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Everybody has a blog these days and there is much advice to be had. Many startups now go through accelerators and have mentors passing through each day with advice – usually it’s conflicting. So far from not taking advice from other people – I want more advice, more data points, more opinions.
By definition, you read blogs. But should you actually write one if you’re a startup, an industry figure (lawyer, banker) or VC? People often ask me why I started blogging. GRP Partners last fund is the single best performing VC fund in the US (prequin data) for its vintage year). Absofuckinglutely. accessibility.
I'm often the last one to leave an event, held back by the most persistant of entrepreneurs trying to squeeze as much advice as they can out of me. Conferences, startup blogs, meetups--they're all filled with people telling you how to build your company. Often times, the advice is terrible or impractical. They don't stress test.
I always get asked how to get into VC and so I think a lot about what it takes to do the job well. Practicing the word no as many times as a VC does means you have to fight not to have your mind close on you. For some, VC is about the picking rather than the fostering and growing. In venture capital, you say "no" a lot.
I was reading Chris Dixon’s blog tonight. I came across this blog post about getting a computer science degree as the best degree for getting into venture capital or working at a VC-backed start up. I just completed an exercise where I went out to hire a new associate for my VC firm, GRP Partners.
I don’t know Ezra yet but since he’s taking the time to blog (which I hugesly respect) and share thoughts I thought I’d take him up on his challenge and also spill the beans on my secrets. On blogging I blog because I love it. Mostly I’m Blogging for the Hell of It, Not Blogging to Stay Relevant.
Beware of VC Seagulls, who shit on you and then fly away (or worse yet leave you with Red Herrings). This is part of my ongoing series Startup Advice. I write this post as a warning to pick your VC’s carefully. I like to say to first-time entrepreneurs, picking a VC is more permanent than marriage.
One of the questions I’m most often asked is, “what’s it like being a VC?&# I’ve been a VC for nearly 3 years now. Since I answer this all the time anyway I thought it might make an interesting blog post. But let’s face it, as a VC you spend time with whichever companies you want.
In the first post in this three part series I described why I believe the VC market froze between September 2008 – April 2009. I’m not a doomsday guy, but just believe that we won’t see a V shaped recovery, which could make VC funding more difficult for tech start-ups (don’t shoot the messenger!).
I wrote this conundrum and the need to take charge of how the market define your skills in my much-read blog post on “ personal branding.” But I also have advice for the 15% that really do want to be a startup CEO. I often tell people in this scenario to focus on a VC “fixer upper.”
This blog post is not about debating if "enough" diverse founders get funding--whatever that might mean. So if you're a super early stage with just a prototype, you might not think that a VC fund is the right fit for you--so you wind up at an angel group. VCs don't go later and angels don't go earlier. Venture investing is hard.
I guess let’s file this under sales & marketing advice. I recently wrote a piece for Mashable on how to create a company blog. Since it’s already written (and since I promised not to republish on my blog other than a summary) if you’re interested please have a read over there. What should you blog about?
Most conversations don't end in funding or even a follow up meeting, so your aim should be to get specific, helpful advice that moves you forward. Are you blogging really insightful takes on your industry? 7) When being introduced to a VC, you follow up first, not them. Ask me those, or did you just want me to toss up a big "9.5"
This is part of my blog series “ Pitching a VC.&#. I’ve sat through a lot of VC pitches and having been CEO of an enterprise software firm for many years I’ve also sat through many customer meetings with sales teams. The following are some tips for the debate style VC meeting.
They had received a term sheet from a VC and were wondering whether to work with this firm. You’re tied at the hip to your VC. So my first advice is not to rush in the fund raising process. Get to know VCs over a long period of time so that when you’re ready to get engaged you feel you know their character.
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. The following was available: “I kept hearing about startups that raised VC funding, but which hadn’t filed Form Ds (nor issued a press release).
If you want a very quick primer on all the stuff nobody ever tells you about raising venture capital check out this video where Mark Jeffrey & I break it down on This Week in VC. All of this is covered in more detail on the TWiVC video above (and much of it is covered in text on this blog on the “ Raising VC &# tab).
As a VC you want to feel like you have “proprietary sources” of deal flow. I eventually stumbled on to the best source of high-quality deal flow imaginable – blogging. ” I love businesses that don’t lend themselves well to VC Panels at conferences or Demo Days. Advice to VCs Startup Advice'
This was really a fun week at TWiVC because we decided to have an entrepreneur come and talk about raising capital rather than having a VC come on. In particular I tried to do most of the “entrepreneur advice on VC” up front so that if you don’t want to watch our views on the deals you don’t have to. They sponsor TWiVC.
This is part of a series of advice for founders who need to raise money from venture capitalists. The most important advice I could give you before you set out in fund raising mode is to understand that fund-raising a sales & marketing process and needs to be managed. Same with VC. If in high school you got a 3.6
But less as a complaint and more as advice to younger networkers, the more you invest in relationships the more you will get when you need. Brunson’s short and to-the-point blog post, “ It’s Called Networking, Not Using.” It’s why I wrote the blog post on 50 Coffee Meetings. ” Be authentic.
As a VC with scores of startups in our portfolio we have ringside seats to many, many fund raising processes plus I had to raise money across about 5 different rounds of capital as an entrepreneur so I’ve developed some thought on the process that I hope can be helpful to some of you before you start. Remind me why I love you?
