nathan beccord
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sometimes non-traditional The route will lead to the best results. Zack Coeliusis a managing partner at Coelius Capital and started out as an entrepreneur. Over the past 20 years, he has founded many companies and after successfully exiting one of his ventures into the world of angel investing through a syndicate.
and after a while that His connections led him to VC, but not as part of a group. Essentially, Coelius’ connections and reputation allow him to serve as the sole general partner (GP).
In this column, I’ve summarized the takeaways Coelius shared with me about his experience getting his foot in the door, how to leverage favor, and the strategies he found most useful as a solo GP.
Focus on the founders first
If you want to become a VC, you should get involved with some VCs, right? Not necessarily, Coelius says.
That’s the problem largely Entry-level investors go to VCs first. But unless you’re a close friend of the VC, they probably aren’t offering you quality deals. Investors keep the best deals to themselves, so you probably won’t have access to the best unless you start making significant changes.
Not ready to put your trust fund or wealth from a successful exit to work? Coelius has a better and cheaper proposition. It’s about making friends with the founders. Then please help them.
At the end of the day, it all comes back to relationships. The more you support VCs, founders, and the startup community at large, the more prestige you’ll gain.
This requires a lot of networking, but being able to bridge the gap between founders and VCs can be a huge boon for founders. And if you can be helpful at a critical time, you’re more likely to be rewarded and get involved in the deal.
But don’t give it away. No one likes to be bound by strict agreements. Rather, it’s a “you get what you give” situation. Founders don’t want to feel like you’re tying them down, so keep it casual.
This leads to his next big tip.
Source: techcrunch.com
