Entrepreneurs' Organization

MARCH 8, 2024

In EO, we celebrate the remarkable women entrepreneurs who have shattered glass ceilings and are now paying it forward to pave the way for future generations of female founders to rise. We’ve helped our portfolio companies with introductions with potential customers, board members, key employees, and advisors.”

education 256

education support entrepreneurs mentorship 256

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 8, 2014

I have never been more optimistic about the impact that the tech startup community is having on cities in America or about the role that cities outside of San Francisco / Silicon Valley can play in our future. Changes in the Startup Ecosystem. So the startup work moves to where the startup founders live and not vice versa.

startup 390

startup communities venture capital angel capital 390

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 5, 2014

Last week a company we enthusiastically backed, uBeam , led by a very special entrepreneur, 25-year-old Meredith Perry , announced a $10 million round of financing. What person hasn’t crouched at an airport to get 18% extra on one’s battery before boarding an airplane? Entrepreneurs. ” **.

startup 417

startup innovation entrepreneurs transportation 417

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 30, 2014

Many startups now go through accelerators and have mentors passing through each day with advice – usually it’s conflicting. There are bootcamps, startup classes, video interviews – the sources are now endless. Improving startup productivity ? Startup psychology / confidence ? Startup Lessons'

advice 407

advice frameworks startup mix-use 407

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 24, 2019

I have been writing a series on how startup boards get selected, who sits on them and what to avoid. I started this series in part to help entrepreneurs but also to help newer investors because I’ve know with so many new companies you have so many new board members and many people are trying to figure out there respective roles.

board 251

board advice founder construction 251

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.

advice 412

advice startup VC strategy 412

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 17, 2012

But a couple of people replied with responses of such lack of comprehension that I thought it was worth expanding on for first-time entrepreneurs. Successful entrepreneurs achieve much through their personal leadership traits that inspire others to do great things with them – sure. Not possible. ” Or there was this one.

startup 363

startup real estate VC venture capital 363

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 25, 2013

bang on the windows of a board meeting recently and stick his tongue out at all of us. She was everything I was looking for in an entrepreneur to back. Didn’t I make myself clear about celebrities & startups ? Turns out she’s done this startup thing before. So, Mark, enough entrepreneur love.

startup 398

startup creativity advice entrepreneurs 398

NZ Entrepreneur

NOVEMBER 19, 2024

Launching a startup in New Zealand is exciting, but navigating the accounting side of things can be tricky. Choose the best business structure for you Choosing the right business structure for your startup is a crucial first step. A budget, on the other hand, provides a financial framework for the startup’s operations.

startup 105

startup consulting sustainability frameworks 105

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 20, 2012

Board Meetings. Startups Are for Doers. Now, I’m pretty on the record that being an entrepreneur is about being great at The Do. But trust me when I say that my observations across many startups (and other companies, frankly) is that not enough time goes into thinking. Conferences. go on, click it ). See the world.

creativity 400

creativity venture capital entrepreneurs board 400

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 2, 2014

Many startups these days are started by young, technical or product founders who are in the idealistic phase of their lives and careers. I can assure you that move wasn’t a walk in the park for the board. I call it “ the Co-Founder mythology ” and it’s persistent in our startup mythology. Foursquare?

startup 385

startup coworking advice leadership 385

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 8, 2014

Associates often shadow partners at board meetings so that they can help follow up with the company on important initiatives between board meetings. I think it’s great for some people because it really does give you some solid benefits: board exposure / experience. Helping be the VC “presence” at key events.

investing 365

investing investment VC board 365

A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

JULY 19, 2021

If an investor and an entrepreneur find each other difficult to work with, there is no easy solution. There is no divorce court for startups. And so the result is likely to be entrepreneurs and investors getting stuck in bad marriages. I also think startup boards need to evolve.

