Shows
Distilling Venture CapitalEPISODE 029 – UNICORN MANIA, The Real Facts About Post-Money ValuationUNICORN MANIA, The Real Facts About Post-Money Valuation Post-Money Valuation; The Facts It is absolutely NOT the market capitalization or market value of a tech unicorn company; PM Valuation completely ignores all the prices paid, preferences, and rights granted, for ALL prior rounds – a major flaw and a farce; Thus, a completely distorted picture of value is created by actually assuming that all of these past preferred rounds of equity, plus common, are all magically worth the same price as the round just completed. This is insanity; To make matters worse, The derivation of the PM Val...2023-04-1816 min
Distilling Venture CapitalEpisode 028 - UNICORN-MANIA; Tech Unicorn Valuations are FAKETech Unicorn Valuations are Fake Introduction Welcome to Distilling Venture Capital. I am your host, Bill Griesinger Distilling VC is a visionary podcast that provides an insightful and informed view of the key trends affecting the VC and tech startup world. My mission is to cut through and go beyond the hype that tends to dominate the tech landscape. And provide you with information you can use. It is your podcast for Fintech, DeFi, Blockchain and smart contracts, digital banking and all the frontier Web 3 technologies changing the financial landscape globally. Hello everyone – it´s b...2023-02-2335 min
Distilling Venture CapitalEpisode 027 - Jonathan Hung, Angel Investor - Los Angeles, CAIntroduction Welcome to Distilling Venture Capital. I am your host, Bill Griesinger; Distilling VC is a visionary podcast that provides an insightful and informed view of the key trends affecting the VC and tech startup world. It is your podcast for Fintech, Decentralized Finance, Blockchain and Smart Contracts, Digital Banking and all the frontier technologies that are changing the financial landscape globally. Episode Introduction: Welcome back everyone. We have a fantastic program for you today. I am excited about today´s conversation because I have the pleasure of welcoming to the podcast Jonathan Hung; Jonathan is a succ...2022-10-0646 minDistilling Venture CapitalEpisode 026 - Alex Branton, Partner Sturgeon Capital, LondonIntroduction Welcome to Distilling Venture Capital. I am your host, Bill Griesinger; Distilling VC is a visionary podcast that provides an insightful and informed view of the key trends affecting the VC and tech startup world. This is your podcast for Fintech, Decentralized Finance, Blockchain and Smart Contracts, Digital Banking and all the frontier technologies that are changing the financial landscape globally. Episode Introduction: Welcome back everyone. We have a fantastic program for you today. Today, I have the privilege welcoming back to the podcast Sturgeon Capital, when we did an interview early part of 2021 Sturgeon Capi...2022-07-2131 minDistilling Venture CapitalEpisode 025 - João Zecchin, Founder Fuse CapitalIntroduction Welcome to Distilling Venture Capital. I am your host, Bill Griesinger, Distilling VC is a visionary podcast that provides an insightful and informed view of the key trends affecting the VC and tech startup world. This is your podcast for Fintech, Decentralized Finance, Blockchain and Smart Contracts, Digital Banking and all the frontier technologies that are changing the financial landscape globally. Episode Introduction: Welcome back everyone. I am really excited about today´s conversation because we`re going to chat with a very innovative investment firm, known as Fuse Capital, based in Rio de Ja...2022-06-1753 minDistilling Venture CapitalEpisode 024 - Slater Victoroff, Founder & CTO IndicoIntroduction Welcome to Distilling Venture Capital. I am your host, Bill Griesinger, Distilling VC is a visionary podcast that provides an insightful and informed view of the key trends affecting the VC and tech startup world. This is your podcast for Fintech, Decentralized Finance, Blockchain and Smart Contracts, Digital Banking and all the frontier technologies that are changing the financial landscape globally. We will start here - Episode Introduction: Welcome back everyone. I am really amped and excited about today´s conversation because I have the pleasure of welcoming to the program Slater...2022-03-1845 minDistilling Venture CapitalEpisode 023 - Jeremy Neilson, Founder & CEO AssureIntroduction Welcome to Distilling Venture Capital. I am your host, Bill Griesinger, Distilling VC is a visionary podcast that provides an insightful and informed view of the key trends affecting the VC and tech startup world. This is your podcast for Fintech, Decentralized Finance, Blockchain and Smart Contracts, Digital Banking and all the frontier technologies that are changing the financial landscape globally. We will start here - Episode Introduction: Welcome back everyone. I am really excited about today´s program because I have the pleasure of welcoming to the program Jeremy Neilson, Co-Fo...2022-01-3140 minDistilling Venture CapitalEpisode 022 - James Bianco, President & Founder; Bianco Research, Chicago; DeFi – Decentralized FinanceEpisode Introduction: Welcome back everyone. I am really excited about today´s program because we are going to do a deep-dive and explore DeFi – Decentralized Finance, a topic you hear much about but may have little insights into what this frontier technology is all about and what its true impact will be on the future of global finance. To help me do this I have the pleasure of welcoming to the show Jim Bianco who is the President and Founder of Bianco Research, LLC in Chicago. Jim is someone I consider a visionary thought leader on the DeFi secto...2021-12-1453 minDistilling Venture CapitalEpisode 021 - Oddup; FOCUS ON FINTECH; James Giancotti, Founder & CEOIntroduction Welcome to Distilling Venture Capital. I am your host, Bill Griesinger Distilling VC is a visionary podcast that provides an insightful and informed view of the key trends affecting the VC and tech startup world. My mission is to cut through and go beyond the hype that tends to dominate the tech landscape. And provide you with information you can use. Episode Introduction: Welcome back everyone. I am excited about today´s program because I have the pleasure of welcoming to the show James Giancotti who is the Founder and CEO of a really interesting compa...2021-11-2337 minDistilling Venture CapitalEpisode 020 - 10Web; Tigran Nazaryan, CEOIntroduction Welcome to Distilling Venture Capital. I am your host, Bill Griesinger Distilling VC is a visionary podcast that provides an insightful and informed view of the key trends affecting the VC and tech startup world. My mission is to cut through and go beyond the hype that tends to dominate the tech landscape. And provide you with information you can use. Episode Introduction: Welcome back everyone. Today, we have a really interesting program for you b/c I have the pleasure of welcoming to the show Tigran Nazaryan, who is the CEO o...2021-08-2533 minDistilling Venture CapitalEpisode 019 - EQUIAM; John Zic, Partner and Founding MemberIntroduction Welcome to Distilling Venture Capital. I am your host, Bill Griesinger Distilling VC is a visionary podcast that provides an insightful and informed view of the key trends affecting the VC and tech startup world. My mission is to cut through and go beyond the hype that tends to dominate the tech landscape. And provide you with information you can use. Episode Introduction: Welcome back everyone. Today, we have a really fantastic program b/c I have the pleasure of welcoming to the show John Zic who is a Partner and Found...2021-07-2335 minDistilling Venture CapitalEpisode 018 - Brian Requarth: CEO and Co-Founder, Viva Real in Brasil: Author of, “Viva The Entrepreneur”Introduction Welcome to Distilling Venture Capital. I am your host, Bill Griesinger Distilling VC is a visionary podcast that provides an insightful and informed view of the key trends affecting the VC and tech startup world. My mission is to cut through and go beyond the hype that tends to dominate the tech landscape. And provide you with information you can use. Episode Introduction: Welcome back everyone. Today, we have a really fantastic program b/c I have the awesome pleasure of welcoming to the show Brian Requarth – who is an entrepreneur and true veteran of creati...2021-06-1842 minDistilling Venture CapitalEpisode 017 - JP Baric, CEO, Aurum Capital Ventures Cryptocurrency Mining & Energy TechnologyIntroduction Welcome to Distilling Venture Capital. I am your host, Bill Griesinger Distilling VC is a visionary podcast that provides an insightful and informed view of the key trends affecting the VC and tech startup