2.0
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1.0 Canaan Says No New Investments.
Fund: Canaan Partners
Posted by Jack1947 on 2014-10-31
Doesn't Understand
Fund: Canaan Partners
Posted by BobDole on 2013-04-26
Canaan Needs a Restart or Just Blackball Balen
Fund: Canaan Partners
Posted by monkeybrewster on 2012-05-11
I met with John Balen from Canaan six months ago to introduce our company. Co-founders and I had a great initial meeting with him and got pretty valuable insight from that conversation. We were too early--we knew it, he did too. They passed, but were eager to see us again.
PRIVATE: Members Only (633 Characters)How Was Your Experience with Healthcare Team?
Fund: Canaan Partners
Posted by Anonymous on 2008-04-02
Does anyone know if canaan invests in early stage medical device startup"
PRIVATE: Members Only (63 Characters)Not Much Help
Fund: Canaan Partners
Posted by Anonymous on 2008-02-01
We got a two liner "no thank you" citing that our opportunity is outside their targeted area of interest.
PRIVATE: Members OnlyGood Experience
Fund: Canaan Partners
Posted by Edison on 2008-01-24
I just finished pitching Canaan and had a very good experience. While they declined to make an investment, they were smart, professional, responsive, and nice people. I had an answer back in about two weeks.
PRIVATE: Members OnlyBeware of Last Minute Tricks From Canaan
Fund: Canaan Partners
Posted by you_the_man on 2008-01-15
Smart, Good Thinker, Respectful: Really Stands Apart
Fund: Canaan Partners
Posted by Anonymous on 2008-04-24
We met with Dan Ciporin. He didn't get our business at first and challenged us, but he listened and got it. He asked great questions and quickly figured out where the key challenges were, but also got the vision. He was very engaged. He didn't invest (yet), but gave us a chance to prove ourselves. I don't know if they will invest in us or even if we want them to, but Dan, who was the CEO of Shopping.com, and knows what he is doing, is someone I would think about first when considering investors.
PRIVATE: Members OnlyProfessional & Quick Turnaround.
Fund: Canaan Partners
Posted by Anonymous on 2007-10-18
I approached a General Partner at Canaan. Although he decided to pass on the investment, he was professional. He thanked me for giving him the opportunity and indicated that our business area was not an area of target investment.
PRIVATE: Members OnlyGood Impression of Maha
Fund: Canaan Partners
Posted by Anon on 2007-09-24
She seemed very smart and very polite. She got most of the right questions about our business. Seems like she'd be a good person to work with.
PRIVATE: Members OnlyDeepak Kamra
Fund: Canaan Partners
Posted by Deans on 2007-09-21
Canaan has a clue. They were an investor in a previous company & Mr. Kamra was on our board. He understood our problems and knew when it was time to pull the plug on us. Other VC's, who stayed the course lost a boatload of money.
PRIVATE: Members Only (366 Characters)Straight Out of the VC Playbook
Fund: Canaan Partners
Posted by Anonymous on 2007-08-23
Working with Canaan and John Balen was like watching a mediocre movie about taking venture capital investment. At every stage from early on pitching through the Board process, Balen seemed to be reading from a prepared script, and the theme was traditional counter-entrepreneur and nickel-and-dime for a sliver of return (we've all seen this film). That said, their money was good, Balen operated with high integrity and never crossed the line, no emotion, just business, and I felt like I knew where I stood. Can't say what would have happened had things gone wrong, and glad for that.
PRIVATE: Members Only (74 Characters)Great When It Gets Difficult
Fund: Canaan Partners
Posted by rogerwboyce on 2007-08-17
I have worked with Skip at the BOD level. The real test is how an investor deals with difficult situations. Skip jumps in and contributes. In our case that resulted in a great outcome. When you are on Sand Hill Road make sure you schedule a meeting. It will be worth the time; no doubt.
PRIVATE: Members OnlySkip Glass
Fund: Canaan Partners
Posted by Anonymous on 2007-08-14
I had a chance to pitch Skip and I must say I really appreciated his polite and respectful manner that he ran the meeting. He ultimately said not but was good enough to tell me what was needed to make it a yes. Not just a no and see you later. I've had to pitch some rude SOBs and really appreciated the respect he gave. I would recommend other entrepreneurs contact him.
PRIVATE: Members OnlyFurnivall is a Pleasure to Pitch
Fund: Canaan Partners
Posted by Anonymous on 2007-08-08
Recently pitched to Jim Furnivall, who apologized before interrupting with questions, asked questions that were very well conceived, and was a real pleasure to interact with. He was clear about next steps, and quickly made some background calls and pow-wowed with his partners to assess their level of interest. Traded voicemails with him for days, before I reached him to find out he passed, but the point is that he felt he owed it to me to do so directly, and not by voicemail or email. His was frank that his reasons for passing had less to do with concerns about our business, then about their own lack of experience in our space. This was very refreshing!
PRIVATE: Members Only (100 Characters)Maha
Fund: Canaan Partners
Posted by Nic Perkin on 2007-08-08
No quesiton Maha is the person you want to start with. She is very smart, very focused and gets to the point. She doesn't waste your time or hers. But also agree, don't be fooled by how nice she is. Though I didnt go through drafting with her, they seemed able to move quickly with the right idea.
PRIVATE: Members OnlyCanaan Partners Should Be on Everyone's "List"
Fund: Canaan Partners
Posted by ggrodhaus on 2007-06-19
This is a substantial VC with an excellent group of Pros - although, most of my experience was with the Sand Hill Road team (which is the bulk of the company) - and did not deal much with the Ct. group. If you look at Canaan's results, you will note that their portfolio companies have a higher-% of successful exits than most VC's ... a "telling' statistic. Whether you ultimately get/not get funding from Canaan, you'll be impressed with their courtesy and not wasting your time. There are some specific "jewels" that you should seek-out at Canaan if you are going to pitch to them.
PRIVATE: Members Only (743 Characters)No Problem with Balen
Fund: Canaan Partners
Posted by Anonymous on 2007-05-29
During our recent Series B activity I had very positive interactions with John and although we did not get there on our deal I couldn't disagree more with the negative and frankly personal criticism of John recently posted here.
PRIVATE: Members Only (235 Characters)John Balen is an Abusive Arse
Fund: Canaan Partners
Posted by Anonymous on 2007-05-26
I know the instructions say to be "considerate and polite," but if the purpose of this website is to allow entrepreneurs to share the good, the bad and the ugly, I have to share this in the hopes that others are at least forwarned before going into the maw of the croc.
Skip Glass was a scholar and a gentleman, but when Balen entered the room things got immediately ugly. He is impatient, impetuous, and never learned good manners - or how to listening long enough to actually learn something. He kept taking us down rat holes and was just abusive and, frankly, stupid. I know his reputation is that he's extremely smart, but that's not enough to make a good VC. You have to know how to sit, listen, and THEN ask intelligent questions. Just being beligerant to the entrepreneur without given them time to actually finish a single slide of their pitch is insulting and unprofessional.
PRIVATE: Members Only