The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch

A very exciting day on the 11th episode of The Twenty Minute VC as we welcome our 1st London based guest on the show, Thomas Jones. Thomas is Founder and Partner at Charlotte Street Capital, who invest up to £200,000 in early stage UK technology companies. Their impressive portfolio includes the likes of Chilango, GoSquared and SeedCamp, just to name a few. Prior to Charlotte Street Capital, Thomas was Founder and Executive Director of SMARTS Group International, offering a real time market surveillance platform, now used in dozens of stock exchanges around the world. Items Mentioned in todays show: Crowdcube Seedcamp Kidslox In today's session you will learn: How Thomas made his entry into the world of Venture Capital? When investing in a startup, do you have a mental timeline of the startup's journey in your head with a clear strategy of when a desired exit will occur? When it comes to investing, what really gets Thomas excited about the potential of a company? What Thomas believes the main differences to be between VCs in Europe compared to the USA? With the evolution of funding methods, how does Thomas see the 'crowd' becoming more involved in the future of early stage funding? What advice Thomas would give to a graduate looking to make their entry into the industry? We finish today's episode with a quick fire round, where we hear Thomas' immediate thoughts on the future of disruption and the all time best business book! For all the resources mentioned in today's show head over to www.thetwentyminutevc.com where you can sign up for you free 7 DAY BUSINESS PLAN COURSE We would love to hear from you, so if you have a VC you would like to hear from, send us an email: harry@thetwentyminutevc.com and we will see what we can do!

It is a great pleasure to have Niko Bonatsos on today's episode of The Twenty Minute VC. Niko is Principal at General Catalyst Partners where he specialises in mobile, consumer and healthcare technology. At General Catalyst Partner, Niko has been involved in the investments in the likes of Snapchat, TuneIn and SpoonRocket, just to name a few. Niko is also reknowned for being the 1st Angel Investor in Yik Yak, recently valued between $300-400 million. In today's episode you will learn: How Niko made the jump into the world of Venture Capital? What were the fundamental lessons Niko learned when his startup failed? Why Niko prefers to invest in founding teams instead of individual founders? How Niko determines whether a startup will be successful or not? What Niko looks for in startups? Does Niko ever experience FOMO (fear of missing out) on an investment? How do you value a company, in particular a startup with no revenue? Does Niko think Silicon Valley will continue to be the dominant hub for innovation and investment? What parts of the world have seen large growth in both funding and innovation? What Niko would advise graduates looking to make the entry into the Venture Capital industry? What is the best piece of business advice Niko has ever received? We then move onto a quick fire round where Niko tells us his thoughts on the future of education technology and the primary reason Niko says no to startups. For all the resources mentioned in today's show, check out www.thetwentyminutevc.com We would love to hear from you. If you have any questions you would like to ask the VCs, drop us an email at harry@thetwentyminutevc.com Likewise if you have a VC you would like us to interview, send us an email and we will arrange it.

On today's show I am hugely excited to welcome Joe Floyd to the hotseat. Joe is Principal at Emergence Capital Partners. His expertise in building cloud startups has evolved over 10 years of advising and investing in startups. Prior to Emergence, Joe worked in American Capital's technology group where he focused on fast growing internet companies. At American Capital Joe was involved in their investments with the likes of PeopleMedia and HomeAway. Items Mentioned In Today's Show The Lean Startup by Eric Ries Predictable Revenue: Turn Your Business Into a Sales Machine with the $100 Million Best Practices of Salesforce.com Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth and HappinessNudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth and Happiness What you will learn in today's show: How Joe made his transition from the world of tech investment banking into the Venture Capital industry? What Joe would advise an individual looking to get into the industry? What Joe believes to be the most important aspect that a startup must have in order to attain VC funding? Whether Joe prefers a founder or a founding team? Joe describes what the main red flags are when startups pitch? When Joe thinks of success, who is the first person that comes to mind? What business books have been the most transformative to Joe? We then delve into a quick fire round where Joe gives his immediate thoughts on the future of Amazon and Tesla and whether we really are in a tech bubble or not? As always thank you so much for listening to today's show, for furthr details and resources, head on over to www.thetwentyminutevc.com. Likewise we would love to hear who you would like to have on the show, if you have any suggestions please do email harry@thetwentyminutevc.com with your suggestions.

Mark Peter Davis is a serial founder and investor. He is the founder of Interplay Ventures with investments in the likes of Venwise and Warby Parker, just to name a few. Mark is also author of 'The Fundraising Rules', which clearly outlines the funding process of startups. If that wasn't enough Mark is Adjunct Professor of Entrepreneurship at the Singularity University. Business Insider has listed Mark as one of the most influential Digital NYers and is included in a list of the 30 most interesting members of the Columbia University Startup Community by CVC30. Items Mentioned in Todays Show: The Fundraising Rules FounderShield Nomad Financial In this episode you will learn: How Mark got into the VC industry? How startup founders can increase their network and gain influential mentors? When looking at startups what makes Mark want to get involved? What are the biggest mistakes made by startup founders? What are the key characteristics for a founder to have, in order to be successful? How does an individual or startup get a meeting with a VC? What Mark would advise graduates wanting to get into the Venture Capital Industry. We end todays show with The Ultimate Quick Fire Round. Here Marks explains his views on startup valuations and how much equity the traditional VC looks for when investing. Thank you so much for listening, if you are loving the show please do subscribe on iTunes and I would be so grateful if you would leave a review. If you do, you will be entered into the competition to win a meeting with one of the VCs and all the books mentioned in the first 10 episodes.

