Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 30, 2014

Many startups now go through accelerators and have mentors passing through each day with advice – usually it’s conflicting. There are bootcamps, startup classes, video interviews – the sources are now endless. On investment strategies I have “ Deflationary Economics ” 6. What is a founder to do?

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Dream It

MAY 29, 2019

Startup pitch meetings are pretty predictable. You walk into a venture fund’s conference room or Zoom room (if they’re progressive), pitch the partners, offer to answer their questions, maybe ask them a bland question or two, and then leave the meeting to await a response. What metrics do you need to see to invest in my company?

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Dream It

FEBRUARY 5, 2021

We did a previous dose on 5 things investors wish startups knew. Managing Partner, Steve Barsh , sat down to give us 5 MORE things investors wish startups knew. Keep reading for some more of the most common mistakes startups make when pitching and for Steve’s tips on how to fix them. Go here if you missed it. co-founder).

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Dream It

FEBRUARY 27, 2020

But founders are often so consumed with talking metrics, milestones achieved, or the capital they need that they sometimes forget to talk about their overarching vision for their startups. Selling a compelling vision is so critical that some investors weigh it more heavily than the pitch deck itself. It’s not about the slide deck.

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This is going to be BIG.

FEBRUARY 12, 2014

I''ve closed three investments in the first Brooklyn Bridge Ventures fund that haven''t quite been made public yet, bringing the total to 13 companies. For example, if it''s to get on the radar for future investors, use the investment announcement to plan a tour of future potential investors. 5) Give before you get.

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startup construction venture capital financing 381

This is going to be BIG.

JUNE 22, 2020

Pitch deck outlines are ok, but they don’t say much about what you’re trying to convey besides particular categories that may or may not be relevant. Too often people only pitch what they have, not where they’re going—and they forget that fundraising is selling tickets to the future, not asking for rewards for the past.

pitching 312

pitching VC peer-to-peer founder 312

This is going to be BIG.

MAY 2, 2023

The venture asset class seems to have already decided that AI is the next great investment opportunity, but I’m not so sure it’s going to disrupt business and create the across-the-board wealth that has been predicted. I got to see all of the top VCs pitching their funds.

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opportunity investment investing disruption 250

This is going to be BIG.

APRIL 14, 2014

Last week, there was a Business Insider article measuring the percent of female founded companies that NYC seed funds invest in. The main driver of the skew towards men getting venture capital, statistically, is that far more men are pitching. In truth, that''s what''s actually driving my investments.

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founder pitching venture capital mix-use 378

Entrepreneurs' Organization

DECEMBER 15, 2021

He has raised venture capital for his startups, helped hundreds of founders craft their pitch decks and fundraising strategy, and invested as a business angel. We asked him how founders can create the perfect pitch deck for their company. Some of these pitches were very informal, sitting at the bar or walking around.

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This is going to be BIG.

JUNE 17, 2024

Founders need to shift their thinking to an assumption of understanding—that investors who see thousands of pitches per year probably do understand what a founder is doing the vast majority of the time, and have simply decided that the risk/reward for investing in their company simply isn’t as good of a deal as others they’re currently looking at.

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startup micromobility consulting hospitality 410

This is going to be BIG.

APRIL 11, 2022

What Alan recognized was that most IRL forums and networking events are absolutely awful places to pitch and here’s why: 1) When a VC shows up in person, they’re looking to replicate the kind of top of the funnel they would get in an hour or two’s worth of e-mail, and that’s not going to happen if you corral them into a corner for 30 minutes.

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Both Sides of the Table

JULY 7, 2015

” I found myself nodding through all of it with quotes like, “Seed investing is the status symbol of Silicon Valley,” said Sam Altman. I love how open Danielle has been throughout the development of her startup Mattermark including honest reflections of when she has changed her opinion. That’s what it feels like.”. ” Uhhuh.

