1.8
2.0 
1.8 
2.3 
1.7 George Zachary Class Act
Fund: Charles River Ventures
Posted by mad1tim2 on 2008-06-12
I have hardly met another VC who is as professional, interested and engaged as George. I was impressed from the moment I met him to the week later he gave us a term sheet, to the 9 months later as he has become involved in our company. I would definiteyl show him your plan, as I believe he will give a quick response and move fast to secure a deal.
PRIVATE: Members Only (124 Characters)Would Have Loved To Work With Them
Fund: Charles River Ventures
Posted by termsheettremors on 2008-05-05
Met George Zachary and was hugely impressed. These guys have lots of their own capital at stake and take the companies they like seriously. If not for an eleventh hour conflict of interest, we'd likely be working with them now
PRIVATE: Members Only (335 Characters)Getting Aggressive
Fund: Charles River Ventures
Posted by Anonymous on 2008-02-16
Saar'S Lack Of Experience
Fund: Charles River Ventures
Posted by Anonymous on 2008-02-02
Saar is funny man. He talks about his experience, but it doesn't resonate. Seems to be an entrepreneur in his own mind.
He comes into our meeting, talks about his qualifications, and then suggests if we want to be successful, we should do what YouTube did. Another 10 minutes of him talking.
Finally, he let's us talk. We go through three slides.
He reminds us about "what I just said about YouTube." And then talks for five more minutes, thanks us, and leaves us in the room as he goes to his next meeting.
We got through the title, team, and advisory slide, and then he leaves. Brilliant.
PRIVATE: Members Only (306 Characters)Crv You Want For The Name
Fund: Charles River Ventures
Posted by Anonymous on 2007-12-19
VISIT:
Charles River/Quick Start/Susan Wu
Fund: Charles River Ventures
Posted by pc-vip on 2007-11-16
Seeing the mixed bag of reviews and ratings of CRV, CRV-QS, and Susan in particular makes me think "yeah, that's right". Mixed Bag.
I followed the steps for CRV-QS, and knowing that Susan was the assigned gatekeeper reached out to her seperately. She was polite, direct, and reasonably prompt.
Is that the goods news or the bad? I'm not sure. While I'm a big fan of smart people trusting their own judgement and instincts in making decisions, I found Susan's rationale for rejecting us from consideration to be incredibly short-sighted, especially given the small nature of a CRV-QS investment and the firm's ability to structure the deal any way they chose.
Sure, nobody enjoys hearing that their baby is ugly...and Susan didn't really say that. What she did say (I'm not kidding), is that the SMB space is too fractured to make investing in a company that is trying to do business there make any sense.
That might be enough to frustrate anyone, but in my case, I asked for a referral to a partner responsible for more traditional VC deals. Susan simply ignored the request.
As I said: mixed bag.
PRIVATE: Members OnlyQuickfart
Fund: Charles River Ventures
Posted by johnnyonetime on 2007-11-01
The Quick Start program is kind of a joke. We were asked to come in and pitch our idea and told we would receive a response by day's end. We were given 30 minutes to pitch, which really isn't enough time to explain a dynamic market. I'm a proponent of "short and sweet", but every other VC alloted us 1:30 hours to explain our approach.
After the meeting we never heard back from CRV for 45 days! Pure radio silence. Once we did hear back the response was, "there isn't enough information to pursue this opportunity at this stage." No kidding???? Maybe 45 minutes would have afforded us enough time to provide a sufficient amount of information:)
Susan Wu was the lead on our meeting and we very much liked her. I have worked with Ted Dinnersmith in the past and he too is great. I can't really speak about the others beyond a general angst they cast when you meet them.
CRV has done some interesting deals, but the quick start program is not as advertised. Conceptually it sounds great, but in practice I have to say it just doesn't work.
We are funded at this stage, so I hold nothing against CRV, but I do recommend they retain some brand equity and kill the program.
PRIVATE: Members Only (75 Characters)Crv Is Tough But Fair
Fund: Charles River Ventures
Posted by douglaird on 2007-10-08
Let me start off by saying that I am the CEO of a semiconductor startup so I have zero experience with Quickstart. I am a portfolio company of CRV so you can say my opinion is biased. This is my third start up. The first one went belly up the second went public and we are pre-revenue on this one. I've seen the good, the bad and the ugly since I have worked in silicon valley since 1978. Needless to say I have been up and down Sand Hill Road more than I care to admit so I can honestly say that I have seen it all when it comes to venture capital. The name of the game in venture capital is to touch as many companies as possible to find the next "Google." Consequently many times people don't call back you just have to accept it as the normal course of business. I found CRV to be tough but fair in their analysis of my business plan. Quickstart is a new program so I'm sure CRV is still working out the kinks. It sounds as though there needs to be a more formal process of reviewing plans with a target date for follow up. The Quickstart program is a good idea that could benefit both CRV and entrepeneurs with a little more structure to reduce the fustration.
PRIVATE: Members Only (363 Characters)Susan Wu Diluted
Fund: Charles River Ventures
Posted by anonymous on 2007-10-05
Looks like funded reviews and comments are working, her septic tank size ego is being diluted.
Funded members suggested that she should be replaced with 3-4 tech savy associates to source the deals. Looks like CRV in that direction, recently they hired an EIR.
Hope EIRs are not meant to steal the ideas for CRV and start a venture later, based on the ideas and plans submitted by the entrepreneurs.
PRIVATE: Members OnlySarah Reed Is Unprofessional General Counsel
Fund: Charles River Ventures
Posted by anonymous on 2007-10-01
Avoid dealing with Sarah Reed. She oversteps her bounderies as general counsel, as though she is a decision making partner. As an attorney we'd expect her to be fair and unbiased, but in our experience she's anything but. Arrogant ego.
PRIVATE: Members OnlyVISIT:
Definitely Quick, Maybe Rushed
Fund: Charles River Ventures
Posted by Anonymous on 2007-09-25
Dealt with Susan Wu who gave a quick no for QuickStart. I appreciated the quick no, and she gave a brief explanation: she wanted our business model to copy a couple of large firms in our space. This was a topic other investors asked us about, but it seemed like Susan didn't have time to dialog.
PRIVATE: Members OnlyStrong Fund Based On Lots Of Experience W/East Coast Office
Fund: Charles River Ventures
Posted by stupatterson on 2007-08-14
CRV has a great deal of experience and a remarkably successful track record. While it's understandable that many entrepreneurs who are turned down by them have posted on here, readers shouldn't take it as an indication of CRV's overall quality. CRV has been a pioneer in the VC space in trying to address endemic/systemic problems like too much money chasing too few quality deals and the obvious need to share learnings across/among portfolio companies. Along with Matrix, General Catalyst and a couple others, they're still leading the top tier of the East Coast funds.
PRIVATE: Members Only (702 Characters)Common Courtesy
Fund: Charles River Ventures
Posted by pharkins on 2007-07-11
I will never understand why any business person, who sought you out, refuses to return a follow up call or email -- amazing. My experience with CRV
PRIVATE: Members OnlyQuickstart Only For Social Networking?!
Fund: Charles River Ventures
Posted by Anonymous on 2007-07-03
Chris told me that Quickstart is ONLY for Social Network Businesses !? WHAT?
PRIVATE: Members OnlyCeo
Fund: Charles River Ventures
Posted by Anonymous on 2007-06-01
Bad Experiences with CRV
PRIVATE: Members Only (408 Characters)