board 276

board financing finance sustainability 276

Paul G. Silva

FEBRUARY 11, 2025

Breaking the “Impossible” at VVM When I was at Valley Venture Mentors, we set this BHAG: “In ten years, catalyze entrepreneurs to change the economy of Western Massachusetts by generating $1 billion in cumulative revenue and investment.” ” At the time, we were running a startup accelerator for 6 companies.

innovation 130

innovation accelerator angel investing entrepreneurship 130

Entrepreneurs' Organization

MAY 22, 2020

Pete is a mid-level manager in the software engineering unit of an entrepreneurial startup that quickly grew to 400 office-based employees doing electronic health records (EHRs). He recruited Ann, a member of the firm’s Advisory Board, to be an independent facilitator.

strategy 317

strategy entrepreneurs consulting creativity 317

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 24, 2019

When you set up a board it is often initially a combination of the founders and the early investors. This post sets out how I believe founders (and investors) should think about independent board members having worked with many of them for the past 20 years. When an entrepreneur takes on investors who take equity (i.e.

board 187

board peer-to-peer VC funders 187

Entrepreneurs' Organization

MAY 28, 2020

Given these benefits, many investors take great interest in a startup’s social mission. Startups that embrace and exemplify a clear social mission from the get-go will have an easier time attracting much-needed backing. Investors appreciate entrepreneurs with big dreams, so don’t be afraid to aim high. Express Your Mission.

board 226

board sustainability strategy energy 226

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 7, 2015

One of my favorite entrepreneur-Twitterer weighed in, “You want to keep tapping into their collective intelligence so you keep saying ‘Thank you for the feedback’ and they keep sending it,” Ms. Another founder … “When I pitched the idea to Adam, he was super on board,” Mr. Sloyan said. Morrill said. “I

startup 323

startup advice pitching VC 323

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 6, 2020

We have been advising a lot of entrepreneurs so I thought I’d “open source” some of the advice I have been sharing. You need to: study the rules, make sure that you don’t violate the “affiliate rule” (more later), consult with your Company Counsel, consult with your board and investors and then make your own determination. It depends.

VC 279

VC peer-to-peer startup advice 279

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 2, 2015

You transition from “startup” to real business and it turns out that having an entire team be efficient is more important than that boundless energy but destructive nature of constantly changing direction from the CEO. And board confidence matters in growing companies. And board confidence matters in growing companies.

board 338

board energy financing finance 338

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 3, 2015

It spoke to me because it so resonates with my nearly daily advice to entrepreneurs and VCs alike. The rest of our partners, principles, associates and EIRs can weigh in with commentary on their views of the quality of the entrepreneur, the market, the product, competition and so forth. The same is true at startups.

advice 332

advice peer-to-peer startup frameworks 332

Paul G. Silva

FEBRUARY 4, 2025

Culture in Action: A Story from Valley Venture Mentors Let me share how this played out at Valley Venture Mentors (VVM), a nonprofit startup accelerator I helped lead. We had two simple core values: Help entrepreneurs succeed Fun is key to success These values were put to the test when we faced a common challenge in the mentorship world.

culture 130

culture strategy entrepreneurship mentorship 130

TechCrunch

JANUARY 27, 2023

Chroma , a startup working to build a new type of audiovisual entertainment specifically for mobile devices, is now adding a Twitter co-founder to its board. However, in 2013, Stone and the others shifted their focus to individual startups. The venture most notably incubated the blogging platform Medium.

board 110

board founder startup incubation 110

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 17, 2017

There are certain topics that even some of the smartest people I talk with who aren’t startup oriented can’t fully grok. It’s common cocktail party chatter to hear people confidently pronounce that some well known startup is sure to blow up because, “How could they succeed when they’re not even profitable!” What did they actually do?

startup 227

startup venture capital VC capital 227

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2013

So as a startup CEO you constantly have to suspend disbelief. ” A startup CEO’s job is to absorb stress so the team doesn’t have to. Startups have to be optimists because no rational person would actually believe you could build Uber into the amazing company that it is today. We just need your $500,000!!”

