Many entrepreneurs start companies to solve a big problem or apply innovative technology, or both.  But when they fail, it’s typically the result of a business issue. Heidi has observed that founders usually run out of money because they didn’t pay close enough attention to running the company. Here, she shares practical advice to help entrepreneurs become great at business.  More information: https://www.threshold.vc/podcast/the-best-entrepreneurs-are-great-at-business

 When the world is uncertain, it is especially challenging for an entrepreneur to steer their company forward. Heidi’s six-word operating manual helps founders face the unknown and lead. Caution: Heidi’s operating manual may sound simple, but executing it takes grit and leadership. More information: https://www.threshold.vc/podcast/six-word-operating-manual-for-entrepreneurs Further reading: No additional reading for this episode, but as promised, here’s the link to the Etsy shop that sells the bracelets. You do have to specify to the shop owner what you want the bracelets to say! https://www.etsy.com/listing/575211134/personalised-stamped-bar-bracelet-on?click_key=1ae487b1f6385e2ed98e175cf738ae2369e5fbbe%3A575211134&click_sum=eefd3991&ref=nla_rv-1&frs=1&sts=1 

Shareholder voting rights are an essential element of the many crucial decisions made in a company. For example, they may come into play during a fundraise or M&A. In this episode, Heidi explains what shareholder voting rights are so you can be well-informed and avoid messy situations in the future. For more information: https://threshold.vc/podcast/the-case-of-the-shareholder-shenanigans/ Further reading: For those of you who think shareholder shenanigans only happen in small companies, Joy’s case is similar to the HP case of many years ago, fascinating reading for those who like Succession and boardroom drama: https://www.zdnet.com/article/hp-directors-slam-walter-hewlett/ Every entrepreneur should understand the impact stacked preferences may have on governance, board votes, and shareholder votes. This article does a great job of laying those out: https://thevcfactory.com/liquidation-preference-conflicts-venture-capital/ The Council of Institutional Investors has an interesting piece on dual-class stock: https://www.cii.org/dualclass_stock And for more details on why I think good governance is good for entrepreneurs and their companies, see https://www.threshold.vc/podcast/the-case-of-the-infallible-founder/ 

Heidi Roizen, a renowned networking expert and 'Silicon Valley super connector,' shares her two decades of insights on building a relationship-driven life. She stresses the transformative power of meaningful connections over transactional interactions. Listeners learn practical tips for enhancing their networking skills, the role of emotional intelligence in venture capital, and how controlled randomness can lead to valuable relationships. Additionally, she emphasizes the art of collaborative negotiation, focusing on mutual needs to foster genuine partnerships.

Dive into the intricacies of startup equity as the show unpacks the concept of dilution. Discover how issuing new shares affects ownership percentages for founders. Learn about the different types of funding and the importance of financial literacy. The discussion emphasizes valuing future growth over mere percentage ownership, presenting a strategic perspective on funding dynamics. It's a must-listen for anyone navigating the world of venture capital!

To determine if you should pursue VC dollars to fund your company, you first need to understand how the venture capital model works. Heidi covers the type of businesses and growth potential required for a VC to make an investment, along with the high risk involved in venture capital and an explanation of the power law. More Information: https://threshold.vc/podcast/how-to-think-about-venture-capital Further Reading: I promised a lot of additional reading – so here goes. First off, understanding the VC power law is fundamental to understanding the VC business model. Here’s a post about it:  https://x.com/speechu/status/1083921878786310144   And a whole book abot it: https://www.amazon.com/Power-Law-Venture-Capital-Disruption/dp/0241356520 The topic of whether venture capital is the right way to fund your business is critically important. Here’s a post by VC Erik Berg that nicely captures many of the key points to consider: https://abergseyeview.com/is-venture-capital-funding-right-for-my-busines  Here’s a fantastic article by the New York Times about why some entrepreneurs didn’t take VC:  https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/11/technology/start-ups-rejecting-venture-capital.html And here’s a post by entrepreneur Anthony Collias about the pros and cons of taking that venture investment given his experience as an entrepreneur: https://blog.joinodin.com/p/vc-steroids A bit dramatic, but the gist of it isn’t wrong – The warning label that should come with VC money: https://hackernoon.com/the-warning-label-that-should-come-with-venture-capital-9432500b7195 And for those of you who like stats: Here are some interesting stats on startup financing from Fundera: https://www.fundera.com/resources/startup-funding-statistics A great infographic by Entreprener on where startup financing comes from:  https://www.entrepreneur.com/money-finance/where-startup-funding-really-comes-from-infographic/230011 And venture investing data from Crunchbas: https://news.crunchbase.com/venture/global-funding-data-analysis-ai-eoy-2023/  And more data from the National Venture Capital Association: https://nvca.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/2024-NVCA-Yearbook.pdf As for startup failure rate,  there’s this piece from Harvard Law School: https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2023/09/29/startup-failure/ Here’s the story about the Wordle creator and his sale to the New York Times: https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2023/09/29/startup-failure/ The Benchmark/eBay story is summarized here:  https://medium.com/venture-capital-research/8-vc-insights-from-the-genesis-of-benchmark-capital-8915d4fe6f39 And last but not least, my Alec Baldwin quote comes from this famous scene in Glengarry Glen Ross:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4PE2hSqVnk

