Both Sides of the Table
OCTOBER 11, 2016
Gregg Johnson, CEO of Invoca For the first 5 years or so after I became a VC I didn’t talk much about what I thought a VC should be excellent at since frankly I wasn’t sure. It’s easy to think the role of a VC is to have strong opinions about markets, trends, tech dynamics and so forth. The role of VC is sparring partner.
Both Sides of the Table
MAY 28, 2018
There’s a quick litmus-test conversation any early-stage VC will have with the founder and it’s one that you should be as prepared for as your elevator pitch. It goes something like this … VC: “How much money are you raising?” Founder: “$8–10 million” VC: “What’s your current burn rate?” A VC is looking for reasonableness.
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Both Sides of the Table
FEBRUARY 6, 2017
It was only a year ago that many in the Venture Capital industry were predicting that “winter was coming” and to be fair the author of this post was chief amongst them. Yet as we enter February 2017 the VC funding markets are booming, Snap, Inc has filed for its IPO, AppDynamics was just purchased for $3.7 Baidu alone raised $3.2
Both Sides of the Table
SEPTEMBER 18, 2014
On the phone … Me: So, you raised venture capital? Convertible notes have both features in them but for some reason entrepreneurs don’t understand it. It’s like we need a finance 101 course for entrepreneurs. It’s like we need a finance 101 course for entrepreneurs. We raised a seed round.
Both Sides of the Table
MAY 30, 2018
One of the hardest things about the fund-raising process for entrepreneurs is that you’re trying to raise money from people who have “asymmetric information.” VC firms see thousands of deals and have a refined sense of how the market is valuing deals because they get price signals across all of these deals. So why does a VC ask you?
Both Sides of the Table
JULY 25, 2011
tl;dr version: If you’re an entrepreneur or VC or will be working in this industry - buy this. When I first started as a startup CEO in 1999 there were no guides on raising venture capital. They are helpful, certainly, but often if you don’t know the right questions to ask you’ll be left unawares.
Both Sides of the Table
APRIL 21, 2020
Several years ago I made an appearance in a burgeoning new podcast called “20 Minute VC,” which by now needs no introduction. In the private markets it’s much harder to know and you’ll have VCs who don’t want to take “mark downs” so may not immediately encourage you to accept a new reality. What is the Most Important Role a VC Plays?
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