From the Investors
Brad Feld of Foundry Group encourages founders building a hardware-based business to get to know other founders who have built similar successful businesses at scale and go deep on the financials of their journey in “What Is Your Hardware Business Gross Margin?”
Ben Narasin of Canvas Ventures explains why firms want their portfolio companies to cut spending and why founders shouldn’t think of it as a forced financial diet in “Winter Brings Opportunities for the Wise and Frugal”
Jeffrey Carter of West Loop Ventures argues that it is great for startups to go public in terms of innovation, employee monetization, recruiting, and company discipline in “To Be Or Not To Be Public”
Cankut Durgun of Aslanoba Capital walks through how large early investors should approach a situation in which they disagree with the “dirty terms” a founder is accepting in “Navigating Dirty Term Sheets”
Steve Schlafman of RRE Ventures shares his learnings from his completely unfiltered view into the life of an entrepreneur in “My Wife is a Founder. Here’s How She Has Helped Me Become a Better Investor”
Nicolas Colin of TheFamily reflects on the history of venture capital and what needs to change in order for it to rise as an asset class in “A Brief History of the World (of Venture Capital)”
Andrew Parker of Spark Capital writes about two corporate governance responsibility stories and explores how they build upon each other in “Corporate Governance: Dictatorships Vs Democracy”
From the Operators
Henry Ward of eShares makes four announcements that will help companies value their stock and understand their capital structure in “Transparent 409A”
Timur Zhiyentayev of Zen Market offers a short primer on how to conduct a successful price negotiation with your B2B client in “How to Negotiate B2B Pricing and Close a Deal Like a Pro”
Jon Westenberg of Creatomic discusses how growing a successful startup, and an audience of happy, empowered customers, depends on who you are transforming your customers to be in “You Need to Transform Who Your Customers Are”
Nick deWilde of Tradecraft dives into why freshly minted grads should consider joining a tech startup in “Does Your Liberal Arts Degree Belong at a Startup?”
Susan Zheng of Planted compiles some of the best lessons Silicon Valley has taught startups so far in “7 Lessons HBO’s Silicon Valley Taught Us About Startups”
Kyle Samani of LookingForHisNextAdventure outlines why traditional networking events fail at their intended purpose and how to network correctly in “Networking Is Bullshit. And How To Network”
Here’s Why UK Startups Should Fear Leaving The EU (read more)
The European startup scene is growing quickly. What impact would the UK leaving the EU have? Nic Brisbourne, Managing Partner of London-based Forward Partners, weighs in.
