Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 22, 2010

So it was my great pleasure to host Chamillionaire on This Week in VC this week talking marketing, entrepreneurship, old media and, of course, music. You may have to cut scope but nothing gets you more focused and the creative juices flowing than a deadline staring you in the face. There are a million opinions about what is good.

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Both Sides of the Table

MAY 11, 2010

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. Are all VC’s just a-hole’s? Not all VC’s feel this way in my experience. Should you bug them? Is it normal to not hear back?

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advice VC entrepreneurs creativity 265

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 5, 2011

I was meeting with a first-time CEO of a very promising young startup recently and offering my advice on what his priorities should be. I gave him the same advice I give nearly all over-worked, control-freak, do-everything-yourself startup founders: “Your number one priority isn’t any of these things. Me: “Bullshit.

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communities VC innovation entrepreneurs 317

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 25, 2013

She talks about creative design of websites and physical products – in our case – stickers. Soleil at Chief Creative Officer. Unsurprisingly for Kara is was the VC connections. Startup Advice' She won me over at first meeting. Soleil returns emails at 1.30am. She flies from LA to NY every two weeks.

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startup creativity advice entrepreneurs 398

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.

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startup advice communities VC 373

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 3, 2011

As many of you know I run a weekly webcast called This Week in VC that’s getting between 25-35,000 weekly views across ThisWeekIn.com, YouTube & mostly iTunes. Why did you raise VC from Polaris & how have they been to work with? Advice, coaching, intros? Yesterday’s show floored me.

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mix-use VC advice creativity 303

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 9, 2011

But I guess you could say the same about VC. Stock market declines would bring back dog days of VC. If you want a comprehensive summary of the industry in this era it’s worth a read: VC Ice Age Part 1 – What Happens When a Market Comes to a Standstill? VC Ice Age Part 2 – Why the Market Started Moving Again?

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Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 9, 2013

Raise a big VC round – yeah! I’ve talked before about how I use visualization to drive my creativity. I had foregone my VC term sheets to accept an offer yet I knew it wasn’t 100% probability to close – it never is. Startup Advice' How can you wake up every day and process that decision.

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advice VC creativity opportunity 405

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 11, 2011

We also talked about why Jon decided to leave Google to become an EIR at a VC firm (Polaris) – minute 33. In working with brands, Jon says: “ Vary creative, try lots of things, the costs are so low, why would we put up one piece of branded content? But of course we also focused on making content go viral.

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advice creativity culture VC 354

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 16, 2010

Understand Personality Types – One of the benefits of working for a big company (Accenture) was that we had lots of speakers come in and train us in topics like leadership, creativity, presentations, strategy, etc. And because as a VC or as a CEO or senior exec you get presented to all the time we’re extra sensitive to it.

VC 358

VC entrepreneurs creativity leadership 358

AsiaTechDaily

OCTOBER 25, 2023

In the epicenter of tech, where innovation thrives, Alex Luce bridges materials science and venture capital, carving a niche as a Partner at Creative Ventures. “Finally, I wound up here at Creative Ventures, where we have a small but incredibly nimble team.

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This is going to be BIG.

MARCH 14, 2024

We made connections, hopefully made a good impression, and potentially helped founders along their journeys with some advice or connections. It’s easy for a VC to just stick within your own networks and filter bubbles—and hard to scale being “open” without opening the floodgates.

communities 339

communities consulting creativity advice 339

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 1, 2009

This is part of my ongoing series on Startup Advice. I know that people find safety in numbers (and there always seems to be 3 amigos) but imagine this for a moment – you go and raise venture capital and you’re fighting over whether to dilute with a VC by 25% or 30% as a company. Plug your holes. Take your inventory.

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startup advice entrepreneurs creativity 289

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 18, 2010

We rise to the occasion as it stirs our creative juices. There is something about the adrenaline rush of being under time pressure that excites us and teases out our creativity. I was on vacation in Santa Barbara two years ago with my wife and I was reflecting on what I had learned in my first year in LA and in VC.

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mentorship creativity energy entrepreneurs 374

TechCrunch

SEPTEMBER 28, 2021

Introducing TechCrunch+, advice and analysis to help startups get ahead. Creative capital is the secret sauce, not venture capital. In a guest post for TechCrunch+, he describes different types of creative capital and includes multiple examples of how startups can leverage it for success. Thanks very much for reading!

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TechCrunch

JULY 23, 2021

Moufarek shares her advice for startups and explains why there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to marketing. In growth marketing, creative is the critical X factor : Self-proclaimed “growth marketing nerd” and current Uber growth team member Jonathan Martinez breaks down how to be successful with creative testing.

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creativity strategy consulting advice 102

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2014

So my simple advice is to start PR as early as possible (and certainly earlier than most of your investors will advise) when you have your head around your product plans and are well into execution (or ready to launch) precisely because your recruiting, seed funding and initial user base may depend on it. Should any money go to PR at all?

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pitching media advice venture capital 319

This is going to be BIG.

DECEMBER 5, 2011

Me, I can't draw my way out of a stick hat, so I'd be a lost cause--but a creative person could do a lot with design classes in two years. In any case, you're going to have to start out with a very detailed job spec. You need to know exactly what someone in this role is doing now--and there's no better way to do that then to just ask.

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Both Sides of the Table

MAY 17, 2011

I talked specifically about it in the context of raising VC / establishing credibility over on the Sales School blog where there’s a video & a transcript. Show that you have creativity, humor, emotion, ability to build rapport and that you’d be fun to hang out with. They’re going t0 publish all 4 parts of my talk.

