Berkonomics

MAY 23, 2024

You do not pay professional investors who are serving on behalf of an investment company or VC and paid by that company. How about companies without intent to sell or IPO in future? Email readers, continue here…] For lifestyle companies or later stage companies, board members should be paid on a per-meeting basis in cash.

Venture Capital 156

Venture Capital Pricing Equity Invest 156

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 28, 2011

In this three-part series I will explore the ways that the Venture Capital industry has changed over the past 5 years that I would argue are a direct result of changes in the software industry, not the other way around. I will argue that LPs who invest in VC funds will also need to adjust a bit as well. Enter Amazon.

Venture Capital 334

Venture Capital Software Capital Startup 334

Berkonomics

JANUARY 6, 2022

Email readers, continue here…] Take a situation where the VC investors finally see the chance of a return after ten years, with participating preferred and fifty percent of the ownership after several rounds. The post VC investors: Don’t be greedy even if you can. first appeared on BERKONOMICS.

Venture Capital 156

Venture Capital Sales Pricing Equity 156

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

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 21, 2010

Before jumping into the post I wanted to point out one thing about doing TWiVC and posting my notes here on BSOTT. In writing anything positive about any of the companies I’m not suggesting that it means that I prefer them to any of their competitors. Finally, a lot of people asking me about typos on my blog.

Venture Capital 265

Venture Capital Capital Email Blogging 265

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 22, 2012

And in most cases I would heed Fred Wilson’s advice about the “double opt-in” email for intros – where you ask for permission before green-lighting an unsolicited introductions. I’ve commented to several of them (so, no, I’m not talking about YOU. I give introductions frequently. The Details.

Email 359

Email Venture Capital Startup Technical Review 359

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2011

I’ve taken to saying, “Email is our personal to-do list that anybody adds to – whether they know us or not.” about their marathon 4-hour sessions to get to zero inbox or somebody else claiming email bankruptcy ( definition if you don’t know it already ). I have taken to limiting my outbound email.

Email 314

Email Product Startup Writing 314

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 15, 2012

One the most frequent questions asked of me by entrepreneurs is, "How can I become a Venture Capitalist?" The inquiry is common because being a VC is (to an entrepreneur, at least) a sexy job. I define a "VC" as, "a professional investor who deploys third-party funds into relatively early-stage companies." Microscopic Industry.

Venture Capital 242

Venture Capital Technical Review Invest RSS 242

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2014

I was having dinner with a friend last night and we were chatting about venture capital and a bit about what I’ve learned. 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%). I don’t.

Venture Capital 374

Venture Capital Invest Press Startup 374

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 11, 2010

I closed one deal (I’ll talk about that soon) and issued one term sheet (I hope to talk about that soon, we’ll see!). But what has really killed me is email. I live in email hell. And for the last few evenings I decided to get through email rather than blog. Email is a chore.

Email 265

Email Startup Writing Blogging 265

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.

Venture Capital 309

Venture Capital Guide Startup Technical Review 309

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 14, 2010

I was recently speaking with some founders about their fund raising process. They had received a term sheet from a VC and were wondering whether to work with this firm. I often tell people that raising venture capital is more difficult than getting married. Not so in venture capital. After Sept 11th?

Venture Capital 298

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Capital Help 298

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 20, 2012

Now, I’m pretty on the record that being an entrepreneur is about being great at The Do. I’ve talked in the past about how I manage my own creative process. I zone out and think about how things could be different. Frankly, I think venture capital is that way, too. Startups Are for Doers.

Venture Capital 400

Venture Capital Conference Ideas Entrepreneur 400

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 29, 2010

I’m often asked by people, “how do I get into VC?&# Well, I know 3-4 VC jobs that are publicly available. Well, aside from it showing discipline and intelligence – we always get flooded with emails when we recruit and when you have to manage volume you need to go for obvious filters. What is the timeframe?

Venture Capital 290

Venture Capital Technical Review GRP Partners Email 290

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). Why do VCs send generic outbound emails like this?

Venture Capital 294

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Email Equity 294

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 28, 2010

This was the first episode where Jason wasn’t on the show, which gave me the chance to have another VC on the show to discuss deals. Rustic Canyon is an LA-based, but geography-agnostic VC that is currently investing from a $200 million fund. On the show I’ll I could get him to talk about was his travels on Air Force One.

Venture Capital 270

Venture Capital Capital Rustic Canyon Mobile 270

Berkonomics

AUGUST 10, 2023

Setting your expectations Taking in angel or venture money requires a setting of an entrepreneur’s expectations that may come as a shock at least at first. There is no middle ground. Resetting your priorities Taking money from these sources involves resetting priorities over time. The newest investor has the power.

Venture Capital 292

Venture Capital Sales Invest Class 292

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 19, 2020

Laurent Grill, one of the investors at Luma Launch (which is the corporate investment arm of the film studio Luma Pictures), has been working in the Los Angeles venture community building and backing startups for about a decade.

Venture Capital 135

Venture Capital Capital Technical Review Los Angeles 135

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 8, 2012

As noted in 6 Steps To Raising Venture Capital , as you accomplish your previously communicated milestones, send your target VCs a brief email update (think eye-candy graphics and charts, not dense text). I don't tweet about unicorns, NBA Memes or photos of food I am about to devour - just startup stuff. .

