Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 31, 2011

One of the most common questions that entrepreneurs who meet me for the first time like to ask is, “Do you miss being an entrepreneur? I thought I’d talk a bit about the differences I’ve experienced between being an entrepreneur & a VC – you know, from “both sides of the table.&#. On Being an Entrepreneur.

entrepreneurs 384

entrepreneurs startup VC real estate 384

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 13, 2010

It was difficult to make the transition to a “top down&# thinker but as a senior executive – and as an entrepreneur – you’re far less effective without this skill in your arsenal. This is a problem for a strategy consultant because you are, by definition, a generalist that is thrown into new problems again and again.

entrepreneurs 372

entrepreneurs consulting frameworks advice 372

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 15, 2010

This sometimes frustrates entrepreneurs who just want to “get back to running the business.&# But if you understand it you’ll see that it is perfectly rational and it should also influence how you form relationships with investors. For this reason I tell entrepreneurs the following: Meet your potential investors early.

investment 411

investment investing VC advice 411

Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative

JUNE 7, 2019

As an independent woman with a go-getter attitude, she shared insights with us into her life as an entrepreneur and what it was like getting YHS off the ground, as well as her advice for other young entrepreneurs in Latin America and the Caribbean. Obstacles and Lessons Learned as an Entrepreneur .

entrepreneurs 214

entrepreneurs advice peer-to-peer sustainability 214

This is going to be BIG.

JULY 2, 2012

As I was biking around the other day, I realized that they have a lot in common and so the advice I have to give about both is pretty similar: 1. If you're going to start a company instead of working for someone else, you're definitely putting something at risk--current income, opportunity cost, some social capital perhaps.

entrepreneurs 322

entrepreneurs advice accelerator media 322

Entrepreneurs' Organization

OCTOBER 8, 2020

Rosenfarb , a member of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) and a certified public accountant who helps entrepreneurs increase cash flow, sell their companies successfully, manage their wealth and create predictable passive income. The best investment for entrepreneurs is always going to be in themselves.

real estate 235

real estate entrepreneurs investing investment 235

Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative

FEBRUARY 8, 2021

As entrepreneurs, it is natural to feel fear or uncertainty about what will happen to our projects, and I think that is a common denominator for many of us. If you were to give a piece of advice to a YLAI Network member looking to make a difference in their community, what would you say? . government.

communities 246

communities entrepreneurs ecology entrepreneurial ecosystem 246

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 6, 2018

It definitely has a “d” in it, as in it’s really not fun, raising. The best entrepreneurs in our industry focus on it year-round as opposed to just once every 18 months. the most counter-intuitive fund-raising advice you’ll get 8. Fund raising. Let me give you an example. Just send me your dog damn deck 7. Confidence sells 10.

advice 236

advice VC entrepreneurs SaaS 236

Gust

OCTOBER 8, 2014

Marc Andreessen kicked off another great debate on Twitter last night, one that I’ve been talking about incessantly in private circles for the past 2-3 years – what actually IS the definition of a seed vs. A-round. This is something I think entrepreneurs don’t totally understand and it’s worthwhile they do. Nobody cares.

VC 136

VC advice finance financing 136

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 5, 2009

This is part of my Startup Advice series of posts. There is a folklore in Silicon Valley that you should fund first-time entrepreneurs. I definitely don’t rule out first timers – I just invested in one to be announced soon who I am really excited about – but I greatly prefer experience.

advice 333

advice VC entrepreneurs venture capital 333

This is going to be BIG.

SEPTEMBER 23, 2015

For me, I'd rather have a very simple, straightforward business model--one where no one has to think to figure out if I'm giving advice on your next round based on some special vehicle or deal I have on the side. It's definitely not the kind of relationship I want to have as an investor.

advice 374

advice VC opportunity entrepreneurs 374

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 31, 2010

I also sometimes start a speech by asked for people to raise their hands if they fit a certain demographic. &# Raise your hand if you’re an entrepreneur, raise your hand if you plan to raise venture capital in the next year, raise your hand if you’re a service provider to the startup industry,&# etc. how many of you “X&#

advice 362

advice VC entrepreneurs education 362

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 25, 2010

If you don’t already read Chris’s blog you should – it’s very well written, often takes a strong POV and speaks from an entrepreneur’s perspective but with a huge knowledge of the technology investors as well. I covered this a bit in my post about the market definition slide in fund raising. He is both.

