Both Sides of the Table - Latest Comments in Getting Access to the Old Boys’ Club (how to approach a VC)

Re: Getting Access to the Old Boys’ Club (how to approach a VC)

Michael McClain — Tue, 17 Nov 2015 14:03:47 -0000

Nice article from the Entrepreneurs perspective. https://medium.com/@relaxan...

Re: Getting Access to the Old Boys’ Club (how to approach a VC)

Marcus2012 — Mon, 16 Mar 2015 09:11:36 -0000

What do you do when you don't live in Silicon Valley though? I can't just walk up to random VCs, and the VCs where I am are extremely small, and the software industry is basically non-existant.

Re: Getting Access to the Old Boys’ Club (how to approach a VC)

lawrence coburn — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 02:52:18 -0000

Mark, you almost need to add a #5 now.... AngelList.

Re: Getting Access to the Old Boys’ Club (how to approach a VC)

Dave Naves — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 00:27:46 -0000

mark,
having been through this exact process merely by happenstance ( in the late 90s with ticketmaster/citysearch) i can say thatyou're exactly right... getting introduced to a vc through a protfolio ceo (especially a really smart/respected one) actually made it very easy. we were treated like royalty when we presented our stuff.

really appreciate you taking the time to write this... spot on!

cheers,
//dave

Re: Getting Access to the Old Boys’ Club (how to approach a VC)

marksuster — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 15:07:37 -0000

Usually American VC's will not fund overseas unless they have a presence there. It is hard enough to work with local entrepreneurs, local laws, local competition, etc. But then looking to fund somewhere else only adds to the risk and the complexity of board meetings, etc. You can look for VC's that have a track record of investing in Japan. Obviously ones like Softbank have invested on both sides of the Ocean. There are also funds that have US presence with "Asia" teams like Steamboat. Good luck!

Re: Getting Access to the Old Boys’ Club (how to approach a VC)

James — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 09:15:06 -0000

Are there many US VC's that will consider funding a company overseas? I am an American living in Japan and am researching what I need to do for a start-up in Japan. I am curious if American based VC's are possible investor options to consider as well.

Thank you..

Re: Getting Access to the Old Boys’ Club (how to approach a VC)

Brendan — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 01:27:54 -0000

Thank Mark!

I'm very confident in our "fundability". That said, my team and I are taking all necessary steps to perfect our product before we seek funding and legal council.

Will keep you posted.

All the best,

@BrendanBiryla

Re: Getting Access to the Old Boys’ Club (how to approach a VC)

marksuster — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 00:51:27 -0000

Brendan, sure there are many. I should warn you that they don't take on everyone pro-bono - they need to be sure that they think you're high potential (e.g. you're likely to get funded and therefore they'll eventually get paid. 3 in LA that I like to recommend (strictly alphabetical) are Buchalter Nemer, DLA Piper and Stubbs Alderton. Good luck.

Re: Getting Access to the Old Boys’ Club (how to approach a VC)

Brendan — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 23:05:13 -0000

Mark,

is it true that law firms will work pro bono to help young entrepaneurs sort out the legal stuff prior to receiving funding? I want to make sure I can keep control of my company before I make my entrance into the world of angel/VC capital. Do you know of any such lawyers in West Los Angeles?

Thanks,
@BrendanBiryla

Re: Getting Access to the Old Boys’ Club (how to approach a VC)

Clint Costa — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:58:21 -0000

Couldn't agree more with (1). First, I'm a lawyer and I'm a good guy to hang out with.

But more to the point, I am constantly meeting entrepreneurs and angels or others with capital. My angel contacts know I won't send them trash. My entrepreneur contacts want to gravitate to those who can not only provide legal services, but also make referrals to other quality service providers, including angels and capital matchmakers.

Re: Getting Access to the Old Boys’ Club (how to approach a VC)

diego — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 11:33:44 -0000

I think you are just complaining, either just justify your failures or just to hypothetise.

If you are unhappy that this article doesn't bring anything new than it's probably that there is hardly anything more to know about the subject. If everybody write similar things from their experience than this is basically all you need to know. There might be some other details than change and very - and are basically not so important and there is no point in writing about them.

