White Papers

VC Process
by Managing Director Po Chi Wu
There are a number of myths/truths about the venture capital industry and the process of securing investment from a venture capitalist (VC) that are important to understand. Fundamentals of the venture capital process. How to raise money from venture firms.

Suggestions for Being a Successful Entrepreneur
by Managing Director Po Chi Wu
Secrets from a Silicon Valley venture capitalist.

Lessons Learned from the Internet Boom and Bust
by Managing Director Po Chi Wu
Experience really counts. Both the experiences of success and failure are important and valuable. Only the naïve can value ignorance.

Visions of Trends for the Next Decade
by Managing Director Po Chi Wu
The first decade of the new Millennium will be characterized by unexpected changes and challenges, accompanied by unintended consequences. Many of the attributes of human society are being examined and possibly re-defined from new points of view.

Attention is the Path from Interest to Commitment
by Managing Director Po Chi Wu
Do you know what commitment to a goal really involves? Finding ways to measure attention, where it is placed, how it is used can be enlightening. This paper
discusses an approach to developing the kind of laser-sharp focus needed to be successful, as an individual or as a team.

The Value of Intellectual Capital
by Managing Director Po Chi Wu
Intellectual Capital is a new form of productive asset, a concept that has been created in the Information Age. How is Intellectual Capital valued and how is it different from Intellectual Property? This paper discusses how a business can build on its Intellectual Capital.

What We Look For

We seek to fund entrepreneurs who have exciting visions for transforming markets through the development and application of convergent technologies. Some of the things we look for include:

A Team that can Achieve Success

You must have strong technologists on your team. Successful management experience certainly helps, but we can help you assemble a full management team if necessary. Most importantly, you must have a strong orientation towards teamwork, have a strong passion for translating your vision into reality, and be flexible and adaptable as almost all business strategies and plans must change.

Potential for Significant Financial Return

You should be targeting a market that is, or will soon be, a large and growing market. Your intellectual property should be strong and able to be protected. We must believe that your value proposition will lead to significant market share and that you will have sufficient and sustainable competitive advantages. Needless to say, you must have a viable business model. In addition, reasonable capital requirements, multiple exit alternatives and a fair valuation are important.

Acceptable Level of Risk

We look for companies that have already demonstrated proof of concept and are seeking to commercialize their ideas, have early products under evaluation by potential customers, or are beginning their revenue ramp. In addition to technology, we look for an acceptable level of market, competitive, infrastructure, organizational and timing/financing risk.

The Alameda team uses a set of 85 questions we evaluate during our due diligence process. While we don’t expect every question to be relevant to every investment opportunity, and we don’t expect entrepreneurs to have answers to every question, it may be useful to prospective portfolio companies to review this list as part of their business strategy development.

The Alameda
85 Questions