David Teten

SEPTEMBER 6, 2015

She had so much insight to share that we broke the interview into two parts, 1) Corporate Venture Capital and more broadly, 2) How the Fortune 500 Can Buy, Invest and Partner with the Innovation Economy (coming soon). . I recently had a chance to interview Mari Joller , an expert on corporate innovation, on this topic.

Venture Capital 60

Venture Capital Balance Sheet Technical Review Portfolio 60

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 24, 2018

VC Partnerships Start by understanding how many partners are at the firm you are approaching. It’s pretty easy since nearly every VC lists its partners on the website. Some firms are trickier since they artificially call everybody “partner” but they’re not all “investment partners.” How many partners are there?

Technical Review 314

Technical Review Due Diligence Partner Term Sheet 314

Steve Blank

AUGUST 5, 2014

Kathryn has been the founding VP of Marketing of Oracle , a successful recruiter, a world class Venture Capitalist, a co-founder of a Venture Capital firm, a great board member, one of my mentors and most importantly a wonderful friend. Over time they had heard me referred to as that other term. Insidious, yes?

Venture Capital 333

Venture Capital Silicon Valley Chicago Cofounder 333

View from Seed

APRIL 14, 2020

This led to a number of repercussions that most VC’s have lamented during this time, including higher prices, larger rounds, shoddy due diligence, and many companies raising large sums of venture capital that probably aren’t suited to VC funding. This gets really challenging if it remains difficult to meet in person or to travel.

Early Stage 374

Early Stage Software Review Technical Review Due Diligence 374

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2009

I had really positive experiences such as working with Greg Gretsch at Sigma Partners where he championed us to a partners’ meeting where we sort of got crucified. We made changes and Greg was a gentleman throughout the process rather than berating us for our performance (it was our first partners’ meeting).

Venture Capital 274

Venture Capital Term Sheet San Diego Viral 274

Ben's Blog

MARCH 1, 2011

In my career, I have never seen a position in any industry with more varying criteria than General Partner at a venture capital firm. Interestingly, many different models have worked, but in all cases the criteria by which the General Partner is selected says a lot about what you should expect as an entrepreneur from the firm.

Partner 78

Partner Technical Review Venture Capital Cofounder 78

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 1, 2019

Ethical behavior refers to actions consistent with personal principles and commonly held values in your business community. We have all seen examples of new ventures that fail , despite large infusions of venture capital, and high-potential new technologies. Values are your most valuable assets.

Leadership 176

Leadership Reputation Venture Capital Global 176

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 14, 2010

I often tell people that raising venture capital is more difficult than getting married. Not so in venture capital. As in real life – those that rush into marriage often find out what their partner is really like after the fact. But they’re the ones you can find out with reference checks.

Term Sheet 298

Term Sheet Venture Capital Stealth Cofounder 298

Hunter Walker

APRIL 17, 2021

When it comes to my job, after practicing venture capital for seven years under normal circumstances, it was instructive to get thrown into this new scenario, because I don’t think we’ll ever fully “return to normal.” I do miss being near my business partner Satya. My 2022 will hopefully include a return to events like these.

Venture Capital 105

Venture Capital San Diego Los Angeles San Francisco 105

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 29, 2017

Stick with people you meet through warm introductions, or count on the integrity of professionals who have a visible reputation and references, instead of a legal document. Here are my guidelines for when a signed agreement is required, versus other alternatives: Insist on a two-way NDA for partner negotiations.

Non-disclosure Agreement 153

Non-disclosure Agreement NDA Technical Review Due Diligence 153

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

Reverse due diligence on the investor is a comparable process whereby the entrepreneur seeks to validate the track record, operating style, and motivation of every potential partner. Another approach is to ask the investor for references, where their involvement has made a real difference, leading to success. Marty Zwilling.

Technical Review 257

Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Offshore 257

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 12, 2013

It is with great pleasure that I can finally announce that we have added Greg Bettinelli as a partner at GRP Partners. This is exactly the brand that GRP Partners wants to embody. I made some reference calls. We knew he had to be an investment partner. He is an investment partner exactly like I am.

Partner 360

Partner Las Vegas Los Angeles San Francisco 360

View from Seed

MARCH 24, 2021

At NextView Ventures we have written many pieces about venture capital — how to raise it, build your business, engage with investors, iterate your product, navigate expanding industries, etc. 7 Common Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make in VC Pitches and How to Fix Them “Different partners in a VC firm are different.