The problem of many inteligent people is that they would like to be entrepreneurs and although they might be good with math, they are not entrepreneurs. Sorry to say so, but no matter if you are young or old and you don't know any investors, lawyers, VCsts etc than the question you ask is wrong - you wonder what should they do if they don't know anyone. Well, the first step would be to actually get to know "right" people :) How? Well, they are supposedly inteligent, right? So they should find a way...

And in case you wonder - venture capital is interested in "proper" ventures. A proper venture is such that not only the business idea is good, but also the people are right to do it. People who don't know right people to get financing are basically wrong to do business - no matter what their IQ is and how good an idea they have. Obviously, they not only do not know people to handle financing, but also others aspects of business. If they had a bunch of marketers, lawyers, PR-specialists, IT guys etc than they would find their way to VC
This is why VC make themselves available to entrepreneurs and the real ones will get them. Definitely, they won't look for smart asses to force them their financing or someone who can't even make it to finding their way to talk to VC

Re: Getting Access to the Old Boys’ Club (how to approach a VC)

Tim Platt — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 07:40:53 -0000

Although warm referrals from a 'trusted' corporate lawyer catering to the tech and start-up sectors are helpful, they pre-suppose a connection with that lawyer and a favorable recommendation as well.

The best way to find growth capital is to apply to a venture summit where you can speed pitch your ideas to several investors face-to-face in a single day. One such example is The Speed Venture Summit, the premier speed-dating-style event for fast-growth businesses and investors in New England. http://www.speedventuresumm...; and follow the virtual discussion at Twitter #SVSNE

Re: Getting Access to the Old Boys’ Club (how to approach a VC)

rahul — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 03:31:12 -0000

nice ideas..will surely give them a shot!!

Re: Getting Access to the Old Boys’ Club (how to approach a VC)

marksuster — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 16:19:25 -0000

Ed, I understand your point of view and sometimes this works. However, I have also learned the in enterprise sales even though you could just pick up the phone and call the Chief Marketing Officer of your target company and make the pitch, sometimes that isn't the approach that is most likely to get the outcome you want. If you could find a way to get intro'd to the CMO that some call is more likely to receive a positive reception. My point-of-view - maybe right, maybe wrong. But it's how things have worked in my experience. Thank you for your comments.

Re: Getting Access to the Old Boys’ Club (how to approach a VC)

get back to work — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 15:12:23 -0000

As A VC, I do the same type of screening on warm intros as cold calls. Warm intros can mean that the management is good at networking but I have seen a fair number of "me too" deals come in this way.

Re: Getting Access to the Old Boys’ Club (how to approach a VC)

ed — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 14:44:08 -0000

Mark,

I don't agree. How good of a saleman/entrepreneur can you possibly be if you can't just pick up the phone and call somebody and make the pitch. You can get the VC's email and/or phone, just do the work.

You should be respected for finding the right person to call. Expecting someone else to do your job is never a good idea.

Re: Getting Access to the Old Boys’ Club (how to approach a VC)

Pierpont Poltroon IV, Venture — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 14:18:03 -0000

Stephen, if you'd like me to review your business plan, simply approach me at our 20th reunion or buttonhole me down at the country club. (But not while we're in Aspen or on Nantucket.)

Re: Getting Access to the Old Boys’ Club (how to approach a VC)

marksuster — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 11:52:34 -0000

Peter, thanks for the comments. Marc Andreessen recently did a blog on this topic http://blog.pmarca.com/2007... and concluded that given: market (idea), team, product he goes with market. So the maestro seems to agree with you. I'm less convinced. I believe that A teams with B ideas can spot mistakes in the approach and fix them. B teams with a good idea often get out innovated and don't recognize when market conditions change. Sometimes if they're in the right place at the right time they can still win (in a strong wind even turkeys can fly), but I still bet on A teams. As for "C" - I don't bet on anything C! ;-0 thanks again for your thoughts.

Re: Getting Access to the Old Boys’ Club (how to approach a VC)

slingster — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 11:42:37 -0000

Stephen, you have just successfully networked with a VC!

Mark, I once applied game theory to the VC business. You know how it goes: "I will invest in an A team with a C idea vs. a C team with and A idea" and so on.

For true innovation, such as the invention of the airplane, TV, etc. The result was to always go with the "A idea C team" scenario.

