'venture capital' Tag
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Okay President Hollande, you’ve got our attention !
September 11, 2012{The following is merely a tongue-in-cheek attempt at an imaginary letter I could write to President François Hollande. Its opinions are purely personal and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer or my industry.} Dear Mr. President, First off, thank you for opening my mail. If you’re reading this letter, you would be the […]
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How to approach a VC for a job
February 13, 2011Although not as voluminous as our deal flow, I receive a lot of CV’s each week from people soliciting job opportunities. I am a firm believer in the open flow of information and opportunities. If I think two people would mutually benefit from knowing each other, I’m happy to take the time to introduce them, […]
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When is a helpful VC not an oxymoron ?
February 7, 2011I enjoyed this post today from Simon Acland, former managing director of Quester and author of “Angels, Dragons and Vultures – How to tame your investors… and not lose your company”. Simon points out that no matter how thorough a VC can be during the initial investment phase, the true portfolio home runs are almost […]
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Too big to care
June 22, 2010There is a subtle but insidious trend burgeoning within France’s private equity industry. This trend is a shift in fund objectives from a “capital gains generation” model towards a “fee generation” model. In other words, the financial benefits accruing to private equity GP’s are increasingly coming more from management fees than from carried interest. As […]
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Bankruptcies and the French VC Model
February 9, 2010Nic Brisbourne crafted a clear and cogent post yesterday about the economics of venture capital. Nic also references a similar blog post citing Bill Bryant, a former entrepreneur and now one of DFJ’s US venture partners. To be (almost unfairly) succinct, the VC model as practiced by the DFJ US is “for every 10 deals […]
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Hands-on investing
January 31, 2010Almost every VC in France will claim to be a hands-on investor if you ask what differentiates them. Often even the English expression “hands-on” is used in a French sentence, i.e. “Notre philosophie d’investissement est d’être très ‘hands-on’ avec nos sociétés en portefeuille.” Reminds me of the town near Lake Wobegon where all the children […]
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Voice mail
January 24, 2010I’m notoriously inept at managing my voice mail. The reasons are multiple: Habitual: I forget to check it. Practical: When I do think about my voice mail, I’m usually in a metro, train, plane, or on my bike, which makes checking and responding to it difficult. Philosophical: I’m often traveling outside of France and refuse […]
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NDAs
January 17, 2010Several times per week I’m requested to sign an NDA. Last I recall this practice was declining in the U.S. VC landscape, but it’s unfortunately alive and well in Europe. I say unfortunately, because excluding a few valid exceptions, an NDA strikes me as a productivity-killer that hurts both me and the entrepreneur. The process […]
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Our scope and our sweet spot
December 29, 2009Between my partner and I, we receive 500~1000 investment opportunities per year. Of course, we do not invest in all but a few of these annually, if even that. Still, I value the chance to review this deal flow and appreciate the passion and effort put in by every entrepreneur. A significant percentage of our […]