Both Sides of the Table

JULY 1, 2010

One of the first boards that I ever got involved with where I wasn’t the CEO was with a company in which I hadn’t invested but was brought on board to look deeper into operational issues. Information flowed up within the organization and the CEO always packaged things nicely for the board and investors.

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startup board advice VC 308

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 3, 2009

When people refer to a strategic investor they are usually talking about an investor that comes from the industry you serve as opposed to an independent venture capital investor. It’s true that many VCs over promise how helpful they’ll be with introductions / strategic advice / recruiting, etc. What’s the difference?

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advice venture capital frameworks VC 279

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 12, 2013

Like any firm we of course invest in the San Francisco Bay Area where 33% of my personal boards are. I made some reference calls. We both wanted to put energy into GRP’s platform of services that provide more value to our investments than merely capital. So we talked about his joining. They were effusive.

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VC communities investment investing 360

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. . By Monday morning after their board meeting in NorCal I didn’t get a return phone call. We assumed they would take our advice and upgrade. Tags: Start-up Advice Startup Advice. I HATE LOSING.

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consulting advice collaboration VC 328

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 17, 2012

And they will offer you some of the best business advice you will ever receive if you’re open to it. One day if you’re lucky you’ll be big enough to work with recruiters to hire senior members of your team or your board. And it’s not just lawyers. EXECUTIVE RECRUITERS. It’s a great read.

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startup real estate VC venture capital 363

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 27, 2011

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. Or “I’m a new entrepreneur, why would I offer advice on how to run a startup?&#. People often ask me why I started blogging.

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startup advice communities VC 373

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. . By Monday morning after their board meeting in NorCal I didn’t get a return phone call. We assumed they would take our advice and upgrade. Tags: Startup Advice. I HATE LOSING. I hate it. Losing sucks.

consulting 333

consulting advice collaboration VC 333

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2014

But if you’re a concentrated investor who takes board seats then you know the hard bit starts the day after. And why my advice to newer VCs would be not to feel bad if you’re missing out on what is perceived as a few hot deals. You can’t reference check your way into a “yes.”

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VC investment investing entrepreneurs 374

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 21, 2010

If you don’t follow the image reference above or the tag line, “ You don’t need double talk; you need Bob Loblaw “ (try saying it out loud) , and if you care! When we invest they are often the company counsel so we see them at board meetings. the link is here. Our lives are intertwined.

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startup advice entrepreneurs VC 318

Y Combinator

JULY 15, 2019

One of the most common questions we hear from founders is “How do I manage my board?” It’s something that provokes anxiety, because this is the first time the founder/CEO is subject to external supervision, and the board has powers that include the firing of the CEO and the senior management. But first, what’s the purpose of a board?

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board frameworks advice peer-to-peer 96

Dream It

APRIL 3, 2020

Identify a problem that resonates with the decision-maker at your target organization Moore recommends that you put yourself in the shoes of the CEO or Board of Directors. Do you have a track record that proves you’re a credible source of advice on this issue? What keeps them up at night? What are they ignoring?

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pitching strategy advice board 221

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 17, 2009

Yet talk to virtually any FRC company and they’ll tell you that these guys are some of the most active board members and offer some of the best advice in the industry. I sit on a board with Howard Morgan of FRC and I can tell you this guy works harder than most and has a punishing travel schedule.

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VC real estate advice venture capital 283

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 21, 2010

This is part of my ongoing series on Startup Advice. As startup entrepreneurs we all want to work with them because having their name as reference clients makes it so much easier for marketing, PR, selling to other customers, fund raising and even recruiting. Large companies can be strange sometimes. Strategic equity – Bad idea.

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startup advice entrepreneurs venture capital 298

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 7, 2014

This was customer interaction at its finest and as a result they invited him to meet with our entire sales staff and offer advice on the sales process from a customer’s perspective. Who else is going to tell a VC if he got a bad reference from an entrepreneur or fellow VC? Contrast that with a VC conversation I had.

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peer-to-peer VC entrepreneurs support 341

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 24, 2018

These can be called: Operating Partners, Venture Partners, Board Partners or similar. They might sponsor an occasional deal, they might be looking to jump in and run a company or they might take the board seat if the firm invests. We also take input from our board partners and from our non-partner investment staff.

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VC board investment investing 314

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2015

You can push for guarantees that the client or partner will appoint a minimum number of staff to rolling out your product, you can ask them to spend hard dollars on co-marketing, you can ask for commitments to case studies or reference calls or PR releases.

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This is going to be BIG.

JANUARY 18, 2024

I’m talking about what someone I know recently referred to as “dentists”. 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. That’s why I normally ask for a Board Observer seat.

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investment investing startup real estate 221

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2020

In marketing materials founders often refer to their customer base as a “community”, but there’s a huge gap between having customers and creating a community. Community-building is advice I give to nearly every startup team with whom I work. Ryan Smith, the founder of Qualtrics, also invested and has joined the board of directors.

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communities peer-to-peer venture capital enablement 234

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 13, 2011

Bijan Sabet – investor & board member in some small companies you might have heard of like Twitter, Tumblr, Boxee & OMGPOP – took issue with the whole notion that you even need a Powerpoint deck anymore. In Bijan’s post he references Bryce Roberts who recommends getting up and white-boarding.

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Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 5, 2011

They like a solid product, well defined pricing, good references to sell against, a clear quota and well defined competitors. Customer also buy social proof because others are acting as strong references. Please call our references. Management always sets sales budgets that roll up to a number beyond the actual board budget.

