4 ms·

In all honesty, my concrete advice would be reaching out to other local founders privately and asked what worked for them and what didn't. Note there usually is

In all honesty, my concrete advice would be reaching out to other local founders privately and asked what worked for them and what didn't. Note there usually is a lot to these stories that aren't told in public for many reasons. On top, one thing I regret is not having joined a network of founders and entrepreneurs earlier. These days, I would just ask them and get 2-3 spot-on recommendations with warm intros in a day. We hackers and builders usually scoff at these kind of "elite" networks until we realize building and selling a company is fundamentally a people business, where connections and trust are paramount. Reach out to me on LinkedIn for an intro to the organization I'm in (it's global). As for the original advice: +100 from my side. Especially if the whole founder round is not experienced, you really want to have a cold blooded veteran on your side. Someone who commands respect by founders, is hired by you guys and is incentivized by getting home a part of the deal. Not only do these brokers have the know-how, they usually have a vast network of interested parties to bring to the table at any time to get a bidding war started and are experienced in navigating the delicate timing of the funnel that is crucial for a success. The differences in outcome I've personally witnessed with and without brokers are night and day, even though I have my own cultural issues with them.

jacquesm 5y ago
> In all honesty, my concrete advice would be reaching out to other local founders privately and asked what worked for them and what didn't. Note there usually is a lot to these stories that aren't told in public for many reasons. This is the best advice. You won't be able to 'interview them' and make a good judgment, the people that have already gone through a process with them know better what they are like. And even then you have to be aware that plenty of these places have 'A' and 'B' teams and that you need to make sure you are comparing apples-to-apples.

jacquesm 5y ago

> In all honesty, my concrete advice would be reaching out to other local founders privately and asked what worked for them and what didn't. Note there usually is a lot to these stories that aren't told in public for many reasons. This is the best advice. You won't be able to 'interview them' and make a good judgment, the people that have already gone through a process with them know better what they are like. And even then you have to be aware that plenty of these places have 'A' and 'B' teams and that you need to make sure you are comparing apples-to-apples.