Remove board Remove leadership Remove VC
article thumbnail

What I Would Look for When Choosing a VC – Knowing What I Know Now?

Both Sides of the Table

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.

VC 364
article thumbnail

Bolster Your Management Team And Board

A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

I have had the great pleasure of working with Matt Blumberg and the senior leadership team of USV’s former portfolio company Return Path (which was sold in 2019) for much of the last twenty years. All of this is outlined in the Bolster Founding Manifesto which explains why they started this company.

board 218
Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

article thumbnail

The Double Standard of Female CEOs Moving Fast and Breaking Things

This is going to be BIG.

Investors let him control the board as long as he continued to make them paper rich, and then actually rich--so they couldn’t technically force him out. When it happens at companies run by women, the media, disgruntled employees, and their investor board members, burn them at the stake. VC David Sacks tweeted “??

article thumbnail

Founder Led Companies

A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

I remember about fifteen years ago, a well-known VC said to me “you need to sell a company within a few years of the founder leaving. ” I told that VC that my experience has been different on that measure and that I did not agree. Etsy, where I am Chair of the Board and a large shareholder, is a great example of that.

founder 267
article thumbnail

The Vision Thing

A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

A well-known entrepreneur turned VC, who will go unnamed because I am not sure he would want me to share this conversation publicly, once told me “if you remove a founder, you must sell the company within a couple of years or it will start to decline in value.” It will be an incredible trip. Most are not.

article thumbnail

New Leadership At Tech:NYC

A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

Last year, after more than five years at the helm, Julie decided it was time to pass the baton to a new leader and she and I and a group of board members spent the fall talking to lots of people and we found a fantastic new leader named Jason Clark. We called it Tech:NYC and I first wrote about it here at AVC in March of 2016.

article thumbnail

Do VC Platforms Make Sense?

Both Sides of the Table

In the VC insider baseball world a discussion has gone on about “VC platforms” over the past 5 or so years. While firms define platforms differently, let’s just say they are the services that a VC offers outside of investment capital and partner time on boards or providing intros.

VC 198