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The knowledge bank: an essential guide to venture capital
Published January 22, 2025 in Finance ⢠4 min read
Are you contemplating a career in venture capital or are you an entrepreneur looking to raise funds? Or perhaps youâre a pension fund manager, trying to understand whether you should put money into a VC fund. IMD expert Jim Pulcrano offers an essential guide to the best books, websites, and podcasts to set you in the right direction.
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Venture capital offers funding to startups with the tantalizing prospect of rapid growth and innovation. It can provide welcome expertise, networking, and resources. However, it can lead to a loss of control, as investors often demand equity and influence decisions. High expectations for returns can pressure entrepreneurs, sometimes at the cost of long-term sustainability.
So, how does venture capital work? What are the rewards on offer and the pitfalls to avoid? A bewildering range of information on this complex subject is available online, but where to start and who to trust? The following list will set you on the road to success.
âWhen is it too early for a founder and their investors to start considering possible exits? Never. If youâre taking a VC in as an investor, your company will be sold, either to the public or to another firm (if youâre successful).â
Books
The Venture Mindset: How to Make Smarter Bets and Achieve Extraordinary Growth
Ilya Strebulaev and Alex Dang (Portfolio)
Ilya Strebulaev is among the best academics studying venture capital. His nine principles of the âventure mindsetâ should be understood by anyone looking at this field (even if you donât read the entire book).
Secrets of Sand Hill Road: Venture Capital and How to Get it
Scott Kupor (Virgin)
Written by the managing partner of a16z, one of the more important phrases in this book says it all: âEntrepreneurs and VCs are not on opposing sides.â This well-written book is for entrepreneurs who need to understand why VCs do what they do.
The Business of Venture Capital: The Art of Raising a Fund, Structuring Investments, Portfolio Management, and Exits
Mahendra Ramsinghani (Wiley Finance)
Itâs a heavy read but well worth it for anyone contemplating a career in venture capital.
How To Set Up a Venture Capital Fund: A Quick Start Guide to Launching Your VC Fund Right Now and Preparing for Institutional Scale and Success
Winter Mead (self-published)
Many who want to create their own VC firm think itâs all about pitches and term sheets. They may not realize that setting up a fund has operational and legal issues that could make the difference between success and failure.
Venture Deals: Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer and Venture Capitalist
Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson (Wiley)
VCs do investment deals on a regular basis; entrepreneurs far less often. Anyone contemplating a term sheet without a VC-battle-tested lawyer at their side should read this book before signing anything.
Exit Path: How to Win the Startup End Game
Touraj Parang (McGraw Hill)
When is it too early for a founder and their investors to start considering possible exits? Never. If youâre taking a VC in as an investor, your company will be sold, either to the public or to another firm (if youâre successful). No one knows what the future holds but use this book to start thinking about it.
Boulevard of Broken Dreams: Why Public Efforts to Boost Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital Have Failed â and What to Do About It
Josh Lerner (Princeton University Press)
Josh Lerner of HBS is one of the few academics who understands venture capital well. This book is excellent for any country, region, or city contemplating support for entrepreneurs and VC.
Founderâs Pocket Guide: Cap TablesâŻ
Stephen R Poland
Perhaps itâs a bit of a niche domain, but every founder who accepts investors eventually must master their cap table. Read this instead of guessing.
Connecting European Venture to the larger ecosystem. A superb podcast series, shining a light on the European VC.
Websites
Minimal VC
An excellent, quite technical blog from Marc Penkala, GP at Altitude Capital.
Recommended for anyone who wants to get into the deeper end of running a fund.
https://minimal-vc-truman-show.medium.com/
Signature Block
Solid, high-quality essays on multiple aspects of running a fund. Highly recommended for anyone serious about fund management.
https://www.signatureblock.co/
Podcasts
The Twenty Minute VC (20VC)
Harry Stebbings, the industryâs most famous VC podcaster, interviews the world’s greatest investors and founders. Excellent content and great guests.
https://www.thetwentyminutevc.com/
EUVC | The European VC
Connecting European Venture to the larger ecosystem. A superb podcast series, shining a light on the European VC ecosystem.
Capital Conversations
Created by IMD to provide different perspectives on venture capital, always from the experience of battle-hardened veterans. Short and well-explained.
https://www.imd.org/ibyimd/category/podcasts/capital-conversations/
- This article was produced with the help of Chris Rangen of Strategy Tools.
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