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My Role as a VC: What I am and what I am not.

This is going to be BIG.

That does not mean telling them how to run the company, but to help them create a management discipline--a framework for thinking about problems and solutions. I am there, along with other investors and board members to audit their thinking--to make sure they were considerate about the plans *they* came up with, not me.

VC 405
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How the Seed-Stage VC Trend Began, The Downsides of Unicorns & Much More

Both Sides of the Table

If you want to understand the software trend that drove the creation of the seed-stage VC phenomenon I wrote about it that linked blog post but in short: cloud computing drove down the cost to create startups enabling a new category of investor. Some quick highlights include: The Role of a Seed Stage VC.

VC 348
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Here is How to Make Sense of Conflicting Startup Advice

Both Sides of the Table

People like Vinod Khosla, Keith Rabois, Brian Singerman, Marc Andreessen and others have all made head-scratching private comments to me that sounded so foreign to what I thought other people were doing in VC that they caused me to challenge and ultimately change some of my own views. Draw from Frameworks. In the End Go with Your Gut.

advice 407
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What's your hero story?

This is going to be BIG.

People who just weren't inspiring at all and couldn't get me on board for any kind of ride. There's nothing personal about this particular area for them and it's unclear what motivates them to keep going--other than the prospect of having a VC validate them. The movie centers around a lawsuit. Not exactly Braveheart.

pitching 276
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Is Strategic Money an Oxymoron?

Both Sides of the Table

This is part of my ongoing Raising Venture Capital (VC) series. So I thought I’d try to lay out a framework for how you should think about it as many you will inevitably be faced with this experience. OK, I know this is true with VC also, but to a lesser extent. The topic of &# strategic&# investors came up.

advice 279
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My Number One Advice for Startups or VCs: Conviction > Consensus

Both Sides of the Table

Every VC firm works differently but when asked about our process I always reply the same way, We’re a “high conviction” shop. If you pound the table on deals over a period of time and you’re consistently wrong it’s clear you won’t make a great long-term VC. He took two words where I take 1,000!

advice 332
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How I Use Visualization to Drive Creativity

Both Sides of the Table

I apply visual thinking for nearly everything I do: preparing for important phone calls (I imagine my opening lines, I imagine the responses), writing keynote presentations, deciding whether or not to invest in a company, preparing for board meetings – you name it. My framework gives me a deeper understanding of the sector.