Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 15, 2009

I had an MBA, had done a few years of strategy consulting and knew all of the management theory. 2 weeks later and we may never have raised any more VC. We hired a head of technology, a head of customer service, a head of marketing, a head of strategy (which no startup should ever hire) a CFO and, ugh, 33 developers.

startup founder 299

startup founder founder startup VC 299

This is going to be BIG.

NOVEMBER 10, 2011

So what attracted Howard Morgan, the VC with the hottest hand in NYC as of late ( Turntable.fm , Fab.com ), to bring the investment back to First Round? Joe and Mary Bureaucrat who don't even use the internet because Smalltown, USA blocks it as the decisionmakers. Ugh, right? Except that its working. how many salespeople do you have?

real estate 326

real estate leadership SaaS education 326

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 18, 2014

I avoid Demo Days like the plague and have publicly said so. By the time it’s hit demo day I’m too late. Fred Wilson said it best in his post about loss ratios in VC. Don’t worry about what others think of your investments (other than LPs who need to be persuaded that you have a logical investment strategy).

VC 337

VC consulting strategy entrepreneurs 337

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 16, 2010

Understand Personality Types – One of the benefits of working for a big company (Accenture) was that we had lots of speakers come in and train us in topics like leadership, creativity, presentations, strategy, etc. And because as a VC or as a CEO or senior exec you get presented to all the time we’re extra sensitive to it.

VC 358

VC entrepreneurs creativity leadership 358

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 30, 2014

Today I’m handing her the largest A-round check I’ve ever written as a VC as we lead her $10 million A-Round at uBeam. They demoed the electricity transfer with a physical device that looked like something that would never be allowed on an airplane. When I first met Meredith Perry she was 24. But it seemed to work.

VC 418

VC ventures leadership board 418

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 9, 2018

Your product demo crushed. At night I had a group dinner where I met 6 new entrepreneurs and hung out with some old friends from law firms, banks and other VC funds. In fact, my personal fund raising strategy is to attend the first meeting by myself. You had an amazing meeting with an investor. The dialog was great.

pitching 381

pitching board funders entrepreneurs 381

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2013

has now employed the same strategy. Get yourself in a big demo day competition. I’m a VC. And of course many small acquisitions work for the buyers when there is a clear strategy for owning the asset or a clear alignment with the team you’re acquiring. And to keep up with the Jones’s it seems that Yahoo!

strategy 357

strategy venture capital advice entrepreneurs 357

500

JUNE 9, 2020

As a VC firm, we’ve had to adapt many aspects of our business as well. From taking all aspects of our accelerators digital (including our Demo Day) to rethinking the opportunities of the future, we’ve taken this moment to analyze what innovations can come from this time and new opportunities that arise from our changing environment.

frameworks 202

frameworks investing investment disruption 202

TechCrunch

FEBRUARY 5, 2021

Demo days at startup accelerators are a pretty big deal around here. These events aren’t just a chance to review the latest cohort of hopeful entrepreneurs — they also showcase the technology, products and services that will compete for VC and consumer attention over the next few years. That startup was DoorDash, by the way.

SaaS 113

SaaS startup pitching education 113

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 26, 2010

Along with detail orientation I have a strong bias for “doers.&# When I ask for a quick demo and the CEO tells me that he’ll schedule a follow-on meeting with his sales rep because, “I’m not a demo guy. It had a strategy-setting CEO, a limelight-seeking President and a COO who ran the company.

entrepreneurs 286

entrepreneurs advice pitching VC 286

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. And VC’s are tough customers. I’ve talked before about how to build long-term relationships with VCs.

startup 360

startup VC advice entrepreneurs 360

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 9, 2009

This is part of my ongoing series, “ Pitching a VC.&#. I recently wrote a blog post here in which I argued that the best VC meetings are discussions and not sales pitches. I hope that when you’re presenting to a VC this will give you some sense of what might be going on in our minds. ’s strategy and missteps.

pitching 288

pitching VC advice strategy 288

TechCrunch

SEPTEMBER 30, 2022

It’s demo day season. This morning marked the kickoff of VC firm 500 Global’s Fall 2022 Demo Day, which saw over a dozen startups give their best pitches to prospective investors — and customers. Elsewhere on Demo Day, Lydia.ai The moonshots. One year after the rebrand.