world. My mission is to cut through and go beyond the hype that tends to dominate the tech landscape. And provide you with information you can use. Episode Introduction: Hello again everyone. Today, I have the pleasure of welcoming back to the program one of my favorite guests, JP Baric, CEO and Founder at Aurum Capital Ventures, because he is my go-t...2021-05-3143 minDistilling Venture CapitalEpisode 016 - FOCUS-ON-FINTECH Series André Bastos, Co-Founder, Open-Co São Paulo, Brasil Welcome to Distilling Venture Capital. I am your host, Bill Griesinger Distilling VC is a visionary podcast that provides an insightful and informed view of the key trends affecting the VC and tech startup world, including Fintech. My mission is to cut through and go beyond the hype that tends to dominate the tech and VC landscape. And provide you with information you can use. Episode Introduction: Today’s Episode is another in my Focus-on-Fintech Series where I provide you with a close-up look into the top companies in the Fintech sector that are bringing new innovations to the f...2021-05-2135 minDistilling Venture CapitalEpisode 015 - Redpoint e.Ventures, São Paulo, Brasil Anderson Thees, Managing PartnerIntroduction Welcome to Distilling Venture Capital. I am your host, Bill Griesinger; Distilling VC is a visionary podcast that provides an insightful and informed view of the key trends affecting the VC and tech startup world. My mission is to cut through and go beyond the hype that tends to dominate the tech and VC landscape. And provide you with information you can use. Episode Introduction: Welcome back everyone. We have what I believe is a very interesting program for you today b/c I have the pleasure of speaking with a true veteran of th...2021-05-0647 minDistilling Venture CapitalEpisode 014 SPECIAL EDITION – Investing in Human CapitalDISTILLING VENTURE CAPITAL Episode 014 SPECIAL EDITION – Investing in Human CapitalProjeto Sol, São Paulo, Brasil Sister Angela Mary, Co-Founder, Director Recording Date: February 24, 2021 Introduction Welcome to Distilling Venture Capital. I am your host, Bill Griesinger; Distilling VC is a visionary podcast that provides an insightful and informed view of the key trends affecting the VC and tech startup world. Episode Introduction: Welcome back everyone. So, as many of you know, this podcast covers multiple aspects of key technology trends, including Fintech, and venture capital and I even talk about...2021-03-2945 minDistilling Venture CapitalEpisode 013 - Sturgeon Capital, London; Kiyan Zandiyeh, Chief Investment OfficerIntroduction Welcome to Distilling Venture Capital. I am your host, Bill Griesinger; Distilling VC is a visionary podcast that provides an insightful and informed view of the key trends affecting the VC and tech startup world. My mission is to cut through and go beyond the hype that tends to dominate the tech and VC landscape. And provide you with information you can use. Episode Introduction: Welcome back everyone. We have what I believe is a very interesting program for you today. Today, I have the privilege of speaking with Kiyan Zandiyeh, Chief Investment Office...2021-02-2526 minDistilling Venture CapitalEpisode 012 - Alberto Gaidys, Chief Investment Officer & Founding Partner of Wright Capital Wealth Management & Pioneer in Brazilian Fintech; São Paulo, BrasilEpisode Overview: My guest today, Alberto Gaidys is a Brazil Fintech Pioneer. He was involved in creating some of the first Fintech companies in Brazil, even before it was called “fintech.” Settle in for a highly informative and detailed look at Brazilian Financial markets and Brazilian Fintech. Alberto takes you on a remarkably interesting journey through the creation of the first fintech companies in Brazil in which he was directly responsible with building. Some of the companies you will hear about include: Grana AQUI, Brazilian Mortgages, BankFacil, and Creditas, among others. In this Episode, Alberto provides an in-depth, well-in...2021-02-1854 minDistilling Venture CapitalEpisode 011 - FOCUS-ON-FINTECH Series, Molecule Software with Sameer Soleja, CEOIntroduction Welcome to Distilling Venture Capital. I am your host, Bill Griesinger; Distilling VC is a visionary podcast that provides an insightful and informed view of the key trends affecting the VC and tech startup world. My