This is going to be BIG.

AUGUST 8, 2011

How about as a VC? Fred has basically always been a VC, Mike was a reporter, and Jim worked in product marketing and management consulting. Surely--but then I realize how difficult it is to be an early stage VC in NYC. Really never managed anything of significant or built anything major.". what has this guy done? What did I do?

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OCTOBER 17, 2009

A few years ago it became fashionable for large VC’s to do seed funding. If the large VC doesn’t agree to do your A round then you’re in a bit of trouble. 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.

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VC real estate advice venture capital 283

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DECEMBER 14, 2010

They had received a term sheet from a VC and were wondering whether to work with this firm. You’re tied at the hip to your VC. Get to know VCs over a long period of time so that when you’re ready to get engaged you feel you know their character. But what was the VC like when the chips were down?

VC 298

VC advice venture capital entrepreneurs 298

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JANUARY 13, 2011

I recently filmed a show for This Week in Venture Capital in which I talked about how to prepare for a VC meeting: whom you’ll meet, who should attend from your side, what materials you should bring and how you should run the meeting. The “Triple Play&# of VC Presentations. But take prompts from the VC.

VC 299

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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

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MAY 19, 2010

Greycroft is an early-stage VC. Closing a VC fund in 2009/10 is a major achievement in and of itself. In the intro section of the show we talked a lot about why VC funds are becoming smaller again and where Greycroft fits. I’m guessing if you compete across the board you will struggle to hit scale.

VC 240

VC peer-to-peer advice ventures 240

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MAY 24, 2018

In order to understand how to “get to yes” with a VC you first need to understand how VC partnerships make decisions and then you can understand how to increase your odds of closing a deal. VC Partnerships Start by understanding how many partners are at the firm you are approaching. Reciprocity is equally destructive.

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VC board investment investing 314

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MAY 15, 2010

It’s always fun chatting with Jason because he’s knowledgeable about the market, quick on topics and pushes me to talk more about VC / entrepreneur issues. The following was available: “I kept hearing about startups that raised VC funding, but which hadn’t filed Form Ds (nor issued a press release).

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SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

I’m over-paying for every check I write into the VC ecosystem and valuations are being pushed up to absurd levels and many of these valuations and companies won’t hold in the long term. However, to be a great VC you have to hold two conflicting ideas in your head at the same time. By definition?—?I’m So in a way it’s self selecting.

ventures 471

ventures VC venture capital funders 471

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OCTOBER 14, 2009

I wrote recently about the role of Advisory Boards in startups , which I expected to be a bit controversial. It’s just that many companies waste equity on advisory boards, pick the wrong advisers or set up advisory boards with the wrong expectations. If they’re so great, why are they not just Board Members?

board 215

board VC advice entrepreneurs 215

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SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

” From the hyperbolic Jason Calacanis weighing in that “The petty VC’s did everything to deride [Naval, the co-founder of AngelList]” as though the industry was collectively s g its pants that AngelList was going to put us out of business. This is the same way VC firms, by the way. Bowery Capital).

VC 356

VC peer-to-peer board entrepreneurs 356

This is going to be BIG.

APRIL 13, 2022

In this case, a VC would have every right, having seen lots of products get built and succeed or fail, to want to observe and discuss that process. What’s harder to notice for a founder is all of the things that a founder isn’t being asked to review in detail that a VC has no problem trusting the founder on.

founder 415

founder VC board strategy 415

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

Gust

JULY 15, 2012

I recommend that every early-stage startup find three Advisory Board members. Even more importantly, you should expect these members of your team to be your advocates to angel or VC investors, or even be part of your friends and family financing round. The Advisory Board’s objectives and focus. Let’s talk specifics.

board 178

board startup mentorship strategy 178

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 19, 2009

You are constantly faced with decisions and there is always incomplete information. Most of them are completely mundane such as choosing which: bank, office space, 1-year lease vs. 2-year lease, logo, URL, pricing structure or which VC. The CEO led every board meeting with vigor and the board members (sans me) were always wowed.

entrepreneurs 414

entrepreneurs board advice consulting 414

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JULY 22, 2010

And for some strange reason entrepreneurs didn’t share this information. I just want to figure out what a fair valuation is.&# I figured all the VC’s talked so we should. But this example above is all entrepreneur math, not the VC’s. The VC assumes you’ll have an option pool. That’s normal.

founder 405

founder VC venture capital entrepreneurs 405

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JULY 1, 2010

This applies to both founders and to VC’s that work with them. Dipping: As a decision maker you rely on information being passed to you by the people who report to you. You’ll get sales information from your VP of Sales, marketing information from your VP Marketing, tech information from your CTO and so on.

startup 308

startup board advice VC 308

David Teten VC

JUNE 9, 2021

See How to negotiate a partner role at a VC or private equity firm.) You can work as a consultant, an interim executive, a board member, a deal executive partnering to buy a company, an executive in residence, or as an entrepreneur in residence. . At Versatile VC , we’ve used all these models. Board of Directors.

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consulting venture capital board capital 128

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 2, 2015

I love the enthusiasm, the boundless energy and the sense of possibility that comes from having an idea that hasn’t yet been beat up in the marketplace of competing ideas, customer contracts, VC skepticism, jaded journalists or fickle consumers who are on the The New, New Thing. And board confidence matters in growing companies.

board 338

board energy finance financing 338

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JULY 10, 2010

The importance of the conference is that it assembles most of the top privately held early-to-mid-stage technology companies in the country (and some globally) as well as most VC’s, growth equity funds and corporate development departments from large industry players looking at technology acquisitions. TechCrunch. ITA Software.

