Secrets of Sand Hill Road: Venture Capital and How to Get It

It’s a good and interesting book, but it gets very specific on topics that mostly apply to Series A+ companies.

If I were to describe Scott Kupor’s Secrets of Sand Hill Road in a word, it would be “mistitled.” A more appropriate title would be something along the lines of The Basics of Sand Hill Road. The book does a solid enough job of covering the entire venture backed startup lifecycle in an easy to follow way. However, it’s hard to see how one could classify Kupor’s writing as revealing secrets.Here and there, Kupor shares some really cool legal case studies that I’ve never come across, such as in the chapter about board member duties. Now that’s quality insight even someone who’s been in the ecosystem for 5+ years can appreciate! And it’s also something that Kupor, a lawyer by training, is particularly well positioned to share. I sincerely wish we’d gotten more of those case studies, legal or otherwise, because they make the whole journey through the startup lifecycle all the more interesting.Instead, Kupor at times dons the Captain Obvious cape, with pronouncements such as “building relationships [with potential acquirers] is important.” Thanks, Scott, who would’ve thought?!At the same time though, I recognize I may not be the target audience for this book. Kupor likely synthesized versions of startup/VC classes he teaches at Bay Area universities. I could imagine a sophomore at another university (one not smack dab in the middle of VC country) reading this book and finding it quite helpful, as she decides whether to found a startup and pursue the venture funding route.It’s worth mentioning though that a significant share of the same content is also covered in Jeff Bussgang’s Mastering The VC Game. And while I haven’t read it, I’ve heard very positive things about Brad Feld’s Venture Deals. In all likelihood, reading either of these three books is probably a good enough basics crash course on venture funding of startups.

Read this book for my class on venture capital and really enjoyed it. Author does a great job of storytelling while also teaching about the topic. Highly recommend if you are interested in venture capital or startup funding.

Wow. As soon as I heard about this book I knew I was going to read it. But I had low expectations. I'd heard the author promoting his book on several podcasts and when I heard him say things like, "In my book, I pull back the curtain and reveal the secrets used at VC firms," I prepared myself for disappointment.Boy, was I pleasantly surprised to be wrong!-The author breaks down all the lingo, jargon, and highfalutin finance double-speak that sounds made up to the layman-He helps you understand not just the relationship between the VC and the startup, but also the relationship between the VC and the LP-You get to see the incentive structures LP's and VC's typically agree on, helping you (the entrepreneur) understand what motivates all the parties involved-The book provides a mock term sheet with realistic numbers and devotes a chapter to each section of the term sheetI could go on and on....This definitely isn't a casual read - especially once it gets to the sample term sheet. The book can dive deep into details and abstractions (there were several sections I had to read multiple times - but I guess that's why I'm not a VC!), and that's exactly what makes it so enjoyable to read.

I learned a lot from it about big VC's and how they view deals as well as a bunch of technical points on shareholder agreements, options, and the like. A pretty good reference to have around.

Maps VC investing

The book has been suggested to me as an elective lecture at school. I am pleasantly surprised how well it is written. I was expecting another boring business book, but this is a must read for anyone interested in VC world. The book reads like a good novel and you don't even notice when you finish one chapter after another. I leared so much and I am sure I will be returning to this book many times in the future.

As managing partner at Marc Andreessen’s VC fund a16z, Scott Kupor possesses the expertise and experience (he also teaches at Stanford Law and Haas Business School) to have written a very dry explication of the niceties of VC funding, if he’d wanted to. Fortunately, he decided instead to write a lucidly accessible, direct, and even sometimes entertaining explication brimming with low-key authority.

The book meet my expectations but nothing more. It explains in clear terms how Venture Capital and the start up ecosystem work. The information is useful and well grounded but this is not a book that seduces you into the topic; in my opinion it lack the human side of the story and hence does not engage you at the personal level.To me this would qualify as a text book: the authon does not dare to make bold assumptions or give enlightening premises.One thing I learn is that common mortals usually cannot buy IPO stock and by the time the market opens to them the profits are already reaped: mostly on him - the late investor.

The book was like new even though it was used. Shipped quickly as well.

Prior to reading this book, I knew almost nothing about Venture Capitalists (VCs). I live in Europe and am about to start a little business, but without plans on raising VC any time soon, so I'm not really the Silicon Valley type of guy this book aims for. Nevertheless, this book was packed with value for me! I had to put the book down several times mid-reading to take notes and to edit or add the business plan I currently write for my business.Many business-books use 200+ pages just to bring across one or two vague “mindsets”, but this book is full of specific information about the whole start-up/VC world, that you can implement today. Who are VCs, what motivates them financially and non-financially, where and from whom is the money coming from, what are VCs looking for in a young company and how do they assess a proposal that is often nothing more than some pages of a business plan or some Power Point slides? Which questions should you ask yourself prior to raising money from VCs? How much money should you raise? Etc...All of these things get answered in this book, including the reasons behind them. All of them are really valuable to know, even if you don’t plan on raising money any time soon. Even if you are just writing a business plan (as do I), this book guides you through the most important thought processes and helps you focus on what really matters for you, your business and potential future investors.I don’t want to get carried away by all the praise for this book, but this is one of those few books, that you come across from time to time that is worth its price a hundred times. People would pay thousands for a multi-day seminar on this stuff. So, even if VC is not on your radar as a founder, or even if you are just developing your idea, this book has so much insight and so much information for you, that I highly recommend it. It is what most people in negotiations (and raising capital will require negotiations at some point) would wish for the most: a complete guide into what your counterpart (the VCs) is looking for!

All you new to know about the VC ecosystem in an incredible easy language, must read for everyone interested in the subject

Detailed account of the birth of companies supported by VC. author does his best to make dry concepts digestible. A good reference text