mission is to cut through and go beyond the hype that tends to dominate the tech and VC landscape. And provide you with information you can use. [This intro para. is pre-recorded so you won´t hear it] Episode Introduction: Welcome back everyone. We took December 2020 and the beginning of the New Year off – so I am definite...2021-01-2934 minDistilling Venture CapitalEpisode 010 - Hyliion Holdings (NYSE:HYLN); Conversation w/CEO Thomas HealyIntroduction Welcome to Distilling Venture Capital. I am your host, Bill Griesinger Distilling VC is a visionary podcast that provides an insightful and informed view of the key trends affecting the VC and tech startup world. My mission is to cut through and go beyond the hype that tends to dominate the tech and VC landscape. And provide you with information you can use. Episode Introduction: Welcome back everyone. In today’s Episode, I have the pleasure to be joined by Thomas Healy, Founder & CEO of Hyliion, creator and maker of high-tech drivetrain for traditi...2020-11-0927 minDistilling Venture CapitalEpisode 009 - Cryptocurrency Mining/Energy Operator Aurum Capital Ventures - (Revisit with John Paul Baric, Founder & CEO)Introduction Welcome to Distilling Venture Capital. I am your host, Bill Griesinger Distilling VC is a visionary podcast that provides an insightful and informed view of the key trends affecting the VC and tech startup world. My mission is to cut through and go beyond the hype that tends to dominate the tech landscape. And provide you with information you can use. Episode Introduction: Welcome back everyone. Well, today I have the pleasure of welcoming back to the program JP Baric, CEO and Founder at Aurum Capital Ventures, which is engaged in the crypto-mining business. JP thank...2020-10-3033 minDistilling Venture CapitalEpisode 008 - FOCUS-ON-FINTECH Series - André Bastos, Co-Founder & COO, REBEL - São Paulo, BrasilIntroduction Welcome to Distilling Venture Capital. I am your host, Bill Griesinger Distilling VC is a visionary podcast that provides an insightful and informed view of the key trends affecting the VC and tech startup world. My mission is to cut through and go beyond the hype that tends to dominate the tech and VC landscape. And provide you with information you can use. Episode Introduction: Welcome back everyone. Today’s Episode is another in my Focus-on-Fintech Series where I bring you a close-up look into the companies in the Fintech Sector and the innovations they are br...2020-10-1443 minDistilling Venture CapitalEpisode 007 - FOCUS-ON-FINTECH Series - Yuval Brisker, Co-Founder & CEO, ALVIEREShow Introduction – Welcome to Distilling Venture Capital. I am your host, Bill Griesinger Distilling VC is a visionary podcast that provides an insightful and informed view of the key trends affecting the VC and tech startup world, including Fintech. My mission is to cut through and go beyond the hype that tends to dominate the tech and VC landscape. And provide you with information you can use. Episode Introduction: Today’s Episode is another in my Focus-on-Fintech Series where I provide you with a close-up look into the top companies in the Fintech sector that are bringing...2020-09-0154 min
Distilling Venture CapitalEpisode 006 – UNICORN-MANIA – WeWork & its Investors Confront Reality Introduction Welcome to Distilling Venture Capital. I am your host, Bill Griesinger Distilling VC is a visionary podcast that provides an insightful and informed view of the key trends affecting the VC and tech startup world. My mission is to cut through and go beyond the hype that tends to dominate the tech landscape. And provide you with information you can use Opening Observations: Hello everyone, and welcome back. I promised you in the prior Episode that I would devote this Episode to distilling down one of the most famous poster-kids for Unicor...2020-08-0522 minDistilling Venture CapitalEpisode 005 – UNICORN-MANIA - Redux; Failure of the Tech Press; The Sagas of WeWork & UberIntroduction Welcome to Distilling Venture Capital. I am your host, Bill Griesinger Distilling VC is a visionary podcast that provides an insightful and informed view of the key trends affecting the VC and tech startup world. My mission is to cut through and go beyond the hype that tends to dominate the tech landscape. And provide you with information you can