Steve Blank

JANUARY 17, 2023

He said that from what he read, the path to building and funding a company seemed to be: 1) come up with an idea, 2) form a team, 3) start testing minimal viable products, 4) raise seed funding, 5) then obtain venture capital. But these look for founders who have a technical or business model insight and a team.

Technical Cofounder 368

Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 368

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. VCs are always founder focused no matter the market environment.

Early Stage 374

Early Stage Software Review Technical Review Due Diligence 374

View from Seed

JULY 6, 2020

You have 4-6 years of professional experience as a technology operator, founder, or investor in New York. You have a deep desire to learn the venture capital business and are ready to hustle to meet the next great founder. . Who Are We Looking For. You are a native of NYC tech with a strong network. You are hungry.

Technical Review 257

Technical Review Software Review Hiring Seed Stage 257

This is going to be BIG.

FEBRUARY 18, 2019

Twenty-five of them have at least one female co-founder. Fifteen had co-founders over 40. Five have LGBTQ+ founders. Three teams have African-American founders. All were backed based on the sole criteria that they had the potential to make my limited partners a lot of money.

Venture Capital 165

Venture Capital Portfolio Cofounder Seed Stage 165

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 13, 2013

So then when I wanted to go into venture capital, they said, “You can’t do that, you need to be in EIR.” So when I got into venture capital, I thought, “Well, what can I do that’s different?” Technical founder. Then everyone just started calling me a serial entrepreneur.

Cofounder 337

Cofounder Technical Cofounder Startup San Diego 337

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 15, 2009

This is a story of one of the risks of venture capital. But some companies have entrepreneurs that seem talented on paper, are in a space that seems interesting to investors and are able to raise venture capital early in the company’s existence. True story.)

Founder 299

Founder Technical Review Startup Venture Capital 299

SoCal CTO

JUNE 9, 2010

Draw Your Ideas - A VC : Venture Capital and Technology , May 16, 2010 I saw Jack Dorsey give this talk at The 99% Conference last month. But founders need to know how to ask for their advice and when to ignore it. But startups can shoot themselves in the foot when founders use consultants at the wrong time or in the wrong way.

Fractional CTO 248

Fractional CTO Startup Venture Capital Cofounder 248

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 5, 2011

I gave him the same advice I give nearly all over-worked, control-freak, do-everything-yourself startup founders: “Your number one priority isn’t any of these things. There’s you and your killer CTO co-founder. It’s a very cool vibe at Founder’s Coop. Community Leaders + Organizers.

Seattle 317

Seattle Silicon Valley Technical Review Los Angeles 317

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 5, 2018

And while the “first mover advantage” was the rallying cry of the last bubble, today’s is: “Massive capital infusion can own the entire market.” Jeff Katzenberg has a great track record – head of the studio at Paramount, chairman of Disney Studios, co-founder of DreamWorks and now chairman of NewTV.

Lean 335

Lean Burn Rate Startup IPO 335

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 25, 2010

We were trying to optimize around a few criteria: price, size of round, number of syndicate partners and, of course, terms. My co-founder and other management team members wanted us to hold off and see whether we could get the deal done at a higher price. It quickly became impossible to raise venture capital.

Technical Review 301

Technical Review Term Sheet Due Diligence Venture Capital 301

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 15, 2010

Next Wednesday we’ll have Dana Settle of Greycroft Partners, a New York / LA early-stage venture capital fund. StackOverflow – We both have a love fest for Joel Spolsky who also co-founded Fog Creek Software. Swipely – Blippy competitor founded by TellMe founder, Angus Davis, in Fall 2009.

Stealth 285

Stealth SEC Advertising Accredited Investor 285

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 26, 2015

One of the least understood parts of the venture capital industry and venture capital firms is how investment decisions actually get made. For anything that would be considered a normal investment for the partnership most firms try to make sure every partner has seen the deal and has a chance to weigh in.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Detroit Early Stage Partner 150

Agile VC

JULY 11, 2012

I happen to be fascinated by the history of the VC industry, and one of the things we discussed at a recent offsite are the common threads behind the rise and fall of great venture capital firms. Some disgruntled younger partners left to go start a new firm in 1965 called Greylock.

