Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 29, 2009

Just ask anybody who was trying to close funding the fateful week of September 11, 2001 or even March 2000. But any entrepreneurs raising capital should keep in mind that this opening of the markets could possibly be temporary. disclosure: I am thankfully no longer on this board). I only had one board with this problem.

VC 263

VC board investing investment 263

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 11, 2010

It’s like adding rocket fuel to space ship before you’re sure that it’s pointing in the right direction for take off (or even if all of the people on board are qualified to take this into outer space). I’ve seen too many entrepreneurs try to do things on the cheap. But the lower end also has risks.

startup 319

startup advice venture capital VC 319

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 31, 2010

TechCrunch Europe ran an article in November of last year that European startups need to work as hard as those in Silicon Valley and I echoed the sentiment in my post about the need for entrepreneurs to be maniacal about their businesses if one wants to work in the hyper competitive tech world. We were based in London.

entrepreneurs 308

entrepreneurs advice real estate venture capital 308

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 27, 2011

Be careful about this advice. And these ideas have ways of seeping into board discussions with portfolio companies as in, “have you ever thought about trying A, B or C? &# It’s mostly unintentional but tacit knowledge about ideas spreads quickly amongst the chattering elite. I know because I did this in early 2000.

startup 380

startup entrepreneurs strategy advice 380

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 31, 2014

The organization, like Vistage, manages roundtables of CEOs meeting monthly in small groups, where they discuss their mutual challenges and help solve each other’s complex problems, acting as an informal board of advisors. I contribute my two cents of advice, as do the others in the group.

advice 70

advice leadership opportunity culture 70

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 16, 2012

There is all sorts of advice on the Internet about how to raise capital. I raised money as an entrepreneur, like you, in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2005 for two different companies. I’ve tried to make this advice as well-rounded and biased free as I can. I never suggest that entrepreneurs just randomly pitch VCs.

strategy 366

strategy development VC advice 366

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 2, 2009

This is part of my ongoing series “ Start Up Advice &# but I’d really like to call this post, “VC Advice.&#. A friend of mine is a serial entrepreneur and is running a high-profile, early stage company in NorCal. This made me think hard about the relationship between VCs and entrepreneurs.

founder 329

founder VC advice pitching 329

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 15, 2010

It’s always fun chatting with Jason because he’s knowledgeable about the market, quick on topics and pushes me to talk more about VC / entrepreneur issues. We’re staring to get the hang of how to divide the show up into talking about deals but also talking about issues for entrepreneurs during funding. Rumored to be appox.

VC 285

VC financing finance advice 285

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 5, 2010

We had email, instant messaging, group calendars, discussion boards, etc. But AOL brought online services, email, chat and discussion boards to the masses and thus educated a generation that paved the way for others. StockTwits) where you really want to know more about the person giving you advice. It isn’t new stuff.

networking 318

networking mix-use innovation development 318