advice 348

advice entrepreneurs sustainability pitching 348

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 28, 2010

That’s the classic definition of Grin Fucking. Tags: Entrepreneur Advice Start-up Advice Startup Advice. Unsurprisingly, this one way best. The title IS the post. Don’t be a grin fucker. You know our employees are our most important asset.&#. I grew up and played sports all my life.

frameworks 378

frameworks consulting advice strategy 378

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 17, 2010

We have many seasoned entrepreneurs who have built successful companies here and made a lot of money for investors and themselves. I like to repeat the mantra, “necessity is the mother of all invention,&# meaning that because investors have this expectation you find entrepreneurs that focus on nearer term monetization.

technology 290

technology advice entrepreneurs innovation 290

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 1, 2015

*. What is the role of a VC for entrepreneurs? I was recently contacted by an entrepreneur who was consider a few different business models for his company. My job isn’t to predict markets but rather to find entrepreneurs who want to create markets through insight and conviction.” ” I responded. And special.

VC 353

VC advice consulting frameworks 353

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 8, 2010

That view from me isn’t surprising since on the topic of Nature vs. Nurture in entrepreneurs I’ve clearly come down on the side of nature more than nurture (again, that doesn’t mean nurture has NO influence, just less than nature). Almost by definition. They’re also usually very loyal to your organization.

startup 350

startup frameworks advice entrepreneurs 350

Entrepreneurs' Organization

FEBRUARY 26, 2016

We interviewed two current Inventives, Craig and Rebecca, about their projects, mentors and what advice they would give to young entrepreneurs. I think the lab has definitely changed my life. It is the type of information you do not get from a typical college level business entrepreneur course or a business management course.

support 130

support entrepreneurs incubation business incubator 130

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 17, 2010

Anyone who works in the venture business or frankly just lives in Silicon Valley will be used to hearing a buzz word rise up out of nowhere to capture the technology zeitgeist and find its way into every entrepreneur’s product development plan or every aspiring entrepreneur’s pitch deck. Tags: Startup Advice.

pitching 296

pitching innovation social gaming advice 296

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 22, 2012

And so do entrepreneurs who are quick to pivot to new businesses or to sell in an acquihire. It’s been high tide since 2009 so an entire batch of entrepreneurs don’t know what low tide even looks like. And the “stay lean” argument isn’t only good for entrepreneurs, it can be good for VCs, too.

startup 390

startup VC venture capital entrepreneurs 390

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2010

Being the number one investment bank in a greatly reduced data set shouldn’t stop you from wanting to broaden the definition of “number 1″ next year. Tags: Entrepreneur Advice Start-up Advice Startup Advice. And be careful not to believe your own hype. It can happen.

consulting 415

consulting data analysis advice construction 415

This is going to be BIG.

AUGUST 8, 2011

Any success as an entrepreneur? He hasn't founded or built either a successful, let alone innovative company, and he hasn't raised $ to invest in those entrepreneurs. As my colleague Phin mentioned the other day, there are two types of bad advice you can give--one is to give bad advice in an area you should know something about.

VC 275

VC peer-to-peer board advice 275

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 27, 2011

By definition, you read blogs. 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?&#.

startup 373

startup advice communities VC 373

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 28, 2010

Otherwise you’re not serious and you’ll never get the right job so don’t bother.&# Definitely gets shock value. Why do I give this blunt advice? Tags: Entrepreneur Advice Start-up Advice Startup Advice. At least I have their attention. Lots of reasons. Let’s start with the obvious.

advice 326

advice entrepreneurs networking sustainability 326

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 25, 2013

She was everything I was looking for in an entrepreneur to back. In the most perfect sense of the definition. So we have the pleasure of working with Dana Settle at Greycroft, whom I have a blanket offer with that any entrepreneur that wants to create room for Dana in a deal that I’m involved with has a free pass.

