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Mark Suster Interview From the Mixergy Funding Forum
At the Mixergy Funding Forum, one of TechZulu.com’s new reporters interviewed Mark Suster, Partner with GRP Partners. TechZulu.com posted the video today. Here it is:
Danny Scalisi is Showing You His Executive Summary
At the Mixergy Funding Forum, a few people asked to see a sample executive summary.
Danny Scalisi of MyLifeBrand.com offered to help. He’s letting you peak at his executive summary.
What makes this especially helpful is that it’s not the fake “Company XYZ” example that we see in business plan books. It’s a real example from a member of our startup community.
If you can’t see the doc below, read it on docstoc.
[Thank you Bob Bellano of cFour Partners for coming to the Forum and making this connection.]
Startup Funding Interview with Bill Reichert of Garage
Bill Reichert, Managing Director at Garage Technology Ventures, didn’t speak at the Funding Forum that I organized, but I think he’s an investor that startups need to hear, so we scheduled a phone call–which you can listen to below.
Here are two of my notes.
The Trouble With Your Roommate
So you have an idea for a business and you partner up with your roommate (or cousin or best friend or whatever) and because he’s around and you like him, you make him your CTO. Your business grows and it’s time for you to get funding. The trouble is your roommate/partner isn’t capable of being CTO of a big company. He’s good, but not that good.
Now you have a problem.
And it’s a mistake that Bill says a lot of entrepreneurs make.
The Trouble With Your Uncle
You launch your business and need money, so you go to your uncle because you know he believes in you and has some money. To make it official, you have your family’s lawyer put together the paperwork.
The trouble is your family’s lawyer doesn’t know the venture business. So when it’s time for you to get venture funding, the agreement you have in place with your uncle might keep you from putting together an agreement with a serious VC. (I think Napster had a situation like that, according to a book I read.)
Use a lawyer that knows how to do business with the venture community.
Right click to download a podcast of this interview. (41 minutes)
[Thank you Guy Kawasaki for introducing me to Bill.]
Mixergy Funding Forum Wrap-up
The speakers:
William Quigley - Managing Director, Clearstone Venture Partners
(Clearstone backed companies include PayPal, CarsDirect, and United Online)
Daniel Gould - Co-Founder Newroo. Launched Newroo in 2004 sold it to Fox Interactive/MySpace in 2006. Currently VP, Technology at Fox Interactive.
Mark Suster - Partner, GRP Partners
(GRP backed companies include Starbucks, CitySearch, and Bill Me Later)
The Big Message:
One of the points that each speaker made is that, if you can’t build connections, you don’t deserve to be an entrepreneur, let alone get funded.
Most investors won’t even look at your plan if they don’t know you. But if you reach them through one of their trusted relationships, they’ll not only hear you out, but help you out.
Here are three ways to connect with an investor:
Portfolio CEOs - William Quigley said that a good way to reach him is by getting to know one of his portfolio companies’ CEOs first.
Service providers - Mark Suster told us that lawyers, accountants and recruiters can introduce us to venture capital firms. (They can also tell us which parter at the VC firm is a jerk and which one is easier to get along with.)
Networking events - Dan Gould talked about how he builds relationships at networking events.
The Video:
TechZulu.com, our media sponsor, will post better video soon. Until then, here’s a more self-promotional video:
The Pictures:
Wm. Marc Salsberry, the Los Angeles Tech Scene’s “official photographer” took great pictures.
How to Pitch an Investor - William Quigley Interview
To prepare for the Mixergy Funding Forum, I did a pre-interview with William Quigley, Managing Director at Clearstone Venture Partners, an early-stage venture capital firm. He allowed me to record the conversation for anyone who can’t make it to the Forum.
Here are some of my notes:
How to Pitch
William says too many entrepreneurs talk about the market as it is at the time they pitch.
He prefers a presentation that starts by talking about where the market is right now and who the current players are. And then the pitch needs to explain where the market and each competitor is likely to be in the coming years. Finally, he wants to know how your company fits in this universe.
The idea is to look at the market like a moving chess board. You need to go beyond where your opponent’s pieces are now, and consider where those pieces are likely to be later in the game.
The PayPal Example
That pitch format allows him to help entrepreneurs find hidden opportunities. He talks about how PayPal’s pitch was focused on a payment system that worked on portable devices. Because of the way they presented their business plan, Clearstone was able to help them realize that the market for portable devices wasn’t going to be big enough and email was a better medium.
The podcast
We discuss several ideas that are helpful to anyone working on a startup business. You’re better off listening to the conversation that reading my notes on it.
“Right click” here to get the podcast (33 minutes)
Investor Interview: David Cremin of DFJ Frontier
To prepare for the Mixergy Forum on Funding for Startups, I called David Cremin, a founder and Managing Director of DFJ Frontier.
We talked about how he went from being a musician to a startup founder to an investor. One of the interesting stories he shared in my interview is how a DFJ Frontier partner helped turnaround one of its struggling startups by making sales calls on the startup’s behalf.
This podcast is about 20 minutes.
“Right click” here to save the MP3 file.
[Thank you Ian Kilpatrick for he introduction to David Cremin]
What Does an Associate at a Venture Capital Firm Do?
Maneesh Goyal, Senior Associate at Miramar Venture Partners, helped me prepare for the Mixergy Funding Forum by showing me the venture capital process from his perspective. Here are some of my notes from the call.
The apprentice. The associate role is like an apprenticeship. He’s learning the business by being involved in every part of it.
The feel. As an associate, he’s developing a feeling for the kind of entrepreneur who’s going to be successful. He describes it as determination without blinders.
Connections. He comes to Mixergy events to meet entrepreneurs, but his best connections come from trusted partners like other investors and lawyers.
Prepare. He sits in on first meetings with entrepreneurs and says we often don’t do basic prep. Many people who present don’t even know what Miramar specializes in. They’re just looking to pitch anyone with money.
Theories. Part of his job is to come up with theories on where markets are going and then keep an eye out for entrepreneurs who are pursuing ideas in those areas.
He gave me permission to record the call and put it online so you can listen in.
To download the call, “right click” here and save.
Who else should I interview to prepare for the Mixergy Funding Forum?