Entrepreneur's Handbook

NOVEMBER 29, 2022

You’ll receive practical startup advice straight to your inbox every week. Are you actually ready to pitch? When pitching, the startup has to put a number on the table. Thankfully, seasoned investor DC Palter offers some advice: Find the deal lead?—? He’s also a co-founder of Code Untapped and was a co-founder at Neybar.

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TechCrunch

MARCH 17, 2023

It’s too early to determine whether SVB’s downfall heralds a new era for venture capital, but based on anecdotal evidence, off-the-record discussions and chats with co-workers, it seems like we’re back to business as usual as far as pre-revenue startup fundraising is concerned. There’s plenty of tactical advice here, and much more to come.

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AsiaTechDaily

JUNE 5, 2023

Register Led by an eminent team of investors and industry captains from around the world, Awesome Ventures brings together a wealth of experience in strategy planning and diverse sectors. At the helm of Awesome Ventures is Lok Yek Soon, a visionary entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience within the startup ecosystem.

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TechCrunch

FEBRUARY 14, 2023

I surveyed six seed- and early-stage investors to get their tactical advice for laid-off tech workers who are thinking about starting up. Most of them were so open to receiving pitches, they said we could include their contact information. But all is not going well. “We live in a new world order.”

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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. The Kauffman Foundation found 47% of US tech founders held degrees in STEM while 34% held degrees in business, finance, and accounting. 1) Freebies for Student Tech Founders. Right here.

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AsiaTechDaily

MARCH 6, 2023

Register Startup founders wanting to pitch to investors to raise money should not get into the “sell now” part of the conversation immediately but must instead lay the groundwork first, according to James Walker, Associate Counsel and Investor at Draper Associates. What mistakes do you see founders make when raising money?

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This is going to be BIG.

MARCH 14, 2024

Over a decade ago, when I was working for First Round Capital, we opened our doors for “Open Office Hours”—a series of open meetings where any founder could come in and chat with us for 20 minutes each. I’m not sure we backed any of the founders—but that wasn’t the point. We met quite a few smart folks. We had 70 investors sign up!

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Jason Malki

JANUARY 15, 2024

Charting the Path to Success in Tech Investing: An Exclusive Interview with GoAhead Ventures’ Founding Trio GoAhead Ventures (“GoAhead”) is a Silicon Valley based venture capital firm founded by three Stanford graduates: Takeshi “TK” Mori, Clancey Stahr and Phil Brady (the “Managing Partners”).

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TechCrunch

SEPTEMBER 18, 2022

How good is the founder-market fit? Is it venture-scale? It’s natural for founders to live and breathe for their customers and product, but the dirty little secret of fundraising is that your investors are extraordinarily unlikely to care about your product. And they have a few legitimate reasons for being that way.

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TechCrunch

APRIL 21, 2022

The venture capital market is slowing down, which means early-stage founders are chasing a smaller pool of money. “Oftentimes, investors have a sense of whether a pitch is going to go somewhere within the first 15-20 minutes of a conversation.” Clelia Warburg Peters , managing partner, Era Ventures.

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TechCrunch

MARCH 14, 2022

There’s a galaxy of talented and/or well-connected startup founders out there, but few have any prior fundraising experience, which levels the playing field by an inch or two. Telling a story clearly and succinctly is table stakes, but so many founders miss this step. Mike Ghaffary, general partner, Canvas Ventures.

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This is going to be BIG.

MAY 5, 2015

So I asked a few founders that I've worked with and they mentioned a word that struck me--because I've never heard any of the hordes of people in my inbox asking for internships, VC job recommendations and advice, etc. I think of venture capital as a service business. mention about themselves. Generosity.

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TechCrunch

SEPTEMBER 1, 2022

The crew here at TechCrunch has done a lot of writing about making amazing pitch decks over the years, and I figured it was time that I put together a collection of all of it in one handy spot. Before you start pitching. As a startup founder, you really need to understand how venture capital works.

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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 have one failed attempt at a startup under my belt as a founder and I don't have any particularly usable skills that anyone would pay for like selling, designing, building, etc.

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TechCrunch

NOVEMBER 19, 2021

This is a fantastic time to found a startup, but unless you plan to bootstrap it, you will still need to go through the laborious exercise of crafting a pitch deck. According to Jose Cayasso, CEO and co-founder of pitch deck design agency Slidebean, there are five slides where pretty much all founders miss the mark : Go-to-market.

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TechCrunch

APRIL 26, 2022

Most founders are not experienced entrepreneurs, which means they tend to repeat the same mistakes as they try to overcome universal challenges. According to Klaviyo co-founder and chief product Ed Hallen , luck was a contributing factor to his marketing automation company’s success. Why a16z pitched Deel to lead its Series A.

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TechCrunch

MAY 15, 2023

Operator experience has become critical in venture capital over the last few years. If a VC has experience in a different field, it may not translate well — if at all — to a startup, and advice around certain business decisions could quickly become outdated. These firms and founders may be onto something.

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AsiaTechDaily

MAY 17, 2023

Register When starting a company, founders often underestimate the amount of time and energy required to fundraise. In an interview with AsiaTechDaily, Koh emphasises the importance of founders taking an active role in the fundraising process. Another common mistake founders make when raising capital is mishandling equity.

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TechCrunch

MARCH 31, 2022

As a partner at Wing Venture Capital, Zach Dewitt focuses on early-stage investments in transformative enterprise technologies. After winning the 2013 TechCrunch Meetup and Pitch-off , I decided to drop out of business school to pursue my startup full time. As many founders can attest, the startup journey can be lonely at times.

