Venture Capital Mentoring

Venture Capital Mentoring sessions are designed to help you achieve a technical goal, remove a cognitive roadblock, or test the quality of my mentorship before you commit to a program.

Each session lasts for one hour and takes place over Zoom. After your payment is confirmed, you will receive a link to book your session(s).

I provide two forms of mentoring:

• Technical Mentoring: to land a Venture Capital job, raise a VC fund, raise funds with Financial Investors, make acquisitions or sell your company, structure and grow your startup
• Cognitive Mentoring: help you understand why you’re not achieving your goals, either as an Investor—we’ll work on cognitive biases at play in the investment process—, or as an entrepreneur

What Type of Technical Mentoring I Provide

Depending on your objectives, we’ll dive deep into technical aspects of the Venture Capital game, or the entrepreneurial journey.

I’ve realized over 45 transactions across Venture Capital, Growth Equity, LBO, and M&A since 2006, and acquired a solid background in corporate finance before that. I had to screen and structure hundreds of potential deals to get there, which gave me a robust insight into what works and doesn’t. (More about me here).

Working across continents (North & South America, Europe, and Asia) with additional exposure to Africa has also prepared me well for a cross-cultural mentoring that considers local differences.

I offer technical mentoring on both sides of the checkbook: the Investor’s and the Entrepreneur’s sides.

Mentoring Investors and Aspiring Venture Capitalists

The areas where I intervene typically include:

• Preparing for job interviews with Venture Capital firms (I recommend also joining the VC Career Accelerator)
• Learning how to evaluate startups
• Deep dive into technical aspects, including term sheets and instruments such as SAFEs and Preferred Shares
• Raising a Venture Capital fund: establish the investment strategy, build the financial model, draft the LP fundraising documentation, negotiate terms

Ahead of our first session, you will complete a questionnaire to evaluate your knowledge of Venture Capital and share your “why” and your objectives.

Mentoring Entrepreneurs

The areas where I intervene typically include:

• Any aspect of the fundraising process (I recommend also joining the Funding Accelerator)
• Pitch Deck audit & improvement feedback
• Taking money from Corporate Venture Capital entities
• Term sheet negotiations
• Structuring management packages and employee motivation/retention plans (ESOP)
• How to split equity between co-founders
• Building effective reporting routines
• … and much more

If you are raising funds, you will complete my proprietary “VC-Bankability Audit” to evaluate your chances of successfully getting Investor money and identify your strengths and development needs.

Cognitive Mentoring To Eliminate Biases & Roadblocks

After over fifteen years working as an Investor and with entrepreneurs, and extensive academic research on the cognitive biases and psychology of both VCs and entrepreneurs in the context of an ongoing Doctorate in Business Administration, I’ve concluded that most obstacles find their source in the cognitive / mental / psychological sphere.

What Are The Most Common Situations I Work On

The areas where I intervene typically include:

• For Investors: what are the fatal biases that push you to make mistakes in every compartment of the Venture Capital cycle
• For Founders: lack of progress in the development of the company, severe issues with co-Founders, feeling blue after selling the company, a general sense that you’re not fit for the job

Just like in competitive sports, cognitive mentoring is making its way to help Investors and Founders realize their objectives. It’s not easy to do, because the practitioner needs to have gathered unique insights into entrepreneurship, venture capital, and psychology. Jerry Colonna is a pioneer that I wish to emulate.

My aha moment was realizing that both technical and cognitive aspects were irremediably intertwined. Most of the time, the resolution of a particular transaction, or Boardroom situation, lied in the psychology of parties involved.

The Levers I Use To Help Remedy The Situation

I try to identify trends and patterns that I discovered in my practice and research, including:

• Which biases are preventing you from accomplishing your objectives
• The personal traits that tend to favor these biases and other factors you should be aware of
• Are you at risk of turning your stress into serious mental health issues?
• … and more risk factors based on the environment and failed coping strategies

I’m not a clinical psychologist or a GP/MD, so this is not meant as medical advice. But I’m at the forefront of research on the mental health of entrepreneurs thanks to my doctoral thesis and fieldwork, so hopefully, I can direct you to the best sources out there and share best practices.

I’m constantly linking my observations as a practitioner with tested findings in the cognitive and psychological fields. You can refer to these posts to learn more.

Pick The Best Mentoring Plan For Your Needs

A mentoring experience is first and foremost a human connection. I offer flexibility, so you make sure we connect well before you engage further.

Please click on the Start Now button for more details on each plan. Reach out to me if you have any questions.

The Quick Consult comes with a satisfied or money-back guarantee: If this is your first mentoring session with me, I’ll refund you if you don’t find it helpful. No questions asked. You’ll have seven days to request a refund.

The Boost Plan allows you to book 5 sessions per month. You can carry over your unused sessions to the next month, with a maximum of two carry-over sessions permitted at any time to prevent scheduling backlogs. The Boost Plan requires a three-month minimum commitment. You can choose to cancel at any time after completing these three months. Please note that if you decide to cancel mid-month, the entire month’s fee will still be applicable.

Note: I also offer custom pricing for specific projects such as fundraising-related advisory. Book a Quick Consult session to discuss your needs.