Silicon Valley 240

Silicon Valley Carried Interest Cofounder Boston 240

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 14, 2016

Today is amongst the proudest days I’ve had at Upfront Ventures — getting the chance to announce that Kevin Zhang has been promoted to Partner. years at Upfront has been both a pleasure and also has taught me a lot about venture capital. We are sparring partners, not “deciders.”

Partner 150

Partner South Korea Venture Capital Europe 150

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. Most experienced VCs won’t push you to give up founder control at this stage of the business nor should they. Offering a sparring-partner function on strategic decisions. Mentorship.

Technical Review 325

Technical Review Early Stage Software Review Los Angeles 325

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 20, 2011

If you read this blog often you'll know that I'm a huge fan of First Round Capital. They have totally changed the way you run a VC firm, investing heavily in systems & events for their founders that are pushing the boundaries of the way our industry works. How do people get access to First Round Capital? and Half.com.

Pre-Money Valuation 284

Pre-Money Valuation Technical Review Cofounder Cram Down 284

Steve Blank

MAY 29, 2011

The email continued, &# The problem I’m working on is that many founders are either making uninformed decisions or inefficiently learning the new skills they need. The solution I’m exploring is a just in time learning methodology that accelerates founders’ learning curve by aggregating relevant content, peers and mentors.&#.

Technical Cofounder 335

Technical Cofounder Early Stage Startup Silicon Valley 335

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 12, 2011

This week I sat down with Chris Dixon, co-founder / CEO of Hunch and Partner at Founder Collective in the most recent installment of This Week in Venture Capital. 2. Chris then discussed his time as founder and CEO of SiteAdvisor, his first venture-backed startup.

Technical Review 281

Technical Review Artificial Inteligence Cofounder API 281

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 5, 2017

At the outset, it is worth noting that when it comes to the world of venture funding, I am a bit of an outsider. Until a handful of years ago, I didn’t even know what venture capital was, let alone anything about the complicated process of actually acquiring VC funding. percent of venture capital deals, and received.33

Venture Capital 82

Venture Capital Lean Cofounder Technical Review 82

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

If you track the venture capital industry it would be hard to miss the conversation going on this week over AngelList “Syndicates.” founder fighting. Call any CEO that has me as a lead and they’ll tell you that I’ve been on midnight phone calls the night before big meetings acting as a sparring partner.

Syndicate 356

Syndicate Syndication Cofounder Early Stage 356

VC Cafe

AUGUST 11, 2022

A couple of weeks ago I was did a fireside chat with Alon Grinshpoon, founder and CEO of Echo3D , a CDN and CMS for 3D content in the cloud and a Remagine Ventures portfolio company, as part of an entrepreneurial finance MBA class in Tel Aviv University. Alon shared the importance of “fit” from the founder side.

Founder 187

Founder Term Sheet Cofounder Venture Capital 187

The Startup Magazine

FEBRUARY 11, 2022

On the other side of the spectrum, the idea of finding a unicorn has attracted many investors toward the much riskier venture capital and emerging technologies. Their investment supported Stat Health’s recapitalization, alongside Spanos Barber Jesse & Co. Industrial Sector Opportunities.

Private Equity 161

Private Equity Equity Technical Review Software Review 161

SiliconHills

OCTOBER 25, 2019

Instead of seeking venture capital, Joyce Durst, Co-Founder, and CEO of Growth Acceleration Partners decided to bootstrap the software development company. Growth Acceleration Partners, known as GAP, offers analytics, cloud, mobile and QA services. At that company, she raised […].

Software Developers 90

Software Developers Software Development Partner Software 90

David Teten

APRIL 1, 2021

Almost every private equity and venture capital investor now advertises that they have a platform to support their portfolio companies. Dan Kozikowski, Partner and Head of Platform, First Mark Capital , said to me, “Firms should match services to the stage-specific needs of companies. AskAnything.VC

Private Equity 78

Private Equity Venture Capital Portfolio Equity 78

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 6, 2010

Everyone has their own definition of momentum (user numbers, revenue, channel partners, biz dev deals, whatever). Almost every deal I’ve ever funded I’ve gotten to know the founders over time. If they co-invest with somebody else that they consider important they might be willing to cut that back to 15%.

