Mastering The VC Game
Money is a critical denominator for the success of any business. So, for tech startups, of course, venture capital funding is always welcomed. Also, new entrepreneurs get huge attention in the media, particularly when they raise VC money (meaning huge motivation factor *alert*!).
During my initial entrepreneurship days, I raised multiple rounds of VC funding for my startup LoginRadius. However, I personally do not believe that VC funding should be the reflection of a startup’s success. Therefore, do not treat this as a victory metric.
But I like to keep myself on top of things. I believe it is always good to learn something new, even if you feel like you know a lot about it. I have already read “Venture Deals” by Brad Feld and thought to read “Master The VC Game” by Jeffrey Bussgang to gain further knowledge.
My Review
Author Jeffery Bussgang is the founder of Upromise, the largest source of college funding contributions in the USA and was a general partner at Flybridge Capital Partners — an early-stage venture capital firm with more than $500M under management.
Having served an entrepreneur and as a current Venture Capitalist, Bussgang presents a balanced perspective on how things work inside the world of venture capital. With his unique perspective and extensive knowledge, he goes on to reveal how to gather finance and launch a start-up successfully.
The book gives a good understanding of how to get noticed in the VC world, great tips for entrepreneurs and shares inspiring stories from the most successful players in the industry, including Twitter’s Jack Dorsey, and LinkedIn’s Reid Hoffman.
Mastering The VC Game is an enjoyable read. But the book was written in 2010 and the VC industry has evolved a lot since then. Though the book provides a strategic-level knowledge, it doesn’t go deep into any particular topic and is a bit outdated now.
If you have time, read it. But if you are really interested in learning about how to raise venture capital funding, I recommend Venture Deal over this one.
About The Book
It is a small book of 197 pages containing seven chapters. Initially published in 2010, there has been no new edition since then. It is available mostly online in audio, paperback and hardcover formats. I paid US$17 for the paperback.
Who Is It For
I primarily recommend the book to tech entrepreneurs who it is written for. However, it could be valuable to anyone who is involved in VC fundraising such as CFO, COO sort of profiles as well as people in the VC world.