Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 24, 2014

Working with early-stage teams : coaching, mentoring, setting strategy, rolling up sleeves: 9/10. Helping companies get to next financing round successfully: I was just beginning this phase in Sept 2010 and said so. I’ve now been involved with many other successful foll0w-on financings. Since then? The monkey on my back.

VC 387

VC venture capital ventures finance 387

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. Nearly four months ago we rebranded at Upfront Ventures.

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ventures VC strategy advice 324

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2013

Your goal should be to turn your VCs into extended members of your team to get real value from them. Understanding where your VC partner sits in their respective fund and where their fund is in the cycle of its investment lifecycle will help you understand your VCs behavior. Ask your VC to send a critical email to a contact.

board 365

board VC advice pitching 365

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2012

It represents the great majority of entrepreneurship and eschews the fairytale rags-to-VC-riches stories we so often read about in the press. She found non-traditional financing. Without this money she wouldn’t have been able to finance operations. Just not the kind you would initially read about on TechCrunch.

peer-to-peer 363

peer-to-peer entrepreneurs startup entrepreneurship 363

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 I hope that offers you insights into how companies move through the VC system.

media 373

media education VC financing 373

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 6, 2013

He had been working as a strategy consultant post b-school at Monitor and worked closely with a good family friend of mine who recommended I meet him. Monitor had a little internal VC group so he got some experience there. More like a temporary VC just to get some experience and of course we’d pay him.

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collaboration VC accelerator consulting 344

David Teten VC

FEBRUARY 17, 2025

At Coolwater Capital , the Y Combinator for VC funds, we assess this as part of our diligence process. However, forming your new fund also typically requires making important decisions about firm strategy, culture, how you make decisions, budget, data ownership, and other issues.

culture 52

culture strategy venture capital financing 52

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 11, 2016

Gregg Johnson, CEO of Invoca For the first 5 years or so after I became a VC I didn’t talk much about what I thought a VC should be excellent at since frankly I wasn’t sure. It’s easy to think the role of a VC is to have strong opinions about markets, trends, tech dynamics and so forth. The role of VC is sparring partner.

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venture capital capital ventures VC 363

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 19, 2013

I highly recommend this strategy for any company who doesn’t care about referenceable customers. But Salesforce knew how important this process is to their success so they actively encouraged the development of an ecosystem so much so that they even invested in these third-parties to make sure they were well-enough financed to survive.

startup 403

startup financing finance strategy 403

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 5, 2014

What is the right organizational strategy for a large UK conglomerate to operate more effectively? What would the right technology strategy for Telecom Italia be in 5 years. In my experience many VC’s fall into this “I’m expected to know all the answers” trap. But much of the work was unknowable.

peer-to-peer 337

peer-to-peer entrepreneurs consulting VC 337

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 12, 2014

Their strategy might be to have 25 companies of $3-7 million total invested and thus $10 million might be more risk in one deal than they typically like to have. Neither case is better or worse – they more depend on investor strategy and their outlook on the potential of the company. Thus begins the dance.

VC 336

VC investing investment entrepreneurs 336

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. I said simply, “That’s the most ambitious project I’ve seen since I became a VC.” Through many meetings discussing strategy, approach, recruiting, financing, etc.

VC 418

VC ventures leadership board 418

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 find a job as a VC scout. VC recruiters list and compensation data. How to negotiate a partner role at a VC or private equity firm. Syllabus for how to launch, manage, and invest a VC fund.

VC 128

VC venture capital accelerator ventures 128

Revolution

MAY 11, 2023

Our findings confirmed a significant shift away from the traditional tech hubs of the Bay Area, New York City, and Boston, with the proportion of seed- and early-stage VC dollars funneling into the Bay Area falling below 30% for the first time in more than a decade. Think of who you want to partner with one, five, and ten years down the line.

real estate 296

real estate energy innovation VC 296

TechCrunch

DECEMBER 10, 2021

Some might think “Silicon Valley’s share of US VC funding falls to lowest level in more than a decade” is a scary headline, but from my perspective as a resident, it’s great news. Silicon Valley’s share of US VC funding falls to lowest level in more than a decade. This momentum we’re seeing now? Walter Thompson.

VC 78

VC strategy disruption SaaS 78

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. And I had all the VCs play head games with me. I swore never to do that as a VC.

entrepreneurs 384

entrepreneurs startup VC real estate 384

TechCrunch

JANUARY 11, 2021

David Teten is founder of Versatile VC and writes periodically at teten.com and @dteten. Jamie Finney is a founding partner at Greater Colorado Venture Fund , where he blogs about his work on VC and small communities. From traditional equity VC, flexible VC borrows the option to pursue and reap the rewards of an outsized exit.

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VC funders startup venture capital 109

TechCrunch

SEPTEMBER 8, 2021

This works for some, but too often founders find themselves diluting their equity to unrecoverable portions rather than considering other financing options that allow them to hold on to their company — options like debt capital. Even if you’re growing quickly, not all founders want to set a valuation for their company.

strategy 95

strategy incumbents VC disruption 95

TechCrunch

JANUARY 11, 2022

Use alternative financing to fuel VC-level growth without diluting ownership. Investors are hungry for startups to throw their money at, but VC funding isn’t always the right option at all times or for every startup. Use alternative financing to fuel VC-level growth without diluting ownership.

culture 87

culture finance financing VC 87

TechCrunch

JANUARY 13, 2022

Coming out of stealth today with $150 million in debt financing and $11 million in seed funding, Arc is building what it describes as “a community of premium software companies” that gives SaaS startups a way to borrow, save and spend “all on a single tech platform.”

