Video of My Internet Week Session on Early Stage Entrepreneurship

June 14, 2010 | Comments

On Thursday, Owen Davis of SeedStart invited Amol Sarva, from Peek, and me to answer some questions on early stage entrepreneurship. The session was wonderfully moderated by Jalak Jobanputra.

Amol represented a more experienced entrepreneur that had raised $20 million while I represented the first time entrepreneur having raised a seed round. The video is below.

The topics included fundraising, team building, the art of pivoting and high level tips on entrepreneurship.

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http://etagwerker.com etagwerker

Thanks for sharing. Do you agree with Amol on his advice that you should raise more money than you think you need?
http://viniciusvacanti.com Vinicius Vacanti

The question of how much money you need to raise comes down to what it will take for you to either hit a key milestone that will allow you to raise your next round or reach profitability. The problem is that you are likely to be wrong about a bunch of your estimates and it seems prudent to give yourself a margin of safety (maybe 20% to 50%) even if it means you dilute yourself.
http://etagwerker.com etagwerker

Thanks for sharing.

Do you agree with Amol on his advice that you should raise more money than you think you need?

http://viniciusvacanti.com Vinicius Vacanti

The question of how much money you need to raise comes down to what it will take for you to either hit a key milestone that will allow you to raise your next round or reach profitability. The problem is that you are likely to be wrong about a bunch of your estimates and it seems prudent to give yourself a margin of safety (maybe 20% to 50%) even if it means you dilute yourself.

http://giffconstable.com giffc

yeah I agree with you Vin. Don’t raise so much money that you are giving away the company, nor so much that you end up making stupid decisions, trying to do too many things, or get ahead of yourself in terms of cash flows. BUT do give yourself a buffer because nothing goes as smoothly or as quickly as you want.

http://viniciusvacanti.com Vinicius Vacanti

The less experienced you are, the more you should err on the side of raising more money. But, you bring up a great point, that you have to be careful not to try to do too many things just because you can.

http://etagwerker.com etagwerker

Thanks for sharing.

Do you agree with Amol on his advice that you should raise more money than you think you need?

http://viniciusvacanti.com Vinicius Vacanti

The question of how much money you need to raise comes down to what it will take for you to either hit a key milestone that will allow you to raise your next round or reach profitability. The problem is that you are likely to be wrong about a bunch of your estimates and it seems prudent to give yourself a margin of safety (maybe 20% to 50%) even if it means you dilute yourself.

http://giffconstable.com giffc

yeah I agree with you Vin. Don’t raise so much money that you are giving away the company, nor so much that you end up making stupid decisions, trying to do too many things, or get ahead of yourself in terms of cash flows. BUT do give yourself a buffer because nothing goes as smoothly or as quickly as you want.

http://viniciusvacanti.com Vinicius Vacanti

The less experienced you are, the more you should err on the side of raising more money. But, you bring up a great point, that you have to be careful not to try to do too many things just because you can.

http://giffconstable.com giffc

yeah I agree with you Vin. Don't raise so much money that you are giving away the company, nor so much that you end up making stupid decisions, trying to do too many things, or get ahead of yourself in terms of cash flows. BUT do give yourself a buffer because nothing goes as smoothly or as quickly as you want.
http://viniciusvacanti.com Vinicius Vacanti

The less experienced you are, the more you should err on the side of raising more money. But, you bring up a great point, that you have to be careful not to try to do too many things just because you can.
Mfatany

Where is the link for the video?