We’re now rebooting PEVCTech, our community for investors and technologists responsible for investing in private companies, primarily at private equity and venture capital funds. Our focus is on sharing information on technologies and systems that make investing in private companies more efficient and effective. We cover all stages. We are partnering with some allies on...
[Continue Reading]Invitation: events for family offices, women in finance, and emerging managers
We hope you will join us at any of four upcoming events, all complimentary for qualified attendees: NYC, March 7: Access Alts Family Office conference. I’ll be presenting on disruption of investment management. NYC, April 27: the East Coast Family Office & High Net Worth Individuals Conference, organized by DC Finance. I’ll be leading a discussion among...
[Continue Reading]How enterprise can learn from the innovation economy
One of the core functions of a VC is to identify the next generation of disruptive companies. I presented last month to a Microsoft senior executive offsite on how large corporations can do the same, to inform their investing, M&A, and competitive intelligence. My presentation was based on my research on deal origination best practices...
[Continue Reading]Startup Grind interview (with vertical pushup)
Last month I did an on-stage interview with Peter Crysdale of Startup Grind. You can read a summary at AlleyWatch. For fun, I did an on-stage vertical pushup at the end of the interview (skip to 44:00)....
[Continue Reading]How to Judge an Investment Proposal (especially at Pitch Contests)
I periodically serve as a judge at pitch events for companies raising funding. In every case, I’m assessing each company against our standard criteria for investing. You can see a video of a recent pitch contest where I served as a judge here. For some of the new employees at our firm, I put together...
[Continue Reading]How to keep the people attending your event alive
Do you organize events? Do you like your attendees alive? Event organizers like their attendees to be energetic, enthusiastic, and preferably, alive. Joe Reilly organized 50 events a year while serving as President of the Family Office Association. He said, “Conferences are the unnatural situation par excellence, almost like a casino. You are in a recirculated-air,...
[Continue Reading]Turning the Tables: How to Make Venture Capitalists Pitch You
I’m returning to Capital on Stage this fall in New York. Last year, 19 other VC fund Partners and I pitched to 170 attendees; this year the conference organizers expect a similar turnout. You can see online my own pitch and all the other VCs pitching last year in NY . To attend, apply via the CapitalonStage.com website. I...
[Continue Reading]How To Add Powerful (and Legal) Stock Photos To Your Presentations
What do you remember better? Pictures or words? The evidence is clear: people have better recall for images than text. Including attractive images that dramatize your speaking points will significantly increase your efficacy as a speaker. Based on my experience in investment banking and strategy consulting, I’ve put together a 3-part series on how to...
[Continue Reading]