use Opening Observations: In Today’s Episode I return to what I have termed Unicorn-mania, building on the subject of my first episode in March. So, it will be a Unicorn-mania Redux. I’m returning to this...2020-07-2227 minDistilling Venture CapitalEpisode 003 - FOCUS-ON-FINTECH Series: Frederico Rizzo, Founder & CEO, Basement.io São Paulo, Brasil (A first-hand look into Brazil Fintech and why it’s attracting record investment)Introduction Welcome to Distilling Venture Capital. I am your host, Bill Griesinger Distilling VC is a visionary podcast that provides an insightful and informed view of the key trends affecting the VC and tech startup world, including Fintech. My mission is to cut through and go beyond the hype that tends to dominate the tech and VC landscape. And provide you with information you can use. Episode Introduction: Today’s Episode is another in my Focus-on-Fintech Series where I bring you a close-up look into companies in the sector and the innovations they are bringing to the m...2020-06-2539 minDistilling Venture CapitalEpisode 002 - FOCUS ON FINTECH Series: Federico Baradello, Founder & CEO, Finalis (1st modern broker-dealer & priv. M&A platform with customizable deal technology)Introduction Welcome to Distilling Venture Capital. I am your host, Bill Griesinger Distilling VC is a visionary podcast that provides an insightful and informed view of the key trends affecting the VC and tech startup world, including Fintech. My mission is to cut through and go beyond the hype that tends to dominate the tech and VC landscape. And provide you with information you can use. Episode Introduction: Today’s Episode is part of my Focus-on-Fintech Series As background, When we talk about Fintech, Financial Technology, many in the sector think of technologies being deployed by start...2020-06-1636 min
Distilling Venture CapitalCryptocurrency Mining Explained - Interview with JP Baric, CEOIntroduction Welcome to Distilling Venture Capital. I am your host, Bill Griesinger Distilling VC is a visionary podcast that provides an insightful and informed view of the key trends affecting the VC and tech startup world. My mission is to cut through and go beyond the hype that tends to dominate the tech landscape. And provide you with information you can use. Episode Introduction: I would like to introduce Today’s Episode topic as follows; We hear a great deal about cryptocurrencies, mostly Bitcoin, and the impact they are having on the financial services and investing landsc...2020-05-2746 min
Distilling Venture CapitalUNICORN-MANIA: The Valuation FolliesIntroduction Welcome to Distilling Venture Capital. I am your host, Bill Griesinger Distilling VC is a visionary podcast that provides an insightful and informed view of the key trends affecting the VC and tech startup world. My mission is to cut through and go beyond the hype and Silicon Valley pop-jargon that tends to dominate the tech landscape. I seek to provide transparency and Opening Observations: Given that this is my inaugural episode under the Distilling VC label, I thought it would be appropriate and useful to provide you with some brief background regarding the p...2020-03-1225 min
Distilling Venture CapitalWhy A Startup Needs 16 LawyersFor detailed show notes and links go to MarkWKing.com/6 In this episode, I distill some positive and negative lessons about why a startup might need multiple attorneys. The short answer…lawyers are like doctors, they specialize. One size does not fit all situations. Equally important, entrepreneurs need to be careful about who an attorney has a duty of loyalty to. A lawyer that represents a company's best interest does not by default represent the founder. Also in this episode, I reintroduce the Venture Capital Coroner's Report. Previously, I did an entire podcast focused on le...2017-04-2729 min
Distilling Venture CapitalIs A Startup Co-founder Essential?When you read about startups or startup accelerators, you almost hear about teams of co-founders. That’s because there most often, having co-founders is the right way to go. But can a solo founder succeed? What’s a poor startup founder to do if s/he can’t find the right co-founders? Just hang-out and wait? In this episode of Distilling Venture Capital, I look at these questions. Below are some of the articles and resources that I mention. For the detailed show notes and bonus information about Nic Brisbourn go to MarkWKing.com/5 Startups Are Ha...2017-04-0921 min