For derrivate and me too businesses (such as investing in dog socializing network where others already exist)the (A team, C idea (or no idea!) works ok. Of course, in the last 10 years, the VC graveyard is littered with "A teams" that lost billions on "C"ideas and mee too ideas.

"A" ideas are not easy to spot and often are not intuitive. But if you can find them, even it the come with an innovator that has bad breath and is terrible at public speaking, can't see snow to an eskimo, etc, game theory says go with him anyway.

Why? You can always dress him up, brush his teeth, give hom speaking leassons, etc. An innovative idea is much harder to come by and its very hard to make a great idea out of a "C" idea.

Re: Getting Access to the Old Boys’ Club (how to approach a VC)

marksuster — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 09:32:38 -0000

Hey, Steven. I understand your sentiment but I'm just calling it how it is. Better that people understand reality in order to increase odds of success. I would say that even young entrepreneurs should have basic networking skills. How tough is it in a social media world to send out a Tweet or post on FB or LinkedIn to ask local entrepreneurs if they know the best law firm in town? Which law firm isn't going to take a call from a young entrepreneur who says he's starting a company and looking for legal counsel (many will work pro bono until your funded if they think you have high potential). An entrepreneur who can't master these basics probably is a good tech developer but probably not a great entrepreneur. It takes the whole package to succeed. And if it's not in that individuals skill sets then it is always best to find a partner who is good at networking.

Re: Getting Access to the Old Boys’ Club (how to approach a VC)

steven — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 09:18:50 -0000

Interesting BUT haven't we heard all of this befor, like millions of times. It would be great if someone had something innovative to bring to the table...

What about all those folks that aren't anybody yet?
People who are smart, educated but with no connections, no work experience in the right areas and just really no possibility of simply calling anybody up (seriously who the hell as a young entrepreneur knows any corporate lawyers for heaven's sake - most entrepreneurs are young people with great minds, ideas and no money working out of their shitty apartments...how the hell would they know anybody corporate?)but still have great ideas that are just ripe to be invested in?

Seriously, if VCs are so interested in finding great entrepreneurs and investing and most importantly making shit loads of money from these entrepreneurs don't you think they could spend some money on hiring someone to actually look at their in-boxes??? Seriously, this is a two way street and many, many entrepreneurs are excellent at what they do but do not have the time nor the connections to be mingling and networking since they are actually working on their business ideas, usually with no funds and no backing.

A realistic approach from VC¨s seriously interested in finding great, innovative ideas, and not simply investing in friends and friends of friends, could be to be open to maybe, just maybe, opening up to the fact that everyone is not like you and that the good ideas could possibly come from the outside. Maybe it is about time you stop acting like stuck up prigs and realize what being a venture capitalist is all about....the operative word being venture and not going the same boy's club route with the same old peeps...

Re: Getting Access to the Old Boys’ Club (how to approach a VC)

marksuster — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 12:37:36 -0000

Thanks for the comments, Ryan. There are 2 types of VC firms: those that don't even read the business plans coming in and those that have the most junior member of staff read them and filter. Either way it is the least productive way of approaching a VC. It automatically elicits the question, "how come this person couldn't find somebody who knows me?" They won't consciously say that, but that's what they'll internalize.

Re: Getting Access to the Old Boys’ Club (how to approach a VC)

Ryan Born — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 00:47:52 -0000

I'm a big fan of items 3. and 4. They really do work. Thanks for breaking the secret on the general inbox inquiry. It's so tempting to believe that someone at the firm actually reads the plans that come in through the general inbox.

Re: Getting Access to the Old Boys’ Club (how to approach a VC)

David Lee — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 18:04:49 -0000

Mark,
Saw this link out on Twitter. Very good information and very appreciated by an entrepreneur such as myself, who isn't too the VC stage yet but want to be ready when we are. Will also be sending this link to the rest of my team.

David
Founder/CEO
Virtuosant Technology

Re: Getting Access to the Old Boys’ Club (how to approach a VC)

Jason Nazar — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 12:45:38 -0000

Mark,

you nailed it. I think this is fantastic advice for folks trying to figure out how to meet VCs. I think you next follow up post should be on tips on how to pitch VCs.

jas