| |NOVEMBER 20248CIOReviewA Venture Capital OdysseyMy professional journey began in enterprise software during the 1990s, eventually founding multiple startups that collectively rose over $300 million in venture capital. This experience helped me gain significant expertise in securing funding, and I learned valuable lessons from both successes, like an IPO on Nasdaq and a merger and acquisition, as well as failures. I founded Georgetown Venture Partners, a boutique investment bank focused on assisting startups in securing venture capital, and dedicated a decade to this mission. Later, I created the Founder's Club, a venture capital equity exchange fund. This initiative allowed founders of venture-backed companies to exchange up to ten percent of their ownership for limited partnership units in a fund that invested in 25 startups. This arrangement fostered a collaborative environment where founders actively supported each other's success.As the secondary market for founder stock evolved, it became acceptable for founders to sell shares directly, which shifted my focus away from the Founder's Club model. I transitioned into brokering these secondary sales, becoming an expert in helping founders sell their equity to interested investors.Currently, I run a venture capital fund that distinguishes by offering professional fundraising assistance to our portfolio companies at no extra cost. We help these startups secure their By Andrew Romans, General Partner, 7BC Venture CapitalAndrew Romans is a top decile VC investor with over 100 investments. He is a 4x author published in five languages and a former professor of venture capital at Chapman University. Romans host the podcast "Fireside with a VC." His advice to founders and VCs is to spend 30 percent of their time helping others, which boosts effectiveness by 1.4x. By age 28, he had raised over $48M for his startups. With a vast global network of LPs and corporate connections, he has a strong VC track record and extensive experience as a founder, CEO, and advisor on innovation economies.Andrew RomansIN MY OPINIONCULTIVATING SUCCESS IN VENTURE CAPITAL
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