Genuine VC

FEBRUARY 12, 2012

Along those lines, the world of individual angel investors is easier for entrepreneurs to navigate when you can recognize the category which he falls into based on their incentives and actions. This can benefit entrepreneurs because of a one-pitch-many-investors process, but can be challenging too. The Fellow-Entrepreneur Angel.

Angel Investor 257

Angel Investor Syndicate Syndication Early Stage 257

Genuine VC

MAY 29, 2014

It seems as though it’s been talked about ad nauseum in the blogosphere, but we see first-hand as entrepreneurs we’re investing in at NextView Ventures work through building their seed round syndicates, it really is a tough issue. more likely to succeed) entrepreneurs having the opportunity to take a larger VC’s capital at the seed round.

Syndicate 166

Syndicate Syndication Seed Stage Valuation 166

Genuine VC

JANUARY 13, 2014

I’ve commonly heard entrepreneurs recite some version of “I don’t want to waste too much time fundraising because it will distract me from building my business, so I’ll only talk to a few potential funders.” The primary point of leverage which entrepreneurs can exert to counteract above is scarcity in the round.

Term Sheet 206

Term Sheet Venture Capital Valuation Portfolio 206

Genuine VC

JANUARY 31, 2012

In that corpus, a while ago I blogged about seven mistakes that entrepreneurs often make during a pitch session.) And great entrepreneurs thrive with the possibilities that a blank canvas provides. There are plenty of places throughout the blogosphere which talk about the typical VC meeting, delivering both advice and tips. (In

Forecast 215

Forecast Framework Conversion Founder 215

Genuine VC

APRIL 29, 2013

all talk about the best way for entrepreneurs to optimize their fundraising process with the end-goal of receiving a term sheet. Unfortunately, that’s an oversimplification which should be recognized by savvy entrepreneurs. Agreement of key terms between entrepreneur + VC firm.

Term Sheet 150

Term Sheet Valuation Partner Conversion 150

Genuine VC

DECEMBER 3, 2014

The benefits have been touted previously : an anchor for attracting and retaining talent in Boston, as well as a breeding ground for the next set of great Boston entrepreneurs and founders. Already, a handful of groups have spun out to start new ventures, like the teams at Driftt , Bedrock Data , Grokky , and NextView-backed InsightSquared.

Boston 279

Boston IPO B2B Cofounder 279

Genuine VC

DECEMBER 17, 2012

Most first and second pitch meetings with VCs are fairly lopsided, where entrepreneurs spend the bulk of the time sharing their businesses, rather than being a true exchange of both parties in developing a relationship. Once a venture fund’s life is entering the fourth year and beyond, the situation can change.

Venture Capital 196

Venture Capital Conversion Search Entrepreneur 196

Genuine VC

MARCH 8, 2012

When I first started in the VC business in 2004, I usually shared some reactions with entrepreneurs whenever we passed on pursuing an investment, but I admittedly erred towards communicating generic thoughts that were fairly non-specific but perhaps mildly helpful. And possessing that skillset is not a necessary one to become a good investor.

Venture Capital 167

Venture Capital Portfolio Conversion Partner 167

Genuine VC

APRIL 12, 2012

People ask us at NextView all of the time: “What is the typical profile of an entrepreneur in your portfolio?” We have and will continue to fund young entrepreneurs in their twenties – and as my partner Rob Go likes to say, we’re proud of it. Subtly behind that question is often one about the experience-level of the founders.

Vertical 144

Vertical Portfolio Search Internet 144

Genuine VC

JULY 10, 2012

There are essentially two distinct basic strategies for startup entrepreneurs to raise a seed round of capital: Subscription approach – An entrepreneur sets a structure (usually a convertible note) and recruits individual angel investors who subscribe to the round, all without a term-driving lead investor.

Syndicate 207

Syndicate Syndication Seed Stage Portfolio 207

Genuine VC

MARCH 4, 2015

However, there’s another way that I’ve seen entrepreneurs use mutual connections that’s even more impactful than a warm introduction: a proactive inbound reference. If a person is merely on a reference list after the first couple meetings, the standard expectation of course is that she is going to say good things about the entrepreneur.

Finance 100

Finance Email Entrepreneur Partner 100

Genuine VC

APRIL 24, 2012

Profile” of the entrepreneur or company – first-time or experienced, background, graduating(/ed) from a particular accelerator, etc. The point is that some of the above factors are within an entrepreneur’s locus of control and some of them are certainly not. (At Whether he’s “heard” of the company prior to getting together.

Syndicate 224

Syndicate Syndication PR Portfolio 224

Genuine VC

SEPTEMBER 30, 2013

We’ve observed it repeatedly in our portfolio as Founder/CEOs seek additional rounds of financing: the engaged skeptics just never quite get there, but the entrepreneurs who cast the nets wide enough find someone who believes. I’ve seen both outcomes in a prolonged “believer” search.

Search 143

Search Seed Stage Forecast .Net 143

Genuine VC

OCTOBER 2, 2012

At this point, entrepreneurs know who they’re going to be working with and along what structure, but the deal isn’t done yet… including wiring of the funds! It turns out it was literally the wrong guy, yet same name / different person, and the entrepreneur was asked to sign an affidavit maintaining it wasn’t him.

Term Sheet 162

Term Sheet Founder Vesting Due Diligence Syndicate 162

Genuine VC

APRIL 12, 2012

People ask us at NextView all of the time: “What is the typical profile of an entrepreneur in your portfolio?” We have and will continue to fund young entrepreneurs in their twenties – and as my partner Rob Go likes to say, we’re proud of it. Subtly behind that question is often one about the experience-level of the founders.

Vertical 109

Vertical Portfolio Search Internet 109

Genuine VC

JANUARY 10, 2012

I recently received a email from an entrepreneur who I know with a genuine question about terms of his financing: " How do you guys at NextView feel about one of our investors holding super pro - rata rights for the next round?"

Term Sheet 131

Term Sheet Burn Rate Valuation Dilution 131

Genuine VC

MAY 29, 2012

The difference between what I’d call an “Inventor,” someone who has many ideas for businesses to start, and a “Founder,” an entrepreneur who starts a company, is subtle. But there are two categories of people which are tightly correlated, but distinctly different. In my observation: An Inventor generates ideas; a Founder pursues them.

Founder 148

Founder Entrepreneur 148

Genuine VC

JULY 6, 2011

A lot has been written for entrepreneurs about optimizing a venture capital fundraising process, but one aspect which isn’t discussed very often is the pacing of it. ” At the beginning of an entrepreneur’s fundraising, even if you’re running a sophisticated process, the first part of is usually just plain old slow.

Term Sheet 150

Term Sheet Deal Flow Venture Capital Conversion 150

Genuine VC

FEBRUARY 12, 2012

Along those lines, the world of individual angel investors is easier for entrepreneurs to navigate when you can recognize the category which he falls into based on their incentives and actions. This can benefit entrepreneurs because of a one-pitch-many-investors process, but can be challenging too. The Fellow-Entrepreneur Angel.

Angel Investor 128

Angel Investor Syndicate Syndication Early Stage 128

Genuine VC

JULY 30, 2012

In theory, there are three levels of pricing for an entrepreneur to potentially signal to a prospective investor: Lower than “market.” This approach is almost never a good idea. By definition, all entrepreneurs should think that their endeavor is truly exceptional. Above market.

Valuation 136

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Angel Investor Syndicate 136

Genuine VC

OCTOBER 18, 2011

Whether a startup’s initial Seed round is comprised of individual angels, seed-focused funds, larger VCs , or some combination of the three, when it’s time for the entrepreneur to raise a true Series A round, of course the goal is run a process to “optimize” it.

Valuation 154

Valuation LP Boston Partner 154

Genuine VC

NOVEMBER 12, 2012

It’s really interesting, but perhaps only applicable to a more limited set of entrepreneurs. Terms precedent is one solid reason (among others like founder-investor alignment) that entrepreneurs should have bias towards priced equity round vs. convertible notes in seed financings. In contrast, valuation always has room to move up.

Finance 128

Finance Mezzanine Valuation Seed Stage 128

Genuine VC

MARCH 8, 2012

When I first started in the VC business in 2004, I usually shared some reactions with entrepreneurs whenever we passed on pursuing an investment, but I admittedly erred towards communicating generic thoughts that were fairly non-specific but perhaps mildly helpful. And possessing that skillset is not a necessary one to become a good investor.

