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Praying to the God of Valuation

Both Sides of the Table

I started my first company in 1999 and was admittedly swept up in all of this: Magazine covers, fancy conferences, artificial valuations and easy money. In those years I learned to properly build product, price products, sell products and serve customers. Starting in 2009 I began writing checks consistently, year-in and year-out.

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What Makes an Entrepreneur? Four Letters: JFDI

Both Sides of the Table

(In case it’s not obvious it’s a play on the Nike slogan, “Just Do It.&# ) I believe that being successful as an entrepreneur requires you to get lots of things done. Entrepreneurs make fast decisions and move forward knowing that at best 70% of their decisions are going to be right. This paralyzes most people.

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Some Reflections on VC Investment Decisions

Both Sides of the Table

And there’s conferences. Oh, the conferences. Of course these are great places to network with other investors, meet great entrepreneurs and keep your connections strong with senior execs at larger companies like Yahoo! And we live in public so many people are able just to reach out. Web Summit. Fortune Brainstorm.

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The Importance of Proprietary Deal Flow in Early-Stage VC

Both Sides of the Table

What price? Because entrepreneurs often went to lawyers at their earliest stages to get their company registration done. Entrepreneurial lawyers like Don Lee , Dave Young or Ted Wang are good at sussing out which entrepreneurs are high potential. I asked for intro’s from entrepreneur friends. What stage?

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Why Early-Stage VCs Should Be Careful About Intros from Bankers

Both Sides of the Table

What price? Because entrepreneurs often went to lawyers at their earliest stages to get their company registration done. Entrepreneurial lawyers like Don Lee , Dave Young or Ted Wang are good at sussing out which entrepreneurs are high potential. I asked for intro’s from entrepreneur friends. What stage?

Startup 361
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5 Steps To Get You From Your First Idea To A Business

Startup Professionals Musings

That’s why I caution my aspiring entrepreneur clients against proclaiming to investors that they are a great “idea” person. His challenge is to focus on one market, with a specific design, cost, and price. The bridge from thinking and talking, to doing, is a long and difficult one for many to get over.

Ideas 126
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As Populist as it May Feel, 98% of VCs Aren’t Dumb

Both Sides of the Table

After all, I am no stranger to the publicly expressing the frustrations of dealing with the downside of this industry as I wrote about in 2006 when I was an entrepreneur. The best VCs don’t try to help entrepreneurs. And Coach Campbell. The best VCs I know take 11pm conference calls. But VC is like congress.