When we negotiate a deal, the paperwork is intended to document the deal. If necessary, the paperwork is supposed to ensure that all parties keep their commitments. But I admit it: I’m paranoid. How do I ensure enforceability? We are investing [...continue reading]
Why Venture Capitalists Are Investing in International Startups
2018/04/30 by
Why are more US VCs investing in international startups? Take a look at The Fortune Unicorn List: of the top 100 most valuable unicorns in 2016, 39 are currently based outside of the United States. While fundraising of US VCs has dropped slowly [...continue reading]
#MovingForward Movement: VCs and a Diverse, Inclusive, and Harassment-Free Workplaces
2018/04/09 by
HOF Capital recently joined the #MovingForward movement of VCs committed to diverse, inclusive, and harassment-free workplaces. The movement emerged at a founders dinner a few months ago when the question, “As an entrepreneur, if I experience [...continue reading]
Limited Partner Due Diligence on Venture Capital and Private Equity Funds
2018/03/21 by
As a VC, I have a standard due diligence list for companies I’m reviewing. Similarly, our limited partner investors have their own due diligence standards, and we manage HOF Capital to keep in line with their standards and expectations. The [...continue reading]
How to Scale a Venture Capital (or Private Equity) Fund
2018/03/14 by
Managers of VC funds typically want to grow their business aggressively, just like the founders we back. But, we normally have a clear ceiling on how high we can grow AUM, before hitting practical limits to deploying capital within the traditional [...continue reading]
How to Get Superior Returns in Venture Capital
2018/01/09 by
A friend of mine interviewed for a job with massively successful hedge fund manager Steven A. Cohen. My friend sat in the conference room, and Cohen walked in. He looked at his resume, and asked just one question: “What’s your edge?” My friend got [...continue reading]
What’s Your VC Tech Stack? Results from a Survey of Early-Stage VC Funds
2017/12/12 by
(written by Philipp von dem Knesebeck, Managing Partner, Blue Future Partners (bluefp.com, @bluefutureteam), and David Teten) VCs are at the forefront of technological disruption, funding many of the latest cutting edge productivity tools. But [...continue reading]
How Entrepreneurs and Executives Can Work with Private Equity and Venture Capital Funds
2017/10/19 by
I presented a few weeks ago to the American Marketing Association Executive Forum on how their members can work with and earn money from private equity and venture capital funds. I discussed all of the major engagement models: Expert Networks, [...continue reading]
The 9 Steps of Using Technology to Improve Investing in Private Companies: How Private Equity and Venture Capital Investors Are Eating Their Own Dogfood
2017/09/23 by
SPrivate equity and venture capital investors are copying our sisters in the hedge fund and mutual fund world: we’re trying to automate more of our job. But we’re doing it slowly. VCs tout themselves as frontier technology investors, but most are [...continue reading]
Diversity, Why International Startups Love NY, and Why NY VCs Love International Startups
2017/09/06 by
New York is now the second-most-active tech ecosystem in the US on all key metrics, after the Bay Area. One of the drivers for that growth is that for European, Israeli, Latin American, and Eastern Canada-linked companies, the East Coast is much [...continue reading]
How to Negotiate a Partner Role at a Venture Capital or Private Equity Firm
2017/09/02 by
It’s hard enough to get a job at a venture capital or private equity firm; it’s even more complex to join as a Partner. I thought it would be helpful to put together some notes on market norms and issues to consider in negotiating a partnership at [...continue reading]
With So Many Options for Marketing Your Business, What Content Should You Promote Where?
2017/08/18 by
Your company typically has seven layers of content marketing. Here are tips for each layer. What content do you use in marketing your firm? And what content should go in which place? Your company (or your fund, if you’re a VC) typically has a [...continue reading]
First-ever Survey of VC Tech Stacks
2017/08/10 by
We think one of the industries with the greatest room for improved use of technology is venture capital itself. Blue Future Partners, a fund of funds, and PEVCTech.com are now running what we believe is the first-ever large-scale survey of VC [...continue reading]
Ready to Join a New Management Team? Here’s How to Do Your Due Diligence First
2017/08/01 by
I get emails every week from mid-level and senior executives who want to join a growth company. You’re going to be spending 40+ hours/week with your new colleagues, which is more time than most of us spend with our spouses. So I put together some [...continue reading]
