Archives / January, 2005

Sometimes It's Worth Travelling 5,000 Miles for a 5 Minute Meeting

Sometimes It’s Worth Travelling 5,000 Miles for a 5 Minute Meeting I re-learned this lesson shortly before the holidays.  We’re negotiating a big deal with a company out on the west coast, and we were at a tense and critical spot in the negotiations.  I knew that the only way to move the deal forward to a handshake and a term sheet was to meet face to face with the decision makers on the other side of the table, in person.  So I got on a plane.  It wasn’t my first choice of activities, and although I was able to work a couple of other meetings into the trip, the trip was a long way to go for a really…

How to Negotiate a Term Sheet with a VC, Part III

How to Negotiate a Term Sheet with a VC, Part III Brad has kicked off his blogging year with a a good new post on VC valuations.  It’s along the lines of the ones he, Fred, and I have written over the past six months and has the wonderful line in it: If you are negotiating a deal and an investor is digging his or her feet in on a provision that doesn’t affect the economics or control, they are probably blowing smoke, rather than elucidating substance. Happy New Year!