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. I was recently contacted by an entrepreneur who was consider a few different business models for his company.

VC 353

VC advice consulting frameworks 353

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 30, 2010

My advice to entrepreneurs was and is “ when the hors d’oeuvres tray is being passed take two ” (e.g. So I agreed to offer my current thinking on the economy and what it portends for the VC industry & fund raising for entrepreneurs. raise money now to weather any storms).

entrepreneurs 298

entrepreneurs real estate VC advice 298

This is going to be BIG.

AUGUST 8, 2011

Any success as an entrepreneur? How about as a VC? He hasn't founded or built either a successful, let alone innovative company, and he hasn't raised $ to invest in those entrepreneurs. Fred has basically always been a VC, Mike was a reporter, and Jim worked in product marketing and management consulting. What did I do?

VC 275

VC peer-to-peer board advice 275

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.

investing 411

investing investment VC advice 411

This is going to be BIG.

DECEMBER 21, 2012

Three companies most definitely makes a pattern. I try to involve lots of people in my circle to be accessable, but I can honestly say that I don't do as good of a job with that when it comes to entrepreneurs I've passed on. Linden's a cool dude and being the interchange between the internet of things, our social services, etc.

VC 252

VC education entrepreneurs development 252

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 7, 2011

Equally, I encouraged entrepreneurs to spend time getting to know their future VCs early because getting a feel for your chemistry is far more important than how the VC is ranked in some survey. I felt the exact same way when I was an entrepreneur. Lines vs. Dots is all about people. Market Opportunity. Let me explain.

entrepreneurs 330

entrepreneurs incumbents VC disruption 330

Both Sides of the Table

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. So there you have it.

VC 356

VC peer-to-peer board entrepreneurs 356

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 financing finance 136

This is going to be BIG.

APRIL 29, 2011

I had an interesting conversation with an entrepreneur last week about how he decided which VCs he was going to pitch. At the same time, I had lunch with someone yesterday who regularly ran into early stage entrepreneurs who was surprised to hear that I didn't mind if they made intros to me. The Cold Intro.

VC 291

VC pitching entrepreneurs networking 291

This is going to be BIG.

APRIL 3, 2012

Age, gender, sexual orientation, religion, etc are all topics that are deeply emotional for people--and, by definition, personal. What I would offer to entrepreneurs is that you should know what you're getting from each investor you let into the round. Of course, you don't always need that experience from a VC.

VC 261

VC board venture capital ventures 261

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. VCs have different views and strategies on this.

VC 223

VC venture capital capital investing 223

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 27, 2010

And that was evident on today’s Angel vs. VC panel. The VC industry is segmenting – I have spoken about this many times before. The VC industry has different segments in it that have different fund sizes, different investment amounts and different risk / return expectations. Answer: Not much. It’s a shame.

disruption 308

disruption VC entrepreneurs financing 308

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 14, 2010

I believe the rise in angel investing is here to stay and the professionalization of this class (aka “super angels&# or “micro VC&# ) is a good thing for the VC industry and for entrepreneurs. maybe the best definition of ‘investing’ is ‘gambling with the odds in your favor.’ ”. Unfortunately that’s a myth.

angel investing 306

angel investing investment investing VC 306

Gust

DECEMBER 13, 2011

I’ve recently taken a look at seed stage funding by venture capitalists (VCs) and angel investors over the past five years. For VCs, I chose to look at all seed stage VC deals (from MoneyTree©) as well as those in five of the most active regions in the country. All Seed-VC. VCs in NYC invested, on average, only $2.4

entrepreneurs 162

entrepreneurs angel investing VC venture capital 162

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 22, 2011

When this first ran on TechCrunch I got the greatest comment in the world that I had to repeat here, “VC’s are like martinis: the first is good, the second one great, and the third is a headache.&# I understand the appeal of having many VC firms on your cap table. In my second company I had only 1 investor. I love that.

VC 314

VC advice pitching investing 314

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. It made me think of an investment I just made where the entrepreneur found an extremely profitable niche that he is already taking advantage of. But you could charge fees or at least carry for that.

advice 371

advice VC opportunity entrepreneurs 371

This is going to be BIG.

APRIL 14, 2014

That means you actually have a *better* shot, statistically, of getting VC investment at these firms, statistically, once you actually pitch. I really like it when an entrepreneur has a unique perspective on the industry he or she is working on. Once again, that''s all stats and doesn''t really explain anything. later in their careers.

founder 390

founder pitching venture capital mix-use 390

This is going to be BIG.