Distilling Venture CapitalHow Do VCs Make Decisions?VC decision making is one of the great mysteries of the business world. In this episode we look at the range of decision making models used by VC funds. Elizabeth Yin of 500 Startups wrote a great blog post on the topic. She was also generous enough to record some follow-up thoughts for this episode. The secret behind VC partnerships… The take home point is that venture capital funds fall on a spectrum with champion based decision making on one end and consensus models at the other. The key is doing your homework. Bonus Info...2017-03-1316 min
Distilling Venture CapitalHow To Pitch Startup InvestorsIn this episode we look at advice from Hyde Park Angels and Rob Go of NextView Ventures about how to best pitch your startup to VCs or angel investors. We also look at what you can learn from a story Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures tells about an entrepreneur who successfully convinced Fred to invest without a pitch deck at all. Building The Perfect Pitch Hyde Park Angels As part of their educational series Hyde Park's team created a great outline for the story your pitch should tell. The flow they suggest may be different than y...2017-03-0121 min
Distilling Venture CapitalWhat Does A Co-Founder Actually Do?Satya Patel of Homebrew, Steve Blank of lean startup fame and Aaron Harris of Y-Combinator wrote three amazing posts about founders, co-founders, founding teams and founding CEOs. In this episode, Mark W King explores their best thinking and explains what you need to know. Start-ups Are Hard. Don't Go It Alone by Satya Patel, Partner at seed fund Homebrew Ventures Satya does a great job explaining why founders need co-founders both for their own sake and the sake of their start-ups. Building Great Founding Teams by Steve Blank, author of The Start-up Owners Ma...2017-02-0126 min
Distilling Venture CapitalHow Do Venture Capitalists Really Make Money?If you really want to understand a business figure out how it makes money. That's true for every kind of business. It's especially true in venture capital. Most people think about venture capital in terms of single deals. A VC's job is to essentially buy low and sell high. That takes a ton of work. In future episodes we'll take a look at how an individual VC deal makes money. Ultimately, however, venture capitalists make their money by managing a fund of venture investments for other people. So that begs the question: How do venture capital funds make m...2017-01-0118 min
Distilling Venture CapitalKnow When To Fold ‘EmMy interviews with venture capital's most successful failures have proven that the sage old advice from Kenny Rogers still applies: "Ya gotta know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away and know when to run." It's not time to run, but it is time to fold up the Venture Capital Coroner's Report. I just can't get a steady enough supply of guests to keep going. If you want to hear the three reasons people declined to come on the show, listen to this six minute episode. You might...2015-10-0306 min
Distilling Venture CapitalJeff Novich On What Made His Start-up Fail At LaunchAs a serial entrepreneur Jeff Novich could spot a problem that meant opportunity. His Dad had one of those problems in his medical practice. Doctors' offices were drowning in paper and inefficient communication. Jeff and his dad saw an opportunity to disrupt how medical offices operate and at the same time improve patient care and satisfaction. It was a massive home run for Jeff's dad. But in less than a year Jeff walked away in frustration. Listen to this episode to find out who made him fail fast. My Guest Jeff Novich describes himself as a "produc...2015-07-1541 min
Distilling Venture CapitalCo-founders, Paparazzi & Family...Oh My! Nikki Durkin on Start-up RelationshipsWhat were you doing when you were 18? Nikki Durkin was finding co-founders, doing the Y-Combinator thing, raising venture capital, dealing with reporters, replacing co-founders, raising more venture capital and otherwise trying to grow her start-up. Listen in to find out what she learned when it all collapsed. My Guest Nikki Durkin hails from Sydney, Australia. At the ripe old age of 18 she launched 99Dresses, an online exchange for used fashion. After starting in Sydney, she moved to Silicon Valley to participate in Y Combinator. While 99Dresses got its fair share of press, Nikki attracted more press th...2015-06-1130 min
