Genuine VC

MAY 20, 2013

(The caveat here is for later-stage venture investments, the Founder/CEO role is sometimes seen by investors as a hired role which is currently being held by someone who has been there since inception but doesn’t need to persist indefinitely.) MYTH: Entrepreneurs should avoid larger VCs in seed rounds because of “signaling risk.”

Venture Capital 244

Venture Capital Cap Table Portfolio Early Stage 244

Genuine VC

FEBRUARY 3, 2011

Once you’ve figured out whether you want to find a very early stage startup or a late stage one (the topic of my first post in this series ), the real hard work begins. On the early side, it's repeat founders coming together again or early runaway traction in an early beta that generates buzz.

Startup 148

Startup Portfolio Later Stage Hiring 148

Genuine VC

FEBRUARY 12, 2012

Addressing both of those issues can stem from the motivations as to why someone would want to put their hard-earned cash into a risky early-stage startup in the first place. And it’s not always easy to recognize the pros and cons of taking money from individual investors, or how to even seek them out in the first place.

Angel Investor 128

Angel Investor Syndicate Syndication Early Stage 128

Genuine VC

JULY 17, 2012

For the job seeker, instead of saying “I’m looking for new job opportunities,” rather communicate “I am looking for a VP Product role at a consumer-mobile startup.”

Networking 136

Networking Seed Stage Early Stage Mobile 136

Genuine VC

OCTOBER 23, 2012

A few days ago, a 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): I caught up with a friend of mine from high school that has started a new company where my skills are very pertinent.

Equity 116

Equity Cofounder Early Stage Framework 116

Genuine VC

MARCH 25, 2010

I had coffee with an entrepreneur friend the other day who is in the early stages of putting a company together, and he recounted how his informal conversations with a venture capitalist had quickly escalated into a full partner pitch in just a few weeks. Fair enough.

Early Stage 123

Early Stage Venture Capital Term Sheet Conversion 123

Genuine VC

JANUARY 17, 2011

” First and foremost, we are dedicated seed-stage investors focused on investments in internet-enabled startups. And given dynamics in the digital media space, we think that (especially along the Boston to New York corridor) there is a market need for a funding source like ours for early stage entrepreneurs.

Seed Stage 125

Seed Stage Boston Early Stage New York 125

Genuine VC

MARCH 25, 2010

I had coffee with an entrepreneur friend the other day who is in the early stages of putting a company together, and he recounted how his informal conversations with a venture capitalist had quickly escalated into a full partner pitch in just a few weeks. Fair enough.

Early Stage 121

Early Stage Venture Capital Term Sheet Conversion 121

Genuine VC

FEBRUARY 11, 2010

Extraordinary companies can’t be built without extraordinary entrepreneurs, especially at the earliest stages. I’d argue that successful founders must actually possess real a superpower to make the nearly impossible task of getting a startup off the ground become a reality.

Founder 138

Founder Early Stage Portfolio Entrepreneur 138

Genuine VC

JANUARY 5, 2010

Some VCs prefer very early stage; some VCs prefer to see more traction and invest later. Some are former operators and entrepreneurs, so they’ve experienced both sides of the table; some are career VCs who benefit from the pattern recognition of having been involved in so many startups. Go ahead – ask one.

Boston 150

Boston Early Stage Venture Capital Operations 150

Genuine VC

FEBRUARY 11, 2010

Extraordinary companies can’t be built without extraordinary entrepreneurs, especially at the earliest stages. I’d argue that successful founders must actually possess real a superpower to make the nearly impossible task of getting a startup off the ground become a reality.

Founder 100

Founder Early Stage Portfolio Entrepreneur 100

Genuine VC

JANUARY 5, 2010

Some VCs prefer very early stage; some VCs prefer to see more traction and invest later. Some are former operators and entrepreneurs, so they’ve experienced both sides of the table; some are career VCs who benefit from the pattern recognition of having been involved in so many startups. Go ahead – ask one.

Boston 101

Boston Early Stage Venture Capital Operations 101

Genuine VC

APRIL 30, 2008

After the crash at the end of the last decade, web startups clamped down to focus on their core value proposition and were forced out of necessity for survival to hone their revenue models. But for the typical web startup, thinking about a business from the mindset not of “how do we get big fast?” is a progression in thinking.

Distribution 100

Distribution Widget Viral Social Media 100

Genuine VC

APRIL 30, 2008

After the crash at the end of the last decade, web startups clamped down to focus on their core value proposition and were forced out of necessity for survival to hone their revenue models. But for the typical web startup, thinking about a business from the mindset not of “how do we get big fast?” is a progression in thinking.

Distribution 103

Distribution Widget Viral Social Media 103

Genuine VC

MARCH 3, 2008

While the shift towards doing has been already well-underway for some time, I think the construct of understanding people’s mindset as they’re using the web, and how it is changing, is useful in discerning where it’s going and where the pockets of innovation (and corresponding startup opportunity) will be.

Web 100

Web Widget Philadelphia Social Network 100

Genuine VC

MARCH 3, 2008

While the shift towards doing has been already well-underway for some time, I think the construct of understanding people’s mindset as they’re using the web, and how it is changing, is useful in discerning where it’s going and where the pockets of innovation (and corresponding startup opportunity) will be.

Web 100

Web Widget Philadelphia Social Network 100