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Updata Partners

 

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Partner Rating:

Partner Information:

Title:     

Location:  Menlo Park, US West

Blog:      

Firm Rating:

Firm Information:

Company:   Venrock Associates

Type:      Medium Private VC

URL:       Firm Homepage

A number of years ago Tony showed up at my little startup in his big Mercedes. He parked the car in front and came into our tiny office behind the dumpsters. I had bootstrapped the company using credit cards and any funds I could get my hands on. He listened to the pitch and then we went across the street for lunch. He let ME buy lunch. I know this is a stupid, petty, little thing but I have never forgotten it. To me, it reflected a total lack of understanding of what an entrepreneur goes through to start a business. Based on that incident I wouldn't go near the guy.

Epilogue: The company is now public with a market cap over $1B. We never did anything with Venrock. There's no free lunch Tony.

After making me run from one meeting to the other for several days. They didn't even have the curtsy to call and give a feedback. Left 100 voice and e-mail messages. Still no answer. What a horrible example for the VC world.

With such as great history, I was very sad to experience the putrefaction of their partner selection process at Venrock. They went with money, definitely not brains.

Brian Ascher is a great VC. I've interacted less with the other partners, but on the whole our dealing with Venrock was straitforward and fair. Brian has been a very active board member (web space), and he's insightful and very helpful.

We worked with Venrock for nearly two months before getting rejected based on competitive issues (we are involved in the expert consulting space). Overall, it was a positive experience. Brian Ascher provided excellent guidance and feedback throughout the process. The other partners we met (including David Siminoff) were engaging, thoughtful, and respectful.

Judging from this site, Venrock seems to elicit some very strong negative opinions. However, our experience seems to have been quite different from others. The pitching process was slow compared with others we've worked with, but we would be more than happy to engage with them again for a later round.

I met with Brian over the last three months. I think he gets digital media. He's open to embracing new ideas and he makes time for you. I'd definitely try to land a meeting with him.

Really smart. Actually listened to what we were trying to do. Had good thoughts/suggestions. This was an introduction meeting; not a "pitching" meeting.

Very nice of Matt to take the time and be sincere.

Great team of guys met with Mike Brooks and Ray Rothrock in NYC last year. Although they wound up not investing in my co they gave good insight on how to increase distribution of my product. If you have the opportunity to work with them seize the moment.

Almost every VC who passes on your deal will say "I'm sorry this just isn't for us, but let me help you out if I can." Very few, almost none of them mean it. I've been very fortunate to meet a rare few who walk their talk.

Marissa is so above and beyond helpful -- even after taking me to her partners and having them pass -- that it is humbling.

Her introductions to very powerful and influential investors have already yielded two new investors in my company, as well as a strategic partnership that I happened much sooner than it otherwise could or should have.

If you get a chance to meet with her, do it! If she is into what you are doing, she will become an incredible advocate for you -- whether or not you ultimately get an investment from her fund.

A few weeks ago I had a good introduction to David Pakman. He took my meeting quickly, was on time, asked good questions and definitely understood my business. Didn't check his email once. I thought he was interested but a week later I got a nice clean email declining to fund.

A little feedback would have been nice, but I give him very high marks for being polite and not wasting my time. A head shot is much better than a death by a thousand data requests.

David and Marissa have been extremely helpful in providing feedback, direction, contacts and advice while tracking our company as a potential investment. Above and beyond expected support. Hopefully we can make enough progress to get them in as investors.

I met with Tony Sun and Dev Khare at Venrock in late 2007 looking to fund a SaaS model business. Deal was funded within 3 months from first meeting.
During the process I met with numerous Venrock partners and although they did not know our offering as well as Tony and Dev they always acted like professionals and treated me with respect.
Since funding, Tony has been a valuable member of my Board of Directors, always happy to be supportive with 'World-Class' advice and direction. Additionally, Dev Khare has been attending board meetings as well and has made many valuable contributions.
On more than one occasion I have contacted Tony or Dev and received help from them in the form of research or advice. They have never been too busy.
On the whole I must say that the contributions that Dev Khare has made have far exceeded my expectations. In truth, I did not know what to expect from Dev but since funding he has become an extremely valuable member of our team.

I have seen quite a few venture groups (mostly in healthcare, but some on IT) now start a side incubator. They listen to creative pitches from entrepreneurs and then essentially they have the rights to pursue it in their wholly owned incubator. It is a smart idea, they can get much larger ownership for the same money, but it seems very unfair to the entrepreneurs who lay the groundwork. And, of course, NONE of them are willing to sign CDAs.

Bryan Roberts is a very smart and very nice guy. Same with Fred Aslan. But they both are not very good VCs when looking at early stage opportunities. THey do not have much vision with regard to new opportunities. It seems that they have inherited a great brand and expect to be able to get every deal at EXTREMELY low valuations and without any risk. This is not realistic.

Reasonable experience overall.

I found VenRock to be a solid firm. The partners and associates are bright, well connected and generally friendly. With that said, their pitch process is a bit broken. We pitched VenRock and were asked back for several follow up meetings. We were told we were a hiccup from a term sheet and then BANG.... a call came in that they were pulling out. Their rational was based on a 'banker' pitch about a competitor that was preparing an S-1. Unfortunately, VenRock never asked us to respond to any of their new findings. I'm sure we could have highlighted a lot of fluff. We have a deep knowledge of our competitive set, yet we were never asked to share our perspective. In sum, we wasted too many hours.

With all of that said, we really did like the partners and enjoy the WebInno event David Biesel hosts. My only advice is to have an upfront conversation requesting that VenRock allow you to respond to any "new information" that may deter the process.

Looking at their site, I only see 1 investment for 2010. Are they still actively investing?

Generally good experience. Responsive to emails. Pitched them and provided them significant materials to review. Clearly took the time to understand model and technology. Passed due to a potential conflict with another portfolio company but were straight forward and helped introduce me to others.