Through TechStars Boston, I’ve met up a few times with entrepreneur Leo Koenig of KinematIQ. Each time, I’ve been struck by how thoughtful he is about business in general, and, moreover, how he handles the ups and down of being a founder. I increasingly receive questions from founders, asking me about how to deal with
Category: Entrepreneurship
The Venture Capital Funnel
Our VC firm’s tagline is “Venture Builders.” As Eric often says, our Mission is about helping entrepreneurs create real businesses, not just products. The are many ways through which to make money in venture capital. One is “venture banking” where you initiate a new investment starting in later-stage rounds, once a company already has scaling
Guest Post: Michael Byrne on Venture Capital
I blogged yesterday about how a venture capital investor needs to persist to succeed. One reader, Michael Byrne, responded on my blog with a very thoughtful comment. For me, he truly captures a major conundrum for entrepreneurs and VCs: how much risk to take–and, which kinds? With his permission, I’m posting his thoughts below. I
VoltDB
Our company VoltDB just announced a new financing. The Wall Street Journal wrote about it here. The company is doing well, and we think it can be a driver of returns in our first fund. It is still early days, but with 400+ customers and counting, they are clearly finding a groove. I’ve received a
Sheila Marcelo of Care.com
I don’t know Sheila Marcelo, but I’m already cheering for her. Her company, Care.com, went public last week. Our family is a regular user of the Care.com site. The IPO is an enormous accomplishment for her, the employees, and the investors. But, for me, I think it’s cool that Sheila is a female Asian. It breaks
Your Biggest Obstacle? You
I recently had a call with one of our CEOs. It was one of the best VC-and-CEO conversations I’ve ever had. I told him that I think I had identified his biggest impediment: it is he. My exec. coach has coined the phrase “The Inner Saboteur”. In other words, this is the inner voice in