Media

With the emergence of venture capital investment as a professional practice, understanding the way in which this industry works is critically important for practitioners and would-be practitioners, whether they are (or aspire to be) working for entrepreneurial ventures, venture firms, or large institutional capital pools. I applaud Yinglan Tan, who has distilled many interesting “war stories” and experiences of venture capitalists into a useful and effective framework in The Way of the VC.

Professor Josh Lerner, Jacob H. Schiff Professor of Investment Banking, Harvard Business School

“Yinglan gets into the minds of venture capitalists to show us how they think. There is much in common between VCs from the West and those from the East, but also much that is importantly different.”

Tarun Khanna, Jorge Paulo Lemann Professor at the Harvard Business School and Best-Selling Author, Billions of Entrepreneurs: How China and India are Reshaping Their Futures and Yours

I have taught private equity courses for MBA’s and executives for fifteen years, and I have seldom run across such insight. Based on painstaking research, Yinglan Tan has demystified the venture capital investment process. If you want to know how venture capitalists think, what they are looking for, and how to choose one, read this book. Venture investors looking to grow in Asia will find penetrating observations and valuable advice. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in building high-growth companies.

Professor Philip Anderson, INSEAD Alumni Fund Chaired Professor of Entrepreneurship & Academic Director, The Abu Dhabi Centre

Top-flight entrepreneurs are blessed with terrific ideas and boundless energy. But they usually lack capital; hence they must join together with venture capitalists (VCs). The prescription is easy, the implementation tough. Entrepreneurs and VCs differ in orientation, background, and interests. In this lively volume, Yinglan Tan tells how entrepreneurs should handle the relationship from early-stage conception through to a thriving company. The pages bristle with insights gained from in depth discussions with successful VCs and entrepreneurs. It then imparts lessons distilled from intense study of the field and careful analysis. Entrepreneurs should take this volume to heart, and thus avoid missteps and grief.

Richard Zeckhauser, Frank P. Ramsey Professor of Political Economy, Harvard University.

“The Way of the VC” is a must-read book for entrepreneurs and venture capital professionals. Yinglan achieved a harmonious balance between the theory – the Commandments – and the practice – first-hand accounts by VC. The delightful stories clearly and effectively illustrate important lessons for all players in this industry.

Koh Soo Boon, Managing Partner, IGlobe Partners

Venture Capitalists rely heavily on personal judgment and experience. This extensive collection of shared wisdom and viewpoints is therefore a valuable addition to the growing number of VC textbooks and war stories. Yinglan has skillfully captured the Tao of VC practitioners and entrepreneurs in a lively and enlightening book.

Lin Hong Wong, author of “Venture Capital Fund Management: A Comprehensive Approach to Investment Practices & the Entire Operations of a VC Firm“.

“Friendly, thorough, and helpful. Yinglan has shown how VC’s can help an entrepreneur’s business and how to attract their attention.”

Dan Schwartz, former Chairman, Asian Venture Capital Journal and author, The Future of Finance: How Private Equity and Venture Capital Will Shape the Global Economy

Ben Horowitz of Andreessen Horowitz

Mike Maples, Founder of Floodgate. One of the classiest super-angels in the Valley.

Norm Fogelsong of Institutional Venture Partners

Bobby Chao, Managing Director, DFJ Dragon

Stephen Chiao, Managing Partner of Sycamore Ventures

Pedram Mokrian, Mayfield Fund

Tan Chade-Meng, Jolly Good Fellow, Google

President Su Guanning of Nanyang Technological University

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