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

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

Great content, well delivered!

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

Just in time!!

Great book recommended to me by the VC which gave us a termsheet. Really glad I got to read it!!

All-In-One Resource Which You Will Reference Often

Would you listen to Venture Deals again? Why?

Yes, I reference this book all of the time.

What did you like best about this story?

It's comprehensive. As a software developer with a start-up, this was the easiest way I found to navigate to get up to speed on raising capital.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes.

Any additional comments?

This is a book you definitely want to own because you will reference it often.

I wish this book updated

The book itself is good, just everything changes fast, so I wish this book updated. Appreciate sense of humor there)

A1 Facts About Raising Capital

Exactly what I needed. I'm a product guy and had no idea how to raise capital. Now I speak the same language as the big boys.

A must read for startups raising money

Would you consider the audio edition of Venture Deals to be better than the print version?

YES

What did you like best about this story?

This book is the ultimate resource for quickly immersing founders in the language of financing rounds from seed to late stage. Easy to listen to and perfectly organized, each chapter builds on the understanding gained from the last.

Which character – as performed by Sean Pratt – was your favorite?

This was nonfiction

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes I could not get enough of this book and listened in one day on the faster speed

Any additional comments?

Not just a general overview, this book is textbook specific with just enough humor to never be tiring. I loved the quick read and loved the clear explanations. Especially helpful are all the sections named "entrepreneur perspective." Never stating the obvious, you will learn lots right from chapter one and with great tricks and tips even if you are a seasoned professional (and I have been an accountant 30 years and still learned so much!) Thank you for this book!

Great Info!

What did you love best about Venture Deals?

It showed a complete picture of the VC process. This is a one stop shop to get a great understanding of VC's and some of the ins and outs of the process. Good luck.

Well worth the money invested

Useful book but you need to pause it and rewind some technical explanation if you are not well versed in financial jargon.

Great read for VCs and Non-VCs alike!

I've worked in the financial services industry for almost a decade and have focused on later stage investing (i.e. not venture capital). Despite not being a venture capitalist, the book was very helpful and relevant to my profession. The structures and provisions that Brad and Jason simplify are applicable well beyond venture and perhaps outside of finance altogether.

I got through the book very quickly on my daily commute to work and thought that it was excellent.

I recommended it to the junior investment professionals at my firm as well as to those outside of finance.

Overall, great book!

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.