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What You’re Really Asking When You Raise Your Seed
> Knowledge = Better decisions to finance your startup
Why We’re Here
My Path
Badge #244 for 7 years, 1st Ex Pat in Europe
Mentor was Vin Prothro - 31%, 30%, 15%….
Rod Canion advice on first 10 employees + conflict
Early Angie’s List - Funded by Austin Ventures, Fremont 

Ventures & Silicon Valley Bank. Sold to NYSE:OC
Private Client Investment Advisor with > $500mm AUM

Mostly Alternative Assets like Venture, Hedge Funds
Makes business networking easier, raised $6.5mm from

View Capital, Kayne Anderson, Romano, Gore, Forehand…
Founder
Typical Entrepreneur Before Fund Raising Starts
After 6+ Months Of Rejection
Entrepreneurship Is A Lot More This
=
Than This!
The undertaking of a business
enterprise with a complete, total, 

utter lack of respect of 

the resources you currently control!
My Definition Of Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship is not easy
You Must Be Passionate, Very Passionate
Alternative Investment Industry
@ 30,000 feet
Understanding The Fundraising Landscape

- Let’s Start With The Money Sources
Asset Allocation - Drives 94% of returns
Alternative asset class - Venture is a very small subset
PE / Hedge Fund / Collectables
Fund of Funds (FoF)
Non Correlation
Yield
Investment Consultants / Cambridge Associates
David Swenson “Yale Model” Pioneering Portfolio Management
Pensions / Endowments / Sovereign Funds
Banker /  iBanker
Denominator problem - post 2008
.5-5% Fee & 0-44% Carry (2&20 is common but still rich)
A Few Allocator Terms
More Terms
So, a GP takes OPM from LPs and charges a Management
Fee to allocate to PCs after Calling funds for Seed/A/B/C+
rounds so they can generate an IPO or M&A Exit to take their
Carry….then raise their next fund…
More Terms
So, a GP, takes OPM from LPs and charges a Management
Fee to allocate to PCs after Calling funds for Seed/A/B/C+
rounds so they can generate an IPO or M&A Exit to take their
Carry….then raise their next fund…
all so they can buy their 3rd vineyard!
Investors Play in Specific Stages
B C D E
Venture Stage
Burning cash
Hit or Miss (VC)
Growth Stage
Reinvesting cash
Premium value (IPO)
Mature
Excess cash flow
Not growth or value
Fading Winner
Careful with cash
Value play (LBOs)
Forced Change
Insufficient cash
Deep discount (Vulture)
Cost of Capital
ReturnonInvestment
“Left-Side” “Right-Side”
An Investor’s Perspective of Company Life Cycles
A
B C D E
Venture Stage
Burning cash
Hit or Miss (VC)
Growth Stage
Reinvesting cash
Premium value (IPO)
Mature
Excess cash flow
Not growth or value
Fading Winner
Careful with cash
Value play (LBOs)
Forced Change
Insufficient cash
Deep discount (Vulture)
Cost of Capital
ReturnonInvestment Microsoft
Intel
Dell
Yahoo
Google
Salesforce
Facebook
“Left-Side” “Right-Side”
RadioShack
An Investor’s Perspective of Company Life Cycles
A
B C D E
Venture Stage
Burning cash
Hit or Miss (VC)
Growth Stage
Reinvesting cash
Premium value (IPO)
Mature
Excess cash flow
Not growth or value
Fading Winner
Careful with cash
Value play (LBOs)
Forced Change
Insufficient cash
Deep discount (Vulture)
Cost of Capital
ReturnonInvestment Microsoft
Intel
Dell
Yahoo
Google
Salesforce
Facebook
Equity market system
set up to unlock the
value of Stage B growth
stories
VCs exist to feed 