accelerator 88

accelerator health advice hospitality 88

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 3, 2010

Demos – One of the things that most people are bad at and that are hard to standardize is the demo. I have written about how to do a demo before (even though this was in the context of a VC pitch much of it applies). A good demo tells a story. 80% of demos I see are features, functions & benefits.

advice 296

advice SaaS startup pitching 296

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.&#. VC meetings going well. 2 million in VC. I swore never to do that as a VC. What do VC’s Experience?

entrepreneurs 384

entrepreneurs startup VC real estate 384

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 28, 2010

This was the first episode where Jason wasn’t on the show, which gave me the chance to have another VC on the show to discuss deals. Rustic Canyon is an LA-based, but geography-agnostic VC that is currently investing from a $200 million fund. VC Financings: 1. I keep meaning to get him drunk to spill the stories.

venture capital 270

venture capital capital ventures VC 270

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 25, 2010

Most early-stage entrepreneurs who have worked with me (either as an angel or as a seed VC) know that I don’t rely at all on the social proof of other investors. Two strategies I talked about in the post for getting your “anchor tenants&# are 1) taking them on as advisors first and 2) giving early people cheaper pricing.

financing 286

financing finance advice VC 286

TechCrunch

MAY 26, 2022

TechCrunch has been covering the demo days of the seed-stage venture firm Pear VC since 2015. Of course, some VCs still get an early look, in part by mentoring the startups. Pictured, top of page: Pejman Nozad and Mar Hershenson talking with guests at Pear’s demo day, last week in Menlo Park, Calif.

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pitching health SaaS accelerator 72

David Teten VC

MARCH 31, 2025

Orange Collective exclusively invests in Y Combinator companies before Demo Day. Our strategy is to get into the top companies extremely early, when prices are lower. Im happy to share that Ive started working (part-time) with Orange Collective. higher valuation cap.

investing 52

investing investment angel investing collaboration 52

NZ Entrepreneur

MARCH 16, 2025

You’re also sort of no longer running your classic three-month type accelerator program, which finishes on, say, a demo day. So we’ve also eliminated these high-end production demo days, the big events. When we see great talent coming through in great companies, we’re not waiting for a demo day to showcase that.

startup ecosystem 52

startup ecosystem mix-use advice incubation 52

American Entrepreneurship

SEPTEMBER 15, 2024

Venture Capital: Fueling Growth Venture capitalists (VCs) are the powerhouse behind many successful startups, providing the substantial funding needed to scale operations, enter new markets, and drive growth. Following the afternoon Techstars Demo Day is the Female Founders in Innovation Dinner.

entrepreneurs 98

entrepreneurs ventures pitching mentorship 98

David Teten VC

JUNE 9, 2021

See How to negotiate a partner role at a VC or private equity firm.) At Versatile VC , we’ve used all these models. Preqin (free demo). Grey House (free demo). Thank you to my co-author for this essay, Paulina Symala, a Consultant at Oliver Wyman and a past intern of Versatile VC. Private Equity. Venture Capital.

consulting 128

consulting venture capital board capital 128

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 4, 2011

But in some businesses call volumes might incentivize your reps to get off the phone quickly, which in some businesses is the wrong strategy. I got him talking about this on This Week in VC including a quick demo of his dashboard - I think I'll shoot a separate sequence with just a walk-through of their analytics.

startup 346

startup board networking advice 346

TechCrunch

SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

Each founder has trained with the Startup Battlefield team to develop their pitch, craft their stories, polish their launch strategy, strengthen their go-to-market and create amazing live product demos so you can see the innovation firsthand.

disruption 100

disruption pitching startup culture 100

TechCrunch

AUGUST 18, 2023

Full TechCrunch+ articles are only available to members Use discount code TCPLUSROUNDUP to save 20% off a one- or two-year subscription “Starting a tech company today costs 99% less than it did 18 years ago when Y Combinator was started,” says Brett Calhoun, managing director and general partner at Redbud VC.

