

VC from Menlo Ventures taking 3 10-minute calls from anyone this morning - vrikhter
http://www.simplyhours.com/public/vinny
EDIT: All booked up, let us know below in the form who else we can find for you to speak with.  Thanks!
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scarolan
Hi all, Shawn Carolan here, partner at Menlo. I highly recommend talking with
associates and analysts at firms, every funding starts with one internal
champion and especially when you have a smart energetic guy like vineet get
excited about a deal the partners listen! This is a major myth of the VC
industry that anyone besides a partner is a waste of time. Most shops are
pretty small so every fan counts. Good luck!

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alain94040
So many of us have dreamed of a chat roulette to match VCs and
entrepreneurs...

My initial reaction was very positive, but then I checked the site, and I saw
that there were only 3 slots of 10 minutes each. That doesn't sound like much.
Can't you at least dedicate an hour to this, once? That would be 6 slots.

I hope if it goes well, you'd start having a repeat system. I'm all for every
possible way that people can connect with each other, especially beyond email
:-)

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vrikhter
So this was just a start. We built the product over the last couple weeks and
had a few people volunteer their time to try it out. Moving forward you'll see
more dedicated times from folks. We had another listing out a couple days ago,
but the 6 slots of 20-minutes each disappeared quite quickly.

Btw, if you don't mind. drop me an email vladik dot rikhter at gmail. I've
been meaning to connect with you in regards to your current startup. Thanks!

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jdp23
Great opportunity. A couple of suggestions, if you haven't done it before: (1)
do up a mini-agenda -- yes, even though it's only for 8-10 minutes (2) don't
do all the talking yourself (3) try to get his feedback on at least one key
point so that you can incorporate it into your next communication to show that
you listen and understand.

~~~
vrikhter
Great input, thanks!

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vrikhter
By the way, if you couldn't get an appointment. Let us know here who you would
enjoy talking to:
[https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?hl=en&formkey=d...](https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?hl=en&formkey=dDQwRkxJRTVwTm05UE1zWTJZNGZ3ZlE6MQ#gid=0)

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rokhayakebe
I would also like to see someone like Mark Suster do this. I think even 8
minute would be great: 1 minute intro, 4 minute product conversation, 3 minute
shut up and listen to the VC.

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jdp23
That's a good example of the kind of mini-agenda I was talking about. (Most
10-minute phone call's only have 7 or 8 minutes talking time)

A good trick on the intro is to do your research on the firm first. I got his
quick background and area of expertise and then did my 30-second self-
description.

After that, instead of going into the product conversation I started by asking
what he knew about the space, and then got his perspectives on current players
and the strategy. It was only the last couple of minutes that I started
talking about my solution. Your mileage my vary of course; if you're more
interested in reaction to the product (or think that's your best selling
point) then that's where to spend more time.

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phlux
Should have left a 5 min gap between each call. That way you know he had time
to jot some notes - prep for next call - use the bathroom or something, which
would at least ensure his attention was on the call.

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suking
Nice of him to do it, but usually talking with an associate is a waste of
time.

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vrikhter
It all depends. If you have no access otherwise to VCs, this is at least a
start. Also not all associates are a waste of time, I know quite a few that
have brought a deal or even two to the firm they work at in one year.

~~~
jdp23
Great point. I'm in Seattle, and have good access to angels and VCs here --
but it looks different in the Bay Area; I have some Bay Area connections but
am not yet at the stage where I want to call in favors. So this is a total
bluebird for me.

~~~
vrikhter
FYI, this is the second one we've done. One of the Sigma Partners guys also
volunteered their time. We should have one more on the way from a smaller
fund, hopefully they won't fill up as quickly so you can grab a time slot.

~~~
jdp23
Excellent promotional strategy by Simply Hours -- giving a lot of value to the
community while showing the value of lightweight scheduling and getting your
name out there.

~~~
vrikhter
Thanks for the complement!

