Entrepreneur's Handbook

MARCH 30, 2023

Why You Can’t Raise VC Money Photo by Jp Valery on Unsplash Many entrepreneurs have experienced the keen sting of rejection when venture capital firms refuse to invest in or otherwise respond to their exciting new startups. We had tapped our entire network for warm intros and sent dozens of eye-catching cold emails to no avail.

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StartupNation

SEPTEMBER 2, 2021

Only 11% of VC partners are women , and as a whole, women angel investors have only reached 22%. On the entrepreneur side, things look better, with over 40% being women. Considering the emergence of these funds nationwide, entrepreneurs still want to know how they can get an opportunity to get in front of women angel investors.

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TechCrunch

JULY 7, 2022

It’s playing a really clever card: trying to make rapid financing available to climate entrepreneurs in a win 4 situation — where investors, the startups, society and the environment all win. Today, I’m delighted to present the deck the company used to raise its financing. Slides in this deck. Cover slide.

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Entrepreneur's Handbook

DECEMBER 13, 2020

On the fundraising side of things, there is no milestone more validating for a young company than securing your Series A financing. Know What to Expect When a VC Opens your Deck (and their Checkbook) As Series A companies are more mature than in previous rounds, Series A decks are longer at 25 slides.

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Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2013

And I am often approached by entrepreneurs in cities which don’t have a vibrant VC community. They often ask whether they have to move to SF, NY or LA to get financed. It would be easier in terms of getting access to angels, VCs, the media, whatever. It’s a goal to help you understand the life of a VC.

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TechCrunch

AUGUST 19, 2022

Essentially, VC is a high-stakes extreme sport in which top players can accumulate startling amounts of wealth and power. But where does all that money actually come from, and how do VCs actually make money? But where does all that money actually come from, and how do VCs actually make money? Pitch Deck Teardown: Mi Terro’s $1.5M

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Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 5, 2014

In my experience many VC’s fall into this “I’m expected to know all the answers” trap. For me, after nearly a decade in the trenches of being an entrepreneur I felt I was un-brainwashed from trying to pretend I had all the answers. And I encourage entrepreneurs to triangulate as well. It is unknowable.

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Entrepreneurs' Organization

DECEMBER 15, 2023

You need a solid business plan, traction to demonstrate market fit, and the skills to pitch effectively. Don’t neglect ongoing investor relations “A lot of startup founders think that the only way investors will respond favorably is if they provide their best pitch on first contact,” said Mohammadi.

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David Teten VC

AUGUST 21, 2019

Most founders who are raising capital look first to traditional equity VCs. Revenue-Based Investing (“RBI”) is a new form of VC financing, distinct from the preferred equity structure most VCs use. Who are the major Revenue-Based Investing VCs? Should your new VC fund use Revenue-Based Investing?

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David Teten VC

JULY 27, 2021

We have collected a wide range of freebies, contests, accelerators, online communities, and VCs designed for student tech founders. I have been researching this both to support Versatile VC ’s portfolio companies and also as part of research for my new book, To University and Beyond: Launch Your Career in High Gear. 1) Your school.

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Both Sides of the Table

MAY 4, 2013

As a VC you want to feel like you have “proprietary sources” of deal flow. Because entrepreneurs often went to lawyers at their earliest stages to get their company registration done. Because entrepreneurs often went to lawyers at their earliest stages to get their company registration done. I attended events.

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TechCrunch

JANUARY 21, 2022

500 Global’s Christine Tsai shares her 2022 VC predictions. 500 Global’s Christine Tsai shares her 2022 VC predictions. Will quantum computing remain the domain of the specialist VC? Will quantum computing remain the domain of the specialist VC? If you want startup funding, don’t make VCs feel ignorant.

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A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

JUNE 17, 2019

I just finished Scott Kupor ‘s Secrets Of Sand Hill Road , a book for entrepreneurs about rasing capital from venture firms. Scott makes the point numerous times in the book that the capital raising process is asymmetric for entrepreneurs in that they do it a few times in their career and VCs do it every day.

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TechCrunch

JANUARY 29, 2021

In other news: Extra Crunch Live, a series of interviews with leading investors and entrepreneurs, returns next month with a full slate of guests. This year, we’re adding a new feature: Our guests will analyze pitch decks submitted by members of the audience to identify their strengths and weaknesses.

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Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2009

On December 2nd, 2006 I wrote the blog post published later in this post when I was CEO of startup Koral about my experiences in pitching VCs. I had previously raised VC in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2005. In case VC’s haven’t figured this out yet, shit rolls downhill. My blog was wiped out. And covered we did.

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Entrepreneurs' Organization

JULY 16, 2021

The Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) exists to help entrepreneurs achieve their full potential. In a recent Forum Confidential session, EO Accelerator member “Dan” (not his real name) presented his business challenge to a group of experienced entrepreneurs in search of helpful, real-world tips and best practices.

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TechCrunch

MARCH 15, 2022

Performing due diligence is critical, but it won’t give you all the information you need to approach a VC. How to pitch me: 4 VCs share what they’re looking for in March 2022. Dive deep into Snorkel.AI’s pitch technique that raised $135m. Dive deep into Snorkel.AI’s pitch technique that raised $135m.

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Both Sides of the Table

MAY 9, 2018

This is a very common scenario when entrepreneurs pitch VCs and frankly is a very common scenario when VCs try to raise money from LPs. When you pitched me I really did love you. And you get to demonstrate your skill sets without even pitching. I call it, “Remind me why I love you again?” You’re in control.

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TechCrunch

JULY 19, 2022

If your company is too nascent to be valued, convertible notes might be a viable way to secure early financing. Bottom line: If your company is on the cusp of an opportunity, convertible note financing could be a way forward, but only if you have a realistic valuation and a plan to reach it. Thanks very much for reading TC+ this week!

