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Speaking of Venture Capital…
Nov 13 2007

First off, if you haven’t heard Al Gore is now a partner at Silicon Valley venture firm, Kleiner, Perkins.  Kleiner is the most prestigious venture firm in Silicon Valley.  He joined to help guide their investments in companies that are combating global warming.  I have to really hand it to Al Gore for totally reinventing himself from VP of the United States to candidate for President of the US to champion for the planet!  His parents must be mighty proud!

After writing my post on Fred Wilson on Venture Capital Fund Performance, I have happened upon a few more interesting posts on the subject of fundraising.

Wendy Piersall made me aware of 7 Things No One Tells You About Raising Venture Capital Financing by Ben Yoskovitz.

From Ben’s blog I found 7 Steps to Land and Leverage an Angel Investor by Carleen Hawn.

Here’s a chart listing their lucky number 7 items:

7 Things No One Tells You About Raising Venture Capital Financing 7 Steps to Land and Leverage an Angel Investor
Signing a term sheet is only step one. Step 1: Identify yourself.
It might not be worth negotiating the finer points of the deal at the term sheet stage. Step 2: Identify the right angel
Due diligence is an “interesting” process. Step 3: Your company’s fundamentals.
The paperwork is extremely detailed and extensive. Step 4: Valuation.
Most of the deal focuses on negative details. Step 5: Structuring the deal.
You pay all the legal bills. Step 6: Negotiation. (Psst!: You don’t need to do it!)
Don’t just focus on how much you’re raising and what chunk of the company you’re giving up. Step 7. Leveraging the relationship.

Ben and Carleen make great points and from my experience back in the late 90’s I agree with all of them.  I’d like to add, ‘trust your gut!’  Your gut feelings are based on years of experience that you may not be able to articulate quickly in words but you know…you know you do.

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