Venture Capital 103

Venture Capital Portfolio Conversion Partner 103

Genuine VC

JANUARY 5, 2010

Some are “entrepreneur friendly”; others push “tough love” which works. 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. Some are VCs young and hungry; some are wise with experience.

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. But just like various superheroes have different superpowers, so do entrepreneurs – but all of them give them the ability to perform superhuman tasks. Just like missiles, some entrepreneurs follow heat.

Founder 138

Founder Early Stage Portfolio Entrepreneur 138

Genuine VC

JANUARY 31, 2012

In that corpus, a while ago I blogged about seven mistakes that entrepreneurs often make during a pitch session.) And great entrepreneurs thrive with the possibilities that a blank canvas provides. There are plenty of places throughout the blogosphere which talk about the typical VC meeting, delivering both advice and tips. (In

Forecast 100

Forecast Framework Conversion Founder 100

Genuine VC

MARCH 25, 2014

resources, events, content, and other initiatives to help entrepreneurs) is not entirely new, to our knowledge this addition is the first such dedicated role here in Boston. Although the idea of venture firms developing a platform (i.e. My startup is part of the NextView portfolio. What does this mean for us?

Boston 123

Boston Early Stage Portfolio Cofounder 123

Genuine VC

FEBRUARY 29, 2012

Fairly often I hear entrepreneurs pitch that their startup doesn’t have a headquarters – everyone works remotely and it works. Rather, VCs want to know that an entrepreneur is thinking big enough about their idea that the organization which they’re creating will grow to a point where a central location is a requirement.

Estonia 130

Estonia Startup Distribution Chicago 130

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. Make connections to people who will be able to improve your business in some way.

Early Stage 123

Early Stage Venture Capital Term Sheet Conversion 123

Genuine VC

JUNE 22, 2011

Entrepreneurs can learn a lot about venture firm by visiting its offices. This week we’re moving into offices at 186 South Street in the Leather District near South Station in Boston, and the choice is a reflection of who we are and the traits of the message we’d like to convey: Location near Entrepreneurs. Collaborative.

Seed Stage 123

Seed Stage Boston Incubator Portfolio 123

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. Make connections to people who will be able to improve your business in some way.

Early Stage 121

Early Stage Venture Capital Term Sheet Conversion 121

Genuine VC

JULY 9, 2013

Plus, my partners and I saw entrepreneurs repeatedly starting from square-one each time, which just didn’t seem efficient if we could help in some small way. And the results were pretty interesting, especially as they clustered with meaningful overlap among companies.

Early Stage 246

Early Stage Boston Portfolio Silicon Valley 246

Genuine VC

APRIL 24, 2012

Profile” of the entrepreneur or company – first-time or experienced, background, graduating(/ed) from a particular accelerator, etc. The point is that some of the above factors are within an entrepreneur’s locus of control and some of them are certainly not. (At Whether he’s “heard” of the company prior to getting together.

Syndicate 114

Syndicate Syndication PR Portfolio 114

Genuine VC

JANUARY 5, 2010

Some are “entrepreneur friendly”; others push “tough love” which works. 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. Some are VCs young and hungry; some are wise with experience.

Boston 101

Boston Early Stage Venture Capital Operations 101

Genuine VC

JANUARY 17, 2011

The three of us are looking to work with entrepreneurs to build industry-changing transformative businesses. 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

JANUARY 15, 2015

Often for a myriad of often idiosyncratic reasons, an entrepreneur is introduced to an attractive new potential VC partner late in the game. But reality doesn’t always play out as neatly.

Lead Investor 100

Lead Investor Term Sheet Venture Capital Portfolio 100

Genuine VC

FEBRUARY 11, 2010

Extraordinary companies can’t be built without extraordinary entrepreneurs, especially at the earliest stages. But just like various superheroes have different superpowers, so do entrepreneurs – but all of them give them the ability to perform superhuman tasks. Just like missiles, some entrepreneurs follow heat.

Founder 100

Founder Early Stage Portfolio Entrepreneur 100