Best Practices
The Functions
of Leading Venture Capitalists
As a leading venture
capitalist, I identify deal opportunities and serve on the investment
committee, which makes decisions across all investments. Additionally, I play a
role in setting and monitoring the firm's marketing policies and practices.
This includes not just the public relations of our business and the development
of our brand, but the attraction of deal flow. I also serve on the boards of
several portfolio companies and manage the exit strategies for these companies.
To avoid the potentially dangerous herd mentality, our firm proactively searches for potential transactions. We are not afraid of refining our strategy. Rather than passively sitting back and waiting for the phone to ring, we engage in an active investment search.
In our firm, no one voice is louder or opinion stronger than another. For a portfolio company to get an investment from us, there must be a unanimous vote by the investment committee. This structure removes the ego from decision-making. Our most important focus is in dealing cautiously with our clients' money. The only way to build a business is with extreme care and without ego.
Implementing
Exit Strategies
As a team, we have a
tremendous amount of experience selling businesses. Often, our businesses
receive offers to be acquired before we are ready to sell them. Even if the
prices are aggressive, there may still be a fair amount of growth potential in
these businesses. Our strategy is to maintain focus and take advantage of our
expertise in assessing the state of the business.
Misconceptions about Venture Capitalism
It is a common
misconception that venture capitalism is easy. On the contrary, being a venture
capitalist is very difficult, risky, and time-consuming work. When money seems
easy to obtain, it attracts unskilled