Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 12, 2013

We both wanted to build a practice that would make Los Angeles proud but where we would travel tirelessly to other locations to make investments in the best entrepreneurs wherever they were. 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.

VC 360

VC communities investment investing 360

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 22, 2014

I’ve sat on ad tech boards with board members who clearly knew little about impressions, fill rates, CTRs, RTB, eCPMs or the difficulties & opportunities of embedded mobile SDKs vs. HTML5. If I were looking at which VCs to choose I would reference strongly for which ones are supportive in good times and bad.

VC 364

VC advice board leadership 364

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 16, 2016

Computer Vison Startup Nanit If you follow me on Snapchat ( msuster ) you might already know that I’ve been looking at and investing in a number of companies in the computer vision space. My thesis is that it will become a major I/O computing metaphor or as this field is sometimes referred to HCI ( human-computer interaction ).

investment 208

investment investing peer-to-peer real estate 208

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 11, 2015

I’ve worked very closely with Matt over the past four years as we share an investment in a company in Los Angeles called NextPlus and we sat on a board together for years. He’s had a ton of recent successes in enterprise software investments but also has a history in doing consumer deals. He’s committed.

ventures 291

ventures board VC culture 291

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2020

The fact that Kara doesn’t have what my wife likes to refer jokingly as my “Y chromosome problem” is beside the fact. The core of the investing job of course is investing dollars into startup companies and helping as a mentor, advisor and board member on the companies in which you’ve invested.

ventures 361

ventures leadership mentorship venture capital 361

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 3, 2013

The timing of the announcement of this investment couldn’t have been timed more perfectly if we tried. And before that you might enjoy this longer analysis on why I invested in DataSift in the first place , which was written 2.5 And from an investment perspective I remain incredibly long DataSift. ” What gives?

board 358

board disruption media SaaS 358

This is going to be BIG.

JANUARY 18, 2024

I’m talking about what someone I know recently referred to as “dentists”. These are people that didn’t make their money through a tech startup or startup investing. That’s why I normally ask for a Board Observer seat. If you’re getting down to contested board votes on important topics before a Series A or B, something’s wrong.

investment 221

investment investing startup real estate 221

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 12, 2016

Why Invest? And while my relationship with Chuck was critical to my investment, so too was the leadership of Trevor Templar , the Chief Revenue Officer. In all my time investing I have never seen such a senior revenue officer join a company at this stage. Why Invest? This is the area where Tact has crushed it.

real estate 244

real estate leadership board investing 244

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 21, 2014

When you’re hiring most reference checkers focus on the person’s former bosses. Just literally this week I had breakfast with a guy giving a reference who said, “He’s brilliant. Our founder, Yves Sisteron, was my mentor and board member at my first startup. In many ways that can be way more telling.

board 320

board VC construction opportunity 320

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 8, 2010

My favorite two quotes of the weekend were: “Never trade your cat for somebody else’s dog” (referring to selling your company for stock to another privately held company – quote was from Alan. He said that ineffectual leaders seek consensus or want direction or approval from the board. I’m going to save that for a future blog post.

peer-to-peer 279

peer-to-peer advice VC board 279

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 24, 2018

Some firms are trickier since they artificially call everybody “partner” but they’re not all “investment partners.” Find a portfolio company or two that they’ve invested in. How does the partnership typically make its final investment decisions? It’s pretty easy since nearly every VC lists its partners on the website.

VC 314

VC board investment investing 314

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 1, 2010

It’s why when I’m evaluating an investment I often ask the CEO lots of detailed questions about all parts of their business. 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.

startup 308

startup board advice VC 308

OnStartups

MARCH 24, 2021

An Odd Start To My Angel Investing. So I thought of an idea: Why not invest in startups? Angel investing is like having a niece or nephew. Both were actual companies (not academic exercises), and I decided to make an angel investment in both of them -- mostly because I really respected the two guys: Brian Shin and Mark Roberge.

angel investing 125

angel investing investment investing pitching 125

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. When times are bad many cease investment activity all together. Investing is our core business. They’ll pay up for it and promise much.

advice 279

advice venture capital frameworks entrepreneurs 279

Onevest

MAY 21, 2015

By Michael Whitehouse Whether you are an investor browsing through 1000 Angels looking to put money into a startup, or an entrepreneur attempting to bring finances into your project, it is critical that you understand the terms and conditions of any investment. Most investors will ask for a share in a company as standard.

investment 116

investment investing startup board 116

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 7, 2014

I had dinner this week with a top new customer at one of our enterprise software investments. I wish I did more enterprise software investing because when I attend meetings like this I realize that this is my core DNA – rolling out business software solutions to customers. If they want to invest that’s great.

peer-to-peer 341

peer-to-peer VC entrepreneurs support 341

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?

board 100

board frameworks advice peer-to-peer 100

Gust

FEBRUARY 19, 2014

The first, and most important, has to do with who the investment is from. You should check references (speak with as many of their portfolio CEOs as you can, cold-calling them preferably), read everything written about them, and that they have written. Trust me, I’ve been there, done that and gotten the t-shirt.

investment 128

investment investing startup board 128

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 25, 2010

Last year I lost a deal in a company that I wanted to invest in and that I thought I should have won. By Monday morning after their board meeting in NorCal I didn’t get a return phone call. The one you were counting on. I’m talking Tom Watson at the British Open or Andy Roddick at Wimbledon. On Losing in VC.

consulting 333

consulting advice collaboration VC 333

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 25, 2010

Last year I lost a deal in a company that I wanted to invest in and that I thought I should have won. By Monday morning after their board meeting in NorCal I didn’t get a return phone call. The one you were counting on. I’m talking Tom Watson at the British Open or Andy Roddick at Wimbledon. On Losing in VC.

consulting 328

consulting advice collaboration VC 328

This is going to be BIG.

