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Why being a VC sucks. Advice to anyone who wants to get into venture capital.

This is going to be BIG.

I probably get around a dozen e-mails a week asking me how to get into venture capital. On top of that, anytime I talk to anyone who wants to get involved in startups but isn''t sure what they want to do, inevitably, I hear, "And then I was thinking maybe I should look into venture capital, too.". Know thy self.

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Both Things Can Be True: Bias and Bad Fundraising Advice

This is going to be BIG.

The startup ecosystem is a terrific manufacturer of bad fundraising advice. They’ll tell you all about their strategy, the order of operations of who and how they pitched, the magic slides, the timing of the raise itself, etc. Or that venture capital is a meritocracy? This isn’t surprising. That adds risk.

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The Problem with Startup Advice

This is going to be BIG.

I'm often the last one to leave an event, held back by the most persistant of entrepreneurs trying to squeeze as much advice as they can out of me. Often times, the advice is terrible or impractical. Venture capital is kind of like a knuckleball. I love public speaking, teaching and generally being helpful.

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Venture Capital is About Human Capital

Both Sides of the Table

The number one advice I give is “stop trying to be too smart”. Most VCs did well academically and had enough career success that a venture firm was willing to give them an investment role or they were able to raise their own fund. Fundamentally venture capital is about human capital. Nothing fancier.

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Venture Capital Q&A Session

Both Sides of the Table

We received so much positive feedback from our This Week in Venture Capital show walking through valuation calculations & term sheets that we decided to do a Q&A show this week to address topics that entrepreneurs want to learn about. In fact, far better if you haven’t raised venture capital.

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A practical guide to a first board meeting: Advice from the pros

This is going to be BIG.

Here’s what I got back: David Hornick, August Capital : "Here's some anti-advice. In fact, one of my key pieces of advice for sound boards is to avoid surprises at all times by clear proactive communication…" Stu Ellman, RRE : "Don’t micromanage or try to manage the company for the CEO.

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GRP Announces $200 Million Fund. Rebrands as Upfront Ventures

Both Sides of the Table

Perhaps the biggest piece of new news is that after 17 years of operations we’ve changed our name from GRP Partners to Upfront Ventures. Well, the venture capital industry has changed a lot in the past 20 years … and we have too. Startup Advice' What’s up with that? Upfront seemed to fit the bill.

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