VC 242

VC venture capital ventures capital 242

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OCTOBER 5, 2014

We are expected to know everything and many people rush to conclusions given a limited set of information. But as I rose in my career (and post MBA) I moved into a role in which I was to advise board-level executives on topics where I was expected to rapidly become an expert. We are their sparring partners, their sounding boards.

peer-to-peer 337

peer-to-peer entrepreneurs consulting VC 337

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JUNE 27, 2013

If you’ve been following the press about VC funds you’ll know this is no small feat. We think transparency and easy access to information benefit our entire ecosystem. We have previously raised funds in 1996 ($200 million), 2000 ($400 million) and 2008/9 ($200 million). This month we closed our 4th fund of $200 million.

ventures 343

ventures venture capital advice VC 343

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SEPTEMBER 12, 2013

Now that he’s become a VC he’s promising me he’ll provide way more public information and discourse so please welcome him by following him on Twitter and better yet welcoming him with a Tweet of your own linking to his Twitter handle or this post. The idea immediately resonated. And he followed through.

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ventures investing investment board 340

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MARCH 12, 2013

Because my role as a VC requires me to take and endless stream of meetings I long ago decided I need to learn as much as I can from the meetings I attend so I often just ask tons of questions and assimilate knowledge. When I think about what defines us as a VC I think: Operationally knowledgeable / strong startup competence.

VC 360

VC communities investment investing 360

This is going to be BIG.

APRIL 23, 2012

Try and figure out exactly what a startup had to show at the moment a VC chose to invest in them. Half the time, founders were pitching a completely different idea than what took off--so the VC who looks brilliant for funding the latest viral app really funded a B2B product that never took off. They don't stress test.

advice 416

advice startup VC strategy 416

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. Sometimes, there will be a conflict of interest between the people representing the various shareholder classes on a board.

board 112

board advice education VC 112

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. Another founder … “When I pitched the idea to Adam, he was super on board,” Mr. Sloyan said. Information Leaks are a Real Problem.

startup 323

startup advice pitching VC 323

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NOVEMBER 19, 2015

I’m often asked about the differences between being at a VC and being an entrepreneur and whether I prefer one or the other. But we do have great working spaces for our portfolio companies to entertain clients or hold board meetings or executive retreats.

culture 339

culture VC communities venture capital 339

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APRIL 1, 2010

In today’s post I want to talk about the concept of a VC flightpath. This is my description of a VC process, not one I’ve heard from other VCs so don’t expect it to be accepted nomenclature. Even when you’re getting the VC love this reality I imagined couldn’t be further from the truth.

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VC venture capital pitching board 275

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FEBRUARY 7, 2011

One of the great joys of doing the web series This Week in VC every week is that I get to spend time with great people debating the issues of our day including how our industry is evolving as well as insights into how companies got started, got their initial traction and dealt with adversities. I totally agree.

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board culture VC education 286

This is going to be BIG.

FEBRUARY 18, 2019

Brooklyn Bridge Ventures , the pre-seed and seed stage VC fund I run in NYC, has invested in 64 companies in the last six and a half years. As an investor, it’s easy to come into a board meeting asking probing questions, demanding information, and sharing your opinion without first having built up a base of trust.

venture capital 413

venture capital capital ventures peer-to-peer 413

David Teten VC

MARCH 1, 2022

The easiest way to work with and for VC funds is to become a part-time scout, getting paid for sourcing investments. How to win consulting, board, operating, and investment roles with private equity and venture capital funds (video). How to find a job as a VC scout. VC recruiters list and compensation data.

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VC venture capital accelerator ventures 128

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 31, 2011

I’m enjoying being a VC. 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.&#. In this particular case I wasn’t convinced it was a good idea from the limited information I had. VC meetings going well.

entrepreneurs 384

entrepreneurs startup VC real estate 384

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MARCH 2, 2011

We have an informed point of view. We might differ in opinion but not in information sources and knowledge of the issues. I don’t think any serious VC or angel thought it was “collusion.&# And look at the valuation creep across the board in the past year. It’s over done. Examples: Bin38.

peer-to-peer 287

peer-to-peer VC entrepreneurs board 287

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APRIL 16, 2011

It’s easy to think that the wife of a well-known & successful VC ( Fred Wilson ) would have had an easy and storied life of wealth and privilege. That’s why I was so interested in having “ The Gotham Gal &# come on This Week in VC ( video link on YouTube , download iTunes, episode 15) ) and dispel those myths.

startup 311

startup VC communities board 311

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SEPTEMBER 26, 2015

You’d be surprised how many firms are “dictator VCs” – even those that don’t formally acknowledge it internally. When you’re newer in VC many partners choose to play it safe, doing smaller investments and not trying to bet on something that a “far out” risk.

venture capital 336

venture capital peer-to-peer capital ventures 336

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APRIL 2, 2014

As an alternative I’ve also found board meetings to be a good rallying call. It gives a tangible goal and also the reward of the team that completes the project the opportunity to interact with the board. In summary – I have been involved with software development for 25 years. Set hard deadlines.

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creativity leadership board energy 344