Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014

On the phone … Me: So, you raised venture capital? Me: When an investor signs a note with a cap they must assume they are willing to pay the cap or why would they invest? Me: So, who was willing to invest in that? Doesn’t their investment determine the price of the next round? We raised a seed round.

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Venture Capital Capital Pricing Doc 417

TechCrunch LA

OCTOBER 16, 2019

With a focus on female venture capitalists and founders, All Raise hosts an annual conference, several in-person and virtual fundraising workshops and networking sessions and, recently, the group began creating curated peer groups for investors. The idea was how do we hack the old boys’ network? It’s highly concentrated.

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Venture Capital Ideas Los Angeles Tool 184

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 13, 2013

I spent countless hours with VC firms, startups & LPs (the people who invest in VC firms). On my first real day back the first thought I have is that most entrepreneurs don’t manage their VC relationships as well as they could. It’s best to think of your VC partnership as a customer.

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Venture Capital Summary Organization Entrepreneur 309

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2018

If you truly believe that you, your company and your products are exceptional and your company will be valuable then you’re actually doing them a FAVOR by helping them invest in your startup. If you don’t believe in your bones that you’re amazing then it’s no wonder you don’t want to sell them on making the investment.”

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Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 8, 2010

I was on This Week in Venture Capital today with Jason Calacanis talking about the big VC deals at the moment and talking about the VC industry. Also in the video: - Is it a good idea for VC’s to pay stratospheric prices? - Tags: VC Industry. sites still dominate. Burstly ( Led by … me! -

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Venture Capital Capital SEO Yahoo 232

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2013

And I am often approached by entrepreneurs in cities which don’t have a vibrant VC community. Just ask the people of Portland, Seattle, Boulder, Iowa, Princeton, Dallas or countless other cities that don’t have enough venture capital. Thus, a desire to invest more locally where I think I have a competitive advantage.

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Venture Capital Marketing Santa Barbara Startup 365

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. 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.

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Venture Capital Slides Email Startup 261

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 26, 2015

One of the least understood parts of the venture capital industry and venture capital firms is how investment decisions actually get made. For anything that would be considered a normal investment for the partnership most firms try to make sure every partner has seen the deal and has a chance to weigh in.

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Venture Capital Capital Startup Invest 150

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 15, 2010

I was on This Week in Venture Capital (TWiVC) again this week with Jason Calacanis. Because GoTo.com was his idea. But bill is a BIG idea guy. I won’t belabor this – I have an investment in this space ( ad.ly ) so I’m biased. We had a big discussion about DST and why these investments.

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TechCrunch LA

SEPTEMBER 7, 2022

Kardashian is launching private equity firm SKKY Partners in conjunction with ex-Carlyle consumer head Jay Sammons to invest in business across consumer products, hospitality, luxury, digital commerce and media, the Wall Street Journal first reported. Serena Williams’ next act in venture capital is essential in this moment.

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Equity Journal Venture Capital Los Angeles 299

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 22, 2014

Picking a VC is hard. So I thought I’d write about out with what I would look for in a VC knowing what I know now and why. Most VCs are book smart. VCs should be more of a coach than proscriptively telling you what to do. You want a VC who will spar with you but then STFU and let you get on with things.

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Venture Capital Coach Writing SaaS 364

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 3, 2010

This is part of my ongoing series on Understanding Venture Capital. I recently wrote a blog post on understanding how the size and age of a venture capital fund might affect you when you’re raising money. I believe these VC funds have suffered some amount of reputation fall out. Let me explain: 1.

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Venture Capital Seed Funding Pricing Invest 265

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 2, 2023

Funding for commercial product prototypes is still R&D in the eyes of venture capital investors, but in business areas with large opportunities, this activity will catch the eyes of specialized angel investors. It’s still considered high risk for investment, since manufacturing and quality issues are likely.

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Resource Ideas Funding Research 102

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 12, 2013

I am thrilled to announce that we have added Hamet Watt as a Partner at Upfront Ventures. This is a big news day at Upfront Ventures. But as sweet as that success has been (we invested pre-revenue in a small team) today my even more important news was the further expansion of our partner ranks. The idea immediately resonated.

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Invest Venture Capital Startup News 340

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 8, 2014

And there’s none that makes me happier than to announce that Jordan Hudson has been promoted to a Principal at Upfront Ventures. What is a principal at a VC firm and how does it work at Upfront Ventures? ” Associates have different functions at different VCs. VC firm admin. Portfolio community building.

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Help Invest Venture Capital Technical Review 365

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 17, 2022

A major chunk of this activity is provided by the newer class of “super angels,” who often look more like micro-VCs, except that they are investing their own money. Institutional venture capital dispensed in 2021 reached record highs of almost $330 billion, up significantly from the last few years.

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Guide Venture Capital Funding Class 136

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. VC Financings: 1. I keep meaning to get him drunk to spill the stories.

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Venture Capital Capital Rustic Canyon Mobile 270

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 21, 2010

So it’s really hard to draw too many conclusions about whether the investment really makes sense because often you learn stuff in the fund raising about the future strategy of the company that might make you much more excited than somebody on the outside might be. Investors: Union Square (lead), Spark Capital (lead).

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Venture Capital Capital Email Blogging 265

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 16, 2017

Every tech or major news journal in the country is preparing to write their Snap, Inc (creators of Snapchat, Spectacles, etc) stories and many of them seem to want a “How does it feel to have missed this investment story.” I hear tons of ideas for early-stage apps. That’s a benefit for us as a local VC. I should have.

