Inside the Black Box of VC Behavior

While the internal dynamics of a VC firm may feel like a black box, you can often infer what’s going on based on how your VC is acting – if you know what to look for. In this episode, Heidi explains why many VC behaviors that seem confusing or inconsistent can make more sense once you understand the inner workings of venture funds and firms.

 More information: https://www.threshold.vc/podcast/inside-the-black-box-of-vc-behavior

Further reading:

• Here’s a good post about when preferred converts to common, including in an IPO, as I brought up in this episode: https://www.startupventureadvisors.com/when-should-preferred-stock-be-automatically-converted-into-common-stock#:~:text=When%20a%20startup%20goes%20public,a%20minimum%20aggregate%20offering%20amount.
• Here’s a short but sweet summary of how VC carry works: https://www.angellist.com/learn/carried-interest
• Mark Suster has written some great material on understanding venture capital. His post on crossover investments will help you understand why VCs don’t tend to do them: https://bothsidesofthetable.com/can-vc-s-invest-across-two-funds-5ee7313808e7
• Here’s a link to my own prior episode about recaps: https://threshold.vc/podcast/the-case-of-the-radical-recap/
• And finally, I’ve linked to it before, and I’ll keep doing it – here’s a link to Evan Epstein’s great breakdown of private company governance to share with your VC if they are putting their own interests ahead of the company in your  board meetings: https://evan-epstein.medium.com/duties-of-startup-directors-and-the-rule-of-common-maximization-9a2814b2fe2a