Both Sides of the Table

JULY 7, 2015

They now have a strong VC lead from Foundry Group and from experience when you get advice from Foundry it comes with authority, experience, empathy and the right amount of straight talk. I know because I have been the beneficiary of their advice for years and have appreciated it. All of my partners at Upfront do.

startup 323

startup advice pitching VC 323

This is going to be BIG.

MAY 5, 2011

Advisors, investors and board members come in all shapes and sizes. I'm a strong believer in having a board, even at a seed stage, to report to and set strategy with. The most successful companies have strong boards and so as a good housekeeping practice, why not start acting like a great company as early as possible.

board 278

board advice consulting angel investing 278

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 31, 2010

It’s a shame because the ability to nail these presentations at key conferences can be once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to influence journalists, business partners, potential employees, customers and VCs. This was evident at the Twiistup pre-event company pitch last week at UCLA. You’re on stage!

advice 362

advice VC entrepreneurs education 362

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 27, 2012

My friend and fellow SoCal venture capitalist Peter Lee wrote a post about the different roles within a VC and spent much time on the role of an associate. These are the permanent members of a VC. The process for raising money from a VC is a sales process and as such much of what is taught in enterprise sales can be applied.

VC 308

VC pitching entrepreneurs advice 308

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 20, 2009

This is part of my ongoing series, “ Pitching a VC.&# Getting a meeting with a prominent angel or VC is difficult enough. Some advice on how to do that was covered in this link – Getting Access to a VC. Why don’t VC’s follow up? This post covers the day after. So how to proceed?

VC 277

VC pitching advice strategy 277

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? Any advice they have for you is going to be a bit broken.

VC 155

VC advice pitching strategy 155

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. I have sat on a board with Howard and have known him a few years. It is clear that he is simply passionate about being a VC and participating in this industry.

capital 284

capital board VC pitching 284

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 16, 2014

I got three calls from another big name, big check VC. I read the pitch they had sent my friend. I got an email recently from a VC who had invested in a company a small amount in a seed round. And why would it make sense to bring me on board?” He opted for two big VC funds up North who split $1.5 But barely.

advice 333

advice VC pitching investing 333

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 25, 2010

This is an updated post from my ongoing series on Startup Advice that I learned from founding two companies. . On Losing in VC. By Monday morning after their board meeting in NorCal I didn’t get a return phone call. I know I won’t win every deal I want to in VC. I HATE LOSING. I hate it. I lose sleep.

consulting 328

consulting advice collaboration VC 328

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 27, 2011

But should you actually write one if you’re a startup, an industry figure (lawyer, banker) or VC? I was meeting regularly with entrepreneurs and offering (for better or for worse) advice on how to run a startup and how to raise venture capital from my experience in doing so at two companies. By definition, you read blogs.

startup 373

startup advice communities VC 373

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 3, 2009

This is part of my ongoing Raising Venture Capital (VC) series. Most VCs aren’t either? It’s true that many VCs over promise how helpful they’ll be with introductions / strategic advice / recruiting, etc. OK, I know this is true with VC also, but to a lesser extent. What’s the difference?

advice 279

advice venture capital frameworks entrepreneurs 279

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 14, 2010

The most interesting thing I’ve learned by being an investor and sitting on boards & seeing so many company pitches is how different reality of what is going on at companies is from what you’re reading about them in the press. Tags: Startup Advice Tech Market Analysis VC Industry.

angel investing 288

angel investing investing investment advice 288

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 25, 2010

This is an updated post from my ongoing series on Startup Advice that I learned from founding two companies. . On Losing in VC. By Monday morning after their board meeting in NorCal I didn’t get a return phone call. I know I won’t win every deal I want to in VC. I HATE LOSING. I hate it. I lose sleep.

consulting 333

consulting advice collaboration VC 333

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 20, 2012

Board Meetings. How do VCs break out of group think when they are shuttling from one board meeting to the next, from one conference to the other and talking with all the same people? I want to make sure that my sixth year as a VC doesn’t just become an automatic continuation of what I’ve done in my first 5 years.

creativity 400

creativity venture capital entrepreneurs board 400

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 25, 2013

bang on the windows of a board meeting recently and stick his tongue out at all of us. They pitched on a Wednesday. Unsurprisingly for Kara is was the VC connections. Startup Advice' Heck, I even had Robert Downey, Jr. And Tasha never screamed before? We’re in LA. They’re only people. That’s cute.

startup 398

startup creativity advice entrepreneurs 398

TechCrunch

APRIL 25, 2023

But dealmaking is idiosyncratic: a few investors might be content to make a deal over coffee, but early-stage teams still need a sturdy pitch deck or memo they can leave behind. Similarly, one VC may encourage newly minted CEOs to eat ramen and ride the bus, while another might suggest a salary in the low six-figures, depending on geography.

pitching 98

pitching incubation board opportunity 98

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 21, 2010

Founded it as a California LLC but your potential VC wants a Delaware C-Corp? I recently wrote a post on how to get access to VCs and angels where I outlined why lawyers are such an important tool for VC introductions. When we invest they are often the company counsel so we see them at board meetings. Get to know them.

startup 318

startup advice entrepreneurs VC 318

This is going to be BIG.

MARCH 14, 2019

If you’re lacking for track record as a firm, here’s three exercises you should walk through to help turn your pitch and due diligence meetings from guesswork into something more substantive. Taking board seats? Want to only invest in diverse boards? I think the results will surprise you how hard it is to be successful.

ventures 248

ventures angel investing board advice 248

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2013

” Your VC friends have been egging you on. The don’t understand VC liquidation preferences or multiple return expectations. They weren’t with you when you did the VC pitch where you looked them in the eyes 9 months ago and said, “I see only one outcome, we want to build something really big.

startup 417

startup peer-to-peer VC culture 417

TechCrunch

APRIL 26, 2022

In a TechCrunch+ guest post, he shared three fundamental pieces of advice for new founders. Klaviyo co-founder Ed Hallen’s 3 top pieces of advice for launching a startup. Why a16z pitched Deel to lead its Series A. Why a16z pitched Deel to lead its Series A. Full TechCrunch+ articles are only available to members.

pitching 90

pitching mix-use advice ventures 90

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 3, 2013

These range from companies pitching me to portfolio companies presenting at board meetings. So part of seeing you with a team is to get a read on team dynamics and believe me all VCs discuss the team dynamics after you leave as in. Here are some guidelines for you – particularly for VC pitch meetings.

pitching 377

pitching VC leadership advice 377

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 31, 2010

I had finally appeared on the front cover of a magazine (TornadoInsider – then the top European VC magazine) but I felt so fat in the picture I never sent it to anybody. I started my second company while retaining a board seat at my first company. I stopped doing conferences, traveling or pitching to VCs.

entrepreneurs 308

entrepreneurs advice real estate venture capital 308

TechCrunch

MARCH 6, 2021

Square buys majority of Tidal, adds Jay-Z to its board in bid to shake up the artist economy. As part of this transaction, Tidal owner Jay-Z got a board seat with Square, triggering conversations about the future of musical NFTs. Announcing the Early Stage Pitch-Off judges. 11 words and phrases to cut from your VC pitch deck.

pitching 109

pitching advice education collaboration 109

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. Who are the major Revenue-Based Investing VCs? Should your new VC fund use Revenue-Based Investing? Optionality.

VC 69

VC investing investment venture capital 69

This is going to be BIG.

SEPTEMBER 7, 2012

I have figured out the ultimate VC fund strategy. I know, because those people all used to pitch me as an institutional LP back in the day. What I'm not good at--or, rather, simply haven't done yet, is sit on a board for seven years helping a company go from $20mm in revenue to $100 million in revenue. Do what you're good at.

strategy 247

strategy VC ventures finance 247

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.

VC 80

VC incubation angel investing investing 80

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 9, 2013

Most board meetings are “update meetings” where management downloads its status to a group of investors. These outside board members spend most of the board meeting trying to reacquaint themselves with the company’s business and critical issues. So most board meetings become bored meetings.

board 337

board advice pitching VC 337

NZ Entrepreneur

MARCH 16, 2025

Read the interview: Richard Liew: For those who may not know who Ministry of Awesome is – let’s just assume there might be some – can you give us your elevator pitch? We’ve got some really incredible people that have joined our team to provide that one-to-one mentorship and advice.

startup ecosystem 52

startup ecosystem mix-use advice incubation 52

TechCrunch

MARCH 10, 2023

I’m not a market watcher or a financial expert, but here’s some advice: Panic is a luxury. There’s no question that this will impact deal-making, but uninsured customers who run startups still need to buy laptops, pay cloud vendors and cover worker salaries and benefits. Talk to some friends. Take a walk.

VC 91

VC SaaS pitching ventures 91

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 15, 2009

We assumed they would take our advice and upgrade. Given that it was a public tender the chairman of our board had encouraged us to think about launching a complaint with the UK government agency in charge of such reviews. I know I won’t win every deal I want to in VC. Tags: Start-up Advice.

consulting 151

consulting advice collaboration support 151

TechCrunch

AUGUST 20, 2021

If you’re a founder who finds yourself in a meeting with a VC, try to remember two things: You’re the smartest person in the room. A VC shares 5 things no one told you about pitching VCs. How to establish a health tech startup advisory board. Investors are looking for a reason to say “yes.”

startup 103

startup health board VC 103

David Teten VC

AUGUST 20, 2019

You’re working on launching a new VC fund; congratulations! I’ve been a traditional equity VC for 8 years, and I’m now researching Revenue-Based Investing and other new approaches to VC. Revenue-Based Investing (“RBI”) is a new form of VC financing, distinct from the preferred equity structure most VCs use.

VC 65

VC investing investment venture capital 65

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 20, 2018

In the case of the investment they are often also not only committing personal risk of looking bad at their partnership if things don’t go well but also countless hours of board meetings, financial reviews, legal documents across what is often 7–10 years or more. This is part of a series on fund-raising advice for entrepreneurs and VCs.

peer-to-peer 189

peer-to-peer entrepreneurs VC investing 189

This is going to be BIG.

JULY 30, 2010

Each day, hundreds of people stuff themselves into my inbox--pitches, career advice pleas, introduction requests. big time b) be able to pitch me or talk out what they're up to, next steps, opportunities, etc w/o it even necessarily counting as a pitch b/c it's so informal and c) do something fun and outdoorsy, they'd take it, right?

opportunity 244

opportunity networking VC pitching 244

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 investment 110

TechCrunch

NOVEMBER 30, 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. Not all money is created equal: A VC’s advice for founders. More posts by this contributor. The child with a hammer.

founder 79

founder board advice investing 79

TechCrunch

AUGUST 31, 2022

Jenny is an entrepreneur, operator, board member, advisor, and investor in tech for over 25 years. The bad news is that I over-capitalized my companies, but the good news is that the process taught me how VCs think and the best way to pitch them. VCs prefer to work with founders who can discuss their business thoughtfully.

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pitching VC education opportunity 74