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. I had to laugh a bit reading it. MBA fine, but not required. What you gain: 1.

VC 337

VC peer-to-peer advice consulting 337

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 25, 2009

Beware of VC Seagulls, who shit on you and then fly away (or worse yet leave you with Red Herrings). This is part of my ongoing series Startup Advice. I write this post as a warning to pick your VC’s carefully. I like to say to first-time entrepreneurs, picking a VC is more permanent than marriage.

VC 297

VC board consulting advice 297

TechCrunch

JANUARY 21, 2022

I’ve worked at early-stage startups where we relied on our best guesses to shape product pipelines and develop marketing strategies. In this seven-step guide, you’ll find strategies and tactics for identifying key members and influencers, streamlining the communication process, and creating “a little FOMO.”

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VC incubation angel investing investing 80

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.&# And the VC job has plenty of admin and minutiae.

VC 312

VC consulting entrepreneurs creativity 312

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. We have more than 80 presentations (and counting) on tap. Head to the agenda and plan your strategy. Talk about something for everyone. Also covered.

disruption 85

disruption opportunity pitching advice 85

TechCrunch

FEBRUARY 21, 2023

Startups and VC FreshToHome, an Indian meat startup going after a piece of the country’s food delivery market, has a new backer in Amazon, which led a $104 million round in funding. Putting the pep back into presentations : Presentations often lack pizzazz and take more than a hot minute to create.

micromobility 85

micromobility VC creativity advice 85

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 29, 2009

I would argue that the shut-down of September 2009 was equally severe yet there are signs that this “VC Ice Age” has begun to thaw. They should heed the age old advice that raising slightly more money while you can is always better than trying to optimize future valuations. Why did the VC markets freeze so quickly?

VC 263

VC board investing investment 263

TechCrunch

SEPTEMBER 20, 2022

Last week, we ran an article by Gaetano Crupi, a partner at VC firm Prime Movers Lab, identifying three pillars required to support a Series B data room : a strategy memo, a pitch deck and a forecast model. As Crupi notes: The advice presented here will only help companies that have really good fundamentals.

advice 77

advice accelerator sustainability pitching 77

TechCrunch

AUGUST 12, 2022

Follow-on funding is harder to come by, but seed-stage founders who have a strong idea and good presentation skills can still close rounds. We broke the process down into three parts: planning, execution and follow-up,” he writes in a TechCrunch+ post that condenses the advice he’s giving the founders he works with. pre-seed deck.

pitching 79

pitching advice education energy 79

TechCrunch

SEPTEMBER 30, 2022

This morning marked the kickoff of VC firm 500 Global’s Fall 2022 Demo Day, which saw over a dozen startups give their best pitches to prospective investors — and customers. Both outfits look to back early-stage founders with money and advice in exchange for equity. It’s demo day season. The moonshots.

accelerator 88

accelerator health advice hospitality 88

AsiaTechDaily

JANUARY 30, 2023

In addition to his rich experiences working in the venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) sectors, Joseph has also sharpened his investment acumen through his multiple years in the audit and stock-broking industry before deciding to finally launch his cross-border investment firm, Kairous Capital , in 2015. Make no mistake, however!

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capital investing investment venture capital 90

Berkonomics

JANUARY 10, 2019

And because you need their money, the temptation is to listen a bit too well, and take all of the advice thrown at you during your presentations and during due diligence and finally from the vantage point of a board seat. We’ll be there in six months when you run out of money with your new R&D focus”, the VC board member replied.

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board strategy VC advice 54

Startup Blogpost

DECEMBER 29, 2023

We’ve gathered insights from Co-Founders and CEOs who have faced these hurdles head-on, sharing their experiences and strategies. Our strategy was to guide them in balancing the technical brilliance of their product with a strong, clear business proposition.

startup 59

startup strategy networking pitching 59

TechCrunch

JULY 23, 2021

It’s all about simplifying your strategy into something that is digestible, memorable and applicable.”. Moufarek shares her advice for startups and explains why there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to marketing. Testimonial: “T-shaped expertise with focus on strategy and long-term ROI.”. Marketer: Adam DuVander, EveryDeveloper.

creativity 102

creativity strategy consulting advice 102

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2013

By spending more time educating your board on your business you get more valuable advice from them. Your goal should be to turn your VCs into extended members of your team to get real value from them. He did it yesterday, “Mark, I’m going to write a blog post following on from your VC’s aren’t dumb.

board 365

board VC advice pitching 365

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. Startup board meetings template presentation. Expert Networks. Further reading.

consulting 128

consulting venture capital board capital 128

Berkonomics

JANUARY 10, 2019

And because you need their money, the temptation is to listen a bit too well, and take all of the advice thrown at you during your presentations and during due diligence and finally from the vantage point of a board seat. We’ll be there in six months when you run out of money with your new R&D focus”, the VC board member replied.

board 48

board strategy VC advice 48

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 9, 2009

This is part of my ongoing series, “ Pitching a VC.&#. I recently wrote a blog post here in which I argued that the best VC meetings are discussions and not sales pitches. A few weeks ago I sat through two very contrasting presentations and wrote this blog post right afterward. Both presenters are anonymized.

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pitching VC advice strategy 288

TechCrunch

JANUARY 15, 2021

But I was surprised to find myself editing an interview Alex Wilhelm conducted with Plaid CEO Zach Perret the next day in which the executive said growing the company on its own is “once again” the correct strategy. 5 consumer hardware VCs share their 2021 investment strategies. Allen Miller, VC, Oak HC/FT.