I just want to figure out what a fair valuation is.&# I figured all the VC’s talked so we should. How VC’s Calculate Valuation : We walked through a standard deal where you raise $1 million at a $3 million pre-money valuation leading to a $4 million post money valuation. The VC assumes you’ll have an option pool.
Instead of just e-mailing people and dealing with them directly, as we do in person, we're a blog post away from a flamewar. I think Fred was trying to offer some friendly advice to young investors that you're going to "take lumps" and that it's worth learning from those who are more experienced.
I haven’t written a blog post in a week. And for the last few evenings I decided to get through email rather than blog. I’ve written about the topic before when I wrote the post “ I emailed a VC but never heard back.&# As in, what do you do now that you’ve written them. Blog comments.
You can watch the video above for a very brief overview of why we rebranded and where we see our place in the VC ecosystem along with what has changed in our industry. Relaunching our brand is part of our larger initiative to build a VC firm of the future. When he starts his blog I’ll let you know. But I miss blogging.
I wanted to also post the series here to have it as a resource on my blog for future entrepreneurs who stop by. One of the questions I’m most often asked as a VC is what I’m looking for in an investment. I once had a debate with a prominent VC on a panel. How to build relationships with a VC. Yeah, right.
I only say that because after years as a VC I can always tell when my peer group invested in something because “it seemed like it would make money” versus when they invested out of passion. On reflection of the role that I want to play as a VC it is clearly in the camp of passion. I’m a VC. Startup Advice'
By spending more time educating your board on your business you get more valuable advice from them. Your goal should be to turn your VCs into extended members of your team to get real value from them. So what are Rob’s secret hacks that he didn’t spill in his blog post? . Startup Advice' Rob does it.
I’m going to save that for a future blog post. And awesome to get to spend time with Ian Sigalow “comparing notes” (VC speak ). If you can get 30 CEO’s sitting on the edge of their seats about about 8 VC partners to not use their Blackberry’s for 90 minutes you’re really achieved something.
The major battle for press is a battle for “mindshare” and it’s exactly the reason I blog. I am a VC. We provide strategic advice to digital media companies in a manner that reflects how corporate development is actually done. I hand out money. How differentiated is that?
The frantic pace of technology cycles, the amount of tech news, the blogs, the conferences, the demo days, the announcements, the fundings, the IPOs. It got me thinking about the advice that I often give to new VCs. VC Industry' It’s exhausting. Perhaps unsustainable. Lines, Not Dots. Attitude over Aptitude.
We started this week’s show with a Q&A session where I answered viewer questions about fund raising and the VC industry. If you enjoy this blog I think you’ll enjoy watching the first 14 minutes of this video (just click on the image of me below). What advice do you have for people who want to get into venture capital?
In the VC insider baseball world a discussion has gone on about “VC platforms” over the past 5 or so years. While firms define platforms differently, let’s just say they are the services that a VC offers outside of investment capital and partner time on boards or providing intros.
If you’ve been following the press about VC funds you’ll know this is no small feat. VC has operated as an “old boys club”, with access to capital often requiring entrance through an elite university engineering department in one of two cities. Startup Advice' That seems pretty superficial!”.
On my blog I’ve been hesitant to take the topic head on. But last week I noticed a blog post by a woman, Tara Tiger Brown, that asked the question, “ Why Aren’t More Women Commenting on VCBlog Posts? In it she observes that only 3% of the comments on this blog are from women. Please watch this.
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 I have seen in your 5 years with us countless hours dedicated to mentorship and advice to younger founders of color and showing them a roadmap for success.
I became aware of Sam several years ago as I started noticing his name repeated in the comments section of my blog. He pinged me that he was thinking about joining a startup based in LA with the CEO in NYC and would I be willing to meet him and give him advice on this process. So I had a sense that I knew who he was.
Ok, back to the VC content marketing. As a result I’ve seen hundreds of VC decks, all certain they will be among the top performers. People who can invest with the firms money at arms length, bounties for sourcing a startup, small investments in other VCs that are upstream from your firm.
Being a good angel or VC has a lot to do with pattern matching. If you've never blogged before, you might not get what I mean, but it's akin to how our view of the world changed the moment we all started carrying around cameras in our pockets. Otherwise, all of your advice sounds like your best advice, until you tell someone else.
As female entrepreneurs, we are independent-minded and innovative, and this advice is critical for securing our future and the future of our families. She provided me with so much advice on business strategy, business channels and HR. and more articles from the EO blog.
This is an updated post from my ongoing series on Startup Advice that I learned from founding two companies. . On Losing in VC. I know I won’t win every deal I want to in VC. It’s one of my favorite blog posts. We assumed they would take our advice and upgrade. I HATE LOSING. I hate it.
years ago you’d remember RIP Good Times from Sequoia, which still strikes me as having been prudent advice in late 2008. That was back when VCs weren’t so quick to respond to emails. I was thinking about all of this as I looked at the logs from my WordPress blog this evening. I started blogging 2 years ago.
This is part of my ongoing series “ Pitching a VC “ There’s a great meme developing this morning on the need to simplify funding terms and documents. That prompted Fred Wilson’s blog post appealing to the industry to make these simplified term sheets standard. I have this mentality, too.
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