Ask for Advice, Before Funding
This video will help you raise capital more confidently and quickly. It's a simple formula, and may sound counter-intuitive, but it's very effective. And if you enjoyed that video, you may be...
View ArticleLooking for Funding? Go "Blind"
This video reveals a common mistake entrepreneurs make when shopping for capital. read more
View ArticleTop 50 Venture Capital Blog Posts of 2009
Looking for venture capital? Or looking for great insights to grow your business?Well, we've scoured a year's worth of great blog posts from hundreds of venture capitalists and industry experts, and...
View ArticleThinking About Selling a Private Business in the Next Few Years?
If you're even considering selling your midsize company in the next couple years, here's the bottom line: you should start the process now. No kidding. That does not mean you should officially list...
View ArticleHere's Your Chance to Pitch Silicon Valley This May
A couple weeks ago, Growthink hosted the "Startup Success Secrets" expert teleseminar series. We assembled an impressive group of entrepreneurship experts, including Ken Yancey (CEO of SCORE), Ryan...
View ArticleGrowthink Client Integreon Raises $50 Million
In 2002, the CEO of Integreon, Liam Brown, sat in Growthink's offices in Los Angeles.Integreon was just getting started and had 4 employees. In the subsequent months, we worked with Integreon on its...
View ArticleCalvin Coolidge Was Almost Right
For many years, I had a poster on my wall with a quote from Calvin Coolidge, the 30th American President. Coolidge believed persistence was the most important attribute you can have.He...
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Easy to Raise Money - A Bad Thing?
If raising money was easy, would it be a bad thing?Well, according to Bob Johansen, in his book "Get There Early," the tension between people with ideas and people with money provides the energy for...
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Forget Venture Capital: Vringo Takes A Unique Approach to Raising $9.2 million
Last week, Vringo, a video ringtone company raised $9.2 million.That’s a lot of money, particularly considering that Vringo only generated $20,000 in revenues last year.What’s most interesting is how...
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The Affinity Formula for Raising Money
Let’s say you’ve developed a new type of stethoscope.Who should you approach to invest in your company?A local sports star?The owner of a local grocery chain?An executive at a local corporation?A...
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Who Gets Funded? Great Businesses vs. Great Presentations
From businesses come needs – like raising capital. Raising capital usually means pitching investors.So which businesses are most likely to be among the approximately 5% who raise funds from...
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What Do Wal-Mart, McDonalds, and Starbucks have in common?
Wal-Mart.McDonalds. Starbucks.What do they have in common? Well, for one, they are businesses that were not started and grown from scratch by their original founders.Rather, they were all started by...
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RISK…and what to do about it
The four letter word in all conversations between entrepreneurs and investors is risk.Investors are always interested in getting ownership stakes in high potential companies but are also always weary...
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For Emerging Companies, Do Financial Projections Even Matter?
As any venture capitalist worth his salt will tell you, there is a chasm of difference between the mostly grounded-in-reality financial forecasts offered by public companies, and the almost never to...
View ArticleThe Paradox of Fear
Michael Raynor’s great book - "The Strategy Paradox" - should be required reading for any investor or executive seriously interested in understanding the real connection between risk and return in the...
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What We Can Learn from One of the Greatest Investors of All Time
On the cover of this week’s Fortune Magazine is PayPal founder and famed technology investor Peter Thiel. Within is an awesome 4,000+ word opus on Thiel’s views on technology, investing, education and...
View ArticleWhy NOT to Invest in VC – backed Companies
The typical wisdom regarding the appropriate financing course for a new company goes as follows:1. An entrepreneur starts a company in classic "bootstrap" fashion - with a combination of sweat equity...
View ArticleFar from Silicon Valley: From Startup to IPO?
I had the good fortune to moderate a panel at last week's IBA Silicon Valley from Start-up to IPO / Exit Conference. With entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, attorneys, and investment bankers from over...
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Tech. Exit Trends in Today's Hot Markets [Webinar Invitation]
=====================Webinar InvitationTech. Exit Trends in Today's Hot MarketsMonday, September 29th=====================My Wednesday column as to tech. opportunities far from Silicon Valley was...
View ArticleA Unicorn of One’s Very Own?
Last week, I wrote about the strong ambition across the globe to have a "Silicon Valley of One's Own," and to replicate the otherworldly innovation of a region that has produced more than 75% of the...
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