Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 15, 2010

But I had an hour to kill before lunch and I was on California Street in Palo Alto. I generally try not to stalk people I don’t know when they announce they’re in town, but as a fellow VC (and a partner in Southern California’s largest fund), I felt we had a legitimate reason to connect.

Social Network 347

Social Network Networking Southern California Term Sheet 347

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 12, 2011

This week I sat down with Chris Dixon, co-founder / CEO of Hunch and Partner at Founder Collective in the most recent installment of This Week in Venture Capital. The firm focuses on early stage companies in the Northeast but occasionally invests in California startups.

Technical Review 281

Technical Review Artificial Inteligence Cofounder API 281

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 20, 2011

During the first year of the fund they took forty-eight trips to California! Office Hours – Two or three partners post a sign-up sheet to meet with entrepreneurs. These partners travel to a city and take ten minute pitches from the entrepreneurs. In 2008 they raised a much larger fund $132.5

Pre-Money Valuation 284

Pre-Money Valuation Technical Review Cofounder Cram Down 284

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 13, 2013

00:00:06] DEREK: Tell us about growing up in Northern California, tell us about what your dad did, what your mom did, and your family a little bit. [00:00:52] I grew up in Northern California. ” Well, I really wanted to be a general partner but there weren’t a lot of general partner openings.

Cofounder 337

Cofounder Technical Cofounder Startup San Diego 337

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 4, 2014

At a young age I watched her open a bakery, which in the early 80′s was ahead of its time in serving croissants, gourmet coffee and high-end, homemade cakes, cheesecakes and french pastries for our small town of Sacramento, California (Carmichael, if you know the area). She started it with a partner, 50-50.

Founder 340

Founder Sacramento Cofounder Technical Review 340

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 5, 2014

I thought I was pretty sell suited to answer that question because having grown up in Northern California but lived and worked in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain & Japan over 11 years I had seen quite a few societies and work environments. Now they are partners.

Technical Review 417

Technical Review South Korea San Francisco Software Review 417

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 10, 2015

My partner Greg Bettinelli is an avid sports fan who throughout his career has developed an expert understanding in online ticketing (at eBay has was a champion of the StubHub acquisition) and online marketing. I began playing Fantasy Football in 1993 before it was even a big thing.

Southern California 150

Southern California Philadelphia Mobile Stock 150

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 25, 2014

Kleiner has taken a lot of s**t in the press over the past few years and as someone who has known many of the partners and staff over the years I find almost all of it unwarranted. So I hate to see the firm saddled with the remnant thoughts of its long retired founding partner. Investment Partner Megan Quinn weighed in publicly.

San Francisco 417

San Francisco Silicon Valley Germany Sacramento 417

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 15, 2010

Having grown up in Northern California and living near a Japanese family when I was really young, I always had a fascination with Japan and wanted to live there. If I asked and my partner predictably told me “no&# then the only way to go would be to directly defy his instructions – never a great idea in business.

San Francisco 379

San Francisco Europe Japan Switzerland 379

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 25, 2010

. “Yes&# was given to me by one of my favorite angel investor / seed VC’s to work with – John Greathouse of Rincon Venture Partners and author of the blog InfoChachkie that you should check out because it is filled with great info from a guy who has been a very successful operator.

Silicon Valley 293

Silicon Valley Technical Review Southern California Angel Investor 293

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 30, 2010

I’m very pleased today to announce that I invested, on behalf of GRP Partners, in Burstly alongside Rincon Venture Partners , an early stage VC in Southern California whith whom we love to work (and were our co-investors on RingRevenue ).

Mobile 282

Mobile Management Southern California Application Development 282

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 21, 2020

million people EMPLOYED in California. How Do I Encourage Dissent Between Amongst the Partners? We are willing to underwrite deals where a partner has conviction (usually with at least a second supporting it) even if some others disagree. The reality is that when unemployment sinks in demand is likely to get worse. And only 8.7

Marketing 263

Marketing Valuation Churn Rate Balance Sheet 263

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 17, 2010

so I feel I have an unbiased appreciation for BOTH Californias. Never say never – GRP Partners is actually looking very closely at a company in its A round that is raising a large sum of money. my firm, GRP Partners, was an investor). Go on, have a bit of fun down memory lane!). I’m sure others have, too.

