Gust

OCTOBER 8, 2014

Cautionary note: No competent VC is actually fooled when you show up after raising $6M in seed financing and say you’re now raising an A! This is something I think entrepreneurs don’t totally understand and it’s worthwhile they do. Whom you take advice from really matters. Whom you take advice from really matters.

VC 136

VC advice financing finance 136

StartupNation

JANUARY 20, 2022

As the e-commerce industry continues to boom and work from home remains a trend amongst the corporate sector, more entrepreneurs are using their funds to create new digital startups in a number of niches. In fact, VC-based funding has boomed within the last decade, reaching a whopping $753B worth of investments since 2009.

venture capital 89

venture capital capital ventures startup 89

TechCrunch

NOVEMBER 9, 2020

This should come as no surprise, given that fintech combines two sectors traditionally dominated by men: finance and technology. In the long term, there needs to be foundational change to level the playing field for women entrepreneurs. of the funding raised since 2009, while Latinx female founders saw only 0.4%

VC 123

VC startup leadership communities 123

Smart Hustle Magazine

FEBRUARY 22, 2022

Closely Monitor Finances. But if you are starting a company, responsible for part of an organization, or making bets on entrepreneurs, you are most likely to succeed if you act as a sponge. Before founding db5 in 2009, Chris served as Chief Executive Officer at Hall & Partners USA. Able to Focus on What is Important.

peer-to-peer 114

peer-to-peer media leadership advice 114

This is going to be BIG.

SEPTEMBER 19, 2012

In the early spring of 2009, the fundraising nuclear winter of the previous year hadn't yet thawed. Many of you entrepreneurs know that feeling. That product isn't money--it's their time, attention, sound advice and network. It would be months before Foursquare's first round touched off a NYC venture frenzy.

ventures 280

ventures pitching VC startup ecosystem 280

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. But they weren’t there in 2009 when you were up late nights shitting yourself whether you really were smart for pursuing this idea. I agreed to finance a company today. So which is it?

advice 391

advice VC financing finance 391

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 22, 2012

And so do entrepreneurs who are quick to pivot to new businesses or to sell in an acquihire. It encourages a bit too much FOMO (fear of missing out) and over-valuation in companies and a desire to do huge financing rounds to be perceived as the “knock-out winner.” Some entrepreneurs can make a dent in a smaller world.

startup 390

startup VC venture capital culture 390

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

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 1, 2009

In my previous post, The VC Ice Age is Thawing (for now) I wrote about the reasons why the VC market came to a screeching halt in September 2008 and remained largely shut until at least April 2009. This post highlights some of the reasons why the market is moving again and what entrepreneurs should do about this.

VC 255

VC venture capital networking innovation 255

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

SEPTEMBER 29, 2009

I would argue that the shut-down of September 2009 was equally severe yet there are signs that this “VC Ice Age” has begun to thaw. But any entrepreneurs raising capital should keep in mind that this opening of the markets could possibly be temporary. Despite my cynicism of MBA’s , this class was very valuable to me.

VC 263

VC board investing investment 263

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

JULY 13, 2013

My mom was an entrepreneur – she was kind of my inspiration for entrepreneurship. I got a job at a bank, and I worked in their corporate finance group. And no one could see me as anything but a startup guy, so I started a second company and called myself a serial entrepreneur. My mom grew up in the States.

startup 337

startup entrepreneurs consulting board 337

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 25, 2011

It’s nearly impossible to get a services company financed by VCs. They have created two internal technology “products&# and wanted to figure out how they could turn their services business into a product business that could be financed. They wanted advice. You’re a small fish. This team is talented.

