Comments for geekvc

Comment on No by dba

dba — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 22:48:24 +0000

Josh

I can think of several times when I wanted to get to “yes” but needed the entrepreneur’s help to do so – but couldn’t. Some of the times it was a size of market question where I needed help in painting the picture of how the opportunity could potentially grow to be massive (see my post on Foothills and Basecamps), Other times it revolved around some senior team adds. In one case, a current portfolio company, the initial market seemed too perilous to try as a starting point, but we worked the team to identify and vet other markets that seemed better – and then we invested.

As far as how to get the VC to work with you to get to a “yes” I think it starts with a strong connection between the founder and VC and a genuine interest from the VC and not just lip service. With this, simply asking if there is a way to work together to get to a “yes” is the way to go. But be careful to ask the VC what the rest of his/her partnership feels on the investment to make sure there is no radioactivity internally …

Comment on No by Josh Rutstein

Josh Rutstein — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 15:59:44 +0000

If I were raising funds, I would certainly appreciate a forthright “no” more than being strung along for a while. Have you ever had instances where you wanted to get to “yes” but either didn’t or couldn’t work with the entrepreneur to help her get there? I would think that if you are able to say “yes” that is a good thing (for the VC firm and the company) and so working to get there is also advantageous. Is there anything an entrepreneur could do to solicit that advice without being annoying (clearly not at family events)?

Comment on No by ASG

ASG — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 20:59:25 +0000

Hi David,

Nice post.

I think it’s fairly obvious, but a great entrepreneur must survive many no’s on the way to building a meaningful business…from prospective customers, employees, and of course investors.

A great entrepreneur never stops until it’s unequivocally clear that the market doesn’t value his or her solution.

Thanks
ASG

Comment on Crashlytics Acquired by Twitter by How Twitter Came to Boston: The Story Behind Two Very Different Acquisitions - BostInno (blog) - TWITTEROO.NET

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 18:28:46 +0000

[...] he didn’t want to be in the position of needing to sell so early. One VC, trying to make sense of investor David Aronoff’s enthusiasm at the exit, guessed that the “good” outcome in question might have been something on the order [...]

Comment on Crashlytics Acquired by Twitter by Chris Sheehan

Chris Sheehan — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 16:01:08 +0000

Totally agree David. Tremendous team and Wayne and Jeff are world-class. Honored to have been a seed investor.

Chris

Comment on Foothills and Basecamps by Foothills and Basecamps | SBL

Foothills and Basecamps | SBL — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 09:08:29 +0000

[...] See on geekvc.com [...]

Comment on Foothills and Basecamps by Jacqueline Totten

Jacqueline Totten — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 21:47:32 +0000

David, you are exactly on the money with the hiking analogy. And, there is no point going after a market unless you plan to disrupt and own it. Mobile2Metrics is disrupting our market and cannot wait until others realize that we’ve planted our flag on top of Everest. BTW, we’re currently above 1st base camp, heading up towards the 2nd. Best wishes Jackie

Comment on Foothills and Basecamps by Ashley Pernell

Ashley Pernell — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 17:19:06 +0000

Dear Mr. Aronoff,

This was a wonderful and insightful article. I am currently the co founder of a start up 3D Printing company and getting past the initial idea stage has been the hardest art of this journey, but we refuse to give up. However what we have realized is that we want a partner that can help us take our idea to the next level. I would like your advice because i know that you are extremely good at what you do. If you are interested and would like more information, a video overview and demonstration of our plan are available at our partner page. http://www.s3dp.com/partners. Please tell me what you think.

Best Reguards,

Ashley Pernell
Silva 3D Printing

Comment on Foothills and Basecamps by dba

dba — Sun, 11 Nov 2012 04:32:35 +0000

Thanks for your comment. I disagree, as you might imagine with your point however – as it’s too general and the truth is that it really depends on the firm’s strategy regarding seeds. If the firm takes a more broad “spray an pray” approach to seed investing, making dozens of seed investments annually, I’d be inclined to agree. But if the firm is taking an active stewardship role and working with the startup closely to help them meet the milestones, then the seed phase is just the beginning of a long term relationship, and where the VC gains the most insight and can have the greatest impact. (and the lowest cost basis of the firm’s ownership). As for signaling – I think the issue is no longer valid, given the number of seed investments made by most early stage VC firms beginning 2+ years back, there’s a new signaling problem; what if those VC’s AREN’T in your seed round? The spray approach generally yields very high attrition rates, 90%+ for some funds. And since they essentially buy an option on the startup’s Series A, the odds are that they’ll spend very little time on Series A’s that were not “their” seeds. I think entrepreneurs should take money from VCs in their seeds rounds, if and only if, the VCs can provide true value beyond the dollars. And I suggest the same criteria ought to apply to angels, seed funds and micro VCs. Since the ideas are generally formative (otherwise the company wouldn’t be raising a seed!) and it’s the most expensive stock they’re likely to sell, startups should INSIST that ANY seed round investor helps seriously increase the company’s progress.

Comment on Foothills and Basecamps by carnosine eye drops

carnosine eye drops — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 12:48:02 +0000

Those are the structural problems with VCs doing seed investing – it’s challenging for a seed investment to have an impact on the fund’s total returns and there can be all sorts of signaling problems. So why would an entrepreneur take money from a top VC, and why would the VC itself ever make seed investments?