Raising Angel Money
This post is part of a series of posts called “Pitching a VC” that explains how to get access to VC’s, what to say when you get there and what will happen afterward. The series outline is here and the first post “what goes in a VC presentation” is here. But you can read this [...]
I emailed a VC and never heard back
I was reading Brad Feld’s blog tonight about how he likes to try and tell people “no” within 60 seconds and about how he handles meeting management and email. I even remember hearing that he manages a “zero inbox” policy and people that I know have written Brad with questions asking for help have been [...]
NINAs and Egg Breakers (Pitching a VC)
After a debate that several of us had at a recent DealMaker Media event in Los Angeles, my friend and fellow SoCal venture capitalist Peter Lee wrote a post recently about the different roles within a VC and spent much time on the role of an associate. VC’s keep different titles but the most common [...]
Pitching a VC – Dealing with Competition
This is a post in the ongoing series about how to pitch a VC. If you want to to see an overview / table of contents of the series go here and if you just want to see what the first slide in the pitch deck should be go here. Competition This is the slide [...]
Getting Access to the Old Boys’ Club (How to Approach a VC)
Many VC websites have a tab that will tell you that you can submit your business plans to enquiries@vc_company.com or some similar generic email address. But does it really work? Can you really send your business plan over the transom and expect to get a positive response? The short answer is “no” – don’t waste [...]
Pitfalls in Market Sizing (part 6 continued)
In my last post I outlined a way to think about market sizing for your VC pitch and emphasized what I think you should do. In this much shorter post and with no title alliterations (and some emoticons I will highlight 3 common mistakes that I often see and that I suggest you avoid. 1. [...]
Sorry Guys – It’s the Size of the Wave, Not the Motion of the Ocean
Part 6 in my VC pitch series: If you haven’t read any previous posts in this series consider starting here at the start but it isn’t really required to get the gist of the post. If you want to go to the post immediately prior to this one it is here. So by now I know [...]
Doing a Demo (VC Pitch or Otherwise) – Part 5 in VC Series
I’ve been writing up a series on my views of the best way to handle the first VC meeting. To recap, at this stage in your first VC meeting you have covered your bio, done the 50k foot overview of what your company does, defined the big problem you’re solving for a business or consumer [...]
The First VC Meeting (Post 3 of Many)
If you haven’t read any previous posts in this series consider starting here at the start. It is sequential. If you want to go to the post immediately prior to this one it is here. So now you’ve told me who you are and why it is relevant to what you do. You’ve given me [...]
The First VC Meeting (Post 2 of Many)
I am doing a series of posts about the first VC pitch. If you haven’t already read Post 1 please start here. So now you’ve told me your bio and how it’s relevant to what you’re now doing. Now it’s time to start on your PowerPoint deck. I always liked Guy Kawasaki’s rule he calls [...]
The First VC Meeting (Post 1 of Many)
I see a minimum of 3-5 pitches per week and often I see up to 10. I also have raised more than $40 million as an entrepreneur and CEO across multiple rounds of venture capital in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2005. That means that I have probably pitched maybe 120 investors and received 20 [...]
The Dreaded Elevator (Cocktail Party) Pitch
I was asked to speak on Fox Business network and help new entrepreneurs develop their elevator pitch. So I thought I’d give it some thought before I turn up. The elevator pitch is vital to an entrepreneur’s repertoire and so often they are poorly delivered. For starters, I think the term “elevator pitch” should be [...]
