179: 8 Things Sam Marks Has Learned from Startup Investing

 

Sam goes over the top 8 things he has learned from investing in startups. Sam has invested in 9 startups in the last 8 years and has seen 3 exits and/or partial exits in the last six months. He’ll go over the process of investing in a startup, what to look for and what to avoid as well.


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Time Stamps:

  • 06:04 – What do you look for in a start-up?
  • 08:52 – Is it more important to have the management in place than what the company actually is involved in?
  • 12:23 – Is international diversification important in your selection?
  • 13:39 – How do you determine how much you are willing to invest?
  • 14:28 – Are the Start-ups similar to how “Shark-Tank” portrays?
  • 19:06 – #1: Companies take a long time to build and exit
  • 22:05 – #2: Start-ups require more money, that initial investment is not the last investment.
  • 26:15 – #3: Expect big dilution
  • 32:52 – #4: Founder issues are common protect yourself against it
  • 38:48 – #5: Cap tables becomes big issues for mediocre companies
  • 45:10 – #6: Raising money is not the goal, creating value is
  • 47:56 – #7: Valuation isn’t important necessarily, what’s more important is your entry point and exit point.
  • 53:55 – #8: Nothing is a sure thing until the money is in your bank account
  • 59:09 – What advice would you give to a beginner getting into a start-up?
  • 63:25 – About how long is expected for the second round of investment?
  • 65:16 – What should you look for in an attorney to look over the investment paperwork?
  • 66:41 – What other ways can you be valuable to the company?

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