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The Importance of Proprietary Deal Flow in Early-Stage VC

Both Sides of the Table

Should I trust my instincts for founders and products or should I be more focused on the market size or business plan? One of the major calibration pieces for me was where to find deal flow. As a VC you want to feel like you have “proprietary sources” of deal flow. I attended events. I hustled.

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No One Wins In Business Plan Competitions

Steve Blank

Last week one of the schools I teach at invited me to judge a business plan contest. I suggested that they first might want to read my post on why business plans are a poor planning and execution tool for startups. At best I think business plan competitions are a waste of time.

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Why Early-Stage VCs Should Be Careful About Intros from Bankers

Both Sides of the Table

Should I trust my instincts for founders and products or should I be more focused on the market size or business plan? One of the major calibration pieces for me was where to find deal flow. As a VC you want to feel like you have “proprietary sources” of deal flow. I attended events. I hustled.

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Find an Angel Investor, Without Going Through Hell

Startup Professionals Musings

This is perhaps the most reliable source of information on angel investor groups across the world, and the software is used by most of the other angel organizations mentioned below for deal flow. It boasts 595 member-managed groups and VCs, 30,203 investors, and 2,900 new company applications a month. Keiretsu Forum.

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Seed Stage Funding 101: What it Is & How it Works

The Startup Magazine

Pre-Seed New businesses, often known as startups, have just entered the very first stage of the investment process. During the pre-seed fundraising stage, investors need a viable business plan to base their investments on. An investor can make two types of investments in a startup: direct and indirect.

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Will Your Startup Get Venture Capital or IPO in 2013?

Startup Professionals Musings

The market and venture capitalists are looking for business, but with a continuing focus on proven business models. Sure, there will always some seed funding (10% of overall deal flow), but you can bet that this money goes to entrepreneurs who have been there before and won.

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What are the most valuable recommendations in order to raise money from VCs connected via Gust?

Gust

That means they spend a lot less time actively seeking out new deals than they do responding to inbound deal flow. VCs therefore use whatever heuristics they can in order to triage the deal flow. One of the primary ones is the referral source.