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. But I have been in close contact with the NVCA, many of the major law firms and many of the major VC firms. Am I ineligible since I’m VC-backed? I am not claiming to be the world expert on this. shouldn’t I?

VC 279

VC peer-to-peer startup advice 279

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 1, 2015

*. What is the role of a VC for entrepreneurs? I suppose it can be different for every founder and for different VCs but I’d like to offer you some context on what I think it is and it isn’t. VCs have the safety of not being that person. They are unique to you and not to each other situation that VC has faced.

VC 353

VC advice consulting frameworks 353

This is going to be BIG.

NOVEMBER 1, 2016

So if you're a super early stage with just a prototype, you might not think that a VC fund is the right fit for you--so you wind up at an angel group. So, while BBV is a *VC fund*, there's very little question that I'm backing founders earlier than an angel group like Golden Seeds, regardless of who the founder is.

advice 418

advice founder pitching VC 418

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2014

I told my friend that I felt that in 2014 too many new VCs feel the pressure to chase deals, to be a part of syndicates with other brand names and to pounce on top of every startup whose numbers are trending up quickly. I know I can’t be in every deal and I know that the easy part of being a VC is writing the first check in a deal.

VC 374

VC investment investing entrepreneurs 374

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2013

And I am often approached by entrepreneurs in cities which don’t have a vibrant VC community. If you don’t live in a major VC zone, I have some tips for how to make it easier to raise Venture Capital. ” Most VCs view it as their responsibility to mentor, debate, cajole and generally assist with investments they make.

VC 365

VC board communities pitching 365

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 13, 2013

I spent countless hours with VC firms, startups & LPs (the people who invest in VC firms). On my first real day back the first thought I have is that most entrepreneurs don’t manage their VC relationships as well as they could. And it would well be worth your while to broaden your relationships within your VC firm.

VC 309

VC advice venture capital support 309

This is going to be BIG.

DECEMBER 5, 2012

Most conversations don't end in funding or even a follow up meeting, so your aim should be to get specific, helpful advice that moves you forward. He realized that rushed in person pitches don't do your company justice at all--especially when VCs are running to another meeting or trying to mingle and meet as many people as possible.

VC 319

VC pitching disruption advice 319

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 30, 2018

VC firms see thousands of deals and have a refined sense of how the market is valuing deals because they get price signals across all of these deals. It’s not uncommon for a VC to ask you how much capital you’ve raised and what the post-money valuation was on your last round. So why does a VC ask you?

VC 324

VC investment investing entrepreneurs 324

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 4, 2013

As a VC you want to feel like you have “proprietary sources” of deal flow. ” I love businesses that don’t lend themselves well to VC Panels at conferences or Demo Days. Advice to VCs Startup Advice' One of the major calibration pieces for me was where to find deal flow. I love complexity.

VC 347

VC advice pitching entrepreneurs 347

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2018

This is part of a series of advice for founders who need to raise money from venture capitalists. The most important advice I could give you before you set out in fund raising mode is to understand that fund-raising a sales & marketing process and needs to be managed. Same with VC. If in high school you got a 3.6

VC 332

VC advice entrepreneurs energy 332

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 6, 2018

As a VC with scores of startups in our portfolio we have ringside seats to many, many fund raising processes plus I had to raise money across about 5 different rounds of capital as an entrepreneur so I’ve developed some thought on the process that I hope can be helpful to some of you before you start. Just send me your dog damn deck 7.

advice 236

advice VC entrepreneurs SaaS 236

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 13, 2018

As a VC and former entrepreneur let me offer you some advice. Remember that the goal of an email to a VC or an introduction from a trusted mutual connection is simply to get you the meeting. Remember that the goal of an email to a VC or an introduction from a trusted mutual connection is simply to get you the meeting.

VC 261

VC pitching advice entrepreneurs 261

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 12, 2013

But less as a complaint and more as advice to younger networkers, the more you invest in relationships the more you will get when you need. ” In it he talked about how he gets daily emails asking for intros to Oprah (he does a lot of work with her) and his advice. “I’ve never been a VC before. Startup Advice'

advice 407

advice VC networking entrepreneurs 407

This is going to be BIG.

