Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 9, 2014

So here is a rational hedge strategy I recommend, and see playing out every day in Silicon Valley and other startup hubs. Typically you can browse them by region or technology to find founders. Every geographic area has entrepreneur networking activities, like startup weekends and tech meetups.

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Technical Review Stock Options Due Diligence Silicon Valley 250

ReadWriteStart

SEPTEMBER 8, 2011

Introduced before keynoting at Austin, Texas's Capital Factory Demo Day as "the most-connected person in Silicon Valley," Hoffman gave a really interesting talk about how he handles hiring at his company. Auren Hoffman on hiring people to work in tech startups. I live blogged his talk on Google Plus and offer my notes below.

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Silicon Valley Hiring Technical Review Due Diligence 130

David Teten

MAY 16, 2017

A few years ago, I presented at an Invesco conference on Emerging GPs, and one of the highlights was a presentation by Laurie Weir summarizing CALPERS’ selection criteria under their Private Equity Emerging Manager Program Review. Denis Tse: Fund Management Craftsmanship: An LP’s Food for Thought for Emerging VC General Partners.

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Private Equity Venture Capital Technical Review Equity 60

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

I don’t have an MBA and I don’t live in Silicon Valley. Angels invest in one out of every forty deals they review (2.5%) versus the one out of 400 by VC’s (0.25%). Perhaps the library or a local tech company can host. Angel investors come from a variety of ages, backgrounds, and professions. I’m not your average angel.

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Angel Investor Technical Review Software Review Accredited Investor 159

Feld Thoughts

AUGUST 25, 2015

The key reason for the explosion in capital flowing into the industry, and therefore the large increase in practitioners, had nothing to do with 1970’s performance, early stage investing, or technology. So contrary to the piece, it wasn’t VC were good at early stage technology, it was that they had newfound capital and a big exit window.

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Venture Capital SBIC Technical Review Silicon Valley 70

Professor VC

JANUARY 27, 2011

The last blogger in Silicon Valley. How Much Diligence is Due.Or Ive addressed the due diligence question in previous posts, but this came up again in a debate we were having at a recent meeting of the Sand Hill Angels. Not exactly extensive diligence. ProfessorVC. Thursday, January 27, 2011.

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Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 18, 2015

So here is a rational hedge strategy I recommend, and see playing out every day in Silicon Valley and other startup hubs. Typically you can browse them by region or technology to find founders. Every geographic area has entrepreneur networking activities, such as startup weekends and tech meetups.

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Technical Review Entrepreneur Stock Options Due Diligence 120

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 13, 2011

My initial desire to blog came from something that’s always been my approach to investing – I’m a nerd and I love to play with the technology and part of my approach has really been to understand things both at a user level and at a reasonably deep tentacle level. So everybody goes through this phase of we want to be the next Silicon Valley.

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Technical Review Venture Capital Silicon Valley Software Review 288

Steve Blank

MARCH 19, 2009

When I went through their financials as part of my due diligence I realized that if they ditched their low margin disk drive products, it wouldn’t take much to make them a profitable company. Steve Blanks 30 years of Silicon Valley startup advice. Order Here. To Order Outside of the U.S. Now In Print!

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Silicon Valley Software Review Technical Review RSS 150

David Teten

AUGUST 19, 2019

Since 2017 we’ve managed $3 million in revenue-based financing, which helps cash-strapped technology companies grow. Investment Criteria: B2B SaaS or tech-enabled services with proven, recurring contracts. We have reviewed the application process of other RBI lenders and have not found one that has more API connections that ours.

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Revenue Technical Review Software Review Equity 60

ithacaVC

SEPTEMBER 8, 2016

It reminded me of one of my personal themes in investing: “if you don’t understand the technology then don’t invest.” In fact, I rarely understand the technology when we first meet with a company. But over our months of due diligence the understanding grows. ” All I can say is OMG.

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Technical Review Software Review Due Diligence Silicon Valley 40

ithacaVC

SEPTEMBER 8, 2016

It reminded me of one of my personal themes in investing: “if you don’t understand the technology then don’t invest.” In fact, I rarely understand the technology when we first meet with a company. But over our months of due diligence the understanding grows. ” All I can say is OMG.

