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.

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VC consulting entrepreneurs creativity 312

This is going to be BIG.

MARCH 25, 2013

Back in 2006, when I started working on putting together some community groups for entrepreneurs and tech people, I looked for a better name to reference this collection of people. Tech community" seemed too much about people soldering things together and writing code. 55 Washington Street.

communities 290

communities innovation creativity real estate 290

This is going to be BIG.

JUNE 16, 2014

How long does it take from first meeting a VC to getting cash in the bank? If all my deals came as intros from trusted connections that I know for years versus at founder pitch events that''s interesting data. If you meet someone at a pitch event, they''ve already got a company and they''re looking to close as quickly as possible.

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Both Sides of the Table

MAY 30, 2013

It is always a stellar event. His imagination of what is wrong with VC has captured perfectly in satirical format what ails our industry. It is Nikolas Tesla pitching a VC firm. The back-and-forth between Andy & me if anything I hope just raised the issue a bit more about entrepreneur & VC relationships.

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VC pitching venture capital innovation 315

This is going to be BIG.

AUGUST 8, 2011

He was a product guy for a start-up and his big claim to fame was organizing a bunch of local high-tech events. 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.

VC 275

VC peer-to-peer board advice 275

This is going to be BIG.

MARCH 1, 2010

If you'd like to receive this events list by e-mail every Monday morning, just sign up here. You know, if I was the kind of guy that pimped out his own firm's newly redesigned website on a weekly community newsletter that goes out to over 1,000 people, I might include a link to the new FirstRound.com. Tuesday, March 2nd. RSVP: [link].

communities 218

communities innovation venture capital consulting 218

This is going to be BIG.

SEPTEMBER 18, 2019

I believe that the next generation of top companies are far more likely to be founded by people not on VC radars today. Last week, we ran Fall Fundraising Days , which featured 11 NYC events on raising capital that 800+ individuals attended across the week. Venture is all about access—getting the best deals.

venture capital 237

venture capital communities ventures capital 237

This is going to be BIG.

FEBRUARY 21, 2012

For some reason, everyone wants to be a VC. Since the best entrepreneurs are busy running their business and get pinged by VCs all the time, you're not going to wind up getting a deal if all you do is e-mail once, give up, and walk away. Take this #notapitch event. Be a leader in your community.

creativity 325

creativity VC pitching communities 325

This is going to be BIG.

DECEMBER 3, 2020

The partner at the fund, the VC, gets to do the fun part—the meeting with founders, vetting deals, negotiating, helping, etc. This is above and beyond whatever events and educational opportunities the fund provides for its community, which could also be very useful. Fund investing, like adulting, is boring. So what’s the point?

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VC angel investing mix-use opportunity 258

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 5, 2011

Seattle should be the envy of any non Silicon Valley tech community in the country. I need to take some VC meetings. And that is precisely my thoughts for Seattle and what I plan to deliver on Thursday night: Which few key community leaders are going to step up and get those neurons properly firing and connected?

communities 317

communities VC innovation entrepreneurs 317

This is going to be BIG.

SEPTEMBER 11, 2016

Over that time, I watched him foster thriving online communities, creating engaging events, and making them better. You don't need to start out with money, get a Harvard or Stanford MBA, or sell a company to become a VC. For everyone who has aspirations to venture capital, it's a lesson well earned by Brett's hard work.

VC 265

VC angel investing startup venture capital 265

This is going to be BIG.

AUGUST 16, 2020

To that end, my goal was to make the firm the most accessible VC fund in New York—showing up across diverse communities, getting rid of barriers to access like requirements for warm intros, and being conscious of which patterns of success I believe in and which only serve to reinforce certain power dynamics.

communities 161

communities networking founder disruption 161

This is going to be BIG.

DECEMBER 23, 2011

With all of this news about Brooklyn 's tech scene , I've been thinking a lot about what made the NYC innovation community grow so quickly. The "meetup" culture of NYC, where there are three great educational events to go to every night is how the community bootstrapped itself.

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incubation VC communities innovation 250

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. It really only needs a few community leaders to kick things off and land a community on a map. Co-Working Space.

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startup communities venture capital angel capital 390

Revolution

AUGUST 2, 2022

miles to visit founders, college campuses, co-investors, ecosystem builders, and communities in rising cities. an event showcasing the innovation and economic growth possible in the middle of the country. What we did: Rise of the Rest Vice President, Mahati Sridhar , touched down in ChiTown to participate in P33’s VC Desk?—?an

economic growth 344

economic growth innovation communities startup ecosystem 344

This is going to be BIG.

OCTOBER 24, 2010

There was one other VC in the room, Charlie O'Donnell, who makes it a practice to be everywhere something is interesting happening. With this kind of social self-preselection, the result is the kind of crowd you’re not going to get at startup events broadcasted far and wide. That’s kind of the point. It doesn’t need to grow.

creativity 240

creativity communities venture capital innovation 240

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 26, 2014

But for now … Every year we run a big VC, LP & Tech Summit in Los Angeles (this year downtown) to showcase the best of our community and invite others from around the country. Our event this year will feature many portfolio companies and also emerging LA tech companies such as Tinder & Whisper. I will tell more.

