Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 30, 2014

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. Because I’ve asked more than 100 VCs similar questions I start to notice patterns in thinking. What is a founder to do?

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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%). But they are also a tax on your time with portfolio companies, looking for new investments, running your shop and honestly they are a tax on your family life. I don’t.

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Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 21, 2020

Several years ago I made an appearance in a burgeoning new podcast called “20 Minute VC,” which by now needs no introduction. Biggest Advice I Give to Portfolio Founders? There are large sums of money to be invested and if investors can get comfortable with “downside protections” they’ll still write checks. Picking great talent.

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This is going to be BIG.

JULY 8, 2013

I usually direct people to this post --still hanging atop the search rankings for " How to be a VC analyst" years later. That''s kind of like what it''s like being on board with these companies after you make an early stage investment. Even the best and most active board members can still feel pretty helpless.

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David Teten VC

SEPTEMBER 21, 2023

Versatile VC is hosting a one-hour interactive webinar on Thursday, September 28, at noon EST. We’ll discuss Versatile VC ‘s strategy, how we see the market, and some of the opportunities we think are exciting. are an aggressive user of technology internally to manage the firm and make better investments.

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Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2019

One of the things that founders have the most angst about is whom they should have on their board and at what stage of the business. This is smart because amazing board members can be transformative with important advice and access and can also help attract other great board members (and team members).

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David Teten VC

JUNE 9, 2021

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.

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Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 23, 2015

For some aspiring to be tech entrepreneurs, I often suggest a two-step process, as I argued in this post that “ The First Startup Founder You Need to Invest in Is You.” 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.”

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This is going to be BIG.

APRIL 23, 2012

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. I've only recently started leading investments a little over two years ago. Often times, the advice is terrible or impractical. I mean, what do I know? It doesn't stop anyone else.

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Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2013

He wrote a post this long weekend on how he manages the board of DataSift. In his post he asserts, “You get the VCs you deserve” and the corollary “You get the performance out of your board that you deserve.” Sincerely – he is better at managing his board than any exec I have worked with.

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TechCrunch

OCTOBER 26, 2021

GDP, so it’s no surprise that digital health is attracting record levels of investment. This year, VCs have flowed $14.7 Simon Wu, an investment director with Cathay Innovation, says he’s paying particularly close attention to these areas of convergence : Data and the transition to value-based care. billion in all of 2020.

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Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 22, 2014

Picking a VC is hard. So I thought I’d write about out with what I would look for in a VC knowing what I know now and why. Most VCs are book smart. VCs should be more of a coach than proscriptively telling you what to do. You want a VC who will spar with you but then STFU and let you get on with things.

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Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 8, 2014

What is a principal at a VC firm and how does it work at Upfront Ventures? ” Associates have different functions at different VCs. VC firm admin. VC firm policy or fund analysis. Helping be the VC “presence” at key events. inside insight into VC decision-making. Industry reviews.

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TechCrunch

AUGUST 31, 2022

Two weeks ago, longtime venture capitalist Chris Olsen, a general partner and cofounder of Drive Capital in Columbus, Ohio, settled into his seat for a portfolio company’s board meeting. ” He also says that it isn’t the first time a board meeting hasn’t happened as planned lately. Overbooked.

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Both Sides of the Table

MAY 24, 2018

In order to understand how to “get to yes” with a VC you first need to understand how VC partnerships make decisions and then you can understand how to increase your odds of closing a deal. VC Partnerships Start by understanding how many partners are at the firm you are approaching. It’s super easy to suss all this out.

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This is going to be BIG.

JULY 23, 2018

I've seen this so many times over: A founder pitches a VC, or several of them, and then they come back from that process with all sorts of new strategy goals or worries that they need to be doing something differently. So why is this feedback seemingly all over the board? They don't want to invest in your company.

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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. As I was trying to figure out the role I wanted to play in the VC world I decided I wanted to focus on businesses that were building deeply technical products to solve problems for business users. We not only have our Series A funds that can write $500k?—?$15

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Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 8, 2018

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 We strive to invest in companies that are consciously working to create a diverse leadership team?—?one Ours is: upfront.com/inclusion. It takes a village.

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Berkonomics

MARCH 8, 2018

Give one percent equity to each outside board member vesting over four years of service. Many early stage CEOs and board members have asked for some guidance regarding pay and time commitments for board members. Here is my best advice, based upon many boards and many years.

