Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 22, 2014

Picking a VC is hard. So I thought I’d write about out with what I would look for in a VC knowing what I know now and why. Most VCs are book smart. VCs should be more of a coach than proscriptively telling you what to do. You want a VC who will spar with you but then STFU and let you get on with things.

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VC advice board leadership 364

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 6, 2014

I’ve written a few posts about boards recently as part of a series on the subject. I admit that I haven’t yet read it but I’ve had numerous discussions with Brad over the years about board structure & conduct and consider him a mentor on the topic. Offering a sparring-partner function on strategic decisions.

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board mentorship media advice 325

David Teten VC

MARCH 1, 2022

The easiest way to work with and for VC funds is to become a part-time scout, getting paid for sourcing investments. How to win consulting, board, operating, and investment roles with private equity and venture capital funds (video). How to find a job as a VC scout. VC recruiters list and compensation data.

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VC venture capital accelerator ventures 128

This is going to be BIG.

APRIL 13, 2022

In this case, a VC would have every right, having seen lots of products get built and succeed or fail, to want to observe and discuss that process. What’s harder to notice for a founder is all of the things that a founder isn’t being asked to review in detail that a VC has no problem trusting the founder on.

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founder VC board strategy 398

TechCrunch

AUGUST 4, 2021

Good VCs who are aligned with a startup’s vision create more value than the dollars they bring to the table. At a time when we are witnessing record VC activity, founders would be well served to go back to the basics and focus on the principles of fundraising when determining who sits on their cap table.

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Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

I’m over-paying for every check I write into the VC ecosystem and valuations are being pushed up to absurd levels and many of these valuations and companies won’t hold in the long term. However, to be a great VC you have to hold two conflicting ideas in your head at the same time. By definition?—?I’m So in a way it’s self selecting.

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ventures VC venture capital funders 471

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 12, 2010

I recently wrote an article on how to respond to board members between meetings. If I were to re-write the original post I would have taken out the section on “how to get better intro’s from VC’s&# and made it it’s own post. It seems to me this is the main problem with boards. It’s true.

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board advice VC development 267

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2014

I know I can’t be in every deal and I know that the easy part of being a VC is writing the first check in a deal. But if you’re a concentrated investor who takes board seats then you know the hard bit starts the day after. They worry too much about missing out on a deal. I don’t. Co-investors are critical.

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This is going to be BIG.

AUGUST 8, 2011

How about as a VC? Fred has basically always been a VC, Mike was a reporter, and Jim worked in product marketing and management consulting. Surely--but then I realize how difficult it is to be an early stage VC in NYC. Really never managed anything of significant or built anything major.". what has this guy done? What did I do?

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VC peer-to-peer board advice 275

Y Combinator

JULY 15, 2019

One of the most common questions we hear from founders is “How do I manage my board?” It’s something that provokes anxiety, because this is the first time the founder/CEO is subject to external supervision, and the board has powers that include the firing of the CEO and the senior management. But first, what’s the purpose of a board?

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board frameworks advice peer-to-peer 99

TechCrunch

OCTOBER 26, 2021

On a good day, most people forget the chief information security officer even exists. ’s Q3 results last week sent its stock tumbling, but it wasn’t alone: Apple’s iOS 15 privacy implementation disrupted ad tracking and measurement for social media and advertising platforms across the board.

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TechCrunch

APRIL 27, 2021

In 2016, we set out to develop a rigorous methodology for tracking progress on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in venture capital, and to measure and benchmark those data through our biennial VC Human Capital Survey. Once talent has come on board, inclusive culture and retention become key metrics of DEI progress.

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Revolution

SEPTEMBER 29, 2022

According to PitchBook , VC investments were down 30% in Q2 2022 compared with 2021, and IPOs hit a 50-year low. When deal-making slows, VC dollars typically favor the perceived market leader, starving other venture-backed businesses in the same space of capital. The more straightforward value actualization is, the lighter the lift.

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A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

AUGUST 28, 2023

Boards often discuss CEO performance without really knowing how things work inside the company. And CEOs often have very little visibility to how they are doing and what the board thinks about their performance. Without this information, it is hard to “level up.” I’ve written about this topic before.

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TechCrunch

JANUARY 21, 2022

Whether it’s done informally via a Reddit AMA or a Twitter Space, it’s never a bad idea to interact with people who use your products and services. 500 Global’s Christine Tsai shares her 2022 VC predictions. 500 Global’s Christine Tsai shares her 2022 VC predictions. Image Credits: Bryce Durbin/TechCrunch.

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Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 14, 2010

They had received a term sheet from a VC and were wondering whether to work with this firm. You’re tied at the hip to your VC. Get to know VCs over a long period of time so that when you’re ready to get engaged you feel you know their character. But what was the VC like when the chips were down?

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Gust

JULY 15, 2012

I recommend that every early-stage startup find three Advisory Board members. Even more importantly, you should expect these members of your team to be your advocates to angel or VC investors, or even be part of your friends and family financing round. The Advisory Board’s objectives and focus. Let’s talk specifics.

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Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 14, 2009

I wrote recently about the role of Advisory Boards in startups , which I expected to be a bit controversial. It’s just that many companies waste equity on advisory boards, pick the wrong advisers or set up advisory boards with the wrong expectations. If they’re so great, why are they not just Board Members?

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board VC advice entrepreneurs 215

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 13, 2011

I recently filmed a show for This Week in Venture Capital in which I talked about how to prepare for a VC meeting: whom you’ll meet, who should attend from your side, what materials you should bring and how you should run the meeting. The “Triple Play&# of VC Presentations. But take prompts from the VC.

