Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 29, 2014

This week I wrote about obsessive and competitive founders and how this forms the basis of what I look for when I invest. I had been thinking a lot about this recently because I’m often asked the question of “what I look for in an entrepreneur when I want to invest?” I had invested in myself for years.

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Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2015

*. If you are a 20-something tech entrepreneur you could be forgiven for thinking that seed-stage investors, Angellist Syndicates and widely available angel money always existed. Some quick highlights include: The Role of a Seed Stage VC. Jeff and his peer group have done an excellent job at creating a new category of seed-stage VC.

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Both Sides of the Table

MAY 30, 2018

One of the hardest things about the fund-raising process for entrepreneurs is that you’re trying to raise money from people who have “asymmetric information.” 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. So why does a VC ask you?

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Dream It

JANUARY 13, 2021

Learn how to pass a VC associate screen in under 10 minutes! We understand that as an entrepreneur you’ve got a lot on your plate. Alana suggests that before speaking to an associate, you gain a basic understanding of the fund’s focus and stages they invest in. These are easy tips if you know what to look out for.

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Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 8, 2014

” It’s the most common refrain I hear from investors and even entrepreneurs these days. ” I hear it when I visit LPs (the people who invest in VCs) all across the country, “Yeah, I haven’t been out there for a few years but I keep hearing that something is going on there.”

entrepreneurs 376

entrepreneurs creativity technology capital 376

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 30, 2015

I’m so tired of seeing young entrepreneurs get screwed by their angel investors on convertible notes and I know I can’t convince you not to do it so I’d like to offer one simple bit of advice to help you avoid getting screwed (at least on one part of your note). They get their full investment as a 1x liquidation preference.

entrepreneurs 381

entrepreneurs VC advice financing 381

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?

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VC peer-to-peer startup advice 279

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 5, 2012

I use George Bush vs. Al Gore as allegory and I’ve been using it with entrepreneurs for years to sink in a simple point about how to communicate with the market. Most Silicon Valley tech entrepreneurs I know are more like Al Gore. In a VC pitch this type of messaging will do just fine. It is election season.

entrepreneurs 370

entrepreneurs pitching startup education 370

This is going to be BIG.

JUNE 16, 2014

How long does it take from first meeting a VC to getting cash in the bank? I went back across the 21 investments I''ve made both at First Round and at Brooklyn Bridge Ventures --a period that dates back to January 28, 2010, when I closed on Backupify. That''s an interesting question. So what''s taking so long?

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Both Sides of the Table

MAY 4, 2013

As a VC you want to feel like you have “proprietary sources” of deal flow. Because entrepreneurs often went to lawyers at their earliest stages to get their company registration done. Because entrepreneurs often went to lawyers at their earliest stages to get their company registration done. I attended events.

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This is going to be BIG.

MARCH 31, 2014

In my career, I''ve done 19 investments in NYC and 1 in Boston, and I''ll admit that I felt like I couldn''t help the Boston company nearly as much. 3) Talk to entrepreneurs they''ve backed before to see who really adds value. VC is a service industry and the best investors are always looking for ways to help.

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VC pitching venture capital capital 364

This is going to be BIG.

OCTOBER 3, 2016

At least, that's how a lot of entrepreneurs feel. 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. We're "kingmakers" whose investment has the "Midas Touch." VC, in large part, is done by people with access to money. So what gives?

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Revolution

FEBRUARY 13, 2023

Since the beginning of modern venture capital investing — a relatively nascent asset class — the industry has been biased toward funding what it knows best: founders with familiar demographics (white, male) in familiar geographies (Silicon Valley).

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innovation investment investing pitching 264

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2018

If you truly believe that you, your company and your products are exceptional and your company will be valuable then you’re actually doing them a FAVOR by helping them invest in your startup. If you don’t believe in your bones that you’re amazing then it’s no wonder you don’t want to sell them on making the investment.” Same with VC.

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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. Bowery Capital).

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VC peer-to-peer board entrepreneurs 356

Both Sides of the Table

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. This is a big news day at Upfront Ventures. The idea immediately resonated.

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ventures investment investing board 340

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 9, 2014

I often talk about what I’m looking for when I meet with an entrepreneur. Above all else I’m looking for a genuine passion for what the entrepreneur is doing. You can sense when it is a “mission” for this entrepreneur to succeed and she will continue the journey even if success isn’t easy or immediate.

peer-to-peer 373

peer-to-peer VC pitching entrepreneurs 373

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 14, 2016

I recently read a blog post by Beezer Clarkson, Managing Director of Sapphire Ventures about why entrepreneurs should care about from whom their VC funds raise their capital. There are a lot of things I think entrepreneurs should care about when raising from a VC: How big or small their fund is? I’m still not sure.

entrepreneurs 237

entrepreneurs VC mentorship strategy 237

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.