FEBRUARY 21, 2021

Any VC will tell you that the ones they said yes to, they mostly got there right away—and that there are very few “maybe” deals that get tipped over the fence. I’ve backed multiple Black founders and entrepreneurs from the LGBTQ community and so I’ve seen a very wide mix of founders pitch, get funded and get passed on.

advice 446

advice pitching venture capital VC 446

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2014

We are often asked how companies get funded, why VCs make the decisions we make and what we’re looking for in entrepreneurs. I think this is a Seriously great example of how this process works for at least one VC – Upfront Ventures. So this was definitely an introduction I was going to take. Domain Knowledge.

media 373

media education VC financing 373

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2011

This was an audience of mostly first-time entrepreneurs. I spoke about how Amazon Web Services deserves far more credit for the last 5 years of innovation than it gets credit for and how I believe they spawned the micro-VC category. I said that I felt that Micro-VCs were the most important change in our industry. I believe that.

real estate 309

real estate entrepreneurs financing finance 309

Entrepreneur's Handbook

NOVEMBER 17, 2020

Since then, I’ve founded several startups, was employee #3 at a $65m VC firm in San Francisco, and realized that there is a similar phenomenon to what Robert Kiyosaki is talking about in Rich Dad, Poor Dad currently occurring in Silicon Valley. Wealth My definition of rich is having a passive income that’s greater than your burn.

founder 144

founder VC venture capital entrepreneurship 144

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 10, 2012

I’ve been meeting with LPs (those who invest in VC funds) over the past year and discussing trends I see in the market and where I think we need to be as a firm to be near to and meet the needs of our customers. I think NY has always – by definition – been urban. These days it’s Santa Monica and Venice.

technology 313

technology incubation VC ventures 313

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. That’s fine.

startup 360

startup VC advice entrepreneurs 360

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2011

I was saying that I was happy it was all out in the open because I felt at least everybody could now understand the issues & opportunities from the perspectives of angels, entrepreneurs and VCs. Let’s be clear: AngelList doesn’t scare a single VC I know. It is additive. It is a communication platform.

VC 292

VC peer-to-peer investment investing 292

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 5, 2009

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. I believe great entrepreneurs do that. I’ve been a VC for 2.5

advice 333

advice VC entrepreneurs venture capital 333

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 22, 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’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.&#.

entrepreneurs 176

entrepreneurs startup VC real estate 176

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 27, 2012

Recently I wrote a post arguing to make the definition of a Startup more inclusive than that to which Silicon Valley, fueled by Venture Capital return profiles, would sometimes like to attach to the word. Elect 1-2 representatives and even invite a local VC to invest personally and sit on the investment committee or be an advisor.

communities 378

communities startup venture capital capital 378

This is going to be BIG.

MAY 27, 2010

I can be frustrating for entrepreneurs who can’t seem to get a VCs interest until someone else is interested as well, but there’s actually a logic behind it, believe it or not. Building a successful company is super hard. Was I wrong to turn the company down the first time? Maybe… maybe not.

VC 186

VC venture capital media board 186

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 31, 2010

I spotted my fellow VC Leo Spiegel (from Mission Ventures) who had spoken previously to the same group and asked about his experiences. – OK, I already said above that you can ask if people are entrepreneurs, investors, etc. It definitely is an IQ test thing for me. I can then change my focus based on the results.

advice 362

advice VC entrepreneurs education 362

This is going to be BIG.

MARCH 25, 2013

Back in 2006, when I started working on putting together some community groups for entrepreneurs and tech people, I looked for a better name to reference this collection of people. It's the kind of place you just don't find in Manhattan, and definitely don't find in Silicon Valley. 33 Flatbush. 10 Jay Street.

communities 294

communities innovation creativity real estate 294

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 investing investment advice 288

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 21, 2016

I speak a lot on college campuses and entrepreneur events and amongst the most common things I’m asked to talk about are: What do VCs fund? Do VCs really take risks on ground-breaking ideas any longer or do they just fund businesses once there is proof of traction? How does one come up with the right idea to start a company?

incumbents 270

incumbents entrepreneurs education pitching 270

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 10, 2015

I also write and talk about it frequently because raising capital is a part of sales and this is important for entrepreneurs to understand. And, because most startup entrepreneurs aren’t used to sales, they hate to ask the tough qualifying question for fear of being told, “no.” Why Buy Anything? Why Buy Me?

VC 329

VC entrepreneurs investing investment 329

Both Sides of the Table

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. ” Guys?

venture capital 336

venture capital peer-to-peer capital ventures 336

Gust

SEPTEMBER 29, 2011

The most successful serial entrepreneurs in the world may found three or four, perhaps even eight or ten venture-backed startups over the course of their careers. The definitive deal documents are concise (at least by lawyer standards), whereas a full Series A deal will generate a stack of new paperwork of a hundred pages or more.

financing 178

financing finance VC entrepreneurs 178

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. Unsurprisingly for Kara is was the VC connections. So, Mark, enough entrepreneur love. And still able to make it out to LA networking events. What was she doing with Soleil Moon Frye? Kara as CEO. That is Soleil.

startup 398

startup creativity advice entrepreneurs 398

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 27, 2011

By definition, you read blogs. But should you actually write one if you’re a startup, an industry figure (lawyer, banker) or VC? 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.

startup 373

startup advice communities VC 373