Portfolio Secrets of Sand Hill Road: Venture Capital and How to Get It

For those that work with VCs and Start-ups , this is a must read

Wow. As soon as I heard about this book I knew I was going to read it. But I had low expectations. I'd heard the author promoting his book on several podcasts and when I heard him say things like, "In my book, I pull back the curtain and reveal the secrets used at VC firms," I prepared myself for disappointment. Boy, was I pleasantly surprised to be wrong! -The author breaks down all the lingo, jargon, and highfalutin finance double-speak that sounds made up to the layman -He helps you understand not just the relationship between the VC and the startup, but also the relationship between the VC and the LP -You get to see the incentive structures LP's and VC's typically agree on, helping you (the entrepreneur) understand what motivates all the parties involved -The book provides a mock term sheet with realistic numbers and devotes a chapter to each section of the term sheet I could go on and on.... This definitely isn't a casual read - especially once it gets to the sample term sheet. The book can dive deep into details and abstractions (there were several sections I had to read multiple times - but I guess that's why I'm not a VC!), and that's exactly what makes it so enjoyable to read.

I used this book to educate myself about how Venture Capital works. My LinkedIn review got over 4500 views, much more than the number of LinkedIn connections I have. Great book written in an easy to read and lucid style. Recommend reading for startup founders, even if they are not raising funds. As Eric Ries says in the foreword "Worth far more than its cover price - I wish I had it available to me when I was first looking for startup funding". And I wish that I was a startup founder right now or working at a VC fund.

Really good introduction to what's key when negotiating term sheets with VCs. Admittedly US-centric but nonetheless very valuable for EU-based startups. Haven't found any better intro into the subject yet.

Required reading. But it was written a while back so some of the stuff in here feel a bit dated. I still highly recommend it if you want to get a good overview on how this topic works in broad strokes.

If you are an entrepreneur, but don't know how to get financing - this is the book