Venture Capitalists at Work

by Shah, Tarang; Shah, Sheetal

• ISBN13: 9781430238379
• ISBN10: 1430238372
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-11-16
• Publisher: Apress

Summary

Venture Capitalists At Work: How VCs Identify and Build Billion Dollar Successesis a collection of interviews with the venture capitalists behind some of the most notable startup successes. The book brings together a vast pool of untapped and fragmented knowledge about startup building and investment, and it offers entrepreneurs an actionable and indispensible guide to gaining support for their ventures. AuthorsTarangand Sheetal Shah, venture capitalists themselves, interview rising VC stars like Roelof Botha of Sequoia Capital (YouTube, DropBox), Mike Maples of Floodgate (Twitter, Chegg), Internet and software investment pioneers like Howard Morgan of First Round Capital & Idealab (Overture, CitySearch, CarsDirect) and Tim Draper of DFJ (Baidu, Skype, HotMail), and venture investment thought leaders like Randy Komisar of Kleiner Perkins and Mike Hodges of ATA Ventures. Each tells in their own words the behind-the-scenes, insightful stories of how they identified promising markets and entrepreneurs and then helped the companies develop into name-brand successes-or noble failures. Among the questions they answer: Why do so many startups fail? Which is more important, market or management? How important is market timing? Who has a better track record: entrepreneurs fresh out of college, serial entrepreneurs, or seasoned executives? How do you identify high-potential entrepreneurs? How do you build an ;A ; team? How do you know it's time to pull the plug on a foundering startup? How do you exit with maximum value intact? Venture Capitalists at Workalso contains interviews with those on the receiving end of venture money-entrepreneurs in high-profile startups that went on to achieve great success, like Osman Rashid of Chegg, Jawed Karim of YouTube, and Alex Mehr of Zoosk.  Whether you are an entrepreneur in the middle of building the next big startup, an investment professional who wants to learn about how fellow investors have built big successes, or an ambitious student or programmer dreaming of founding the next Google or Facebook, you will gain incredible insights into how the best venture capitalists in the business go about their daily work, the common mistakes they frequently encounter, and how they can sleep peacefully at night despite being at the center of the riskiest investment business of them all. What you'll learn What venture capitalists focus on when assessing a potential investment What venture capitalists are looking for in entrepreneurs and business plans Why most startups fail Common entrepreneurial mistakes you can avoid How venture capitalists identify promising markets How to pitch a venture capitalist successfully  How to build an ;A ; team How venture capitalists determine when to sell a business, fund it more, or shut it down Who this book is for This book is a must-read for entrepreneurs and venture capital/private equity investors. It's also for venture capitalists and entrepreneurs in emerging markets who want to apply to homegrown ventures the Silicon Valley model of building billion-dollar startups. Corporate executives focused on innovation or mergers and acquisitions will find the book's insights priceless. Finally, business students and aspiring entrepreneurs will find this book a great reference guide and how-to manual for starting companies, building new products and services, and helping move the 21st century economy forward.

Table of Contents

Roelof Botha, Sequoia Capital

Mike Maples, FLOODGATE Fund

George Zachary, Charles River Ventures

Sean Dalton, Highland Capital Partners

Alex Mehr, Zoosk

Howard Morgan, First Round Capital and Idealab

Tim Draper, DFJ

Osman Rashid, Chegg

Harry Weller, NEA

David Cowan, Bessemer Venture Partners

Michel Birch, Bebo and Birthday Alarm

Mitchell Kertzman, Hummer Winblad Venture Partners

Scott Sandell, NEA

Gus Tai, Trinity Ventures

Steven Dietz, GRP Partners

Paul Scanlan, MobiTV

Ann Winblad, Hummer Winblad Venture Partners

Jim Goetz, Sequoia Capital

Roger Lee, Battery Ventures

Ken Howery, Founders Fund

Alfred Lin, Sequoia Capital and Zappos

Kevin Hartz, Xoom and Eventbrite

Eric Hippeau, Lerer Ventures and SoftBank Capital

David Lee, SV Angels

Ted Alexander, Mission Ventures

Robert Kibble, Mission Ventures

Rajiv Laroia, Flarion

Jim Boettcher and Kevin McQuillan, Focus Ventures

Mike Hodges, ATA Ventures

Alan Patricof, Greycroft Partners

Ben Elowitz, Blue Nile and Wet Paint

Vish Mishra, Clearstone Venture Partners

Richard Wong, Accel Partners

Randy Komisar, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers

Peter Wagner, Accel Partners

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.