You’ve just closed your seed round.  Other than starting to build, hire, and take over the world, there are a bunch of mundane things to do right away.  The following is a first pass at a checklist of items for […]

I’ve always wondered why funding begins with fun.  Those three letters.  F.  U.  N.  Fun.   For entrepreneurs, seeking seed capital means meeting with numerous VC firms and sometimes dozens of angels… fun?  Telling the same pitch over and over again…  […]

One Jackson is a new online children’s clothing retailer which is surprisingly fresh – all of its designs were created by independent designers and then curated with love from its community of parents.  The results are high-quality fashionable creations at an […]

As more transparency to seed-round funding transaction details have emerged, especially with the advent of Angelist and accelerator programs (which both educate and even sometimes set terms & structure for graduating companies), I’ve noticed an increasing number of entrepreneurs signal […]

In the past few weeks, we’ve seen extremely positive headlines about the surge in VC fundings like “Venture Capital Hits Highest Level Since Dot-Com Bubble.”  It must be the best of times for the industry with $8.1B invested in startups […]

Personal networking is a key business skill.  And as a VC, I get plenty of practice doing it.  As one of my former high school coaches used to put it, “Practice doesn’t make perfect.  Practice makes better.”  While I guess […]

There are essentially two distinct basic strategies for startup entrepreneurs to raise a seed round of capital: Subscription approach – An entrepreneur sets a structure (usually a convertible note) and recruits individual angel investors who subscribe to the round, all […]

One of the things that surprised me most about venture capital when I got into the business is how much VCs seem to like to meet for breakfast. VCs usually typically reserve dinners for portfolio companies’ CEOs and board members. […]

A few weeks ago, a very good friend who works at a growing startup emailed me with the following question (in which I’ve masked just a few of the identifying details): What does it mean when almost all of a […]

A lot has been written about a formal “VC Pitch” meeting with advice about how to handle those interactions with venture capitalists.  But not all conversations with venture capitalists are formal pitches, nor are they expected to be.  And sometimes […]