Entrepreneur's Handbook

JUNE 21, 2022

You’ll receive the best practical startup advice straight to your inbox every week. In this week’s edition, we discuss: Approaching the funding raising process from a VCs point of view The future of cryptocurrency in 2022 Is your side hustle profitable or a waste of time? That way, you can anticipate questions that a VC might ask.

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TechCrunch

NOVEMBER 17, 2020

Put off by high taxes and paperwork in their home country, many Italian entrepreneurs moved to places like London in years past to startup. Indeed, the Italian Ministry of Economic Development and the Italian Trade & Investment Agency in London have even been known to fund Italian entrepreneurs abroad to help them gain more experience.

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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. VCs have different views and strategies on this.

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Entrepreneur's Handbook

AUGUST 2, 2021

5 Ways to Encourage More Women Into Careers in Venture Capital It’s time to tear open the seemingly impenetrable ‘old boys’ network It’s no secret that founders seek out investors who value diversity and recognize the success that comes from having diverse teams. However, the question of how to make this a reality remains unanswered.

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TechCrunch

DECEMBER 16, 2021

In the scuffle, VCs are turning to scouts to do the legwork, but that has meant being yet another step removed from their founders. Investors have already been signing the dotted line without meeting entrepreneurs in person. When a VC spends time at an accelerator, they’re in front of a number of talented founders at once.

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Entrepreneur's Handbook

FEBRUARY 18, 2021

No one decides to be an entrepreneur because it’s easy?—?but As they say, to be forewarned is to be forearmed, so here are the 10 things no one ever tells you about being an entrepreneur: 1. Perhaps unsurprisingly, for every £1 of VC investment in the UK, 89p goes to all-male founding teams. I look back and chuckle. No pressure.

entrepreneurs 114

entrepreneurs advice VC venture capital 114

StartupNation

JUNE 1, 2021

Oftentimes, I read articles offering tips for entrepreneurs that revolve around generic advice on getting started. Roosevelt’s advice resonates here: “Be sincere, be brief, be seated.”. So, try to get a warm introduction to help you get your foot in the door whenever possible, and follow the next tip to build your network.

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entrepreneurs pitching construction accelerator 109

This is going to be BIG.

AUGUST 8, 2011

Any success as an entrepreneur? 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. What did I do?

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VC peer-to-peer board advice 275

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2014

Of course these are great places to network with other investors, meet great entrepreneurs and keep your connections strong with senior execs at larger companies like Yahoo!, I know I can’t be in every deal and I know that the easy part of being a VC is writing the first check in a deal. And there’s conferences.

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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.&# At least for the best entrepreneurs. That’s true.

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Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 14, 2009

This is part of my ongoing series Pitching a VC. In most cases if you can’t get a prototype done you’re probably not an entrepreneur. Professional angels / former entrepreneurs / seed funds – In Silicon Valley there are people like Ron Conway, Jeff Clavier, Mike Maples and many more. They have advice to share.

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advice VC pitching angel investing 291

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 8, 2010

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. Good recruiters never stop at the official list and neither do VCs. Don’t stop there.

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VC advice entrepreneurs venture capital 288

Entrepreneurs' Organization

DECEMBER 15, 2023

Evaluate investors thoroughly, not just based on the size of their check, but whether they can provide strategic advice and introductions that support your vision. Seek investor advice to strengthen your business model. Successful investor relations depend on cultivating a network that supports you during good times and bad.

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pitching consulting advice communities 220

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 4, 2013

As a VC you want to feel like you have “proprietary sources” of deal flow. Because entrepreneurs often went to lawyers at their earliest stages to get their company registration done. Because entrepreneurs often went to lawyers at their earliest stages to get their company registration done. I attended events.

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VC advice pitching entrepreneurs 347

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 19, 2009

This is part of my Startup Advice series. In case it’s not obvious it’s a play on the Nike slogan, “Just Do It.&# ) I believe that being successful as an entrepreneur requires you to get lots of things done. Good entrepreneurs can admit when their course of action was wrong and learn from it.

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entrepreneurs board advice consulting 414

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 10, 2016

I created an accelerator & mentor network (Launchpad LA). Greg truly is a prolific deal maker and is amongst the most helpful people to entrepreneurs in our ecosystem. He’s even challenged some of our sacred cows on investment philosophy. From 2007-2012 I scoured LA constantly. I tried to be at every event. I sat on panels.

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disruption VC communities ventures 226

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 8, 2009

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. on all the computers and established a network using Novell.

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VC peer-to-peer advice consulting 337

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 1, 2009

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!).

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VC startup advice innovation 269

TechCrunch

NOVEMBER 17, 2021

And so, generally, the people who invested in tech companies — the traditional venture investors — could tap their extended talent networks and apply their knowledge to bring talented people into startups, or at least coach the founders on how to select the right talent to scale and grow. How do we manage hypergrowth when it happens?