startup 417

startup peer-to-peer VC culture 417

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 27, 2013

Santa Monica is the place where the highest concentration of early-stage startups are created if you consider also the contiguous geography of Venice Beach. Wouldn’t we be a bit hypocritical if we talked with entrepreneurs about innovation and change but we weren’t willing to take it on ourselves? What’s up with that?

ventures 343

ventures venture capital advice VC 343

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2016

I’d like to explain as best I can my opinion on what is going on because most of what I hear from entrepreneurs is not only wrong but is reminiscent of what I heard in 1997-2000. ” “This will be great for VCs and bad for entrepreneurs.” What is the True Sentiment of VCs? ” “Sure, prices are dropping.

startup 285

startup VC entrepreneurs investing 285

This is going to be BIG.

JULY 16, 2014

Rather than using my investors as an excuse to be short-sighted and screw over the first entrepreneur that works in the door, I need to balance their need for return with the long term viability and reputation of the fund and the firm. Here''s what I am not: I am not necessarily an entrepreneur''s friend.

VC 387

VC frameworks venture capital opportunity 387

David Teten VC

JUNE 9, 2021

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. . connects startups to experts in building new businesses. Board of Directors. At Versatile VC , we’ve used all these models.

consulting 128

consulting venture capital board capital 128

American Entrepreneurship

DECEMBER 4, 2024

In support of military Veteran-founded startups, the Fund focuses on space, AI, and cybersecurity leveraging a veteran’s leadership. Head of Global Operations of The Founder Institute, the world’s largest pre-seed startup accelerator, and the Co-Founder & COO of the Vet-Tech Startup Accelerator.

leadership 97

leadership startup accelerator mentorship entrepreneurship 97

Dream It

APRIL 12, 2020

Martino founded Bullpen in 2010 with a focus on post-seed, pre-Series A startups, and he led the fund’s investments in companies like FanDuel, Namely, Ipsy, SpotHero, Classy, and Airmap. Startups should know how VCs work. startup) per month. Do startups need to conduct due diligence on a venture fund’s LPs?

ventures 334

ventures startup capital board 334

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 5, 2012

My initial reaction to Adeo when we spoke was that while it may have solved some issues (debt versus equity) it didn’t solve the ones that I’ve been warning entrepreneurs about most loudly. A standard entrepreneur retort I heard back then (2008-09) was “I don’t know what my company is worth now.

startup 354

startup VC entrepreneurs financing 354

American Entrepreneurship

MARCH 19, 2025

March 18, 2025) Last week, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) Board approved the creation of the Next New Jersey Program – AI and the AI Innovation Challenge Administration Grant Program. For more information, including additional eligibility requirements, click here.

leadership 52

leadership board economic growth economic development 52

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 19, 2015

I’m often asked about the differences between being at a VC and being an entrepreneur and whether I prefer one or the other. The biggest difference I cite is that Venture Capital often feels like an “individual sport” while startups are a “team sport.” That’s what we’re trying to do at Upfront.

culture 339

culture VC communities venture capital 339

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 22, 2011

About a month ago I was meeting with a seasoned entrepreneur. After 10 minutes I felt like we were old buddies because we had both been through the trenches of startup tech land and had had similar experiences. He was recounting one of his higher profile startups to me. It happens. What a wonderful company they built.

leadership 418

leadership board construction innovation 418

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 11, 2013

I often advise startup companies not to try and pin all of your brand equity into an announcement. Simply – we believe it’s hypocritical to sit with tech startups every day and talk about the need to innovate while ourselves making no major changes. Hamet is a 3x entrepreneur and also former EIR with True Ventures.

ventures 324

ventures VC strategy advice 324

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 12, 2013

He first came to see me in 2008 when we was raising money for his 1st startup – NextMedium. Startup DNA. At every entrepreneur event I through between 2008-2012 I invite Hamet because he was a great mentor for entrepreneurs. I’ve known Hamet for 5 years. The idea immediately resonated. Media relationships.

ventures 340

ventures investing investment board 340