John is Chief Executive Officer of Venture First and has focused his career on working closely with
venture-backed companies. He has worked with hundreds of early- and growth-stage companies across
many industries, many of them dealing with highly-technical products or business models. He believes
strongly in the use of carefully-applied rigor to rationalize financial models, business plans, valuations,
and other quantification tools. He has over a decade of financial experience, including buy-side and sell-
side mergers and acquisitions; debt and equity capital raises; strategic consulting; complex financial
modeling; business plan development; equity and derivative valuation; and venture incubation. John
attended the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he received a B.S. in Economics
and dual concentrations in Finance and Management.
In this episode you’ll discover…
What are some of the most exciting things happening in the venture market
What the overall early-stage business climate is like now
When you should have your company valuated
How early-stage valuations are conducted and what are the current trends
Why most startups fail
Tips for new entrepreneurs
The process for a capital raise, and how any company can do it
Awesome tips for successful capital raising
Cool tips for closing capital deals
Things a business owner should do in the beginning if the exit plan is to sell the company
The first step a business owner should take to sell their company
The type of financial consulting a business owner, even a new business owner should have
The process a business owner take to determine the value of their business
And much more...