Silicon Valley 290

Silicon Valley Technology Los Angeles Southern California 290

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 4, 2012

It was a strange contrast for me having grown up in Northern California where failure seemed to be a badge of honor. 33:15 Thank you to Detroit Venture Partners for supporting the show. 1:13:30 Thank you to Walker Corporate Law and Detroit Venture Partners for supporting the show. Everyone give them a big thanks @dvptweets.

Community 350

Community Silicon Valley Detroit Chicago 350

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 7, 2011

Seth saw friends move out to California, go to school, and launch Plaxo. Brands like Samsung, LG, and Dunkin Donuts pay Meebo to advertise to users on our partner sites. Although both parents are educators, his father a professor and his mother the Commissioner of Education in Connecticut, they did not teach him business. For Meebo 1.3%

Connecticut 286

Connecticut Cofounder Silicon Valley Web 286

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 9, 2012

I was here to see one of our LPs (limited partners are the people who invest money in VC funds) called Fort Washington. They’ve been a long-term investor in our fund – GRP Partners – and it was important to me to spend time with them in their home market and meet the people with whom they deal locally. I hate being away from them.

Houston 364

Houston Dallas Los Angeles Chicago 364

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 1, 2016

In fact, 50% of our investments are in Southern California, from Santa Barbara to San Diego. We try to recruit investment partners who bring startup operating experience. We’re a national venture capital investment firm but with our roots firmly in Los Angeles. That’s healthy.

Leadership 150

Leadership Southern California San Diego Hiring 150

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 29, 2012

Nate Redmond is the managing partner of Rustic Canyon Partners – he’s probably one of the youngest managing partners of a major fund you’ll meet. And no wonder, lately he and his partners are on a tear, investing out of their $200+ million VC fund. Hope you’re enjoying the show.

Southern California 279

Southern California Detroit Los Angeles California 279

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 15, 2010

– I spoke about GRP’s recent exit of Ulta in which we returned $320 million to our limited partners. In the first 10-15 minutes of show I answered the following questions: - What is my greatest exit? Yes, that was the value that we actually returned as opposed to the value of Ulta. Great exit. -

Southern California 210

Southern California Venture Capital Seed Stage Angel Investor 210

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 4, 2011

I have always had a strong affinity for Japanese culture, perhaps because I grew up in Northern California. At least not in California. He thought about the plight of his long-time partner and her desire to spend time with her family. I had been living in Europe since the start of 1995, most recently in London. Nobody cared.

America 290

America South America Honduras Sacramento 290

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 28, 2018

My partner Greg Bettinelli gave me the idea for the title of this post because he ran a breakout session at the Upfront Summit titled “How to Out Amazon, Amazon.” In Venice, California they opened a “Parachute Hotel” that let consumers experience the product for a night in a world-class location.

Curation 296

Curation Los Angeles Differentiation Channel 296

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2012

And she didn’t start her company in Northern California. She now recognizes this was a mistake and that getting a technical partner early in the company can have an enormous impact on your chances of success. Tracy DiNunzio isn’t your typical Silicon Valley startup founder. She hasn’t raised any venture capital.

Silicon Valley 363

Silicon Valley Cofounder Entrepreneur Startup 363

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 15, 2010

You bump into the person you’ve always wanted to chat with or your perfect business development partner who can “make” you. My partner was in product management at Demand Media. I’m a partner at the largest VC fund in Southern California. Most are squandered. What are you going to say in the moment?

Elevator Pitch 315

Elevator Pitch Southern California Media Hosting 315

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. The 3-year recidivism rate in California for comparison is more than 50%.

California 150

California Programming Private Equity Equity 150

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 17, 2012

So many had names of partners (Kleiner Perkins) or local favorite identifiers like trees (Sequoia). I thought about some Southern California angle, because this is where > 50% of my investments are. Some Other Thoughts on Branding / Positioning. Think about venture capital. And for me.

