Pascal's View

MARCH 10, 2010

This is the third in our series of ten frequently asked questions from investors in venture capital partnerships. If you are not equipped with the resources to do the work, then you need to rely on someone else’s process—but again that has to be an independent third party whose due diligence credentials are also trustworthy.

Government 28

Government Technical Review Due Diligence Institutional Investors 28

The Next Web

SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

Thomas Clayton has started and run numerous high-tech startups in Silicon Valley. The final piece of my four-part guide to expanding a business into Asia is tailored more towards local startups and a big issue that affects many of them: raising funding from investors. Remember, it’s a two-way street – do your due diligence too.

Asia 132

Asia Silicon Valley India Term Sheet 132

This is going to be BIG.

OCTOBER 12, 2020

Moat, the biggest exit out of the bunch, was sourced when I met Mike Walrath at a tech event. He said they’d consider any “special situations” funds I was doing—at which point I realized that he had never even looked at the deck and had zero intentions of doing any real diligence. I’ve had to start muting libertarian VC Twitter.

LP 147

LP Technical Review Software Review Valuation 147

VC Cafe

FEBRUARY 6, 2011

My key takeaways from talking to roughly 40 institutional investors in the valley about investing to an European startup are: Traction cures all ills. How do you review documents in non-english languages, where structures can be quite different from what we are used to in the US? Read Venture Hacks ( [link] ).

Silicon Valley 104

Silicon Valley Startup Seed Stage Delaware 104

Pascal's View

AUGUST 12, 2009

The massive institutional investor losses incurred from investments in asset classes unrelated to venture capital due to the global financial crisis have only fanned the wildfire fire burning in the American innovation forest. Investors take risk in order to reap rewards. Share and Enjoy:

IPO 28

IPO Silicon Valley Merger Sweat Equity 28

Startup Company Lawyer

MARCH 12, 2009

C corps, LLCs, and S corps differ significantly in the areas of taxation, ownership, fundraising, governance and structure, and employee compensation. Almost all technology startup companies that I work with are C corps. Such inflexible features are typically unattractive to venture investors. Governance/Structure.

LLC 61

LLC Stock Options Preferred Stock Stock 61

Austin Startup

APRIL 1, 2017

TL;DR Nutshell : There are few governance-related decisions with a more outsized impact on a company’s power structure than the selection of an independent director. But institutional investors have a job to do, and it’s not to be your BFF. Do not take that selection lightly. They will educate you, off the record.

Term Sheet 48

Term Sheet Institutional Investors Lead Investor Technical Review 48