Comments on: Is Venture Capitalism Dead? Not Yet. Advice from Kleiner Perkins, Hummer Winblad, Shasta Ventures, and Clearstone Venture Partners

By: Q&A from the Amigos 2009 Conference Presentation « Presentations for Librarians

Fri, 08 May 2009 19:19:14 +0000

[...] mentioned a blog post I had read last year about pitching to venture capitalists. This has good advice for anyone wanting to convince someone else (their boss, their colleagues, [...]

By: Tim Panton

Tim Panton — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 06:59:43 +0000

@Robert Murgatroyd

I did a pitch in an elevator well a lift actually – I’m a brit :-)
It was kinda fun – judge for yourself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EngX0tSjwDA

For me the biggest mistake was not to do my research on what a particular fund could offer. If a fund specializes in a particular size of deal and a specific area you need to be pretty sure you fit the profile, or have a reason to think they will bend the rules for you.

By: tyler

tyler — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 04:08:24 +0000

the VC business has been dead for years and this recession put a final nail in their coffin. VC’s have no creativity, and good luck on getting favorable terms if you get one to actually invest a bit. Bootstrap is the only way to go.

By: buenos aires apartments

buenos aires apartments — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 05:47:52 +0000

Smart questions and strategic framing as always. thanks for the list – got several ideas from this one

By: Josh

Josh — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 03:14:43 +0000

There must be some good VC firms, but the basic question is “Why”? Why borrow money from people so obviously interested in playing long odds on a diversified basis in order to score a couple of home runs? It's dumb math, like playing lotto, both for the VCs and the entrepreneurs.

If VC really worked, why are so many firms among the “walking dead”?
Check this out: http://venturebeat.com/2009/04/13/venture-capit...

It's such a weird idea that creation can be juiced with money. Companies are requesting cash well before they really need the capital.