Distilling Venture CapitalWhen Should You Pivot? Gard Mayer On Making Critical DecisionsGard Mayer's path as an entrepreneur has more twists & turns than a back road through the mountains. In this venture capital podcast he talks about huge success, complete failure & everything in between, pivoting his start-ups when reality set in My Guest Gard leads Invodo’s sales team, driving growth through expanding the client base and revenue while also growing relationships with existing clients. As one of the original founders of Invodo, Gard brings over 14 years of entrepreneurial experience to the company. Previously, Gard founded and operated SmartHockey Inc., where he established the initial manufacturing and distribution re...2015-05-1438 min
Distilling Venture CapitalDid The Check Clear? Peter Schlegel on Needing Multiple Plan B’sPeter Vilsholm Therkildsen Schlegel had a path. Get seed capital. Launch start-up. Join incubator. Finish program. Get capital from incubator's loan fund to build start-up. Sounded good to everyone...except one person at the loan fund. And did I mention the letter from the Danish immigration authority? I'm Moving! Well sort of...just a new Twitter handle. I'm phasing out @VCCoroner and focusing on my personal handle @Mark_W_King. Click here for tweets about the podcast and other insights from venture capital's most successful. My Guest Peter has founded several companies, raising money from int...2015-04-2736 min
Distilling Venture CapitalShut-up and Listen! Rachel Chalmers Explains the Biggest Mistake You Can MakeRachel Chalmers knows your Achilles heel. After two plus decades sitting in Silicon Valley's front row watching start-up technology companies, she has a very clear idea of the single biggest cause of start-up failure. Rachel was kind enough to sit down for a few minutes at the Montgomery Summit and talk about it. Listen in to hear what she sees as most critical for entrepreneurial success. My Guest Rachel Chalmers has been a long time observer and analyst in the world of technology. She describes herself as a failed English teacher. She received a BA degree in E...2015-04-0920 min
Distilling Venture CapitalNot So Fast! Nag Palavalli on the Perils of Easy Capital RaisingCan you raise venture capital too easily? Nagarjun "Nag" Palavalli, my guest on this episode, thinks you can. Nag's journey from dropping out of college in India to the fast paced start-up culture at the Alchemist Accelerator in Silicon Valley illustrates the pitfalls of quick success. Nag also discusses why the romantic notion of the lone entrepreneur building a start-up can actually kill a great idea. And Nag identifies the one person he wishes he'd talked to before launching. My Guest Nag Palavalli is that guy in your dorm that not only talks about dropping out and...2015-03-2629 min
Distilling Venture CapitalNigel Grierson on 3 Fatal Mistakes Your Venture Backed Start-up Must AvoidNigel Grierson has been investing in start-ups for quite awhile, first by launching Intel Capital Europe and then as co-founder of Doughty Hanson Technology Ventures. To say he's learned a few things about venture capital success from failure is an understatement. In this episode he shares three of those lessons that apply to any start-up. My Guest Nigel Grierson co-founded the Doughty Hanson Technology Fund in 2000 and currently serves as co-Managing Director. His specific areas of expertise include financial venture investment, high technology marketing and organisation development. Previously, Nigel was the Group Director for I...2015-03-0231 min
Distilling Venture CapitalHelp Wanted: Jeanette Cajide on Finding the Right Team and InvestorsNobody was better prepared for leading a start-up than Jeanette Cajide. She had a solid academic foundations in public relations, communications, business and finance. She'd done technology consulting and turn around management. When a friend pulled her into launching a start-up app company, she was primed and ready. Listen in as Jeanette shares the struggles of getting Blurtt off the ground, pivoting and most importantly get the right people on board. My Guest Jeanette Cajide currently works at Dialexa, a technology design and engineering firm and leads their Northeast business development efforts out of Cambridge, MA. Jean...2015-02-1539 min
