Category Archives: Startups

The Framework For a Founder and VC Relationship Reply

Startups, Venture Capital • Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

In the last two decades as a venture capitalist, I’ve seen three primary styles of VCs working with startup founders.  I found that one of them works best for me, and want to share the alternatives:

1. Mentor: This is a classic “old school” venture capital model. Think John Doerr and Michael Moritz working with Larry Page and Sergei Brin in the early days of Google. The VC is often older, sometimes a repeat entrepreneur, sometimes not. The VC provides lots of hands-on advice and coaching. The interactions between the VC and founder are frequent, and the VC spends much time regularly at the company.

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There is No Series A Crunch Reply

Startups, Venture Capital

I’ve heard too much hyperbolic talk in the valley of a “Series A Crunch,”  meaning startups are currently hard-pressed to raise funding following a seed round. As the blog title suggests, I do not believe there is a Series A crunch.

It’s important to understand the data before being swayed by anecdotal information, on any topic. So let’s take a look at the data here.

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3 Overused Startup Terms Reply

Startups, Technology

The startup world — like any field — has its own lexicon.  Living in this world, I am guilty of overusing industry jargon myself. But there are several buzzwords that have become overused and misused to the point they are useless.

Here are three of the most annoying terms I hope will disappear from the startup lexicon soon.

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