left-side demand
Market tends to be critical,
even hostile to companies
outside its Stage B sweet
spot
PEs exist to exploit right-
side discounts and cash
flows
“Left-Side” “Right-Side”
RadioShack
An Investor’s Perspective of Company Life Cycles
A
Venture
Capital Firm
(General Partner)
Limited Partners (Investors)
(public pension funds, corporate pension funds, insurance companies,
high net-worth individuals, family offices, endowments, foundations,
fund-of-funds, sovereign wealth funds, etc)
Ownership of the Fund
Fund / Investment
Management
Investment Investment Investment
Venture Capital Fund
(Limited Partnership)
The Fund’s ownership of
the portfolio investments
Generic Venture Capital / PE Firm Structure
Venture Capital Is A Stressed Industry
Barbell Market Forming
A Shrinking Market in the Middle
Large VCs 

Getting Larger
More Angels and 

Micro Funds
Record Size Fund From NEA
Rise In Earliest Stage Investors
Austin Ventures Now Out Of Market - Good & Bad
Raising Early Stage Funds
@ 30,000 feet
Understanding The Fundraising Landscape

- Now Let’s Spend Time On Entrepreneurs
Fiduciary ~Ship Captain
Traction - Speaks louder than words, it yells in fact
 
Term sheet
Details are another presentation
Debt
Secured debt
Convertible debt

Equity
Preferred Equity
Common Equity
Founders Shares
Warrants
Option Pool / Vesting / Cliff
Sample Entrepreneur Terms
Fiduciary ~Ship Captain
Traction - Speaks louder than words, it yells in fact
 
Term sheet
Not going to discuss term sheets in detail as that is another detailed presentation
Debt
Secured debt
Convertible debt
Equity
Preferred Equity
Common Equity
Founders Shares
Warrants
Option Pool / Vesting / Cliff
Sample Entrepreneur Terms
Capital Stack
Capitalization Table (Cap Table)
Accredited Investor
$1mm, $200k / $300k (J.O.B.S Act will help here)
Due Diligence (DD)
LTV / CaC
Burn Rate
Fume Date
Sample Entrepreneur Terms
A Superior Plan Of Attack Increases Odds for Success
1) Vision of how the future > today
2) State a significant problem

Pain killer > vitamin
3) How you solve that problem
4) How you will generate an unfair competitive advantage
5) Market opportunity

Remember my Vin Prothro comment on 31%, 30%, 15%?
6) Qualifications of the team
7) Money needed & milestones to achieve
 
Use the “west coast fund raising offense” and focus your efforts on the
highest % investors.  The others are typically a waste of time.
7 Things Before You Pitch
Make Sure You Understand These:
 
1) Technology risk
2) Product risk
3) Market Risk
4) Management risk
5) Scale risk
6) Capital risk
7) Exit risk
- What does the investor get for their money
- What are the milestones to achieve with that money
7 Risks +2 Items Investors Look For
SEED STAGE:
Your own money 

(keep your burn low, consulting)
“ MCI Round”
Angels
MicroVC
FO = Family Office
MFO =  Multi Family Office
Venture Fund (Be wary of Seed spread allocations)
Equity and Debt Crowdfunding (J.O.B.S Act)
Product based Crowdfunding (e.g. Kickstarter)
Gov programs, SBIC, SBA loans/grants DBE (disadvantaged business enterprise)
     Minority Owned, Veteran Owned, Service Disabled Veteran Owned
Options To Finance Your Business
“Venture capital is not the most risk-taking part of the equation. We VCs
wait until things are more developed” says Wilson. “I trust angels I know
and the early legwork and diligence they do. I don’t know where ‘lazy’
comes from. They’re probably the most  important part of the capital
stack because they believe in entrepreneurs before VCs do.” 

