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Corporate Venture Capital: Obligatory or Oxymoron?

David Teten

Of course, bringing startups (whether prospective or existing portfolio companies) closer to operating divisions has business and customer development benefits. Access to potential buyers and partners is, after all, one of the main attractions why startups seek investment from corporate venture funds. Are they good sales people?

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Founder First Principles?—?Creating Expa Labs

Eric Friedman

Network: Expa will provide a bi-weekly breakfast with individuals that can help Expa Labs companies + share materials with our limited partners at the end of the program. Hearing from real people was my Customer Development Process for Labs, and it felt good to “get outside the building” and talk to prospective “customers”.

Founder 60
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If I Told You I'd Have to Kill You: The Story Behind “The Secret.

Steve Blank

And you’d like me to do my talk on Customer Development and startups?” “No, we’re the other CIA.” Their VC firm, In-Q-Tel , has been in business for 10 years, and like most VC firms they have an annual event where they show off their new portfolio companies to their limited partners and other VC partners.

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Rocket Science 2: Drinking the Kool-Aid

Steve Blank

If you were a “with it” VC you needed to have a “Content&# or “Multimedia&# company in your portfolio to impress your limited partners – educational software companies, game companies, or anything that could be described as content and/or Multimedia. Not all VCs are equal.

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The Secret History of Silicon Valley 12: The Rise of “Risk Capital.

Steve Blank

million of it by the time they dissolved their partnership in 1968 – they returned $90 million to their limited partners – a 54% compound growth rate. More on this in the next post.