Both Sides of the Table

JULY 29, 2010

We received so much positive feedback from our This Week in Venture Capital show walking through valuation calculations & term sheets that we decided to do a Q&A show this week to address topics that entrepreneurs want to learn about. on the entrepreneur side of the table) when I raised at too high of a price. This is wrong.

Venture Capital 282

Venture Capital Term Sheet Valuation Stock Options 282

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 13, 2013

My mom was an entrepreneur – she was kind of my inspiration for entrepreneurship. And no one could see me as anything but a startup guy, so I started a second company and called myself a serial entrepreneur. Then everyone just started calling me a serial entrepreneur. As an entrepreneur you have to suspend disbelief.

Cofounder 337

Cofounder Technical Cofounder San Diego Startup 337

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2009

Well … I have had many late nights and I really didn’t contemplate writing many blog postings this month because I spent November in this interesting venture capital / fund raising dance involving lots of late night sessions reviewing legal documents, rewriting business plans and preparing for pitches. Folksonomy. Free product.

Venture Capital 274

Venture Capital Term Sheet San Diego Viral 274

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 16, 2011

It’s the entrepreneur’s equivalent of “ 10,000 hours.&#. If you wait until you need to fill somebody in a roll you’re losing valuable time as an entrepreneur. It should stick in your head as a metaphor for networking. For getting outside of your comfort zone. Are you looking for great engineers? Wake up early.

Dividend 410

Dividend Deal Flow Hiring Advertising 410

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 15, 2016

On September 10th of this year I spent an entire day in California State Prison with people who had committed felonies and worked with them on business plans to help them create legal enterprise upon their release as part of Defy Ventures 6-month training program. I hadn’t cried this much maybe since childhood.

California 150

California Programming Private Equity Equity 150

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 18, 2009

This is part of my new series on what makes an entrepreneur successful. I originally posted it on VentureHacks , one of my favorite websites for entrepreneurs. Resilience is one of the tell tale signs of an entrepreneur. Ask any entrepreneur who has been through the recent washout that began in September 2008.

Germany 298

Germany Entrepreneur Merger Los Angeles 298

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 5, 2011

Become a resource for entrepreneurs to have access to the lawyers, accountants, real-estate professionals and other people with whom our entrepreneurs work. But we didn’t want to have a “submit your business plan” form. Demonstrate the deep relationships we have with the CEO’s with whom we work. That’s here.

Early Stage 260

Early Stage Lead Investor Portfolio Partner 260

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 11, 2010

.&# If you’re interested in that topic the link also has a short video I did on the topic for Fox Business News. I’ve seen too many entrepreneurs try to do things on the cheap. It should pop out of your business plan. - Businesses usually fail for the exact same reason – they run out of money.

Venture Capital 319

Venture Capital Startup Silicon Valley Warrant 319

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 21, 2014

I’d like to do a few posts on what life looks like on the way up and perhaps how to keep your head on straight and avoid drinking your own Kool Aid because as I often advise entrepreneurs on irrational exuberance, “ In a strong wind even turkeys can fly.” Have sales bonus plans based on more than just sales targets.

Marketing 354

Marketing Incubator Turkey Metrics 354

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 1, 2015

Let me give you some examples I see of fauxmentum: In the SaaS world I see many business plans where companies have achieved 100-300% year-over-year growth and this is truly impressive. But can sensible management team even do anything about it? Rational investors can’t sit out of the market entirely so what can they do?

Balance Sheet 150

Balance Sheet eCommerce Venture Capital Acquisition 150

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 10, 2010

For entrepreneurs who want to learn about how to work with investment banks, how to position yourself to be acquired and what the IPO markets look like this is the episode to watch. They have relationships that are hard for entrepreneurs to build. Online clothing exchange for busy people looking to save money. Watch the show!

IPO 242

IPO Venture Capital Private Placement Cofounder 242

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 3, 2010

Scaling a business is often about the boring stuff that doesn’t excite the early-stage entrepreneurs. Just as with product releases – our strategy was to put the process out there, monitor what worked and change the things that did not. And that’s kind of fitting. Some people excel at rules & process.

Non-Compete 296

Non-Compete Sales Hiring France 296

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 11, 2010

The problem is that when you brand something that will be interpreting differently by people who weren’t part of the zeitgeist when the memo went out about what “fail fast&# meant then we educate the next generation of entrepreneurs to do things the wrong way. How do I know this? It’s quick and easy.

Silicon Valley 308

Silicon Valley Bankruptcy Intellectual Property Reputation 308