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Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 22, 2015

What Cham rarely tells people – he’s both private and humble – is that he started making some small co-investments with me in tech firms starting with Maker Studios where he was one of the earliest investors. Startup Lessons' They make a great pair. So if you don’t know, now you know … Cham & Nsilo.

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ventures pitching entrepreneurship advice 420

This is going to be BIG.

FEBRUARY 21, 2021

She was pitching for a pre-seed round of $400k. The startup ecosystem is a terrific manufacturer of bad fundraising advice. Founders hit the street with their pitch deck, some make it, and some don’t, but nearly all of them ascribe a lot more human influence over the process than there probably is. I’m a female founder.

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advice pitching venture capital VC 429

This is going to be BIG.

JUNE 23, 2014

When I turn down the opportunity to invest in a startup, I really turn it down. It doesn''t help them improve their pitch or adjust their model. This way, they know there''s a low chance of investment, and they can choose whether or not they want to spend their time educating you.

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Both Sides of the Table

MAY 4, 2015

I had a few VC friends who immediately saw the parallel but others were scratching their heads saying, “How is a physical storage company – even if you pitch it as “cloud” – really a tech company?” ” Let’s start with some basics. And they have. Innovation. And here’s the thing. ” Ha.

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real estate startup disruption incumbents 364

Revolution

JANUARY 27, 2025

Reflections on Georgetowns 2025 pitch competition from TedLeonsis Last week, Georgetown Universitys McDonough School of Business once again became a launchpad for the next generation of bold thinkers and doers. Chef, entrepreneur, humanitarian, and my friend Jos Andres put it well: investing in young entrepreneurs is investing in solutions.

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Dream It

OCTOBER 1, 2019

The startup will use the funding to enhance product capabilities and accelerate sales growth with key hires. IP Group’s expertise in university spin outs combined with Dreamit’s successful track record with health tech startups and its vast network of leading payers, providers, and pharma companies are ideal partnerships for TrekIT Health.

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health investment investing hospitality 34

This is going to be BIG.

FEBRUARY 17, 2020

We’ve all heard the anecdotes—the famous founder who pitched 1000 investors before any of them said yes. They think that if they just had enough money to market something, it would take off, yet whenever they pitch the app in front of a crowd of 100 people, the conversion and virality rate isn’t proven out at all.

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Dream It

MAY 19, 2021

In this Dreamit Dose, Managing Director Adam Dakin presents his view on the right way to answer it after hearing hundreds, if not thousands, of founder pitches. Make the specific amount you are raising and corresponding milestones clear at the beginning of the pitch, and do not give a range. The amount you're raising is your ask.

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Dream It

DECEMBER 10, 2020

In this guest Dreamit Dose, Jason Calacanis (@jason), a technology entrepreneur, angel investor, and the host of the popular podcasts This Week in Startups and Angel, answers the top 5 questions he gets about angel investing. First startup and no prior success? Jason says, “Investing is about the long game.”

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angel investing investment investing networking 221

This is going to be BIG.

JULY 22, 2015

I'm excited to be able to finally announce Brooklyn Bridge Ventures ' investment in Clubhouse , a company I agreed to back before I even knew what it was. We stayed in touch, doing a couple of tris together, chatting about startups, and venture, life, etc. In 2010, a bunch of techies got together to do the next year's NYC Triathlon.

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Dream It

FEBRUARY 1, 2022

When pitching a potential investor or customer, time is of the essence. But often, we’ll hear founders misstep and repeat easy mistakes that throw off Q&A flow and cause startups to lose points. But often, we’ll hear founders misstep and repeat easy mistakes that throw off Q&A flow and cause startups to lose points.

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This is going to be BIG.

NOVEMBER 17, 2014

They just move too painfully slow to work with startups. Takes an hour or an hour and a half at most and everyone gets the benefit of a public conversation--versus three or four hours of pitches. Those kinds of requests feel desperate and not only undermine their pitch, but it''s still real time that adds up. Panel prep calls.

