Genuine VC

MARCH 14, 2012

While Microsoft is touting that over 350 companies are working with Microsoft on custom Kinect applications ranging from in the medical field to manufacturing, I suspect that the real first killer-app outside gaming for the Kinect won’t far too far afield from its current install base.

Search 100

Search Boston Seed Stage Seattle 100

Genuine VC

SEPTEMBER 28, 2015

The rationale behind our investment isn’t built upon my one lone VC customer experience. Both are online marketing gurus with a rich background in multi-category customer acquisition at BuyerZone, TripAdvisor, and Cayan. Eric and Brian are the perfect duo to make this company a success.

Syndicate 100

Syndicate Syndication Lead Generation Acquisition 100

Genuine VC

NOVEMBER 18, 2011

CustomMade founders Mike Salguero and Seth Rosen have already built a truly exceptional service – their web marketplace connects consumers interested in purchasing custom goods with thousands of custom makers who can specially create them.

Web 134

Web Portfolio Security Engineer 134

Genuine VC

AUGUST 3, 2010

During the seed stage where Micro VCs invest, there are three primary diligence factors: Team and individuals – The information discovery here involves conversations with former coworkers, cofounders, partners, investors, and customers. Call initial customers/ reactions.

Seed Stage 123

Seed Stage Cofounder Metrics Forecast 123

Genuine VC

JANUARY 13, 2014

While a good portion of the benefit from these programs is meaningful mentorship honing their businesses and developing customers, a disproportionate amount of effort is devoted to positioning and synchronizing the fundraising. One salient showcase of this theory in action is the successful accelerator model.

Term Sheet 206

Term Sheet Venture Capital Valuation Portfolio 206

Genuine VC

MARCH 8, 2012

In a business where the entrepreneur is the customer of a venture capital firm, good customer-service (so to speak) is paramount. A VC doesn’t like to even entertain the thought of “missing out” on a good opportunity if it isn’t required. The first and second reasons, while I can understand, I think are largely inexcusable.

Venture Capital 167

Venture Capital Portfolio Conversion Partner 167

Genuine VC

JUNE 18, 2013

However, the consistent challenge which we’re observing in the mobile ecosystem is acquiring customer distribution. And we’re thematically making new investments in startups which ride this momentous wave, like our two most-recently announced ones in Sunrise and tapCommerce.

Mobile 131

Mobile Web Boston Distribution 131

Genuine VC

JULY 17, 2012

In seeking new customers, instead of saying “I’m looking for people to buy my product which does XYZ,” rather communicate “My product which does XYZ most resonates most with individuals in ABC roles at companies with DEF profiles that face GHI problems.”

Networking 136

Networking Seed Stage Early Stage Mobile 136

Genuine VC

FEBRUARY 11, 2010

These founders surely have a degree of gut feel about how the future will unfold, but more importantly they’re in tune to be flexible to changing market conditions, feedback from customers, and reactions from competitors. Spontaneous creation ( Animation ). Some people have the aptitude to literally create something out of nothing.

Founder 138

Founder Early Stage Portfolio Entrepreneur 138

Genuine VC

FEBRUARY 3, 2011

Yet the company hasn’t figured out product-market fit yet, hasn’t figured out its customer proposition, doesn’t have revenue… it doesn’t have traction. And that derisking is only for 12 +/- 6 months. Push yourself hard to ask why not a founder now?

Startup 241

Startup Later Stage Angel Financing Seed Stage 241

Genuine VC

MARCH 8, 2012

In a business where the entrepreneur is the customer of a venture capital firm, good customer-service (so to speak) is paramount. A VC doesn’t like to even entertain the thought of “missing out” on a good opportunity if it isn’t required. The first and second reasons, while I can understand, I think are largely inexcusable.

Venture Capital 103

Venture Capital Portfolio Conversion Partner 103

Genuine VC

OCTOBER 2, 2012

It doesn’t matter the reason – a competitive funding announcement, a customer loss, a bad month of results – with more time, the increased chances of more emerging mitigating factors to getting the deal completely finalized. Obviously, only the latter is within the locus of control of everyone involved.

Term Sheet 162

Term Sheet Founder Vesting Due Diligence Syndicate 162

Genuine VC

FEBRUARY 11, 2010

These founders surely have a degree of gut feel about how the future will unfold, but more importantly they’re in tune to be flexible to changing market conditions, feedback from customers, and reactions from competitors. Spontaneous creation ( Animation ). Some people have the aptitude to literally create something out of nothing.