startup 398

startup creativity advice entrepreneurs 398

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2011

This was an audience of mostly first-time entrepreneurs. It is great for entrepreneurs and great for VCs. So here is what I have been telling entrepreneurs privately for the past 6 months. What a bubble means for each entrepreneur. Still, market amnesia by ordinarily rational actors always surprises me. I believe that.

real estate 309

real estate entrepreneurs financing finance 309

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 22, 2011

You may feel as I did in 1999 that the more smart people around the table the more intros you’ll have, the more sage advice you’ll receive and the more impressive you’ll seem to outsiders. By definition you can’t have 3 investors each wanting to increase from 5% to 20% ownership or you’re fawked anyways.

VC 314

VC advice pitching investing 314

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 6, 2010

But in my experience as an entrepreneur and now spending my time amongst investors I can generalize that almost all VC investments in early stage technology & Internet investments come down to just four key factors. This post was prompted by an email exchange I had with a young entrepreneur. I was interested in learning more.

startup 360

startup VC advice entrepreneurs 360

StartupNation

NOVEMBER 10, 2020

Monkey and Me: A Real Survival Guide for Entrepreneurs” by Mike Smerklo. Being a great leader and entrepreneur takes courage, confidence and the willingness to achieve what others have not been able to accomplish in the past. Here is my list of what worked for me, but this isn’t as a definitive list. Author Mike Smerklo).

entrepreneurs 138

entrepreneurs peer-to-peer networking mentorship 138

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2011

about their marathon 4-hour sessions to get to zero inbox or somebody else claiming email bankruptcy ( definition if you don’t know it already ). I will even take to emailing people I don’t know offering small bits of advice. I do what I wish all entrepreneurs would do. If you do randomly write me I have advice.

advice 314

advice culture board VC 314

Entrepreneurs' Organization

MAY 1, 2024

Entrepreneurs must wear multiple hats, make critical decisions, and shoulder the weight of their venture’s success or failure. shared his experience around starting a business, the effects it had on his mental health and his advice on taking care of yourself and your business. Loneliness is definitely a reality in entrepreneurship.

health 194

health entrepreneurship entrepreneurial ecosystem entrepreneurs 194

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 14, 2010

This is the second article in a series on what it takes to be a great angel investor (and why this should matter to entrepreneurs). And we all know that Ron Conway is considered the savviest of angel investors and yet by definition not all of his investments succeed. Tags: Startup Advice Tech Market Analysis VC Industry.

angel investing 288

angel investing investment investing advice 288

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 31, 2015

I believe many entrepreneurs have ADD. I will start from a passage from the Wikipedia definition because I think it does a great job of summarizing. But overall I believe this leads to better entrepreneurship and why I believe so many entrepreneurs have ADD. Essentially – it’s just the way your brain is wired.

creativity 384

creativity consulting entrepreneurship energy 384

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 17, 2009

I told entrepreneurs that it was a bit of a Faustian bargain. But I’m no longer an entrepreneur – I’m a VC at a $200 million fund called GRP Ventures , the largest active fund in Southern California. I have spoken at length to one such entrepreneur who tells me that he hardly hears from his VC.

VC 283

VC real estate advice venture capital 283

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2014

Of course these are great places to network with other investors, meet great entrepreneurs and keep your connections strong with senior execs at larger companies like Yahoo!, 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. And there’s conferences.

VC 374

VC investment investing entrepreneurs 374

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 21, 2010

I recently read a post over on VentureHacks titled, “ Top Ten Reasons Entrepreneurs Hate Lawyers &# written by Scott Walker (who blogs on legal issues for entrepreneurs ). Because many great entrepreneurs work with lawyers in registering their companies they have their ear to the pavement on the earliest of company formations.

startup 318

startup advice entrepreneurs VC 318

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 12, 2010

When added to my volume of Facebook messages, LinkedIn requests, blog comments and Tweets my head is definitely below water. First, when somebody is calling you by definition they’re interrupting something that you’re working on. Dmitry was giving me advice that he only ever has two folders at any point in time.

advice 280

advice entrepreneurs networking innovation 280