Startups Venture Capital Decisionmaking [Entire Talk] Annie Kadavy, Redpoint Ventures with Tina Seelig, Stanford University Watch Now 47 minutes Video
Startups Building Billion Dollar Businesses [Entire Talk] Ravi Belani, Stanford University Watch Now 43 minutes Video
Brook Byers, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers Getting Funding Byers discusses the process and the time that it takes for an entrepreneur to earn a standing to the time when he might get financed.
Brook Byers, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers Size of VC Firms Byers discusses the different ways in which venture capital firms size themselves and makes recommendations on how they should go about investing.
Brook Byers, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers Multiple Investors Byers believes that two to three co-investors is a good set for a young venture. An entrepreneur should balance between the number of investors and their minimum stake in the company.
Steve Fodor, Affymetrix Intellectual Property and Life Sciences Steve Fodor, co-founder of Affymetrix, talks about the importance of continuing the scientific research within a company despite a perceived monopoly of the field. The most important thing is not intellectual property, but development of good products.
Peter Seligmann, Conservation International Birth of Conservation International Peter Seligmann, co-founder, chairman and CEO of Conservation International, talks about how he got interested in forestry. He discusses how Conservation International got started and the company's motto.
Peter Seligmann, Conservation International Establishing Credibility Seligmann talks about how a not-for-profit organization like Conservation International builds its credibility when interacting with governments of other countries.
John Doerr, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers How to Negotiate Valuations Doerr offers advice on pursuing initial VC funding, including how many firms to approach, how to evaluate the firms, and what kinds of questions to ask. He also reminds us to treat all negotiations with respect and fairness.
John Doerr, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers The Impact of Social Entrepreneurship Doerr talks about how Grameen Bank, started by Professor Muhammad Yunus, proved to be a creative solution to the never-ending problem of poverty for many small villages in Bangladesh. Doerr shares the story of finding this solution and the ideas behind how the bank came to be formed.
Marc Fleury, Accel Partners and JBoss What Can a VC Do For You? Fleury talks about how along with financial backing, VC's have a unique body of knowledge that is highly useful for anyone starting their own business.
Marc Fleury, Accel Partners and JBoss Peter Fenton, Benchmark Capital The Relationship Between Venture Capital and Open Source The logic behind backing a company that does not charge anything for their product is sometimes hard to understand. Fenton explains the unique relationships between a venture capital firm and an open source company they fund.
Vic Verma, Savi Technology Know Your Customer Verma talks about how the biggest mistake when identifying a market segment is not identifying the customer with the purchasing power. Your original market can be narrow, and will eventually grow, he says, but only if the correct customers are targeted. Find out who is making the final decisions about a purchase.
Vic Verma, Savi Technology Passion and the Customer When listing his first two lessons for aspiring entrepreneurs, Verma says you must love what you're doing, and you must listen to the customer. The customer is always right, he adds.
Vic Verma, Savi Technology Venture Capital vs. Customer Funding Verma explains the different situations in which venture capital might be a better funding option, including the desire to scale quickly. He also points out some of the drawbacks as well.
Vic Verma, Savi Technology Savi’s Winding Road to Success Verma talks about how the initial idea of wanting to track children to cut down on kidnappings and lost children led to Savi's current technology. Along the way, they learned about marketing, R&D, and funding.
Randy Adams, AuctionDrop Work with the Right VC Amidst all of the bad stories circulating about venture capital funding, Randy insists that there are many VCs who are truly interested in the success of a company and will treat entrepreneurs fairly and with respect.
Randy Adams, AuctionDrop Failure is Good Failure is a good thing, says AuctionDrop's Randy Adams, as it can be a much needed catalyst to make the budding business person strong, humble, and innovative. Think of it as a reset, he says, and something to make one re-evaluate and reset a current course of action. And furthermore, he advises, never, ever quit. Stick around until you get thrown out. And if you get thrown out, compete.
Bob Sutton, Stanford University Avoiding the Smart Talk Trap Sutton presents three tips for avoiding the common problem that companies face when they talk about creativity but don't implement it, including making sure the people in senior management know the business, and simple ideas are easier to execute.
Guy Kawasaki, Garage Technology Ventures Know Thyself and Niche Thyself Kawasaki talks about marketing and product design simplified. Kawasaki explains why this theory is all an entrepreneur will need to know about marketing. A simple chart illustrates his point - how to be the creator of a unique product or service and is valuable to a customer.
Guy Kawasaki, Garage Technology Ventures How Do You Find Evangelists? If a product or services is worthwhile, then evangelists will come to you, says Kawasaki. He believes that if you are having a hard time finding someone to spread the message about your product, then you may need to re-evaluate your product or your goals. Build something great, and the evangelists will be there.
Guy Kawasaki, Garage Technology Ventures Funding Choices Kawasaki talks about two examples of early-stage funding, bootstrapping and venture capital, and the benefits and drawbacks of both. Ultimately, he believes that too much money is worse than not enough money, and that both methods can be successful of a smart approach is taken with the funds that are received.
Guy Kawasaki, Garage Technology Ventures Seed the Clouds and Watch the Sales Grow There are typical ways to approach sales, but Kawasaki has three other ideas. These include the unintended users, allowing test drives, and the suck down theory - chances are the CEO is not going to be the one buying your product, but rather the people at lower levels.
Guy Kawasaki, Garage Technology Ventures The New Business Model The business model today is very different than it was before and during the boom, says Kawasaki. In order to write the best business plan possible, follow Kawasaki's steps: specificity, simplicity, and ask women. He believes that woman don't possess the killer gene that is inherent in men, and will be able to give better advice about a business model.
Guy Kawasaki, Garage Technology Ventures Lower the Barriers to Adoption A successful product is easy for everyone to use, immediately. Flatten the learning curve, never ask someone to do something you would not, and recruit evangelists to spread your message.
Guy Kawasaki, Garage Technology Ventures Make a Great Pitch Making pitches is a way of life for an entrepreneur. Kawasaki provides his tips for ensuring each pitch is better than the last. His 10/20/30 rule for PowerPoint slides is essential.