This is a continuation of a previous set of posts and is eighth in a series.Time to talk about resources for writing your business plan and your presentation. Sorry about the delay in preparing this next post, but January and February have been the two busiest months in memory. Lots going on at VentureLab, lots going on at Seraph Group, you name … [Read more...]
TAG Top 10/Top 40
February 28, 2008 by
For those of you who were at the Summit yesterday... I think we wound up with ten great Top 10 companies presenting and thirty-nine (long story...) very respectable Top 40s in the display area outside.I hope everyone had fun.The selection committee and I are trying to figure out a way to extend the Top 10/Top 40 process through the rest of the year … [Read more...]
TAG Top 40 Competition
January 23, 2008 by
If you're involved in a high-tech company located in Georgia, I'd like to encourage you to apply for the TAG Top 40 competition, which will be showcased at the Georgia Technology Summit.From the Website:Top 40 Innovative Technology Awards Every year in conjunction with the Georgia Technology Summit, TAG showcases Georgia's Top 40 Innovative … [Read more...]
Want $250,000? Non-Dilutive?
January 10, 2008 by
I'll get back to the "Raising Capital" series soon... sorry, but 2008 started with a bang and hasn't slowed down yet! But I wanted to make sure to post a link to Lance's post here... if you're in Georgia and starting (or thinking of starting!) an Internet-related company, you need to be at his workshop on January 24th. It's for the TAG/GRA … [Read more...]
Raising Capital: Part 07
December 7, 2007 by
This is a continuation of a previous set of posts and is seventh in a series.Okay. This post probably should have been the end of the previous entry, but I was lazy.Let's say you've met all five criteria in the last few slides. Good for you! Unfortunately, so do a bunch of other deals. All things being equal, VCs will use secondary elements to … [Read more...]
Raising Capital: Part 06
December 6, 2007 by
This is a continuation of a previous set of posts and is sixth in a series.The most common question a VC gets asked is "What sort of deals do you invest in?" Most of them will give variations of the same answer... looking for a fast-growing market, strong technology, great management, at a fair price. And it's nice to have milestones to know when … [Read more...]
Raising Capital: Part 05
November 24, 2007 by
This is a continuation of a previous set of posts and is fifth in a series.I'll come back to this one in more detail later... but, for now, you need to figure out if a particular firm is going to invest in your geography. (Or, alternatively, if you're willing to move to their geography. Bay Area VCs are particularly bad about wanting you to move … [Read more...]
Raising Capital: Part 04
November 20, 2007 by
This is a continuation of a previous set of posts and is fourth in a series.Not all venture investors are created equal. Most firms have specialties. Even within firms, individual partners will have specialties. Don't waste your time on firms who don't focus on companies that look like you.You can read the parameters on the chart above. Pay … [Read more...]
Raising Capital: Part 03
November 19, 2007 by
This is a continuation of a previous set of posts and is third in a series.When I taught a semester in entrepreneurship for the MBA students across the street, I spent an entire 90-minute class on this single slide...The first thing to know about the venture capital cycle is: it's not the VC's money! They like to pretend that it is (I can say … [Read more...]
Raising Capital: Part 02
November 15, 2007 by
This is a continuation of a previous post and is second in a series.I usually try to get some audience participation going at this point; unlike the PDFs, the Keynote slides (I don't use PowerPoint except when forced to) are set to not display the "good news" text until manually triggered; same for the "bad news." So I try to get the audience to … [Read more...]