– Fred Wilson
Importance Of Respected Angels
LATER STAGE = New Options
Later stage venture 
PE / Growth equity firm
Hedge funds (relatively new and not always good for venture)
Investment banks (esp if they see a public exit)
Mutual funds (only for mega hits)
Royalty funds
Options To Finance Your Business
Worry Less About Valuation And More About Investor Fit
Business Goal = Sustainable Business Model + Exit
Business Goal = Sustainable Business Model + Exit
But Only Fools Focus On The Exit
Business Goal = Sustainable Business Model + Exit
But Only Fools Focus On The Exit
Superior Execution = More Liquidity Options
.000006 chance to build a $1b in revenue business
Business Goal = Sustainable Business Model + Exit
But Only Fools Focus On The Exit
Superior Execution = More Liquidity Options
 Self Harvest - What Great Family Dynasties Are Built On
Mergers & Acquisition “M&A”
 Initial Public Offering “IPO”
  SecondMarkets / SharesPost (now NASDAQ Private Market)
 
ESO Funds
 
“ReCap” (e.g. SurveyMonkey exit)
“Acquihire” = no bueno, but last alternative before wind down or “BK”
Right Exit Is What YOU Want For Your Business
When Raising Funds CEOs Balance A Lot
StartUps Can Be Controlled Chaos
Raising your first $1mm to $5mm   a view from both sides of the table
Tips For Finding the Right Investor Marriage
Don’t ask for money until you’ve left your job
Unless from mom and dad  
Don’t get excited about a VC taking a meeting - it is their job
Qualify them and don’t waste YOUR time
Introductions are critical, esp the right one
Portfolio company CEOs make great introductions
Check your emotion when you see the Caller ID
My approach to mentors vs. advisors
Hints, Not Rules
$500k is the old $5mm - part of MicroVC rise, AWS 
NDAs - no real investor will sign one except for some corporates
Pro forma P&Ls
People who say they can help you raise money are generally WOTs
Hints, Not Rules
A Taxi Driver Can Have a Great Idea

It Is Mostly About The Team, Market & Idea Execution
This team did pretty well
An MVP, Especially with Traction, Helps Tremendously
The Best Businesses Build Unfair Competitive Advantages
Don’t Go Down Alley Of Unimportant Things
Successful Businesses Can Start Anywhere
First Office in Menlo Park, CA
Questions to Ask Angels, FOs, MFOs
How many deals have you done in the last year?
Market, stage, geography
3 Reasons why investing in highest risk stage
Generally less for returns than other reasons
Call CEOs of 3 deals that went south on them
Did they flee the foxhole or keep fighting
How involved or uninvolved do you want to be?
How can you help me the most?
Sample Qualification Questions to Avoid Dr No
Questions to Ask Funds
How many deals have you done in the last year?
Market, stage, geography
How do you pitch your LPs on your unique value?
Why will you add more value to my business than 

the other funds?
What vintage fund is it + how much is left for 

new investments?
How carry is allocated? Equal % among GPs or Not?
Helps you understand who’s really on your team
Call CEOs of 3 deals that went south on them
Did they flee the foxhole or keep reasonably fighting
Sample Qualification Questions to Avoid Dr No
Raising your first $1mm to $5mm   a view from both sides of the table
1. A Great One-Liner
Think of it as your elevator pitch… in one
sentence.
It’s a hybrid of:
- Your product / vision
- Your company purpose
- A starting point for the pitch


Common framework: “We are X for Y”* 

*assuming X is attractive and Y is a big enough opportunity!
2. Know Your Audience
Before crafting a pitch deck, understand:
- Who you are meeting with?
- What is the investor’s and the firm’s focus?
- Are there related investments?
- How much time do you have?
These influence your deck, the discussion and 

likely questions you’ll be asked.
3. 10-15 Slides
The deck is important...

But the conversation is more important.


Budget your time accordingly.

Allow for discussion alongside each
slide.
10-15 slides. Max. 

Will provide suggested structure later in
deck
4. Beware the Demo
For early stage companies, it’s all about product.
And the best mark of product is market validation.


Demos are great… but remember these four rules:
1. Be careful of time.
2. Don’t get lost in product.
3. Have backup if (when!) something goes wrong.
4. Give even weight to product & traction / data.
5. Expect the Deck to be
Shared
Whether you like it or not (!),

your deck will be shared (i.e. among
partnership).



