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

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2010

Greycroft is an early-stage VC. Closing a VC fund in 2009/10 is a major achievement in and of itself. In the intro section of the show we talked a lot about why VC funds are becoming smaller again and where Greycroft fits. When the show has been processed it will be available here (estimated 8pm PDT).

VC 240

VC peer-to-peer advice collaboration 240

Entrepreneur's Handbook

AUGUST 16, 2023

What advice would you give your past self? The question I asked them was this: If you could go back in time and give your younger self some advice just as you were starting your founder journey, what would you say? I recently caught up with a friend who’d founded a company. And I do remember them. But there’s good stuff too, right?”

founder 84

founder peer-to-peer advice energy 84

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2012

It represents the great majority of entrepreneurship and eschews the fairytale rags-to-VC-riches stories we so often read about in the press. She hasn’t raised any venture capital. She drove her company to profitability before paying herself a modest salary. She leveraged herself and even sold many of her possessions to get started.

peer-to-peer 363

peer-to-peer entrepreneurs startup entrepreneurship 363

This is going to be BIG.

MAY 29, 2012

Being a good angel or VC has a lot to do with pattern matching. 2) Network with as many other angel investors as possible. A mutual fund manager won't give you their portfolio strategy but most seed funds love having a network of angels to syndicate deals with. Its certainly not a way to become a great advisor.

peer-to-peer 295

peer-to-peer angel investing advice entrepreneurs 295

David Teten VC

JUNE 9, 2021

See How to negotiate a partner role at a VC or private equity firm.) At Versatile VC , we’ve used all these models. Thank you to my co-author for this essay, Paulina Symala, a Consultant at Oliver Wyman and a past intern of Versatile VC. Expert Networks. The expert network industry has grown an average 4.5%

consulting 128

consulting venture capital board capital 128

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 8, 2010

Let me start by saying two things: Events like this are invaluable to startups because the significant value comes from building the network across portfolio companies and the discussion one can have with your peer group. And awesome to get to spend time with Ian Sigalow “comparing notes” (VC speak ).

peer-to-peer 279

peer-to-peer advice VC board 279

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 14, 2014

Throughout all of these years I was a full-time VC so Launchpad really came out of evenings and weekends for me. Adam had a full time startup and then was doing consulting (he later raised a VC fund). My good friend Adam Lilling and I started Launchpad more than 5 years ago . We had a specific goal in mind. Yeah, he was LA, baby!

accelerator 290

accelerator mentorship peer-to-peer VC 290

Haystack

JUNE 30, 2019

There are countless posts on what one should consider when considering a career in VC. I recently gave a talk to a bunch of graduate and club students at a university which has produced a high number of VCs. The school name doesn’t really matter here, because this advice is actually relevant to anyone who covets this path.

VC 157

VC peer-to-peer board advice 157

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 15, 2013

This goes against the conventional wisdom of VCs. In part two I talked about how to ensure that your professional services practice doesn’t take over your software company although I’m on record that there is nothing wrong with a services company as long as you’re not VC backed. Rabbits are plentiful. Easy to catch.

peer-to-peer 297

peer-to-peer accelerator advice networking 297

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2013

I know because I marked the occasion with a blog post on how to have a great VC meeting. My internal compass has always steered me strongly toward the belief that founders who can scale with their startup companies are better to back that founders who eventually need to hire a CEO. It’s your baby. You took the biggest leap of faith.

peer-to-peer 303

peer-to-peer energy advice founder 303

FundersClub

JUNE 12, 2017

They seek a VC model where dogma is less of a drag on the enterprise, and investment discovery can come from a wide network of smaller investors—mini LPs, in a way. Berhens Wu is the CEO and co-founder of Shippo , which offers an API to connect eCommerce businesses and marketplaces to a network of different shipping providers.