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Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 9, 2014

If I had to put a number on it I’d say 1 in 20 pitches – maybe 1 in 30 – are by an entrepreneur who comes across as truly passionate about her project. Whenever somebody has a car startup I send it straight his way. I have placed a much bigger emphasis on falling in love as a criterion for my making an investment.

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peer-to-peer VC pitching entrepreneurs 373

This is going to be BIG.

NOVEMBER 3, 2014

The fact is, it''s just not cool to criticize the investing side of the venture capital market. But can''t I disagree with him on an investment? Why does it seem to automatically make someone an a **e to be critical of an investment? They seemed annoyed that I said anything in the first place. What was said, who''s right, etc.,

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venture capital capital ventures entrepreneurship 396

American Entrepreneurship

AUGUST 6, 2024

The inaugural competition will culminate with finalists doing a live pitch at its upcoming Conference. Identify and access management company Okta will award up to $500K as an investment to the winner of its inaugural SaaS startup competition. Okta’s platform helps startups develop identity-enabled applications.

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Dream It

JULY 20, 2020

When you’re raising a bridge round and pitching investors, their first reaction may be that you’re in trouble. In this #DreamitDose, Managing Partner Steve Barsh gives founders tips on how to frame their bridge round ask, overcome assumptions investors often make, and provides a general way to structure startup bridge round pitches.

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Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014

Building Startups for Basecamp. The only conclusion one can draw from this is that if you start your investment analysis at a YC Demo Day, you are perhaps best reminded of t he famous quip about PT Barnum. I don’t want any formal pitches. Lines, Not Dots. Attitude over Aptitude. And so forth. ” What do I mean?

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peer-to-peer pitching VC accelerator 317

Entrepreneurs' Organization

AUGUST 5, 2022

The first two MyEO DealExchange conferences in 2018 and 2019 made a significant impact on the members who attended—including a 7-figure investment in Scott Mesh (EO New York)’s company. Each person gets 90 seconds to share the details of the investment opportunity or the “deal need” they’re presenting or seeking.

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American Entrepreneurship

DECEMBER 4, 2024

In support of military Veteran-founded startups, the Fund focuses on space, AI, and cybersecurity leveraging a veteran’s leadership. Recognizing this, The Veteran Fund announced the winner of its $100,000 Veteran Pitch Competition and the recent closing of its inaugural oversubscribed investment Fund I.

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Dream It

APRIL 12, 2020

Martino founded Bullpen in 2010 with a focus on post-seed, pre-Series A startups, and he led the fund’s investments in companies like FanDuel, Namely, Ipsy, SpotHero, Classy, and Airmap. This geographic distinction is now less about actual geography and more about mentality and style of investing of these types of firms.

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ventures startup capital board 334

This is going to be BIG.

JUNE 16, 2014

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. In fact, that''s what I tend to do--at least, what I say that I do.

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This is going to be BIG.

JANUARY 22, 2014

I''m not going to do too much of a victory lap, though, because it bugs me a little when startups do it, and I''m a startup, too. How many more investments could I do? These are things that other VCs think about, but founders who come to pitch don''t think about too much. Was the fund enough to keep me going?

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Startup Blogpost

NOVEMBER 17, 2023

20 Tips for Pitching New Business Ideas to Potential Investors To provide you with the best advice on pitching new business ideas to investors, we asked twenty CEOs, Founders, and other professionals for their top tips. You should highlight the potential future earnings while pitching your proposal. Balance is key!

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Hunter Walk

AUGUST 1, 2022

You might think my job is about saying “yes” to founders, but statistically it’s *actually* about saying “no,” given we typically see 3,000+ companies annually in order to make 10–12 investments. Hopefully every startup finds the right investors! Don’t Put an Exit Slide in a Seed Deck (or any deck before growth round IMO).

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Revolution

AUGUST 2, 2022

is core to our investment thesis. Rise of the Rest also hosted a Northwest Arkansas Startup Community Roundtable to help connect individuals within the regional innovation ecosystem with those visiting for the Heartland Summit to share experiences, challenges, and best practices for supporting entrepreneurs.

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