DEVELOPING A NEW FUND: PART ART, PART SCIENCE
venture capitalists, and although it is sometimes easy to raise a fund, it is never
easy to generate the expected return.
Resources andA.dvice John Door once said, It takes $40 million to make a venture capitalist. He meant that a venture capitalist must lose $40 million before learning from his or her mistakes. Like an athlete, a venture capitalist learns more from losing than from winning.
Rather than being a jack-of-all-trades venture capitalist, it is ideal for a venture capitalist to be the master of one trade. In order to keep up the knowledge of our trade, our firm utilizes many of the trade journals, financial press, wire services, and email services. We are extraordinary consumers of media in order to be extraordinary investors in media.
Five Rales for Venture Capital Success
1. Be very focused on a particular sector and become an expert in your investment.
2. Never underestimate the importance of strong management, and stay involved with the team to ensure its continuity and compatibility.
3. Don't be afraid to walk away from an overpriced deal.
4. Only support those companies that will value the firm's resources as well as the firm's money.
5. Plan for an eventual successful exit before investing a dollar in the company.
Charles Rothstein's responsibilities at Beringea include identifying, analysing, and making investments, providing ongoing assistance and strategic advice to portfolio companies, and coordinating the investment exit process He is and has been a board member of a number ofporfolio companies and currently serves in that capacity for Miva Inc. In addition, he serves on Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm's council of economic advisors and sits on the investment committees of Global Rights Fund II and InvestCare Partners. He is also a board member of the Venture Michigan Fund, a i-of-t