Done Deals: Venture Capitalists Tell Their Stories

By Udayan Gupta

Book Overview

This work provides a revealing history of the venture capital industry as told through first-person accounts. It chronicles the industry's beginnings and highlights the differences between America's West and East coast firms. More than thirty leading venture capitalists - from early pioneers such as Eugene Kleiner and Arthur Rock to current top players like Geoff Yang and John Dorrer - reveal insights gleaned from their personal experiences in successful deal-making.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0875849385
• ISBN13: 9780875849386
• Release Date: September 2000
• Publisher: Harvard Business Review Press
• Length: 413 Pages
• Weight: 1.86 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.3" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

Perspectives Otherwise Unavailable in a Single Source

I really enjoyed reading this book. Others may be critical of the quality of writing but no one can be critical of the quantity and quality of information provided. (But if you're looking for "insider information", look elsewhere.) These VCs probably did write what is attributed to them. Brilliantly organized (and probably edited somewhat) by Gupta, the 31 individual commentaries address two themes: "the sharp contrast between the practitioners of early venture capital and those practicing today, and the coastal divide -- the difference in venture capital and practice between the West Coast and the East Coast." Gupta includes first-person perspectives on "the newest incarnation of venture capital"; how several VC's got their start and their impressions "of the industry's more recent success and notoriety"; "contrasts [on the West Coast] between the first forty-five years and the past five"; commentaries on "the early days in Silicon Valley" and those circumstances "that enhanced its entrepreneurial process"; and other commentaries which focus on the future and "where the industry is headed in the next fifty years." I know of no other single source which provides the number and quality of commentaries which are assembled in this volume. By reading them, you will gain a much better understanding of one of the most widely-discussed and least-understood components within our nation's economic history during the past 50 years.

Highly recommended reading

Best articulation of the evolution of the VC industry dating back to the 1950s. Learned more about the VC industry in this one book than other previous books collectively. Unravels various and competing schools of thought among the great VC minds, of past and present. Very candid and insightful, and makes one appreciate its history. Have fun reading this book ... a definite page-turner.

Must Read

This book is the most comprehensive description of Venture Capital as it is practised today.

Who wants to be a billionaire?

Want to make obscene amounts of money without having to run the company yourself? Become a venture capitalist! This book assembles the stories of some of the brightest names in the business and shows how they made their mark on the industry, usually with a smashing success but occasionally by changing the way venture capital works. An inspiring and useful read.