Seth Goldstein Reveals the Secret to Raising Money

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What does it take to be an Entrepreneur? Join us as Seth shares his Entrepreneurial mindset and an inside glance at his journey to becoming a successful Entrepreneur.

For twenty years, Seth has been a serial entrepreneur and angel investor. He recently wrote the definitive guide to raising money at TheSecretOfRaisingMoney.com

Success Quote

  • ‘Anything worth doing is worth doing badly.’ – G. K. Chesterton click to tweet!

Business Failure

  • Seth burst onto the scene with Turntable.fm, and then collapsed in a heap of failure. Listen to this story Fire Nation, it truly is a cautionary tale!

Entrepreneurial AH-HA Moment

  • Seth saw the magic that exists when you make someone feel good about an action.Crossfader is the result, and it’s taking the DJ world by storm!

Current Business

  • Crossfader: Listen to an instant dance party of mashups made in real-time by a global community of DJs.

Small Business Resource

  • UE Boom:  The 360˚ portable wireless speaker that drops bold, immersive sound in every direction. Rage, riot, party and play the music you love, out loud.

Best Business Book

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Interview Links

10: Jon Bradford Of Techstars Explains Silicon Valley, Shifts In Investor Mindset & How To Be Successful

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Part 2 of our interview with Jon Bradford where he talks about major shifts in the startup accelerator world and how to gain traction.

Jon is Managing Director of TechStars London and has previously founded and worked on startup accelerators around the globe. He’s co-founder of F6S.com which has grown into one of the most important startup program platforms in the world, and has recently cofounded tech.eu to feature startup and tech news across Europe.

8 Relationship-Saving Tips for Raising Startup Capital

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Question: If you’ve raised startup capital from family or friends, what is one tip you’d give a fellow entrepreneur to make sure the deal doesn’t affect the relationship?

Underpromise and Over-Deliver

“Set extremely clear expectations. Don’t tell friends or family that you are the next Google or Facebook. Even if it’s possible, it’s unlikely. Convey to them the company vision as well as the risks, but highlight the risks so they understand what they are signing up for. Show them the long-term potential of your idea, and make sure they understand they are not investing in a savings account.”

Ben Rubenstein, Yodle

Protect the Relationship

“Some entrepreneurs think they don’t need a contract with a loved one since it’s a close relationship. That is all wrong! The closer the relationship, the more important it becomes to protect the relationship. That’s why it’s important to have a contract when raising money from family and friends, ensuring you both have a clear understanding of the arrangement and exit plan if something goes wrong.”

Rachel Rodgers, Rachel Rodgers Law Office

Don’t Do It

“Just don’t do it. If your idea has merit, you can find investors who don’t come with the baggage of a personal relationship.”

Robert J. Moore, RJMetrics

Rely on Honesty and Transparency

“If you’re going to take money from family and friends, make sure that it is money they are willing to lose — and that losing this investment will not have a negative impact on their lives. Make sure that those close to you understand the real risks involved in investing in a startup. It’s your responsibility to make sure the risks are understood before taking any money.”

David Ehrenerg, Early Growth Financial Services

Get Agreements in Writing

“Outline the specifics of the funding, such as whether any interest will be charged, whether the money needs to be paid back and, if so, within what time frame. Make the written agreement comprehensive, and include all relevant details so both parties know the exact nature of the agreement.”

Andrew Schrage, Money Crashers Personal Finance

Define Failure

“Here’s a script you can use: “While I believe the opportunity is worth pursuing despite the business risks, the risks are large. Since our relationship is more important to me than your investment, I only want to move forward if we share the following definition of failure: ‘a crisis of integrity or effort.’ The last thing I want is awkwardness between us if the startup does not work out.”

Kevon Saber, Fig

Let a VC Vet Your Idea First

“Never ask or allow your family and friends to take on a risk that an experienced venture capitalist won’t take on himself. VCs and angels view businesses on their merits and choose with their heads — not their hearts. If you can earn VC support, then it’s okay to open the doors to allow family and friends to support you monetarily and potentially benefit financially from your eventual growth.”

Manpreet Singh, Seva Call

Make Sure They Can Afford It

“Your friends and family care about you, possibly to the point where they might risk their well-being to help you reach your goals. Before you even start talking about an investment, you need to know for sure whether your friends and family can afford to help you. If they can’t, don’t even ask.”

Thursday Bram, Hyper Modern Consulting

The Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, YEC recently launched StartupCollective, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses.

Google Ventures “We Will Never Invest In A Company That Tanks” Gets Fund Upped To $1.5B

Google Ventures, Venture Capital, Google, Startups,startup,startup funding, raising capital Google’s venture arm, Google Ventures, is the proud recipient of $1.5 billion dollars in capital to invest in startups through 2017. Google Ventures has been the venture arm of the search and web giant since 2009. A mix of great entrepreneurs are involved with Google Ventures including Rich Miner one of the co-founders of Android and Kevin Rose (or is he).

While Google is known for their acquihires to bring talent from strategically related startups into the Google umbrella, Google Ventures is investing in startups for financial reasons and not necessarily for strategic partnerships. Some of their investments to date include HomeAway, Nest Labs and 23andMe.

The $1.5 billion dollar commitment is $100 million dollars more per year than Google Ventures has had in the past. Traditionally they’ve had $200 million a year to invest. That brings 2012 to $300 million, along with 2013 and the remaining years after that through 2014.

Google Ventures managing partner Bill Maris told the Wall Street Journal’s, Venture Capital Dispatch, that it took about 30 minutes to convince the powers that be at Google to up the ante.  Maris is also very confident in the fund, telling the Journal “We will not invest in any company that tanks”

In addition to the investment Google Ventures now offers their portfolio companies a whole suite of services like design, marketing and technical recruiting. Of course all of these are resources that Google is very good at already.

The increase in funding was announced via a tweet last Thursday at a gathering in Mountain View of 100 Google Ventures portfolio companies.

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Source: WSJ Venture Capital Dispatch

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