OCTOBER 3, 2016

Why do VC's get such a bad rap? That's literally your baby--and 98% of the time, a VC will tell you that your baby is ugly. Forget the fact that a VC's job is more akin to that of a NASCAR passenger, perhaps occasionally pointing out a track hazard or cheering the driver on, but certainly not the main component of success.

VC 390

VC venture capital entrepreneurship ventures 390

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 16, 2013

If you are a super young, well-connected, Stanford CS or EE, worked at Facebook early, have a bit o’ dosh and have VCs chasing you … you are exempt. My VC told me that if we monetize too early we will scare away our nascent marketplace and not grow as fast. If that’s you, you can ignore my advice.

VC 412

VC advice strategy accelerator 412

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 17, 2019

I became a VC 12 years ago in 2007 when the pace of deals was much slower. As I was trying to figure out the role I wanted to play in the VC world I decided I wanted to focus on businesses that were building deeply technical products to solve problems for business users. What Did I Learn From the First VC Check I Ever Wrote?

VC 223

VC venture capital capital investment 223

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 8, 2014

What is a principal at a VC firm and how does it work at Upfront Ventures? ” Associates have different functions at different VCs. VC firm admin. VC firm policy or fund analysis. Helping be the VC “presence” at key events. inside insight into VC decision-making. Industry reviews.

investing 365

investing investment VC board 365

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 7, 2014

No VC will be so naive as not to see straight through it. When I first became a VC, seed rounds were typically $500k – $1.5 There weren’t a lot of seed funds in 2007 so this was often done by angels, funding consortia or sometimes early-stage funds that existed then (First Round Capital, True Ventures, SoftTech VC, etc.).

VC 399

VC advice finance financing 399

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 9, 2014

I only say that because after years as a VC I can always tell when my peer group invested in something because “it seemed like it would make money” versus when they invested out of passion. On reflection of the role that I want to play as a VC it is clearly in the camp of passion. I’m a VC. Startup Advice'

peer-to-peer 373

peer-to-peer VC pitching entrepreneurs 373

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 8, 2018

If you’re an entrepreneur who would like to see this clause in more startups please ask your VC to include it in future term sheets and link to it from their home page. “We I have seen in your 5 years with us countless hours dedicated to mentorship and advice to younger founders of color and showing them a roadmap for success.

VC 284

VC leadership mentorship entrepreneurs 284

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014

It got me thinking about the advice that I often give to new VCs. For years I saw myself as the new guy in VC but then you wake up one day and realize that 50% of your peers have been doing it for less time than you and time has moved on. VC Industry' It’s exhausting. Perhaps unsustainable. Lines, Not Dots.

peer-to-peer 317

peer-to-peer pitching VC accelerator 317

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2013

By spending more time educating your board on your business you get more valuable advice from them. Your goal should be to turn your VCs into extended members of your team to get real value from them. He did it yesterday, “Mark, I’m going to write a blog post following on from your VC’s aren’t dumb.

board 365

board VC advice pitching 365

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 27, 2013

If you’ve been following the press about VC funds you’ll know this is no small feat. VC has operated as an “old boys club”, with access to capital often requiring entrance through an elite university engineering department in one of two cities. Startup Advice' you don’t ask, you don’t get! )

ventures 343

ventures venture capital advice VC 343

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 16, 2013

He pinged me that he was thinking about joining a startup based in LA with the CEO in NYC and would I be willing to meet him and give him advice on this process. But … we had committed to setting up an EIR program where we would fund people to work on their ideas in our offices and also get the dual experience of working inside a VC.

pitching 372

pitching advice VC entrepreneurs 372

A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

APRIL 21, 2021

A well-known entrepreneur turned VC, who will go unnamed because I am not sure he would want me to share this conversation publicly, once told me “if you remove a founder, you must sell the company within a couple of years or it will start to decline in value.”

