Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 9, 2013

I have seen the sclerotic pace of decision-making by some co-founders who don’t have a common sense of purpose of the ability to resolve conflict when different opinions result in delayed actions. Or maybe their existence itself will help accelerate fund raising. Who the f**k knows? But YOU have to make that tough judgment call.

accelerator 413

accelerator founder startup advice 413

This is going to be BIG.

SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

On top of all this, being the best possible software provider was inherently at conflict with the ability to make money on upgrades in the future. Docracy, born out of Techcrunch Disrupt's 2011 Hackathon, just brought legal negotiations into the cloud with their new Super Signing feature release. You get used to it.

collaboration 320

collaboration frameworks communities construction 320

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 3, 2010

Given all of the conflicts you can see why investors would want to avoid crossing over funds. This is part of a series that I’ve been working on called Understanding Venture Capital. In one of the posts I spoke about how the size and vintage of funds might affect you when you’re raising money. Why does the cross-over matter?

investing 226

investing investment VC venture capital 226

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 15, 2012

You’ll have a peer relationship with another CEO that you have a vested interest in that crosses over to a board – CEO relationship. . You’ll experience different conflicts that you won’t have the same type of pressure from. We live in an era where the press espouses the entrepreneurs who have five startups.

board 294

board startup founder peer-to-peer founder 294

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2010

Since I answer this all the time anyway I thought it might make an interesting blog post. I get paid (well) for interesting people to come in and tell me how they want to change the world – Being an entrepreneur is like having blinders on. That’s true. .&# That’s true. Here’s why: 1. Not any more for me.

VC 312

VC consulting entrepreneurs creativity 312

Gust

SEPTEMBER 2, 2012

Join entrepreneur groups online, like Linkedin “On Startups”, Facebook for Business, and use Twitter to find people with like-minded interests. Don’t forget the wealth of business blogs frequented by entrepreneurs and investors, where you make your interests known. Join online “dating” sites for business partners. Take your time.

startup 170

startup entrepreneurs creativity energy 170

Paul G. Silva

APRIL 1, 2020

I am told that the angel groups of the Northeast have one of the best systems for syndicating deals in the country. There are many parts to making that happen. I have the privilege of running the nomination, application, and selection processes. Process Overview. Set the timetable. The ACA selects a date for the regional event.

angel capital 162

angel capital entrepreneurs accelerator startup 162

This is going to be BIG.

NOVEMBER 15, 2020

In February of 2017, Susan Fowler’s description of the pervasive cultural issues at Uber, after the company’s abject failure to address her sexual harassment complaints properly, finally broke through in a way that garnered the tech community’s appropriate attention. The company’s bad behavior was nothing new. They got worse. The second reason?

coworking spaces 545

coworking spaces hospitality culture coworking 545

This is going to be BIG.

JULY 25, 2022

Typically, investors don’t take a board seat until you raise your first equity round—which means that it could be *years* before you have a real board meeting: A year of nights/weekends work researching, prototyping, and fundraising. You raise your pre-seed round and if you're lucky and good, you can get to an equity round in 12-18 months.

board 316

board founder investing investment 316

Gust

SEPTEMBER 1, 2014

Conflict takes energy to sustain, so work to prevent conflicts from arising, and work to end conflicts quickly that do arise. To Do List Chalkboard by Mufidah Kassalias, on Flickr. The universal challenge of every startup founder is to get everything done that needs to get done, and still have a life. Stop procrastinating.

entrepreneurs 180

entrepreneurs strategy energy advice 180

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 26, 2015

I would call these “consensus VCs” and most likely are inhabited by country-club partners who are used to avoiding conflict. One of the least understood parts of the venture capital industry and venture capital firms is how investment decisions actually get made. ” Some firms are collegiate.

venture capital 336

venture capital peer-to-peer capital ventures 336

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2013

But the thing I am most proud of about Rob is that he has taken a company with a uniquely talented founder & CTO – Nick Halstead – and managed to build a very tight working relationship with Nick where we drive world-class product development without having the usual founder / CEO conflicts. Rob Bailey is the CEO of DataSift.

board 365

board VC advice pitching 365

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 30, 2010

Clearly this is is a trend and a topic that is interesting entrepreneurs. The mechanism that people use to resolve this conflict is a “convertible debt with a cap&# meaning that while the funding instrument is still debt when it converts it has a maximum price – a “cap.&# “Convertible notes have won.

finance 319

finance financing entrepreneurs advice 319

This is going to be BIG.

