A little less than a year ago, we published the Battery Network Effects Index, a market index including 36 current or previously publicly traded, consumer-Internet companies, each valued at $1 billion or more at the time. We highlighted the companies because all exhibited profound “network effects”, … Read More »
Honesty is the Best Policy: Radical Transparency as a Management Strategy for Founders
During times of difficulty, company founders may be inclined to downplay drama and gloss over problems when communicating with their boards. This temptation is a misstep, says Gainsight* CEO Nick Mehta. In the final installment of a four-part video mini-series, Mehta and Roger Lee, a general partner … Read More »
Together in the Trenches: Managing Challenges in a Founder/VC Partnership
For even the strongest tech CEOs, challenges and difficulties are unavoidable when scaling a business. In the third of a four-part video mini-series, Roger Lee, general partner at Battery Ventures, and Nick Mehta, CEO of customer-success management platform Gainsight*, explain how they work together … Read More »
Board Dynamics 101: Perspectives from A VC and Founder Duo
For founders navigating the stormy waters of entrepreneurship, the effectiveness and engagement of the board can keep a company afloat—or, conversely, sink it. In the second of a four part video mini-series, Roger Lee, general partner at Battery Ventures, and Nick Mehta, CEO of customer success m … Read More »
Marriage, VC-style: How One VC and One Prominent Software CEO Make it All Work
There’s a saying in the technology industry that it’s harder to split from your venture capitalist than it is to get a divorce from your spouse. In some ways, it’s true. But what happens when you and your VC are actually friends before he or she makes an investment—and all the hard years of company … Read More »
Network Effects – The Keys to Ascending the Consumer-Internet Throne
“Category kings”, defined as market-share leaders in particular business sectors, often wind up creating the majority of the market value relative to their competition. This advantage is particularly pronounced in technology: According to some research, over 70% of the value created in technology mar … Read More »
How to Communicate with Your Board During Tough Times
For startup CEOs, tough economic periods are like stressful stretches in a marriage: They test your mettle while making ugly truths impossible to hide. And these days, amid industrywide belt-tightening, “down rounds” and a still-moribund (though hopefully improving) IPO market, many venture-backed CE … Read More »
5 Questions to Ask Before Saying ‘I do’ to Your VC
Most entrepreneurs focus on the hard economics of the deal when they negotiate with investors: percentage ownership, valuation, preferences and other terms. Those things are all important — but so is the soft stuff, especially in today’s volatile market. Think about it. Taking venture capital fund … Read More »
Do You Really Know Why Your Customers are Churning?
In previous posts I’ve written about the critical value of “customer success” for technology companies—tracking, retaining and upselling existing customers. Plenty of vendors are now offering sophisticated technologies in this area, allowing companies to get up-to-the-minute data and advanced analyti … Read More »
Why Hasn’t the Traditional Banking Industry Been “Amazon-ed”?
This post was written by Battery team members Roger Lee, Ben Johnston and Jeff Lu. In the last two decades, dozens of traditional industries have been “Amazoned”—turned upside down by new business models made possible by the Internet. Obviously, Amazon has upended the retail market, making it p … Read More »