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Jason Malki

MARCH 9, 2023

I had the pleasure of interviewing Karen Sheffield, the Founder & Managing Partner of Pachamama Ventures, a venture capital firm investing in US early-stage climate tech companies. What is your advice for someone trying to break into tech investing? I would break it down into 3 steps.

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TechCrunch

DECEMBER 16, 2022

If you’ve read anything about pitching your company, you’ve probably come across advice that says that you need a warm introduction to an investor. Without a doubt, a good, friendly introduction — ideally from a founder they’ve already invested in — is the best way to get on the radar of an investor.

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Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 22, 2015

It always started the same way – a founder would ask for an intro because they figured he could help with promotion. And after one meeting they started asking for his advice about marketing, customer engagement, product design, monetization – whatever.

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Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2018

If you haven’t yet heard about Female Founder Office Hours it is an initiative you should be aware of whether you’re male, female or any other gender identify. Female Founder Office Hours gives founders the mentorship and the role models to see that it is in not only possible but also to have a plan to make it a reality.

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TechCrunch

FEBRUARY 26, 2021

Lisa Wu, a partner at Norwest with investments like Calm, Plaid, Opendoor and Grove Collaborative, has a message for founders: Think like a VC during your pitch presentation. It is about picking a venture partner who will be there with you through the highs and lows.

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TechCrunch

MAY 6, 2022

From the hottest year in startup venture capital history to a period of pessimism, how did we get to where we are today? 3 views: How should founders prepare for a decline in startup valuations and investor interest? 3 views: How should founders prepare for a decline in startup valuations and investor interest? January 2022).

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TechCrunch

SEPTEMBER 15, 2022

Gaetano Crupi is a partner at venture capital firm Prime Movers Lab. This is one of the lessons I wish I understood when raising a Series B, so I hope you find this advice helpful when you navigate your larger raises. Gaetano Crupi. Contributor. He serves on the boards of OCEANIX, Atom Computing, Conscious Cultures and MycoWorks.

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TechCrunch

MAY 3, 2022

What most startup founders get wrong about financial projections. The pressures facing first-time founders are enormous. ” What most startup founders get wrong about financial projections. Pitch deck pro tips from a leading Silicon Valley venture capitalist. Senior Editor, TechCrunch+. yourprotagonist.

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TechCrunch

JULY 14, 2021

Anyone , an audio app that’s building a ‘marketplace for advice’ one five-minute phone call at a time, is launching new versions of its iOS and Android apps today* and beginning to large-scale onboarding after operating in a limited closed beta for the past six months. It’s one-to-one only.

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Entrepreneur's Handbook

MAY 18, 2022

Top 3 DIY tactics, according to a former BBC journalist turned media relations troubleshooter Image by author I sifted at least 100,000 story pitches when I worked on the main planning desks for BBC News (radio, tv, and online) and its investigative show Panorama. They just need the right insights and tools to pitch successfully.

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TechCrunch

NOVEMBER 22, 2022

A 7-step method for running effective pitch meetings. I usually tell founders that cold emails to prospective investors aren’t all that effective. A lot of founders skip the research phase, though. Michael Bamberger is not that kind of founder. Michael Bamberger is not that kind of founder. “I’ve

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TechCrunch

APRIL 4, 2023

In his latest column, Sales Kiwi co-founder and TC+ contributor Jonathan Martinez shared five essential takeaways that he learned along the way to reaching $1M ARR. Drawing from the early chapters of her book, this post includes a target prospect list for new investors, along with relationship-building advice from experienced VCs.

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TechCrunch

FEBRUARY 19, 2021

March 3 is your opportunity to hear from and engage with the people who, through entrepreneurship, venture capital, labor organizing and advocacy, are both using and challenging tech to disrupt the status quo for the betterment of all. Tune in a get ready to take notes — the advice you hear could help you improve your pitch deck.

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TechCrunch

NOVEMBER 23, 2020

Milana Lewis, CEO and co-founder of music tech startup Stem , started the fundraising process long before she actually asked any investors for money (dig the well before you’re thirsty — it’s the best way). She recommends that other founders do the same. Are you ready for the coming wave of VC down rounds?

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AsiaTechDaily

NOVEMBER 6, 2022

Register Startups looking at going global should first establish proof of local traction before doing so, John Lim , Partner at Meet Ventures , said in an interview with AsiaTechDaily. Meet Ventures is a consultancy firm that specialises in running startup accelerators and market access programs.

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Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 16, 2014

We’ve been dying to tell you all for a while that we had raised a new venture capital fund and of course given SEC filing requirements the story was somewhat already scooped by the always-in-the-know Dan Primack a few weeks ago. VCs need to go to 20 cities and pitch one firm in each location!” We raised $280 million.

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TechCrunch

MAY 20, 2022

Suzanne Fletcher, venture partner, Prime Movers Lab. ET, I’m hosting a Twitter Space with Silicon Valley immigration lawyer Sophie Alcorn, who writes the “Dear Sophie” advice column for TechCrunch+ each Wednesday. For better or for worse: Managing founder-CEO tension inside a startup. 26% venture capitalists.

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Startup Blogpost

OCTOBER 28, 2022

How do you determine if corporate venture capital is right for your startup? To help you determine if corporate venture capital is right for your startup, we asked startup founders, investors, and business leaders this question for their best pieces of advice. Matthew Ramirez , Founder, Paraphrase Tool.

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