The Full Ratchet (TFR): Venture Capital and Startup Investing Demystified

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following investors are featured: O'Donnell Blank Day Each investor highlights a situation where they decided to invest in a startup and why they said yes. To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

Jon Medved of OurCrowd joins Nick to cover Crowdfunding & The Socialization of Finance. We will address questions including: Goldman Sachs recently published a report on the Socialization of Finance. Can you first talk about what they mean by this term and what are the key factors are that are... To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following investors are featured: - Wilson - Carter - Ahmad Each investor highlights a situation where they decided not to invest, why they passed, and how it played out. To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

Rob Day of Black Coral Capital joins Nick to cover Cleantech. We will address questions including: As many in the venture space are aware the cleantech sector overall has underperformed over the last decade and many VCs and LPs have decided to no longer invest in Cleantech. Last year CBS'... To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: -Polovets -Goldberg -Penchina Each investor discusses sectors, drivers and/or trends that may have significant impact in the future and are potentially positioned for outsized-returns. To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

Michael Goldberg of The Bridge Investment Fund joins Nick to cover Cross-Border Investing. We will address questions including: Can you first touch on the specific countries where you've either made investments or worked to help facilitate fundraising? What are the most significant challenges to cross-border, investing? Can you discuss the... To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

Leo Polovets of Susa Ventures joins Nick to cover The Algorithm for Raise Amount & Valuation. We will address questions including: You've outlined three major steps in "The Algorithm for Seed Fundraising." The first, is the amount of the raise and you cite revenues, expenses and timing as key variables.... To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following investors are featured: Henikoff Penchina Neumann Each investor describes their investment thesis and how they evaluate startups for investment. To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

Mamoon Hamid of The Social+Capital Partnership joins Nick to cover SaaS Startup Investing. We will address questions including: In your words, can you describe what a SaaS startup is and the key elements that define a SaaS company? Can you give an example of what is and what is not... To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following investors are featured: Carter Gasser Go Each investor highlights a situation where they decided to invest in a startup and why they said yes. To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

Eric Gasser joins Nick to discuss startup ecosystems and how his high-tech & high-touch screening process works at the Tech Coast Angels. We will address questions including: Can you start off by talking about the startup funding environment in San Diego a decade ago and where it has evolved to... To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following investors are featured: - Brown - Blank - Berkus Each investor highlights a situation where they decided not to invest, why they passed, and how it played out. To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

As promised, today we are doing a comparison of the four major approaches by which earlier stage investors make venture investments. They include the lone-wolf angel investor, the angel group, the venture fund and the syndicate. We will be looking at categories such as fees, speed, dealflow access, decision autonomy,... To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: -Wheeler -Blank -Wilson Each investor discusses sectors, drivers and/or trends that may have significant impact in the future and are potentially positioned for outsized-returns. To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

Gil Penchina joins Nick on The Full Ratchet to discuss Syndicate Investing, including: Can you first provide an overview of your angel portfolio performance? Why is it that you decided not to raise a fund? How does the syndicate approach work on AngelList and why did you adopt this approach toward angel investing? How... To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following investors are featured: Mirabile Wheeler Winblad Each investor describes their investment thesis and how they evaluate startups for investment. To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

Morris Wheeler & Mike Belsito join Nick on The Full Ratchet to discuss raising & investing capital outside of the Valley, including: What are the key challenges to raising outside of the valley? Does Crowdfunding for equity lower the barriers to raising for smaller market startups What advice would you have for... To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

David Brown joins Nick on The Full Ratchet to discuss The Pitch Deck, including: Who is the target audience for the Pitch? Why is it preferred to a business plan? When is the right time for a startup to begin pitching for professional, seed capital? What are the basic elements of the... To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

Joanne Wilson joins Nick on The Full Ratchet to discuss predatory investor practices and the dark side of venure, including: On the founder-side… What are some of the activities you've seen from early-stage investors, that are predatory toward founders? What are some of the major differences between investor practices of the mid-90's... To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

