Pitching a VC: Turn the VC into your straight-man
There is really no one “right” way to pitch a VC. Whatever approach gets the job done is “right”. Having said that, the pitches I would rate as most effective over the years are those that caused me to engage by asking the right questions at the right times. As an entrepreneur, this is exactly what you want; […]
I Met With an Investor, What Happens Next?
This is part of my ongoing series, “Pitching a VC.” Getting a meeting with a prominent angel or VC is difficult enough. Some advice on how to do that was covered in this link – Getting Access to a VC. This post covers the day after. I spoke about the topic on Fox Business News […]
Do You Need a Powerpoint Deck for a VC Meeting?
This is part of my ongoing series “Pitching a VC.” The “Triple Play” of VC Presentations A large part of my series has been outlining what the typical VC PowerPoint presentation should look like. Some readers have commented that in today’s world you shouldn’t even need a PowerPoint presentation – in this era you should […]
A Tale of Two Pitches
This is part of my ongoing series, “Pitching a VC.” I recently wrote a blog post here in which I argued that the best VC meetings are discussions and not sales pitches. Many people agreed and added that even the best sales meetings are also discussions and not pitches. A few weeks ago I sat […]
The Best VC Meetings are Debates not Sales
This is part of my blog series “Pitching a VC.” I’ve sat through a lot of VC pitches and having been CEO of an enterprise software firm for many years I’ve also sat through many customer meetings with sales teams. There is one classic mistake that I see across both types of meetings – “the […]
First Round Funding Terms and Founder Vesting
This is part of my ongoing series “Pitching a VC“. There’s a great meme developing this morning on the need to simplify funding terms and documents. The meme was kicked off by Chris Dixon with this post saying that term sheets need to be simplified and align investor / founder interests. That prompted Fred Wilson’s […]
Angel Funding Advice
This is part of my ongoing series Pitching a VC. Last night I attended a DealMaker Media (whom I love because they always host such great discussions) panel on raising angel money moderated by Dan Gould and with panelists Rob Hayes (First Round Capital, more seed or A round than angel), Scot Sangster (with OrganicStartup […]
WTF is Traction? A 6-Step Relationship Guide to VC
This is part of my ongoing series “Pitching a VC” – the outline is here. You’ve pitched several angels and VC’s. Everybody seems to like you but nobody seems to be getting out their checkbooks. Most of them are telling you that they just need to see a bit of traction before they’d be prepared […]
Startups: Is Venture Capital Right for You?
I recently appeared on Fox Business News covering the topic of raising Venture Capital. If you’re in the market or thinking about VC in the future the following video may be of interest to you – click here to view, should the embedded player not work. Video is about 7 minutes. If you want to […]
Beware of Gym Salesman VC
The post is part of a series called “Pitching a VC” – the outline is here. You’ve been trying to raise VC for months. You’ve obviously talked with several funds to hedge your bets. You finally get your first term sheet. Time to celebrate! But wait. What? They’re giving me 48 hours to sign the […]
The Dreaded Question of Valuation
This is part of my ongoing series, “Pitching a VC” – the entire outline is here Whenever I sit on panels and discuss the topic of fund raising the topic of how to handle the discussion of valuation (e.g. how much you’re worth) always comes up. I have very fixed views on this topic although […]
NDAs and Confidentiality
This is part of my ongoing series Pitching a VC – the outline is here. One of the most nerve-racking things for entrepreneurs is when they need to “open the kimono” and show their strategies, products, plans and financial projections to VCs. This is especially true since many entrepreneurs know that the world of VC […]
What Should I Send a VC Before the Meeting?
This is part of a series I’m writing called “Pitching a VC.” If you want to see the entire outline of the series you can click here. When I was on the other side of the table (e.g. an entrepreneur) I had a fixed view on what to send a VC or a customer in […]
Who Should Attend Your VC Pitch?
This post is part of my series called, “Pitching a VC” that covers what to do before, during and after your VC presentations. In this post I want to cover the topic of which members on your team should attend the first VC meeting. Let’s call this the “screening” meeting since it will almost always […]
Do You Really Even Need VC?
I recently spoke on a panel in Santa Monica organized by my friend Jason Nazar, CEO of DocStoc, titled Startups Uncensored, Pitching Venture Capitalists. There were about 200 people in the audience. Jason started by asking the audience how many of them were start-ups – 90% of the hands went up. He then asked for […]
