Published 22 January 2025 in Finance • 4 min read
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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.
“When is it too early for a founder and their investors to start considering possible exits? Never. If you’re taking a VC in as an investor, your company will be sold, either to the public or to another firm (if you’re successful).”
Ilya Strebulaev and Alex Dang (Portfolio)
Ilya Strebulaev is among the best academics studying venture capital. His nine principles of the “venture mindset” should be understood by anyone looking at this field (even if you don’t read the entire book).
Scott Kupor (Virgin)
Written by the managing partner of a16z, one of the more important phrases in this book says it all: “Entrepreneurs and VCs are not on opposing sides.” This well-written book is for entrepreneurs who need to understand why VCs do what they do.
Mahendra Ramsinghani (Wiley Finance)
It’s a heavy read but well worth it for anyone contemplating a career in venture capital.
Winter Mead (self-published)
Many who want to create their own VC firm think it’s 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.
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.
Touraj Parang (McGraw Hill)
When is it too early for a founder and their investors to start considering possible exits? Never. If you’re taking a VC in as an investor, your company will be sold, either to the public or to another firm (if you’re successful). No one knows what the future holds but use this book to start thinking 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.
Stephen R Poland
Perhaps it’s 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.
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/
Solid, high-quality essays on multiple aspects of running a fund. Highly recommended for anyone serious about fund management.
https://www.signatureblock.co/
Harry Stebbings, the industry’s most famous VC podcaster, interviews the world’s greatest investors and founders. Excellent content and great guests.
https://www.thetwentyminutevc.com/
Connecting European Venture to the larger ecosystem. A superb podcast series, shining a light on the European VC ecosystem.
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/
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