On this episode of The Full Ratchet Nick covers part 4b of Best Practices for Angel Investing including: Overview of Seed Investing, Developing an Angel Investor Strategy, Identifying startups: Deal-flow Evaluation & picking startups, Overview: The Team, The Product The Market: Structuring the Deal... Itunes: http://bit.ly/1xMDf4t Direct-audio: http://bit.ly/1BFyJWL SoundCloud: http://bit.ly/1HqnUgy To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

Steve Blank joins Nick on The Full Ratchet to discuss the Investment Readiness Level, IRL, including: How have incubator and accelerator investors traditionally evaluated startups & what's changed that provides an opportunity for a much better approach? You talk about how the focus for startups should shift to evidence and trajectory across... To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following investors are featured: - Henikoff - Neumann - Go Each investor highlights a situation where they decided not to invest, why they passed, and how it played out. To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

On this episode of The Full Ratchet Nick covers part 4a of Best Practices for Angel Investing including: Overview of Seed Investing, Developing an Angel Investor Strategy, Identifying startups: Dealflow Evaluation & picking startups, Overview: The Team, The Product, The Market, Structuring the Deal... Itunes: http://bit.ly/1yNvz3k Direct-audio: http://bit.ly/1xewycg SoundCloud: http://bit.ly/1fZU06S... To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

Christopher Mirabile joins Nick on The Full Ratchet to discuss Angel Investing evolution and changes including: Can you briefly summarize the traditional Angel Group model from a decade ago and why it worked okay then? You highlight four major themes that have evolved with the modern angel group. The first is... To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

On this episode of The Full Ratchet Nick covers part 3 of Best Practices for Seed & Angel Investing including: Overview of Seed Investing, Developing an Angel Investor Strategy, Identifying startups: Dealflow Evaluation & picking startups, and Structuring the Deal. Today we address item #3, Deal-flow, identifying startups to invest in. Itunes: http://bit.ly/1qrd41C... To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

On this episode of The Full Ratchet Nick covers part 2 of Best Practices for Seed Investing including: Overview of Seed Investing, Developing an Angel Investor Strategy, Identifying startups: Deal-flow Evaluation & picking startups, and Structuring the Deal. Today we cover how to develop an angel investor strategy and next time we... To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following investors are featured: Imran Ahmad Dave Berkus Rob Go Each investor describes their investment thesis and how they evaluate startups for investment. To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

On this episode of The Full Ratchet Nick covers the first element of Best Practices for Seed & Angel Investing. This series will be covered in five sections from before you begin until you are managing an active portfolio. These sections include: Before you begin… An Overview of Seed Investing... To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

Gabriel Weinberg joins Nick on The Full Ratchet to discuss his lessons learned from five years of angel investing including: Can you first highlight the basic stats of your first few years angel investing? Talk about how you first set your basic strategy on angel investing? With regard to each item in... To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

Rob Go joins Nick on The Full Ratchet to discuss VC Portfolio Strategy including: What are the five main parameters that VCs consider with regards to portfolio strategy? From your standpoint, what is the single best strategy that a VC firm can employ? How is your portfolio strategy structured and why? As you watch... To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

Jerry Neumann joins Nick on The Full Ratchet to discuss non-Unicorn Investing including: Can you give us a brief overview of Aileen Lee's study on Unicorns, the results and the lessons from those results? You mention two main VC strategies for investing in unicorns… An easy way and a hard way... To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

On this special segment of the Full Ratchet, the question "Why I Invested in a Startup" is addressed by: Dave Berkus, Troy Henikoff, & Ann Winblad. Each investor highlights their own unique scenario with a startup, what the key factors were that led to "Yes" and how that investment has worked out. To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

Imran Ahmad joins Nick on the Full Ratchet to discuss Due Diligence including: What is due diligence is and why it is performed? How is a due diligence plan constructed and who most often executes the plan? How long can the process take from first meet to investment? Diligence is often described... To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

Dave Berkus joins Nick on The Full Ratchet to talk fundraise types & structures including: Can you start us off with a history of funding structures in venture capital and how they have evolved to where we are at today? Can you highlight the major categories of financing and when they are... To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