SEPTEMBER 29, 2024

I honestly wasn’t prepared to handle the interest—and it didn’t stop. VC firms often have weird internal dynamics that conflict with your career goals. After all, it’s something they recommend founders do. Every week, new VCs inquired about coaching even though I had barely put it out there. Make it easy for them to say yes.

VC 195

VC board venture capital communities 195

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 6, 2010

The ability to ask questions effectively is one of the most important skills in business as is the ability to actively listen. Yet as important as these two skills are they really don’t seem to ever be taught in school. Witnessing this can be frustrating. If you’re: raising money you might like to ask how the investor makes decision.

advice 311

advice investing investment strategy 311

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 6, 2014

You also should have mapped out their key employers and if they chose not to list their boss at one of them that obviously forms a source of discussion for you (and possibly a person you might be more interested in calling). Know that we had a conflict over “x” and that may come out.” Ask for at least 5 references.

peer-to-peer 302

peer-to-peer real estate mix-use entrepreneurs 302

Entrepreneurs' Organization

OCTOBER 5, 2022

Another interesting question you might consider is: “Who had the tools or knowledge you clearly needed but for whatever reason did not offer it to you?”. One important question every successful entrepreneur can ask themselves is, “Who taught you what you needed to know to get where you are?” People are scared. It’s a decision.

mentorship 225

mentorship culture consulting entrepreneurs 225

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 17, 2016

My observation is that many companies become Game of Thrones with warring factions and competing interests. My first reaction was to wonder why no time was allocated to discussing the executive team, how people were getting along, any conflicts that exist and wether any changes would be required.

frameworks 233

frameworks board creativity SaaS 233

Gust

APRIL 13, 2014

Otherwise, like a marriage, it will be doomed to constant conflict, second guessing, and unhappiness. Photo of Chairman of Google Eric Schmidt with Sergey Brin and Larry Page via Wikipedia. A while back I talked about how and where to find a co-founder in “ For a Startup, Two Heads are Always Better Than One ”. Common vision and commitment.

entrepreneurs 179

entrepreneurs leadership education financing 179

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 10, 2010

I said in the following video that I thought Twitter would by Seesmic , the company that makes one of the most popular Twitter clients. (If you’re interested you can watch my comments by fast forwarding to minute 31.25 and listening for about 90 seconds. There’s also a segment that I like from minute 12.30

development 287

development communities venture capital VC 287

Gust

DECEMBER 8, 2013

The smartest people are often the most eccentric, so some conflict in the ranks is normal. Excessive conflict, lack of communication, or lack of mutual respect is indicative of a dysfunctional team, and eventual failure of the startup. How much “skin” is already in the game? What’s the total history of this company? Now you know.

board 174

board investing investment advice 174

Gust

JUNE 3, 2012

Many entrepreneurs I know feel guilty about not quitting their day job when initiating their startup, worrying about not giving their all to an employer, juggling the multiple roles, or even a legal conflict of interest. If you don’t have a partner, you’ll often lose interest and find something else to entertain you.

entrepreneurs 152

entrepreneurs advice startup founder 152

Entrepreneurs' Organization

FEBRUARY 13, 2020

She found what we did interesting and liked the idea of working with technology and making things work. Contributed by Lionel Felix, founder of Felix Media Solutions and a member of EO Austin. . Our company, Felix Media Solutions, landed a spot on the 2019 Inc. About the same time, I started dating Lindsey Rima (pictured at left).

startup 197

startup financing finance media 197

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 3, 2009

Yesterday I had lunch with a really interesting and capable serial entrepreneur who is raising his A round. You’re not their core business – their interest will swing more wildly with the markets. But even he would feel conflicted when I had to cut the engineering team because he valued our product more than his investment.

advice 279

advice venture capital frameworks entrepreneurs 279

Berkonomics

MARCH 28, 2024

Sometimes, there will be a conflict of interest between the people representing the various shareholder classes on a board. Once again, there is a need to educate board members that in conflict of interest cases, the corporation comes first. Actually, there are two legal duties of board members.

board 112

board advice education VC 112

Entrepreneurs' Organization

MARCH 28, 2016

Also, be sure to establish clear policies and procedures for dealing with conflicts that arise. By Frank Fantozzi, an EO Cleveland member and President and Founder of Planned Financial Services. as family businesses expand, they face unique performance and governance challenges. Communicate clearly, concisely, candidly and continuously.

financing 130

financing finance culture education 130

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 22, 2011

This post originally ran on TechCrunch. Lately I have seen a number of deals announced on TechCrunch in which 5 or more different VCs were participating in the deal. This always makes me chuckle because in my first company we had 5 investors in our first round and we picked up 5 more before we finally sold the company. I love that. But it happens.

