This is my experience in the creation circle two years after the summary ...

Absrtact: Brian Watson worked for the famous VCs Union Square Ventures (USV). As an investor, after two years in the circle, Brian wrote his thoughts and suggestions for the line. For the entrepreneurs and investors to see. I

Brian Watson worked for the famous VCs Union Square Ventures (USV). As an investor, after two years in the circle, Brian wrote his thoughts and suggestions for the line. For the entrepreneurs and investors to see.

I work in USV, in order to learn more things, to lay the foundation for the future. Working in a venture company sounds beautiful, but there are also bitterness. I have failed and I have succeeded. But it's not important, the important thing is that the good people around me bring me growth. Here are my personal summaries of how young people survive in VCs, how USV operate, how to start a company, and the overall industry trends. All of this makes me look at the world from a new perspective.

About work

Even if the whole world disdain, you have to strengthen your vision.

Don't waste time on all kinds of big events unless they really help you get a better understanding of the market. Manage the objects you care about. Their thoughts will permeate your brain, so make sure that you are receiving valuable information. Focus on the present. It's much more efficient to concentrate on your studies than to gulp down and jot down notes. Your job is to bring different ideas and new ideas to your company, rather than just pull your own investment. It is more valuable to choose an area of interest and to contribute your own unique insights. To be a successful VC is very simple, as long as there is enough faith, "Everyone is drunk I wake up alone." Even if you are not recognized by others, you have to keep your eye on the original. A wish cannot be quantified, but a goal can be. Theoretically speaking, there is a desire to have a goal. So, set a wish first, and then watch it step after minute. Discover the beauty of the accident. Randomly participate in conferences and see if they give you unexpected insights. Don't be afraid of polite refusal. Don't waste time with each other if they don't feel right. It is the most efficient way to provide value by helping the company to recruit talented people. Maybe you just want to stay in an investment agency for a short time, but other colleagues may be betting on a lot of years. So, when you look at an investment, you're asking if it's not a fire, and they're concerned about the long-term development after 35 years. If you think organizations should invest in an entrepreneur, your role is like the dream maker of inception. You have to convince the other partners that the investment also fits their aspirations. Because people prefer their own ideas, not passively accept others ' opinions. Do surveys, brainstorm, and use the power of the masses to help you achieve ideas in an open context. VC is evolving into a service industry, the most knowledgeable people can find the best projects. Effective use of resources. You have all kinds of circles (friends, classmates, co-workers, invested companies), and when appropriate, learn to turn to the right person. VCs are like reading stories. Remember every interesting little joke, and the solution for the entrepreneur, because history is always strikingly similar.

USV's investment experience taught me ...

People are vulnerable to market conditions, bull markets betting boldly, bear market dare not shot. And as investors, in order to long-term return, to maintain the calm, keep their price bottom line, not for the market move. Your personal investment list is constantly enriched, and it's a good habit to revisit the projects you've invested in regularly. Comb your own point of view, boldly speak out, and resolutely practice their own belief in the cause. Reputation is all about investing in projects that you think have long-term prospects. If your investment theory can't be word in 140 words, you have too many rules. Learn to adapt to discussing your investment theory in an open environment. Look for a CEO with a product acumen and empathy. Instead of preaching to entrepreneurs and instructing them on what to do, pave the way for them to learn from each other. The best network or product is the beginning of a small audience, in the scale has been expanding to reflect the value. Data is always more persuasive than the number of users, and avoids investing in companies that have marginal margins falling. For example, the number of users of a product increased from 50 to 50000, but the marginal profit margin fell from 2% to 1.75%, indicating that such a company is not worth betting, and no amount of users will represent everything. Be loyal to your partner. Never forget that they give you trust, so you have to do everything you can to give them support. The best way to promote mutual understanding of unity is to make the team meet each week and communicate with each other. You can use Monte Carlo simulations to predict capital reserves (how much capital you will save for the next investment). However, the data is only constantly updated to ensure effective, capital allocation is also a door technology. Don't ask your company to do extra work (such as filling in internal reports, etc.) unless it has a clear value for them. There is always a time when the value of the company is no longer the number of users, but the growth of profits. Learn to choose-work less and stay focused. Small capital investment can give you more flexibility, because only a few returns to 1 billion of early investment opportunities each year. When you cast 150 million and share 15%, you only need to recoup 1 billion dollars to guarantee the return. And as you invest, you need more. When managing portfolio companies, there is a famous "1/3, 1/3, 1/3" principle. In other words, treat all the companies that have been voted to keeled. Often, you spend a lot of time in struggling companies, but have little attention to good companies. However, the overall strength of all companies can reflect the reputation of investment institutions. Setting up a more advanced fund and doubling bets on the best companies that have been voted for could complement your early fund-providing a different risk-reward structure for the LP and providing additional support for companies that reach larger scale.

