This is going to be BIG.

MAY 5, 2023

Sometime in the next few weeks, I’ll complete my next investment. Last August, I passed the point at which I had spent literally half my entire life working in this asset class, having started at the General Motors pension fund doing institutional investments in venture funds and late-stage directs back in February of 2001.

ventures 545

ventures investing investment VC 545

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 3, 2015

It spoke to me because it so resonates with my nearly daily advice to entrepreneurs and VCs alike. I went as far as to call it the best Tweet of 2015 so far because it encapsulated my advice so succinctly. I am often asked how we make decisions on investments at Upfront Ventures. He took two words where I take 1,000!

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advice peer-to-peer startup frameworks 332

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 23, 2015

For some aspiring to be tech entrepreneurs, I often suggest a two-step process, as I argued in this post that “ The First Startup Founder You Need to Invest in Is You.” But I also have advice for the 15% that really do want to be a startup CEO. I’m just pointing out that it’s not for most people.

advice 334

advice peer-to-peer VC board 334

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 6, 2014

I’ve written a few posts about boards recently as part of a series on the subject. I admit that I haven’t yet read it but I’ve had numerous discussions with Brad over the years about board structure & conduct and consider him a mentor on the topic. Offering a sparring-partner function on strategic decisions.

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board media mentorship advice 325

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2014

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%). But they are also a tax on your time with portfolio companies, looking for new investments, running your shop and honestly they are a tax on your family life.

VC 374

VC investing investment entrepreneurs 374

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 15, 2012

I recently read Brad Feld’s thought provoking piece encouraging founders to sit on the board of another startup company. You’ll be on the other side of the financing discussions (a board member, rather than the CEO). . But I also agree with his warning, “I usually recommend only one outside board.

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board startup founder peer-to-peer founder 294

Hunter Walk

NOVEMBER 11, 2024

For startups, a good Board is better than no Board, but a bad Board is worse than anything. One component of a good Board is a high value add Independent Board Member, which in my experience, often doesn’t get added early enough (for a variety of reasons). I knew I wanted to help build it from the ground up.

board 96

board collaboration energy advice 96

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 24, 2019

I have been writing a series on how startup boards get selected, who sits on them and what to avoid. I started this series in part to help entrepreneurs but also to help newer investors because I’ve know with so many new companies you have so many new board members and many people are trying to figure out there respective roles.

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board advice founder construction 251

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 19, 2009

This is part of my Startup Advice series. Getting suppliers to accept terms that they said they never normally agree, getting accepted to speak on a panel when the conference organizer initially said “no,&# getting people to moonlight for you until you have the cash to bring them on board. A couple of quick stories / examples: 1.

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entrepreneurs board advice consulting 414

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 23, 2015

We also spoke about what it takes to be an effective board member. On the one hand I often find that some board members are seemingly reading the board materials on the fly and don’t have a firm grasp of the business fundamentals while on the other hand some board members like to tinker in the running of the business.

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advice board VC investing 327

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 16, 2012

It has always surprised me that founders were so quick to fight over how many board members there were and so quick to agree to have as many board observers as people wanted. I have always been vehemently against board observers and wrote some of the reasons in this previous post. The Case for a Silent Observer.

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board VC entrepreneurs investing 289

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2019

One of the things that founders have the most angst about is whom they should have on their board and at what stage of the business. This is smart because amazing board members can be transformative with important advice and access and can also help attract other great board members (and team members).

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board startup venture capital financing 236

The Seraf Compass

JUNE 9, 2021

When you combine great leadership with a strong board of directors, the likelihood of a successful outcome for a business increases by an order of magnitude. However, truly engaged and knowledgeable directors can add significant additional value by providing strategic input and advice.

capital 246

capital investing investment leadership 246

The Seraf Compass

OCTOBER 26, 2022

Many years ago I joined the board of a company after my angel group became the lead investor in the company’s seed financing round. As part of my compensation for being a board member, the company issued me restricted stock.

board 347

board advice financing finance 347

This is going to be BIG.

AUGUST 8, 2011

He hasn't founded or built either a successful, let alone innovative company, and he hasn't raised $ to invest in those entrepreneurs. You would see mostly unrealized investments, some of which had raised successful follow on rounds, but mostly too early to tell. These are things I systematically break down when I look at investments.

VC 275

VC peer-to-peer board advice 275

This is going to be BIG.

OCTOBER 3, 2016

We're "kingmakers" whose investment has the "Midas Touch." Generally speaking, women are more inclined to listen well, work with others and to offer help--so when the job gets seen as just a lone, final yes/no, where you bark out advice after listening to a founder for five minutes, that might seem less interesting. 3) Access to money.

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VC venture capital entrepreneurship advice 401

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 24, 2019

When you set up a board it is often initially a combination of the founders and the early investors. This post sets out how I believe founders (and investors) should think about independent board members having worked with many of them for the past 20 years. The board is where large equity investors get their representation.

board 187

board peer-to-peer VC funders 187

This is going to be BIG.

