Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2013

In his spare time he raised nearly $30 million. Trust me – that kind of encounter can mean the difference between securing a contract, protecting yourself from getting turfed or getting acquired one day. I would say the norm for many early-stage companies is somewhere between 6-10 in-person meetings per year. Have topics.

Advisory Board 365

Advisory Board Fractional CTO CTO Hire Los Angeles 365

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 24, 2017

Hire a CEO to Go Public. The VCs would hire a CEO with a track record who looked and acted like the type of CEO Wall Street bankers expected to see in large companies. The role of the independent member was typically to tell the founding CEO that the VCs were hiring a new CEO.). People had to actually pay you for your product.

Founder 281

Founder Technical Review CTO Hire IPO 281

Steve Blank

APRIL 23, 2014

In response, venture capital firms like Sequoia and Andreessen/Horowitz are hiring new partners just to work with their portfolio companies and match them to corporations. If they acquire later stage companies who already have users/customers and/or a predictable revenue stream, they are acquiring companies which are executing.

Acquisition 334

Acquisition Intellectual Property Silicon Valley Startup 334

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 22, 2010

You’ll need to hire and retain talen to grow your company. The more senior members you have (say you already have a CEO, CTO, VP marketing, VP Biz Dev, VP Products) then the less options you’ll need and vice versa. But this example above is all entrepreneur math, not the VC’s. That’s normal.

Valuation 405

Valuation Liquidation Preference Pre-Money Valuation Term Sheet 405

Hippoland

OCTOBER 9, 2016

If you’re still in the early stages of your entrepreneur-education/journey, you may even think you need to protect your idea and not share it with anyone. This is one of my favorite startup presentations of all time by Mike Cassidy on going fast. And convey this in your pitch.

Seed Stage 48

Seed Stage CTO Hire Email Later Stage 48

techcrunch.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

One of the things I do as a founder of a later stage startup is to meet with early stage entrepreneurs to help them get their companies going. Nine times out of ten, the meeting ends with them asking me for introductions to VCs. Inevitably, the excuses begin: I need to hire people to build the product.

Technical Review 84

Technical Review Cofounder Technical Cofounder Software Review 84