KAUFFMAN FELLOWS PROGRAM SESSION GUIDE F16 Module V

Kauffman Fellows Program

Class 16 Session Guide

Module V

Dear Kauffman Fellows Class 16,

This module – Running the Firm as a Business – is the culmination of all of the content and best practice

discussions you’ve been exposed to thus far. Together with your classmates, you will explore all aspects

of the business of venture, with the emphasis squarely on understanding and evaluating it as a business.

From partner dynamics and firm operations to raising money and maintaining good relations with LPs;

from marketing yourself and your firm in a competitive industry to managing cash in lean times; from

dialogue with the local eco-system, as well as to better understand how our body of expertise in capital

formation can benefit local innovators. In addition, we wish to incorporate the best local expertise into

our global community and to reinforce the presence of Society of Kauffman Fellows members in the

region.

The hoped-for result is that you come away with a greater appreciation for all the dynamics that bear on

the venture business. With these patterns firmly in mind, you should feel empowered to make

improvements – in your own practices, in the practices of your firm, and across the entire industry. To

the extent you do, entrepreneurs will be better served and new companies will have the best opportunity

to succeed.

Session 1: Investment Models Respond to the Sophisticated

Entrepreneur

Facilitator: Jorge Torres (Class 16), Silas Capital

Speakers: Jordan Cooper, Lerer Ventures

Owen Davis, NYCSEED

Roger Ehrenberg, IA Ventures

Scott Levine, Time Warner Investments

David Tisch, TechStars

Session Goals:

While Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook and Mark Pincus of Zynga are legend for ensuring that their capital

structure enabled them to retain control after going public, most entrepreneurs that we encounter are

Questions to Ponder:

 Who is the venture capital investor's customer?

 What are the two most important innovations you've seen in the last year that change the ways

 How has each speaker used his entrepreneurial/operational background to win?

 What are the unique ways in which the various players collaborate? Where is there room for

 How are the demands entrepreneurs place on investors forcing investment models to change in

Notes:

market analysis and positioning of a new strategy and to understand the steps that are required to execute

the strategy. And finally, to present this strategy to your partnership in a way that meets their objectives,

and those of the firm’s LPs.

Questions to Ponder:

 What does it mean to build a franchise in the context of the venture business? In what ways is it

 What traits enable a firm to adapt and re-invent itself in the face of changing markets and new

 What gaps, shortcomings, or contradictions can thwart even the best laid franchise plans?

 What are examples of well-executed, successful, and enduring franchises? Why have they been

Notes:

New York City has rapidly become one of the most active and robust innovation and entrepreneurship

hubs in the world, both in terms of numbers of entrepreneurial start-ups and amount of venture capital

invested. With an aggressive private/public partnership forming the new multi-billion dollar university

Cornell NYCTech, NYC looks to become the leading 21-century tech powerhouse. Leaders in venture

capital, entrepreneurship, academia and government will discuss how this burgeoning innovation

ecosystem is being created.

Questions to Ponder:

 What have been the key components of NYC’s success?

 What resources were used to achieve their goals?

 What role have ‘champions’ played in this success?

Notes:

Facilitator: Bruce Upbin, Forbes

Panelists: Mel Williams, TrueBridge Capital Partners

Rick Slocum, The Johnson Company

Doug Coyle, The Rockefeller Foundation

Session Goals:

Varying opinions abound on venture capital as an asset class today and in the future. Is venture capital

irretrievably broken or is it ‘morning for venture capital’? Is it back to the fundamentals or are there new

 How could the opportunities that Limited Partners see now or in the future provide a strategic

 What new models in capital formation could meet the needs of the different strata of limited

 What are the most important trends surfaced by the panelists?

 How can you impact the future of capital formation in your environment or globally?

Notes:

Venture capital funds are more than just teams of individuals making investments and sharing a copy

thus a minimum twenty-year commitment for the partners and the LPs that invest in them. We will

explore what kind of operating infrastructures are required to ensure maximum investor return over that

period, considering that partnerships evolve with regard to industry sector, geography, and stage.

Questions to Ponder:

 What are the typical operational priorities of a venture fund?

 What role does culture play in the successful operations of a venture fund?

 Who typically drives culture in the fund?

 What are the hidden landmines that firm members need to be aware of?

 When do members typically get themselves in trouble?

Notes:

Communities, is that entrepreneurs lead a startup community while everyone else feeds that community.

Feeders include the government, universities, investors, mentors, service providers and large companies.

He will discuss the characteristics of regional entrepreneurial leaders, the engagement catalyst provided

continuous, local activities and events and the appropriate roles that incubators, accelerators, universities,

and government can (and should) play. Lastly, he will lead a conversation on how a strong community

culture can help define and sustain entrepreneurial communities.

Notes:

Navigating the fairly opaque realm of firm group dynamics is a skill without much prior art or best

practices yet to be passed down. As a junior person in the firm, you are fortunate if you have a mentor

some point, however, you are left alone to fend for yourself through these murky waters.

Alan Patricof is rightfully considered a venture capital legend, having invested several billion dollars

globally, across multiple industries, in his now 40+ years in the venture industry. Alan’s experience spans

the earliest days of VC, where funds consisted exclusively of high net-worth family money, through his

founding and management of Apax Partners from 1969-2004 (formerly Patricof Ventures), now with $40

digital media. His investments include America Online, Office Depot, Cadence Systems, Cellular

Communications, Inc., Apple Computer, FORE Systems, NTL, IntraLinks, Audible, and New York

magazine. Alan’s depth of experience and context will provide a rare and valuable picture of firm

dynamics.

Notes:

Notes:

agreement; and (iii) how to think about raising a fund, both strategically and in concrete terms.

Notes: