Big thank you to @ramsarabia for hunting the book!
Hey everyone,
My name is Bradley and I'm an incoming late-stage investor at Stripes Group. I was very close to working on Wall Street for a few years but turned down an offer with not much else on the table. I didn't know too many people in venture capital but did as many projects as I could for free, built up value to the students on campus through an education curriculum (Columbia Venture Partners) and developed research reports on opaque sectors like bitcoin and blockchain.
This book tells a bit of my story but it's largely the companion guide I always wanted when I was trying to demystify the world of venture capital. Much like how aspiring bankers have the Wall Street Oasis guides and hopeful consultants have Case in Point, #BreakIntoVC is an end-to-end guide for anyone looking to gain a straightforward understanding of venture capital fundamentals.
Largely tailored towards the novice, in this book I discuss quantitative elements like:
1. Frameworks and methods for valuing early stage pre-revenue businesses (Berkus Method, Risk Factor Summation Method) and late-state startups (Enterprise Value / Sales multiples, discounting future cash flows to value a business).
2. Basic finance and accounting as well as how to work through these statements in tech businesses (Collections vs. Bookings vs. Revenue, Gross Merchandise Value, Take Rate and Net Revenue).
3. Key KPIs to track businesses (Churn Rate, Burn Rate, Customer Lifetime Value (CLV), Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC), CLV/CAC Ratio).
As well as qualitative and conceptual elements of the industry:
1. Developing the mindset of an investor through essays and articles from Paul Graham and Mark Suster, classes from Sam Altman, events, key resources like CB Insights and Tracxn, mailing lists (StrictlyVC / Inside VC), as well as podcasts like A16z and ThisWeekInStartups.
2. How VC as an asset class works and how exactly investment theses change from early stage to late stage.
3. Frameworks to pitch companies to investors (Total Addressable Market and Funding, Key Hires, Partnerships, Headwinds, Tailwinds and original insights).
4. Key ways to evaluate a business (Does it have network effects?, Level of fragmentation, faster typewriter or completely new user experience?)
5. Case studies from colleagues who are incoming analysts and associates at various firms discussing their stories of breaking into venture capital.
I'm excited to share the book with the rest of the PH community. This book took me about a year to write and comes out today on Amazon, the feedback has been great so far. I'm hoping it's beneficial for students, working professionals, and entrepreneurs looking to learn a little more about venture capital. I'd appreciate it if you shared this with your friends and colleagues and let me know what you think!
Thanks guys!!
