Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2010

Our guest this week on #TWiVC was Dana Settle , partner at Greycroft Partners , a venture capital firm with offices in New York and Los Angeles. Greycroft is an early-stage VC. Closing a VC fund in 2009/10 is a major achievement in and of itself. Gilt Group is currently the largest private sale web site in US.

Venture Capital 240

Venture Capital Startup Platform Technical Review 240

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.

Venture Capital 277

Venture Capital Startup Email News 277

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 15, 2011

A tale of two pitches (I eventually invested in the first company that pitched). This might be a VC meeting but also might just be a sales or biz dev meeting. If you look at Diagram A above you’ll see that the presenters are sitting at the opposite end of the table from where the screen is.

Tips 392

Tips Screening Slides Venture Capital 392

SoCal CTO

JUNE 9, 2010

Draw Your Ideas - A VC : Venture Capital and Technology , May 16, 2010 I saw Jack Dorsey give this talk at The 99% Conference last month. Through advertising or direct sales, these sites harvest intent. friend of mine asked me to chat with a startup he’d invested in. Tesla is not. It's a great talk.

Startup 248

Startup Venture Capital Conference Social Media 248

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 14, 2014

All the data actually suggests with the growth of mobile, inbound sales calls will double from 30 billion to 60 billion in 3 years (source: Kelsey). It’s why the first company I ever invested in as a VC – Invoca – just announced a $20 million funding by Accel Partners. Much more data in the full post.

Email 339

Email SaaS Venture Capital Google 339

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 30, 2010

I’m very pleased today to announce that I invested, on behalf of GRP Partners, in Burstly alongside Rincon Venture Partners , an early stage VC in Southern California whith whom we love to work (and were our co-investors on RingRevenue ). Naturally I’m excited about this investment or I wouldn’t have done it.

Mobile 282

Mobile Invest Company Companies 282

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 9, 2018

At night I had a group dinner where I met 6 new entrepreneurs and hung out with some old friends from law firms, banks and other VC funds. I fly home Friday night, weekend on the soccer field with the kids and head into a Monday partner meeting that will be contentious because there are two controversial investment decisions to make.

Software Review 381

Software Review Startup Email Conference 381

Tech Zulu Event

NOVEMBER 11, 2013

The theme for Silicon Beach Fest Hollywood is startups and Hollywood, featuring leaders from movie studios, music labels, agencies, and startups in entertainment – how Hollywood studios are investing and working with startups, and how Silicon Beach startups are making entertainment businesses. See you there!

Hollywood 100

Hollywood Screening Ideas Entertainment 100

TechCrunch LA

NOVEMBER 4, 2019

We are in phase three of the influencer economy,” Bain Capital Ventures senior principal Jamison Hill, who led the firm’s investment in the influencer shoutout marketplace Cameo , tells TechCrunch. 2020 will be a watershed year for investment in businesses around the creator economy,” Neil Robertson tells TechCrunch.

Platform 170

Platform Marketing Tool Venture Capital 170

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 31, 2011

I’m enjoying being a VC. 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.&#. VC meetings going well. 2 million in VC. I swore never to do that as a VC. What do VC’s Experience?

Entrepreneur 384

Entrepreneur Startup Venture Capital Ideas 384

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 25, 2010

“Yes&# was given to me by one of my favorite angel investor / seed VC’s to work with – John Greathouse of Rincon Venture Partners and author of the blog InfoChachkie that you should check out because it is filled with great info from a guy who has been a very successful operator. .

Guide 293

Guide Funding Venture Capital Technical Review 293

socalTECH

AUGUST 20, 2010

Patrick Kennedy: Our customers are very active using our technology and analytics as a solution to increase the content sales from all kinds of customers. What happened with smart phones, is consumers are buying more and more applications, but a screen can only fit a dozen icons. We're really headed for three screens.

Content 189

Content Screening Mobile Customer 189

Tech Coast Venture Network

MARCH 9, 2011

Last year, venture capitalists and angels who co-invested with them placed $7 billion into seed and early-stage deals, an 11 percent increase from 2009, according to the most recent PricewaterhouseCoopers/National Venture Capital Association MoneyTree report. The group invested $8.7 million in 2010. ” 9.

Tips 100

Tips Capital Tech Coast Angels Screening 100

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 19, 2011

And yes, VC’s, too. They’re also good at screening candidates. Negotiate directly with your VC or acquirer with lawyers present in the room. VCs : VCs are often on your side and usually act in an ethical manner. You can sometimes leverage your VC in a “bad cop&# negotiation with a buyer.

Venture Capital 319

Venture Capital Pricing Startup Outsource 319

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 21, 2011

When I first got into VC I decided I better have some investment themes. Nordstrom sales reps are trained to do this to, but of course they can’t know every customer that walks around the store. To be clear, that is excluding the sales uplift from the calls. “People still want calls …&#. Or can they?

Mobile 329

Mobile Advertising Media Marketing 329

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 28, 2012

Kind of like a law firm (or VC firm) with four partners but shortened to just two, people dropped off his second two words. The power of large screen real estate. They are more likely to be the “bottom end of the sales funnel” or in other words close to “point of purchase.” The power of a keyboard.

Web 334

Web Mobile Startup Software Review 334

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 22, 2011

I’m enjoying being a VC. 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.&#. VC meetings going well. 2 million in VC. I swore never to do that as a VC. What do VC’s Experience?

Entrepreneur 176

Entrepreneur Startup Venture Capital Ideas 176

Tech.Co

JANUARY 19, 2016

The round is led by Subtraction Capital, and includes investments from PayPal co­founder Peter Thiel , Indicator Ventures, and venture debt lender Western Technology Investment (WTI). Investing in Caplinked was an easy decision for us,” explained Subtraction Capital General Partner Jason Portnoy.

Doc 120

Doc Invest Screening Capital 120

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 25, 2010

On Losing in VC. Last year I lost a deal in a company that I wanted to invest in and that I thought I should have won. I know I won’t win every deal I want to in VC. I was working hand-in-hand with my close friend and associate Stuart Lander who was running our UK office and with one of our local sales reps.

Outsource Development 333

Outsource Development Software Review Technical Review News 333

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 25, 2010

On Losing in VC. Last year I lost a deal in a company that I wanted to invest in and that I thought I should have won. I know I won’t win every deal I want to in VC. I was working hand-in-hand with my close friend and associate Stuart Lander who was running our UK office and with one of our local sales reps.

Outsource Development 328

Outsource Development Software Review Technical Review News 328

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2011

I had a pre breakfast with a CEO of a company in which I invested talking about his next fund raising round. Separately, in the morning I called a seed-stage investor in NY and talked to him about investing in one of my companies. And trust me, it’s harder / longer / more time consuming for VCs. Operations. My core duty.

Email 314

Email Product Startup Writing 314

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 13, 2011

Here are some basic principles: Angels invest in people, more often than they invest in ideas. They probably won’t respond well to high pressure sales tactics, information overload, or bribes. Angels like to “touch and feel” their investments, so they are generally only interested in local opportunities.

Angel 102

Angel Keiretsu Organization Template 102

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 16, 2009

If I were writing about the most important attributes of a VC (hmmm) one of the things that would make my list is “ability to spot patterns.&# I see the same things over-and-over again and being able to spot things and compartmentalize them is important – it helps with short-handing analysis and learning. We were SMOKING cash.

Entrepreneur 306

Entrepreneur Startup Outsource Development Customer 306

Tech Zulu Event

FEBRUARY 5, 2014

Speakers listed: Brock Pierce – Digital currency pioneer investing in Bitcoin, games, and online gambling businesses; Clearstone Global Gaming Fund. Peter Csathy – CEO Manatt Digital Media Ventures, accomplished media and digital media entrepreneur. The company hopes to prepare advertisers for varying screen sizes.

