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

Scott Kupor

Jun 2019 · Random House

About this ebook

'Worth far more than its cover price ... I wish I’d had it available to me when I was first looking for startup funding' -- Eric Ries

Every startup needs capital, and ambitious startups seek it on Sand Hill Road – Silicon Valley’s dream street for entrepreneurs. That’s where you’ll find the biggest names in venture capital, including the famed VC firm Andreessen Horowitz, where lawyer-turned-entrepreneur-turned-VC Scott Kupor serves as managing partner.

Whether you’re trying to get a new company off the ground or scale an existing business to the next level, you need to understand how VCs think. Secrets of Sand Hill Road is the first book that shows you exactly how VCs decide where and how much to invest. It will help you get the best possible deal and make the most of your relationships with VCs. You’ll learn, for instance:

-- Why most VCs typically invest in only one startup in a given business category
-- Why the talent you need most when raising venture capital is your storytelling ability
-- How to handle a 'down round', when you have to raise funds at a lower valuation than in your previous round
-- Why bridge financing (reopening your last round to existing investors) is generally a bad idea
-- What to do when VCs get too entangled in the day-to-day operations of your business
-- Why you need to build relationships with potential acquirers long before you decide to sell

Filled with Kupor’s firsthand experiences, insider advice, and practical takeaways, Secrets of Sand Hill Road is the guide you need to turn yourstartup into the next unicorn.

About the author

SCOTT KUPOR is managing partner at Andreessen Horowitz. He has overseen the firm’s rapid growth to one hundred fifty employees and more than $7 billion in assets under management. He is also a cofounder and codirector of the Stanford Venture Capital Director’s College and teaches venture capital and corporate governance courses at Stanford Law School and the Haas School of Business and Boalt School of Law at UC Berkeley. He is vice-chair of the investment committee for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and was previously the chairman of the board of the National Venture Capital Association.