June, 2012

Genuine VC

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What A VC Orders for Breakfast Says

Genuine VC

One of the things that surprised me most about venture capital when I got into the business is how much VCs seem to like to meet for breakfast. VCs usually typically reserve dinners for portfolio companies’ CEOs and board members. And “doing lunch” doesn’t happen that often because VCs don’t like going out of the office mid-day much. But breakfast for venture capitalists is an open free-for-all for all sorts of networking meetings and conversations.

Portfolio 248
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To Leave or Not to Leave as Your Startup Grows

Genuine VC

A few weeks ago, a very good friend who works at a growing startup emailed me with the following question (in which I’ve masked just a few of the identifying details): What does it mean when almost all of a startup’s early employees have left the company? By almost any measure, [our company] is doing phenomenally well. We’re coming up on our 5th birthday; we have ~250 employees with offices in New York, SF, and London; we have contracts with 70 large customers, including most of the

Vesting 112
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Deciphering the Code of Your VC Conversation Location

Genuine VC

A lot has been written about a formal “VC Pitch” meeting with advice about how to handle those interactions with venture capitalists. But not all conversations with venture capitalists are formal pitches, nor are they expected to be. And sometimes it’s unclear if it’s a pitch meeting or not. Of course it’s productive to follow the mantra of “always be selling” in business interactions no matter what your business is, entrepreneur or not.