Goal: be equally compelling with/without
voiceover.
How?
- deck should tell its own story.

- do *not* rely on builds, intricate slides.

- make the file size manageable for email.

- PDF or secure URL are great alternatives to
Go Ugly Early And Ask The Hard Questions

- A Delicate Balance, But Respect Their Time & YOURS!
When raising private equity (VC), always remember a VC is
a political animal trapped inside a limited partnership.
- On a hot streak or a cold streak
- Always wanting to be the one to find the next big deal
- Always worried they’ll be embarrassed in partner meeting
Mitigate that risk for them and they will work on being your sponsor
It takes an average of 21 months for established entrepreneurs 

to secure VC funding compared to 37 months for first-timers
Always Remember The Politics
Some Investors Can Be a Boil On The Ass of Progress
Introductions From Trusted Associates?
A True Fund Raising Story
David
David
Can I Trust a Social Media Footprint?
Fake David
Fake David Never Worked For Soros 

Or Samsung Family Office
Fake David
But Did Make An Interesting Introduction
Fake David
Family is now a 

Who@ Investor
=
Transparency + Trust Helped Turn a Lemmon Into Lemonade
Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures http://avc.com/
Mark Suster http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com/
Brad Feld http://www.feld.com/
Bill Gurley http://abovethecrowd.com/
Ben Horowitz http://www.bhorowitz.com/ (The Hard Thing about Hard
Things)
First Round Review http://firstround.com/review/
Naval & Babak from AngelList http://venturehacks.com/
Steve Blank, Lean StartUp http://steveblank.com/
Eric Reis, Lean StartUp http://www.startuplessonslearned.com/
Blogs to Read and Learn Much More
Lastly, Entrepreneurship Explained In A 3 Minute Dance Video
Raising your first $1mm to $5mm   a view from both sides of the table
Want This Deck Or Access To
My Evernote Advice Folder?
follow me on Twitter
@leeblaylock
& email me at
lblaylock@whoat.net

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Raising your first $1mm to $5mm a view from both sides of the table

