A lot of inception-stage fundraising information is already available in the public domain, so our intention with this guide is more to encourage you as a Founder to take a step back – even before you embark on the fundraising process – to think even at the earliest stages about how you want to build … Read more
By Santiago Freyria, Haas 2020 Six years ago I was an undergrad in economics looking for a part-time job. After more than 50 rejections because of lack of experience, I was willing to work for free. It turned out to be the best thing that has happened in my career, as I took the first … Read more
In May, we posted about the various characteristics and actions we expect from Founders at the preSeed stage. We described the size of the raise needed ($250-750K) to attract talent, explore a market insight, approach product/market fit and gain conviction regarding the company’s direction. We encourage anyone wishing to meet up with us to read that post … Read more
I recently read a blog post that really got under my skin and it didn’t take long to realize why it got me so riled up. So many startups today have created ‘governance debt’, and have added more risk as a result. We believe that good governance starts at the Seed stage, and that investors … Read more
A few weeks ago, Bhavin Parikh, cofounder and CEO of Magoosh, penned a great note that cautioned Founders about what they should know beforethey raise money from a VC. Bhavin is in a unique position to opine on the subject, as his company raised a small Seed round and hasn’t since raised another dime from outside investors. In a … Read more
After much debate, Bee Partners has opened its AngelList Syndicate and will experiment with this exciting new tool available to both investors as well as entrepreneurs. Here at Bee Partners, we take the concept of ‘Investor’ very seriously, and personal responsibility is an attribute that we look for in the founders we invest with. For us, that responsibility … Read more
Today, Tom Post at Forbes wrote a post titled: Are You an Entrepreneur? In the post, they reposted a survey written by Alana Muller, president, Kauffman FastTrac®. My quick response after reading this was something like: If you have to take a survey, you’re not an Entrepreneur. Look, I know at bit of entrepreneuritis is going around … Read more
(This post does NOT pertain to fundraising. If you’re fundraising, avoid naysayers like the plague.) All too often, entrepreneurs are told to find their customer(s) and then focus on them, and them only. I have an alternative recommendation: Once you find your customer, seek out “over-the-hill naysayers”. I recently experienced this first-hand: I myself am … Read more
Today, a founder named Matt (edited for anonymity) dropped by my office to say hi. I left our first meeting a week ago with a positive bias towards supporting his vision and potentially making an investment. However, I also left with skepticism that Matt was holding something back, that the story had been edited and … Read more
I spend most of my time with genesis- and seed-stage entrepreneurs. But today, I had the opportunity to attend a major technology conference here in SF, and hear from various executives from large private and public companies, including Tim Cook from Apple and Steven Cakebread, Pandora’s CFO. I was struck by their incredible poise and articulate comments – … Read more