Tag: Entrepreneur
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This weekend, I was chatting with a friend who’s a psychiatrist. She often deals with patients in crisis. I sometimes deal with founders in crisis. So I got to thinking… How can I apply what psychiatrists do to my work investing in startups? Some founders I meet with are in…
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+ Business, Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, Finance, Founders, Investing, Medicine, Money, Psychology, Startup, Startups, Tech, Venture Capital+
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I usually help startups by introducing them to other investors. But lately, I’ve been working on a new way to help… It started when I got an e-mail from the founder of one of my companies. He asked the investors to test the product, a great SaaS tool. “Hmm, that’s…
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+ Business, Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, Finance, Investing, Money, Silicon Valley, Startup, Startups, Tech, Venture Capital+
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In April 2021, I started the world’s tiniest venture fund. In the next few months, I’m about to close “Fund 1” and open “Fund 2.” My goal for my startup investments is to learn and to make returns that beat the stock market. The best way to learn is with…
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+ Angel, Angel Investing, Angel Investor, Business, Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, Finance, funding, Investing, Money, Startups, Tech, Venture Capital+
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If you send me your company, what should you expect from me? Here’s how my investment process works… Qualification I focus on meeting companies with these characteristics: I qualify startups like this because I don’t want to waste anyone’s time. If the business is something I know nothing about (biotech,…
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+ Business, Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, Finance, Founders, Investing, Silicon Valley, Startup, Startups, Tech, Venture Capital+
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In my best meetings with founders, we have a back-and-forth discussion. In the worst, only the founder talks. Here’s how to avoid those bad meetings… Take a Breath! Some founders talk very fast and never pause. Instead, pause after an important point. Let it sink in, and leave a space…
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+ Business, Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, Finance, Founders, Investing, Money, Silicon Valley, Startups, Tech, Venture Capital+
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You’re about to get on a Zoom with an investor. On this call, there’s one thing you must not do: just show up and talk. Many founders “show up and throw up.” They come onto the call and give a long, unfocused monologue. They quickly lose their audience. And they…
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+ Business, Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, Finance, Founders, Investing, Money, Silicon Valley, Startup, Startups, Tech, Venture Capital+
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“I want to support the founder.” Whenever I hear myself say that, I throw my checkbook in the river. Follow-on investments can massively increase your returns. But done wrong, they can sink you. When Pro Rata Works Let’s back up and explain what I mean by follow-on and pro rata.…
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+ Business, Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, Finance, Founders, Investing, Money, Silicon Valley, Startups, Tech, Venture Capital+
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Two companies about to shut down. Another getting acquired at a loss. This is the reality of angel investing — a lot of them don’t make it. Every founder I’ve ever invested in worked really hard. But nonetheless, most companies die. Today, I looked at my 3 most challenged investments.…
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+ Business, Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, Finance, Founders, Investing, Money, Startup, Startups, Tech, Venture Capital+
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$17 million, $12 million, $8 million — those are the annual run rates of my 3 most successful investments so far. This morning, I sat down to figure out what these incredible companies have in common. Startup A Startup A is doing so well I can barely believe it. Revenue…
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+ Business, Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, Finance, Founders, Investing, Money, Startup, Startups, Tech, Venture Capital+
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“I know this sounds crazy, but it’s actually easier to raise $3 million than it is to raise $300,000.” Yesterday, I was helping a wonderful founder plan his fundraise. Like many founders, he thought a small raise would be easier — but it’s not. One of the weird things about…
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+ Business, Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, Finance, Founders, Investing, Money, Silicon Valley, Startups, Stock Market, Tech, Venture Capital+
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