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Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 8, 2014

Here Cincinnati was really creative to its approach to attracting more venture capital to the region – including this author. On my trip I also gave my usual advice to entrepreneurs who don’t live in a major tech funding hub: Find VCs who are from your area originally.

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startup communities venture capital capital 390

TechCrunch

JUNE 10, 2022

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. ET, Karl Alomar will join me in a Twitter Space to share more strategic advice for fundraising during a downturn. This might take a little time.”.

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VC real estate advice pitching 81

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 14, 2015

It’s a creative expression. As I’ve said before, “ You’d Have to be a Really Big Baby to Complain About Being a VC.” I called in the Y0 Yo Life of an Entrepreneur but it really applies to me as a VC as well. On blogging I blog because I love it. And then it forms part of the conversation.

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VC entrepreneurs creativity advice 347

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 8, 2010

I guess let’s file this under sales & marketing advice. Now I’m a VC. There are placed to get free images but I don’t like to deal with the creative commons wording and linking and potential that I got it wrong. Tags: Entrepreneur Advice Start-up Advice Startup Advice. Some search.

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advice mix-use entrepreneurs strategy 286

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 23, 2011

And as a result their competitors were able to raise a considerable VC round from well-known firms. Actually, this is usually the same advice I give people about recruiters, accountants, lawyers and similar trade professionals. They seemed to understand what I was saying but not be interested in putting in the effort.

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startup pitching advice consulting 349

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 10, 2018

In the next post I’m going to talk about “funnel management” and how to handle all of your VC pipeline discussions and how to keep your process alive but the first step is to keep your confidence alive. Sometimes you have to find creative ways of getting to the next milestone. You guys fold after one or two rejections.

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pitching VC consulting creativity 232

David Teten VC

AUGUST 19, 2019

Does the traditional VC financing model make sense for all companies? VC Josh Kopelman makes the analogy of jet fuel vs. motorcycle fuel. VCs sell jet fuel which works well for jets; motorcycles are more common but need a different type of fuel. . Absolutely not. So what is Revenue Based Investing?

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Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

As an early-stage VC I love this phase. If I could close with some advice for startups and boards …. There is nothing more pure than building a product, putting it out in the world and seeing paying customers using your product and in some cases loving it. Startups are like families.

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innovation startup board leadership 286

TechCrunch

SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

You’ll hear from iconic founders, unicorn makers, boundary-benders — all of it served up with a gigantic side of DIY tips, actionable advice, encouragement and inspiration. Rachael Wilcox, creative producer, Volvo Cars. Remember we said you’ll find plenty of actionable advice? Michael McCarthy, CEO, Repositax.

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AsiaTechDaily

MARCH 28, 2023

“Founders should also evaluate which VC is able to add-value to their growth, rather than just focusing on the amount of money the investor has to offer,” Lou told AsiaTechDaily. I also had the opportunity to learn firsthand how VC firms put together an investment fund and understood the type of LPs coming together to form a fund.

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TechCrunch

DECEMBER 16, 2022

Similarly, “everyone needs 18-24 months of runway” is a nice motto, but when it takes three times longer to raise a round than it used to, it may no longer be useful advice. The rules of VC are changing: Here’s what founders should be considering in the new era. Thanks very much for reading TC+ this week, Walter Thompson.

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TechCrunch

FEBRUARY 25, 2021

The company announced a $6 million seed round today led by Foundation Capital with help from Quarry VC, Partech Partners, IGSB, Bow Capital and SVB. “People have found diversity usually [results in a company that is] more productive, more creative and works faster,” Lee said.

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SaaS board creativity advice 89

David Teten VC

AUGUST 20, 2019

A new wave of Revenue-Based Investors are emerging who are using creative investing structures with some of the upside of traditional VC, but some of the downside protection of debt. In addition, their portfolios look far more diverse than VC industry norms. Who are the major Revenue-Based Investing VCs?

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founder investing investment venture capital 74

Jason Malki

JANUARY 15, 2023

I truly fell in love with building things and realized that it simultaneously fueled my curiosity and creativity. I have also built deep domain expertise in the financial services industry and founders regularly approach me for advice which has further bolstered my credibility, putting me at the forefront for founders.

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StartupNation

DECEMBER 1, 2021

Michigan is now the state with the highest growth in VC investment. Waymark is a digital creative marketing company with offices in Detroit. They were founded in 2020 and have solid VC backing, recently raising $2 million, raising their total funding to $4.4 Now many Detroit startups are on the fast track to growth.

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startup real estate health energy 108

TechCrunch

DECEMBER 10, 2021

She was curious to explore a more creative side of marketing as she enjoyed working on UX/UI projects in the past; and I knew firsthand that for the end users, high-quality code without good UX/UI is no different from broken code. Why do you think architecture design advice is important? Advice on avoiding a bad experience?

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development consulting advice strategy 102

Hunter Walk

AUGUST 6, 2023

It’s words (and advice) he’s been given and had to take himself. “That freedom unlocked an era of unfettered creativity for a generation of artists and built a critical digital-first audience that would later lead to rap’s dominance in streaming. Brian Josephs/New York Times] – Save the culture!

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VC creativity culture advice 75

TechCrunch

MAY 12, 2021

That creativity. This concept alone could have worked as a services business for mobile studios, but Sanlo takes the next step beyond advice to actually provide companies with access to capital. Caliujnaia said it made more sense to go this route rather than return to the VC world, because of potential to reach a wider group.

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