Both Sides of the Table

Both Sides of the Table is the exceptional blog from Mark Suster who has lived both the life of the entrepreneur and now the life of the venture capitalist. Mark has some great advice for both the Startup and those seeking to Raise Venture Capital. Just remember, his advice will be focused toward the high-tech entrepreneur who can bring his product to market for less than $10M (maybe much less). You aspiring Moon Base entrepreneurs should sift his advice appropriately. Below are links to some of my favorite posts.


Startup Advice includes 44 recommendations. A few of my favorites pieces of advice are :

• Flipping Burgers
• Most Common Early Mistakes
• Founders, Ownership and Prenuptials

Raising Venture Capital includes over 30 recommendations.  My favorites:

• Do You Really Even Need Venture Capital?
• A 6-Step Relationship Guide to VC 
• The “Triple Play” of VC Presentations

I love this quote from Mark:

“If you’re in the more likely situation that you can see how to get your business from $1 million this year to $3 million within 3 years and maybe $8 million within 5 years then VC may not be for you. VC’s aren’t looking for companies that are doing $15 million in sales in 8 years from their investment. In this scenario I advocate a combination of bank debt, venture debt, small equity raise ($1-2 million) from high net-worth individuals. These people would be thrilled with a company that could potentially double or triple their money. VC’s would not be happy with this outcome.”

For more on Angel Investing, here is own of my recent posts.