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Snapchat Invest Technical Review Dollar Shave Club 214

InfoChachkie

MAY 7, 2012

Although it is tempting to overly intellectualize modern-day venture capital, its underlying construct has been part of human society for thousands of years. Ideas are infinite, and in the absence of competent execution, they are worth nothing. Skilled entrepreneurs bring ideas and money together by building a bridge of trust.

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Ideas Venture Capital Education Entrepreneur 251

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 4, 2013

When I was new at Venture Capital I was trying to figure out the business. As a VC you want to feel like you have “proprietary sources” of deal flow. There is one source that was always problematic for me – intros from investment bankers. They are venture bankers not investment bankers.

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Venture Capital Startup Pricing Invest 347

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2010

One of the questions I’m most often asked is, “what’s it like being a VC?&# I’ve been a VC for nearly 3 years now. I always start my answer to this question with, “you’d have to be a pretty big baby to complain about being a VC.&# And the VC job has plenty of admin and minutiae.

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Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Entrepreneur 312

SoCal Tech Calendar

MAY 9, 2012

Tuesday, May 15, 2012 -- VC in the OC. The Largest Gathering of VC's in Southern California this Year. Where people and ideas come together with capital and resources to fuel Orange County's venture and innovation industries. Even more VCs have been added to VC in the OC 2012!

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Venture Capital Orange County Southern California Resource 100

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. No, the ideas aren’t conflicting. But take prompts from the VC.

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Venture Capital Slides Technical Advisors Startup 299

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 18, 2010

To see the video of This Week in VC click on this link. What a pleasure that I got to spend an hour talking with both Om Malik (whom I’ve always respected his views) and Paul Jozefak , a venture capital partner at Neuhaus Partners in Germany (and formerly the head of Europe for SAP Ventures).

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Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2009

I had previously raised VC in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2005. In case VC’s haven’t figured this out yet, shit rolls downhill. My blog linked to Brad Feld’s blog because I was so grateful for his series on term sheets and he was one of the biggest reasons that as a VC I felt compelled to blog. And covered we did.

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Venture Capital Blogging Startup Slides 274

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.

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Venture Capital Startup Capital Seed Funding 101

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 4, 2010

It was especially fun for me because we got the chance to talk about the VC industry and how entrepreneurs should think about the VC industry in addition to discussing deals. Clearstone currently invests out of a $200 million fund based in LA with offices in Menlo Park and in India. Segment Three: “VC Deals Funded this Week”.

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Clearstone Venture Capital ReachLocal Google 236

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 8, 2023

Most entrepreneurs have found by now one or more of the many popular crowdfunding sites , and have the name and contact information for at least one of the big venture capital firms. But many have no insight or connections to the ethereal angel investment community, which In the U.S. Angels prefer strong teams to big ideas.

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Venture Capital Angel Seed Funding Invest 106

socalTECH

JULY 30, 2019

Los Angeles-based venture capital investment firm TenOneTen Ventures has launched a new podcast, to highlight Los Angeles area venture capital funds, the fir is announcing today. READ MORE>>.

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Venture Capital Los Angeles Ideas Entrepreneur 153

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 11, 2009

This is part of my ongoing series “ Pitching a VC.&#. The “Triple Play&# of VC Presentations. A large part of my series has been outlining what the typical VC PowerPoint presentation should look like. You want to build a dialogue where you get to know the VC with whom you’re meeting. It happens.

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Venture Capital Slides Startup Sales 238

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 19, 2011

Venture capitalists, or VCs, are the folks with millions upon millions of dollars to invest in companies such as theirs. And for a select few entrepreneurs, they are able to go out and raise the venture capital they need and make their dreams a reality. They make sure they are a proper fit for venture capital.

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Venture Capital Capital Invest Entrepreneur 93

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 24, 2021

 —  @jasonlk How the Long Game Has Benefitted Upfront I was thinking about it this morning in particular and thinking about my own personal investment history. sold to Disney for $670 million and since our first investment was at < $10 million valuation we did quite well. Entrada Ventures? —?that

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Venture Capital Capital Funding Startup 363

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 24, 2013

I’m a strong believer that investors invest in people, before they invest in a business plan, or an idea. Obviously, a key factor is always the state of the economy and the mood of the venture capital community. Investing is all about people-to-people relationships. No surprises here. Marty Zwilling.

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Venture Capital Capital Startup Funding 95

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 6, 2012

A young VC liked the idea and took it to his partner meeting. A great entrepreneur and company who were just turned down at a notable LA VC firm. His experience illustrates some great lessons for all of us who are selling an idea: 1) Don't settle for a phone meeting.go What could go wrong? A turndown. go in person.

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Venture Capital Southern California Ideas Entrepreneur 133

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. In fact, most of the most active investment firms are located there, although NY now has moved solidly into second place (ahead of Boston).

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Venture Capital Startup Capital Seed Funding 93

SoCal Tech Calendar

JANUARY 5, 2013

Friday, January 11, 2013 -- Maverick Angels Investment Accelerator. Do you have a great business idea? Do you find it difficult to raise capital or communicate your offering in a way that is complete or compelling in the time given for your pitch to investors? See [link] (more)

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Invest Angel Venture Capital Startup 113