leadership 279

leadership VC advice sustainability 279

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 11, 2013

You can watch the video above for a very brief overview of why we rebranded and where we see our place in the VC ecosystem along with what has changed in our industry. Relaunching our brand is part of our larger initiative to build a VC firm of the future. Startup Advice' Nearly four months ago we rebranded at Upfront Ventures.

ventures 324

ventures VC strategy advice 324

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 7, 2015

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. I know because I have been the beneficiary of their advice for years and have appreciated it. If all else fails, angel-load away!

startup 323

startup advice pitching VC 323

Hunter Walk

FEBRUARY 22, 2025

Ok, back to the VC content marketing. As a result I’ve seen hundreds of VC decks, all certain they will be among the top performers. People who can invest with the firms money at arms length, bounties for sourcing a startup, small investments in other VCs that are upstream from your firm.

startup 97

startup VC strategy leadership 97

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 16, 2014

I got three calls from another big name, big check VC. I got an email recently from a VC who had invested in a company a small amount in a seed round. He opted for two big VC funds up North who split $1.5 Not from either of his two famous VCs. Startup Advice' Why am I so lucky? I looked at all three deals.

advice 333

advice VC pitching investment 333

This is going to be BIG.

JANUARY 5, 2015

I reiterated the notion of risk taking when giving career advice the other day and how when I joined Union Square Ventures, it wasn''t the USV it was now. You can''t rise up as fast taking a job at a VC firm in NYC the same way you could 10 years ago--and you can''t get that USV job as easily as you could.

VC 306

VC startup ecosystem networking venture capital 306

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 14, 2013

Don’t build for yourself or your friends who use your product and say, “wouldn’t it be nice if you could just …” And certainly don’t build for your VC. Sure, your friends and VCs are smart so I’m not saying don’t take input. Startup Advice' Find out for sure.

advice 408

advice education VC technology 408

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 11, 2016

Gregg Johnson, CEO of Invoca For the first 5 years or so after I became a VC I didn’t talk much about what I thought a VC should be excellent at since frankly I wasn’t sure. The number one advice I give is “stop trying to be too smart”. That’s why I often say The role of VC is “chief psychologist.”

venture capital 363

venture capital capital ventures VC 363

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 14, 2013

I am a VC. But through expressing points-of-view I can raise above the consciousness of my customers (entrepreneurs and limited partners who invest in VC funds) in ways that I couldn’t without breaking through the noise of the hundreds of others of VCs who also have money. I hand out money. How differentiated is that?

mix-use 389

mix-use advice VC technology 389

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 18, 2015

I rarely talk to any startup entrepreneur or VC who doesn’t feel it and somehow long for simpler times despite the benefits we all enjoy from increased enthusiasm for our sector. There are too many pulls & tugs at our elbows for time, for coffee meetings, for advice or speaking engagements or cocktail parties or dinners.

advice 398

advice VC entrepreneurs transportation 398

This is going to be BIG.

SEPTEMBER 23, 2015

I was having a conversation last night with another VC who was suggesting I monetize the pro-ratas that I don't take by creating SPVs. As a small fund, I've been writing one check only to a company to help get them off the ground that that has served me really well so far. But you could charge fees or at least carry for that.

advice 358

advice VC opportunity entrepreneurs 358

Revolution

MARCH 1, 2023

VC dollars are at risk, we conducted a historical analysis of top quartile fund managers over the past quarter century (as far back as we could access reliable Cambridge Associates data). For a VC, if a fund has valued its portfolio appropriately, there is not much to worry about. But what could that look like?

advice 147

advice founder finance financing 147

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2018

The idea is simple enough: several female VC partners at top funds will hold 1-hour meetings with 40 promising female entrepreneurs looking to get advice on their business and pitch in a friendly, non-judgmental, safe environment. 8% of VC partnerships, for example). Now 33% of Supreme Court Justices are women (vs.

founder 256

founder peer-to-peer VC mentorship 256