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.

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Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 19, 2010

I’m writing this post as part of my series with Advice on Raising Venture Capital but will file it under Sales Tips as well since it applies equally to both scenarios. You’ve found a VC partner or principal who has invited you to the Monday partners’ meeting. This happens often is sales meetings or VC meetings.

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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. I know I won’t win every deal I want to in VC. It’s when the people who are part of the decision making process who don’t support the decision seek ways to undermine you.

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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. I know I won’t win every deal I want to in VC. It’s when the people who are part of the decision making process who don’t support the decision seek ways to undermine you.

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Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 15, 2010

As a former entrepreneur, I’m a big supporter of Jason’s goals. Tags: Entrepreneur Advice Pitching VCs Start-up Advice Startup Advice VC Industry. He wrote an excellent blog post on this topic. They deserve more credit.

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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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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. In a startup this is a mistake.

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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.

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Both Sides of the Table

MAY 21, 2011

Will you get the TechCrunch bump, the tier-1 VC anointment, followed by great PR firm support and then the NY Times or WSJ story that follows? Not every problem has to be a huge VC-fundable business. They pitch me features, not value. The challenge that many startups face today is: Are you really providing enough value?

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Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 28, 2010

In small meetings they’d tell the senior management that they were happy Accenture was finally creating some original thought and that they supported it. I found that most VC’s never gave me any feedback when I was pitching. Tags: Entrepreneur Advice Start-up Advice Startup Advice.

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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. It is clear that he is simply passionate about being a VC and participating in this industry. What are the most common mistakes in first pitch?

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David Teten VC

JULY 27, 2021

How can you get free money and other support for your business idea? . We have collected a wide range of freebies, contests, accelerators, online communities, and VCs designed for student tech founders. You could also live in a local “hacker house” for community support, e.g., Edyfi , The Garden , or Womxn Ignite. Right here.

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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. .”

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Entrepreneurs' Organization

DECEMBER 15, 2023

You need a solid business plan, traction to demonstrate market fit, and the skills to pitch effectively. 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.

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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. Lawyers are your support staff not your brain. Shame about that pesky FAS 157 ruling. Get to know them.

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Jason Malki

MARCH 9, 2023

Then, I stumbled upon PE/VC after chatting with a good college buddy of mine. Since then, I joined Vitalize Angels as a founding member, which allowed me to get a full view of the deal sourcing, due diligence, and portfolio support process. What is your advice for someone trying to break into tech investing?

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TechCrunch

DECEMBER 16, 2021

I’ve sat at both sides of the table as a founder and a VC, and I understand how difficult it is to get them on the same page. I’ve participated in a number of accelerators, including Disney and Techstars, and these programs gave me a noticeable advantage when I stepped into VC. Reconnect with impact investing.

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Entrepreneur's Handbook

APRIL 13, 2022

A Very Honest Guide to Writing Your Fundraise Pitch Deck How to optimise yours for success Congratulations! You know you need a pitch deck to do this and so fire up your slide software of choice and crack your knuckles, ready to wow. I’m an investor at Supernode Global , an early-stage VC fund based in London.

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Startup Grind

AUGUST 13, 2018

Pitch your startup for an opportunity to meet with Floodgate. She previously founded Dress for Success, a network that empowers women to thrive both professionally and personally, and Crisis Textline, a non-profit that provides crisis intervention support via text. What is one piece of advice you’d give every founder?

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StartupNation

MAY 24, 2021

Part of this could be the result of the pitch. That pitch needs to be on point, with a clear and concise executive summary, a detailed business plan and a killer pitch deck that makes a compelling case to invest. While we’ve been strongly supported by our VC backers during the pandemic, the same can’t be said for every startup.

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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

APRIL 13, 2011

The value of Pitch Decks; Brad’s personal preferences on deal presentation; and Brad’s practice of accepting cold approaches via email. Are Pitch Decks becoming obsolete? It’s interesting that the question is pitch deck’s being obsolete versus business plans being obsolete. Aren’t pitch decks still the norm? “I

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Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 31, 2010

Our existing investors supported us and a new lead came in. 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 stopped doing conferences, traveling or pitching to VCs. At least not externally.

