235 Posts Found

In the wake of World War II, Georges Doriot helped found the world’s first public venture capital firm, American Research and Development. Doriot (1899—1987) was also a professor at Harvard Business School for 40 years. This book excerpt from Creative Capital: Georges Doriot and the Birth of Venture Capital (HBS Press) describes how ARD first came to “marry” investors and innovators.

Content: Article | Author: Spencer E. Ante | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subjects: History, Venture Capital

Venture capital is the lifeblood of a start-up company. Paul Holland of Foundation Capital runs through the gauntlet of steps a prospective company typically goes through to get funded, and explains what capital investors are looking for.

Content: Multimedia Content | Author: Paul Holland | Source: BNET | Subjects: Entrepreneurship, Venture Capital

Mark Davis, a member of DFJ Gotham, has written a series of posts on his blog designed to “create the entrepreneur’s manual for raising venture capital.”

Content: Online Resource | Author: Mark Peter Davis | Subjects: Entrepreneurship, Venture Capital

An introduction and elevator pitch are critical to getting a meeting. You should also provide a “ten-slide” deck that tells a compelling story about your team, product, traction, and plans.

Content: Article | Authors: Babak Nivi, Naval Ravikant | Source: Venture Hacks | Subjects: Entrepreneurship, Venture Capital

In this blog post, Dick Costolo ponders the answer to the age old question “What is your exit strategy?”

Content: Article | Author: Dick Costolo | Source: Ask the Wizard | Subjects: Entrepreneurship, Venture Capital

One of the things we are doing in the venture capital business by raising ever larger fund sizes and amassing larger pools of capital under management is creating problems and then making them the entrepreneur’s problem.

And so we tell the entrepreneur that we need 20% of his or her company to solve our problem. I don’t think that’s right. I’ve said this before and I … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Source: A VC | Subjects: Entrepreneurship, Venture Capital

Dave McClure blogs about how venture capitalists and associated lawyers have failed to embrace the technological advances that have helped nearly every other aspect of the business world.

Content: Article | Author: Dave McClure | Source: Master of 500 Hats | Subjects: Legal, Venture Capital

For those entrepreneurs who want to run a company but prefer to skip the start-up stage, search funds offer a possible alternative. A specialized form of private equity first launched in the mid-1980s, search funds are becoming increasingly popular — and their supporters claim they can offer investors attractive returns and business owners a compelling exit strategy. What does this trend in private equity mean … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Authors: Mark Sinatra, Robert Befidi Jr. | Source: Knowledge@Wharton | Subjects: Entrepreneurship, Finance, Venture Capital

Marc Andreessen offers a series of blog posts on venture capital.

Content: Article | Author: Marc Andreessen | Source: Pmarca | Subjects: Entrepreneurship, Venture Capital

“Rather than randomly spamming VCs, you are much better off taking a very pragmatic and methodical approach to fundraising. This method should force you to identify those VCs that are most likely to not only be interested in your start-up idea, but also to have the cash, capacity and inclination necessary to pursue it.

To that end I offer this 10 step method for getting … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Bill Burnham | Source: Burnham’s Beat | Subjects: Entrepreneurship, Venture Capital

Fred Wilson blogs about how VC funds distribute returns to limited partners, in particular looking at the issue of whether it is better to distribute stock or cash.

Content: Article | Author: Fred Wilson | Source: A VC | Subjects: Finance, Venture Capital

Guy Kawasaki provides a list of tips to get the attention of a venture capitalist.

Content: Article | Author: Guy Kawasaki | Source: How to Change the World | Subjects: Entrepreneurship, Venture Capital

To deliver a knock-out pitch, an entrepreneur should have an understanding of how a potential investor’s mental model works, and frame their presentation squarely within it. This allows them to anticipate the questions that are likely to be asked. Although these mental models can vary from individual to individual, there are some basic fundamentals that apply across the board. The first step is to understand … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Josh Kopelman | Source: Redeye VC | Subjects: Entrepreneurship, Venture Capital

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A new playbook is helping private equity investors earn strong returns, at a time when buyouts have never been bigger or bolder. As deal prices and the cost of debt rise, private equity firms can no longer count on leverage and financial maneuvers to deliver outsized gains. To succeed in this environment, private equity firms need a different formula. As soon as a deal closes, … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Authors: Chris Bierly, Chul-Joon Park, Graham Elton | Source: Bain & Company | Subjects: Finance, Venture Capital

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Equity dilution is the curse of the startup executive. If you don’t understand how equity dilution works, you can find yourself working very hard…for very little.

Editor’s Note: nothing mind-blowing here, but it may be a good read for those who have never thought about the issue or for those who are seriously math-challenged…

Content: Article | Author: Ken Gaebler | Source: Gaebler Ventures | Subjects: Entrepreneurship, Venture Capital

The National Venture Capital Association offers a set of model legal documents for venture capital investments put together by a group of leading venture capital attorneys. The model venture capital financing documents consist of:
* Term Sheet
* Stock Purchase Agreement
* Certificate of Incorporation
* Investor Rights Agreement
* Voting Agreement
* Right of First Refusal and Co-Sale Agreement
* Management Rights Letter
* … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Source: National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) | Subjects: Free Stuff / Tools, Venture Capital

How one VC Firm coddles its CEOs.

Content: Article | Author: Amy Feldman | Source: Inc. Magazine | Subjects: Entrepreneurship, Venture Capital

When a company is behind plan, an investor must ask is it the market or is it the company? A frequent challenge for an investor is to isolate causality in a given investment. Isolating market (exogenous) or company (endogenous) causality is vital with respect to the appropriate remedial action. If it is the market, there is little chance that more money or new management will … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Will Price | Subjects: Entrepreneurship, Venture Capital