Both Sides of the Table

JULY 7, 2015

One of my favorite entrepreneur-Twitterer weighed in, “You want to keep tapping into their collective intelligence so you keep saying ‘Thank you for the feedback’ and they keep sending it,” Ms. I know because I have been the beneficiary of their advice for years and have appreciated it. Morrill said. I agree up to a point.

startup 323

startup advice pitching VC 323

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2016

In 2008 I started VC blogging. I had blogged when I was an entrepreneur. Ironic to be self-centered while you’re trying to offer advice to others. In 2007 I started using Twitter and most of my friends & colleagues wondered why people would care what I ate for lunch. In 2011 I started using Instagram.

networking 230

networking advice VC financing 230

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 16, 2014

The speaks to the continued confidence in the venture capital markets and as I had predicted some time ago the VC markets right now are a great place to invest – especially relative to other places to put one’s money. If you want to understand how the VC industry is changing there is a great primer in the link.

ventures 396

ventures VC venture capital real estate 396

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 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). I should say that I agree that naive optimism in entrepreneurs can produce higher beta (upside or flops) and that’s good from an investment standpoint if you’re looking for big returns.

angel investing 284

angel investing investing investment VC 284

TechCrunch

MARCH 7, 2023

However, it appears that even though VCs are proceeding more cautiously than before and taking their time with due diligence, they are still investing. CB Insights recently found that two of the largest global VC firms, Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz, actually backed more fintech companies in 2022 than any other category.

advice 110

advice ventures sustainability investing 110

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 24, 2015

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. Watch the market closely.

financing 344

financing finance ventures real estate 344

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. Not so VC. It is 2010.

venture capital 289

venture capital capital ventures advice 289

TechCrunch

AUGUST 12, 2022

“It’s comparable to the financial crisis of 2008, when poor financial products were lumped together in order to diversify risk and make them look better than they actually were,” he writes. Elated Entrepreneur. “We all know how that turned out.” ” Thanks for reading — I hope you have a great weekend.

pitching 79

pitching advice education energy 79

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). And if I were an entrepreneur I’d rather find investors who understood “my space&# so that in tough times they felt comfortable about “doubling down.&#. Not everybody agreed.

angel investing 152

angel investing investing investment VC 152

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2011

This was an audience of mostly first-time entrepreneurs. I spoke about how Amazon Web Services deserves far more credit for the last 5 years of innovation than it gets credit for and how I believe they spawned the micro-VC category. I said that I felt that Micro-VCs were the most important change in our industry. I believe that.

real estate 309

real estate entrepreneurs financing finance 309

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 19, 2010

article in a series on what it takes to be a great angel investor (and why this should matter to entrepreneurs). After that it’s domain experience, access to VCs and deep pockets. We talked about her desire to sell the company for personal reasons rather than raise a large round of VC. I agreed to help.

angel investing 280

angel investing investing investment VC 280

TechCrunch

JUNE 9, 2022

Startups and VC. A promise: We won’t run any articles on TechCrunch+ with advice for navigating a downturn unless the author actually knows what they’re talking about. He initially looked at some data and suggested there was a slump, and when some folks suggested it was not the right data, he took another look.

advice 83

advice VC education pitching 83

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 1, 2011

years ago you’d remember RIP Good Times from Sequoia, which still strikes me as having been prudent advice in late 2008. People who comment to me privately about how surprised they are by how rapidly I’ve “built a name for myself in VC&# remind me of this fallacy. If you were reading the headlines from only 2.5

advice 391

advice VC financing finance 391

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 24, 2012

He knows every startup & VC in town.” When I first arrived in LA my good friend Matt Pillar (a long-term veteran of tech, media & VC) who had been in LA for some time told me, “in LA there’s none better than David.” I told David, “Look at the changes we’ve seen in the VC / funding market.

VC 299

VC communities investing investment 299

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 20, 2011

They have totally changed the way you run a VC firm, investing heavily in systems & events for their founders that are pushing the boundaries of the way our industry works. It is clear that he is simply passionate about being a VC and participating in this industry. In 2008 they raised a much larger fund $132.5

capital 284

capital board VC pitching 284

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.&#. I’m a VC so I have an obvious bias.

startup 336

startup advice pitching VC 336

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

MARCH 11, 2010

It also takes options off the table if you eventually find out that this isn’t a VC backable business. I’ve spoken about this in a post entitled, “ Do you even need VC ?&# I’ve seen too many entrepreneurs try to do things on the cheap. But the lower end also has risks. Don’t let that be you.

startup 319

startup advice venture capital VC 319

Entrepreneur's Handbook

APRIL 25, 2022

Here’s the advice I wish someone told me when I started. Here are eleven top people to follow on crypto Twitter (listed alphabetically): Anthony “Pomp” Pompliano ( @Apompliano ): provides great content on bitcoin and interviews with innovative entrepreneurs (including ones outside of crypto!) But it wasn’t always this way.

networking 52

networking advice investing investment 52

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 16, 2010

A couple of years ago an entrepreneur had requested a meeting with me to present his business. The meeting was set for Wednesday, May 8th 2008 at 11am. I want to be on Paul Graham’s “ Maker’s Schedule &# but as a VC this is quite hard.) Basically, don’t be cavalier about rescheduling meetings.

advice 346

advice board entrepreneurs VC 346

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.

