Category Venture Capital
Tech winter maybe coming: Here is what it means for your startup
Bill Gurley, an investor at Benchmark, is one of the most well known and respected Venture Capitalist in the word. He recently posted a series of tweets about upcoming tech downturn that triggered this Business Insider post and this post by re/code. The Problem In a nutshell, the problem is that currently private markets are […]
VC Introductions: How to ask and how NOT to ask
I’ve been getting a large number of bad VC asks lately. What is a bad VC ask? A bad VC ask is an open-ended ask for an intro to a venture firm. Here are some examples: – Do you know anyone who might be interested in investing in my company? – I am in NYC […]
8 things you need to know about raising venture capital
If your startup is growing, at some point you will likely be seeking venture capital. Unlike angel investors, who typically write checks between 10K to 100K, VCs have an ability to write multi-million dollar checks. This means that VCs support startup growth from seed round, to much later stages. Because VCs deploy large amounts of […]
The valuation madness or how to kill your startup before it even starts
The winds and the birds are bringing the news today that valuation madness has reached the all time high. Startups with a little to no traction / revenue are asking for 10MM-15MM pre-money. Here is my raw gut reaction to this. The Psychology of 1MM dollars When we were buying our house, we had an […]
9 Seed Funding Gotchas
‘Chance favors the prepared mind.’ – Louis Pasteur. One of the objectives of the companies going through Techstars and other accelerators is to secure financing. Most companies are coming in focusing on accelerating their business and then securing capital to continue to accelerate growth. As the common shareholder in the company, Techstars is completely aligned […]
Techstars Alum Profile: Tutum
When I made an offer to Borja over Skype, he started jumping and yelling out loud. He then ran out the door, and the next thing I knew, him and his mother where both yelling into my Skype from Spain. It was kind of like being present during a UEFA soccer game – I loved […]
Raising capital is an exercise in precision
The biggest lesson I learned in raising venture money is — VCs don’t need to be convinced, instead they need you to be convinced. Yes, you heard me right, raising venture money is about convincing yourself you should be funded. But wait, you say, that can’t possibly be true. Here I am with my obviously incredible idea […]
Rethinking ‘Crossing The Chasm’
Today’s fast changing world redefines how we do business. It also puts into question old business methods and theories. Is “Crossing the Chasm” thinking still meaningful today? Is it even possible anymore? In this post we put this business notion under the microscope and look for answers to those questions. The Classic Chasm Crossing Consider […]