VC 332

VC advice financing finance 332

Founders Coop

FEBRUARY 21, 2024

Just two years later, in 2009, we worked out a deal to create the Techstars Seattle program, with our first program running in 2010. What did we owe our sponsors, and did that put us in conflict with our commitments to give founders the best possible advice, and to never waste their time?

startup ecosystem 195

startup ecosystem accelerator communities support 195

The Entrepreneurs Library

JUNE 30, 2015

What we find is that the banking system, the finance system, things like debt, interest, limited liability, all of these things that are quite destructive in our society actually become very functional in an economy that is putting money back in instead of extracting it out. “The Winston Churchill. Fill out this one minute survey here.

advice 58

advice sustainability capital financing 58

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 10, 2010

My first corporate job was at First Interstate Bank where I worked in Corporate Finance. Not everybody is geared up to be an entrepreneur – Tim Ferriss is obviously a very talented individual. Next post: two “4-Hour Workweek&# like hacks I started in 2009 to try and take back control of my life that are saving me hours.

advice 295

advice entrepreneurs VC technology 295

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 8, 2012

If you do a capped note it’s bad for the entrepreneur. But Paul Graham really did have a point in his “ high resolution fundraising ” post – that there is a problem – particularly in angel financing – with herding cats. I recently wrote about my views that startups rounds should be priced.

financing 294

financing finance pitching VC 294

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. Short answer: no.

VC 285

VC financing finance advice 285

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 5, 2012

My initial reaction to Adeo when we spoke was that while it may have solved some issues (debt versus equity) it didn’t solve the ones that I’ve been warning entrepreneurs about most loudly. Was Paul Graham right in his “high resolution” financing post? But entrepreneurs – convertible notes have no MINIMUM!

startup 354

startup VC entrepreneurs financing 354

TechCrunch

SEPTEMBER 14, 2021

As evidence of that, the firm led Credit Karma’s Series A in 2009; led Remitly’s Series A in 2014 and participated in Nubank’s Series A in 2014. Very, very few can augment that with proven, actionable advice and insight that can help them tomorrow.”. That’s especially true as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to (sadly) rage on.

investing 91

investing investment capital advice 91

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

Entrepreneur's Handbook

MARCH 11, 2023

(Any views expressed in the below are the personal views of the author and should not form the basis for making investment decisions, nor be construed as a recommendation or advice to engage in investment transactions.) But for all our effort, there is still a chance that we will never reach this ultimate state. It’s called Bitcoin.

capital 127

capital networking support energy 127

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 7, 2009

If you’re thinking about raising VC and have not yet started the process, you’ve probably already missed the boat for 2009. Maybe it’s partially because many entrepreneurs are pre-kids and many VC’s are post kids that VCs take off large blocks of time in the Summer? May 16th – June 30th (yellow zone).

VC 304

VC venture capital advice capital 304

Entrepreneur's Handbook

JULY 22, 2022

( Any views expressed in the below are the personal views of the author and should not form the basis for making investment decisions, nor be construed as a recommendation or advice to engage in investment transactions. ) ( Note to reader: this week’s essay is a continuation of my piece from last week, “A Samurai, a Knight, and a Yankee”.

energy 133

energy support real estate investing 133

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

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 9, 2011

I thought about things I never had to as an entrepreneur: check size, ownership percentage, deal stage, portfolio construction and risk. Finance where needed. Come 2009 we felt really bullish about the future for startups because the froth was gone and so, too, were wantrapreneurs. He pinged me for advice. Fawk, man.

VC 305

VC disruption entrepreneurs venture capital 305

TechCrunch

APRIL 6, 2022

In Austin’s tech world, there’s an entrepreneur everyone knows by one name: Whurley. “Whurley” is the Unix username for serial tech entrepreneur Will Hurley, and it’s his brand. Whurley can identify with scrappy entrepreneurs in Austin just starting out and trying to find a foothold here. Register here. But the U.S.

transportation 93

transportation entrepreneurship capital entrepreneurs 93

StartupNation

DECEMBER 1, 2021

Software can be licensed to corporations to benefit employees and uses behavioral science to understand the reasoning behind financial decisions people make and to help democratize financial advice for the masses. Credibly is a Detroit fintech startup helping small businesses receive loans and financing by leveraging data and technology.

startup 108

startup real estate health energy 108