VC 285

VC financing finance advice 285

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

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. That’s when the VC has lost.

founder 329

founder VC advice pitching 329

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 17, 2011

This conversation seems to come up very frequently these days both with portfolio companies and with entrepreneurs just looking for mentorship. I like to tell entrepreneurs that the “fairway&# of fund raising is 25-33% per round. Again, this is highly individualized so no generic advice can be offered.

advice 303

advice frameworks capital mentorship 303

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. And of course I’ve sat on the other side of the table: As a VC. I’ve tried to make this advice as well-rounded and biased free as I can.

strategy 366

strategy development VC advice 366

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 18, 2009

This is part of my new series on what makes an entrepreneur successful. I originally posted it on VentureHacks , one of my favorite websites for entrepreneurs. You’ve got to be able to come out of unsuccessful VC meetings, pull your socks up, and go into the next pitch. The best entrepreneurs have a survival instinct.

entrepreneurs 298

entrepreneurs advice VC SaaS 298

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 5, 2012

.” I applaud all efforts by people to take on this issue and especially be Adeo who – let’s be honest – was really the first champion of trying to make the VC world more transparent by launching TheFunded, which didn’t exactly endear him to VCs initially. They’ll get priced soon enough by a VC.”

startup 354

startup VC entrepreneurs financing 354

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 25, 2010

A reminder that it is important for all entrepreneurs is to remember to be careful about “deal drift.” Many deals – VC or otherwise – didn’t close. History repeated itself in September 2008 with that market crash. VC, sales, biz dev, M&A or otherwise. Especially in VC. Any deal. Things change. You never know.

venture capital 301

venture capital advice VC real estate 301

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2011

Because my wife is a superstar she published them all on a blog here along with much other wonderful type-A mom advice. I was saying that I was happy it was all out in the open because I felt at least everybody could now understand the issues & opportunities from the perspectives of angels, entrepreneurs and VCs.

VC 292

VC peer-to-peer investing investment 292

TechCrunch

DECEMBER 8, 2020

“We did hear that and I think it’s very poor advice,” he says. Between 2006 and 2008, Klarna continued to grow as more people started shopping online. companies should relocate to Silicon Valley if they really want to grow.

investing 143

investing investment mix-use media 143

Andreessen Horowitz

APRIL 9, 2024

Actually, I was trading emails with Aaron Ross this morning because I think in a lot of ways that when I was an up and coming entrepreneur 15 years ago, that book landed in my hands and it felt like someone had given me the keys to the kingdom. I’m sure you’ll ask me about AI or you’ll have your VC card revoked, right?

SaaS 111

SaaS strategy disruption energy 111

TechCrunch

DECEMBER 8, 2020

“We did hear that and I think it’s very poor advice,” he says. Between 2006 and 2008, Klarna continued to grow as more people started shopping online. companies should relocate to Silicon Valley if they really want to grow.

investing 82

investing investment mix-use media 82

TechCrunch

JUNE 10, 2022

That’s painful, but for perspective: TechCrunch tracked more than 100,000 tech layoffs between August and December 2008. Building a company is a high-stakes effort, so here’s a promise: I won’t approve articles with advice for navigating this downturn unless the author has direct experience with the matter. Walter Thompson.

VC 81

VC real estate advice pitching 81

Y Combinator

MAY 22, 2019

44:35 – Best advice for aspiring Indian founders. These people who never had the opportunity to start a store came onto our platform and became entrepreneurs for the first time, because we do not need them to invest any money in working capital or setting up an offline shop. 42:45 – Big problems worth solving in India.

founder 55

founder communities startup ecosystem enablement 55

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. raise money now to weather any storms).

entrepreneurs 298

entrepreneurs real estate VC advice 298

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 9, 2011

I spent my days meeting companies, figuring out what areas of the market interested me and trying to get a sense for how VCs thought about fair valuations. I thought about things I never had to as an entrepreneur: check size, ownership percentage, deal stage, portfolio construction and risk. It was September 2008.

VC 305

VC disruption entrepreneurs venture capital 305

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 7, 2011

Blogs weren’t popularized yet so it was an oddity for me to read the founder of a software company spewing out advice. I asked him if he’d be willing to allow me to interview him for This Week in VC and we filmed it in the offices of Stack Overflow – his new company. Stackoverflow was created in 2008.

peer-to-peer 285

peer-to-peer communities development innovation 285