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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. whether they invest or not. The VC will smile, thank you, and later pass. The key is WHAT you send.

VC 261

VC pitching advice entrepreneurs 261

This is going to be BIG.

JUNE 23, 2014

When I turn down the opportunity to invest in a startup, I really turn it down. Sugarcoating isn''t helpful to entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs are sending me back notes saying "They turned it down, but I''m not sure why." You''d rather know exactly why I didn''t do a deal than scratch your head over some opaque "VC speak".

pitching 351

pitching VC venture capital opportunity 351

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 24, 2015

By now most of you know that Chris Sacca invested in what is now thought to be one of the best performing VC funds of all time having invested an $8.4 We spoke about how we both like to back entrepreneurs with a healthy chip on their shoulders and a desire to stick ones middle finger up at the establishment.

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VC venture capital energy culture 334

This is going to be BIG.

NOVEMBER 4, 2018

Most people don’t think about it, but VCs need to raise money from high net worth individuals and institutions to have the money to put to work. These groups are much more likely to be more conservative than your average NYC or SF tech entrepreneur. (I When you get an investment from Brooklyn Bridge Ventures—you get me.

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investment investing communities founder 254

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 27, 2014

Scott and I agree on nearly everything: The VC structure is changing and there appears to be a bifurcation into small & large VCs with an impact on “traditionally sized” VCs. The only point we didn’t seem totally aligned on was what we happening to the “middle of the VC market.”

VC 309

VC SaaS strategy ventures 309

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 16, 2013

I’m very excited to be finally be able to announce that this week we’ve added Sam Rosen to our ranks at GRP Partners in the role of entrepreneurs-in-residence – EIR. It’s the first EIR that we’ve had in the years that I’ve been with the firm and I hope will be the start of our investment in this program.

pitching 372

pitching advice VC entrepreneurs 372

Dream It

FEBRUARY 14, 2020

With our 2020 Robotics + AI sessions event on the horizon in early March, we’re diving back into the sector to learn about the attributes of construction attracting robotics VCs the most and which types of startups VCs are actually writing checks for in 2020. How much time are you spending on construction robotics right now?

construction 259

construction investment investing opportunity 259

This is going to be BIG.

DECEMBER 28, 2013

The biggest question I think VC''s face right now is whether or not, in the future, the best founders will look and act like the best founders of the past. If you are a venture capital investor and you''re not preparing yourself to succeed in a more diverse ecosystem of entrepreneurs, you''re just going to get left behind.

venture capital 398

venture capital VC ventures capital 398

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 3, 2013

Let me start by saying that Clayton is one of the most influential people on my thoughts about markets that led to both the concept behind my first startup and my main theses in investing. We talked about how business school historically hasn’t positioned entrepreneurs well for success. Some money out of every investment.

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education disruption entrepreneurship venture capital 403

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. Wouldn’t we be a bit hypocritical if we talked with entrepreneurs about innovation and change but we weren’t willing to take it on ourselves? We also saw that the same types of entrepreneurs were repeatedly getting funded.

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ventures venture capital advice VC 343

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 We strive to invest in companies that are consciously working to create a diverse leadership team?—?one Ours is: upfront.com/inclusion.

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VC leadership mentorship entrepreneurs 284

This is going to be BIG.

APRIL 23, 2012

I'm often the last one to leave an event, held back by the most persistant of entrepreneurs trying to squeeze as much advice as they can out of me. I've only recently started leading investments a little over two years ago. I've only recently started leading investments a little over two years ago. I mean, what do I know?

advice 412

advice startup VC strategy 412

Both Sides of the Table

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

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. Hamet is a 3x entrepreneur and also former EIR with True Ventures.

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ventures VC strategy advice 324

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 12, 2014

They often create the biggest tensions between investors who are investing at different stages in the business. These tensions seep out in some angels or seed funds publicly or semi-privately deriding later-stage VCs for their “bad” behavior. would you want to give up the right to invest in subsequent rounds?

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VC investment investing entrepreneurs 336

A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

MARCH 28, 2022

So I saw this tweet by Semil Shah yesterday: A friend who works in an industry far from tech startups & VC asked what would be the single article I’d share to read on each topic. It is also true that there are good deals and good entrepreneurs that can’t find anyone to invest in them. That is a failure of the system.

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VC entrepreneurs venture capital strategy 261

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. Contrast that with a VC conversation I had.

peer-to-peer 341

peer-to-peer VC entrepreneurs support 341

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 27, 2012

Think USV is only invested around Union Square in NYC? And in many communities that are new to building tech startups I’ve found that a lot of angel money is not very sophisticated at investing in startup companies. Think the next big startup can’t come from Dallas, TX? Think again. Angry Birds? Local press matters.

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communities startup venture capital capital 378