The Business of Venture Capital: The Art of Raising a Fund, Structuring Investments, Portfolio Management, and Exits (Wiley Finance)

TLDR: This book is inspired. Yes, It's about venture capital, but the principles explored, the anecdotes shared, those concrete situations specific to venture capital are so artfully told that they become applicable to all business, even life. The book also serves as a harvest of other brilliant work to fill your To Read listTHE REVIEW: "You" may seem really generic, as if it can apply to anyone, but in this case it does. It's rare to read a book that is not only encompassing in its treatment of a subject, but also inspired.There are books of the "for dummies" genre that take you on a tour of the forest without examining a single tree... and then there are those more academic in nature, where every chapter is a tedious examination that robs you of context.The Business of Venture Capital serves not only as an introduction for those beginning a journey into VC (as investors or founders), but I imagine something of a memoir for those who are approaching (or have reached) a summit (as a founder or investor) and are eager to reflect on where they've been... perhaps from "the other side of the coin"; alternately, this book might serve as a "return to base camp" so that their next summit may be even higher. It's both forest and trees, and conveys the same awe you'd experience as if there.Getting specific as to why I found this book so valuable as to claim you would need it, I recollect upon a personally transformative read: Thomas Sowell's Knowledge and Decisions. The more you know, the more options you have, the better choices you can make.Though you'll learn a lot about the business of venture capital, and the promise of the book is fulfilled... much of the book can be taken as a metaphor for life, especially in the context of pursuing any impossible thing. By means of a wild example: 100-years from now, I imagine this book could be inspiring for someone assembling a team of astronauts to settle Mars, determining which team members to "invest" in as well as the individual astronauts attempting to convince some sponsor for the right to make history and conquer new worlds.Reading The Business of Venture Capital provides you with the ultimate foundation to scale what you need to know about venture capital, but also (I believe) the foundation you need to succeed in any business. I say any business, because it would seem that VC backed businesses are like any other, except their highs to the moon, and bottomless lows. Not only that, but from seed to exit, the life cycle of VC Investor + VC Backed Founder feels in some aways akin to one of those fast-forwarded videos where you watch a seed grow into a tree flower, die, and be reborn again.As with great works of fiction where the heroes and villains are larger than life, their actions exaggerated and revealed in a timeline compressed, the lessons reaped from "Venture Capital" appear almost archetypal. Universal. Timeless.And the opportunity to encounter something that borders on universal or timeless while being highly specific, that's probably something we all need.***I made my first real life referral of this book last weekend, before I completed it. Hopefully this anecdote provides some additional context as to the "why" of this review in a "concrete" setting.I was at Blaze Pizza in Brentwood with my mom, my wife and kids, the waiter was a sharp teenager that didn't want to leave a personal pizza for my 5-year old son while he was in the bathroom because, as the waiter said: "I promised him 'extra cheese' and wanted him to know I got it." Later, while conversing about vacation with my 2nd grader and unaware of the last day of school, we ask the high schooler if he knew off hand when it was. He gives a date, but casually drops the fact that he's done several weeks earlier than anyone else because of 4 AP courses. It begged the follow up question: "do you know what you want to do?" with the answer "Mechanical Engineering, but with the aim of starting a business." Now, if you've never been to Blaze, it's one of those places where you tip the cashier so waitstaff is not tipped individually, so I figure to pass on a life tip, and tell him he ought to read The Business of Venture Capital.I say something to the effect of "You know, if you're thinking about launching a company one day... not everything in this book will apply to you now, but if you read it and keep it filed away in your mind, you might have a stronger frame of reference for while you're in college. You'll be more keyed in to recognizing opportunities and may have a stronger frame to view things that may not seem immediately relevant. Tangibly speaking, the book also makes reference to VC funds that look for 'dorm room startups' so that might help you be on the look out for firms that recruit wherever you're going." I wanted to ask where, but thought that might be tacky.The kid then asks: "How much is this book?" to which I respond: "It's cheaper on Audible, around $50 or more on Amazon, but I got both. So you might want to just do audible." He responds "that's pricey, I'll have to save up."Long story short: I made an angel investment of $20 towards his purchase of the book, and whatever unicorn this kid might one day build. It was also meant as much as an example to my own kids that: working hard, having vision, and being personable are not just fulfilling ends in and of themselves but traits that increase your chances of having good things happen to you. ((elementary school perspective of $20 is like 20k, so i hope my kids remember this forever))

