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Charlie O'Donnell: Our Very Own E.F. Hutton He Talks and NYC Tech Listens!
Fund: First Round Capital
Posted by Sean Black - Founder & CEO, SalesCrunch on 2011-01-10
If you remember the old E.F. Hutton commercials and know Charlie then you will appreciate the reference. If not, let me explain - I met Charlie over a year ago through his active involvement in the New York tech start-up community. At the time I was founding VP, Sales at Trulia.com. I told him I was about to start another company but wasn't interested in VC funding yet. We got to know each other over the next few month, during which time he respected my decision and never brought up the funding again. I was impressed with how highly active and giving he was to the community. I was even more impressed with how highly regarded and respected he was by the community in return. In my opinion, the tireless championing of the New York tech community by Charlie, Scott Heiferman (Meetup) and Fred Wilson (Union Square Ventures) is a big reason NYC is becoming a start up mecca and a true alternative to the Valley.
I was so impressed with Charlie during those months that he was one of the first people I talked to when I was ready to open the funding gates to VC, despite having been on the founding team of a company backed by Ron Conway, Sequoia and Accel. Charlie had me meet with Chris Fralic that week and pitch at the partner meeting the week after that. We had a check from them two weeks later. While Chris took the board seat as a Partner, I asked that Charlie take a board observer seat, as I knew his deep involvement in the community, ideas and willingness to help would keep us moving forward.
Its been several months and Charlie has lived up to all these expectations and more. He has at least one killer idea for us each time we meet. More importantly, he is willing to leverage his following to help us recruit talent, get the word out and promote our events. In fact, it was Charlie who gave us the idea to host "SalesSchool" events. We decided to do our first event in December with one week notice. Charlie jumped right in to help. He secured the large forum at NYU that holds 400+ people through his connections and promoted the event in his newsletters and in a separate email to his network. We hoped to have 100 people at the event, but we had over 380 people RSVP, largely due to Charlie's help and the fact that when Charlie speaks, the New York tech community listens. He has earned that respect after five or six tireless years supporting and nurturing it.
Yes, Charlie is involved a ton of stuff and is a busy guy. But rest assured he makes deep commitments selectively and invests in them heavily once he does.
PRIVATE: Members OnlyAwesome Guidance
Fund: First Round Capital
Posted by sellis on 2008-11-19
I've worked with Josh and Rob. Both are great guys. While Rob offers solid advice, Josh is the most amazing VC with whom I've ever worked. In one meeting I got writers cramp in about 10 minutes and the wisdom kept flowing for another 50 minutes. One piece of advice easily trippled our downloads in the first week after launch with no additional spending.
PRIVATE: Members OnlyDecides with Subjective Bias
Fund: First Round Capital
Posted by taurus on 2008-01-30
Pitched Chris over the phone. It was apparent that he had not spent much time reading & understanding my ES. So I went over everything with him. At the end he said it seems like I understood everything about the business quite well, and although it was in their sweet spot in terms of capital, stage etc. he was going to pass. The reasoning was that he and his colleagues had tried services in the past that overlapped in some aspects what my company was pursuing and had unsatisfactory experiences.
He also asked about what other VCs were interested, which seems like a typical VC question that conveys that they are not leaders where investment is concerned.
Otherwise he seemed unpretentious and nice enough, but basically was wasting my time and his own.
PRIVATE: Members Only (145 Characters)Don't Get Stuck with an Associate
Fund: First Round Capital
Posted by Bernajik on 2009-12-11
It's never advisable to meet with an associate at any firm. In the case of First Round, this piece of wisdom takes on a whole new meaning.
PRIVATE: Members OnlyFast and Thoughtful "No"
Fund: First Round Capital
Posted by Anonymous on 2009-03-31
All the good things I heard were true (well, at least the ones I can confirm given that we didn't make it to terms). FOLLOW THEIR ADVICE: USE LINKEDIN TO GET INTRODUCED. We had our initial screening with Christine -- very open, very thoughtful, very direct. This was one of those "no"s that hurts because you realize how great she/they would be as a partner.
PRIVATE: Members OnlyGood Experience
Fund: First Round Capital
Posted by JamesMc on 2008-06-16
Pitched their associate Mazen over the phone (yeah I know nothing beats being in person). One of my better experiences with VCs, he was very engaged and informed and we had a good dialog going out the sector (digital media). In the end the partners passed
PRIVATE: Members OnlyDown to Earth
Fund: First Round Capital
Posted by Anonymous on 2007-11-12
FRC seemed to us to be pretty down to earth and smart. They have a good handle on what they think is a good investment, but they are also intellectually curious and willing to throw around ideas with you about your business.
PRIVATE: Members Only (312 Characters)Very Entrepreneurial
Fund: First Round Capital
Posted by tempo on 2007-10-16
Rob Hayes was one of the first VCs we met with in our process, and he put us through our paces (as I've heard he's done to others). He didn't invest at first, but his early feedback resonated for months as we developed our product. It was only after several months of rapid iteration on our business that we felt comfortable returning to him, and it paid off. Rob immediately appreciated the subtle but profound business implications of what we were doing. After that First Round moved quickly, as they've done ever since we closed the round.
Awesome contributors every step of the way.
PRIVATE: Members Only (461 Characters)First Round is Exellent
Fund: First Round Capital
Posted by jvandoren on 2007-06-12
First Round invested in us a few months ago, and I have nothing but the best things to say about them.
PRIVATE: Members Only (313 Characters)Smart Team
Fund: First Round Capital
Posted by Sonny on 2007-05-12
Josh and Howard are two of the smartest guys out there is very early investing. They also seem to have a deal pipline to see just about everything.
