Category: tech investing

• What’s the hardest part of raising a seed round?

  Welcome to the Good Question Series where I ask the most interesting people I know a single question that they are uniquely qualified to answer. It’s interview haiku, short and thought provoking. I’m out to prove that brevity and depth can coexist. The hardest part of raising a seed round is aligning serendipity, investor education, and timing.…

• Managing talent in the networked age | Chris Yeh Interview

  The best talent is hard to find and harder to keep. Top performers are snatched up in competitive bids that look like the NFL draft while new grads struggle to kickstart their careers. How can companies attract, manage, and retain the best talent? How can job seekers optimize for the entire arc of their career…

• How Startups Get Customers | Justin Mares Interview

  Traction is what every entrepreneur wants these days. Whether it’s your revenue, acquisition funnel, or engagement numbers, every venture investor demands strong growth rates before writing a check. It’s no longer enough to just build a widget and let the world come to you. The most successful new companies are approaching traction with the same…

• Mozaik raises Series B investment from Foundry Group

  The hottest new startup! For those of you who haven’t already heard the big news, world-leading venture capital firm Foundry Group just announced their Series B investment in Mozaik:“Sometimes we come across a company that we know is going to change the world. They’ve got something magic in the tank that’s simply inevitable. It’s like they’re travelling back…

• Should you ever blow the whistle on your CEO?

  Jeff Donahue is a good friend and battle-scarred veteran of venture-backed and private equity-backed companies. He has raised over $275M of funding for early and later stage startups and has been CFO of 10 emerging growth businesses. He’s worked across the table from leading investors like GRP (now Upfront Ventures), Invesco, ComVentures (now Fuse Capital), Allegis Capital, Alta-Berkeley, Invision, Steamboat Ventures and many more.…

• What to do after your company gets funded by a VC

  Jeff Donahue is a good friend and battle-scarred veteran of venture-backed and private equity-backed companies. He has raised over $275M of funding for early and later stage startups and has been CFO of 10 emerging growth businesses. He’s worked across the table from leading investors like GRP (now Upfront Ventures), Invesco, ComVentures (now Fuse Capital), Allegis Capital, Alta-Berkeley, Invision, Steamboat Ventures and many more.…

• Raising your seed round

  I met with two startup founders last month that wanted feedback on their plans for building a business around an energy efficiency analytics technology. It’s a fascinating product with a niche technical market. They’ve already secured a large corporate partner and are starting to look for seed investors. They’ve got a long road ahead of them and…

• CEOs and Boards of Directors – Friends or Foes?

  Jeff Donahue is a good friend and battle-scarred veteran of venture-backed and private equity-backed companies. He has raised over $275M of funding for early and later stage startups and has been CFO of 10 emerging growth businesses. He’s worked across the table from leading investors like GRP (now Upfront Ventures), Invesco, ComVentures (now Fuse Capital), Allegis Capital, Alta-Berkeley, Invision, Steamboat Ventures and many more.…

• Can we trust the experts?

  Eric Ball is a good friend, former business school academic and Fortune 100 executive who also invests in technology startups. He co-authored the book Unlocking the Ivory Tower: How Management Research Can Transform Your Business, which summarizes cutting-edge research that helps entrepreneurs and business leaders be more effective. One of the most dynamic areas of…

• Don’t waste your time with unqualified VCs or pitchfests

  Jeff Donahue is a good friend and battle-scarred veteran of venture-backed and private equity-backed companies. He has raised over $275M of funding for early and later stage startups and has been CFO of 10 emerging growth businesses. He’s worked across the table from leading investors like GRP (now Upfront Ventures), Invesco, ComVentures (now Fuse Capital), Allegis Capital, Alta-Berkeley, Invision, Steamboat Ventures and many more.…