About the book
Scott Kupor, managing partner at Andreessen Horowitz and a lawyer turned entrepreneur turned venture capitalist, explains how venture capitalists choose which companies to fund and how much to put in, and how founders can secure the best possible terms. He covers why most VCs typically back only one startup in a given category, why storytelling is the key skill in raising money, how to handle a down round at a lower valuation, what to do when investors get too involved in daily operations, and why founders should build ties with potential acquirers long before a sale. Other topics include who gets a pitch meeting and which metrics to stress or ignore in a presentation. A sample term sheet is included.
Sam Altman praised it as a valuable resource for founders who want to work with VCs, covering everything from deal evaluation to term sheets and boards, and Eric Schmidt endorsed it as a guide to navigating venture capital.
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This book has 4 recommendations
Eric Schmidt (Ex-CEO/Google)
As someone who’s helped a small company become a huge, valuable company, I know firsthand the power of the startup ecosystem and entrepreneurship. This book is the definitive book on navigating VC as part of that.
Sam Altman (Partner & President/Y Combinator)
I’ve observed thousands of founders and thought a lot about what it takes to create something important and to achieve outlier success. Kupor’s book takes founders who want to do both through everything from how VCs raise money and evaluate deals, to how to think about term sheets and set up boards. It’s a valuable resource for any founder who wants to work with VCs.
John W. Thompson (Chairman/Microsoft)
From acquiring startups, to leading a company, to working to select the next leader of an iconic company, I’ve seen it all. It’s become clear to me that startups drive the kind of innovation that big companies can’t easily do. Secrets of Sand Hill Road provides a useful overview for the next generation of leaders seeking to start such companies.
Adena Friedman (President & CEO/Nasdaq)
As more and more startups consider an IPO, it is exciting for us to play a part in giving millions of new investors the opportunity to share in the value and future growth of these seminal companies. But it all begins with the early investors who ‘venture’ into uncharted territory to help make these companies possible, by backing the entrepreneurs behind them. Secrets of Sand Hill Road is the definitive guide to how to engage the VC community, including governance and other best practices in a startup’s journey to a successful public company.
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Often recommended alongside
- Blitzscaling: The Lightning-Fast Path to Building Massively Valuable Companies by Reid Hoffman and Chris Yeh (2 shared recommenders)