Community 304

Community Los Angeles Startup Silicon Valley 304

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 4, 2009

In California that averages around 42.5% And let’s say that it took 4 years to exit – that’s $31,250 / year. Now … these are stock options and not restricted stock so you’ll likely be taxed at a long-term capital gains rate. BTW, this ignores liquidation preferences which actually mean you’ll earn less.

Stock Options 418

Stock Options Stock Liquidation Preference Option Pool 418

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MAY 28, 2010

If I’m interviewing and your resume doesn’t say “California&# on it somewhere I’ll always ask, “did you grow up in CA? Get your partner bedded down and comfortable with the place without the stress of your new work hours. I can understand the logic. Do you have family here? Choose life. Move there.

Los Angeles 326

Los Angeles San Francisco Chicago Investment Bankers 326

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 11, 2012

But the times where we took weekend trips further in Baja California or Spring Break week-long trips to Mazatlan. Your goal is to understand the needs of your partner and create win/win outcomes where both sides are incentivized to continue to want to work hard together – now and into the future.

Mexico 305

Mexico Term Sheet Hiring Search 305

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 17, 2010

Walk into any Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf in Southern California and you can’t miss their digital screens. In joining Launchpad he’s agreed to move here, which is a natural fit given their emerging set of media partners. Circle Street – Circle Street was founded by Alex Nocifera who’s first company was Ripple TV.

Los Angeles 276

Los Angeles Stealth Securities and Exchange Commission Southern California 276

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 8, 2009

I just completed an exercise where I went out to hire a new associate for my VC firm, GRP Partners. high or high school with a PC in California in the early 80’s. But there are plenty of partners and successful entrepreneurs who don’t have MBAs. I had to laugh a bit reading it.

NPV 337

NPV Chicago Balance Sheet Database 337

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 3, 2010

I love working with Aussies because their outlook on life seems very similar to what I grew up with in California. But also to focus on somebody who is interested in your area – not just the partner you can most easily get intro’d to. This is part of my series on Startup Advice. Pretty laid back and non-hierarchic.

Sales 314

Sales Non-Compete Campaign California 314

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 16, 2012

And I also now have to raise money myself, but this time from bigger institutions that our industry calls LPs (limited partners). Partners make investment decisions. Also recognize that WITHIN a VC you have partners who focus on different areas. Most VC partners do 2-3 deals per year max (except for the higher volume shops).

Developer 366

Developer Silicon Valley PR Las Vegas 366

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 17, 2009

I don’t know 100% that this is true in all 50 states (if any lawyers read this please put notes in comments section) but I’m pretty darn sure that this is statuary law in California. Treat this person like your true partner where you share all information with them and involving them in the decision-making processes.

Founder Vesting 365

Founder Vesting Intellectual Property Stock Options IP 365

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 15, 2011

The VC partner, somebody I greatly respect said, “Yeah, we like Gil and what they’re doing. My fund – at $200 million – is the largest in Southern California. The LA / Southern California market has many people who are now on their second and third companies. LA investors are more pragmatic.

Silicon Valley 313

Silicon Valley Southern California Los Angeles Semantic 313

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 6, 2015

But we do 50% of our deals in Southern California from San Diego to Santa Barbara and we think that’s part of what makes us special. We’d rather partner with those firms.” We even do some international deals in London or Finland. If you’re looking for the 81st firm on Sand Hill Road we’re not that.

Sales 150

Sales Silicon Valley Las Vegas Southern California 150

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 12, 2010

This was a really fun episode for me because Mo is informed and knowledgeable on so many topics and being a Boston / NYC VC it gave us so much to talk about relative to just covering California VCs. Current round: $31.0mm in Series C by Insight Venture Partners (Jeff Lieberman). Total: $41.0mm plus undisclosed Series A.

Venture Capital 217

Venture Capital Los Angeles Oakland Asia 217

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 10, 2011

Thomas and his partner lived off of credit cards, and used crappy data centers and open source software (LAMP). The #1 lesson learned: having a business partner (50/50) is just like a marriage (although Thomas has never been married). Looking back, what did you learn and what would you have done differently? (0:14:15).

Angel Investor 302

Angel Investor Cofounder Southern California .Net 302