AUGUST 19, 2010

Despite the fact that I'm a blackbelt in Tae Kwan Do (haven't practiced in a few years though), what I'm referring to has nothing to do with kicks or punches. The potential downside is that, as a Principal, you're not really as front and center as you'd like to be on decision making and board participation. All of the above?

education 225

education incubation innovation communities 225

This is going to be BIG.

SEPTEMBER 29, 2024

I coached investors to promotions, first board seats, internal personnel decisions and even a long overdue resignation. For example, one investor was “tracking” an enterprise company that he was interested in, but worried that he was going lose the opportunity to invest if the company got noticed by a fund with a bigger brand name.

VC 195

VC board venture capital communities 195

Andreessen Horowitz

SEPTEMBER 14, 2023

While investing in fixed income may have received less focus over the past decade (with historically low interest rates), times have changed, and higher rates (and inflation) are putting the opportunity cost of not investing idle cash into sharp relief. We’re thrilled to be investing alongside Venrock, Contrary, Neo, and Henry R.

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investment investing construction finance 97

Dream It

APRIL 3, 2020

In this episode, the two discussed how you can effectively sell in an environment where budgets are being cut, executive decision-makers are distracted with other priorities, and companies are less inclined to invest in innovation. His strategy for selling in 2009 is relevant to any economic downturn. What keeps them up at night?

pitching 221

pitching strategy advice board 221

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. have they invested in somebody that is very similar to my business? If you sell glasses and they’ve investing in Warby Parker, you’re wasting your time. The next pass is the “competitive pass”?—?have Active partner.

board 215

board VC entrepreneurs education 215

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. They have a large-ish fund.

VC 283

VC real estate advice venture capital 283

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.

VC 299

VC board pitching venture capital 299

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 10, 2014

, EVP of MTV, President of Liberty Digital and on the boards of CNET, Scripps, comScore, Riot Games and Rubicon Project to name a few. Every time I considered a major investment in media: Radio or online video – I called to get Jarl’s no-holds-barred views. What a load of rubbish.

media 299

media leadership disruption board 299

Revolution

FEBRUARY 3, 2021

I am at once proud of and awed by Jonathan, whose dual-track passion for the future of food and the future of Appalachia has brought him to tears more than once since we first invested in early 2018. I used to joke that the company moves at “the speed of Jonathan,” referring to the founder’s incredible impatience with the status quo.

venture capital 173

venture capital economic development sustainability capital 173

Gust

DECEMBER 8, 2013

These are investor slang terms referring to how fast money is being spent, with an implicit question of how long the startup can survive before breakeven or another cash infusion is required. Implicit in the analysis of the answers is how much progress has been made for the investment, and how stable the business is now.

board 174

board investing investment advice 174

Entrepreneurs' Organization

AUGUST 9, 2023

To find a pace that works for you, refer to an internal, financeable rate of growth, based on your cashflow and profit. Invest in employees’ development and growth. When you take care of your team, you’re investing in the future of your business. Don’t fix what isn’t broken. And that will pay off for years to come.

entrepreneurship 206

entrepreneurship sustainability board entrepreneurs 206

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. they could invest in entrepreneurial communities and the best founders would then bring in new founders. It’s no wonder they’ve both performed so well. And it would be?

communities 234

communities peer-to-peer venture capital enablement 234

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.

startup 318

startup advice entrepreneurs VC 318

Dream It

SEPTEMBER 8, 2020

Managing Partner Steve Barsh refers to this as being a “mercenary” entrepreneur, as opposed to a “missionary.” The VC you're bringing on board should consist of people who you want to work with. M&A Insight #4 If you start paying an investment banker, you have a for sale sign on your door.

board 195

board VC strategy construction 195

This is going to be BIG.

MAY 27, 2010

Sometimes it pays to jump on board before a lot of big questions have been answered—simply because you can feel the market starting to notice it and create mindshare momentum. I even started referring to him as a podhead. Undaunted, he went back to work, got some great partners on board, and kept plugging away.

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VC venture capital media board 186

TechCrunch

OCTOBER 1, 2022

HSBC Asset Management, the investment arm of Britain’s HSBC Group, has led a seed round of $4 million in Singapore’s customer intelligence and risk assessment startup Bizbaz , the two said Friday. The investment from HSBC, which doesn’t typically back early-stage startups, is noteworthy for Bizbaz.

investment 105

investment investing startup media 105

Gust

NOVEMBER 22, 2011

Investments at this stage are typically called seed investments. This is the realm of venture capital professional investors, with funding amounts of $1-10 million, often referred to as the “A-round,” or first institutional funding. Funding will only come from you, or friends, family, and fools. Early or embryonic stage.

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venture capital investment investing sustainability 171