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Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 16, 2017

The story is Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy and the amazing team that supports them. I did speak to the LA Times for a story that appeared yesterday both because I like and trusted the journalist, Paresh Dave, to do a fair story and also because we always try to support our hometown paper The LA Times. Many seem plausible.

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This is going to be BIG.

OCTOBER 5, 2012

Maybe the reason why venture capital as an asset class has underperformed is because the overriding criteria for having a fund in the first place is the ability to to raise one--not giving good advice, sourcing good deals. What would VC fundraising look like if there were family office groups that participated actively on social media?

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Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 31, 2012

I got an email recently from my friend & fellow VC, Jeff Bussgang from Flybridge Capital Partners in Boston. My list of excuses includes: product, pricing, competition and lack of sales support. Complaints about support may be real – it might actually be time to scale and give your sales people more leverage.

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StartupNation

JUNE 1, 2021

Oftentimes, I read articles offering tips for entrepreneurs that revolve around generic advice on getting started. As part of my role as a partner of HealthInc, I sit on the jury for the startup competition in which 20 finalists pitch their ventures, with 10 then selected to enter the program. Keep it simple, stupid (KISS). Franklin D.

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NZ Entrepreneur

MARCH 16, 2025

James covers the genesis of Ministry of Awesome following the Christchurch earthquakes in 2011, and provides updates on Ministry of Awesome approaches to startup founder support and programming. We’ve got some really incredible people that have joined our team to provide that one-to-one mentorship and advice.

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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.

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Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 15, 2009

It’s when the people who are part of the decision making process who don’t support the decision seek ways to undermine you. We had made the decision that we would no longer be supporting IE v 5.5 (we we would support 6.0 We assumed they would take our advice and upgrade. Tags: Start-up Advice.

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consulting advice collaboration support 151

Founders Coop

FEBRUARY 21, 2024

As Managing Directors of Techstars Seattle, we raised a series of funds from mostly local LPs, including participation from some of our best-known local VC firms, as well as many of the mentors who worked with the founders during and after each program. Bottom line, Techstars needed cash.

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TechCrunch

MARCH 31, 2022

After winning the 2013 TechCrunch Meetup and Pitch-off , I decided to drop out of business school to pursue my startup full time. A great VC will do so much more for you than just write a check. VCs should never give armchair product advice nor cross the line into micromanagement.

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TechCrunch

MARCH 24, 2023

During this one-day startup bootcamp, you’ll learn about legal issues, fundraising, marketing, growth, product-market fit, pitching, recruiting and more. Dayna will talk about how, beyond the idea, founders can pitch investors on their TAM, including how they will wedge into the market and how they will eventually disrupt it.

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TechCrunch

OCTOBER 22, 2020

Today, pitch competitions, incubators, accelerators, VCs and angel groups proliferate. The country’s Federal Commission for Technology and Innovation (KTI) supports CTI-Startup and CTI-Invest, providing startups with investment and support. Olaf Hannemann, partner, CV VC AG. Ten years ago startups were unusual.

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Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 3, 2010

I have written about how to do a demo before (even though this was in the context of a VC pitch much of it applies). Tags: Startup Advice. Demos – One of the things that most people are bad at and that are hard to standardize is the demo. A good demo tells a story. We called it PUCCKA. That’s for another day.

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TechCrunch

APRIL 15, 2023

Zuckerberg, a co-organizer, part-time DJ and investor at Long Journey VC, says that they’re thinking of making it an annual event. In the rest of this newsletter we’re talking about Amazon’s new bed, and bad advice from investors. If you feel like supporting me extra, subscribe to my very free and still in the works Substack.

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health VC advice pitching 98

TechCrunch

AUGUST 18, 2023

Full TechCrunch+ articles are only available to members Use discount code TCPLUSROUNDUP to save 20% off a one- or two-year subscription “Starting a tech company today costs 99% less than it did 18 years ago when Y Combinator was started,” says Brett Calhoun, managing director and general partner at Redbud VC.

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