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Secrets of Sand Hill Road: Venture Capital and How to Get It Hardcover – June 4, 2019

by Scott Kupor (Author), Eric Ries (Foreword)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 1,055 ratings
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A Wall Street Journal Bestseller!

What are venture capitalists saying about your startup behind closed doors? And what can you do to influence that conversation?

If Silicon Valley is the greatest wealth-generating machine in the world, Sand Hill Road is its humming engine. That's where you'll find the biggest names in venture capital, including famed VC firm Andreessen Horowitz, where lawyer-turned-entrepreneur-turned-VC Scott Kupor serves as managing partner.

Whether you're trying to get a new company off the ground or scale an existing business to the next level, you need to understand how VCs think. In Secrets of Sand Hill Road, Kupor explains exactly how VCs decide where and how much to invest, and how entrepreneurs can get the best possible deal and make the most of their relationships with VCs. Kupor explains, for instance:

   • Why most VCs typically invest in only one startup in a given business category.

   • Why the skill you need most when raising venture capital is the ability to tell a compelling story.

   • How to handle a "down round," when startups have to raise funds at a lower valuation than in the previous round.

   • What to do when VCs get too entangled in the day-to-day operations of the business.

   • Why you need to build relationships with potential acquirers long before you decide to sell.

Filled with Kupor's firsthand experiences, insider advice, and practical takeaways, Secrets of Sand Hill Road is the guide every entrepreneur needs to turn their startup into the next unicorn.
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Previous page
  1. Reading age
    1 year and up
  2. Print length
    320 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Dimensions
    6.1 x 1 x 9.2 inches
  5. Publisher
    Portfolio
  6. Publication date
    June 4, 2019
  7. ISBN-10
    059308358X
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0593083581
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Worth far more than its cover price... I wish I'd had it available to me when I was first looking for startup funding."
Eric Ries, bestselling author of The Lean Startup and The Startup Way, from the foreword

"As someone who’s helped a small company become a huge, valuable company, I know firsthand the power of the startup ecosystem and entrepreneurship. This book is the definitive book on navigating VC as part of that."
Eric Schmidt, former executive chairman and CEO of Google; technical advisor, Alphabet
 
“I’ve observed thousands of founders and thought a lot about what it takes to create something important and to achieve outlier success. Kupor’s book takes founders who want to do both through everything from how VCs raise money and evaluate deals, to how to think about term sheets and set up boards. It’s a valuable resource for any founder who wants to work with VCs.”
Sam Altman, partner and president Y Combinator; co-founder of OpenAI
 
 “As more and more startups consider an IPO, it is exciting for us to play a part in giving millions of new investors the opportunity to share in the value and future growth of these seminal companies. But it all begins with the early investors who ‘venture’ into uncharted territory to help make these companies possible, by backing the entrepreneurs behind them. Secrets of Sand Hill Road is the definitive guide to how to engage the VC community, including governance and other best practices in a startup’s journey to a successful public company.
Adena Friedman, President and CEO of Nasdaq; former managing director and CFO, Carlyle Group
 
 “From acquiring startups, to leading a company, to working to select the next leader of an iconic company, I’ve seen it all. It’s become clear to me that startups drive the kind of innovation that big companies can’t easily do. Secrets of Sand Hill Road provides a useful overview for the next generation of leaders seeking to start such companies.”
John W. Thompson, chairman, Microsoft; former CEO of Symantec
 
“Despite its explosive growth, the world of venture capital remains mysterious to many entrepreneurs seeking funding and to the public more generally. Scott Kupor provides an informative account of the way in which these investors select and nurture young companies.
Josh Lerner, head of the Entrepreneurial Management Unit at Harvard Business School
 
Andreessen Horowitz’ managing partner Scott Kupor has written an indispensable guide for anyone with a big idea and an even bigger dream. Just as important, he gives the best explanation yet for policymakers about how entrepreneurs and venture capital together create the deep magic that generates technological progress, economic growth, and a better world for more people.
James Pethokoukis, fellow at the American Enterprise Institute; former columnist at Reuters Breakingviews

