• Venture Deals

  • Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer and Venture Capitalist
  • By: Jason Mendelson, Brad Feld
  • Narrated by: Sean Pratt
  • Length: 7 hrs and 19 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (1,008 ratings)

Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.
Venture Deals  By  cover art

Venture Deals

By: Jason Mendelson, Brad Feld
Narrated by: Sean Pratt
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $21.48

Buy for $21.48

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

As each new generation of entrepreneurs emerges, there is a renewed interest in how venture capital deals come together. Yet there really is no definitive guide to venture capital deals. Nobody understands this better than authors Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson. For more than seventeen years, they've been involved in hundreds of venture capital financings, and now, with Venture Deals, they share their experiences in this field with you.

Inspired by a series of blog posts - created by the authors after a particularly challenging deal - this reliable resource demystifies the venture capital financing process and helps you gain a practical perspective of this dynamic discipline.

Whether you're an experienced or aspiring entrepreneur, venture capitalist, or lawyer who partakes in these particular types of deals, you can benefit from the insights found throughout this book. Engaging and informative, Venture Deals skillfully outlines the essential elements of the venture capital term sheet - from terms related to economics to terms related to control. Feld and Mendelson strive to give a balanced view of the particular terms along with the strategies to getting to a fair deal. In addition to examining the nuts and bolts of the term sheet, Venture Deals also introduces you to the various participants in the process, discusses how fundraising works, reveals how VC firms operate, and describes how to apply different negotiating tactics to your deals. You'll also gain valuable insights into several common legal issues most startups face and, as a bonus, discover what a typical letter of intent to acquire your company looks like.

©2011 Jason Mendelson, Brad Feld (P)2011 Gildan Media Corp

More from the same

What listeners say about Venture Deals

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    643
  • 4 Stars
    250
  • 3 Stars
    93
  • 2 Stars
    16
  • 1 Stars
    6
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    529
  • 4 Stars
    208
  • 3 Stars
    72
  • 2 Stars
    19
  • 1 Stars
    7
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    493
  • 4 Stars
    203
  • 3 Stars
    96
  • 2 Stars
    29
  • 1 Stars
    7

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great book, but needs a PDF

What did you love best about Venture Deals?

Venture Capital has a lot of tricky names and concepts, they explain them well and clearly

Any additional comments?

There could be a PDF file along with the book with all the examples and numbers cited... not always you can write them all down, and to follow the thinking it could be easier than to copy them in a paper and follow the audio

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

18 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Knowledge is Power..!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes..!

Any additional comments?

As a former author (of legal, tax, financial, and business issues), I was impressed with Brad and Jason's crystal-clear writing style.

There were so many things I found insightful. Here are a few of their recommendations: 1. Select the right lawyer. The lawyer you pick is a reflection of you. If you pick a "lame" lawyer (my word, not theirs), your own credibility drops more than a notch or two. 2. Keep tabs on (and control of) the negotiation with the VCs. Do not just hand over the reins to your attorney. The way to stay involved and in charge is to understand what is important in the negotiations and what is not. This way you can prevent each side's lawyers from quibbling over unimportant points which only serve to run up legal bills...and/or so you can prevent your attorney from straining your relationship with your investors. 3. Understand that the early rounds of financing can have a big effect on the future of your company (and they explain why, what you need to know, and what mistakes you should not make). 4. Understand the concept of ANTI-DILUTION. It's very important! 5. Understand FOUNDER VESTING. For example, if one of the founders decides to leave after a year or two, you do not want him or her to walk away with a large ownership stake, while you remain at the company and continue to work (hard).

Brad and Jason also teach you that not all VC firms are the same. Different firms specialize in different types of startups or in different stages of the funding process. And some firms are much better at mentoring entrepreneurs than others. The authors also discuss the TIMING of the funds run by VCs (most funds run approximately 10 years, and they explain why this is important for you to know).

They also help you to understand things from the perspective of VCs and angel investors, so you can present yourself well to them.

And all throughout, they teach you how avoid mistakes and nasty pitfalls that could result in serious and regrettable problems. In short, this book is exactly what every entrepreneur, VC, and advisor needs.

Thanks Brad and Jason. Your book is so well done, and written in such a wonderful, kind spirit. You have made an important contribution. I am tremendously impressed.

Though I enjoyed this audio version very much, I do believe that it is important to have this in a book or kindle form, too, so that you can refer to it as needed.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

An Entrepreneur library MUST

Would you listen to Venture Deals again? Why?

This book is packed with facts about the deal. If you've ever had a business, thought about investing in someone's business, its more than just equity at stake. The contracts Feld goes through in this book break it down line by line, explaining what is normal, vs when one person (the investor or entrepreneur) is getting the upper hand. Real life examples, candid opinions -- this is everything I wish lawyers, mentors, or teachers should have told me years ago but didn't. I imagine listening to this book once or twice a year to stay sharp.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Surprisingly listenable

Nice presentation of technical subject. I was afraid it might be dry; but just enough humor to make it an enjoyable commute listen.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Good Summary for Beginners

The book provides a very useful summary to entrepreneurs and aspiring practitioners alike. The financial structure, the legal structure and documentation is well explained. If you are making your first contact with the world of venture capital I highly recommend this book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

If you can get past the first 20 minutes...

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I thought this was a book on venture deals and how to be more knowledgeable about them. It seems more about the culture of the industry and how this guy experienced it. The read is very slow and the voice is so monotone you start to lose interest fast. The way its read is as if you can't understand english, its very slow. Maybe that is good but I could not listen past the 2nd chapter. I would have been happier reading an article on a business blog than listening to this. Don't listen while driving, you may fall asleep.If you live in the Bay Area this topic is something you may hear a lot about and will probably find someone in person to talk to about the subject. Just reach out and do some networking.

Do you think Venture Deals needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No.

Any additional comments?

I'm not sure if this book was just made to make money or help people. I don't feel helped or any more smarter on the topic.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Where is the appendix?

How come there are no attached documents? I can't see what he is talking about. Help!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Changed the direction of my startup!!

This book helped my make WAY better legal decisions with my startup! Walking into meetings is totally different after reading this book. Thank you!!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great content, well delivered!

Very insightful, with good level of detail. Balanced position between company and VC. Narrator is pleasant. Highly recommend.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Valuable and dry

There are dozens of things you'll learn from this book, any one could save you a ton of time and money

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful