BLOG STARTUPS, VENTURE AND THE TECH BUSINESS
Posts Tagged ‘Venture Capital’
March 26 2010
by Scott Johnson
NEVCA Office Hours at the Venture Cafe in Cambridge
I hung out at the Venture Café (Alfa) at the Cambridge Innovation Center yesterday, and met some great people, saw old friends, and got pitched by a few very dedicated entrepreneurs in an “office hours” format. It was time well spent, and many thanks to the NEVCA for organizing the event. Skip Besthoff of Castille ...
March 17 2010
by Todd Hixon
Teeth versus Tail
In one of his radio chats, Governor Patrick of Massachusetts talked about increasing the number of government jobs in the Commonwealth as a means to increase employment. “After all [he remarked], government jobs are just as good a private sector jobs”. That troubled me, and here’s why. Gov. Patrick’s point, I infer, is that a ...
March 16 2010
by Scott Johnson
Top 5 Presentation Mistakes
The presentations I see, for the most part, get a B. Not failing, but noticeably short of excellent. Only once in a blue moon do I encounter an A. It is surprising to me that I don’t see more “A” presentations because: The presenters are high achievers who got A’s in engineering classes at prestigious ...
February 26 2010
by Scott Johnson
Speculating on Apple’s “Big Bold Moves”
Apple said yesterday in its shareholder meeting that it is not going to dividend any of its cash. Rather, Steve is planning some “Big, Bold Moves” for the $40 billion mountain of green he sits atop. He either said this because he needs good World Cup tickets from investment bankers, or he is actually planning ...
February 25 2010
by John Backus
VC Tips for Entrepreneurs: How to manage the VC on your Board
Venture Capitalists love giving advice to startup entrepreneurs. We especially love doing it while in the boardroom, before, during, and after that 40-slide powerpoint presentation that you and your management team spent a week preparing. With a VC on your board of directors, you never know if you are going to get The Good, The ...
February 25 2010
by John Backus
VC Tips for Entrepreneurs: Thoughts About Raising Money
Most entrepreneurs raise money to help their businesses get off the ground. Whether from angels or venture capitalists, I see most entrepreneurs making the same mistake. They raise money when they “have to.” There is a better way. With some advance planning, you can raise money, easier, at certain moments in time. Take advantage of ...
February 12 2010
by Todd Hixon
Pay to Pitch?
Should entrepreneurs pay third parties to help raise money? This is a perennial question in the venture world. It comes down to two things: Will the investment in outside help pay off? Will investors see paying for help as a negative factor? There are different kinds of fund-raising help. The main ones are: “investment bankers”, ...
February 9 2010
by Todd Hixon
The Seduction of Venture Debt
Summon up your picture of a VC: insouciant air, expensive casual clothes, youthful with a touch of gray for gravitas, cruising the 101 in a Porsche, thinking about moving up to a Tesla. Does this guy have a sub-prime mortgage? No way, you think! But probably he does, not on his house but on his ...
January 11 2010
by Scott Johnson
Follow-on Capital
I see seed stage investing happening all around me. Angels appear to me to be very active as individuals although I have nothing but anecdotal data to support that. Dedicated funds doing seed investing are gaining traction with LPs who want their piece of the next super-deal. We at NAV do the occasional seed deal, ...
January 4 2010
by Todd Hixon
Sizzle and Steak: The Importance of Profitability
The management team of one of my venture capital backed companies (pseudonym “Hermes”) recently floated this trial balloon: “We’re now profitable at reasonable scale [Ed: after years of hard work and much investment]. We have the beginnings of a great company. We should raise a big venture round and use the money to develop new ...
