Lgilab

Video - Is this the life of a VC?

Interesting point of view. Just a little caricatural. Thanks to Guy Grimland for passing

 

LightSpeed Venture Partners launch a new VC blog

Happy to announce that LightSpeed Venture Partner is just joining the community of VC blogging. It is hold by Jeremy Liew, now partner at LightSpeed previously MD at Netscape (other partners contribute too).  Rss feed is here

As i said in the past (read 10 reasons a VC should blog), there are many reasons VCs should blog. Gemini already do it, LightSpeed now does it and Lgilab also. Reading on LSVP blog on why launching a blog now

The truth is we debated the idea internally and ultimately decided we need to do a better job of two things:

1. Sharing our personal ideas, beliefs and lessons with the community of entrepreneurs we are in the business of serving.

2. Engaging on a consistent basis with entrepreneurs and opening up direct channels of communication.

 

LGiLAB at LeWeb3 next Week

Yoni and I will be attending leweb3 conference in Paris next week, which is certainly the largest web event in Europe this year (1000 attendants from 30 countries and massive PR coverage) and probably one of the best since january 06.

Lots of Israelis are attending. I will personnally be involved in 2 panels and that will be too a great opportunity for networking.

Let us know if you are also there.

10 reasons a VC should blog

I orginally posted this on my personnal blog. But Yoni suggested this should appear also here. Actually a challenging follow up post will arrive soon. stay tuned and read that first.

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I am often asked the question “what is the benefit of blogging for a VC?”. To be honest for me this has become so obvious that i did not ask myself this question.

I started blogging before i join a VC but as i did, i started to write more about Venture Capital as i discover this industry from the inside. We even decided to launch a blog for LgiLab. So i would not say starting a VC blog came because i thought of the good reasons first. It just came naturally.

As i got into the blogosphere i discovered many VCs run a blog. And most of the time they are really EXCELLENT. Curiously in Israel, not enough VCs are blogging (Gemini is well represented)

With retrospect here are, i believe, the TOP 10 reasons a blog should blog.

 

• 1. Gives a human voice to your VC: VCs are mostly considered as arrogant and “know it all”. A blog is your opportunity to express your human side and give a true down to earth feel to your readers. Specially if you write not only about VC (a VC does that really well)
• 2. Helps entrepreneurs prepare their meeting: you can’t even imagine how many entrepreneurs start a meeting by telling me “we read your blog”. I think this is great. By knowing how i think and what i like or don’t they can fine tune the meeting and make it better. Not meaning this is enough
• 3. Helps you with lead more efficient meeting: By helping entrepreneurs preparing better their meetings your allow yourself to run more efficient encounters. If for no better reason you can save the 5min intro on yourself.
• 4. A window to outstanding network: with the time, you will attract more readers and some of them, probably VCs and industry experts, will contact you and eventually meet you. I found those contacts to be outstandingly qualitative
• 5. Keep touch with internet reality: with a food in a blog you are closer to the internet. You understand better what user generated content is about and you are more tempted to keep up to date and try all those new services.
• 6. Create different relation with your colleagues: your colleagues will discover another you and will probably be curious to read you.
• 7. Help create some true differentiation/authority: What is the uniqueness of a VC? i believe the people. And what is the best way to showcase your uniqueness? By expressing who you are. I think a website is too static and too cold to give the right impression on who you are.
• 8. Get a Free PR Channel: i discovered that many journalists and other opinion leaders read my blog. Sometime what i write here and there is re-used (like here). A blog is a communication channel. A powerful one, free and instant one.
• 9. Source new deals: eventually some entrepreneurs will consider your blog as “special” entry door out of the official channel. I receive a big chunk of our deal flow through my personnal blog.
• 10.Help you structure your thoughts: VCs are overwhelmed with new ideas, articles, news, business plans, ..I found out that writing about something helps you clear out the fuss and produce more articulate thoughts and feedbacks (specially in meetings)

Bonus reason: Step up to the next generation before it is too late: my bet is that most VCs will have a blog within 2 years maybe less. Just like emails became popular, blog will become standard. So don’t be last and show you’re fast in adoption

My recommandation: if you still don’t have a blog, START ASAP. Like Biking, the only way to learn that is by making. If you want to know more on how to start, read blogs here is a good selection of VC Blogs

But like any communication channel it requires time, dedication, persistancy and regularity. One unique thing about blog is that you have to be open to conversations, as comments will come, and be ready too to criticism and sometime personnal attacks. I can live with that.

In a word a blog is a good investment for a VC

I recommand this complementary reading by BeyondVC