VC 81

VC frameworks mix-use pitching 81

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 22, 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.&#. VC meetings going well. 2 million in VC. I swore never to do that as a VC. What do VC’s Experience?

entrepreneurs 176

entrepreneurs startup VC real estate 176

TechCrunch

SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

Head to the agenda and plan your strategy. Visit their virtual booths, get a product demo and start a conversation. Don’t miss the expert VC guidance in these two sessions: Crafting a Pitch Deck that Can’t Be Ignored and Pitch Deck Teardown. Soak up the pitch deck teardowns and the VC presentations.

disruption 85

disruption opportunity pitching advice 85

TechCrunch

MAY 9, 2023

Now that seemingly every VC has turned their attention to the category he told TechCrunch he’s glad he’s been in it for so long and therefore will not make some of the mistakes newer entrants will. “It’s so easy to throw together a vertical AI demo,” Winfield told TechCrunch.

startup 97

startup incubation strategy SaaS 97

TechCrunch

OCTOBER 18, 2022

Expo Hall & Demo Booths. They’ll unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines and will wade through the hype to keep you up-to-date on the world of business, tech and VC. Breaking Into the Healthcare Monolith: Strategies for working with Payors and Providers with InterSystems. Investor Reception.

disruption 90

disruption frameworks health innovation 90

TechCrunch

MARCH 30, 2023

Startups and VC “Our story starts 15 years ago,” Frédéric Utzmann, founder and CEO of Effy, told Romain. Because it takes “about 15 touches for a prospect to want to see a demo,” Tong authored a TC+ guide for early-stage CEOs who need guidance around hiring and incentivizing SDR teams.

energy 99

energy venture capital strategy pitching 99

TechCrunch

FEBRUARY 9, 2023

It turns out that while later-stage investors, mostly international VC firms, grabbed headlines by writing immense checks, pre-seed and seed-stage investors were instrumental to the growth of the continent’s tech ecosystem. The most active African investors were involved in 15-20 deals, according to a report on African VC activity in 2022.

startup ecosystem 96

startup ecosystem startup incubation VC 96

TechCrunch

APRIL 13, 2022

TC Sessions: Mobility will feature speakers on the main stage, a bevy of startup exhibits, demos, networking and a live pitch-off with a pretty sweet prize. Buy your general admission or early-stage startup demo package today before prices increase. How to Land Early-Stage Funding. Turning an AV Innovation into a Product.

micromobility 82

micromobility transportation pitching ventures 82

Berkonomics

AUGUST 3, 2023

You will have more control over strategy and execution than with an outside board overseeing planning and performance. At the conclusion of the acceleration period, the company participates in a “demo day” in which institutional investors are invited to review the company in a live pitch session.

accelerator 118

accelerator mix-use finance financing 118

TechCrunch

APRIL 12, 2022

TC Sessions: Mobility will feature speakers on the main stage, a bevy of startup exhibits, demos, networking and a live pitch-off with a pretty sweet prize. Buy your general admission or early-stage startup demo package today before prices increase. How to Land Early-Stage Funding. Turning an AV Innovation into a Product.

micromobility 78

micromobility transportation pitching ventures 78

Berkonomics

JUNE 8, 2017

You will have more control over strategy and execution than with an outside board overseeing planning and performance. At the conclusion of the acceleration period, the company participates in a “demo day” in which institutional investors are invited to review the company in a live pitch session.

accelerator 106

accelerator mix-use finance financing 106

TechCrunch

AUGUST 23, 2021

million from Global Founders Capital, Pioneer Fund, NOMO VC, Liquid2 and Hyphen Capital. . Launched in March, Pry now has more than 200 customers and claims it has grown 35% month-over-month since YC’s Demo Day. What you can do is create a completely new branch with, say, a new pricing strategy.

startup 98

startup finance financing collaboration 98

TechCrunch

APRIL 15, 2022

TC Sessions: Mobility will feature speakers on the main stage, a bevy of startup exhibits, demos, networking and a live pitch-off with a pretty sweet prize. Buy your general admission or early-stage startup demo package today before prices increase. How to Land Early-Stage Funding. Turning an AV Innovation into a Product.

micromobility 71

micromobility transportation pitching ventures 71