Troy Henikoff joins Nick on The Full Ratchet to talk Startup Accelerators including: Can you start us off with an overview of what an accelerator is and how it differs from incubators? You mentioned that startups apply and go through a selection process. Can you walk us through that process from... To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

Erin Griffith joins Nick on the podcast to discuss venture in the media including: If you take a 30,000 foot look at the media environment what are the major categories of venture players within media? How has the mix of players changed in recent years? This certainly isn't new, but... To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

On this special segment of the Full Ratchet, the question "Why I Passed on investing in a Startup" is addressed by: Brad Feld Ann Winblad & Gabriel Weinberg Each investor highlights their own unique scenario with a startup, discusses why they chose not to invest and, in some cases, if that was a... To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

In this episode of The Full Ratchet, the Takeaways and Tips from Episodes 1 – 10 are recapped. Every once in a while, review episodes will be released as listeners have requested. Itunes: http://apple.co/1KYMnW6 Direct Audio: http://bit.ly/1Jtoy8J SoundCloud: http://bit.ly/1GF2hmd To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

Ann Winblad joins Nick on The Full Ratchet to discuss the stages of fundraising including: We often hear financings referred to as Seed, Series A, Series B, etc. Can you start us off with a general overview of the stages, the amounts being raised and the average post-money valuations at each? What... To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

Bill Payne joins Nick on The Full Ratchet to discuss the Convertible Note including: What is a Convertible Note? What are it's key elements and terms that are often negotiated? When did convertibles first begin to be used and why? Can you explain how the cap, discount and interest rate work? Can... To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

Glenn Gottfried joins Nick on The Full Ratchet to discuss early-stage advising including: When you first engage, where are startups at in the fundraising process? Let's start with "The Where"… Where do you find startups with strong-potential? Once you've identified a startup, what happens next in the initial engagement process? What is... To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

Gabriel Weinberg joins Nick on The Full Ratchet to discuss why most startups fail including: Many talk about how startups fail b/c of product or building a product. You believe that the main source for startup failure, is for a different reason. Tell us what that is. You've noted five mistakes that contribute... To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

Brad Feld joins Nick on The Full Ratchet to discuss the Term Sheet including: Economic Terms: Valuation Liquidation preference: preference and participation Pay-to-play Vesting Employee pool and/or the option pool Anti-dilution Control Terms: Board of Directors & Board Observers Protective Provisions Drag-Along Agreement Conversion Itunes: http://bit.ly/XDVSZR Direct-audio: http://bit.ly/1sb4ofz SoundCloud:... To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

Jeffrey Carter (part 2) where we finish the discussion on Valuation and also address ethics, and the Midwest Venture Environment. Key Takeaways: I wanted to highlight a few... Itunes: http://bit.ly/1qL2Uce Direct-audio: http://bit.ly/1s1sebY SoundCloud: http://bit.ly/1HnmAez Guest Links: Hyde Park Angels, West Loop Ventures, Points and Figures Blog, Points and Figures Tumblr To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

Jeffrey Carter joins Nick on The Full Ratchet to discuss Valuation, including: Why is the valuation and price/share a critical deal term for investors to be well-informed about? What is the difference between a pre-money and post-money valuation and can you give us an example that illustrates what each would be... To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

Michael Gruber joins Nick on The Full Ratchet to discuss Angel Groups, including: What is an angel group? What are the key functions of the Angel Group Leader or Coordinator? What value does an angel group provide to its investors? When investments are made, how are they typically organized? We've discussed... To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

Charlie O'Donnell joins Nick on The Full Ratchet to discuss dealflow, including: What does the term "dealflow" mean? How do you find great startups? Where are your main sources for dealflow and what is the percentage from each? Where do you tend to find the most startups in which you eventually... To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

George Deeb joins Nick on the Full Ratchet to discuss investment criteria & evaluation of startups including: What key questions should a startup be able to answer, that precedes evaluation (ie. If a start-up can't answer these questions, don't waste your time evaluating)? At a high-level, what are the categories... To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.