Early Stage 360

Early Stage Startup Venture Capital Seed Stage 360

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 1, 2010

Equity-Only CTO and Equity-Only Developers - SoCal CTO , November 1, 2010 I had a recent email dialog with the founder of a company looking for a CTO for their startup. And I tried to evaluate the idea and figure out: What did the founder really need here? Was it a Startup Founder Developer Gap ? This should not deter you.

Technical Review 175

Technical Review Technology Product CTO Hire 175

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 25, 2017

Venture Capitalism is changing. The influx of large corporations to the venture capital space has only enhanced funding opportunities for startups and startups no longer need to have their sights solely focused on venture capitalists. Startups should leverage these changes in venture capital to their advantage.

Venture Capital 193

Venture Capital Technical Review Kenya Startup 193

YoungUpstarts

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

Techventure 2011 – one of Asia’s topmost events for the venture capital community to engage with the latest technology entrepreneurs organized by Asiasons WFG and presented by National Research Foundation (NRF) and Singapore Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (SVCA) – will celebrate its 15th year on October 13 and 14.

Singapore 162

Singapore Private Equity Asia Venture Capital 162

Up and Running

MARCH 11, 2015

This is the home of Jason Cohen, software startup founder, bootstrapper, investor, and mentor. Bill Gurley of Benchmark Capital doesn’t publish frequently, but his essays on market trends and Benchmark portfolio companies are a window into how VCs view the world and the kinds of business models that they find most interesting.

Venture Capital 60

Venture Capital Technical Review Silicon Valley Cofounder 60

This is going to be BIG.

MAY 12, 2014

You charge your limited partners this, but you have to pay it back before you start taking a cut of the profits. I hear that partners can make $300,000 on up to a million dollars at a big fund, and that''s before their cut of the upside. I have a desk in a co-working space--that''s $5k a year. Venture Capital & Technology'

Investment Bankers 167

Investment Bankers Term Sheet Venture Capital Technical Review 167

YoungUpstarts

SEPTEMBER 27, 2013

Adams, authors of “ Venture Capital For Dummies ® “ You’ve managed to get the attention of well-established venture capitalists. Not to worry, if you’re having trouble navigating the mystical world of venture capital, you’re in good company. by Nicole Gravagna and Peter K. But then disaster strikes.

Venture Capital 180

Venture Capital Technical Cofounder Milwaukee Valuation 180

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

Steve Blank

JANUARY 21, 2015

The Columbia Startup Lab is in a building completely taken over by WeWork – a company that provides co-working spaces in 12 cities worldwide. This was just one of the 14 WeWork co-working spaces in New York City – there are over 100 co-working spaces in New York. What role does venture capital play?

Silicon Valley 120

Silicon Valley New York City New York Venture Capital 120

YoungUpstarts

JULY 13, 2011

Michael Feuer cofounded OfficeMax in 1988 starting with one store and $20,000 of his own money, a partner, and a small group of investors. He is also CEO of Max-Ventures, a venture capital and retail consulting firm, and cofounder and CEO of Max-Wellness, a comprehensive health and wellness retail chain that launched in 2010.

Technical Cofounder 180

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Ohio Florida 180

This is going to be BIG.

MAY 27, 2014

It was a company whose product I believed in and whose founder I liked, but a firm lobbed in a term sheet at a price 33% higher than what I had offered using a very light agreement meant for a much earlier stage company. Then, I read about the idiotic comments made by a co-founder of Rap Genius. Perhaps we all should.

Term Sheet 160

Term Sheet Founder Cofounder Software Review 160

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 7, 2011

Such was my recent meeting with Seth Sternberg, founder & CEO of Meebo. And I’d recommend them to any talented startup founders out there.&#. He grew up in Connecticut attended Yale undergrad and worked for IBM after graduation doing M&A, strategy and venture capital. And there you have it. Not a chance.

Connecticut 286

Connecticut Cofounder Silicon Valley Web 286

YoungUpstarts

FEBRUARY 5, 2013

Written by David Shelters , managing director of Bangkok, Thailand-based investment banking and financial advisory firm Karon Business Consulting, the book should be an eye-opener for aspiring and new technology entrepreneurs and can help you navigate the dangerous waters known as venture capital.

Technical Review 164

Technical Review Private Equity Thailand Incubator 164