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Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 8, 2014

What is a principal at a VC firm and how does it work at Upfront Ventures? ” Associates have different functions at different VCs. VC firm admin. VC firm policy or fund analysis. Helping be the VC “presence” at key events. inside insight into VC decision-making. Industry reviews.

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Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 25, 2019

I’ve sat on many boards over the past 2 decades and seen my share of high-functioning boards and low-functioning boards. Even the best companies with the best outcomes, however, usually hit some difficult moments where a highly-functioning boards matter. This is part of a series on a Board of Directors at a Startup.

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board startup VC founder 269

David Teten VC

NOVEMBER 23, 2020

Here’s what I said: In your career in tech and VC, how has your focus on ESG responsibility changed over time? I quickly recruited a board of experienced hands. Many of my board members are still there, a decade later. . How do you leverage your VC expertise in politics? Are you politically active? Who hasn’t?

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venture capital VC capital ventures 52

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. I’m guessing if you compete across the board you will struggle to hit scale.

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TechCrunch

FEBRUARY 19, 2021

Yesterday’s House Financial Services Committee hearing on the GameStop short squeeze saga was fairly typical: Most lawmakers used their time to grandstand and little new information was revealed. “You have to wonder if every VC worth a damn in the future will have their own raft of SPAC offerings,” says Alex.

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David Teten VC

DECEMBER 12, 2017

VCs are at the forefront of technological disruption, funding many of the latest cutting edge productivity tools. The VC landscape has gotten much more competitive and crowded over the past several years, and if investors are not using software tools?—?they Which solutions do VCs use to streamline the process of raising capital?

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David Teten VC

MARCH 14, 2018

Managers of VC funds typically want to grow their business aggressively, just like the founders we back. But, we normally have a clear ceiling on how high we can grow AUM, before hitting practical limits to deploying capital within the traditional VC model. . I suggest there are a number of ways to scale a VC fund.

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VC venture capital board capital 45

Gust

AUGUST 23, 2014

Professional investors typically have a range of information rights that they negotiate for when making an investment. While not every investor will have every right (or every right with the same frequency), the types of things we’re talking about include: Seat on the Board of Directors. Non-voting Board Observer Seat.

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investing investment VC board 139

TechCrunch

JUNE 7, 2021

David Teten is founder of Versatile VC and writes periodically at teten.com and @dteten. How to win consulting, board and deal roles with PE and VC funds. 5 innovative fundraising methods for emerging VCs and PEs. Sell information products. David Teten. Contributor. Share on Twitter. More posts by this contributor.

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Both Sides of the Table

MAY 21, 2019

Managing Your Startup Board?—?A It’s encouraging to know that there are still great VC firms like KV that are looking to make these short of big bets on shaping the future. It’s encouraging to know that there are still great VC firms like KV that are looking to make these short of big bets on shaping the future.

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Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

” From the hyperbolic Jason Calacanis weighing in that “The petty VC’s did everything to deride [Naval, the co-founder of AngelList]” as though the industry was collectively s g its pants that AngelList was going to put us out of business. This is the same way VC firms, by the way. Bowery Capital).

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VC peer-to-peer board innovation 356

David Teten VC

NOVEMBER 23, 2020

Here’s what I said: In your career in tech and VC, how has your focus on ESG responsibility changed over time? I quickly recruited a board of experienced hands. Many of my board members are still there, a decade later. . How do you leverage your VC expertise in politics? Are you politically active? Who hasn’t?

venture capital 40

venture capital VC capital ventures 40

TechCrunch

MARCH 26, 2021

Ideally, BI transforms raw data into actionable information, but according to Charles Caldwell, VP of product management at Logi Analytics, “a gap exists between the functionalities provided by current BI and data discovery tools and what users want and need.” It’s time to abandon business intelligence tools.

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VC real estate venture capital pitching 94

TechCrunch

JUNE 27, 2022

The bots typically buy the company time while allowing it to gather information that can, in some cases, lead to a human interaction (assuming the issue can’t be solved at some point along the way). But it can require a heavy lift in the form of costly professional services.

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incubation VC startup strategy 98

David Teten VC

JUNE 14, 2021

Sell Information Products. At Versatile VC , our new VC fund, we’re creating an online community just for founders who are in transition, Founders’ Next Move. Talk with VCs in your space. Many VCs keep a list of ideas they think have high potential. Work as a VC Scout. A number of VCs (e.g.,

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consulting founder investing investment 119

This is going to be BIG.

FEBRUARY 18, 2019

Brooklyn Bridge Ventures , the pre-seed and seed stage VC fund I run in NYC, has invested in 64 companies in the last six and a half years. As an investor, it’s easy to come into a board meeting asking probing questions, demanding information, and sharing your opinion without first having built up a base of trust.

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venture capital capital ventures peer-to-peer 410

This is going to be BIG.

SEPTEMBER 22, 2023

They can also be purely informative, like lists of events or resources you’ve discovered. If I read a guide that I find informative, I’m likely to hire that person to actually do the work. They could be curated lists of things you’ve read with little blurbs sharing what you learned or why you think something is interesting.

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Both Sides of the Table

JULY 10, 2010

The importance of the conference is that it assembles most of the top privately held early-to-mid-stage technology companies in the country (and some globally) as well as most VC’s, growth equity funds and corporate development departments from large industry players looking at technology acquisitions. TechCrunch. ITA Software.

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