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The VC Inclusion Clause #MovingForward

Both Sides of the Table

If you’re an entrepreneur who would like to see this clause in more startups please ask your VC to include it in future term sheets and link to it from their home page. “We Many of us had experiences of asking entrepreneurs, “Why are none of our candidates women?” Ours is: upfront.com/inclusion. Well, did you ask them to???”

VC 284
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Telegraphing

A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

I recall when my partner Brad and I were raising our first USV fund, back in 2003, and potential investors wondered about my blogging habit. We explained that telegraphing would bring entrepreneurs to us. They asked if I was making a mistake telegraphing our investment thesis for everyone to see, including our “competitors.”

strategy 216
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Bad Notes on VC

Gust

Me: Raising convertible notes as a seed round is one of the biggest disservices our industry has done to entrepreneurs since 2001-2003 when there were “full ratchets” and “multiple liquidation preferences” – the most hostile terms anybody found in term sheets 10 years ago. It’s like we need a finance 101 course for entrepreneurs.

VC 153
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Making Sense of the Stock Market Drops in Relation to Venture Financing

Both Sides of the Table

I’ve seen friends (and family members) lose much of their savings that way over the years because “Black Swans” happen and in 1987, 2001, 2003 & 2008 (just to name a few from my memory) huge market gyrations caused much financial distress to people seeking short-term gains. I know what I don’t know.

financing 344
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Get to Know Richard de Silva of Highland Capital

Both Sides of the Table

I took the opportunity this past week to publish summary notes of some of the VCs and entrepreneurs I had interviewed on This Week in VC. One of my goals in doing the show was not only to educate entrepreneurs but also to put a human face on many of the VCs in our industry as VCs can be hard to get to know.

capital 265
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Why You Need to Ring the Freaking Cash Register

Both Sides of the Table

I remember just a decade ago in 2003 when we all laughed at how dumb people in the 90′s were talking about the race to “capture as many eyeballs as possible” before your competition. My VC told me that if we monetize too early we will scare away our nascent marketplace and not grow as fast. Your VC is right.

VC 412
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How to Win Consulting, Board, and Deal Roles with Private Equity and Venture Capital Funds

David Teten VC

(See How to negotiate a partner role at a VC or private equity firm.) You can work as a consultant, an interim executive, a board member, a deal executive partnering to buy a company, an executive in residence, or as an entrepreneur in residence. . At Versatile VC , we’ve used all these models. Expert Networks.