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. I was the judge. I’m not saying the companies were bad – many were not. It was mostly painful.

advice 362

advice VC entrepreneurs education 362

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. So there you have it. Must be doing something right!

VC 356

VC peer-to-peer board entrepreneurs 356

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 3, 2011

I’m often asked the question about why there aren’t more women who are entrepreneurs. On my blog I’ve been hesitant to take the topic head on. But last week I noticed a blog post by a woman, Tara Tiger Brown, that asked the question, “ Why Aren’t More Women Commenting on VC Blog Posts?

entrepreneurs 341

entrepreneurs entrepreneurship VC pitching 341

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 6, 2020

There is so much confusion and misinformation out there about the government sponsored “payroll protection plan” loans to companies that the heads of every small business CEO in the country must be spinning. We have been advising a lot of entrepreneurs so I thought I’d “open source” some of the advice I have been sharing.

VC 279

VC peer-to-peer startup advice 279

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2015

So that we’re speaking the same language I would define “exclusive” as a period in which your company is prohibited from doing business with certain customers or business partners, which is why many incorrectly assume this is necessarily bad. PR Malloy (@diddly_do_indy) June 13, 2015.

innovation 329

innovation creativity development advice 329

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 9, 2011

Venture Capitalists typically have partners’ meetings on Mondays. So the industry formed around a day of the week when all partners could avoid having company board meetings or traveling. When I first got into the industry it was 2007. My partnership was pretty bearish and scratched our heads a bit at price tags.

VC 305

VC disruption entrepreneurs venture capital 305

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 16, 2010

Here’s my take: 1. But VC is an “illiquid asset&# so funds didn’t disappear quickly - In 2000/01 the stock market quickly adjusted punishing investors in the NASDAQ and in individual public technology stocks. If you’re interested to read a more detailed piece on how they think about this check out.

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VC startup real estate finance 311

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 16, 2013

I work with a lot of startups. I start to notice when bad behavior creeps into the system as a whole. I have seen much of that behavior over the past 2 years get worse. You would figure out how to monetize later. I say ring the freaking cash register. I have said so for years.

VC 412

VC advice strategy accelerator 412

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 23, 2012

If you prefer the super short version – I’ve summarized the post in the final section. Many observers of the venture capital industry have questioned whether its best days are behind it. I can’t help feel a bit of rear-view mirror analysis in all of “VC model is broken” bears in our industry.

venture capital 347

venture capital capital ventures VC 347

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. ” What do I mean? It’s exhausting. Lines, Not Dots.

peer-to-peer 317

peer-to-peer pitching VC accelerator 317

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 5, 2011

I’m in Seattle this week. People keep asking me if I’ve “seen anything interesting.&# Of course I have. I’m an entrepreneur at heart so I’m always inspired when I hear stories about innovation. I really liked BigDoor, MediaPiston, OpsCode, BuddyTV, SEOMoz and much more.

communities 317

communities VC innovation entrepreneurs 317

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 18, 2011

What I’d like to do is tell you the story of how the investment came to be, what my thesis is / was and share some thoughts on macro trends. I hope you’ll excuse me when I do the latter in combination with the former to try and explain how I see macro trends and help you think about the mind of a VC.

investment 303

investment investing VC media 303

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 21, 2010

I’m now the permanent host for TWiVC (until such time as they kick me off). Thank you to anybody who sent Jason a note on Twitter on my behalf. Before jumping into the post I wanted to point out one thing about doing TWiVC and posting my notes here on BSOTT. Others I have not. Really!).

venture capital 265

venture capital peer-to-peer capital ventures 265

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 5, 2010

This post has a bit more than the serialized version, but if you prefer an even shorter version I created the ADAH version , which is < 50% the length. What I want to answer with this post (long though it may be) is: Why did Web 2.0 What I want to answer with this post (long though it may be) is: Why did Web 2.0

networking 318

networking mix-use innovation development 318

This is going to be BIG.

FEBRUARY 21, 2021

I don’t have a technical co-founder. I don’t have enough traction. These are all of the things I heard from a founder that I recently backed. I committed to the round, but I wanted to see her raise a bit more—at least $750k, but perhaps up to $1.5mm. I’m a female founder. This isn’t surprising.

advice 476

advice pitching venture capital VC 476

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 19, 2013

“We want low-touch or zero-touch businesses” was the mantra. I believe it’s flawed. And of course the most successful technology companies: Google, Facebook, Salesforce.com [duh], Oracle, Microsoft all have loads of sales people. How do you get referenceable customers? Let me explain why: 1.

startup 403

startup finance financing strategy 403

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2013

He wrote a post this long weekend on how he manages the board of DataSift. Spend time building investor relationship long before you raise money. . By spending more time educating your board on your business you get more valuable advice from them. Rob is one of the most driven and successful CEOs I work with.

board 365

board VC advice pitching 365

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2014

I was having dinner with a friend last night and we were chatting about venture capital and a bit about what I’ve learned. I started in 2007 with a thesis that my primary investment decision would be about the team (70%) and only afterward about the market opportunity (30%). I don’t. Web Summit.

VC 374

VC investment investing entrepreneurs 374

This is going to be BIG.