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TechCrunch

NOVEMBER 9, 2020

There has been little movement in the amount of VC dollars going to women-founded companies since 2012. This should come as no surprise, given that fintech combines two sectors traditionally dominated by men: finance and technology. VC funds must look at ways they can bring in more women decision-makers, all the way up to the top.

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Berkonomics

AUGUST 3, 2023

Some businesses require very little capital and the founder can self-finance the enterprise and retain 100% of its ownership and control from ignition through liquidity event (startup through sale). And even with the significant cost of credit card debt, many entrepreneurs aggressively use existing cards to finance a startup.

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Entrepreneur's Handbook

OCTOBER 18, 2022

You won’t believe how VCs decide which startups to fund Aaron Dinin, PhD teaches entrepreneurship at Duke. He also teaches us something new about the startup/VC world every week in his column. In Aaron’s story of an unsuccessful attempt to woo a VC, the answer is not what you think. Is this person finance focused?

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This is going to be BIG.

APRIL 29, 2011

I had an interesting conversation with an entrepreneur last week about how he decided which VCs he was going to pitch. At the same time, I had lunch with someone yesterday who regularly ran into early stage entrepreneurs who was surprised to hear that I didn't mind if they made intros to me. The Cold Intro.

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TechCrunch

FEBRUARY 19, 2021

“You have to wonder if every VC worth a damn in the future will have their own raft of SPAC offerings,” says Alex. “Incredible growth people are independent and creative and are drawn to environments that explicitly value these traits,” says Jessica Li, a content/growth professional who was previously a VC.

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Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 26, 2010

This is part of my series on what makes an entrepreneur successful. I originally posted it on VentureHacks , one of my favorite websites for entrepreneurs. I started the series talking about what I consider the most important attribute of an entrepreneur : Tenacity. The best entrepreneurs focus on details.

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Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 1, 2009

In my previous post, The VC Ice Age is Thawing (for now) I wrote about the reasons why the VC market came to a screeching halt in September 2008 and remained largely shut until at least April 2009. There are now signs the VC market has gathered pace meaning it’s a great time to be fund raising.

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TechCrunch

NOVEMBER 2, 2022

Lyubov Guk is a founding partner at Blue Lake VC. Juanita Gonzalez-Uribe is associate professor in finance at the London School of Economics. Entrepreneurs who set up a business in a new country encounter more challenges. Lyubov Guk. Contributor. Share on Twitter. Robyn Klingler-Vidra. Contributor. Juanita Gonzalez-Uribe.

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TechCrunch

JANUARY 25, 2021

Co-founded by Justin Mitchell, Hunter McKinley and Jordan Walker, Yac was spun out of the digital agency SoFriendly, and was developed as a pitch for Product Hunt’s Maker Festival. About six months after that seed round, Yac received outreach from Slack thanks to a referral from another entrepreneur.

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Both Sides of the Table

MAY 14, 2015

Many entrepreneurs pitching err on the side of too much information. Entrepreneurs literally started asking for billion-dollar valuations just because the market is talking about unicorns. ” The report also notes that 75% of mega financings are led by non-VCs. Why is it a really big market?

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TechCrunch

SEPTEMBER 24, 2021

In fact, women early-stage entrepreneurs receive an average of $1 million less in funding than men do, despite performing better on average. Women are consistently losing out when it comes to accelerator backing and VC support. of VC partners are female, and in Europe, the picture isn’t much better: 83% of U.K.

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TechCrunch

APRIL 1, 2021

Creating and Protecting IP Value in Connection with VC Financings (Perkins Coie). Scientist Entrepreneurs – Scaling Breakout Engineering Biology Companies (Mayfield). Why Founders Should adopt OKRs Now (Dell for Entrepreneurs). Wondering how to pitch effectively in these virtual times?

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TechCrunch

MAY 28, 2021

VC is the flashy gold medal, but the rapid growth of emerging fund managers means that a first check can be piecemealed together from a variety of different sources. With a surge of VC investing, many startups are urgently hiring. Vise CEO Samir Vasavada and Sequoia’s Shaun Maguire break down the art of the pitch.

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TechCrunch

MAY 17, 2022

TechCrunch is excited to announce the six companies pitching in person and onstage at TC Sessions Mobility 2022. Hailing from around the United States and the globe, founders will pitch on the main stage, for four minutes, followed by an intense Q&A with our expert panel of judges. Startups pitching on the main stage.

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StartupNation

JANUARY 20, 2022

As the e-commerce industry continues to boom and work from home remains a trend amongst the corporate sector, more entrepreneurs are using their funds to create new digital startups in a number of niches. In fact, VC-based funding has boomed within the last decade, reaching a whopping $753B worth of investments since 2009.

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StartupNation

NOVEMBER 15, 2021

With so many entrepreneurs and startup ventures seeking investment opportunities, it’s crucial that venture capitalists (VCs) create a list of criteria they want their potential investments to meet. As such, VCs have to consider a number of factors when choosing which companies or entrepreneurs in whom to invest.

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Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 14, 2014

It was 2009 and it was terribly difficult to get any financing (if you can remember a time like that!) and I thought if we brought the community together for common purpose we could create more of a sense of community to help new entrepreneurs get funded, assemble teams, raise profiles and help with biz dev, product, etc.

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TechCrunch

MARCH 31, 2021

She’s been an entrepreneur, served on plenty of boards, is a contributing author at Marie Clare, has been a senior advisor to Bumble and worked as a consultant in marketing, business development and more. With all that experience, she knows all too well that the process of fundraising starts well before your first pitch meeting.

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