At Startup Grind Boise, and all other chapters around the world, we try to provide our guests with great networking opportunities, motivation to execute their ideas, and information that they can’t get elsewhere.

[caption id="attachment_66346" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Startup Grind Boise hosts Spencer Tall (Allegis Capital)[/caption]

In March, we brought Spencer Tall all the way from the Silicon Valley! He shared with us his 20 years of experience being on the receiving end of what every entrepreneur fears - pitching to a venture capitalist!

Our fireside chat was full of Spencer’s personal stories and his opinions of the venture market. I strongly encourage you to check out the the full video. I think that everyone’s most favourite part was Spencer’s three tips that each entrepreneur needs to keep in mind before going in front of a VC:

 

1. Choose the right people for your team. When doing your pitch, you’re not only trying to sell the business idea, but also your team. DO NOT compromise when picking your team members. Make sure that everyone on the team complement each other, removing most weaknesses (minute 19:00 on the video).


2. Don’t underestimate the amount of capital it will take you to start making a profit. Most of the time, entrepreneurs don’t meet their goal, run out of money, and ask for additional funds while having nothing to show from the previous round.


3. Spencer warned us about the kind of money that an entrepreneur takes. When teaming up with a VC, make sure you reference check your options. Make sure to check how he/she acted in the past, when a deal went south. You want to take money from a VC that you know will be on your side in the good and bad times.

 

Again, for all of Spencer’s great answers, check out the full video! Tips for building a team in Boise, Angel and VC investment advice, and startup success stories where one Utah investment turned out 23 millionaires!

 

Big thank you for those who attended the event and contributed to the excellent networking session. Also thanks to Quality Logic for their partnership, Stoel Rives for letting us into their facilities at the US Bank building. Last, but not least, thanks to Brooks Dame from Proof, for the amazing gift that we were able to give to Spencer. For more photos and video from this event, please click here.

 

Don't miss our April event with Techstars, the #1 mentorship-driven accelerator in the world! Come meet us at the BSU Micron College of Business and Economics building, for Startup Grind with Mark Solon. Students are free!

 

See ya soon!

[caption id="attachment_66347" align="alignleft" width="150"] Adrian Sitterle, Startup Grind Boise team member. Embedded Software Engineer[/caption]

Blog Author: Adrian Sitterle. Adrian comes to the U.S. from Warsaw and joined our Startup Grind Boise team in January 2014. Fluent in Polish and English, Adrian was the co-founder of Invent-a-Corp and is an incredible Engineer and is now an Embedded Software Engineer with HP.