Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 9, 2014

I often talk about what I’m looking for when I meet with an entrepreneur. Above all else I’m looking for a genuine passion for what the entrepreneur is doing. You can sense when it is a “mission” for this entrepreneur to succeed and she will continue the journey even if success isn’t easy or immediate.

peer-to-peer 373

peer-to-peer VC pitching entrepreneurs 373

AsiaTechDaily

OCTOBER 20, 2023

In an exclusive interview with Asia Tech Daily’s Editor, Yongmin Kim shared his insights, wisdom, and some great stories that can guide fledgling entrepreneurs and seasoned investors. An experienced investor, his journey in venture capital began in 2007, a tumultuous period with a global financial crisis.

ventures 90

ventures investing investment sustainability 90

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 14, 2010

It’s meant to be a bit provocative but the reality is that I give this advice to entrepreneurs all the the time and I usually leave the “e&# off of the end. I normally offer this advice in the capacity of really wanting to help entrepreneurs so please bear with me. It is 2010. The list goes on.

venture capital 289

venture capital capital ventures advice 289

Gust

OCTOBER 8, 2014

This is something I think entrepreneurs don’t totally understand and it’s worthwhile they do. There weren’t a lot of seed funds in 2007 so this was often done by angels, funding consortia or sometimes early-stage funds that existed then (First Round Capital, True Ventures, SoftTech VC, etc.). Marc Andreessen (@pmarca) October 7, 2014.

VC 136

VC advice financing finance 136

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 17, 2019

I became a VC 12 years ago in 2007 when the pace of deals was much slower. It proved to be fortuitous because it allowed me the time & space I needed to get to know tons of founders and VCs and to hone my craft. I had just left Salesforce.com where I was VP, Products, after they had acquired my second startup. Over the past 2.5

VC 223

VC venture capital capital investing 223

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 22, 2011

One of the most common questions that entrepreneurs who meet me for the first time like to ask is, “Do you miss being an entrepreneur? 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.&#. On Being an Entrepreneur.

entrepreneurs 176

entrepreneurs startup VC real estate 176

TechCrunch

OCTOBER 22, 2020

European entrepreneurs who want to launch startups could do worse than Switzerland. While they can withdraw those funds from the business the next day, local founders must still secure decent backing to even begin the work. Katrin Siebenbuerger Hacki, founder, Medows. It grants up to CHF 130,000 per company.

startup 144

startup ecology education incubation 144

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2014

I started in 2007 with a thesis that my primary investment decision would be about the team (70%) and only afterward about the market opportunity (30%). Of course these are great places to network with other investors, meet great entrepreneurs and keep your connections strong with senior execs at larger companies like Yahoo!,

VC 374

VC investing investment entrepreneurs 374

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2011

I have conversations with entrepreneurs and other VCs on a daily basis about fund raising, the prices of deals, how much companies should raise, etc. It’s the one bit of advice I find myself giving most frequently these days, “raise money at the top end of normal.&#. Here’s what I mean. That’s fine.

startup 336

startup advice pitching VC 336

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 29, 2009

But any entrepreneurs raising capital should keep in mind that this opening of the markets could possibly be temporary. They should heed the age old advice that raising slightly more money while you can is always better than trying to optimize future valuations. But imagine a VC that did 12 deals per year in 2006, 2007 & 2008.

VC 263

VC board investing investment 263

abovethecrowd.com

JULY 23, 2014

Eric’s keen intellect, his experience as an entrepreneur and CEO, his depth in infrastructure and enterprise software, and his infectious optimism about technology make him an ideal Benchmark partner. We followed Eric’s adventure as founder and CEO at RockMelt as he worked through the roller coaster of a startup.

board 74

board entrepreneurship energy advice 74

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2011

I recently spoke at the Founder Showcase at the request of Adeo Ressi. This was an audience of mostly first-time entrepreneurs. It is great for entrepreneurs and great for VCs. So here is what I have been telling entrepreneurs privately for the past 6 months. I said that at the Founder Showcase, too.

real estate 309

real estate entrepreneurs financing finance 309

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 14, 2010

This is the third article in a series on what it takes to be a great angel investor (and why this should matter to entrepreneurs). Chris Dixon made the point that he thinks investors should look for the founders to have the domain knowledge rather than them having domain knowledge themselves. Not everybody agreed.

angel investing 152

angel investing investing investment VC 152

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 7, 2010

I originally conceived it as the Top 11 things that I believe “all entrepreneurs need to succeed.&# If it stuck to this theme then I would stand by my top 11. Domain Experience – “Domain experience&# means that the founders have worked in the industry before. I met the CEO Brian Malewicz several times.