Startup 95

Startup Google Education Venture Capital 95

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. Fund raising (as is much of life) is a sale – pure and simple.

Develop 366

Develop Development Funding Venture Capital 366

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 6, 2015

Many people are too cautious in sales processes and as a result when they present their solutions they end up sounding milquetoast and undifferentiated from anybody else in the market. I recently wrote about the three rules of sales. In sales we often call these USPs (I wrote about them here: Unique Selling Propositions ).

Sales 150

Sales SaaS Startup Venture Capital 150

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 10, 2010

As an entrepreneur, simply enter your location online, and it will list the angel and VC organizations near you. You can then begin your application to one or more of these organizations right on the same screen. New England Investment Network. These are joined under the auspices of the Kaufman Foundation.

Angel 48

Angel Keiretsu Startup Template 48

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 15, 2009

I was working hand-in-hand with my close friend and associate Stuart Lander who was running our UK office and with one of our local sales reps. Winning the contract meant that we would hit our quarterly revenue figure and be in good position for our annual sales target. I later learned one of my biggest lesson in sales.

Startup 151

Startup Outsource Development Software Review Technical Review 151

socalTECH

MAY 11, 2010

Jody--an experienced entrepreneur who was most recently co-founder of a firm he sold to the Virgin Group, and has been involved with such firms as Lycos, Buydirect.com, and Xoom--told us the story of EcoMom, plus how he connected with McClure on the investment. So, I reached out to this VC I mentioned, who sent him an email.

Software Review 200

Software Review Commerce Startup Sites 200

Tech Zulu Event

JULY 8, 2011

For those who still might be wondering what Spotlight: LA Tech is all about, It’s a screening room for new technology homegrown in our region. Their all new all electric car is set to be released for sale in limited quantities at the end of 2011. Xavor invest through our dependable consulting services. Attend and Support.

CalTech 100

CalTech Technical Review Company Companies 100

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 15, 2011

Last year I was on Sand Hill Road in Silicon Valley meeting with one of the most prominent venture capital firms in the country. The VC partner, somebody I greatly respect said, “Yeah, we like Gil and what they’re doing. In my LA I often see computer screens open with entrepreneurs talking about digital media.

Venture Capital 313

Venture Capital Southern California Google Startup 313

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2011

When I described to people why I initially invested my calls went something like this, “He’s taken kicks to the face for nearly 2 years and is still standing. I was sick of hyperbole articles pronouncing that VCs were “scared or AngelList&# or “it was disrupting VC&# or some other BS exaggeration like that.

Startup 292

Startup Venture Capital Blogging Summary 292

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 12, 2016

Why Invest? And while my relationship with Chuck was critical to my investment, so too was the leadership of Trevor Templar , the Chief Revenue Officer. He spent nearly five years at each of Salesforce.com and Oracle and was an Area VP at Salesforce leading sales efforts at some of the largest clients that Salesforce.com has.

Software 105

Software Mobile Artificial Inteligence Oracle 105

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 17, 2011

I apply visual thinking for nearly everything I do: preparing for important phone calls (I imagine my opening lines, I imagine the responses), writing keynote presentations, deciding whether or not to invest in a company, preparing for board meetings – you name it. These are all creative processes. Were they vertically integrated ?

Writing 356

Writing Startup Ideas Summary 356

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 30, 2010

My original thinking from Oct ’09 was, while I didn’t (and still don’t) have a crystal ball I worried that: consumers were over-stretched with debt (and make up 77% of the economy), unemployment would continue to rise, which in turn would drive the stock market south and cut the rate of M&A activity and VC investment even further.

Entrepreneur 298

Entrepreneur Venture Capital Technical Review Startup 298

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 6, 2016

I love both of my parents equally but my mom was definitely the go-getter who took charge, challenged others, started businesses, restarted her career post kids by becoming a pharmaceutical sales leader and did public service. I told this story at our screening of the must-see movie —  Code: Debugging the Gender Gap.

Startup 150

Startup Los Angeles Help Screening 150