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1.0 Great VC to Have - India & US Presense Works Very Well
Fund: Clearstone Venture Partners
Posted by Anonymous on 2009-01-19
I raised series A from Clearstone Venture Partners for my forth Company in India, and while I was spoilt for choice amongst VC's to choose from, (this was March 07) Clearstone truly stood out for me. Rahul Khanna - the India partner has worked in start up's as well as large business formats in the US and India and really understands the ground realities of business. He is well connected in India and funnels some high quality contacts and resumes to his invested companies. Sumant Mandal who is US based and also on my board has a vast experience of investing in start up’s and imparts high quality of board guidance. His connections in the US often shine. The duo makes a great team and it’s a pleasure having them as partners. They set the right benchmarks, are flexible, and while they ask tough questions, they also provide high quality of solutions to entrepreneur problems. They would be the ideal ‘go to’ VC
PRIVATE: Members OnlyGood Quick No, and Thoughtful Comments
Fund: Clearstone Venture Partners
Posted by KuH on 2008-08-13
Just pitched William Quigley. He listened well, asked questions when he didn't understand, and focused in on key issues well. I also appreciated the honest feedback on what the key issues were with our pitch.
PRIVATE: Members Only (314 Characters)Interested but Not Ready to Talk Seriously
Fund: Clearstone Venture Partners
Posted by rcwhiting on 2008-04-07
Who is in Charge?
Fund: Clearstone Venture Partners
Posted by Anonymous on 2007-12-19
Clearstone is widely regarded as one of the best funds in Southern California. Jim Armstrong is clearly the reason. Jim is a great guy. The problem is that Jim often refuses to take a stand with his partners. Bill E. and William Q. are fundamentally different personalities and have a very different view from Jim. As a result it is tough to understand who is really in charge and who you should pitch. Going to Clearstone without having Jim involved would be a mistake but keep in mind that you *also* need to spend time with the other partners. They are smart investors with a relatively good track record and reputation. They are just a bit quirky. I also think that this issue will get better in time as Jim takes a more prominent role and gets more comfortable taking a firmer stand with his partners.
On a personal note, everyone at Clearstone is very nice. They are smart and can be great validation in addition to a good long term investor. They tend to be a bit emotional at times (so be sensitive to this) and they do have a bad habit of going dark for weeks at a time which is always extremely frustrating when you are trying to close a financing.
PRIVATE: Members Only