Mastering the VC Game
A Venture Capital Insider Reveals How to Get from Start-up to IPO on Your Terms
By: Jeffrey Bussgang
Published: April 29, 2010
Format: Hardcover, 256 pages
ISBN 9781591843252
Publisher: Portfolio/Penguin
"VCs acting in concert with entrepreneurs function as an essential and powerful engine of the U.S. economy", writes successful serial entrepreneur and general partner at early stage venture capital firm Flybridge Capital Partners, Jeffrey Bussgang in his very informative and insider information packed book Mastering the VC Game: A Venture Capital Insider Reveals How to Get from Start-up to IPO on Your Terms. The author shares vital insights into the venture capital industry, and demystifies the VC process, while describing how the people involved in the VC world reach their decision.
Jeffrey Bussgang understands the venture capital industry from both sides of the table. He shares his experiences as an entrepreneur seeking funding, and his knowledge of the industry as an innovative member of the venture capital community. As a result of his insider status, the author recognizes that simply finding any venture capitalist is not enough. What an entrepreneur must do, according to the author, is find the right VC who is the right fit for both the entrepreneur and the start-up business. Jeffrey Bussgang admits that as a young entrepreneur, he both feared and revered the venture capital industry and the decision makers who held the keys to capital necessary for a new company. Through his years of experience, the author learned how people in the VC world think and reach their funding decisions.
Jeffrey Bussgang (photo left) takes the reader through the entire process of reaching a funding agreement with a venture capital firm. The author guides the prospective entrepreneur along each of the critical steps in the journey. From "the pitch" and negotiating the deal, to building the company and facilitating "the exit", Jeffrey Bussgang shares essential information that entrepreneurs need to know. The author also shares his thoughts about the future of the venture capital industry, and its explosive growth on an international scale. It is clear that the author has a strong affinity for the venture capital industry. The book describes the critical role of the VC firm in providing the initial capital that has built, and continues to nurture, some of the most recognizable and successful companies.
For me, the power of the book is how Jeffrey Bussgang takes the reader into the often misunderstood world of venture capitalism. The author pulls back the curtains of mystery that surround the VC funding process, and provides a practical, step by step guide to achieving a successful funding agreement with a venture capitalist. Along with the information about navigating the entire VC voyage from the initial idea to exit strategy, the author includes interviews and profiles of business people who have achieved success with venture capital.
The stories of start-ups becoming global leaders are both inspirational and informative, as they provide crucial insights into how entrepreneurs think, along with the thought process of the VC. At the same time, Jeffrey Bussgang points out that the vast majority of entrepreneurs don't take the venture capital road. This vital insight emphasizes that venture capital is not the only source of money, and may not even be the best course of action for an aspiring entrepreneur.
I highly recommend the essential and must read guide book Mastering the VC Game: A Venture Capital Insider Reveals How to Get from Start-up to IPO on Your Terms by Jeffrey Bussgang, to anyone seeking a deeper understanding of how the venture capital process operates, and how to achieve success in finding the right VC. The book is a first rate introduction to the complex and relatively unknown world of venture capitalists and the people who comprise this vital industry.
Read the practical and entertaining book Mastering the VC Game: A Venture Capital Insider Reveals How to Get from Start-up to IPO on Your Terms by Jeffrey Bussgang, and discover how to level the playing field when approaching and negotiating with venture capitalists. Understanding that there is a right and a wrong way to navigate the process is critical. With this book, the quest of finding the right venture capitalist for a start-up venture is much more likely to reach a successful conclusion.