About the Author

Scott Kupor is the managing partner of Andreessen Horowitz. He has overseen the firm's rapid growth to one hundred fifty employees and more than $7 billion in assets under management. He is also a cofounder and codirector of the Stanford Venture Capital Director's College and teaches venture capital and corporate governance courses at Stanford Law School and the Haas School of Business and Boalt School of Law at UC Berkeley. He is vice-chair of the investment committee for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and was previously the chairman of the board of the National Venture Capital Association.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Portfolio (June 4, 2019)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 059308358X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593083581
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 1 year and up
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15.4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.1 x 1 x 9.2 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 1,055 ratings

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Scott Kupor

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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
1,055 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Kurt C. Davis
5.0 out of 5 stars Must read for an entrepreneur raising capital
Reviewed in the United States on August 12, 2023
Verified Purchase
Scott does a great job revealing the knowledge, tactics, and negotiations needed to get VC funding. His writing is simple and clear. He guides the reader/entrepreneur through the entire process — from the key questions they will ask to the term sheet. If you are raising money, save yourself a lot of time and headaches, read this first. Thanks for writing it, Scott
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Jon H.
5.0 out of 5 stars The author delivers on all his promises. Lots of insider wisdom!
Reviewed in the United States on September 10, 2019
Verified Purchase
Wow. As soon as I heard about this book I knew I was going to read it. But I had low expectations. I'd heard the author promoting his book on several podcasts and when I heard him say things like, "In my book, I pull back the curtain and reveal the secrets used at VC firms," I prepared myself for disappointment.

Boy, was I pleasantly surprised to be wrong!

-The author breaks down all the lingo, jargon, and highfalutin finance double-speak that sounds made up to the layman
-He helps you understand not just the relationship between the VC and the startup, but also the relationship between the VC and the LP
-You get to see the incentive structures LP's and VC's typically agree on, helping you (the entrepreneur) understand what motivates all the parties involved
-The book provides a mock term sheet with realistic numbers and devotes a chapter to each section of the term sheet

I could go on and on....

This definitely isn't a casual read - especially once it gets to the sample term sheet. The book can dive deep into details and abstractions (there were several sections I had to read multiple times - but I guess that's why I'm not a VC!), and that's exactly what makes it so enjoyable to read.
7 people found this helpful
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DanaJ
4.0 out of 5 stars Basics rather than secrets
Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2019
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If I were to describe Scott Kupor’s Secrets of Sand Hill Road in a word, it would be “mistitled.” A more appropriate title would be something along the lines of The Basics of Sand Hill Road. The book does a solid enough job of covering the entire venture backed startup lifecycle in an easy to follow way. However, it’s hard to see how one could classify Kupor’s writing as revealing secrets.

Here and there, Kupor shares some really cool legal case studies that I’ve never come across, such as in the chapter about board member duties. Now that’s quality insight even someone who’s been in the ecosystem for 5+ years can appreciate! And it’s also something that Kupor, a lawyer by training, is particularly well positioned to share. I sincerely wish we’d gotten more of those case studies, legal or otherwise, because they make the whole journey through the startup lifecycle all the more interesting.

Instead, Kupor at times dons the Captain Obvious cape, with pronouncements such as “building relationships [with potential acquirers] is important.” Thanks, Scott, who would’ve thought?!

At the same time though, I recognize I may not be the target audience for this book. Kupor likely synthesized versions of startup/VC classes he teaches at Bay Area universities. I could imagine a sophomore at another university (one not smack dab in the middle of VC country) reading this book and finding it quite helpful, as she decides whether to found a startup and pursue the venture funding route.