MARCH 2, 2015

Working out of the Townhouse has been an interesting experience in that I''m working side by side with a lot of non-startup people. It''s a co-working space full of creatives and freelancers, most of whom who have never pitched an investor, and probably never seen a startup pitch either. Well, I guess I''m not surprised.

pitching 368

pitching peer-to-peer venture capital creativity 368

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2020

—?with $15 million to Prove It The venture capital world has started firing up a few cylinders again and looking for businesses that it believes will help us all succeed in ways that resonate with new ways of working as we begin to return to work. Community-building is advice I give to nearly every startup team with whom I work.

communities 234

communities peer-to-peer venture capital enablement 234

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 27, 2011

People often ask me why I started blogging. I was meeting regularly with entrepreneurs and offering (for better or for worse) advice on how to run a startup and how to raise venture capital from my experience in doing so at two companies. I never really expected a big audience or ever thought about it.

startup 373

startup advice communities VC 373

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 13, 2011

A big thank you to my friend Josh Webb who provided the transcription for This Week in Venture Capital with Tige Savage , Managing Director and co-founder of Revolution. A big thank you to my friend Josh Webb who provided the transcription for This Week in Venture Capital with Tige Savage , Managing Director and co-founder of Revolution.

founder 277

founder venture capital media VC 277

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 22, 2011

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. The Perils of Many.

VC 314

VC advice pitching investment 314

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2014

Yesterday I wrote a post about The Silent Benefits of PR in which I pointed out that most young companies I encounter don’t fully grasp the benefits of PR because they are less measurable than product milestones or customer acquisition analyses (like CAC/LTV). It super charges a business that is closer to product delivery.

pitching 319

pitching media advice venture capital 319

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 8, 2015

I live in LA and fund startups. So you can imagine that I see a lot of video startups. I repeat the same mantra to every one I see. You have to build a large online tech company that distributes video.” ” I try to explain this to every team I see and I’m not being flippant.

advice 322

advice education pitching technology 322

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2016

There is much discussion online and also in small, private groups, about why the price of technology companies – public and private – are falling. Most venture capitalists who have been in this business for a long time foresaw this correction and have been talking about it privately for the better part of the last year or two.

startup 285

startup VC entrepreneurs investment 285

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2011

I was hanging out the other day with my buddy Jody Sherman, founder & CEO of EcoMom. I was an angel investor in his company, made a bunch of calls on his behalf and then I personally sent it out on AngelList. Through this process he raised $2 million. I know this guy is a money maker.

VC 292

VC peer-to-peer investment investing 292

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2010

One of my favorite quotes I learned in high school was: “Nonconformity is the Highest Form of Social Attainment&#. It was written as the yearbook quote of the smartest seniors as I was finishing my freshman year. I have had a low bullshit meter. It has always stood with me.

angel investing 299

angel investing investment investing real estate 299

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 5, 2012

I use George Bush vs. Al Gore as allegory and I’ve been using it with entrepreneurs for years to sink in a simple point about how to communicate with the market. I use it because I believe in the power of visual and memorable stories to sink into the consciousness. I know the answer.”

entrepreneurs 370

entrepreneurs pitching startup education 370

This is going to be BIG.

AUGUST 8, 2011

The other day, I got interviewed for Business Insider. It was a good interview, save for that little vein that I had no idea was so prominently featured on the side of my head--but what's a bald guy to do? Anyway, I was pretty happy about it, but then I got a note from a friend that said, "Don't sweat the haters."

VC 275

VC peer-to-peer board advice 275

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 12, 2010

I recently got an email from a friend who had been approached by a well known VC. “Hi [entrepreneur], I hope all is well. I’m an investor at [Big Name, Large Fund VC] and recently came across [Your Company]. In case you aren’t familiar, I’ve attached a brief overview on our firm.

VC 294

VC entrepreneurs advice investment 294

A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

MARCH 28, 2022

So I saw this tweet by Semil Shah yesterday: A friend who works in an industry far from tech startups & VC asked what would be the single article I’d share to read on each topic. So I clicked on the link to my Competing To Win Deals post, which I wrote in 2010, and read it. Not this one.

VC 261

VC entrepreneurs venture capital strategy 261

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 17, 2013

In my last post I pointed out that many of the media commentators who have criticized the YouTube video network companies as not having strong businesses were mistaken. This post looks at how the best in industry are moving well beyond the 16.5% margin range to more sustainable 50-60% margin businesses.

networking 339

networking sustainability mix-use media 339

This is going to be BIG.

MARCH 3, 2010

As I prep for my first Backupify board meeting, I asked more experienced pros for their take on setting the right tone and starting things off right for productive board participation. Here’s what I got back: David Hornick, August Capital : "Here's some anti-advice. I talked over the entrepreneurs.

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board advice capital venture capital 300

Paul G. Silva

OCTOBER 6, 2022

On June 1st, after five years of perseverance and pivoting, my partners and I wound down Launch413. Our team consisted of angel investors, Fortune 500 executives, and exited CEOs from dozens of sectors. We distributed those funds to the mentors based on how many points they earned. What Went Right.

board 147

board advice communities entrepreneurs 147

Entrepreneur's Handbook

APRIL 24, 2021

Yet, the benefits of having a technical co-founder make it all worthwhile. Think how much faster you will be able to go, and therefore have more runway to iterate to product-market fit. Crucially, if you plan to fundraise, any serious investor will know this. How can you validate your idea?

founder 140

founder startup pitching networking 140

TechCrunch

MARCH 15, 2022

But according to data from PitchBook, less than 2% of VC funding went to all-women-founded teams in 2021. Women-founded startups in Africa to have raised $100 million or more are led mainly by white CEOs. Editor’s note: These responses have been edited for length and clarity. . startups raked last year. Theories abound.

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VC founder networking investment 115