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support startup consulting board 316

Gust

DECEMBER 8, 2011

I’m reluctant to give legalistic disclaimers, but in this instance, I do need to emphasize that the material in this article is legal information , not legal advice. Determine who will serve on the Board of Directors and in executive officer positions (usually founders). Appoint Newco’s initial Board of Directors.

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board consulting real estate entrepreneurs 139

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 20, 2009

Some advice on how to do that was covered in this link – Getting Access to a VC. The partner you saw is probably sitting on 5-6 boards which means he or she will be busy helping existing portfolio companies. They said they’d call references but haven’t? This post covers the day after.

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VC pitching advice strategy 277

Gust

DECEMBER 8, 2013

My advice to founders out there is to not volunteer too much, but be open and honest in the face of direct questions like the following: What is your burn rate and runway today? Who do you have as outside board members? What traction can be measured today?

board 174

board investment investing advice 174

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 7, 2018

There is an old management saying, “measure twice, cut once” which refers to the benefit of doing some planning. This post has some basic advice on how to plan your raise before you hit the road. This can be somebody on 15 boards or maybe the managing partner. Super busy partner. Active partner.

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board VC entrepreneurs education 215

TechCrunch

SEPTEMBER 15, 2022

He serves on the boards of OCEANIX, Atom Computing, Conscious Cultures and MycoWorks. This is one of the lessons I wish I understood when raising a Series B, so I hope you find this advice helpful when you navigate your larger raises. Gaetano Crupi. Contributor. Gaetano Crupi is a partner at venture capital firm Prime Movers Lab.

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founder strategy pitching venture capital 97

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 15, 2009

We had every reference client we worked with call their senior team members (we had already won a major project at Scottish Water, Anglian Water and another at a large water company in Paris, France). We assumed they would take our advice and upgrade. Tags: Start-up Advice. But we worked the account tirelessly for months.

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consulting advice collaboration support 151

Onevest

MAY 21, 2015

While legal advice is of paramount importance to ensure that any contract of investment is above board, you still need to know what is being asked of you so that you can decide whether such stipulations are acceptable or not. Board Seat In some cases an investor may request a presence on a company's board of directors, if it has one.

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investment investing startup board 116

StartupNation

JANUARY 19, 2021

Situations like these require referring to the LLC’s written operating agreement. This option allows a board of managers to oversee the direction and operation of the LLC. While I personally cannot provide legal advice, the best advice is to consult a legal professional or an accountant. Manager managed LLC.

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advice board consulting entrepreneurs 118

TechCrunch

NOVEMBER 30, 2021

Lak Ananth is founding CEO and managing partner of the global venture capital firm Next47 and serves on the board of several companies that he has helped to grow beyond $1 billion valuations. Not all money is created equal: A VC’s advice for founders. More posts by this contributor. The child with a hammer.

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founder board advice investment 79

OnStartups

MARCH 24, 2021

No board seats or advisory roles. Note: this is not investment advice). They require a board seat. Or references. Look up Brad Feld and Jason Calacanis, they have really great advice and support resources for angel investing. But, I’m not looking to maximize return, I'm looking to minimize time. That takes time.

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angel investing investment investing pitching 125

Andreessen Horowitz

OCTOBER 16, 2023

Meanwhile, FI senior leaders and board members are intrigued by new products like Microsoft 365 Copilot and how generative AI can automate their internal workflows (and improve their bottom lines). Taken as a whole, FIs are at an especially receptive time for greater software adoption.

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frameworks incumbents leadership advice 112

TechCrunch

MARCH 7, 2023

Plus, they were gracious enough to share some of the advice they’re giving to their portfolio companies. We also work hard to perform due diligence on every investment opportunity we pursue by spending significant time with the company, with a deep market study, and as many references as possible on the teams we back.

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advice ventures sustainability investment 110

TechCrunch

APRIL 25, 2023

I asked five early-stage investors to share frank advice for first-timers, and I’m going to save you some time: many (if not most) of you are probably not ready to pitch an investor. But, of course, part of my job as a board director and investor is making it feasible, as it is essential for maximizing the business’ success.

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Startup Catalyst

AUGUST 15, 2018

He specialises in information technology, telecommunications, intellectual property and competition law, and provides advice on privacy and other regulatory compliance issues. Get on a board. Contribution to boards and organisations has also been a great learning experience and a great networking experience.

communities 113

communities startup startup ecosystem board 113

TechCrunch

MARCH 12, 2021

Last week, Natasha Mascarenhas interviewed experts who had some strategic advice for finding the right time to bring a product manager on board. As Roblox began to trade Wednesday, the company’s shares shot above its reference price of $45 per share. Image Credits: Steve Jennings / Getty Images.

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startup collaboration sustainability SaaS 106

TechCrunch

DECEMBER 3, 2020

“For example, one of our customers is a large national pharmacy group, where customer service agents are qualified pharmacists who provide prescription medical advice. represents something much bigger because at its core is an automation company with massive potential,” he added. will do the same for customer service.”

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support consulting accelerator pitching 109

Feedough

APRIL 14, 2021

Acqui-hiring refers to buying a company or organisation mainly for its employees’ skills and proficiency rather than for its products or services. Acquisition is when one company buys another, and hiring refers to taking on employees. They must take into account the effects the purchase has on the board of directors.

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strategy board startup ecosystem innovation 98