What tech stack should a microinfluencer use? Most investors including me spend most of our day doing the same things people have always done in the job: in my case, due diligence, deal execution, etc. However, being a “microinfluencer” is now also part of the job description. In the future, everyone will be famous for...
[Continue Reading]Venture capitalists eating our own dog food: Using AI and analytics to make better investments
Private equity and venture capital investors are copying our sisters in the hedge fund world: we’re trying to automate more of our job. When I was single, I registered for (a lot of) dating websites. When I met my now-wife, I realized that any technology that can find me a spouse is a killer...
[Continue Reading]Free money for your impact tech startup
Congratulations! You’ve decided to launch a technology-enabled startup with a positive social impact! Nearly every major Silicon Valley venture-capital firm has now invested in a B Corp; maybe you will be one of them! Now the bad news: some venture capitalists have a bias against startups with an explicit positive social impact, on the grounds...
[Continue Reading]Use agile budgeting to manage your business
Instead of budget approvals, monitor key metrics and give managers more flexibility Traditional budgets can be destructive and a huge waste of time. How should a growth company manage their budget? Does the annual budget approval process even make sense in a fast-moving firm? My friends who are executives at large, established companies complain about...
[Continue Reading]How to choose an investment banker…or replicate one
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...
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