VC 314

VC advice pitching investing 314

This is going to be BIG.

SEPTEMBER 7, 2023

When you’re asking for a one-on-one, you want the other person to feel like this is going to be a thoughtful and interesting exchange with someone who has already done a bunch of work before they’ve gotten to you. People often ask me for advice on fundraising, generating deal flow, hiring, increasing visibility , triathlons, babies, etc.--a

advice 243

advice ventures investing investment 243

TechCrunch

DECEMBER 28, 2020

Whether this new round of regulations is a solitary blip on the radar or the signal of an increasing interest in Beijing tying tech companies closer to national interests remains to be seen. Shares of Alibaba are off around 30% from their recent record highs set in late October. drop today.

peer-to-peer 145

peer-to-peer technology founder capital 145

This is going to be BIG.

JULY 13, 2023

Being a VC means not only honing your skills as a judge of character, assessor of business models, and calculator of risk, but it’s also a lot of difficult interpersonal communications, narrative creation, and long-term goal setting and positioning. Drop me a line if you’d like to inquire. ) Did I take advantage of a coach early on?

education 195

education advice VC startup ecosystem 195

Founders Coop

FEBRUARY 21, 2024

Headcount reductions and executive departures aren’t exactly news as we unwind 15 years of zero interest rates and the many asset bubbles those policies helped to inflate. tl;dr + Techstars was once one of the world’s leading accelerator programs, but has steadily been eclipsed by Y combinator.

startup ecosystem 189

startup ecosystem accelerator communities support 189

Gust

JUNE 19, 2012

Invested Interests. And what interests me is who makes the money on timing these trends. . Invested Interests. Thoughts on startups by investors that fund them & entrepreneurs that run them. Subscribe by email. Who Makes the Money on an Inevitable Shoe Dropping? I have the purchase history to prove it. June 19th, 2012.

startup 180

startup pitching disruption mix-use 180

TechCrunch

DECEMBER 3, 2022

We often think about the webs of venture capital in a conflict of interest type aperture — and there’s more to come on that angle in the weeks to come. Executive turnover and the art of conflict. To get this in your inbox, subscribe here. First, that you have something important to say.

media 89

media accelerator ventures leadership 89

TechCrunch

NOVEMBER 20, 2020

Don’t worry about time conflicts — all sessions are available live and on-demand. Is your company interested in sponsoring TC Sessions: Space 2020? Go boldly, yes. But why pay full price? Early bird pricing ends — in Gene Roddenberry’s parlance — on Stardate 98489.04. today, November 20 at 11:59 p.m. Go boldly for $100 less.

pitching 102

pitching data collection opportunity networking 102

TechCrunch

JULY 15, 2021

The deal announced Thursday confirms TechCrunch’s reporting in June that the startup was in final talks with the SPAC launched by LinkedIn co-founder and investor Reid Hoffman, Zynga founder Mark Pincus and managing partner Michael Thompson. Aurora was last valued at $10 billion following its acquisition of Uber’s self-driving unit.

micromobility 101

micromobility startup venture capital board 101

Entrepreneurs' Organization

APRIL 20, 2022

Carrie Santos, CEO of Entrepreneurs’ Organization. They met with some of these members, as well as other compassionate, agile entrepreneurs from around the world, who are—together—stepping up to support people in this time of great stress and need. We are bound by a set of shared values and an impulse to act. We want them ready for recovery.

entrepreneurs 194

entrepreneurs networking frameworks transportation 194

TechCrunch

NOVEMBER 21, 2022

These questions and the answers — and the science behind finding them — are more important than ever as the space economy develops, as collaboration between governments and private commercial space companies increases and as geopolitical conflict continues to impact national security. Are we alone? How does the universe work?

data analysis 98

data analysis entrepreneurship education collaboration 98