Seed Stage 177

Seed Stage Hiring IPO Analytics 177

www.xconomy.com

JUNE 9, 2012

Managing Director, Enterprise Partners. New San Diego VC Firm Emerges as ‘The Moneyball of Venture Capital’. Coats says the VC firm spent more than six years and invested millions of dollars to compile a database of key variables from more than 60,000 venture financing deals covering roughly 98 percent of all U.S.

San Diego 40

San Diego Venture Capital Technical Review San Francisco 40

This is going to be BIG.

OCTOBER 22, 2014

You''ll get a venture capital analyst from a brand name firm who has just recently taken his job talking about what makes a company successful. Sometimes, I see people on venture capital panels that aren''t even VCs! In common parlance, "VC" refers to someone who is an investor--who can do a deal.

Venture Capital 140

Venture Capital Cap Table Startup Early Stage 140

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 8, 2010

This is part of my ongoing series on Raising Venture Capital. Not so in venture capital. As in real life – those that rush into marriage often find out what their partner is really like after the fact. How do you then reference check your VC to be sure that you’ve chosen a good firm and partner?

Venture Capital 288

Venture Capital Term Sheet Cofounder Partner 288

VC Cafe

JANUARY 24, 2023

Live operations refer to the ongoing management and maintenance of a game after its initial launch, and can include things like events, updates, and community management. billion in 2022.

Generative AI 103

Generative AI San Francisco Technical Review Europe 103

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 7, 2014

In case you don’t know – as VCs we have have 2 sets of customers: LPs (limited partners) who invest money in our funds and entrepreneurs (who we in turn give money to and help support them in building businesses we hope will be valuable). Who else is going to tell a VC if he got a bad reference from an entrepreneur or fellow VC?

Software Review 341

Software Review Customer Technical Review LP 341

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 11, 2017

Ethical behavior refers to actions consistent with personal principles and commonly held values in your business community. We have all seen examples of new ventures that fail , despite large infusions of venture capital, and high-potential new technologies. Values are your most valuable assets.

Leadership 149

Leadership Reputation Venture Capital Global 149

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 3, 2009

This is part of my ongoing Raising Venture Capital (VC) series. When people refer to a strategic investor they are usually talking about an investor that comes from the industry you serve as opposed to an independent venture capital investor. The reality is that their core business is not venture capital.

Strategic Investors 279

Strategic Investors Venture Capital Due Diligence Early Stage 279

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

According to the Angel Capital Association: Angels (private money) invest in 55,000 startups each year versus 1,500 companies by VC (venture capital) funding. Make your invitations open so people who are not angels can still refer and bring friends. Customer References. Personal References. Stock Option.

Angel Investor 159

Angel Investor Technical Review Software Review Accredited Investor 159

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 27, 2016

Reverse due diligence on the investor is a comparable process whereby the entrepreneur seeks to validate the track record, operating style, and motivation of every potential partner. Another approach is to ask the investor for references, where their involvement has made a real difference, leading to success. Marty Zwilling.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Offshore 120

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 2, 2010

This is part of my series on Understanding Venture Capital. And funds also have investments from the partners of the firm. For example, my firm, GRP Partners, has a $200 million fund that was closed in March 2009 and we have 4 investment partners. So VCs often raise money every 3-5 years if they can.

Venture Capital 269

Venture Capital Balance Sheet Early Stage Software Review 269

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 16, 2016

This term refers to an initial venture-capital investment, often wrongly sought to seed early product development. These terms refer to a class of professional investors who invest their own money, like angels, but have the larger resources and scope of venture capitalists with other people’s money.

Software Review 120

Software Review Sweat Equity Accredited Investor Angel Investor 120

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 22, 2014

Of partner? And so is venture capital. If I were looking at which VCs to choose I would reference strongly for which ones are supportive in good times and bad. The best way – of course – is to reference check. Here’s how you reference check a VC (link to post with longer version).

Portfolio 364

Portfolio Chicago Sales Incubator 364

Austin Startup

JUNE 27, 2017

Austin-Based Venture Capital Firms There are a eleven venture capital firms based in Austin that are actively investing today, six of which are first funds. VC Firms Actively investing in Austin Companies Finally, there are a group of venture capital firms that are not based in Austin that are active investors here.

