Mike Suchsland

★★★★★ “Venture Deals: Be Smarter than Your Lawyer and Venture Capitalist,”  Second Edition.
Publisher: Wiley

Authors: Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson, co-founders and co-managing directors of Denver-based Foundry Group.

Whether you are an student, entrepreneur, angel investor, lawyer, mentor or corporate executive, this book is a must read for the CodeX community. It lays out, simply and deeply, the entire process of getting an emerging business funded.

The authors have backgrounds as both entrepreneurs and venture capital investors, which provides unique perspective on both sides of getting deals done and creating mutual long term value for all of the involved parties. I particularly liked the chapter on “How Venture Capital Funds Work,” which describes the structure of VC firms, their obligations and constraints, and leads in to the chapter on “Negotiation Tactics.” I’ve done more than 40 deals as a corporate executive and angel, and still was amazed at how much I learned from this quick read.

Mike Suchland is the principal of Joplin Consulting, based in Chicago. He is an invester/advisor for Guard Llama, Hotshot and Horray Learning, and served as president, legal business for Thomson Reuters.

AUTHOR CORNER

Jerry Kaplan

Book: “Humans Need Not Apply: A Guide to Wealth and Work in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.”
Publisher:Yale University Press
Launch date: Aug. 5, 2015.
How to buy: Amazon. Yale
Formats: Hardcover, Kindle.

Jerry’s comments:  “As society stands on the cusp of unprecedented change, I unpack the latest advances in robotics, machine learning, and perception powering systems that rival or exceed human capabilities. Driverless cars, robotic helpers, and intelligent agents that promote our interests have the potential to usher in a new age of affluence and leisure—but as I warn, the transition may be protracted and brutal unless we address the two great scourges of the modern developed world: volatile labor markets and income inequality. I propose innovative, free-market adjustments to our economic system and social policies to avoid an extended period of social turmoil.”

Jerry Kaplan is a Fellow at CodeX. Email: jerrykaplan@stanford.edu. Twitter: @Jerry_Kaplan.