Should Investment Decisions Rely on Intuition or Data?
Early-stage Investors seem to rely on little else than their gut to make multi-million dollar bets on fledgling startups—and their Founders. How do the best VCs mix their intuition and…
Aram
70 posts
How Venture Capitalists Evaluate Unit Economics
Unit economics is a term that can ignite excitement or induce confusion in the heart of Venture Capitalists. The ability to accurately evaluate a startup’s potential can mean the difference…
VC Secondaries: Is The Market Ready?
VC secondaries, buying shares in VC-backed startups in the VC secondary market, has become a trending topic in Venture Capital as more industry players strive to get liquidity. Founders, GPs,…
How Venture Capitalists Evaluate Successful Startup Founders
Venture Capitalists always stress that their most important investment criterion is the quality of the startup’s Founding team. What are the characteristics and personality traits Investors are looking for? More…
Love At First Click: The Product-Market Fit Metrics VCs Fall For
When legal tech startup Atrium declared bankruptcy after raising $65 million from prestigious Venture Capital firms, including a16z, co-Founder Justin Kan went public with the lessons he learned from the…
ESOP & RSU: How Employee Stock Ownership Plans Should Be Implemented
Employee ownership plans (ESOW) are a cornerstone of motivation and compensation, yet their complexity often presents a significant challenge. Two forms co-exist: Employee Stock Option Plans (ESOP) and Restricted Stock…
“I don’t look for companies. I look for Founders.” – Masayoshi Son
Softbank’s Masayoshi Son has been credited with the largest win (Alibaba) and loss (WeWork) in Venture Capital’s history. As he’s commonly referred to, “Masa” is reported to be a very…
Venture Capital Compensation – Goldmine or Gamble?
Understanding how Venture Capital compensation works is akin to deciphering a complex puzzle, with various pieces including salaries, bonuses, carried interest, and attached terms. Factors like seniority, location, firm size,…
“Owning 51% Gives Founders An Illusion Of Control.” – Guy Kawasaki
Guy Kawasaki is one of the most beloved and recognized figures in the startup world. A former Macintosh “evangelist” and Steve Jobs’s right-hand man, he tried his hand at Venture…
From VC Internship to VC Job: What It Takes To Break Into Venture Capital
Landing a Venture Capital job is notoriously challenging. There are few open positions in VC, and many are not advertised. Aspiring VCs struggle to get in the hiring process, prepare…
Venture Capital Investment Committees: Best Practices From Elite VC Firms
Investment committees are the VC partners’ meetings that make or break deal opportunities. They remain largely secretive in an industry that has opened considerably in the last few years. Like…
Venture Capital Returns: True Lies?
The true performance of Venture Capital is often debated, and myths about it tend to persist despite recent data published by various outlets. Does VC make money as an asset…
28 Questions VCs Ask Founders Before Investing
Venture Capitalists receive hundreds of investment opportunities annually, making performing quick and effective exploratory due diligence crucial. They need to identify promising startups while swiftly avoiding potential pitfalls. However, data…
Understanding the Power Law: Do Venture Capitalists Take Enough Risks?
Once seen as mavericks making crazy bets shoulder-to-shoulder with the entrepreneurs they backed, Venture Capitalists are increasingly railed for focusing more on the “Capital” part of the job (managing money)…
The Optimal VC Pitch Deck Structure And Why It Matters
Despite the abundance of resources on the startup pitch deck structure and how to create a compelling presentation for Venture Capitalists, many entrepreneurs underestimate its significance. Simple errors, like omitting…
Juicero: How Founder Charisma and VC Projection Bias Led to a $120 Million Failure
In the annals of Silicon Valley’s storied history of booms and busts, the tale of Juicero stands out not merely as a business case gone awry but as a psychological…
“I came up with Hotmail’s viral marketing idea.” – Tim Draper
The “D” in pioneer VC firm DFJ, Tim Draper attracted controversy when he claimed to be the inspiration behind Hotmail’s viral marketing strategy—a case study every respectable growth hacker knows…
How Elite VCs Read Startup Pitch Decks In 3 Minutes
Venture Capital is a high-velocity asset class requiring quick go/no-go decisions multiple times daily. Data reveals that Venture Capitalists typically spend just a few minutes on startup pitch decks, either…
“You can be thinking your shit smells like ice cream.” – Marc Andreessen
This flowery expression by elite Venture Capital firm Andreessen Horowitz’s Marc Andreessen illustrates how VCs value their portfolio companies.
SBF, Holmes, Madoff: How They Fooled Investors
Prosecutors working in the case against Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), the embattled crypto magnate accused of siphoning billions of dollars from users of his crypto exchange FTX, are intent on demonstrating…