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advice founder venture capital board 85

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 22, 2010

On why you should be an entrepreneur, “A lot of people do what they have to do. 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. Raising Capital – The VC equivalent for musicians is getting signed by a major label.

entrepreneurs 356

entrepreneurs media entrepreneurship creativity 356

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 17, 2009

This is part of my new series on what makes an entrepreneur successful. I originally posted it on VentureHacks , one of my favorite websites for entrepreneurs. I don’t think most VC’s do. But in most situations a VC will want to be able to judge how you perform over time. Great entrepreneurs pivot.

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entrepreneurs advice innovation VC 291

TechCrunch

APRIL 6, 2023

Soon enough, we’ll be coming straight atcha with a host of speakers, workshops, roundtables, and networking opportunities that are sure to accelerate your dream. Cut to Mark Wahlberg speeding down the Big Dig, accelerating toward a dream.*

construction 97

construction accelerator advice education 97

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 31, 2011

One of the most common questions that entrepreneurs who meet me for the first time like to ask is, “Do you miss being an entrepreneur? I’m enjoying being a VC. I thought I’d talk a bit about the differences I’ve experienced between being an entrepreneur & a VC – you know, from “both sides of the table.&#.

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entrepreneurs startup VC real estate 384

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2012

She actually IS the prototypical entrepreneur. It represents the great majority of entrepreneurship and eschews the fairytale rags-to-VC-riches stories we so often read about in the press. But Tracy did what entrepreneurs do. Sam is the managing director of Launchpad LA and we were about to pick our 2012 class of entrepreneurs.

peer-to-peer 363

peer-to-peer entrepreneurs startup entrepreneurship 363

David Teten VC

JULY 27, 2021

We have collected a wide range of freebies, contests, accelerators, online communities, and VCs designed for student tech founders. I have been researching this both to support Versatile VC ’s portfolio companies and also as part of research for my new book, To University and Beyond: Launch Your Career in High Gear. 1) Your school.

founder 144

founder mentorship peer-to-peer pitching 144

Jason Malki

JANUARY 15, 2023

Amir has been an entrepreneur, operator and investor with over 15 years of experience, working with early and mid-stage companies on financing, partnerships and strategic growth initiatives. What are you on the lookout for, both in terms of startups as well as entrepreneurs? Thank you so much for joining us!

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Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 12, 2013

And it applies to business relationships & networking as much as it does to remuneration in the workplace. 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. Jason Nazar is a master networker. ” I see it on Twitter.

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advice VC networking entrepreneurs 407

Startup Grind

AUGUST 13, 2018

Floodgate exists to invest in prime movers - entrepreneurs who build movements that become category defining companies - before the rest of the world believes in them. What is one piece of advice you’d give every founder? She lives with her husband, 3 kids ages 10, 8 and 6 and one spoiled dog. Nancy is a natural creator of movements.

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VC entrepreneurship pitching strategy 111

TechCrunch

MARCH 28, 2023

Laurie Fabiano, the president of the Tory Burch Foundation , said the foundation decided to launch the tool after realizing that women entrepreneurs are often unaware of their funding options or how to navigate the form of capital that might best suits their needs.

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David Teten VC

JUNE 14, 2021

At Versatile VC , our new VC fund, we’re creating an online community just for founders who are in transition, Founders’ Next Move. Talk with VCs in your space. Many VCs keep a list of ideas they think have high potential. Versatile VC posts publicly our list of startup ideas we want to fund. . Work as a VC Scout.

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consulting founder investing investment 119

This is going to be BIG.

APRIL 3, 2012

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. What I would offer to entrepreneurs is that you should know what you're getting from each investor you let into the round.

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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. There are now signs the VC market has gathered pace meaning it’s a great time to be fund raising.

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VC venture capital networking innovation 255

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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Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 23, 2015

We talk a lot about his schooling, his early jobs as a developer and then as a VC and we talk about his decision to spend winters in Los Angeles. Fred is generous with his time and advice and I hope has shaped a generation of VCs for the better. You can’t time VC investing markets. That always stuck with me.

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advice board VC investing 327

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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consulting venture capital board capital 128

TechCrunch

NOVEMBER 9, 2020

There has been little movement in the amount of VC dollars going to women-founded companies since 2012. Though by no means does this mean that women aren’t doing incredible work in the field and it’s only right that women founders receive their fair share of VC investment. Venture capital is far from a level playing field.

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Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2009

I had previously raised VC in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2005. In case VC’s haven’t figured this out yet, shit rolls downhill. My blog linked to Brad Feld’s blog because I was so grateful for his series on term sheets and he was one of the biggest reasons that as a VC I felt compelled to blog. And covered we did.

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