Genuine VC

SEPTEMBER 30, 2011

Everything in startups is selling. Selling to financiers. Selling to customers. Even for consumer-facing online services, UI and product design is about selling users on what actions you’d like them to take. Recruiting new employees is one of the most important selling jobs that a Founder/CEO does in the first couple years of a startup’s life (and subsequently for that matter).

Startup 123

Startup Cofounder Employee Hiring 123

Genuine VC

JUNE 22, 2011

In the past couple years, I’ve written a couple blog posts explaining how startup offices are like faces , which can basically be summed up in an excerpt paragraph – “they [startup offices] communicate what is going on in the inside. Of course, they convey an intentional outward expression, like a face does. But they also reveal subtle cues about a company’s core, just as a face does, too… A startup’s office directly speaks to prospective & current employ

Seed Stage 123

Seed Stage Boston Incubator Portfolio 123

Genuine VC

FEBRUARY 28, 2011

With a systematic approach to identifying the hot companies in a sector , connecting to them, and then evaluating the best opportunities , hopefully you’ll be able to decide between a few offers. Even if there’s only one offer on the table, there is always room for (at least some) negotiation. This post doesn’t going into general tactical approaches of job offer negotiation, but rather focuses on the fact that with startups a significant part of compensation is related to equit

Startup 121

Startup Equity Vesting Salary 121

Genuine VC

MAY 18, 2011

Today TurningArt officially announced its $750K initial round of financing which I led for NextView Ventures and included a “who’s who” list of notable east coast angel investors like Niraj Shah & Steve Conine (Founders of CSN Stores ), Thomas Lehrman (co-Founder of Gerson Lerhman Group ), and local Boston super-angel Will Herman.

Cofounder 118

Cofounder Boston Angel Investor Founder 118

Genuine VC

OCTOBER 11, 2011

Last September I wrote a post outlining my view of the venture capital industry: increasingly evolving like the beer industry as it continues to mature. Large VC firms resemble Budweiser-type macrobrews, competing based on scale and brand with a standardized product across multiple geographies, sectors, and stages. And much like the emergence of microbreweries specializing in [.].

Venture Capital 107

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Product 107

Genuine VC

NOVEMBER 18, 2011

Over the past fifteen years on the internet we’ve seen a few waves of e-commerce innovation. From the initial humble beginnings of simply selling books online, to shopping/pricing comparison engines for electronic and other feature-laden items, to this current wave of “social commerce” which includes local merchants’ deals propagated by friends’ recommendation-driven purchases.

Engineer 101

Engineer Internet 101

Genuine VC

MAY 18, 2011

Today TurningArt officially announced its $750K initial round of financing which I led for NextView Ventures and included a “who’s who” list of notable east coast angel investors like Niraj Shah & Steve Conine (Founders of CSN Stores), Thomas Lehrman (co-Founder of Gerson Lerhman Group), and local Boston super-angel Will Herman.

Angel Investor 100

Angel Investor Cofounder Boston Finance 100

Genuine VC

FEBRUARY 9, 2011

Evaluating a startup as a prospective employee is tough, especially when you compare to VCs. Venture capitalists have an information advantage – startups are required to be fully transparent about everything before a VC invests in it during weeks if not months of diligence, but prospective employees are limited to just a few questions they ask during a series of interviews with only a few people at the company.

Startup 146

Startup Burn Rate Technical Review Down Round 146

Genuine VC

OCTOBER 11, 2011

Last September I wrote a post outlining my view of the venture capital industry: increasingly evolving like the beer industry as it continues to mature. Large VC firms resemble Budweiser-type macrobrews, competing based on scale and brand with a standardized product across multiple geographies, sectors, and stages. And much like the emergence of microbreweries specializing in craft beer, new Micro VCs (disclosure: like my own firm NextView Ventures ) are thriving by specializing along at least o

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Seed Stage Entrepreneur LP 150

Genuine VC

NOVEMBER 1, 2011

When is the right time of the year to fundraise for a venture round? There’s a lot of conventional wisdom disguised as insight which entrepreneurs follow about optimizing the timing of their fundraising. It’s correct in principle, but in reality should be used as a guide rather than as a rule. I hear all of the time that “you shouldn’t fundraise in the summer (especially August) because VCs are all on vacation.

Warrant 132

Warrant Valuation Conversion Entrepreneur 132