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Confessions of a Venture Capitalist: Inside the High-Stakes World of Start-up Financing
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 658.15224
EAN: 9780446526807
Edition: 1st
ISBN: 0446526800
Label: Warner Books
Manufacturer: Warner Books
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 218
Publication Date: May 15, 2000
Publisher: Warner Books
Studio: Warner Books
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Editorial Review:
Many people would love to pick the brains of a venture capitalist to uncover exactly what gets their juices (and checks) flowing. Some books promise such advice from the recipient's point of view, but rarely is the story told from a financier's. As its title promises, however, Confessions of a Venture Capitalist does just that. Ruthann Quindlen, a one-time investment banker now with Silicon Valley's Institutional Venture Partners, lays it on the line in this revealing glimpse inside her world. Short, humorous chapters make it an easy read--a fact that might lead some to suspect that specifics are lacking. But details are there, as evidenced in a section called "Less Is More, or Subtraction by Addition." "Rather than coming to us with just themselves and their bright idea, they believe we want to see business types as part of the initial management team," she writes. "Often, we like the technology entrepreneur and the plan, but end up in the awkward position of not being able to back the business types.... Focus instead on your idea and why customers will love it and how you and only you can make it happen." Such suggestions should prove useful to entrepreneurs, and anyone else interested in today's venture-capital economy. --Howard Rothman
In the past year alone, venture capitalists were responsible for the billions that fueled the best new ideas and most impressive start-ups. But what makes a successful venture capitalist? In this fearless and informative financial primer, Quindlen educates readers about the growing opportunitiesand hidden pitfallsof venture capital investing.
From the woman who took Microsoft public comes a groundbreaking book that reveals the hidden world of high stakes venture capital deals and shows entrepreneurs how to turn great ideas into mega-profitable businesses.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Lacks concrete facts
The introduction lists the two goals: The first is "to help entrepreneurs bypass some of the common mistakes that I have observed when they start and build a company.... The second to help mainstream America understand more about the venture capital economy - and the magic that is Silicon Valley."
This book fails to provide value to an entrepreneur. Quindlen provides a sparse collection of common mistakes that any 18 year old should already have heard. She describes a number of investment ... Read More
Rating:  - Read this book IF you want to be a "Serious" Entrepreneur
Recently I read that, according to a report by Staples *, the "Percentage of American adults who say they have an idea for a new product or innovation: 42." (* Office Solutions, March/ April 2004, p. 10)
Going on the report stated that the "Top reasons for not getting an idea to the drawing board: not enough money (75 percent), not knowing where to start, ..."
If you're in that 75%, then reading Confessions of a Venture Capitalist will be an enlightening experience.
Read More
Rating: - Not Quite Appropriate for the Post-Bubble Age
As a General Partner at Institutional Venture Partners (IVP), Ruthann Quindlen has seen her share of entrepreneurial ventures succeed - or fall by the wayside. In this book, she describes the world of venture capital as it relates to both the investor and entrepreneur. Most striking are the number of topics discussed in barely over 200 pages of writing. At 36 chapters, this book covers each subject briefly, yet thoroughly, using examples from the "real-world", rather than droll academic jargon. Its ... Read More
Rating:  - Read the chapter titles and Skip..
If you have had even a minor exposure to startups (worked in one, or a friend has worked in one, and told you several stories), this book will seem like "Obvious, duh!". There are a few interesting points, but very little in the form of enlightening/revealing anecdotes.
The book is funny to read after the Internet-bubble has burst. Ruthann is busy trying to say how venture capitalists are most valuable for a company's success, and how the Internet is going to transform everything and how ... Read More
Rating: - Stay Away From This Book...
Well, another reveiwer here wrote exactly what I felt reading this book. But this book is so bad I wanted to write a review myself. First of all, the stuff mentioned here is hadly any confessions, they are confused jargon written by a confused person wanting to make some money by cashing on the buzz created by the tech boom and VC world. Second, the book shows us nothing about the high-stakes world of start-up financing, you wont understand how VCs value companies or how they try and build companies. IVP ... Read More
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