VC 87

VC ventures financing finance 87

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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investing investment founder VC 99

TechCrunch

APRIL 25, 2023

Similarly, one VC may encourage newly minted CEOs to eat ramen and ride the bus, while another might suggest a salary in the low six-figures, depending on geography. With that in mind, I have never issued a term sheet without a presentation of some form outside of an incubation.

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pitching incubation board opportunity 98

AsiaTechDaily

OCTOBER 25, 2023

As a General Partner, my energy is spent sourcing, investing in, and supporting amazing entrepreneurs and startups bringing breakthrough technologies to market,” he adds as he speaks of his present venture. “On the venture investing side, Sebastien Mallaby wrote a great history of the VC industry called “The Power Law.”

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creativity venture capital energy ventures 93

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 28, 2010

I did 5 years of building large computer systems and computer networks for global corporations and 3+ years as a “strategy consultant.&# In many of the meetings you’d meet clients who would tell you everything you needed to know, would offer to help you and then would never follow up on the help that they had offered.

frameworks 378

frameworks consulting advice strategy 378

TechCrunch

AUGUST 20, 2021

If you’re a founder who finds yourself in a meeting with a VC, try to remember two things: You’re the smartest person in the room. A VC shares 5 things no one told you about pitching VCs. When VCs turned to Zoom, Chicago startups were ready for their close-up. I hope you have an excellent weekend.

startup 103

startup health board VC 103

Andreessen Horowitz

APRIL 23, 2024

René: If you go back to what accountants were 60 years ago, before I was born, before technology came in, accountants actually were the trusted partner that was adding advice, because they did everything. What are your strategies for recruiting and retaining talent within your respective organizations? Immad: It doesn’t have to.

culture 103

culture enablement entrepreneurs advice 103

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 26, 2010

He told me that the CEO set the strategy but that he, the President, traveled to all of the conferences evangelizing on behalf of the company. It had a strategy-setting CEO, a limelight-seeking President and a COO who ran the company. years as a VC, “You don’t want to raise money from me. Who does finance report to?

entrepreneurs 286

entrepreneurs advice pitching VC 286

TechCrunch

DECEMBER 14, 2021

In addition to discussing potential use cases for advertising, fintech and enterprise apps, respondents shared advice for web3 founders who are hunting for funding, along with their concerns about factors that could stall its development. 7 investors discuss web3’s present and peer into its future. Senior Editor, TechCrunch+.

peer-to-peer 74

peer-to-peer ventures strategy investing 74

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 7, 2009

Business Etiquette Tips for dealing with VCs and Corporates at Conferences. This is part of my ongoing series with Startup Advice. He gives the example of Roelof Boetha, a very well known VC from Sequoia, who always (re) introduces himself to Michael and reminds him who he is even though Michael has met him several times.

advice 322

advice pitching entrepreneurs VC 322

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 19, 2009

This is part of my Startup Advice series. Most of them are completely mundane such as choosing which: bank, office space, 1-year lease vs. 2-year lease, logo, URL, pricing structure or which VC. This person was educated at the best US schools and had worked for a top-tier strategy consulting firm – one of the big 3.

entrepreneurs 414

entrepreneurs board advice consulting 414

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

As an early-stage VC I love this phase. This financial leader could well have come through the finance org at another startup or at a larger company but they often also can come from strategy consulting (Bain, BCG or McKinsey) or through investment banking (Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, etc.). were more distributed.

innovation 286

innovation startup board leadership 286

TechCrunch

OCTOBER 14, 2022

Here’s a handy how-to guide for everything you can expect at TechCrunch Disrupt presented by AT&T on October 18-20 in San Francisco at Moscone West (Oct. This year’s Startup Battlefield 200 is presented by Capital Connect by J.P. Getting to Yes and What Happens Next: An Unfiltered Chat with a Top VC , with Mayfield.

disruption 86

disruption pitching networking SaaS 86

David Teten VC

MAY 16, 2017

At Invesco’s conference on Emerging GPs, one of the highlights was a presentation by Laurie Weir summarizing CALPERS’ selection criteria under their Private Equity Emerging Manager Program Review. Limited partner due diligence on VC and private equity funds. my presentation on raising capital for tech companies .

ventures 74

ventures investing investment VC 74

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 25, 2016

But today I want to give you advice on how to decrease your odds of failure in a startup. Most of this advice boils down to an argument in favor of basic planning before starting a company or raising money. The questions that a VC mulls before writing a check are precisely the questions you should be asking yourself.

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incumbents startup peer-to-peer incubation 277

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 20, 2018

Maybe this is reverse “hanging around the rim” where if you keep you VC process going long enough you’ll eventually get to “yes?” We were working on their go-to-market strategy for Europe and Carly was Group President of the division where I was advising (a $19 billion line of business) at Lucent and she flew out for the final presentations.

peer-to-peer 189

peer-to-peer entrepreneurs VC investing 189

TechCrunch

FEBRUARY 5, 2021

These events aren’t just a chance to review the latest cohort of hopeful entrepreneurs — they also showcase the technology, products and services that will compete for VC and consumer attention over the next few years. The opportunity that the company sees has really forced us to reallocate resources and strategy,” said Brown.

SaaS 113

SaaS startup pitching education 113

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 31, 2010

Most people suck at presenting to big groups. It’s a shame because the ability to nail these presentations at key conferences can be once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to influence journalists, business partners, potential employees, customers and VCs. – No great presentation can be delivered like a conversation.

advice 362

advice VC entrepreneurs education 362

Entrepreneur's Handbook

APRIL 24, 2021

Founders from outside a tech-ecosystem are surrounded by bad advice, since building a startup is different from other kinds of businesses. Against the advice of my law-school friends (who had seen the Social Network ), I shared the idea with anybody who would listen. Because I listened too much to friendly criticism.

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startup entrepreneurship advice pitching 106