Dave Berkus
Dave Berkus is a noted speaker, author and early stage private equity investor. He is acknowledged as one of the most active angel investors in the country, having made and actively participated in over 87 technology investments during the past decade. He currently manages two angel VC funds (Berkus Technology Ventures, LLC and Kodiak Ventures, L.P.) Dave is past Chairman of the Tech Coast Angels, one of the largest angel networks in the United States. Dave is author of “Basic Berkonomics,” “Berkonomics,” “Advanced Berkonomics,” “Extending the Runway,” and the Small Business Success Collection. Find out more at Berkus.com or contact Dave at dberkus@berkus.com
Latest
Good, Cheap, Fast. Pick Any Two.
This one is attributed to Rod Adair, the famous oil and gas fire suppressing expert. And boy, does it apply to most of us and our offerings. “Quality” products and services should not be positioned…
Your Business: Grow It and Hold It?
Taking money from professional investors such as angels or VCs usually requires that you agree to seek an exit for those investors in your plan, often targeting five to seven years as the ideal period…
Raise Money on Good News
The first rule for raising money is to do it on good news—right when sales are increasing at an increasing rate. Or when a major customer signs a significant deal. Or when something happens that makes an…
The Best Advice Startups Will Never Follow
Let me tell you a few short hair-raising stories of entrepreneurs who have raised money and regretted it later. Here are some rules that entrepreneurs almost always ignore to their future peril. Don’t take money…
Entrepreneurs: Take the Time to Celebrate Your Exit
We come to the end of this cycle of insights with a thought about how you might view your successful exit from the company you have spent so much effort to build. You’ve worked hard…
Angels and VCs: Don’t Be Greedy Even if You Can
Sometimes the end game or sale of the company is not a happy event for the early investors, including the entrepreneur or the founders. Especially when outside investors, venture capitalists or angels have put in substantial…
Turning Out the Lights is a Type of Exit
In my life as an early stage investor, I’ve been closely involved with so many businesses, there were bound to be numerous stories of failures, hopefully from which to learn lessons for all of us…
Double Down!
This piece of wisdom came from Jeff Bezos, founder & CEO of Amazon, during a board meeting for one of the companies where he sits as board member. Jeff asked the question, “Is there anything…
Patent Litigation Can Kill the Small Guy
When you think of patents, you think of added value to the corporation in the form of protection of its intellectual property. In fact, many corporations spend millions developing surrounding patents to form what is…
There’s Gold in Repurposing Intellectual Property
Several times a month, I’d have lunch with one of my CEOs, and each time we’d find ourselves digging into the intellectual property developed by the company over the years, just to refresh ourselves about…