VC 93

VC venture capital networking founder 93

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 13, 2011

I know with a title like that I’m going to subject myself to people thinking I’m just being a grumpy, exclusive VC. It’s honest advice so please judge once you’re read the post. Here’s my advice: A got an email from a young, super bright entrepreneur today. That’s not the point. Not so much.

peer-to-peer 397

peer-to-peer advice VC networking 397

TechCrunch

JUNE 9, 2021

Like a VC firm, it vets the startups and startup founders it works with, so the engineers that come to Commit know that these are serious companies with at least some prospect of raising funding and allowing their engineers to shape their trajectory and grow into what is potentially an early leadership role.

peer-to-peer 97

peer-to-peer startup mentorship communities 97

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 12, 2010

And if I’m going to help a bit while I’m here the better I know ‘what’s what’ the easier it will be for me to help and be on my way.&#. &# or “What would happen if we didn’t bid for 3G services and in stead built our network on 2.5G And that’s how I view VC today. Such is leadership.

peer-to-peer 288

peer-to-peer consulting startup board 288

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 24, 2019

This is important because when you have too many VCs on a board you only bring one kind of thinking to the board. Independents are critical to avoiding “VC group think.” Industry Expertise You don’t need a peer from another startup as your independent?—?you you can build that with your personal peer network.

board 187

board peer-to-peer VC funders 187

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014

It got me thinking about the advice that I often give to new VCs. For years I saw myself as the new guy in VC but then you wake up one day and realize that 50% of your peers have been doing it for less time than you and time has moved on. Somehow the world seems to be spinning faster these days than just a few years ago.

peer-to-peer 317

peer-to-peer pitching VC accelerator 317

David Teten VC

DECEMBER 4, 2019

But, most funds raise capital and source deals the same way people looked for dates 20 years ago: by networking at conferences (or bars). . I use another live Google doc to maintain my database of companies I’m marketing to other VCs. Haystack VC runs almost entirely on Notion. Most of us want one spouse and we’re done.

technology 81

technology investing investment ventures 81

David Teten VC

MARCH 8, 2022

But I also invested in a number of VC funds in parallel. Consider that successful VCs need to look at 100 companies in order to choose one. VC is truly a very separate, unique and complex asset class that requires real expertise to achieve returns. Invest in VC funds (or funds of funds) exclusively.

investing 105

investing investment technology VC 105

David Teten VC

DECEMBER 3, 2019

But, most of use raise capital and source deals the same way people looked for dates 20 years ago: by networking at conferences (or bars). . I use another live Google doc to maintain my database of companies I’m marketing to other VCs. (To see the video above, please click the image, and then click on the Play button.). 2) Market .

technology 95

technology investing investment VC 95

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 16, 2012

There is all sorts of advice on the Internet about how to raise capital. And of course I’ve sat on the other side of the table: As a VC. I’ve tried to make this advice as well-rounded and biased free as I can. This is not just the perspective of a VC although I can’t say I have zero VC bias.

strategy 366

strategy development VC advice 366

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 14, 2009

One of the questions I’m most often asked as a VC is what I’m looking for in an investment. You see that peer who always pushes things further than you normally would. I once had a debate with a prominent VC on a panel. I originally posted it on VentureHacks , one of my favorite websites for entrepreneurs.

entrepreneurs 338

entrepreneurs peer-to-peer advice VC 338

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 2, 2010

As a VC I’m acutely that a “yes&# decision to support an entrepreneur can do just that, yet I only write 2-4 of them per year and maybe another 3-4 as an angel. Your advice made a difference.&#. Many of us have the ability to change the trajectory of other people’s lives. Sometimes we don’t even realize it.

consulting 352

consulting peer-to-peer advice entrepreneurs 352

Y Combinator

MAY 22, 2019

Meesho is a platform in India that allows people to resell products using their social networks. 44:35 – Best advice for aspiring Indian founders. Meesho is a platform in India that allows people to resell products using their social networks. Vidit Aatrey is cofounder and CEO of Meesho. Adora Cheung is a Partner at YC.

founder 55

founder communities startup ecosystem enablement 55

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 30, 2016

We did what many VC funds did – we presented our annual results, we stood up and talked about our portfolio companies, we invited a few to also present and then we had dinner & drinks at some posh restaurant. Before making this change I called our LPs to ask for advice and input. So I decided to change up our format a bit.

communities 193

communities strategy peer-to-peer VC 193

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 7, 2011

Blogs weren’t popularized yet so it was an oddity for me to read the founder of a software company spewing out advice. I asked him if he’d be willing to allow me to interview him for This Week in VC and we filmed it in the offices of Stack Overflow – his new company. But I loved reading them and so did my team.

peer-to-peer 285

peer-to-peer communities development innovation 285