I’ve been meeting a lot of entrepreneurs these days who are thinking about whom to bring into a financing round. VCs call the group of funders a “syndicate.” Many of the entrepreneurs think of funding sources with an “either/or” mindset. Either they want to raise angel/micro-VC money, or they want to raise VC money. Personally,
VC & conflicts of interest
I had dinner a few weeks ago with some entrepreneurs, and it got me thinking about how a VC manages potential conflicts of interest. In short: does a VC give advice that is best for the entrepreneur or himself? To start, let’s talk about how a VC is a business just like any other. The
Sen. Olympia Snowe’s grit and perserverance
Here’s a very inspiring article from Maine Senator Olympia Snowe. It appears in today’s New York Times: When I was growing up, I would never have guessed that I could become a United States senator. Both of my parents — my father a Greek immigrant, my mother the child of immigrants — died before I
“Worst Parts of Being a VC?”
I read an interesting post on Quora, written by an anonymous author. He/she writes about the worst parts of being a VC. I disagree with many of the points, but I think it’s a POV that’s worth reading if you’re an entrepreneur. It’s relevant in case you get whiff of a re-org or compensation negotiations
Uh-oh, MBAs like start-ups (again)
Jeff Bussgang Tweeted an article this Saturday morning that the percentage of Stanford MBAs pursuing start-ups has gone to an all-time high (more here). It made me think of the Harvard Business School business plan contests in 1999 and 2000. I gave the kick-off talks for both contests. In the fall of 1999, there were
VC arrogance: inevitable?
It was another beautiful day yesterday. Part of it for me was spent in Cambridge re-connecting over coffee with a rock-star entrepreneur. There we were, sitting outside and riffing about some fun topics. I like meeting with him because he is insanely sharp and speaks his mind. He stopped me in my tracks when he