Should you hire an investment banker? And if so, who? The good news: even if you are a small company and can’t afford a banker, you can synthetically and cheaply replicate a banker. That’s part of the value proposition of an institutional VC; I have been the (unpaid) investment banker for many of my portfolio...
[Continue Reading]Fundraising Hacks: What type of capital should you raise, and how do you meet investors?
How do you decide which investor you should target and raise capital from? Venture capital is just one of many options to finance your business, and it’s typically the most expensive. The broader question is: what type of capital should you raise, and from whom? I find many CEOs/CFOs default to approaching the investors who...
[Continue Reading]How to negotiate and evaluate your job offer
“The board has met and we’d like to extend you an offer to join the company. We’ll send you all the details via email. We are excited to have you join us!” If you get that phone call, what should you be thinking about? I compiled the best resources I found here. This is relevant...
[Continue Reading]Should you raise traditional VC or Flexible VC?
Most founders who are raising capital look first to traditional equity VCs. But should they? Or should they look to one of the new wave of Revenue-Based Finance VCs, or other Flexible VCs? Revenue-Based Finance (“RBI” or “RBF”) is a new form of VC financing, distinct from the preferred equity structure most VCs use. RBF...
[Continue Reading]Why are Alternative VCs investing in so many women & underrepresented founders?
A new wave of Alternative VCs are emerging who are using creative investing structures with some of the upside of traditional VC, but some of the downside protection of debt. Many are reporting that they’re seeing a more diverse pool of applicants than traditional equity VCs… even though virtually none have a particular focus on...
[Continue Reading]Marketing Your Portfolio Companies to Other Investors
One of my most important responsibilities as a VC is recruiting appropriate co-investors and follow-on investors. See How VCs structure a syndicate and recruit coinvestors for more on this. I’ve provided here a template for sharing profiles of your companies with other VCs. At every VC where I’ve worked, I’ve created a set of short...
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