Venture Capital 265

Venture Capital RSS Customer Custom 265

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 14, 2010

If you want to raise venture capital more easily the advice could be quite practical and counter-intuitive. Many companies that are raising B or C venture capital rounds right now raised their initial money in 2005-2008. Not so VC. It is 2010. If you need to cut me out too, that’s fine. So what happens?

Venture Capital 289

Venture Capital Capital Startup Pricing 289

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 18, 2016

Our last thoughts on the VC funding markets heading into 2016 was published here and I followed up with a little more context on the resetting of the venture industry , some thoughts on how startups are valued and how to think about burn rates at startups. VC survey data 2016 from Mark Suster.

Funding 150

Funding Venture Capital Marketing Writing 150

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 31, 2012

If you haven’t read Adam Lashinsky’s awesome new book about Apple , you should. It takes on many of the lessons MBA programs and Corporate America have been teaching about business for the past 50+ years and questions whether lessons from Apple might be more applicable in thinking about the future. Specifically, 1.

Startup 319

Startup Sales Course Competition 319

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 9, 2014

I have blogged about some of the downside consequences of the changes and the private information I have says the consequences are much worse than is reported in the press since few people publicly talk about. Let me be clear about this. Does he blog about venture capital and try to advise entrepreneurs?

Venture Capital 352

Venture Capital Seed Funding Email Blogging 352

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 29, 2014

I’ve talked before about the need to get rid of “ that negative chip on your shoulder ” as it won’t help you in business. They get pissed off if a senior executive at Google doesn’t take a meeting with them, if people are late to their meetings or if they have emails that are unreturned.

Venture Capital 389

Venture Capital Email Startup Conference 389

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 23, 2010

We all know about AngelGate by now. Here’s what you need to know… As a funny coincidence I happend to have written about the topic of collusion 3 weeks prior to the fateful dinner. But the majority of VCs & Angels all speak. I asked every VC not to call Salesforce. How did VCs respond?

Pricing 292

Pricing Entrepreneur Technical Review Venture Capital 292

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 28, 2010

One of things I’ve loved the most about doing now 11 weeks of This Week in VC is a chance to have an hour-long recorded conversation with investors. And in my interviews with many VCs I feel that people can watch these and get to know the VC’s as human beings a bit better. So how did Mike get into VC?

Venture Capital 230

Venture Capital Blogging Startup Fandango 230

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 10, 2016

My partner Greg Bettinelli (worth following on Twitter) was recently named by The LA Business Journal as the “ Top deal maker in Los Angeles in Venture Capital.” 7 times out of 10 he knows what’s going on before I do and is either slipping a paper on my desk, texting me or emailing me something about to go down.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Journal Invest Santa Monica 150

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. Email readers, continue here…] It is the board, made up of individual members, that is responsible for the care and maintenance of the corporate person.

Class 282

Class Coach Invest Sales 282

Berkonomics

JANUARY 25, 2024

Everyone, even seasoned CEO’s can use a good coach who knows how to bring out the best in a person, is knowledgeable about the business process, and who has an extended list of relationships to call upon to fill needs that become obvious in the coaching process. Business coaches come in all sizes and shapes. It is worth asking.

Coach 156

Coach Organization Resource Equity 156

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 30, 2011

But the ground we covered was awesome for anybody wanting to know more about sales. how should a VC do due diligence on sales operations? should you email before you call? LinkedIn (we talked about some tricks we use in LinkedIn). 36:00 Sales people only care about money. When & Whom should you hire?

Software Review 300

Software Review Sales Tips Help 300

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.

Venture Capital 255

Venture Capital Marketing Startup Social Network 255

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 8, 2011

We have significant VC commitments (listed below) – every entering company will get $50,000 in funding, mentorship from top VCs and successful entrepreneurs plus free office space. To provide an opportunity for VCs and senior executives to engage with the community by giving back rather than just attending more cocktail parties.

Venture Capital 287

Venture Capital Funding Startup GRP Partners 287

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2018

If you haven’t yet heard about Female Founder Office Hours it is an initiative you should be aware of whether you’re male, female or any other gender identify. For the LA event, for example, they will not only have a selection of great LA VCs but also 10+ senior VC women from the SF Bay Area will be coming down for it.

Venture Capital 256

Venture Capital Examples Screening Help 256

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.

Venture Capital 95

Venture Capital Capital Startup Funding 95

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 7, 2013

When Ethan was considering leaving Google we talked about it. And I certainly didn’t want him having to trapse up-and-down Sand Hill Road informing every VC of his next idea. What do we like about OpenTable? ” So Ethan went to work as a product manager at Google Video. MyTime personally vets each merchant.

CTO Coach 359

CTO Coach Google CTO Hire Yammer 359

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 8, 2009

I came across this blog post about getting a computer science degree as the best degree for getting into venture capital or working at a VC-backed start up. I just completed an exercise where I went out to hire a new associate for my VC firm, GRP Partners. What about strategy? THE FIVE C’S.

Startup 337

Startup Venture Capital Study Course 337

socalTECH

OCTOBER 23, 2012

One of the biggest complaints that local entrepreneurs have with Los Angeles has been a dearth of local sources of venture capital. However, the recent surge in startup activity has attracted a lot more capital into the area, including a significant amount of capital from LA's latest fund: Karlin Ventures (www.karlinvc.com).

Funding 253

Funding Startup Invest Commerce 253