MAY 29, 2012

Over the course of the lifetime of a new angel investor, they'll do 70% of all of the angel investments they'll ever make in year one. Here are just a few suggestions: 1) Advise first, invest later. Angel investing is part lifestyle, part asset allocation. Before you start writing checks, just spend some time with startups.

peer-to-peer 309

peer-to-peer angel investing advice entrepreneurs 309

Entrepreneurs' Organization

JULY 6, 2020

At the same time, many investors are being more cautious with making new investments, preferring to focus on their existing portfolio before investing in new companies. Here is advice I collected for dealing with the stress of running a startup: 1. It’s important to enlist the ideas of others that are invested in your venture.

peer-to-peer 321

peer-to-peer startup advice entrepreneurs 321

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. They now have a strong VC lead from Foundry Group and from experience when you get advice from Foundry it comes with authority, experience, empathy and the right amount of straight talk.

startup 323

startup advice pitching VC 323

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 22, 2014

I had an enjoyable conversation this morning with a young team straight out of college this morning and they were calling to ask advice on how to approach fund raising (angels vs. VCs, how to select a VC, etc.) Fred Wilson wrote perfectly about sticking with struggling investments. Startup Advice VC Industry' It’s not you.

VC 364

VC advice board leadership 364

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 27, 2013

Like many modern VCs, we’re committed to investing in the community and in our portfolio companies. We have invested in building an associate program that seeks to work operationally with our portfolio companies rather than looking to source new deals. Startup Advice' See what we did there? That seems pretty superficial!”.

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ventures venture capital advice VC 343

Berkonomics

MARCH 28, 2024

All other board functions are secondary. Even venture capitalists who sit on boards where they have significant investments often forget this point. Actually, there are two legal duties of board members. Second is the duty of loyalty… …Loyalty to the corporate person, not to the shareholders who elected the board member.

board 112

board advice education VC 112

TechCrunch

MARCH 6, 2023

Serial entrepreneur and seasoned investor Vinod Khosla has some strong, contrarian advice for the venture capital industry: don’t sit on your founders’ boards. Other VCs accuse us of being very active and very engaged — but the flip side of it is they vote on boards. We don’t — no matter how important an issue.”

board 100

board advice founder VC 100

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2013

” Most VCs view it as their responsibility to mentor, debate, cajole and generally assist with investments they make. Tomorrow I’m meeting with a senior exec who is considering joining a company in which we’ve invested. Thus, a desire to invest more locally where I think I have a competitive advantage.

VC 365

VC board communities pitching 365

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 2, 2015

I can’t tell you how many people have thanked me for this advice and say their productivity increased exponentially. One area I’ve had much discussion with the companies in which I’ve invested in is bringing on board an operationally focused CFO. And board confidence matters in growing companies.

board 338

board energy financing finance 338

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2011

I will even take to emailing people I don’t know offering small bits of advice. I had a pre breakfast with a CEO of a company in which I invested talking about his next fund raising round. I had a 3-hour board meeting with another. I didn’t expect an investment out of this breakfast – I was going to give back.

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advice culture board VC 314

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2010

In 1999 I was in Japan doing a strategy project for the board of directors of Sony. The problem of amplification: The problem got worse as the data flowed out to the “bulge bracket&# investment banks. They got the data feed either from the research company or from the investment bank. Nobody was surprised. It can happen.

consulting 415

consulting data analysis advice construction 415

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 6, 2020

We have been advising a lot of entrepreneurs so I thought I’d “open source” some of the advice I have been sharing. So my only goal is to give you insights into the conversations we’ve been having in case you don’t have the same access or advice. When the $350 billion is fully invested will more be made available? It depends.

VC 279

VC peer-to-peer startup advice 279

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 17, 2019

I think his advice is this op-ed is bananas. I have even had to get physical security advice from some of the crazy. Would you recommend that I create an open Trello board and anybody can add tasks for me there? Are you interested in looking at this investment where I’m on the board?” No, it’s not fun.

advice 250

advice board pitching startup accelerator 250

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 22, 2010

The math works out that the investor owns 25% of the company post deal ($1 million invested / $4 million valuation) and assuming 1 million shares, each share would be valued at $3 / share ($3,000,000 pre-money / 1 million shares = $3 / share). Investors own 25%, the founders own 75%.

founder 405

founder VC venture capital entrepreneurs 405

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 25, 2010

This is an updated post from my ongoing series on Startup Advice that I learned from founding two companies. . Last year I lost a deal in a company that I wanted to invest in and that I thought I should have won. By Monday morning after their board meeting in NorCal I didn’t get a return phone call. I HATE LOSING.

consulting 328

consulting advice collaboration VC 328

This is going to be BIG.

JANUARY 18, 2024

These are people that didn’t make their money through a tech startup or startup investing. Governance Moreso than a lot of actual VCs, a lot of high-net-worth folks tend to ask for board representation—even in the super early stages of a company where boards tend to be a little less formal. I’m not talking about active angels.

investing 221

investing investment startup real estate 221

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 8, 2014

When I work with community leaders I often encourage them to “pool capital” together from many angels into a fund structure run by a small investment committee that can make more rapid funding decisions, take more risks (it is pooled capital so goes across more investments), and standardize investment terms.

startup 390

startup communities venture capital angel capital 390

Entrepreneurs' Organization

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

As business owners, we often have a huge amount of wealth tied up within our businesses, but don’t form the habit of creating other income streams and forms of wealth, such as investments outside our businesses. She provided me with so much advice on business strategy, business channels and HR.

founder 262

founder advice entrepreneurship entrepreneurs 262

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 16, 2014

For all the things he’s likely known for, he probably hasn’t yet built a strong relationship as an early stage venture investor (he invests often in later-stage deals where he is very respected). “… for any good investment, from Series A on, there is at least one firm to compete with. Competition is fierce.

advice 333

advice VC pitching investing 333

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 31, 2010

You’re not lecturing to a college class, you’re not at a cocktail party and you’re not chatting with a small group in a board meeting. Tags: Entrepreneur Advice Start-up Advice Startup Advice. – No great presentation can be delivered like a conversation. You’re on stage!

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advice VC entrepreneurs education 362