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

If you understand the other sides mindset, it helps you know when to be concerned about your prospective partner, or feel more secure in your choice.

For entrepreneurs especially, but also for anyone contemplating investing in, acquiring or working for a startup. Very easy to read. Enjoyable, actually!

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.

Well constructed with strong insights. Definitely worth the read. Good starter book overall but don’t buy if you are already well versed.

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.

Scott does a great job revealing the knowledge, tactics, and negotiations needed to get VC funding. His writing is simple and clear. He guides the reader/entrepreneur through the entire process — from the key questions they will ask to the term sheet. If you are raising money, save yourself a lot of time and headaches, read this first. Thanks for writing it, Scott

This book won't actually teach you how to get money from VCs but it will give you the guidelines you need to approach fund raising properly. However, this is a book that should be read by anyone wanting to approach VCs for funding. It is a very good overview of the industry that explains the jargon, operations and motivations of VCs. The price of this book is so low for the value it gives that there is no reason not to buy it if you are even contemplating interfacing with the VC community.

This is a classic oeuvre for anyone interested in learning about the VC world! It’s easy to follow, and the content is very informative!