

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 18, 2020

Here are the key principles I recommend as an advisor to many entrepreneurs: Start your business in your own home. Don’t rationalize a big investment in basic equipment with long-term requirements thinking. Use your networking to get advice, but all jobs can be do-it-yourself. Barter services for access to required resources.

Social Media 169

Social Media Startup Equity Summary 169

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 14, 2014

If you follow the tech media you would be subject to a lot of narrative biases that are completely off base – and this includes the value of email and phone calls. It’s why the first company I ever invested in as a VC – Invoca – just announced a $20 million funding by Accel Partners. billion email accounts.

Email 339

Email SaaS Venture Capital Google 339

Berkonomics

JANUARY 5, 2012

And because you need their money, the temptation is to listen a bit too well, and take all of the advice thrown at you during your presentations and during due diligence and finally from the vantage point of a board seat. Email readers, continue here.] It is good to listen. After several months on the board, he spoke up. “I

Entrepreneur 136

Entrepreneur Venture Capital Course Startup 136

socalTECH

MARCH 16, 2017

We are going to write checks of between $100,000 and $500,000, and we are going to invest in what we are calling first institutional capital. Where are you planning making investments? Derek Norton: We're investing in Los Angeles, the Bay Area, and New York. Our investment thesis we refer to as the connected consumer.

Invest 145

Invest Funding Capital Startup 145

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 22, 2011

One of the most common questions that entrepreneurs who meet me for the first time like to ask is, “Do you miss being an entrepreneur? I thought I’d talk a bit about the differences I’ve experienced between being an entrepreneur & a VC – you know, from “both sides of the table.&#. On Being an Entrepreneur.

Entrepreneur 176

Entrepreneur Startup Venture Capital Ideas 176

InfoChachkie

JUNE 27, 2011

I recently answered the question “ What are good ways to raise your children to be entrepreneurs? ” I believe that you cannot teach someone to be an entrepreneur, but that you can teach entrepreneurs. More valuable, hands-on startup advice can be found in this slim volume than in the entire Harvard Business School library.

Entrepreneur 270

Entrepreneur Startup Venture Capital Resource 270

Berkonomics

MARCH 2, 2017

As an early stage investor, the first test for me is whether “my” entrepreneur is flexible in both the plan and execution of his or her vision (since from experience almost everything about a business plan changes over time), and whether s/he, no matter what age or experience, is coachable. Doctoral theses have been written on this subject.

Coach 120

Coach Entrepreneur Press Ideas 120

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 18, 2016

To do so we need entrepreneurs who can build companies that scale well in booming markets and also control costs appropriate in correcting markets. We also are dependent on money, advice and support of many of our friends & colleagues in the venture industry who co-invest with us in nearly every deal we do.

Funding 150

Funding Venture Capital Marketing Writing 150

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 29, 2010

We received so much positive feedback from our This Week in Venture Capital show walking through valuation calculations & term sheets that we decided to do a Q&A show this week to address topics that entrepreneurs want to learn about. on the entrepreneur side of the table) when I raised at too high of a price. This is wrong.

Venture Capital 282

Venture Capital Capital Startup Pricing 282