In 2000, Jeffrey Bussgang found himself across the table from John Doerr, the prominent venture capitalist who funded Google and Amazon. Bussgang and his partner were pitching their start-up, Upromise, a loyalty program that lets people earn money for college by shopping at participating stores. When they reached Slide 17 of the PowerPoint presentation, Doerr started grilling them. "What are the revenue drivers that would bring the breakeven point forward another six months?" Doerr asked. "And why do you figure Year Four gross margins at 88 percent?" Bussgang froze. He can't remember what answer he managed to come up with. To his relief, Doerr decided to fund Upromise, which eventually went public.
In 2003, Bussgang went over to the other side. He joined Flybridge Capital Partners, a Boston-based early-stage venture capital firm in which he is now a general partner. After years as an investor, Bussgang wrote a guide for founders looking for venture capital. His book, Mastering the VC Game, due out this month, walks entrepreneurs through the inner workings of VC firms and offers advice on topics such as pitching investors and negotiating term sheets. He recently spoke with Inc. senior editor Bobbie Gossage about how to get funding.
To read the full, original article click on this link: An Insider’s Guide to Venture Capital Financing
Author: Bobbie Gossage