I am hugely excited to welcome Peter Csathy for Session 7 of The Twenty Minute VC. Peter has had an astonishing career in the media industry with an unbroken track record of success in startups and emerging growth companies. Peter is currently CEO of Manatt Digital Media, which not only offers Venture Capital but is unique in also providing legal services and business consulting. Prior to Manatt, Peter was CEO of Sorensen Media, which serves 70 of the Fortune 100 and CEO of SightSpeed, Inc in which Peter oversaw their acquisition by Logitech. Items Mentioned in Todays Show: Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage to the Antarctic In this episode you will learn: Why Peter decided to enter into the Venture Capital Industry? What are the unique service that Manatt offer that other VCs do not provide? Why are these service necessary for startups to have access to? What is the most important thing for a startup to have in order for you to invest? Does an entrepreneur's track record of failure reduce the chance of you investing? Where do you see the disruption of content in 2015? What book would you give to an aspiring entrepreneur looking to attain funding? In the final few minutes, we delve into a quick fire round where we hear Peter's thoughts on: The importance of location for a startup, future of online video and the company Peter is most excited about. As always we absolutely love to hear from you. If you would like to get in contact email harry@thetwentyminutevc.com or visit www.thetwentyminutevc.com

Ifty Ahmed, General Partner at Oak Investment Partners. Ifty started his career with Goldman Sachs and Fidelity Ventures before joining Oak Investment Partners in 2003. He currently focuses on investing across the technology sector with an active interest in Consumer Internet companies. *This episode was recorded before Google's anouncement to stop producing Google Glass prototypes, making Ifty's prediction even more impressive. Items mentioned in today's show: Super Crunchers: How Anything Can Be Predicted by Ian Ayers Blueprint to a Billion: 7 Essentials to Achieve Exponential Growth by David Thompson In this episode you will learn: How Ifty got into the Venture Capital industry? What does Ifty believe are the must haves for startups, in order for them to gain funding? Why Ifty prefers to invest in a founding team rather than a single founder? What Ifty would recommed to to an individual founder starting a company? What are the uncomfortable questions companies should ask VCs before they accept VC funding? What Ifty believes a startup should do before a pitch, in order to increase the chances of success? What book would Ifty give to an aspiring entrepreneur? What advice Ifty would give a graduate wanting to get into the VC industry? What tips Ifty would give to about where to network with VCs? We finish the episode with a quick fire round where we hear Ifty's views on the future of Google Glass, the valuation of Snapchat and the potential for Bitcoin.

Kent Godfrey, General Partner at Pond Ventures and former CEO of Andromedia, shares insights on the intricate reality of being a CEO. He discusses the necessity of clear strategies and adaptability in leadership roles. Kent reveals lessons learned from Steve Jobs and the challenges that come with transitioning to venture capital. He emphasizes self-awareness in leadership and the unique perspective VCs bring to supporting entrepreneurs. Finally, he sheds light on the future of the Internet of Things and addresses common misconceptions about venture capital.

Welcome to Session 4 of The Twenty Minute VC, on today's incredible show, I am hugely excited to present David Hornik. David started his career as legal attorney to some of the hottest startups in Silicon Valley before making his foray into the Venture Capital Industry with August Capital in 2000. If that wasn't enough, David created the 1st Venture Capital blog, VentureBlog and is also the presenter of VentureCast. In today's episode you will learn: Why David made the transition from the legal world into the VC industry? What is so special about Stanford that enables a continuous flow of revlolutionary companies? Whether legal skills are attributable to the funding industry? What David looks for when investing in a company? Does it always have to be a big market opportunity for VCs to invest? What the best piece of business advice David has ever received? What book David would recommend to a Startup Founder? We then progress into a quick fire round where we hear David's views on Peter Thiel's 20 Under 20 and the 1st $Trillion business.

On today's episode I am thrilled to welcome Bob Ghoorah, Managing Director at Columubus Nova Technology Partners. Bob has experienced both sides of the table having been an early employee at three technology companies in Silicon Valley; LoudCloud (Nasdaq: LDCL), Opsware (Nasdaq: OPSW) and Ning, a privately-held software platform (sold to Glam Media in 2011). In this episode we find out: The benefits of having a legal knowledge in the Startup community. What characteristics make the best entrepreneurs? Who does Bob think of, when the word 'success' is mentioned and why? Where Bob sees the future of Uber? What aspects of a Startup are essential in order to obtain VC funding? Is it important for Startups to be located in Silicon Valley? What books Bob woulg give to an aspring entrepreneur and startup founder? What advice Bob would give to anyone looking to get into the Venture Capital Industry? Finally, we head to the quick fire round. Here, we get Bob's immediate reactions to the latests tech topics including tech bubble, company valuations and the first trillion dollar company. For all the resources mentioned in todays show head over to The Twenty Minute VC.

In this session of The Twenty Minute VC, I'm so excited to have the opportunity to interview Kris Jones. Kris has enjoyed an amazing career in the technology industry, founding PepperJam, an internet marketing agency in 1999 and later selling it to Ebay in April of 2010. More recently, Kris has made his transition into the Venture Capital Industry through the founding of an early stage technology investment fund, KBJ Capital, which includes portfolio companies Highlighter.com, French Girls App, ReferLocal.com, LSEO.com and many more incredible companies. In this session you'll learn: Why Kris decided to make the transition from the Startup ecosystem to the world of Venture Capital. How did it feel for Kris, selling his company to Ebay? What was the most important lesson Kris learnt in the journey from having the idea for PepperJam to being acquired by Ebay? What is the key characteristic a Founder must have? What can an individual do to get employed in the Venture Capital industry. Kris is also a prolific writer here are some of his articles, you can check out! Forbes: 15 Steps to Set Your Company Up for a Successful M&A Mashable: 9 Ways Social Media Marketing Will Change in 2014 Citibank: How to Impress a Potential Investor