Secrets of Sand Hill Road
Secrets of Sand Hill Road is an entrepreneur’s roadmap for navigating the world of venture capital. In this definitive guide, Andreessen Horowitz managing partner Scott Kupor demystifies the role of venture capital in all stages of the startup lifecycle. Sand Hill Road is the engine behind the greatest wealth-generating machine in the world, Silicon Valley. Whether you're trying to get a new company off the ground or scale an existing business to the next level, you need to understand how VCs think. Kupor explains exactly how VCs decide where and how much to invest, and how entrepreneurs can get the best possible deal and make the most of their relationships with VCs. Filled with Kupor's first hand experiences, insider advice, and practical takeaways, Secrets of Sand Hill Road is the guide every entrepreneur needs to turn their startup into the next unicorn.
THIS BOOK EXPLAINS:
Why most VCs typically invest in only one startup in a given business category.
Why the skill you need most when raising venture capital is the ability to tell a compelling story.
How to handle a "down round," when startups have to raise funds at a lower valuation than in the previous round.
What to do when VCs get too entangled in the day-to-day operations of the business.
Why you need to build relationships with potential acquirers long before you decide to sell.
PRAISE FOR THE BOOK
"Worth far more than its cover price... I wish I'd had it available to me when I was first looking for startup funding."
—Eric Ries, bestselling author of The Lean Startup and The Startup Way, from the foreword
"As someone who’s helped a small company become a huge, valuable company, I know firsthand the power of the startup ecosystem and entrepreneurship. This book is the definitive book on navigating VC as part of that."
—Eric Schmidt, former executive chairman and CEO of Google; technical advisor, Alphabet
"Kupor’s book takes founders who want to do both through everything from how VCs raise money and evaluate deals, to how to think about term sheets and set up boards. It’s a valuable resource for any founder who wants to work with VCs."
—Sam Altman, partner and president Y Combinator; co-founder of OpenAI
"Secrets of Sand Hill Road is the definitive guide to how to engage the VC community, including governance and other best practices in a startup’s journey to a successful public company."
—Adena Friedman, President and CEO of Nasdaq; former managing director and CFO, Carlyle Group
“From acquiring startups, to leading a company, to working to select the next leader of an iconic company, I’ve seen it all. It’s become clear to me that startups drive the kind of innovation that big companies can’t easily do. Secrets of Sand Hill Road provides a useful overview for the next generation of leaders seeking to start such companies.”
—John W. Thompson, chairman, Microsoft; former CEO of Symantec
“Despite its explosive growth, the world of venture capital remains mysterious to many entrepreneurs seeking funding and to the public more generally. Scott Kupor provides an informative account of the way in which these investors select and nurture young companies.
—Josh Lerner, head of the Entrepreneurial Management Unit at Harvard Business School