Genuine VC

SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

My own circuitous path graduating a couple years later intentionally without a job (see bullet #1) eventually led me onto the venture capital investing side of startups, but I still regret not fully taking advantage of the two years that only a business school environment (and calling card) can provide.

Cofounder 256

Cofounder Portfolio Venture Capital Reputation 256

Genuine VC

JANUARY 22, 2013

On the other hand, venture capitalists are lagging, not leading , indicators for startup locations. There has been much ballyhoo about the migration of venture capital firms from Waltham to Cambridge over the past five years. But to me, it’s a non-story… the startups were already there, so of course VCs had to follow.

Boston 169

Boston Startup Portfolio Green 169

Genuine VC

MARCH 26, 2012

Over the past decade, VCs have been lamenting about the poor state of the IPO markets and that the number of real potential acquirers for consumer internet startups has dwindled down to a handful, if that. That optimism, even, can extend beyond the IPO markets to M&A as well.

Acquisition 100

Acquisition Internet IPO Venture Capital 100

Genuine VC

JANUARY 15, 2015

And a lot of it in a short period of time: making diligence calls, using the product, striving to understand your market, engaging with questions to learn more about business. The best litmus test to suss out whether or not a potential come-from-behind investor is worth paying attention to is if they’re “doing work.”

Lead Investor 100

Lead Investor Term Sheet Venture Capital Portfolio 100

Genuine VC

NOVEMBER 5, 2012

For example, it’s much more prevalent today in 2012 to have been a tactical internet marketer for the past five years whereas in in 2007 is just wasn’t. With real clusters of strength in areas like mobile, marketing, and consumerized B2B SaaS – Boston is entering a golden age of internet entrepreneurs positioned for the future.

Boston 206

Boston Internet Entrepreneur .Net 206

Genuine VC

JANUARY 17, 2011

Last summer, I along with my partners announced that we were forming a new micro venture capital firm. 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 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. what is the best marketing strategy? Learn a top-level perspective of what’s going on the market and how your idea fits into that space. what are the economics?

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. what is the best marketing strategy? Learn a top-level perspective of what’s going on the market and how your idea fits into that space. what are the economics?

Early Stage 121

Early Stage Venture Capital Term Sheet Conversion 121

Genuine VC

MAY 5, 2015

One of my first mentors in venture capital explained to me that the key role of a VC is to “aggregate talent.” Below, I’ll quickly explain the genesis of this initiative and share a few more key details. These great people are in our network. Even more of them are within our network’s network.

Portfolio 100

Portfolio Startup Boston Seed Stage 100

Genuine VC

OCTOBER 11, 2011

Last September I wrote a post outlining my view of the venture capital industry: increasingly evolving like the beer industry as it continues to mature. These firms are caught in the middle without much taste, just like Genesee in the beer market. More brewers = more sources of capital.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Seed Stage Entrepreneur LP 150

Genuine VC

JULY 23, 2007

Being in the venture capital industry, I find that sometimes it is worthwhile to take a step back from the day-to-day to take a look at the large impending trends which are just beginning to affect us. Influence and word-of-mouth marketing facilitated by online social software.

Green 100

Green Bandwidth Startup Venture Capital 100