Distilling Venture CapitalHerding Cats: Rick Faulk on Merging Start-ups - The Venture Capital Coroner's ReportRick Faulk knew what it took to ramp sales for a venture backed software company. He'd done exactly that for WebEx prior to its sale to Cisco. Then he was asked to do the same thing as co-CEO for three merged social software companies. Listen in as Rick shares what he learned from this cat rodeo about M&A diligence, merging corporate cultures and decisive leadership. My Guest Rick Faulk has more than 30 years of experience in executive management, sales and marketing in the software industry. He's worked for some of the world’s most successful Sa...2014-11-1428 min
Distilling Venture CapitalLearn To Take A Punch: Barry Weinbaum on Entrepreneurial ToughnessEntrepreneurship is not for wimps. It's a good thing Barry Weinbaum learned how to take a punch when he was a kid growing up in the Bronx. He got socked by a massive telecom market meltdown, an over-sized, cash burning lab and factory, a founder law suit and a divided board. Oh yeah, and he had a few competitors as well. Barry lived to fight another day, so listen in to hear the valuable lessons he learned. My Guest Barry Weinbaum became a serial entrepreneur after a 20+ year career at Lucent Technologies. With his rich telecom in...2014-10-2645 min
Distilling Venture CapitalTwo Tours of Duty: Kevin Naughton on Returning To A Troubled Start-upKevin Naughton had done the start-up thing and moved on. Then came the call: "We're in trouble. Can you come back and help us sell the company?" Kevin answered the call and returned for a second tour of duty at GTess, a Dallas based healthcare claims processing start-up. Listen in as Kevin explains what he learned about hiring too fast, customer consolidation, following industry norms down the wrong road and flying blind without proper financial and business metrics. My Guest An entrepreneurial CFO, Kevin Naughton has worked with four different venture backed companies over 20 years. He's raise...2014-10-2634 min
Distilling Venture CapitalWaiting For Uncle Sam: Mark Redlus on Gov’t Created Markets & Capital to PivotIt was a matter of when, not if. Global forces were pushing Mark Redlus' company ImageTree towards a huge opportunity. ImageTree's technology would be the gold standard for validating forest assets being used for carbon emissions off sets. Mark and his venture capital backers had already pivoted once. Listen in and find out what prevented them from pivoting a second time to save their company. My Guest Coming out of the Univ. of Pennsylvania's Wharton School with a BS in Management, Mark jumped right into the entrepreneurial side of the technology industry. He launched Red Sector A wh...2014-10-0630 min
Distilling Venture CapitalWhere’s The Exit? Dennis Clerke on Timing Exits & Investor AlignmentWhen should you sell your venture capital backed start-up? Entrepreneur Dennis Clerke joins me to discuss the start-up CEO's critical task of managing a company's path to an exit. Dennis discusses how to monitor your company's market environment and internal investor dynamics, so that you can exit at the optimal time. We also chat about promoting robust team debate while avoiding cancerous team dysfunction. My Guest As President of Monetization Dennis leads the content-monetization business at NetSeer, helping publishers derive greater revenue and user engagement from display and enhanced search. He also continues to work with oth...2014-09-2342 min
Distilling Venture CapitalFail Successfully – A ManifestoWhat is The Venture Capital Coroner’s Report? Why should you listen to it? And who is Mark W King? (and why does he use his middle initial?) Great questions that I answer in Episode Zero, The Prologue. After 17 years in the venture capital industry, I felt it was time for a public forum to discuss what we’ve learned about entrepreneurship, start-ups, venture capital and business in general from the huge number of companies that have not ended in success. In this prologue I explain my background in the VC industry and my plans for this podcast. My Back...2014-09-1606 min