  • 1. What You’re Really Asking When You Raise Your Seed
  • 2. > Knowledge = Better decisions to finance your startup Why We’re Here
  • 3. My Path Badge #244 for 7 years, 1st Ex Pat in Europe Mentor was Vin Prothro - 31%, 30%, 15%…. Rod Canion advice on first 10 employees + conflict Early Angie’s List - Funded by Austin Ventures, Fremont 
 Ventures & Silicon Valley Bank. Sold to NYSE:OC Private Client Investment Advisor with > $500mm AUM
 Mostly Alternative Assets like Venture, Hedge Funds Makes business networking easier, raised $6.5mm from
 View Capital, Kayne Anderson, Romano, Gore, Forehand… Founder
  • 4. Typical Entrepreneur Before Fund Raising Starts
  • 5. After 6+ Months Of Rejection
  • 6. Entrepreneurship Is A Lot More This
  • 8. The undertaking of a business enterprise with a complete, total, 
 utter lack of respect of 
 the resources you currently control! My Definition Of Entrepreneurship
  • 9. Entrepreneurship is not easy You Must Be Passionate, Very Passionate
  • 10. Alternative Investment Industry @ 30,000 feet Understanding The Fundraising Landscape
 - Let’s Start With The Money Sources
  • 11. Asset Allocation - Drives 94% of returns Alternative asset class - Venture is a very small subset PE / Hedge Fund / Collectables Fund of Funds (FoF) Non Correlation Yield Investment Consultants / Cambridge Associates David Swenson “Yale Model” Pioneering Portfolio Management Pensions / Endowments / Sovereign Funds Banker /  iBanker Denominator problem - post 2008 .5-5% Fee & 0-44% Carry (2&20 is common but still rich) A Few Allocator Terms
  • 12. More Terms So, a GP takes OPM from LPs and charges a Management Fee to allocate to PCs after Calling funds for Seed/A/B/C+ rounds so they can generate an IPO or M&A Exit to take their Carry….then raise their next fund…
  • 13. More Terms So, a GP, takes OPM from LPs and charges a Management Fee to allocate to PCs after Calling funds for Seed/A/B/C+ rounds so they can generate an IPO or M&A Exit to take their Carry….then raise their next fund… all so they can buy their 3rd vineyard!
  • 14. Investors Play in Specific Stages
  • 15. B C D E Venture Stage Burning cash Hit or Miss (VC) Growth Stage Reinvesting cash Premium value (IPO) Mature Excess cash flow Not growth or value Fading Winner Careful with cash Value play (LBOs) Forced Change Insufficient cash Deep discount (Vulture) Cost of Capital ReturnonInvestment “Left-Side” “Right-Side” An Investor’s Perspective of Company Life Cycles A
  • 16. B C D E Venture Stage Burning cash Hit or Miss (VC) Growth Stage Reinvesting cash Premium value (IPO) Mature Excess cash flow Not growth or value Fading Winner Careful with cash Value play (LBOs) Forced Change Insufficient cash Deep discount (Vulture) Cost of Capital ReturnonInvestment Microsoft Intel Dell Yahoo Google Salesforce Facebook “Left-Side” “Right-Side” RadioShack An Investor’s Perspective of Company Life Cycles A
  • 17. B C D E Venture Stage Burning cash Hit or Miss (VC) Growth Stage Reinvesting cash Premium value (IPO) Mature Excess cash flow Not growth or value Fading Winner Careful with cash Value play (LBOs) Forced Change Insufficient cash Deep discount (Vulture) Cost of Capital ReturnonInvestment Microsoft Intel Dell Yahoo Google Salesforce Facebook Equity market system set up to unlock the value of Stage B growth stories VCs exist to feed 
 left-side demand Market tends to be critical, even hostile to companies outside its Stage B sweet spot PEs exist to exploit right- side discounts and cash flows “Left-Side” “Right-Side” RadioShack An Investor’s Perspective of Company Life Cycles A
  • 18. Venture Capital Firm (General Partner) Limited Partners (Investors) (public pension funds, corporate pension funds, insurance companies, high net-worth individuals, family offices, endowments, foundations, fund-of-funds, sovereign wealth funds, etc) Ownership of the Fund Fund / Investment Management Investment Investment Investment Venture Capital Fund (Limited Partnership) The Fund’s ownership of the portfolio investments Generic Venture Capital / PE Firm Structure
  • 19. Venture Capital Is A Stressed Industry
  • 20. Barbell Market Forming A Shrinking Market in the Middle Large VCs 
 Getting Larger More Angels and 
 Micro Funds
  • 21. Record Size Fund From NEA
  • 22. Rise In Earliest Stage Investors
  • 23. Austin Ventures Now Out Of Market - Good & Bad
  • 24. Raising Early Stage Funds @ 30,000 feet Understanding The Fundraising Landscape
 - Now Let’s Spend Time On Entrepreneurs
  • 25. Fiduciary ~Ship Captain Traction - Speaks louder than words, it yells in fact   Term sheet Details are another presentation Debt Secured debt Convertible debt
 Equity Preferred Equity Common Equity Founders Shares Warrants Option Pool / Vesting / Cliff Sample Entrepreneur Terms
  • 26. Fiduciary ~Ship Captain Traction - Speaks louder than words, it yells in fact   Term sheet Not going to discuss term sheets in detail as that is another detailed presentation Debt Secured debt Convertible debt Equity Preferred Equity Common Equity Founders Shares Warrants Option Pool / Vesting / Cliff Sample Entrepreneur Terms Capital Stack
  • 27. Capitalization Table (Cap Table) Accredited Investor $1mm, $200k / $300k (J.O.B.S Act will help here) Due Diligence (DD) LTV / CaC Burn Rate Fume Date Sample Entrepreneur Terms
  • 28. A Superior Plan Of Attack Increases Odds for Success
  • 29. 1) Vision of how the future > today 2) State a significant problem
 Pain killer > vitamin 3) How you solve that problem 4) How you will generate an unfair competitive advantage 5) Market opportunity