SaaS 99

SaaS finance financing startup 99

This is going to be BIG.

MAY 9, 2022

I’ve been asked by portfolio companies and plenty of others about how they should be changing their strategy given the stock market pullback and what they’ve been hearing on “VC twitter”. VCs need to invest to make their returns—and eventually, they’ll want to raise the next fund to layer more fees upon more fees. VCs gonna VC.

VC 243

VC finance financing capital 243

TechCrunch

SEPTEMBER 3, 2022

Any change is an opportunity to create leverage, and a downturn is no exception,” writes Masha Bucher, founder and general partner of early-stage VC firm, Day One Ventures. 9 strategies that will help you overcome your fear of fundraising. Crafting an XaaS customer success strategy that drives growth. Walter Thompson.

strategy 92

strategy VC economic environments ventures 92

TechCrunch

MARCH 31, 2021

Ugandan technology-enabled asset finance company Tugende today announced that it has closed $3.6 This brings Tugende’s total Series A financing to $9.9 This brings Tugende’s total Series A financing to $9.9 San Francisco and Paris-based VC firm, Partech led the round. Development Finance Corporation.

finance 103

finance financing transportation support 103

Entrepreneurs' Organization

JULY 16, 2021

Never share your exit strategy with venture capitalists. VCs want to learn the total available market and see evidence that you can grow your startup into a US$1-10 million (or more) revenue business. Use these resources to understand how your company will look when you pitch a VC or angel. Here are 11 tips EO members shared: 1.

SaaS 294

SaaS leadership accelerator entrepreneurs 294

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. But alas I must scale with businesses and make money.

board 338

board energy financing finance 338

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 1, 2016

VCs strangely never seem to weigh in on other VC funds. As an entrepreneur I never really knew what to make of VC return data. Having a huge services venture firm isn’t for everybody and it isn’t the only strategy that can succeed. But more importantly, VC returns are notoriously hard to measure at one point in time.

VC 264

VC investing investment entrepreneurs 264

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 26, 2022

2021 saw phenomenal returns for our industry and it topped off more than a decade of unprecedented VC growth. As money poured into our industry, it encouraged many VCs to write $20–30 million checks at increasingly higher and higher valuations where it is unlikely that they had substantively more proof of company traction or success.

ventures 408

ventures startup peer-to-peer venture capital 408

TechCrunch

NOVEMBER 18, 2021

All these inefficiencies, asides from being time-consuming, lead to errors and affects cash flow and finance, which is why almost nine out of 10 small businesses in the country fizzle out in the first five years. The startup’s new financing round was led by Berlin-based VC Target Global. million in pre-seed funding.

finance 122

finance financing capital SaaS 122

This is going to be BIG.

APRIL 1, 2013

That will cause some VCs to try and outbid them, causing more and more hype for mediocre deals. At the same time, the good deals that hit the traditional markets will also be overfunded--because VCs will fear companies getting financed by other means. At the same time, the talent market will heat up even more.

angel investing 277

angel investing finance financing entrepreneurs 277

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2016

Non VC Growth Rounds. The other major trend of 2012–2015 was the entrance of “non VCs” into late-stages of venture capital , which mostly consisted of hedge funds, mutual funds, corporate investors, sovereign wealth funds and even LPs doing direct deals. VC Infighting. Some called this “buying logos.”

venture capital 271

venture capital capital ventures VC 271

TechCrunch

JANUARY 21, 2022

I’ve worked at early-stage startups where we relied on our best guesses to shape product pipelines and develop marketing strategies. In this seven-step guide, you’ll find strategies and tactics for identifying key members and influencers, streamlining the communication process, and creating “a little FOMO.”

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VC incubation angel investing investing 80

TechCrunch

AUGUST 30, 2022

Embed that finance : Pezesha, a Kenyan-based fintech startup, is flush with $11 million in new capital as it seeks to bridge the gap between access to financial products and what is a “$330 billion financing deficit for the small enterprises that make up 90% of Africa’s businesses,” Annie reports. Startups and VC.

finance 83

finance financing media communities 83

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

As an early-stage VC I love this phase. This financial leader could well have come through the finance org at another startup or at a larger company but they often also can come from strategy consulting (Bain, BCG or McKinsey) or through investment banking (Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, etc.).

innovation 286

innovation startup board leadership 286

TechCrunch

FEBRUARY 8, 2022

New financial incentive to create 10 to 20 large VC funds. In order to structure a strong European ecosystem, financing is key. This time, it’s a pan-European announcement that mostly involves redirecting a small portion of Member States’ budgets toward European late-stage tech financing. Let’s start with late-stage funding.

strategy 86

strategy startup finance financing 86

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 19, 2017

As a VC, burn rate is one of the most discussed topics I have with teams who are pitching me for raising capital and it is one of the most common discussions points I have with founders in companies that I’ve backed. If you burn $200k / month you’ll be out of cash in a year. years of cash runway, which is too much for a startup.

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startup venture capital capital VC 212

TechCrunch

JANUARY 20, 2022

Dr. Abrar Chaudhury is a climate finance research fellow at Oxford Said Business School researching on topics of global environmental change, climate finance, policy implementation, sustainable development, and corporate purpose. VCs invested nearly $50 billion in climate-tech companies between 2020 and 2021. Contributor.

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financing finance VC economic development 89

Revolution

DECEMBER 6, 2023

Unpacking Proptech: A data-driven series on advancing built world innovation In Part 1 and Part 2 , I reviewed proptech financing trends, sources of capital and investor types, scaling and fundraising lessons from the past five years, and potential conflicts of interest. That brings us to one of the most exciting topics — exits.

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financing finance VC board 130