“At the beginning of the book, Mahendra Ramsinghani’s parents provide the most crucial advice and foundational teaching. And in acknowledging his inspiring parents, Mahendra sums up the business of venture capital most pertinently, which is to always place:“Knowledge above wealth,People above profits,Truth above power,And service above self.”Mahendra is masterful at organizing and distilling complex principles of the venture industry. This masterpiece book on the business of Venture Capital is a substantive source to understand how venture capital firms operate in real-world practice, such as the fund-raising process, investment process, governance, and exits.As an expert on Venture Capital, Mahendra has constructed a spectacular, engaging, and adaptable discourse on the entire spectrum of the venture capital process. It is crystal clear, detailed, interesting — filled with remarkable stories and data and empathy and personal experience.In times of unprecedented change, we as individuals, practitioners, and institutions have a tremendous responsibility. We can have extraordinary leverage and influence if we marshal the passion, knowledge, and resources necessary to create value and achieve great things. The Business of Venture Capital empowers and guides us practitioners and entrepreneurs to make the most of today’s enormous possibilities in quality investments, cohesive cooperation and meaningful partnerships, exponential technologies, and a future of abundance that will transition us to a New Age.The book teaches us creative investment mechanisms, evolving business models, and leadership would have to be extraordinarily well-poised, aligned, and at the forefront of major innovations and industry transitions to take the venture capital, startup, and enterprise industries to its next level national and global success. And to achieve ‘real success,’ we would require bold, courageous, visionary, purposeful, and compassionate venture capitalists ‘collectively’ to make impactful investments for a societal transformation.This labor of love is wonderfully written and is a must-read for any current or future investor, founder, or limited partner—pearls of wisdom leap from almost every page.Lastly, I believe that True Transformation is big, bold, audacious, enterprise-wide, community-wide, and lasting. It is a meaningful and sustainable step-change in culture, capabilities, and performance. Mahendra reminds us that for the venture capital industry to become a transformational success truly, the principle of mutual benefit – between countries, corporations, customers, employees, and communities – is the most effective route to profitable, sustainable growth.My best wishes to Mahendra and Secure Octane Investments on an ever-expanding, inspirational, “perspective-driven,” and “purposefully-led” journey ahead.”

I wish could give this book ten stars.Mahendra Ramsinghani's book is far away the most authoritative overview of how venture capital works. He shows all sides of the venture equation: how VCs get their money from investors (LPs), the motivations and goal of those LPs, how VCs manage the funds (and their motivations and goals), and how VCs deal with startup founders (again, motivation and goals for both sides).If you're an LP, VC, or startup founder, you'll learn how the system works.Mahendra is a VC in Silicon Valley and knows the field. The book is 450 pages of dense text in a very clear, easy-to-read style. I pre-ordered, got it on Friday, and finished it by Saturday afternoon.If you're building startups, seeking funding, or work in venture, I strongly recommend this book.Yes, it's $90. It could be $900 and still be a great offer.About me: I've done several startups in Silicon Valley, I'm co-founder of a startup now, I wrote a book about startups (in its second edition and five translations), and I still learned so much from Mahendra's book.andreas

Its a real textbook. Definitely something to keep on your shelf. It filled many blind spots..that only people in this business would specifically know.Example: Types of Warrants/Board of director responsibilities vs. Preferred shareholders.

The book is great. But arrived with several pages at the back thorn apart.

Si estás en el mundo financiero o eres emprendedor, este libro te puede ayudar a entender el mundo del capital de riesgo, sus oportunidades, beneficios y riesgos. También como planificar tu ronda de inversión y entender que es lo que buscan este tipo de inversionistas.