As an analyst for a venture capital firm, I read hundreds of business plans a year and assist our portfolio companies in keeping their business plans updated for further rounds of financing. I often am asked advice on how to compile a business plan and though there are numerous formats that can be used, below [...]
I have blogged quite a bit about Ten Thousand Villages on my personal blog as I volunteer with the organization on a regular (usually weekly) basis. Today I thought I would post an entry on the WasatchGirl blog instead as not only do I enjoy the volunteer experience, I find the business model to be [...]
Most venture capital firms pride themselves in being a “value add”, contributing more than just capital to an entrepreneur’s business. This term has become a loosely used buzz word, yet (all sarcasm aside) it is an important consideration for the entrepreneur to contemplate. Venture capitalist are able to greatly contribute through the following: A VC [...]
As mentioned in the previous blog post, I had promised a clarification of the term mezzanine that was used in the Intro to VC blog. In venture capital the word mezzanine is sometimes used to describe the latest round of financing prior to IPO. This same stage can be referenced as merely “late stage” or [...]
A good friend of mine works for a Mezzanine firm in New York. He inquired about my Intro to Venture Capital post and how I used the term mezzanine. After a chat, we realized that the word, depending on the context, can actually mean two different things. He is writing up the true Mezzanine firm [...]
A handful of business contacts and friends have inquired about the world of venture capital. To answer some of their questions, I thought I would start blogging more about VC 101, starting today. The basic intro is the financial realm is split into the private and public markets, with investments in private companies known as [...]
The VentureOne Q1 numbers are out and show that the VC investment is on a path of surpassing last year’s investment. In 2006, $26b was allocated and Q1 of this year is up 8% over last year’s first quarter, totaling $6.9b in comparison to the $6.4b 2006 level. However, this is due to increase in [...]
The Working Group on Director Accountability and Board Effectiveness is a 22 member group of people from VC firms, law firms and resource organizations that periodically write white papers of the structure and effectiveness of VC backed company boards. At the beginning of 2007 they released the white paper “The Basic Responsibilities of VC-Backed Company [...]
I am amazed at how quickly a company can get “all grows up”. One company that I have been watching since its recent inception has just been jamming right along, switching up its business model, cooking up creative ideas and picking up the customers as it goes. I swear the ‘back of the napkin’ days [...]
