A Conversation with Todd Woloson

Todd Woloson is a Boulder based serial entrepreneur with a unique perspective on the relationship between venture capitalists and the companies in which they invest.
After graduating from Denver University Law School in 1994, Todd was a founding partner at Canyon Capital, an early stage venture fund located in Denver. After working with several start-ups in the [...]

The Need For Intellectual Honesty

Most venture capitalists will tell you that when they invest, they are investing as much in a management team as a business plan. Nowhere is this more true than in the world of early stage investing, where management must possess both a commitment to vision and an ability to adapt to constantly changing circumstances.
When we make an early stage investment, we [...]

Time Kills Deals

While it is one of the most over-used phrases in the business world, I was reminded again last week that it is also one of the most true.
The bottom line for anyone trying to get a transaction closed, is that momentum is your best ally. Whether you are on the buy side, the sell side, or simply trying to [...]

Growing Smart (Part II)

LIMITING CONSTRAINTS
In the beginning, every start up business has an endless number of hurdles that it must overcome in order to survive. But as growth becomes a reality, and management is able to look out beyond the next 30 days, there are always a few issues that stand out as the biggest limiting factors between current [...]

Growing Smart (Part I)

NECESSARY CHAOS
In almost every start up company I have worked with, there is sense of chaos that pervades the organization – particularly in the early days. The reason is simple: all of the company resources are focused on the validation of the underlying business proposition (i.e., will someone pay for what we are making/providing?). As [...]

What’s in your Anti-Portfolio?

One inevitable aspect of being in the venture capital business is living with the ones that got away. Every vc out there has passed on at least one deal that has gone on to become a big winner. If they tell you differently, then they are either new to the profession, or in serious denial.
We all deal [...]

Angels Fight Back

As an update to my last post about the Financial Reform Bill, the Angel Capital Association is now reporting that Senator Dodd will be introducing amendments addressing at least two of the three issues relating to early stage investors.
According to peHUB, after word of the original provisions leaked out, “vc bloggers took to their keyboard with furious [...]

Angels Under Fire

I don’t want to beat a dead horse on the Dodd Financial Reform Bill, but more and more disturbing details continue to emerge as people actually get through the 1,300 page piece of proposed legislation. John Maudlin, writing in his Frontline Newsletter, points out three provisions that could spell the end of angel investing as [...]

Discouraging Entrepreneurial Risk

It is being reported that another bill has been introduced in Congress that would require any venture capital fund with at least $30 million under management to register with the SEC. There are a couple of reasons why I think this is a horrible idea.
The first reason is purely practical. Typically, venture funds, particularly smaller funds, [...]

Manage the Business, Not the Board

Seth Levine, a managing director at Boulder-based Foundry Group, had a good post this morning on companies who use sales plans to “under promise and over-deliver.” Seth concludes that this type of planning creates internal confusion and completely clouds the reality of what is going on within the company.
I couldn’t agree more with Seth, and [...]

The Power of Alternatives

Several years ago, when I was still spending the bulk of my time practicing law, I got some advice from one of my mentors regarding the art of deal negotiation. At the time, the advice seemed simple. In retrospect, it has been invaluable.
The advice was this: Always create alternatives.
As a lawyer trying to bring parties [...]

An Ode by an LP

I’ve been a little lazy in my posting during spring break, but came across this funny take on the Dr. Suess poem “The Lorax” posted today by Chris Douvos. While you can read the entire post at SuperLP.com, here is a sampling:
[With apologies to Dr. Seuss]
“Mister!” he said with a sawdusty sneeze,
“I am the Lorax. I speak [...]

Beware the bridge

Bridge loans, or short term loans that convert into equity, are a common financing vehicles for early stage companies. In my opinion, they are too common, and, if used under the wrong circumstances, have the potential to cause more harm than good.
Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of situations when bridge loans are not only appropriate, but beneficial. [...]

Techstars by the numbers

Since it began in 2007, Techstars has been a great program for early stage entrepreneurs looking for mentorship and seed financing. This weekend, David Cohen published some data on the companies that have gone through the program, and the results were impressive. The highlights include:

In three years, about $16.5 million in seed-stage funding has been raised.

27 of 39 [...]

How to Help a First Time CEO

Yesterday, Bijan Salehizadeh of Highland Capital Partners had an interesting post on PE Hub where he offered some friendly advice to first time CEOs. A large part of the article was dedicated to warning CEOs of the perils of waiting to share bad news with their board of directors. Bijan asserted that first time CEOs are prone to keeping bad [...]

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