 Remember my Vin Prothro comment on 31%, 30%, 15%? 6) Qualifications of the team 7) Money needed & milestones to achieve   Use the “west coast fund raising offense” and focus your efforts on the highest % investors.  The others are typically a waste of time. 7 Things Before You Pitch
  • 30. Make Sure You Understand These:   1) Technology risk 2) Product risk 3) Market Risk 4) Management risk 5) Scale risk 6) Capital risk 7) Exit risk - What does the investor get for their money - What are the milestones to achieve with that money 7 Risks +2 Items Investors Look For
  • 31. SEED STAGE: Your own money 
 (keep your burn low, consulting) “ MCI Round” Angels MicroVC FO = Family Office MFO =  Multi Family Office Venture Fund (Be wary of Seed spread allocations) Equity and Debt Crowdfunding (J.O.B.S Act) Product based Crowdfunding (e.g. Kickstarter) Gov programs, SBIC, SBA loans/grants DBE (disadvantaged business enterprise)      Minority Owned, Veteran Owned, Service Disabled Veteran Owned Options To Finance Your Business
  • 32. “Venture capital is not the most risk-taking part of the equation. We VCs wait until things are more developed” says Wilson. “I trust angels I know and the early legwork and diligence they do. I don’t know where ‘lazy’ comes from. They’re probably the most  important part of the capital stack because they believe in entrepreneurs before VCs do.” 
 – Fred Wilson Importance Of Respected Angels
  • 33. LATER STAGE = New Options Later stage venture  PE / Growth equity firm Hedge funds (relatively new and not always good for venture) Investment banks (esp if they see a public exit) Mutual funds (only for mega hits) Royalty funds Options To Finance Your Business Worry Less About Valuation And More About Investor Fit
  • 34. Business Goal = Sustainable Business Model + Exit
  • 35. Business Goal = Sustainable Business Model + Exit But Only Fools Focus On The Exit
  • 36. Business Goal = Sustainable Business Model + Exit But Only Fools Focus On The Exit Superior Execution = More Liquidity Options
  • 37. .000006 chance to build a $1b in revenue business Business Goal = Sustainable Business Model + Exit But Only Fools Focus On The Exit Superior Execution = More Liquidity Options
  • 38.  Self Harvest - What Great Family Dynasties Are Built On Mergers & Acquisition “M&A”  Initial Public Offering “IPO”   SecondMarkets / SharesPost (now NASDAQ Private Market)   ESO Funds   “ReCap” (e.g. SurveyMonkey exit) “Acquihire” = no bueno, but last alternative before wind down or “BK” Right Exit Is What YOU Want For Your Business
  • 39. When Raising Funds CEOs Balance A Lot
  • 40. StartUps Can Be Controlled Chaos
  • 42. Tips For Finding the Right Investor Marriage
  • 43. Don’t ask for money until you’ve left your job Unless from mom and dad   Don’t get excited about a VC taking a meeting - it is their job Qualify them and don’t waste YOUR time Introductions are critical, esp the right one Portfolio company CEOs make great introductions Check your emotion when you see the Caller ID My approach to mentors vs. advisors Hints, Not Rules
  • 44. $500k is the old $5mm - part of MicroVC rise, AWS  NDAs - no real investor will sign one except for some corporates Pro forma P&Ls People who say they can help you raise money are generally WOTs Hints, Not Rules
  • 45. A Taxi Driver Can Have a Great Idea
 It Is Mostly About The Team, Market & Idea Execution This team did pretty well
  • 46. An MVP, Especially with Traction, Helps Tremendously
  • 47. The Best Businesses Build Unfair Competitive Advantages
  • 48. Don’t Go Down Alley Of Unimportant Things
  • 49. Successful Businesses Can Start Anywhere First Office in Menlo Park, CA
  • 50. Questions to Ask Angels, FOs, MFOs How many deals have you done in the last year? Market, stage, geography 3 Reasons why investing in highest risk stage Generally less for returns than other reasons Call CEOs of 3 deals that went south on them Did they flee the foxhole or keep fighting How involved or uninvolved do you want to be? How can you help me the most? Sample Qualification Questions to Avoid Dr No
  • 51. Questions to Ask Funds How many deals have you done in the last year? Market, stage, geography How do you pitch your LPs on your unique value? Why will you add more value to my business than 
 the other funds? What vintage fund is it + how much is left for 
 new investments? How carry is allocated? Equal % among GPs or Not? Helps you understand who’s really on your team Call CEOs of 3 deals that went south on them Did they flee the foxhole or keep reasonably fighting Sample Qualification Questions to Avoid Dr No
  • 53. 1. A Great One-Liner Think of it as your elevator pitch… in one sentence. It’s a hybrid of: - Your product / vision - Your company purpose - A starting point for the pitch 
 Common framework: “We are X for Y”* 
 *assuming X is attractive and Y is a big enough opportunity!
  • 54. 2. Know Your Audience Before crafting a pitch deck, understand: - Who you are meeting with? - What is the investor’s and the firm’s focus? - Are there related investments? - How much time do you have? These influence your deck, the discussion and 
 likely questions you’ll be asked.
  • 55. 3. 10-15 Slides The deck is important...
 But the conversation is more important. 
 Budget your time accordingly.
 Allow for discussion alongside each slide. 10-15 slides. Max. 
 Will provide suggested structure later in deck
  • 56. 4. Beware the Demo For early stage companies, it’s all about product. And the best mark of product is market validation. 
 Demos are great… but remember these four rules: 1. Be careful of time. 2. Don’t get lost in product. 3. Have backup if (when!) something goes wrong. 4. Give even weight to product & traction / data.
  • 57. 5. Expect the Deck to be Shared Whether you like it or not (!),
 your deck will be shared (i.e. among partnership).
 
