How to Avoid a “No” from a Venture Capitalist

By guest author Gerry Langeler from his e-book  “Take the Money and Run! An Insider’s Guide to Venture Capital” The old saying in the VC business is investors invest in three things: people, people and people. There’s more than a little truth to that. We’ve seen great teams dig themselves out of some deep holes, and weak

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Another $800 Million Fund

Lightspeed Ventures announced the raising of its new $800 Million fund. “It was a robust fundraising environment,” [Chris] Schaepe [General Partner] said. “There continues to be very good appetite within the LP community for early-stage venture capital.” Right. Early stage venture capital with a $800 Million fund. Read: Fund Envy and The Real VCs of

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Right Technology, Right Time: Opportunistic Ocarina CEO Murli Thirumale (Part 4)

SM: The day 9/11 happened I was at your office working on a consulting engagement. That seemed like the worst time in history. You did the whole Net6 story in the middle of that crazy time. MT: The more I think about it, in one sense it was. We started the company after the dot

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First Time Entrepreneurs?

[This discussion is getting really interesting … please chime in, folks …] I am trying to figure out the seriousness of something that I see is going on in Silicon Valley and elsewhere. I need your help to understand the phenomenon, and would appreciate if you engage in this thread and offer your perspective. VCs

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Lars Dalgaard and his Success Factors (Part 6)

SM: How did you find this particular company that you ended up acquiring? LD: From a friend who sat next to me in business school. He was at a venture firm, so he knew of all the good companies that simply did not have leaders. SM: Which venture firm was he at? LD: It was

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Early Stage

Brad Feld has a good post here on entrepreneurship and early stage venture capital. It is actually an email from one of his readers.

Building Tech Startups in India: Summary

The Good It is a matter of time The local market for technology products is nascent; the VC model for financing startups fairly new and some issues will work themselves out over time. The current vicious circle – relatively inexperienced entrepreneurs and risk-averse VCs – needs just a few hits to break the cycle.

Building Tech Startups in India: Observations

In my conversations, I focused on the interaction between entrepreneurs and the external environment. i.e., primarily around the activities of reaching customers, hiring employees, seeking advice and raising funds. Accordingly, the key issues center on the following four factors: Market Money Mentors Manpower