PRIVATE: Members OnlyPhin Fishes
Fund: First Round Capital
Posted by anonymous on 2012-02-07
Kept Me in the Know - Phin Barnes
Fund: First Round Capital
Posted by yonkly on 2010-02-21
I had the pleasure of pitching Phin an idea for one of my side-projects, Yonkly (http://yonkly.com). Although it didn't end up raising capital, I found Phin a pleasure to work with. He was excellent in keeping me in the know, and keeping me informed on when to expect a decision. Phin's attitude is a reflection of First Round Capital as a whole. For any entrepreneur, I recommend checking them out.
PRIVATE: Members Only (78 Characters)Good Experience
Fund: First Round Capital
Posted by SixthTimeStartUp on 2009-05-04
We pitched Rob Hayes, and even though he ended up passing, he did so quickly and efficiently, and spent time with me afterward so I could understand his reasons. He also introduced me to several other people who have been very helpful. Over all this was about as good an experience that a "no" could be; I won't hesitate to approach Rob/ First Round again.
PRIVATE: Members OnlyFirst Round are First Class
Fund: First Round Capital
Posted by Raining on 2008-10-22
I pitched Josh and Rob and found them to be extremely knowledgeable about the web 2.0 space. They drilled us well and we found the interaction to be a great learning process for us. They eventually chose not to pass, but were very professional about it. Would definitely pitch them again.
PRIVATE: Members OnlyBest Pitch Yet... However...
Fund: First Round Capital
Posted by Anonymous on 2008-08-08
First of all I consider myself lucky to even have gotten the chance to pitch FRC... I was told by my introduction that they do very few deals... and they are a desirable fund. Yet I maintained hope because (based on their website) we seemed like a perfect match...
The pitch went great - I've been around a lot of people who know a lot about internet business, but none can even touch Josh... he presented the same questions I got from most VCs... but instead of asking because he didn't know the answer... I got the impression he was asking just to see if my answer was as good as his.
All in all - I walked out of there knowing a little bit more about my own company, and Josh (feigned") interest. I was promised a call back and never received (little surprised - very cordial until this point) it - which I consider a surprise considering how prompt they were getting back to me prior to meeting.
Read on....
PRIVATE: Members Only (458 Characters)Good Feedback, Considering...
Fund: First Round Capital
Posted by bamboo on 2008-06-25
Don't be afraid of Josh Kopelman.
PRIVATE: Members Only (374 Characters)Good Experience
Fund: First Round Capital
Posted by Anonymous on 2008-02-02
I pitched Howard very early in the formation of the company. He was engaged and attentive. He asked good questions. In the end FRC decided to not invest in the company, but Howard's questions were very valuable in shaping the pitch.
PRIVATE: Members OnlyPositive Experience
Fund: First Round Capital
Posted by fundable on 2007-07-09
We met several times and developed the foundation of a good working relationship. Ultimately we were not a good fit for each other this time, but I wouldn't hesitate to go back for the next venture.
PRIVATE: Members Only (204 Characters)The First Meeting/Presentation Was Over the Phone
Fund: First Round Capital
Posted by Anonymous on 2007-07-02
My first meeting/pitch to Josh Kopelman (and one of his partners) was over the phone since I'm on the west coast and they are on the east coast. I was wary of doing a first pitch on the phone and true to my fears it was a waste of time. They didn't get the space and we ended the call on a polite thanks for your time note.
PRIVATE: Members Only (826 Characters)Collapsing Markets
Fund: First Round Capital
Posted by skliger on 2007-06-11
Taking $5.00 in revenue for every $1.00 in profit means shrinking someone else's bloated market for the benefit of the startup. Josh and his team understand this better then most. You won't find a smarter, more entreprenuer friendly early stage fund on the planet. Josh was our first outside money, acted as our VP of Marketing for months and to this day provides valuable advice at every step. The best of the best
PRIVATE: Members OnlyJosh Kopelman
Fund: First Round Capital
Posted by sandhillpitcher on 2007-05-04
Josh is great. He is an investor in our company and a long time adviser to me. His advice is always spot on and very practical. You can feel that he has run a successful Consumer Internet company (Half.com). This differentiates him from so many other VCs. My only regret is that Josh / First Round doesn't take board seats. It would be great to have his advice at every board meeting.
PRIVATE: Members OnlyPitched Chris & Josh
Fund: First Round Capital
Posted by kickinit on 2008-11-01
Only met with Chris and Josh. The two are really nice guys. We liked Chris alot. Conversed via email, phone and met in person. Chris was great, easy to pitch, didn't ask the tough questions, was digging the product. Even put us in contact with someone to help with BD.
PRIVATE: Members Only (420 Characters)Polite Persistence
Fund: First Round Capital
Posted by Anonymous on 2007-12-06
I have found polite persistence is a good rule to use when contacting VC's, including FRC.
PRIVATE: Members Only (561 Characters)Helpful
Fund: First Round Capital
Posted by tomtom on 2007-11-30
We met both Josh & Rob at a conference, and gave them a quick demo. Followed up with Rob later, and found him to be helpful, with constructive feedback and offers to introduce us to his contacts. They opted not to invest, as we are later stage than their sweet spot, but they got back to us quickly. I would definitely pitch them again.
PRIVATE: Members OnlySmart, Hard Working, on Your Side
Fund: First Round Capital
Posted by serialentrep on 2007-10-12
Disclaimer: I run a Firstround funded company. They were the first Fund we turned to, and we have not had any regrets ever since. The investment process was efficient, and - given my experience with many other VCs - I have been extremely pleased with their involvement since closing the deal. They work very hard for us, have made extremely valuable introductions, are always reachable, and their counsel has always been helpful.
PRIVATE: Members Only (307 Characters)