Cellfire signed a definitive agreement to be acquired by Catalina last month (http://goo.gl/PRX9e7) and the deal closed this morning. Cellfire was nine years in the making—a long startup journey. I’d like to highlight the company’s history and summarize some of the key lessons learned. A few of these lessons tie back to my other blog…
After 14 years in the the VC business (and 20 before that as an entrepreneur) there are some basic “muscle memory” tools you develop that tend to be leading indicators of the health of a company you are involved with, part of, or an investor in. Most of the time when you are in the…
A large percentage of companies will face the prospect of making an acquisition or being acquired at some point during their lifetime. There are many different reasons that could lead to an acquisition. Once you are on that path, there are a set of conditions that can help determine the likelihood of success, and help reinforce the decision, or perhaps shine…
Whether you are an entrepreneur or investor, trying to identify the risks about the opportunity you are about to invest your time or money in can make a big difference to your success, or at least provide some valuable situational awareness. After spending many years evaluating several hundred startups, not surprisingly, the two biggest risks…
After 14 years in the VC business and several thousand meetings and presentations, a very common question I keep hearing from entrepreneurs is “How much money should I raise?” and the follow on question “How long should it last?” Of course the simple and favorite answer is “it depends.” Rather than being that open ended,…
One of the favorite terms I have heard during my years as a venture capitalist is when investors refer to “unbounded opportunities” as they describe what they are looking for in potential new investments. Makes total sense. The corollary is to find opportunities that intersect large markets that are churning or in transition of new…
After 13 years in the venture business (and 21 years in operating roles) I have come to realize that although there are many ingredients required to build a successful company, the most common important success (or failure) factor is developing the right GTM strategy. This may be obvious, but after sitting through thousands of presentations…
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