 Goal: be equally compelling with/without voiceover. How? - deck should tell its own story.
 - do *not* rely on builds, intricate slides.
 - make the file size manageable for email.
 - PDF or secure URL are great alternatives to
  • 58. Go Ugly Early And Ask The Hard Questions
 - A Delicate Balance, But Respect Their Time & YOURS!
  • 59. When raising private equity (VC), always remember a VC is a political animal trapped inside a limited partnership. - On a hot streak or a cold streak - Always wanting to be the one to find the next big deal - Always worried they’ll be embarrassed in partner meeting Mitigate that risk for them and they will work on being your sponsor It takes an average of 21 months for established entrepreneurs 
 to secure VC funding compared to 37 months for first-timers Always Remember The Politics
  • 60. Some Investors Can Be a Boil On The Ass of Progress
  • 61. Introductions From Trusted Associates? A True Fund Raising Story
  • 62. David
  • 63. David
  • 64. Can I Trust a Social Media Footprint?
  • 65. Fake David Fake David Never Worked For Soros 
 Or Samsung Family Office
  • 66. Fake David But Did Make An Interesting Introduction
  • 67. Fake David Family is now a 
 Who@ Investor
  • 68. = Transparency + Trust Helped Turn a Lemmon Into Lemonade
  • 69. Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures http://avc.com/ Mark Suster http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com/ Brad Feld http://www.feld.com/ Bill Gurley http://abovethecrowd.com/ Ben Horowitz http://www.bhorowitz.com/ (The Hard Thing about Hard Things) First Round Review http://firstround.com/review/ Naval & Babak from AngelList http://venturehacks.com/ Steve Blank, Lean StartUp http://steveblank.com/ Eric Reis, Lean StartUp http://www.startuplessonslearned.com/ Blogs to Read and Learn Much More
  • 70. Lastly, Entrepreneurship Explained In A 3 Minute Dance Video
  • 72. Want This Deck Or Access To My Evernote Advice Folder? follow me on Twitter @leeblaylock & email me at lblaylock@whoat.net