Author, Investor, Speaker, Mentor
After writing about the importance of reputational capital, I realized that in many cases, it’s more important to focus on building your reputation. The key insight is this: As an entrepreneur, your control over the financial outcome of your startup is limited. Luck is a necessary but insufficient factor in nearly every startup success. On … Continue reading Why You Should Focus On Building Your Reputation
One of the pieces of advice that entrepreneurs receive is to ask any investors they meet to introduce them to other investors. This is good advice, but it’s incomplete. You should only ask for introductions to other investors *if* the investor is serious about investing in your deal. The reason is that experienced investors understand … Continue reading Reputational capital is just as precious as Financial capital
The great Eric Barker notes that the #1 negotiation principle that HBS teaches its MBA students is being likeable: http://bit.ly/19qRqeG “Here’s the equation for getting what you want. Cutting to the chase: You want to get more. You want more money, a better offer, a better deal; here are the components of what you need … Continue reading “They Need To Like You”: Friendship & Raising a Series A
I enjoyed Bilal Zuberi’s post on avoiding a lazy VC/CEO relationship”:http://bit.ly/16ZJEZf Bilal’s point is that entrepreneurs are just as much to blame for the fact that many VCs don’t add that much value to their investments. I think it’s useful to introduce an analogy that might resonate with young entrepreneurs, so that they can have … Continue reading Entrepreneurs Need To Take The Initiative In The Investor Relationship
Paul Graham has just published one of his best essays ever, “How To Raise Money” http://bit.ly/18acSGq I was nodding my head through the entire essay, but I want to draw particular attention to what Paul has to say about valuation. Now YC companies are (in)famous for raising money at huge valuations, and Paul has been … Continue reading Paul Graham to Entrepreneurs: Stop Worrying About Valuation
One of the biggest VC trends in the past half-decade has been the move towards what people are now calling “platforms.” While the details vary by firm, the common thread is moving from the classic VC model (a small number of General Partners who make investment decisions, market the firm, and help build companies) to … Continue reading Do Venture Capital “Platforms” Make Sense?
It is well known that I have a man-crush on Mark Suster. His focus on pragmatic realism dovetails neatly with my own interests, and when he takes a stand, I never feel like he’s doing it for effect. So my man-love leaped to new highs when I read a recent post of his where he … Continue reading Bravo to Mark Suster for Speaking Up For Older Entrepreneurs
While the startup life can be full of excitement, it can also be incredibly repetitive. Take the pitch, for example. Many entrepreneurs dislike fundraising because they have to deliver the same pitch over and over. I’ve lost track of the times that people have referred to themselves as a wind-up toy. Yet if entrepreneurs think … Continue reading Getting to the point is a cardinal virtue
Today, I saw a post on the future of venture capital–a very popular parlor game in the Valley–which focused on how the rapidly declining cost of starting a company had rendered the traditional VC model invalid: http://bit.ly/18lSFMa “The dramatic drop in the cost of creating a company over the last decade ($2 million in the … Continue reading The Future of Venture Capital…is Venture Capital
I love Jason Lemkin’s writings about entrepreneurship and building SaaS companies. Jason’s most recent success is EchoSign (sold to Adobe), and he was unusually candid about the importance of having a VC investor rather than a “party” round: http://bit.ly/17a2AW7 “Everything else, for funding, in the end didn’t really matter. The first $2m? Great, but we … Continue reading Always Get A Lead Investor