Comments on: Do You Really Even Need VC?

By: Top startup articles of the week « Startup Musings

Top startup articles of the week « Startup Musings — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:16:16 +0000

[...] Do you really even need VC? [...]

By: Raising capital - The 50 or so things you should read first | JonBischke.com

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 18:04:36 +0000

[...] Pitching a VC (Awesome outline! Some of my favorites are also listed below.) The First VC Meeting (Post 1 of Many) The First VC Meeting (Post 2 of Many) The First VC Meeting (Post 3 of Many) The First VC Meeting (Post 4 of Many) A Tale of Two Pitches Do You Really Even Need VC? [...]

By: BerislavLopac

BerislavLopac — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 20:48:38 +0000

That's exactly the case — one (government boosted) attempt at founding a local VC fund has failed twice so far (hopefully it will have more luck the third time), and another practically abandoned venture investment whatsoever… We're now trying to build a better connection with funds abroad, but pitching to them also takes money, so we have the proverbial chicken and egg game again.

By: New Enterprise Forum: Term Sheets | Ann Arbor Startup Blog

New Enterprise Forum: Term Sheets | Ann Arbor Startup Blog — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 02:51:39 +0000

[...] http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com/2009/07/22/do-you-really-even-need-vc/ [...]

By: msuster

msuster — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 05:08:49 +0000

Well … here's my experience. An angel may want 10x but if presented with an opportunity to get a 3x in 6 months they'd take it. Many VCs would not want this result and you might find some that encourage you not to sell. That's what I see as the main difference. But you're right that most angels expect a higher return. Thanks for your comments.

By: msuster

msuster — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 05:05:00 +0000

Sorry to hear that. Are there no VCs or seed investors in Croatia or the surrounding areas? Might need to look to Germany, France or the UK which have more developed VC markets. Or Switzerland. Good luck!

By: BerislavLopac

BerislavLopac — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 09:59:30 +0000

I've ran into problems with your very first item on the list. You say “Raise a very small round of capital – usually from the three F’s (friends, family & fools): $100-200k” — but where I live (Croatia) this is the point where most startups fail. First of all, $100k is anything but “very small”; a startup can live on this money for a couple years with no revenue at all. But more importantly, FFF's with money are practically nonexistant here: although about 80% of population owns a house or an apartment, the cash available for investment is in very short supply. When we add a general lack of knowledge and distrust of entrepreneurs, we can simply forget about any seed stage funding whatsoever, and the only startups with any hope are those which can build a product on sweat equity only.

By: 2010 VC Funding Outlook for Startups – Prepare for Winter (Part 3/3)

2010 VC Funding Outlook for Startups – Prepare for Winter (Part 3/3) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 19:49:26 +0000

[...] and only beta customers should go straight for a $5 million fund raising. My advice in my post Should You Even Raise VC still holds. I believe that over funding can be as destructive as under [...]

By: 2010 VC Funding Outlook for Startups – Prepare for Winter (Part 3/3) « The SiliconANGLE

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 16:37:09 +0000

[...] only beta customers should go straight for a $5 million fund raising. My advice in my post Should You Even Raise VC still holds. I believe that over funding can be as destructive as under [...]

By: DJHunt

DJHunt — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 15:59:59 +0000

Mark, I just ran across this article and think it's great. Founder need to understand what VCs are looking for and know that VC funding's not the “usual” path for startups, despite what they think. One little nitpick: in 6B you state that angels would be happy with a 3x return. While there may be plenty of high net worth individuals who would be happy with 3x, my experience says that most “professional” angels are looking for returns more along the lines of VCs. The Kaufmann Foundation suggests that angels have 10 companies in their portfolio each with the possibility of 10-30x returns, because only 1 of those companies will likely have that kind of exit. Of the rest, 4 will fail and 5 will have negative or modest returns.