A person with a big online presence is calling out Athena for the seed investment she received from a big corporation that appears to be in opposition with Athena’s company’s mission. Heidi points out why founders need to know as much as they can about potential investors before they take their money to avoid being blindsided by an association that may lead to reputational fallout.  More Information: https://www.threshold.vc/podcast/the-case-of-the-compromised-capital Further Reading:  Spot on to the topic in this podcast, Should Climate Tech Startups Accept Money From Big Oil?: https://sifted.eu/articles/climate-tech-startups-big-oil-gas An article about tainted donors, though topics also relevant to tainted investors, Tainted Money and Tainted Donors:  A Growing Crisis: https://johnsoncenter.org/blog/tainted-money-and-tainted-donors-a-growing-crisis Business Insider’s take on the topic: https://www.businessinsider.com/startups-silicon-valley-jeffrey-epstein-problem-2019-8 An article highlighting increasing concern about taking money from Chinese investors due to geopolitical clouds on the horizon: https://www.wired.com/story/chinese-venture-capital-silicon-valley-party-over Here’s the apology statement from Joi Ito, former director of MIT’s Media Lab, about taking money from Jeffrey Epstein: https://www.media.mit.edu/posts/my-apology-regarding-jeffrey-epstein/ Interesting Quora thread on “Catch and Kill” startup M&A: https://www.quora.com/Why-do-big-companies-acquire-and-then-kill-promising-startups

Rudy, a founder in fund-raising mode, received a verbal term sheet. A what? Heidi informs Rudy that there is no such thing as a verbal term sheet and flags all the other issues with the investor’s offer. In this episode, Heidi resets Rudy’s expectations of what is involved in the fund-raising process, including the time it will take to properly diligence investors.  More information: https://www.threshold.vc/podcast/the-case-of-the-verbal-term-sheet Further Reading: Here’s a great piece about whether Term Sheets are legally binding, and what happens to your reputation if you renege on one. Term sheets are typically non-binding in that neither side is obligated to close the deal. But what is usually binding is confidentiality and exclusivity: https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/are-term-sheets-really-nonbinding-1765649/ Y Combinator has a great piece on seed fundraising, which goes into detail about debt versus equity here: https://www.ycombinator.com/library/4A-a-guide-to-seed-fundraising Here’s a good post on SAFEs versus convertible notes: https://blog.hubspot.com/sales/safe-vs-convertible-note And, finally, seed-stage investor Chris Neumann on how to diligence a VC: https://chrisneumann.com/archives/how-to-diligence-a-vc   

Simone is a founder in a challenging situation. The only financing she can raise comes with a catch – she needs to do a recap. Heidi reviews how Simone landed in this position, what a recap entails, and the best path forward for the company and investors.  More information: https://www.threshold.vc/podcast/the-case-of-the-radical-recap Further Reading:  This is an excellent four-part series for entrepreneurs that explains how to navigate down rounds and recaps by Eric Ashman, highly recommended! https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/navigating-funding-roadblocks-intro-down-rounds-recaps-eric-ashman A great summary of the legal pitfalls and best practices for a cram down financing from the law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher: https://www.gibsondunn.com/wp-content/uploads/documents/publications/Weirick-Wortmann-Stephens-Barinsky-DownRoundFinancings.pdf From the great Bill Gurley of Benchmark, a comprehensive tome about recaps and other forms of “the party is over” financings. He wrote it in 2016, but it is just as relevant today: https://abovethecrowd.com/2016/04/21/on-the-road-to-recap Here’s an interesting take from Joanne Wilson, an early-stage angel investor, on a recap of a seed company, with additional commentary by Brad Feld, my old partner and dear friend. It covers the danger of too many note financings and also talks about the people/reputation/relationship aspects of recapping a seed stage deal: https://gothamgal.com/2015/07/recapping-a-round  And here’s another interesting take from my fellow Stanford Lecturer and amazing entrepreneur Steve Blank about why recaps/cram downs are a bad idea. I don’t 100% agree with him, but I think his position is excellent food for thought: https://steveblank.com/2022/04/26/cram-down-a-test-of-character-for-vcs-and-founders

What do you do when you want to exercise your startup’s stock options but need to borrow money to do so? Do you take an interest-free loan from your company? Heidi counsels her former student Aisha on why that may sound like a great offer, but the devil is in the details. It’s likely that a loan could lead to painful financial consequences later. More Information: https://www.threshold.vc/podcast/the-case-of-the-dubious-debt Further Reading: Here it is, straight from the IRS, what capital gains are and the rate at which they are taxed:  https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc409 And also, straight from the IRS, how they look at forgiven loans as ordinary income: https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc431 And here’s a comprehensive