vc Archives - Startup Economist

The Personality of your VC Matters, Ask Investors their MBTI

Friday, 28 June 2024 by Paul O'Brien

It would seem I struck a bit of a chord the other day, pushing the popular Myers-Briggs personality assessments well beyond the overdone “What’s the best Myers-Briggs Personality of Entrepreneurs?” to instead share what personalities make the best startup advisors. Begging then the question of whether or not personalities correlate with quality startup investors. A

Published in Insights / Research, Startups

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Founders, VCs Might Not Like My Sharing This, But They Should

Thursday, 21 September 2023 by Paul O'Brien

One of the more challenging skills to help develop in a founder, is being able to discern b.s. from experienced and valid advice. As you might imagine (and I hope you can relate from the all too prolific frequency with which this happens), it’s particularly difficult to know how to put questions back on a

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Published in Insights / Research, Startups

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How Funding Startups is Like Betting on Horses

Monday, 09 August 2021 by Paul O'Brien

Last week, a bit of a controversial, but thought-provoking, perspective about Venture Capital caught the attention of a lot of my readers and followers. There has been a horrific rash of *VC Bad* propaganda and misinformation lately, sparking my thought that people are being misled about the what Venture Capital is and does. That, entrepreneurs are frustrated

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Published in Industry, Insights / Research, Startups

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“Venture Capital Destroys Value” – What??

Wednesday, 04 August 2021 by Paul O'Brien

The conversation recently had started, “Why do venture capitalists invest in startups if many of them are losing money and destroying value?” and I had to pause when I heard the point of view because I couldn’t even rationalize how someone thinks that way. Then of course it dawned on me that lately there has

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Published in Industry, Startups

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In the Company of Venture Capital

Wednesday, 17 February 2021 by Paul O'Brien

People have different definitions of “startup” and “venture capital,” and it’s that foundation that causes frustrations and misplaced expectations. What Frustrations in Venture Capital? The real reason founders are not funded VCs don’t say in a pitch process Why Venture Capitalists Aren’t Funding The Businesses We Need VCs like to take their time with their

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Published in Startups

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How VCs Make Money: the 2 and 20

Tuesday, 31 March 2020 by Paul O'Brien

In downturns in the economy, it’s then that Venture Capital Funds really come to the forefront of our startup communities because it’s then that entrepreneurship shifts from a buyers market to a sellers market. Buyers vs. Seller. Some time ago, I got a little bit of s*** for suggesting that founders think of Venture Capitalists

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Published in Insights / Research, Startups

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What Startup Founders Might Consider Before Seeking VC

Tuesday, 05 November 2019 by Paul O'Brien

Venture Capital seeks opportunity, not a sales pitch. The mindset to have is that you don’t want to have to seek VC, you want investors to seek you. Of course, that doesn’t mean you won’t have to do the work and start the conversation; it’s a mindset – what are you doing to build the

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Published in Startups

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