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energy startup creativity VC 290

Startup Catalyst

MARCH 27, 2018

The second Startup Community Leaders Mission to the USA took place from 11-18 March 2018, with 20 participants taking part, including 14 from 11 different regional towns in Queensland, 3 from Brisbane, one from Sydney, one from Adelaide, and one from New York (assisting the Beach City film crew). Why we run this particular mission.

communities 140

communities startup incubation accelerator 140

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. Portfolio community building. VC firm admin. VC firm policy or fund analysis. Helping be the VC “presence” at key events. Industry reviews. And so forth.

investing 365

investing investment VC board 365

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 23, 2012

I can’t help feel a bit of rear-view mirror analysis in all of “VC model is broken” bears in our industry. The movie, “The Social Network” might have had more of an impact on creating future entrepreneurs than any other event of the past 5 years. In 1998 there were around 850 VC funds and by 2000 there were 2,300.

venture capital 347

venture capital capital ventures VC 347

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 31, 2010

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. This was evident at the Twiistup pre-event company pitch last week at UCLA. But seriously her book is spot on.

advice 362

advice VC entrepreneurs education 362

This is going to be BIG.

DECEMBER 28, 2013

The biggest question I think VC''s face right now is whether or not, in the future, the best founders will look and act like the best founders of the past. My own track record as a VC across First Round Capital and Brooklyn Bridge Ventures actually starts in January of 2010, *after* the Airbnb class of Winter 2009.

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venture capital VC ventures capital 398

David Teten VC

JANUARY 22, 2023

We particularly have developed many Fundraising hacks for VC and private equity funds , including our master databases of LPs interested in emerging VC managers. There is no cost or obligation to join, and most of our events are complimentary. See examples on our Tech Stacks page.

VC 98

VC collaboration incubation communities 98

This is going to be BIG.

DECEMBER 21, 2010

Personally, I find pitch events to be a little bit contrived. However, the innovation community seems to be in love with this format, so you can’t be a VC without watching a bunch of them. Slides are supposed to augment a live presentation, emphasizing, complimenting--driving a particular message home--not be the main event.

pitching 290

pitching VC technology communities 290

This is going to be BIG.

NOVEMBER 15, 2020

The tech community has been having a long-overdue conversation about mental health and work/life balance and it’s something I’ve been talking up as far back as 2006 , 2009 , and 2014 on my blog and in public. In late 2018, the company raised $75 million Series C from Sequoia, arguably the top VC firm in the world.

coworking spaces 545

coworking spaces hospitality culture coworking 545

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2012

It represents the great majority of entrepreneurship and eschews the fairytale rags-to-VC-riches stories we so often read about in the press. Weddings are a bit like college degrees – they often set you back financially for many years after the event. She became part of the fabric of her community. That may soon change.

peer-to-peer 363

peer-to-peer entrepreneurs startup entrepreneurship 363

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. There are several key problems to this knowledge sharing little community we've built: People make themselves look better in hindsight. Often times, the advice is terrible or impractical.

advice 412

advice startup VC strategy 412

This is going to be BIG.

FEBRUARY 2, 2012

The challenges are more business challenges and design challenges--so schools need to rethink how they interact with innovation communities if it's not going to only be through commercialization: Recognize that creating a founder should be a secondary goal. Be a community center. Kick the students out. The faculty should be, too.

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innovation entrepreneurship incubation education 302

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014

It got me thinking about the advice that I often give to new VCs. For years I saw myself as the new guy in VC but then you wake up one day and realize that 50% of your peers have been doing it for less time than you and time has moved on. Run your own events. Be the center of your knowledge space or geographic community.

peer-to-peer 317

peer-to-peer pitching VC accelerator 317

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 find a job as a VC scout. VC recruiters list and compensation data. How to negotiate a partner role at a VC or private equity firm. Syllabus for how to launch, manage, and invest a VC fund.

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VC venture capital accelerator ventures 128

Revolution

DECEMBER 20, 2023

While VC dollars still overwhelmingly funnel into places like Silicon Valley, Brookings research shows tech jobs are finally spreading out — movement spurred by the availability of hybrid and remote work, private investment, and federal initiatives. The soundbite: “We have to start taking the gig economy and gig workers seriously.” — Craig J.

real estate 242

real estate entrepreneurial ecosystem collaboration incubation 242

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 11, 2013

You can watch the video above for a very brief overview of why we rebranded and where we see our place in the VC ecosystem along with what has changed in our industry. We are trying hard to live up to the guidelines we laid out for our investors, our portfolio companies and our community. I couldn’t believe the quality intro.”

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ventures VC strategy advice 324

A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

MAY 18, 2020

So many of our favorite community anchors have shuttered in the wake of the pandemic. But these spaces also have communities of people connected to them, rooting for them, and eager to help them. But these spaces also have communities of people connected to them, rooting for them, and eager to help them.

culture 300

culture creativity communities sustainability 300

This is going to be BIG.

FEBRUARY 18, 2010

However, when you account for how much longer that startup scene has been around, I'd say the fact that we're at about 50% of their pace of venture funding is pretty damn phenomenal--not to mention the fact that there's about an order of magnitude more VC funds located out there. Let someone else build the chips. That's just the way it works.

innovation 248

innovation real estate communities entrepreneurship 248

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 24, 2012

He built a practice around a growing community in the Mid Atlantic and beyond. He knows every startup & VC in town.” When I first arrived in LA my good friend Matt Pillar (a long-term veteran of tech, media & VC) who had been in LA for some time told me, “in LA there’s none better than David.”

VC 299

VC communities investing investment 299

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 15, 2010

But Twitter.com (which will likely improve dramatically on UI, I’m guessing) will be the main event for Twitter search. I found this investment strange since normally VC’s hate to bet on gaming companies. In my mind, not a typical VC investment. Tags: This Week in Venture Capital VC Industry. OTHER STUFF.

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venture capital capital ventures VC 271

This is going to be BIG.

MARCH 14, 2024

It’s an approach to the community that I’ve tried to emulate—to make myself available to founders wherever I can, but it’s not easy to scale. It’s easy for a VC to just stick within your own networks and filter bubbles—and hard to scale being “open” without opening the floodgates.

communities 339

communities consulting creativity advice 339