Venture Capital 54

Venture Capital Austin Texas Private Equity 54

VC Cafe

AUGUST 2, 2022

For that, Yuga labs partnered with London based Improbable. The company has grand ambitions to replicate the real world with its game engine: “This new category that we call co-experience (sometimes referred to as the metaverse) will change how we connect with others. It starts with building Otherside, the BAYC virtual world.

IP 206

IP Cofounder Valuation Acquisition 206

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 6, 2014

When you first start your company and raise initial venture capital your board probably consists of 1-3 founders and 1-2 VCs. The functions of an early-stage board are pretty obvious and well understood: Providing introductions to customers, biz dev partners, recruits, the press, other investors, etc. In the Early Days.

Technical Review 325

Technical Review Early Stage Software Review Los Angeles 325

David Teten

JANUARY 23, 2021

I’ve been fortunate to be a Partner at two different VC firms over the past 9 years, and we’ve grown AUM 10X both times. Build the firm as much as possible before you solicit limited partners. . The next best move is to build your core team, e.g., recruit an Advisory Board, Venture Partners, and EIRs.

Private Equity 78

Private Equity Venture Capital Technical Review Software Review 78

Feld Thoughts

FEBRUARY 18, 2014

While Jerry is referred to as a CEO coach, he most certainly is a CEO Whisperer. And for those who don’t know Jerry’s past, he was an extremely successful venture capitalist, founding Flatiron Partners with Fred Wilson in the mid-1990s before retiring from venture capital in the early 2000′s.

Venture Capital 125

Venture Capital Partner 125

Feld Thoughts

NOVEMBER 2, 2016

This quarter they interviewed me as part of it on Quarterly VC Update: Brad Feld on the State of Venture Capital Investing. Most importantly from my frame of reference, the amount of activity at the early and seed stage seems to be extremely robust. What is your advice to a company seeking its first capital?

Venture Capital 70

Venture Capital Private Equity Early Stage Valuation 70

David Teten

AUGUST 15, 2013

1) Corporate Venture Capital. Most VCs (including ff Venture Capital ) collect money from independent limited partners in order to form their fund. Nike hosts a program called Nike+ Accelerator which offers 10 partner companies “Support As You Go,” during a 3-month period in which they are each given $20,000.

Startup 114

Startup Technical Support Venture Capital Balance Sheet 114

Duct Tape Marketing

MARCH 6, 2024

And that is the kind of failure that the Silicon Valley talk, fail, fast, fail often is implicitly referring to, but often they're not explicit enough. So the science part refers to the fact that you can be a very logical, very systematic, very thoughtful about the risks you take. No, nobody wants to fail. In fact, I advise it.

Dividend 72

Dividend Software Review Technical Review Silicon Valley 72

VC Cafe

JULY 31, 2020

Last year I published on VC Cafe a post titled the 7 habits of highly effective people… in startups , and this time will I apply the book’s principles to the world of Venture Capital. Let’s dive into the 7 habits of highly effective people and how they can be reflected in the world of venture capital.

Venture Capital 183

Venture Capital Deal Flow Silicon Valley Portfolio 183

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 27, 2018

If a company has no revenue model to reference or use as a guide, it will not survive the imminent four year mark that makes or breaks their business. Emmanuel de Watteville, General Partner and Co-founder of Blue Ocean Ventures, has been part of the startup ecosystem since 2003.

Early Stage 160

Early Stage Cofounder Startup Security 160

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 8, 2010

Greycroft is Alan’s venture capital firm that recently raised its second fund ($130 million) with offices in both New York and LA. My favorite two quotes of the weekend were: “Never trade your cat for somebody else’s dog” (referring to selling your company for stock to another privately held company – quote was from Alan.

PR 279

PR Technical Review Portfolio Customer Development 279

Duct Tape Marketing

NOVEMBER 3, 2022

2:20] Why the Lewis Carroll reference? [2:59] 6:09] Do you refer to yourself as a marketplace almost or more of a membership organization? And why the Lewis Carroll reference? John Jantsch (06:09): I mean, do you think of yourself or refer to yourself as a marketplace almost or more of a membership organization?

Entrepreneur 80

Entrepreneur Technical Review Networking Community 80