In the fast-paced world of investing and startups, staying informed and inspired can be important. Whether a seasoned investor, a budding entrepreneur, or somewhere in between, the right resources can help provide valuable insights, strategies, and motivation. In this blog, we will highlight some popular books and podcasts that investors may want to have on their radar.
Popular Books and Podcasts for Investors
Books for Investors
Venture Deals: Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer and Venture Capitalist
By: Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson
Venture Deals is a book that can help startups answer the question: how do venture capital deals come together? Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson aim to help take startups to the next step by sharing personal experience from their venture capital firm, the Foundry Group, which was focused on investing in early stage companies. The Foundry Group has since closed, but was operational for 18 years, and Venture Deals can still be a great resource. Venture Deals provides insights into venture capital structure and strategy, helps to build collaborative and supportive relationships between entrepreneurs and investors, and explains and clarifies the VC term sheet and other misunderstood aspects of capital funding. This book can be an important resource for aspiring entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and lawyers who may be involved in VC deals.
Mastering Private Equity
By: Claudia Zeisberger, Michael Prahl, Bowen White
Mastering Private Equity dives into answering the fundamental question, “what does modern private equity (PE) look like?” Looking at the difference between the 70s and 80s compared to modern private equity, the authors aim to give readers a solid understanding of the overall business model of private equity so that they can develop new ways to differentiate their firms to investors. This book covers topics ranging from fundraising over investment process execution to institutional investors building and managing a private equity fund portfolio.
Private Capital Investing
By: Roberto Ippolito
Private Capital Investing is a practical manual on investing in private equity and private debt and provides insights on how investors can analyze investment opportunities. This book covers practical examples, analytical tools, looks at the main legal aspects of a transaction, and also walks readers through the different phases of a transaction. Private Capital Investing allows the reader to get a start in private equity and allows the reader to see the various phases that principal investors follow when analyzing a private investment opportunity.
Inside Secrets to Angel Investing
By: Karen Rands
Inside Secrets to Angel Investing teaches that angel investing can create passive income, build generational wealth, and encourages readers to explore investing in private companies. This book provides a guide to finding, evaluating, and making investments in private companies before they go public. Inside Secrets to Angel Investing can be a good book for investors who are interested in learning some ways to help diversify their portfolio.
Lessons from Private Equity Any Company Can Use
By: Orit Gadiesh and Hugh Macarthur
Lessons from Private Equity Any Company Can Use teaches readers about how private equity firms can gain an advantage. Private equity firms are acquiring brand-name companies and assembling portfolios that can make them immense global conglomerates. The book lays out five disciplines on how these companies can do this: invest with a thesis using a 3-5 year goal, create a blueprint for change, measure only what matters, hire, motivate, and retain managers, and finally make equity sweat.
Podcasts for Investors
The Angel Next Door
The Angel Next Door podcast is a show about how people got started investing in startups. This podcast is hosted by Marcia Dawood, a member of the SEC Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee and Chair Emeritus of the board of the Angel Capital Association. She interviews angel investors to figure out how and why they started and goes deeper into the stories behind some entrepreneurial companies. It releases episodes every Thursday.
The Twenty Minute VC (20VC)
The Twenty Minute VC is a podcast hosted by Harry Stebbings that features interviews with startup founders, venture capitalists, and other industry experts. The podcast has a reputation for being informative and insightful, with Harry asking thoughtful questions and facilitating engaging discussions. This podcast can be useful for anyone interested in the startup world. Podcasts episodes are released every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
The Private Equity Podcast
The Private Equity Podcast, hosted by Alex Rawlings, interviews the leading experts in private equity. This podcast releases episodes once a week on Tuesdays and discusses how the top private equity professionals got into the industry, how they rose to success, and the mistakes they made along the way.
a16z Podcast
The a16z Podcast discusses tech and culture trends, news, and the future. It features industry experts, business leaders, and other interesting thinkers and voices from around the world. This podcast is produced by Andreessen Horowitz (aka “a16z”), a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm. Podcast episodes are released about twice a week.
M&A Talk
M&A Talk is a podcast from Morgan & Westfield that focuses on mergers and acquisitions. The podcast sits down with experts in private equity, business valuations, law, and finance to talk about all things M&A. The podcast releases episodes on Mondays and Wednesdays and has covered topics like manufacturing, private equity firms, due diligence, and selling a closely held company.
Equity
The Equity podcast is a flagship podcast from TechCrunch that digs into the business of startups for entrepreneurs and investors. This podcast is the intersection of technology, startups, and venture capital. TechCrunch reporters keep you up-to-date on the world of business, technology, and venture capital. Podcast episodes are released every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
Final Thoughts
The books and podcasts highlighted in this blog may offer a wealth of knowledge, inspiration, and practical tools to help investors stay informed. Whether investors are looking to refine their investment strategies, gain insights into startups, or simply stay motivated, these resources can help you on the journey.
Are you looking to invest in startups? Sign up for a MicroVentures account to start investing!
Want to learn more about resources for investors? Check out the following MicroVentures blogs to learn more:
- 2024 IPO Check-in
- The Psychology of Investing: Navigating Investment Bias
- The Pros and Cons of Investing in Private Companies
- Assigning Order: What Are Liquidation Preferences?
- Interpreting Business Models in the Private Market: What You Need to Know
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The information presented here is for general informational purposes only and is not intended to be, nor should it be construed or used as, comprehensive offering documentation for any security, investment, tax or legal advice, a recommendation, or an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, an interest, directly or indirectly, in any company. Investing in both early-stage and later-stage companies carries a high degree of risk. A loss of an investor’s entire investment is possible, and no profit may be realized. Investors should be aware that these types of investments are illiquid and should anticipate holding until an exit occurs.
