Why Series A Graduation Is So Hard: Lessons from Paul Graham
Securing a Series A round has always been a major hurdle for startups, but recent data highlights just how difficult this milestone has become. Historically, roughly one in four startups…
biases
11 posts
Bridge Financing: When Venture Capitalists Throw Good Money After Bad
Deciding to reinvest in a company amid uncertainties is one of the most challenging choices Venture Capitalists face. One question always arises whether they are considering extending bridge financing to…
The 7 Secret Evaluation Criteria Venture Capitalists Use To Make Investment Decisions
Venture Capitalists are vocal about what they look for in startups they invest in: stellar team, large market, scalability, exit routes, etc. What about the evaluation criteria they don’t discuss but critically…
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…
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…
“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…
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…
“VC is about extracting enormous signal out of very little data.” — Nigel Morris
QED Investors’ co-Founder Nigel Morris had the rare privilege of entering Venture Capital after managing a $20 billion public company, Capital One. Comparing these two experiences, Morris confided that running…
“If you don’t have a Founder who can be CEO, sell your company–now.” – Marc Andreessen
Marc Andreessen, often considered one of the smartest VCs in Silicon Valley, is unequivocal on this question. In his “pmarca guide to startups” (Andreessen’s handle on Twitter is @pmarca), he covers…
“The worst possible thing in the world is to have someone who doesn’t believe you.” – Elizabeth Holmes
When it is all over, and the whole truth is known, Theranos will undoubtedly join the great frauds of business history, competing with the likes of Enron and Worldcom. More…
“You can’t get into the trap of paying for customer acquisition.” – Aileen Lee
If you google Aileen Lee, chances are you will find her sporting her famous cowboy hat in homage to the values (and the name) of the VC firm she founded…