Founder 100

Founder Early Stage Portfolio Entrepreneur 100

Genuine VC

JUNE 12, 2012

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 biggest in our space; our investors are [three top Silicon Valley firms].But By almost any measure, [our company] is doing phenomenally well.

Vesting 112

Vesting Silicon Valley Startup New York 112

Genuine VC

JANUARY 3, 2013

Just as a small community newspaper or a special-interest magazine didn’t need significant amounts of capital to become sustainable, so too today with many of the recently seeded startups which have focused services for a specific target audience or customer-set.

Seed Stage 166

Seed Stage Venture Capital Audience New York 166

Genuine VC

SEPTEMBER 30, 2011

Selling to customers. Everything in startups is selling. Selling to financiers. Even for consumer-facing online services, UI and product design is about selling users on what actions you’d like them to take.

Startup 123

Startup Cofounder Employee Hiring 123

Genuine VC

MAY 5, 2015

We felt we should be more helpful than that, and so we’ve built a few features into this program, not least of which steps outside our tech-happy world to involve a customized, personal intro between both sides. That human touch has proved invaluable to all involved. Warm intros are how people begin most of their valuable relationships.

Portfolio 100

Portfolio Startup Boston Seed Stage 100

Genuine VC

JANUARY 15, 2010

I often hear stories about people meeting a cofounder of their company at WebInno, finding a customer, or connecting with a new employer. I write it twice (and at it to a list of seven) because this one is the most important. Events spark magic when the right people go. All of those stories make the work in organizing the event worth it.

Silicon Valley 208

Silicon Valley Boston DC Cofounder 208

Genuine VC

FEBRUARY 3, 2011

mass-customization ecommerce, mobile-local platforms, technology-enabled education), identify all of the startups within your geography, and network to anyone within the company to find out their hiring pace. DOs for a systematic rather than haphazard startup job search: Pick a specific vertical or theme (e.g.

Startup 148

Startup Portfolio Later Stage Hiring 148

Genuine VC

JUNE 22, 2011

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 employees, customers, and investors… there isn’t one “right way” that companies’ offices should look. Quite the contrary.

Seed Stage 123

Seed Stage Boston Incubator Portfolio 123

Genuine VC

APRIL 30, 2008

could be the next big thing , especially given that there’s real potential customers willing to pay real dollars in that domain. And even beyond the media front, there’s a renewed sense of optimism that the Enterprise2.0 Of course, with any trend, there are notable exceptions.

Distribution 103

Distribution Widget Viral Social Media 103

Genuine VC

APRIL 30, 2008

could be the next big thing , especially given that there’s real potential customers willing to pay real dollars in that domain. And even beyond the media front, there’s a renewed sense of optimism that the Enterprise2.0 Of course, with any trend, there are notable exceptions.

Distribution 100

Distribution Widget Viral Social Media 100

Genuine VC

JANUARY 15, 2010

I often hear stories about people meeting a cofounder of their company at WebInno, finding a customer, or connecting with a new employer. I write it twice (and at it to a list of seven) because this one is the most important. Events spark magic when the right people go. All of those stories make the work in organizing the event worth it.

Silicon Valley 103

Silicon Valley Boston DC Cofounder 103

Genuine VC

JULY 23, 2007

Social software (in its broadest sense) coupled with the principles of word-of-mouth marketing will provide for successfully reaching potential customers via the most trusted source – people they already know. Marketers are increasingly concerned about truly engaging with consumers as the effectiveness of traditional advertising erodes.

Green 100

Green Bandwidth Startup Venture Capital 100

Genuine VC

MARCH 25, 2010

I completely agree that the best way to test market demand for a business is with customers, and spending too much time with investors early on can be unproductive.

Early Stage 123

Early Stage Venture Capital Term Sheet Conversion 123

Genuine VC

MARCH 25, 2010

I completely agree that the best way to test market demand for a business is with customers, and spending too much time with investors early on can be unproductive.

Early Stage 121

Early Stage Venture Capital Term Sheet Conversion 121

Genuine VC

JULY 1, 2014

Subsequently, through learning first-hand via their own experimental shopping app called TapSave -and- attending to conferences to specifically speak to potential customers about painpoints, they focused in on an initial offering which was true to their ad-tech backgrounds. Prioritize the right customers.

Founder 142

Founder Syndicate Syndication Mobile 142

Genuine VC

OCTOBER 11, 2011

But if the VC market is really resembling the beer market, what does that mean for the customers, entrepreneurs? Those venture firms firms caught in the middle without the scale of a large firm and without the focused strategy of a Micro will continue to wane. More brewers = more sources of capital.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Seed Stage Entrepreneur LP 150