Done Deals: Venture Capitalists Tell Their Stories

by Udayan Gupta (Editor)

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.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction

448 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2000

Reviews

[Piotr Pisarz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite disappointed. Some interesting tidbits on early years of VC industry, but all in all quite boring read. Also book is very outdated, so it's funny to read about pre-bubble crush internet hype.

[Vijay Chengappa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was expecting to learn about the origins of the VC industry, the trials and tribulations over the decades that shaped it to its current form, and some interesting stories along the way.

What we get instead could so easily have been a magazine issue (Venture Capital Daily, or Silicon Today anyone?), with each templatized excerpt being a few pages long and in the standard bromide format of 'How I/we started. Our learnings along the way. How do we see this industry moving forward'.

With the exception of a few interesting stories or insights in a few of the interviews (especially the closed doors fratboy sameness of the whole industry/how everyone knew each other in the initial stages), the remaining content is mostly repetitive and similar.

For all the legendary folks interviewed in this book, the quantum of valuable, or even new insights is pretty scarce.

[Brian · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are parts of this book that are interesting. While in some ways it hasn't dated well (it was written just before the tech bubble burst), there are moments where there is an interesting snapshot of a point in history. But book itself is a bit boring. Most stories are ok in themselves, but as group they feel repetitive. I got the feeling that there's a great 30 to 50 page summary in there if someone wanted to do it, but this is just too much for me.

[Kalle Wescott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read /Done Deals: Venture Capitalists Tell Their Stories/, by Udayan Gupta:

https://hbswk.hbs.edu/archive/done-de...

Super-interesting... the book is in interview format, sometimes transcribed and edited, sometimes left in question and answer mode.

I knew about half the stories and people (though never at the depth of detail provided).

The other half, VCs I don't know or know of, was most interesting to me.

[Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best ways to learn about a particular subject is to learn about its history. Venture capital is a new industry emerging in developing countries, and I think this book is a must read for venture capitalists to be able to get a contextual grasp on the evolution of tech and VC investing in the Valley. A good read for all people who are aspired to work in or studying about VC industry

[Manas Saloi · Rating 4 out of 5]

VC interviews before the first internet bubble crash.
A bit dry, and sometimes you might wonder if this could have been edited better,
but a really important read if you want to understand the origin stories of most VC firms active today.

[Josh Maher · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book, it was a bit long though - I felt there could have been a fair amount taken out. I also would have liked to know more about the individuals and how they thought about venture capital. It was interesting to read about where they started and how they got there, but understanding the why and the how of their practice would be intriguing.

Granted, I am writing a book in a similar style but profiling current angel investors. I am well into the draft and revisions of my upcoming book at this point and finally came across this book. Mine has all new players, focused on angel investing vs. VC/investment banking. I do dig into more of the how and why of angel investing instead of just the history so readers can learn to be angels by reading.

[Trevor Lewis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gives background information on those who became the first VC and those who have succeeded and failed.

Also adds details and explanation of the world of Venture Capital. How it is ran, how to get involved and how to absorb.
Not all chapters are necessary to read. Not the most exciting book, it is dated but gets the job done.

[Jancodamas · Rating 2 out of 5]

suprisingly no other book like this on the market, like espn top 10 of venture capital deals

[Michael Slavin · Rating 2 out of 5]

More of a history of venture capitalists than anything very useful. If you want a good recounting of how it all started, this is not bad.