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Technical Review Software Review Due Diligence Silicon Valley 40

Steve Blank

JULY 7, 2009

Steve Blanks 30 years of Silicon Valley startup advice. luck… and as one of Steve Blank’s posts today mentioned, you can’t test hypotheses from within your building. to make sense of the unstructured feedback received from customers. Reply Leave a Reply Click here to cancel reply. Order Here. Now In Print!

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Customer Development Developer Silicon Valley Customer 125

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 25, 2010

Before booking a hotel I always check out Trip Advisor and read reviews. It’s hard for angels to assess whether or not to invest because they often have day jobs and can’t commit to the kind of due diligence that most VCs go through. When I want to go to restaurants I check out Zagat and Yelp.

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Silicon Valley Technical Review Southern California Angel Investor 293

Hippoland

AUGUST 21, 2016

But, there are a lot of no-name investors who are former operators - either at their own startups or at larger tech companies - who would still be value-add from an operational perspective even if they are not household famous. 2) Don’t confuse no-name investors with being no-help Not every investor can be famous like Ashton Kutcher.

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Technical Review Due Diligence Silicon Valley Portfolio 48

Steve Blank

DECEMBER 7, 2009

I was out and about in Silicon Valley doing what I would now call Customer Discovery trying to understand how marketing departments in large corporations worked. I remember presenting our ideas for Marketing Automation to one VP of Marketing in a large Silicon Valley company. It’s just a story about what happened to me.

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Silicon Valley Non-disclosure Agreement NDA Startup 232

The Next Web

SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

Thomas Clayton has started and run numerous high-tech startups in Silicon Valley. The process of raising money in Asia is very different from raising money in Silicon Valley and, frankly, it’s not nearly as easy. Set your expectations – VCs in Asia are different from the Valley.

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Asia Silicon Valley India Term Sheet 132

Hippoland

AUGUST 17, 2016

In contrast, if you do an equity round, you have to complete the entire round and go through the full due diligence process before anyone wires you money. I see this a bit akin to technical debt. This should be basically free. This process can take a couple of months.

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Equity Convertible Security Silicon Valley Technical Review 48

Agile VC

MAY 26, 2011

AGILEVC My idle thoughts on tech startups. Silicon Valley is still emerging from the tech bubble and massive downturn of late 2000-2002. Our growth started in Silicon Valley and our users were still predominantly from the tech world for the first year or two. How to Evaluate Firms for a Seed VC.

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Term Sheet Silicon Valley Technical Review Social Network 178

Lightspeed Venture Partners

OCTOBER 7, 2012

I’ve been writing up reviews of this season’s Shark Tank pitches from a silicon valley VCs perspective. Doing the research to form your own view of a company’s prospects is called due diligence. This time I’ll break down week four of this season. BACK 9 DIPS.

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Technical Review Technical Cofounder Valuation Pre-Money Valuation 110

Pascal's View

OCTOBER 11, 2013

But I am coming to the Museum to talk about the leading of edge of startup financing in the digital age and about real time investment risk management in the new Wild West– crowd-funded Silicon Valley post the lifting of the ban on General Solicitation. Adult Education Corporate Governance Entrepreneur Venture Capital Web/Tech'

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New York Technical Review Angel Investor Finance 31

ReadWriteStart

NOVEMBER 28, 2012

I participated in Teens In Tech, an amazing accelerator for teens. My company, Imprint Energy, was part of Plug and Play’s accelerator in Silicon Valley. Do Your Due Diligence. – Paige Brown , BookingMarkets. Take Advantage Of Mentors. – Ben Lang , EpicLaunch.

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Technical Review Chile Startup Due Diligence 60

VC Adventure

SEPTEMBER 10, 2010

AdExchanger just posed an interview that I did with them that touched on some of our ad-tech investments as well as our overall investment philosophy. Unlike many venture capital firms that invest in certain geographic regions or specific technologies and sectors, Foundry Group’s investing activity is largely driven by a thematic approach.

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Technical Review Due Diligence Venture Capital IPO 60

Startup Lessons Learned

MARCH 13, 2015

It was part Silicon Valley insider and part marketing huckster. Several investors are already in due diligence." When talking to investors, the optimal number of times to mention that your technology is patentable is one. But there was one exception, Guy Kawasaki''s The Art of the Start.

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Entrepreneur San Jose Technical Review China 60

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 25, 2022

It seems to be part of the “fail fast, fail often” mantra often heard in Silicon Valley. Underestimate the importance of due diligence. Prioritize your tasks, take advantage of technology, and constantly optimize your processes. Quality works at a thousand times the pace of quantity.