It’s worth mentioning though that a significant share of the same content is also covered in Jeff Bussgang’s Mastering The VC Game. And while I haven’t read it, I’ve heard very positive things about Brad Feld’s Venture Deals. In all likelihood, reading either of these three books is probably a good enough basics crash course on venture funding of startups.
62 people found this helpful
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KC
5.0 out of 5 stars Well written book anyone interested in VC should read
Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2021
Verified Purchase
The book has been suggested to me as an elective lecture at school. I am pleasantly surprised how well it is written. I was expecting another boring business book, but this is a must read for anyone interested in VC world. The book reads like a good novel and you don't even notice when you finish one chapter after another. I leared so much and I am sure I will be returning to this book many times in the future.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Insights How Investers See Things
Reviewed in the United States on December 26, 2023
Verified Purchase
I wanted some insights as to how investors see things and how capital is raised. Parts of this were helpful.
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Fred
5.0 out of 5 stars Good near reference book
Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2022
Verified Purchase
I learned a lot from it about big VC's and how they view deals as well as a bunch of technical points on shareholder agreements, options, and the like. A pretty good reference to have around.
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Paul S. Bodine
4.0 out of 5 stars Very well done
Reviewed in the United States on April 10, 2021
Verified Purchase
As managing partner at Marc Andreessen’s VC fund a16z, Scott Kupor possesses the expertise and experience (he also teaches at Stanford Law and Haas Business School) to have written a very dry explication of the niceties of VC funding, if he’d wanted to. Fortunately, he decided instead to write a lucidly accessible, direct, and even sometimes entertaining explication brimming with low-key authority.
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Allyson
5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyed the book
Reviewed in the United States on December 22, 2022
Verified Purchase
Read this book for my class on venture capital and really enjoyed it. Author does a great job of storytelling while also teaching about the topic. Highly recommend if you are interested in venture capital or startup funding.
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Top reviews from other countries

Raskolnikov
4.0 out of 5 stars Barely what I expected
Reviewed in Mexico on May 21, 2023
Verified Purchase
The book meet my expectations but nothing more. It explains in clear terms how Venture Capital and the start up ecosystem work. The information is useful and well grounded but this is not a book that seduces you into the topic; in my opinion it lack the human side of the story and hence does not engage you at the personal level.

To me this would qualify as a text book: the authon does not dare to make bold assumptions or give enlightening premises.

One thing I learn is that common mortals usually cannot buy IPO stock and by the time the market opens to them the profits are already reaped: mostly on him - the late investor.
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YasTech Developments
5.0 out of 5 stars Like new
Reviewed in Canada on July 7, 2022
Verified Purchase
The book was like new even though it was used. Shipped quickly as well.
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C French
5.0 out of 5 stars Must-read for anyone thinking of raising capital from VCs
Reviewed in Belgium on November 14, 2023
Verified Purchase
Really good introduction to what's key when negotiating term sheets with VCs. Admittedly US-centric but nonetheless very valuable for EU-based startups. Haven't found any better intro into the subject yet.
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SQ
5.0 out of 5 stars Every startup founder should read this book before raising capital from a VC
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 28, 2022
Verified Purchase
Great book about the basica of VC. Recommend for every startup founder.
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Amazon Kunde
5.0 out of 5 stars Wow! So much information and value in one book
Reviewed in Germany on May 25, 2021
Verified Purchase
Prior to reading this book, I knew almost nothing about Venture Capitalists (VCs). I live in Europe and am about to start a little business, but without plans on raising VC any time soon, so I'm not really the Silicon Valley type of guy this book aims for. Nevertheless, this book was packed with value for me! I had to put the book down several times mid-reading to take notes and to edit or add the business plan I currently write for my business.

Many business-books use 200+ pages just to bring across one or two vague “mindsets”, but this book is full of specific information about the whole start-up/VC world, that you can implement today. Who are VCs, what motivates them financially and non-financially, where and from whom is the money coming from, what are VCs looking for in a young company and how do they assess a proposal that is often nothing more than some pages of a business plan or some Power Point slides? Which questions should you ask yourself prior to raising money from VCs? How much money should you raise? Etc...

All of these things get answered in this book, including the reasons behind them. All of them are really valuable to know, even if you don’t plan on raising money any time soon. Even if you are just writing a business plan (as do I), this book guides you through the most important thought processes and helps you focus on what really matters for you, your business and potential future investors.

I don’t want to get carried away by all the praise for this book, but this is one of those few books, that you come across from time to time that is worth its price a hundred times. People would pay thousands for a multi-day seminar on this stuff. So, even if VC is not on your radar as a founder, or even if you are just developing your idea, this book has so much insight and so much information for you, that I highly recommend it. It is what most people in negotiations (and raising capital will require negotiations at some point) would wish for the most: a complete guide into what your counterpart (the VCs) is looking for!
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