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David Teten VC

AUGUST 21, 2019

Most founders who are raising capital look first to traditional equity VCs. Revenue-Based Investing (“RBI”) is a new form of VC financing, distinct from the preferred equity structure most VCs use. For more background, see Revenue-Based Investing: A New Option for Founders who Care About Control.

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Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 6, 2014

I’ve written a few posts about boards recently as part of a series on the subject. I admit that I haven’t yet read it but I’ve had numerous discussions with Brad over the years about board structure & conduct and consider him a mentor on the topic. Offering a sparring-partner function on strategic decisions.

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Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 3, 2016

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.

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Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2013

And I am often approached by entrepreneurs in cities which don’t have a vibrant VC community. If you don’t live in a major VC zone, I have some tips for how to make it easier to raise Venture Capital. ” Most VCs view it as their responsibility to mentor, debate, cajole and generally assist with investments they make.

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This is going to be BIG.

AUGUST 8, 2011

How about as a VC? He hasn't founded or built either a successful, let alone innovative company, and he hasn't raised $ to invest in those entrepreneurs. Fred has basically always been a VC, Mike was a reporter, and Jim worked in product marketing and management consulting. "Charlie is a nice guy, but his company failed.".

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Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 25, 2009

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.

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Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 23, 2015

We also spoke about what it takes to be an effective board member. On the one hand I often find that some board members are seemingly reading the board materials on the fly and don’t have a firm grasp of the business fundamentals while on the other hand some board members like to tinker in the running of the business.

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Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 11, 2009

This is part of my ongoing series Startup Advice. Many startup companies hire advisory boards. So do advisory boards really add value? In my experience most advisory boards under deliver relative to expectations. My main advice to you if you’re considering it is don’t waste much equity on it.

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Both Sides of the Table

MAY 12, 2010

I recently wrote an article on how to respond to board members between meetings. If I were to re-write the original post I would have taken out the section on “how to get better intro’s from VC’s&# and made it it’s own post. It seems to me this is the main problem with boards. It’s true.

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Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 8, 2018

Professional investors usually bring “smart money” to the table, defined as money that comes along with good advice and great relationships for corporate growth. Each of these companies needed more cash than professional angel investors were willing or able to provide, and we turned to the venture community for larger investments.

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investing investment VC advice 97

TechCrunch

JANUARY 21, 2022

“If you believe VR and immersive computing is the future — whether for consumer or business use cases — Activision helps Microsoft build a flywheel of content and technology that gets more users on board to this future.”. 500 Global’s Christine Tsai shares her 2022 VC predictions. Image Credits: Bryce Durbin/TechCrunch.

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AsiaTechDaily

JANUARY 30, 2023

In addition to his rich experiences working in the venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) sectors, Joseph has also sharpened his investment acumen through his multiple years in the audit and stock-broking industry before deciding to finally launch his cross-border investment firm, Kairous Capital , in 2015.

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Y Combinator

JULY 15, 2019

One of the most common questions we hear from founders is “How do I manage my board?” It’s something that provokes anxiety, because this is the first time the founder/CEO is subject to external supervision, and the board has powers that include the firing of the CEO and the senior management. But first, what’s the purpose of a board?

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TechCrunch

NOVEMBER 17, 2021

Lak Ananth is founding CEO and managing partner of the global venture capital firm Next47 and serves on the board of several companies that he has helped to grow beyond $1 billion valuations. Why waste your time with people who want to take board seats and more? Lak Ananth. Contributor. Share on Twitter.

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Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2010

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. I always start my answer to this question with, “you’d have to be a pretty big baby to complain about being a VC.&# And the VC job has plenty of admin and minutiae.

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Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 16, 2012

It has always surprised me that founders were so quick to fight over how many board members there were and so quick to agree to have as many board observers as people wanted. I have always been vehemently against board observers and wrote some of the reasons in this previous post. The Case for a Silent Observer.

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This is going to be BIG.

OCTOBER 3, 2016

Why do VC's get such a bad rap? That's literally your baby--and 98% of the time, a VC will tell you that your baby is ugly. We're "kingmakers" whose investment has the "Midas Touch." That's probably why the vast majority of applications for VC positions tend to be from males. So what gives? 3) Access to money.

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Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 14, 2010

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.

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