In episode 5 of The Twenty Minute VC, we are joined by Kent Godfrey, General Partner at Pond Ventures. Prior to entering into the VC industry Kent was Chairman and CEO of Andromedia before merging it with MacroMedia. Kent was also CEO of Frictionless Commerce concluding with the sale of the company to SAP in 2006. Kent has previously served on the board of numerous companies including LiveRail (acquired by Facebook), TRM Corporation (Nasdaq:TRMM), HipBone Communications (acquired by Kana) and Vocal Point Inc (acquired by Telecom Italia). In this session you will learn:  What is the most challenging aspect of being a CEO? Should CEO's have a clear and precise strategy for the future? What can a CEO do to position themselves to be more successful? How can an individual develop the skills to be a successful CEO? What Kent learnt from his meetings with Steve Jobs? What is the most challenging aspect of transitioning from CEO to VC? What do VCs do when concerned about an investment? What is the best aspect of being a Venture Capitalist? Is it possible to go straight into the Venture Capital industry from University? We end the episode with a quick fire round where Ken describes the future of the Internet Of Things (IOT). Why Founders are better than a Founder? Plus, what the biggest misunderstanding of the Venture Capital industry is? For all the resources mentioned in today's show heav on over to www.thetwentyminutevc.com

On today's episode I am thrilled to welcome Bob Ghoorah, Managing Director at Columubus Nova Technology Partners. Bob has experienced both sides of the table having been an early employee at three technology companies in Silicon Valley; LoudCloud (Nasdaq: LDCL), Opsware (Nasdaq: OPSW) and Ning, a privately-held software platform (sold to Glam Media in 2011).  In this episode we find out: The benefits of having a legal knowledge in the Startup community. What characteristics make the best entrepreneurs? Who does Bob think of, when the word 'success' is mentioned and why? Where Bob sees the future of Uber? What aspects of a Startup are essential in order to obtain VC funding? Is it important for Startups to be located in Silicon Valley? What books Bob woulg give to an aspring entrepreneur and startup founder? What advice Bob would give to anyone looking to get into the Venture Capital Industry? Finally, we head to the quick fire round. Here, we get Bob's immediate reactions to the latests tech topics including tech bubble, company valuations and the first trillion dollar company. For all the resources mentioned in todays show head over to The Twenty Minute VC.