The book Venture Deals is a fantastic introduction to the world of raising money through a venture capital firm. Venture Deals really tells you about how things are structured in a venture company and one of the things that really stood out for me is the different roles: associates, analysts, general managers, managing directors, and general partners.
Associates and analysts basically are the ones who go scanning the Internet and the world for deals, and they bring deals back to the firm. The people who sign the checks are the managing directors or general partners. Essentially, there's no power from associates and analysts; they just do the work, but don't actually have decision-making power. This doesn't mean that you shouldn't treat associates and analysts well, because they are the ones who get you through the door.
The point is that you should deal with the people who make the calls. Mrs. Queen was smart, she had correctly identified Mr. Physics and I as the associate level for a company like LoyalPlus. Mrs. Queen had developed an interest to work with LoyalPlus, and was quick to ask the question, "Who's in charge?"
Once you understand the structure of the company, you can start to focus your efforts to gain influence on specific individuals. This in turn will help you get the most out of your time and energy.
After some probing, Mrs. Queen was able to discover that Mr. Princeton had clout in the company, at which point Mrs. Queen immediately went to work influencing Mr. Princeton. As she tried to influence Mr. Princeton, he was trying to influence her. Ultimately, they were both able to gain their objectives. Mrs. Queen got a tentative partnership with LoyalPlus, and Mr. Princeton gained access to the Korean market. It was a joy seeing two strong leaders interact.
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Swimming with Asian Sharks - Business Secrets from the Pacific Rim
Non-FictionEver wonder what it takes to do business in Asia? How do Asian business executives behave and think? Do you want to create a business from scratch in under 24 hours? If so, this is your guide. This book is a compilation of over one hundred business...