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Technical Review Advisory Board Due Diligence Silicon Valley 250

Seeing Both Sides

FEBRUARY 28, 2012

For the second year, Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures was kind enough to come to HBS to meet with the class Professor Tom Eisenmann and I co-teach called Launching Technology Ventures. Conduct extensive due diligence on the team, the product and the market opportunity. Similar to last year , it was a terrific session.

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Technical Review Due Diligence Silicon Valley Boston 47

Austin Startup

AUGUST 20, 2017

There are many ways to measure technical skills and check work histories and achievements, but assessment of team chemistry is a high art form. That will keep the Silicon Valley wags buzzing for some time to come. Make your choices only after you’ve done some due diligence with other companies where they’ve served.

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Technical Review Software Review Cap Table Securities and Exchange Commission 48

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 30, 2020

It seems to be part of the “fail fast, fail often” mantra often heard in Silicon Valley. Underestimate the importance of due diligence. Prioritize your tasks, take advantage of technology, and constantly optimize your processes. Quality works at a thousand times the pace of quantity.

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Technical Review Advisory Board Due Diligence Silicon Valley 314

Professor VC

SEPTEMBER 26, 2011

The last blogger in Silicon Valley. Dan Frommer, in Moneyball for tech startups , interviewed Fred Wilson, Chris Dixon, Paul Graham and Ben Horowitz on the topic. Labels: due diligence , early stage investing , moneyball , valuation. How Much Diligence is Due. ProfessorVC. Monday, September 26, 2011.

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Technical Review Early Stage San Jose Angel Investor 38

Pascal's View

SEPTEMBER 5, 2010

This textbook combines the strength of my Silicon Valley experiences as a venture capitalist and Mannie’s research as a professor, and it will help strengthen Chinese college-education programs in this particular field.

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Venture Capital China Technical Review Due Diligence 44

Seeing Both Sides

DECEMBER 3, 2009

.   The VC community suffered a very similar scandal at Seattle-based Entellium last year, but few reporters seem to remember that one, perhaps because it wasn't located in the heart of Silicon Valley as Canopy was.   In truth, our industry is built on a trust model.   Prudence wins out over blind trust.

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Technical Review Due Diligence Silicon Valley SEC 31

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 5, 2014

It seems to be part of the “ fail fast, fail often ” mantra often heard in Silicon Valley. Never underestimate the importance of due diligence. Prioritize your tasks, take advantage of technology, and constantly optimize your processes. Quality works at a thousand times the pace of quantity.

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Technical Review Entrepreneur Advisory Board Due Diligence 274

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 14, 2018

It seems to be part of the “ fail fast, fail often ” mantra often heard in Silicon Valley. Underestimate the importance of due diligence. Prioritize your tasks, take advantage of technology, and constantly optimize your processes. Quality works at a thousand times the pace of quantity.

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Technical Review Advisory Board Due Diligence Silicon Valley 158

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 5, 2009

Reply Week 2 – Customer Discovery & Listening « Iain’s Chips & Tech , on November 6, 2009 at 9:44 am Said: [.] & Raising Capital Pitch Perfect 4 ways to get automatically rejected by an angel investor Raising Money Using Customer Development Due Diligence Checklist Term Sheet Archives (from Brad [.]

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Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 264

infochachkie.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

One startup I joined was very proud that they had been ‘accepted’ as a client by a prestigious Silicon Valley law firm whose name rhymes with a type of pasta (they are lawyers after all, so I have to be careful here…). Who are the best startup consultants in Silicon Valley?… Rhymes with a Type of Pasta. Consultant.

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Equity Silicon Valley Cofounder Technical Review 40

Steve Blank

JULY 2, 2009

Entrepreneur-in-Residence After SuperMac I had been approached by one of our venture investors to be an entrepreneur in residence (EIR), a Silicon Valley phrase which says one thing but means another. Peter described the first company in which “Hollywood meets Silicon Valley” and we were enthralled.

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Silicon Valley Technical Review RSS Software Review 120

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 6, 2015

It seems to be part of the “ fail fast, fail often ” mantra often heard in Silicon Valley. Underestimate the importance of due diligence. Prioritize your tasks, take advantage of technology, and constantly optimize your processes. Quality works at a thousand times the pace of quantity.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Advisory Board Due Diligence Silicon Valley 120