About the financing process

When raising a seed wheel, you should use standard term sheet and agree on basic terms to keep legal costs low. Financing is a trade-off between value and control. Generally speaking, a successful venture is inversely proportional to the number of investors on the board of the start-up company. When the entrepreneur intends to finance, the initiative to provide potential investors with a brief monthly update, this is to interact with VC, to maintain the interest of VC good way. (But when putting investors on the list, it's best to ask first, otherwise it would be objectionable.) VC do not have much mind and time to listen to long speeches, so the best ppt control in 10-15 pages for better. If in pitch VC partner, always is you a person eloquent sing solo, believe me, this is not a good phenomenon. What you have to do is to arouse their interest and let them discuss it for themselves.

Set up a company

A good CEO coach can change too much. As for the other characters, it's enough to find a reliable peer mentor. A good corporate culture is the feeling of a team member that can be totally interdependent. Effective restrictions can often create creativity. The 140 word text makes you more creative, and your company can also inspire potential in the end. Have a long-term plan for the future. Thinking about two years after the company's appearance, two months after the product situation, 6-12 months after the capital/team direction, 3-6 months after the market dynamics. Be willing to share important business data with users. There are many ways to develop and manage products. Some companies first design reprogramming, some write a press release to do the product, and some brainstorm to prioritize the order of product features. Each method has no right and wrong points, choose a suitable team for the good. Set up a deadline within the team and calculate the elastic time of the outsider in advance. Remember to avoid vague deadline. A/b test is much more effective than a user test, and in order to be accurate, you can choose to start a test in a specific crowd. People will lie, but the data will always be true. The sense of cooperation is more important than the pursuit of consensus. Communicate proactively, set clear KPIs, and maintain a strong sense of teamwork. The best products are often "simple but perfect". To provide users with fast, easy, enjoyable experience. Once you have a core product, your goal should be user growth, commercialization, and a sense of well-being. Rules are not dead, they change at all times. You may not be able to make big events, but you can occasion the things you do better. So, look at the situation, the pursuit of victory. If you are not indexed, you will never be found. When communicating with a remote team, each member (and even the staff at Headquarters) should adopt the same communication system so that remote colleagues can speak equally. When you interview someone, ask them how they are dissatisfied with their current or past work. You can learn from their answers about who they are and whether they are right or wrong.

Market trends

The market is always so changeable that people enjoy chasing the hottest and freshest topics. You should have an independent view of what's happening right now and be willing to keep your mind open and change.

The future is open, random and mobile. In the picture field, Instagram did it; in the blog world, Twitter succeeded. Content will eventually be free. Bundled services tend to be unbound and regroup in a completely new dimension. Just as the newspaper went to the blog, and eventually the Twitter evolved. The networks we use are turning from independent closures to light, interactive. The current market environment is more beneficial to entrepreneurs, and they want to know their image in the investor mind. Any transaction with a 10 times-fold return on corporate mergers and acquisitions is quite impressive. When your company's cash flow is positive and the profit outlook is clear, it's time to consider listing. Growth is overriding, followed by size and profit. Investors in the open capital markets tend to be highly user-sticky companies, especially in the area of SaaS. High viscosity means high returns. Silicon Valley pursues the process optimization (Dropbox, for example, thinks: "How do we become faster and more efficient?") But New York values the public (for example, Etsy thinks: "How do we bring it to the line?"). The two are not good or bad, but they have different effects. Data is an art, not a cold technology. They are insights we get from the world around us. Hacking is the new blogging. And apps has become the content, you should make as many apps as possible.