entrepreneurs 267

entrepreneurs advice SaaS networking 267

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 5, 2010

This is part of my series on what makes an entrepreneur successful. I originally posted it on VentureHacks , one of my favorite websites for entrepreneurs. I started the series talking about what I consider the most important attribute of an entrepreneur : Tenacity. Entrepreneurs are inherently risk takers.

entrepreneurs 293

entrepreneurs VC advice consulting 293

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

by Michael Woolf that is worth any startup founder reading to get a sense of perspective on the reality warp that is startup world during a frothy market such as 1997-1999, 2005-2007 or 2012-2014. Burn rate in case you don’t know is the amount of money a company is either spending (gross) or losing (net) per month. (it

startup 383

startup VC frameworks capital 383

Founders Coop

FEBRUARY 21, 2024

Not coincidentally, they also serve as training grounds for some of the world’s most successful startup founders. Although we haven’t been on the inside at Techstars for several years, we grew up with the program and have watched with growing dismay as it drifted away from its original focus on founders.

startup ecosystem 195

startup ecosystem accelerator communities support 195

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.&#. On a panel that I sat on with Ron in LA in 2008 he stated that there were no circumstances in which the founder should take money off of the table. It’s that simple. I believe this is wrong.

founder 329

founder VC advice pitching 329

TechCrunch

DECEMBER 9, 2020

Sophie Alcorn is the founder of Alcorn Immigration Law in Silicon Valley and 2019 Global Law Experts Awards’ “Law Firm of the Year in California for Entrepreneur Immigration Services.” Here’s another edition of “Dear Sophie,” the advice column that answers immigration-related questions about working at technology companies.

founder 78

founder creativity advice entrepreneurs 78

TechCrunch

SEPTEMBER 14, 2021

The fund was oversubscribed, according to QED co-founder and managing partner Nigel Morris. Since its 2007 founding by Morris — who also co-founded Capital One Financial Services in 1994 — and Frank Rotman, QED has backed more than 150 companies, including 20 unicorns. the United Kingdom, Latin America and Southeast Asia.

investing 91

investing investment capital advice 91

TechCrunch

DECEMBER 8, 2020

Sebastian Siemiatkowski, the co-founder and CEO of Klarna — the Swedish fintech “buy now, pay later” sensation that is currently Europe’s most valuable private tech company — is dismissive of the suggestion that non U.S. “We did hear that and I think it’s very poor advice,” he says. Siemiatkowski left undeterred.

investing 143

investing investment mix-use media 143

Andreessen Horowitz

NOVEMBER 28, 2023

About My First 16 Our new video podcast series My First 16 features interviews with founders and CEOs of fintech companies about how they acquired their initial customers and the hard lessons they learned along the way. You’re going to get lots of different advice. Jason Gardner: Yeah, an interesting path over 13 years.

technology 81

technology advice support founder 81

Y Combinator

MAY 1, 2019

Craig Cannon [00:00:40] – Matt Hackett, who is Casey Neistat’s co-founder. Craig Cannon [00:09:18] – I thought that was actually a really nice piece of advice that you gave because you interviewed at Yelp twice. I think the relationship between creators and entrepreneurs is very similar.

peer-to-peer 44

peer-to-peer advice creativity opportunity 44

TechCrunch

DECEMBER 8, 2020

Sebastian Siemiatkowski, the co-founder and CEO of Klarna — the Swedish fintech “buy now, pay later” sensation that is currently Europe’s most valuable private tech company — is dismissive of the suggestion that non U.S. “We did hear that and I think it’s very poor advice,” he says. Siemiatkowski left undeterred.

investing 82

investing investment mix-use media 82

FundersClub

JUNE 30, 2017

Jerrod Engelberg and Kevin Lee of FundersClub discuss board of directors, why they exist, how they work in public companies vs startups, what founders should be thinking about when dealing with a board of directors, and more in " Transparent VC, Episode 6: It’s All About That Board. " Founder and Operator Thoughts.

construction 70

construction SaaS board strategy 70

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 30, 2010

My advice to entrepreneurs was and is “ when the hors d’oeuvres tray is being passed take two ” (e.g. So I agreed to offer my current thinking on the economy and what it portends for the VC industry & fund raising for entrepreneurs. What does this mean if you’re an entrepreneur? raise money now to weather any storms).

entrepreneurs 298

entrepreneurs real estate VC advice 298

abovethecrowd.com

JUNE 2, 2021

This “gain” ($34B last year alone) is a result of a direct wealth-transfer to these individuals FROM the previous owners of the company — founders, executives, employees, and venture investors. Is it disrespectful to imply that the founders, executives, VC-backers, and the boards of these companies are gullible or naive?

peer-to-peer 82

peer-to-peer VC advice capital 82