Proto.in Talk: Reconciling Investors and Entrepreneurs – Sanjay Anandaram

admin — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 11:18:53 +0000

So, the toughest Act that one could possibly Imagine being an entrepreneur, and especially one if you are to raise funds – the need to find the balance and commonality between your goals, visions and ambitions and those of your investor.

Sanjay Anandaram of Jumpstartup, did a talk on the same during this edition of Proto.in, and here’s the summary as made by Namitha Jagadeesh on her blog post:

Venture capitalist Sanjay Anandaram, who co-founded early-stage VC fund Jump Startup in the dotcom era, had an unfortunate post-lunch, drowsy slot but did a pretty good job of keeping the crowd awake with his blunt talk. Anandaram, who along with his co-founders did not raise a second fund with Jump Startup, keeps busy these days “helping some start-ups, advising a couple of funds and teaching entrepreneurship at colleges”. His session was on the near impossible task of ‘Reconciling investors and start-ups’.

The professorial streak was evident, as he explained the basics of startup-VC dynamics in an interactive classroom session of sorts.

Lesson 1: Be careful of your expectations

What do you expect from your VC?

(Audience answers) – Bring money to the table, add value, help me monetise my product, help with customer contacts and relationships, help with hiring

If you want the VC to do all this, the VC will ask you what the hell you are going to do for the company. The VC’s job is to write you a check to back your vision. Don’t take check and let him modify your vision and execute it for you.

Lesson 2: If the chemistry isn’t right, the arithmetic will not work.

Chemistry with your VC is the most important thing. The bad news is, the VC has the money, is on your board and has a lot of veto rights (such as first right to refusal of stake in future) in his favour, so make sure it’s someone you get along with. Being a CEO/Founder is a lonely job, and a VC should be part-psychiatrist, part good friend, part straight-shooter.

The Proto.in LiveBlogging Contest

admin — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 19:57:07 +0000

So Gentlemen, here’s the first of the series of surprises for this edition of Proto.in. Liveblog! – It’s simple advise as that.

If you are liveblogging, here are the rules:

1. Use the tags “proto4″ for the post.
2. Post a link to the post in the comment of this post.

We’ll announce the winner for the contest at the end of the second day. Do stay around and look forward to the blogger’s marathon.

PS: If you are twittering, use the tag #proto4

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Proto.in Talk: Reconciling Investors and Entrepreneurs – Sanjay Anandaram

The Proto.in LiveBlogging Contest